tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25185540804480485462024-03-17T22:03:29.321-05:00Feed Me FarmsWelcome to Feed Me Farms. Tickle the earth and it will laugh a harvest. This is my take on farm life from a worldly perspective. These are real stories and maybe some tall tales about my life and times on the modern frontier. There will be plenty of tips on heirloom gardening, raising farm animals, food history, recipes and just about anything else that might bloom!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-81165996098795163522011-02-28T23:10:00.000-06:002011-02-28T23:10:24.586-06:00Extreme Sadness....Extreme Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpGE0Kcliun_ifDnGxJy-MzEz9i7KZ3BzrPsZCwC0bCO5TFAVBVRPcfCYul1iUF_U8D6aCrNso8j_1dozJQsNwPYsVGAFS_auH6cd1GVMIRvsAEJTK9YLtCABbzCadv4JBnSVFjVXUuiJ/s1600/fall+chicken+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpGE0Kcliun_ifDnGxJy-MzEz9i7KZ3BzrPsZCwC0bCO5TFAVBVRPcfCYul1iUF_U8D6aCrNso8j_1dozJQsNwPYsVGAFS_auH6cd1GVMIRvsAEJTK9YLtCABbzCadv4JBnSVFjVXUuiJ/s320/fall+chicken+029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I have found that living on a farm and ranch amplifies the circle of life and death. At first, it's easy to see the negative aspect of that statement. As I reach deeper to find meaning in what I'm about to write, my emotions get the best of me and tears fall, not just in sorrow, but in happiness too. I have found that those two emotions go hand in hand. You truly cannot feel one, without feeling the other. <br />
<br />
Last Monday was one of the saddest I have experienced here on the farm, another death, and this time it was murder. Two years ago, I brought home a bunch of day old chicks from the local tractor supply store. I picked out two of each kind they had, so I ended up with a hodge podge breeds. I will confess, I was never a chicken lover. I suffered salmonella poisoning not one, not two, but three times due to chicken. So I can honestly say, I had no idea that I would fall head over heels for these little fluffs of feathers.<br />
<br />
One hen, more than any other, stood out from the flock as they grew up happy and healthy running around the barn, pasture and garden. It was not just her striking black and white plumage, or her Polish wig feathers, it was her personality. We fondly named her Cruella Deville, the character from one of my favorite childhood Disney movies due to her crazy looking head dress. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rv0xRLNaR2E5CPruicZ_VkW6pzHuh_6WquLwwK0nAiS-TCv8hGfo6BShSJyEuLkWxrXJTUxGwLABx3SmQwxHIBHj2gR70fbkkdHGlgOxOWjIKzr4U_Ph6cjLDUdtxJlHB40n3SpOLut/s1600/fall+chicken+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rv0xRLNaR2E5CPruicZ_VkW6pzHuh_6WquLwwK0nAiS-TCv8hGfo6BShSJyEuLkWxrXJTUxGwLABx3SmQwxHIBHj2gR70fbkkdHGlgOxOWjIKzr4U_Ph6cjLDUdtxJlHB40n3SpOLut/s320/fall+chicken+027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Cruella thought she was more of a dog than a chicken, I'm sure of it. She would come to us when we called her. She would vocalize happily when she heard or saw us , and would want to be picked up and carried around for a free ride from one place to another. She was the queen of the coop. The roosters were even put in their place by her. She was smart, and for those who have had chickens, you know that "smart" is not always a word that best describes them. She is the first and only chicken, I had ever kissed.<br />
<br />
Our flock only go into a coop at night for their safety, otherwise, they are free to roam during the day. They love their freedom. You can see them from the back porch and the side porch busily going back and forth, one minute out by the barn, the next up by the cows in the front pasture and then ending their day nearby the coop in the organic garden area. It is not idyllic as we have lost a few of them to everyday tragedy, a drowning in a trough, a raid by a neighbors dog, 2 stray cat attacks and the various mysterious attack from time to time. In the very beginning we even lost a few to an attack in the coop, but we had modified it over the years to make it more secure, but alas nothing is forever.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D2truxjrVDNkxcopB50m-1KyKaubOWBXWelQU1J0kVrdKUta6cKlKUtPRizjFXgvw0f_QWvGjZxkS_E0Q9os0NcSxaqRzrkG6UQ72_3NprYgwoZ13RAQIilN4EqfCdcfPW9i7lL_tyXd/s1600/grit+chickens+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D2truxjrVDNkxcopB50m-1KyKaubOWBXWelQU1J0kVrdKUta6cKlKUtPRizjFXgvw0f_QWvGjZxkS_E0Q9os0NcSxaqRzrkG6UQ72_3NprYgwoZ13RAQIilN4EqfCdcfPW9i7lL_tyXd/s320/grit+chickens+033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The murders began last Friday, I came home to find two of my Guineas dead, one near the coop and one in the pasture. We trapped a raccoon in our live trap and thought we had caught the culprit. That night our coop was raided again (we didn't know how) and a few of my hens were killed. Andy worked on the coop the next morning and thought he had found an area of wire mesh where something might have gotten in, he quickly fixed it. We awoke in the middle of the night on Saturday to the sound of our dogs barking...went outside and found another raccoon in the coop. This time Andy watched him run to the back of the coop and pop out the back. He had been gaining entry through the top, where he had managed to undo a wired shut latch. <br />
