Biking and Buddies

Pin It

Every morning I either take a walk or go for a bike ride. It is time for me to listen to the type of music I enjoy rather than having to be tortured listening to Bob's or Luke's music. Their tastes are a little too loud for me.

My morning ritual also gets me out in the fresh air, enjoy the scenery and get some exercise. I am trying to stay young! =)





The following pictures were taken this morning as I pedaled along the quiet road. There are a few neighbors and really wanted to take a picture of a lovely old barn that is along the route but the little old lady and little old man who live there were not home this morning. I can imagine them out doing their shopping for the week. They are the sweetest couple and still act like newlyweds. So the picture will have to wait for another day.




The route I take is approximately 2 miles...although most days when it is beautiful out, I will continue along my way and cover about 4 miles.

I better enjoy the weather while I can before the temperatures begin to drop.

I love the quiet time to myself. After returning home, I finished up the breakfast dishes, tidied a bit then headed out to the garden. I dug enough potatoes for tonight's dinner along with some carrots and 5 yellow and 3 green beans. Yep, that is all our crop provided for us this year was 8 beans!

Company came and went .... on Saturday's it is usually very busy around the old homestead. I visited with Nicole (Bob's niece) while Pasie, Bob and Luke went for a four-wheeler ride.

Nicole and I sat in the shade while watching the ducks play in the pond. While we chatted, my hands were busy crocheting and knitting. I have a tendancy to have a couple different projects on the go so I don't get bored with one or the other too easily.

While I began to prepare a meatloaf dinner, our neighbor who lives behind our property gave us a call and asked if we would like some of the beans from his garden. Would I?!!! You bet!!

Neighbor Dave is the best gardener in the area and always has an abundance of produce which he is more than willing to share. So he rushed over to drop off the above so I could get them on the stove for dinner tonight. What a treat! They were delicious and I ate the cucumbers like they were candy. Didn't really want to share but I did. =) In return, I gave him a bunch of carrots and peppers that I had picked this morning.

So as the sun is setting this evening, we reflect on yet another beautiful day and wonder how long we will be lucky to enjoy such nice weather.

Visit to the Neighbor

Pin It

The other day when we went four-wheeling, we decided to take a break and stop to visit our neighbor Kathy.

Kathy lives about 1/2 mile from us down the road. She lost her husband to cancer about 2 years ago and now lives on her own with her 38 cats...yes, 38 cats on 20 acres of farmland. In the summer, you can find her outside puttering in the flowerbeds, playing with the cats or mowing the grass. She doesn't get many visitors so we try to stop in there regularly and give her a hand with anything she might need help with.

To my surprise, she has fruit trees just loaded with fruit! I had never seen anything like her trees. So I had to take pictures to show everyone her bountiful harvest this year. She told us to come and pick as many as we want since she doesn't want to see them go to waste. What an offer! I can imagine jams, jellies, pies, tarts, desserts of a wide variety due to her generosity. I will definitely be making sure she gets some samples to try when they are made.




Apples. Minnesota Honeycrisp. Yummy!

As you can see, the tree is beginning to die in a few places (I think) or maybe it just needs to be pruned. The apples are not wormy at all and she doesn't even spray them.

Crabapples!!! Luke's favorite. He must have eaten 20 of them while we were visiting with her. :)

Look at those crabapples! The branches are drooping in the weight of all the crabapples. The deer move in at night and eat the ones that have fallen on the ground.

They have just the right amount of tartness.

Branches laden with fruit.

Now this is my absolute favorite! A pear tree!!! Nope, didn't see any partridges up there.

I didn't know that a person could grow pears in Minnesota! Kathy said that they aren't quite ripe yet.

She also said that they taste just like a Bartlett pear. Mmmmm. Good.

Aren't they cute! This tree is amazing as it stands about 200 feet high and the pears reach all the way to the very top! Just amazing.

So very soon, I will have a ton of work to do with baking, canning, freezing and dehydrating and Kathy will be receiving a big basket full of all the treats.

She is a wonderful neighbor and so sweet. I hope she finds some comfort in knowing that we will always be there to give her a hand when she needs it.

Four-wheeling

Pin It

Yesterday was one of those perfect autumn days. Bob worked in the shop all day on a customer's vehicle, Luke gave him a hand and I sat and crocheted while watching them work. Around 5pm Bob locked up the shop and said... "Let's go wheeling!" Yippee!






First, we took a ride around the property and the guys just had to try out the swap pit! Luke managed to get himself stuck in the cattails and tall grass.







After some struggling and standing ankle deep in swamp muck, he was able to pry himself loose and we took off once again.



