Ring of Fire

   We opened Ring Of Fire, a musical tribute to the music of Johnny Cash tonight.  What an amazingly talented group of musicians are on that stage.  If you are near Greene, NY in the next few weeks, try to catch the show. It is a fun night out.

    Of course the tech week preceding the opening means my poor kids have been living on chicken nuggets and take-out.  I am happy I have a couple weeks before having to get back to classes,  and start on the next two shows (The Outgoing Tide at one theatre and Clyburne Park at another) so I can get caught up on house chores - yes, this place looks like Atilla's Huns encamped here for the last week.  So many projects I was hoping to complete this summer are still UFOs (un-finished objects), but I have a few days - so there is hope.
   Last week we went to the county fair.  I am not a fan of the midway - a near accident on a ride at Lake Quassapaug when I was young has cured me of the need to be in a small metal bucket while it flies in the air trying to fling its contents across the fair ground.  So my son and I spent our time in the animal barns.  I really loved seeing the sheep, and realizing which breeds are too big to start with. I definitely want to look for a dark fleeced lamb next year when we are shopping!  The goats won my heart, but I am not certain I could raise them for meat, and I do not want to run any sort of dairy right now.  I might be persuaded to have a few angora goats! Fibre animals would be okay for me!
    When the press of the crowds, the odor of the hogs,  and the noise of the sheep and goats and the hijinks of the cows got a bit much for my son, we retreated to the horses.  There, no matter what, he settles down.  Horses whinny occasionally, but they do not jump all over the place, or stink, or moo in your face.  There is a nobility, and a calm dignity  in horses that never fails to soothe him.  Especially the big  ones - Percherons, Belgians, and Clydesdales seem to be his perfect match.
 

Always learning

   This weekend was fun - I hope you can say the same.  My sister and Mom came out for a visit. Saturday morning we took them up to the farm - Mom had seen some of it, my sister had never been there.  She oohed and AAhed and ran around identifying all the wild flowers and trees - turns out we may have hazel nuts and hickory nuts as well come Fall.  We later sent them to the Glimmerglass Festival on Saturday for a double bill - Camelot, which they loved, and The Flying Dutchman which was not liked as well as the first one (to put it mildly).
    After my darling husband got back from rehearsal - he will be playing Leontes in A Winter's Tale at the Franklin Stage Company in a few weeks - we took kids and dogs and went to the  farm.  We had more mowing to do, and since we have such steep hills, he wanted another set of eyes,  so in case he rolled the tractor there would be someone there to notice and call the paramedics!  The boys contented themselves catching frogs, and  our daughter walked/was dragged by the three dogs.  There was a great deal of me standing or walking around trying to keep  the boys and the tractor in my line of vision.
    Eventually, it came time to try mowing the high pasture.  This is a misnomer.  It is not a high pasture, it is the highest hill on the property before  crossing the stream and heading up the mountain and into the woods. My husband went down the steepest part of the hill, and I could not hear him or see him, so Abi and I started trotting down, just as he was heading up on the other side.  He later mentioned that there were a few dicey moments where he even considered praying!  Great...
    I had not been on the tractor at all except the first day when we were trying to fix the PTO.  So, at the top of the high pasture, he got off and told me to do a few passes.  (Let's be clear here, I was going sideways across the flat-ish top of the hill, not down the "do or die" slope).  It was interesting.  There is no gas pedal, just a hand controlled throttle.  The higher the rpm, the better the bush hog works.   I found it tricky to see, so I tended to mow standing up - which also makes for a less sweaty backside! Oh, and did I mention that there are really no brakes?  Yes,  we are going to be working on that next!! It was fun, but scary, and will take some getting accustomed to. Still, we are starting to get the hang of things and the place is not completely going to seed - a good thing, I'd say.

Playing with Sheep

   Okay, we really were not playing, but it felt like it.   Yesterday I took Sheep and Goats 101 through the Cornell Cooperative Extension  service.   It was great!
   The day started out a bit stressfully.  A major road on the way there was closed due to an accident, so I had to get new instructions from my husband, who was home at the computer (thank you Mapquest), and it added about 20-25 minutes to the drive.  I had only left an extra 15 for getting lost, so I was driving like a demon on small country roads - yes, I was that person you hate!  Karma does play a part, because I was nearly there and got stuck behind a Mennonite horse and buggy.  They were very kind and pulled into the grass off the shoulder to let me pass, but there was a lot of traffic in the other direction and I did not want to clip them.
    I got to the farm where the class was held, and met some great folks.  There was a lecture section with lots of emphasis on pasture, hay, forage, etc.  Very helpful.  I learned a lot about goats and goat meat, enough to peak my interest in raising some Boer goats at some point. Then after a lunch and some chatting, we went to the barns.  The shepherd who was letting us use her facility runs about 1000 head. She also has a flock of 600 that she does not own, but shepherds for a monastary nearby.  She had culled about 25 head from the flock and started off with a sheepdog demonstration.  Her dogs are AMAZING animals.
    We spent the next couple of hours trimming hooves, worming, giving shots, shoving sheep into a chute, learning to hold them seated in front of us, using a sheep seat, and then discussing barn configurations for lambing season.  The most fun for me was standing in the tightly packed enclosure with about 18 sheep milling about me, petting them, coaxing them, then shoving them into the chute.
    The sheep were funny.  Many reminded me of people I know - they would run in the opposite direction of what was good for them.  They made lots of noise, which amounted to nothing in the end.  They fought and made an uncomfortable time last longer than it would have it they had cooperated!  The first sheep whose hooves I trimmed was very unhappy.  She was in a device sort of like a chute, but then we squeezed it around her and flipped her upside down to trim, worm, and give her a shot.  She was  fighting the whole time - kicking her back legs as I was working on them, and I got a nice slice on my finger from the trimming shears.  When we let her out, she was annoyed!   However, I gave her a small handful of food, and for the rest of my time there she would keep nosing me, sniffing and licking my hand, not unlike my dog!
     We were working on Katahdins, Dorper crosses and Black Face crosses.  I loved the fleece on the little girls, and I think I do not ever need to have hair sheep. I loved their different temperaments, and the way they ran as quick as you please when the dog came around.
    The drive home was fast and straightforward. After leaving my newly christened work boots on the stoop, I went in side and realized I was filthy and smelly, and very happy!  Over all, it was an amazing day. 

   The weather, with its hell-like heat, has finally turned and we are back in our normal, gorgeous Upstate NY temps in the high 70s low 80s.  BLISS!!  I do not live in Florida for a reason! Due to the excessive heat and humidity, I am now looking out at a garden resembling a jungle and I have to get out there and weed!  
    Farm news: the chicks arrive this coming Saturday with my sister and mom.  My sister added my order to hers when she was ordering her meat birds.  Due to restrictions in whichever state they came from (somewhere out West) we will have 10 chicks not the originally planned for 6.  Sooo, in a few months, I will be looking for folks to buy eggs, because there is no way we are going to use all the eggs the girls will produce! We are getting Australorps 

 and Barred Plymouth Rocks 

for no other reason than they are said to be docile and fairly good layers.  I had no desire to start with flighty birds. What is interesting is, although unintentionally, we have chosen two breeds which will colour coordinate with each other in the barnyard.
   Today I have the task of getting the brooder box components: large plastic bin, dimmer switch, red light bulb, etc. Also looking into feeder/waterers - store bought vs. homemade.  Also need to pick up feed, bedding, etc, but will wait until mid-week for that. 
     Need to pick up steel toed boots as well, as I am planning on attending a sheep workshop through Cornell Univ. Extension services, and I do not own more than hikers and muck boots.  I am really getting antsy about sheep.  I would like to get some ASAP, but  I have to know what I am doing before I get animals.  I do not think sheep who need something or are sick or lambing will wait around while I find the proper chapter in a "how to raise sheep" book. 

Weddings and humidity and visiting and humidity - did I mention Humidity?

    We travelled to Southern Maryland for the wedding of some friends.  It was in their backyard (which was beautifully landscaped!) and, with the exception of a three minute shower, the weather held.  It was sunny, and hot, and humid as only Southern Maryland can be humid.  I'm talking about air you can feel. It wraps itself around you.  You have to push it aside to walk through it.  Thick humid air.  However, with a light breeze which joined the party an hour in, we were hot and sweaty, but not miserable!  The grooms were dashing in their matching seersucker suits and purple and lavender accessories. And since our daughter could not be with us due to her summer camp schedule, one of the grooms carried her photo in his suit pocket.                      

   We were able to visit with old friends and had a nice time catching up.

   After the wedding we headed up to the Baltimore area to visit with family and friends.  The hotel we stayed in was palatial - 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen (dishwasher, full stove, balcony and a flat screen tv in every room - much to my youngest son's delight). We adults did not care about much of that, we were just grateful for the air conditioning! 

    The next day we took the kids and met up with friends at a nearby park so the adults could talk while the children played.  Apparently I did not stay in the shade as I thought and I am now sporting my first sunburn in years.  That's what I get for forgetting to pack sunscreen and wearing a tank top. Ouch!  After a couple of hours we were off to visit my father-in-law in the next town over.  We had brought all the fixings for lunch, but he had already eaten, so we just took over the kitchen and fed our crew.  Then, with the boys in the basement playing pool, the grown ups sat and watched the Orioles play the Blue Jays (and win!) while, sitting in, you guessed it, the air conditioning. 