There are beautiful state trails around our area so after visiting with a friend close by (I will post pictures later of her beautiful fruit trees) we headed for the trails. In order to get to the trails, there is one little hill that needs to be conquered first! I walked down that hill!!!

It's not much fun riding on the back of a wheeler with Bob when you are climbing down a hill over rocks that big and trying to dodge ruts! Luke also walked down part of the hill as he had never been on this trail before so he was a little nervous.

We did some sightseeing and enjoyed the wildlife.

Crossed bridges and took lots of pictures.

As the sun was setting, we headed for home. Didn't feel like attempting to go up that big hill again so we took a different route past a gravel pit and through a field of wildflowers. I tried to take a picture of the wildflowers but it turned out blurry as Bob had the wheeler going at top speed!

I am glad we headed out. There won't be too many more nice days such as that one and it was a fun, family time. When we finally reached home, each one of us fell into bed exhausted from riding for a few hours.

Watermelon Jelly

Pin It

With winter fast approaching, it is time to fill my pantry with homemade jams, jellies, and preserves.


I enjoy these tasks as I know I am feeding my family wholesome foods that don't contain all the chemicals that we now find in store-bought goods. I know my preserves are cleaned, cooked and prepared in a safe, clean environment.


Today I concentrated on making Watermelon Jelly.


The recipe is extremely easy and quick and the taste is to die for! I can imagine waiting in anticipation for the bread to pop out of the toaster and spreading a thick layer of this watermelon jelly on my toast.


It is very economical. I always wait for watermelon to go on sale here at the local grocers and then stock up. I can't help but take a few bites of watermelon while I am making the jelly though! :)



Here is the recipe for those of you who wish to try and make your own and believe me.... one taste and you will be hooked!


Time: 1/2 hour to one hour
Difficulty: easy
Serving Size: 6 half pints (for 1/2 of one medium sized watermelon)
Shelf life: 12 months
Ingredients:
4 cups of watermelon - no seeds or rind
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 box of dry pectin
3 1/2 cups of white sugar
Preparation:
Cut up 4 cups of watermelon
Place one full box of pectin in a bowl and mix with 1/4 cup of white sugar - set aside
Sanitize jars and lids by boiling in water for 5 minutes

Instructions:
Place the 4 cups of watermelon in a blender and purify (there should be approximately 2 cups of watermelon juice when finished)
Pour watermelon juice in large pot and add 3 tbsp lemon juice
Bring to a full rolling boil

Stir in remaining sugar - when it reaches a full boil, boil hard for 1 minute
Test for thickness - use a metal tbsp that has sat in ice water or in the freezer - take 1/2 spoonful of juice - let it cool to room temperature - if it thickens to how you want it, then it is finished - if it isn't thick enough, add more pectin and boil for one more minute
Fill jars to 1/4 inch from top, put on lids and rings
Put jars in a stock pot of boiling water making sure that there is 2 inches of water over the jars. Boil for 10 minutes
Remove from stock pot and place on a clean cloth, free from draft. Let sit until the lids start to pop (which indicates they are sealed)

Jams and jellies are the best when eaten in the dead of winter with the snow swirling and blowing outside the house. It brings back a little bit of warm summer breezes and fresh cut grass. Enjoy!

The "Other" Part of the Family

Pin It Pets. Such a small word that brings such joy and happiness to our lives. Besides our ducks which I wrote about a few days ago, we have been blessed to have two cats and one dog....one big dog. Bob had Sampson the Rottie before I met him ...and yes he did have a sister Delilah but she died quite young from complications due to a surgery.



When I first met Sammy, I was scared to death! A Rottweiller! I don't think so. He looked so mean and you always hear horror stories but he turned out to be the biggest baby there is.








The BIG, BAD ROTTWEILLER! :)









Sammy is such a sweetie and loves little kids but if you think he is the alpha in the house..... you are dead wrong! This is the alpha....











TIGGER! Tigger is the alpha of the house. He takes Sammy's food, sleeps in Sammy's bed and once in a while will swat him in the nose.



I had the cats before I met Bob and I brought them with me of course. They fit in well in the household and love having all the land to run around in and catch mice.









Tigger watching the ducklings swim.



The last but not least important pet in the family is Teasa. She is the baby and is about 5 years old. I called her Teasa because she looked like a little wet tea bag when she was a baby.







She has the biggest eyes!

Teasa isn't afraid of Sammy either. I believe she thinks that Sammy is her protector and kisses Sammy daily.

Tigger and Teasa often sleep together.

And sit on the front steps keeping watch.

Sammy on the other hand, loves kissing the wildlife in the yard.....

and playing with his stuffed bear.

These three can be a pain to live with but we definitely wouldn't know what to do without them!

LET ME IN SAMMY !!!!