     Driving back home was about a 5 1/2 hour trip, but construction was pretty quiet on a Sunday evening, so it was smooth.  Now we are sitting in our non-air conditioned house with fans on, and wondering when our weather will return to normal.  In the mean time,  we are a bit quieter than usual as we try to stay cool.  Hope you are doing the same.

I know it's July, but what day is it? What state am I in?

   I knew July was going to be busy.  I knew it, but wow, it is very densely packed.  We started with a July 4th party with a bunch of our daughter's friends.  We had food, and then drove them up to the high pasture on the farm to watch the fireworks (and as it turned out, concurrent illumination shows from the  lightning bugs and the heat lightning over the next mountain).  It was fun, and by about 11:30 pm we had  kicked them out so we could get some sleep.
    The following day we went to CT, stayed overnight there before heading to Long Island to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 60th wedding anniversary.

The Anniversary Kids!

We took the ferry over the Long Island Sound, which was so much nicer than driving down the L.I.E. in the blazing heat.  We had a party/luncheon at a lovely inn and got to spend the time with cousins, sisters, nieces and nephews, Mommy, and various old friends from my family's past. It was great, but HOT!!!  Everyone was so great - between my sisters, cousins, and nephews, everyone helped keep our eldest son as relaxed as he is capable of being in noisy crowded places!
    After the luncheon, we went to Aunt G and Uncle T's house to have a house/home mass celebrated by Fr. Bill who was marking his 50th year as a priest.  We sweltered through it - even outside - even with fans on (outside).  The air was so hot, heavy and still that we had no relief.  Sooo, we laughed and sweat, and kept passing tissues and paper towels to stop the drips!  All the pictures are of our VERY shiny faces!

Not just a natural glow - more like an unnatural melting!

Still, so many of us are in so many places - East Coast, West Coast, now, Chicago as well, that we do not often get to see each others - it was great.
    We took the ferry back - another sunny day that lent itself to sailing topside.

Watching the ferry docking.

A gorgeous day on the Sound

My section of family drove home Sunday night, then Tuesday morning at about 6:30, my daughter and I rolled out the door to drive her to Western Michigan for 2 weeks of Fine Arts Camp.  I stopped (just to fill up the gas tank) in Jamestown, NY, just to say I had been there.  For those of you who do not understand this, Jamestown is Lucille Ball's hometown, and I have always admired her, so it was just my personal nod to her memory to say I had been there once.  (Although I may want to go  back to the museum!!)The drive wasn't too bad, but the construction was everywhere, slowing us down, as did the driving rain storm outside Williamston, MI that brought the traffic to a hazard blinking crawl.

Modern lighting

NON-smoking room accessory!

     We finally got to our motel - a little Mom and Pop place with a sign from the 60s, a room with 1970s panelling and a 1960's bathtub. The sign said it was a no smoking room, but the ashtray on the desk belied that,





 as did the stench of cigarette smoke that permeated the bedding, carpet and curtains. It was...memorable.  At least the bed was firm.  My husband and I had reservations for the return trip to pick our daughter up, and we cancelled them this morning, choosing to stay in a hotel an hour away in order to avoid the cigarette experience again.
    I dropped my daughter off at the camp and got her settled and off to the theatre for her audition, then back I drove.  The return trip was much smoother, the construction starting at hours other than the ones I was driving through.  By 2:30 a.m. I was home, and I have a whole day here before we head down to Maryland for a wedding!  Another week and it is back to MI to pick our daughter up!
    Our house sitter is loving us this month!

Surviving Prom

   My daughter went to the Senior Prom this week.  She looked gorgeous.  Her date looked very handsome and was brave enough to wear a pink vest and pink bow tie to match her outfit.  They drove off to go to his house so his parents could take photos, then off to a restaurant, then to the prom.  Simple, no?
     Well the week before prom was a blur of pink fabric.  The dress we bought (no I did not make this one) had nine different layers of skirt.  Since my daughter is a 5'4" young lady, we needed to hem it up about  6".  This would be a cinch.  I do this kind of stuff for a living.  Except, at my house I do not have a dress dummy that fits her size.  So we  marked and cut by having her stand on the footstool which we placed on the coffee table, and she stood there for ages as I marked and cut, and checked and double checked.  We set up the dining room as dress central - we mopped and vacuumed and then laid sheets on the floor to avoid messing this dress with dog hair or dust.

I just serged the slip, but did a rolled hem on the underskirt.  The crinoline layers were an easy cut, trim, re-trim process.  But the tulle - oy! if the crinolines were wrinkled or folded back on themselves, everything shifted.  Since I was just cutting off the four layers of tulle, it all had to lay "just so"  or there would be a higher section.  

   Prom was Thursday night and  we were ironing the gown Thursday morning.  The dress looked good, and now I know it really is easier to build the darn thing myself.