<br />
After securing the coop one more time, we were sure that all was well. We even delivered several dozen of our eggs to friends in the city that Sunday evening, as they are coveted by our foodie city dwelling friends. But alas, Monday morning turned out to be the saddest day of all. Our mare Star came to us with a newborn foal and a surprise pregnancy from her previous home. Our yearling Skully was born last year in February, so I knew the new foal would be here any day. Every morning I would go out and check on her to see when we would need to place her in the barn by herself for the impending birth. I was thinking about the horses on this very windy morning and had no idea what I was about to encounter.<br />
<br />
As I walked past the coop on the way to the barn, I saw that there was a cat in the live trap. It was a Persian that we had seen roaming around on our property. I suspected she had been dumped by her city family, as countless other domestic house pets get dumped out in the country. It's a sad situation for all involved. Most farmers shoot stray animals that come onto their property. Lucky for this cat, we have enough compassion to know that this was once someones pet. Instead of shooting her, we were taking her to the local feed store. The owner there would give her a new home to help with mice control in the feed warehouse. I was so glad we had caught her, because now I felt like we had possibly solved the flock murders (both inside the coop and out). <strong><em>People should NEVER dump their animals out in the country, their chances of survival are slim and they can cause heartache to others. More free range chickens are killed by dogs and cats than any wild animal.</em></strong><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjp-0MzQdBCIdV_cT1okLK08WoKwFRyCdw2KO28g7rh9PIJAQ7X7H-WhjQxUYSobdIQZUByzGvchyphenhyphenE2BDnhGdpPCY8OJRX7OHEokADIMaXCxmOO3hArkdv3cSE6iM01GzRQ4BXc92wYs5b/s1600/filly+foal+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjp-0MzQdBCIdV_cT1okLK08WoKwFRyCdw2KO28g7rh9PIJAQ7X7H-WhjQxUYSobdIQZUByzGvchyphenhyphenE2BDnhGdpPCY8OJRX7OHEokADIMaXCxmOO3hArkdv3cSE6iM01GzRQ4BXc92wYs5b/s320/filly+foal+092.JPG" width="240" /></a>I took the trap with the cat in it and moved it out of the wind, Andy could transport her later to the feed store. I then opened the coop and my heart hurt. Cruella was in the bottom of the coop, not much was left of her, but I recognized her beautiful feathers. I never thought I could cry so much for a chicken, but to me she was my pet. I loved her so and she was the life of the flock. Oh how guilty I felt, as we had not protected her enough. How could the coop still be unsafe? It's still so hard to talk about that I'm sobbing trying to write about this coherently. Cruella, you will always have a special place in my heart. You changed my mind about chickens and I thank you for that.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>But wait, this entry was about extreme sadness but also extreme happiness. After four days of sadness, a bright spot of happiness emerged on the farm. She came in the form of all legs and long ears. Star had a real surprise for us in the wee hours of Thursday, February 24th. She delivered a beautiful paint filly. My heart once again was filled with love. Love for a newborn, born healthy and full of spirit. Star is a beautiful chestnut paint and so is Skully, her first colt. This newborn completely surprised us as she is a beautiful dark silver and white (possibly turning to black & white), reminding me of another pet that we just laid to rest. The world really does work in mysterious ways.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuWx4Xf5uJyCg8NbHISBbYUH8khjI0sRC8NXvHJCa9tpNfFeV77WOMaICOeUC7JIrkGdIocZkUg9Iyv4WUlrOwy2e1J-Ps7ovh0gBnKcfDiUBt_28ttVF9REr_BlRSJDMzeBGUwGXhEp8/s1600/filly+foal+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuWx4Xf5uJyCg8NbHISBbYUH8khjI0sRC8NXvHJCa9tpNfFeV77WOMaICOeUC7JIrkGdIocZkUg9Iyv4WUlrOwy2e1J-Ps7ovh0gBnKcfDiUBt_28ttVF9REr_BlRSJDMzeBGUwGXhEp8/s320/filly+foal+098.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Welcome Yoshimi <em>translation</em> "Beautiful Reason"<em> in Japanese.</em> We named you for our love of music, an homage to The Flaming Lips for uniting us, for better or for worse. This past week we have experienced both. Extreme sadness, extreme happiness for better or worse and so life and death continues here on the farm.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com154tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-90196070284669465002011-01-31T12:41:00.000-06:002011-01-31T12:41:19.791-06:00Our 2010/2011 Freakout Flaming Lips Wedding! Yes, we are THAT couple! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrbHaMXVCPNT_Dpro1TZFdZS8IGUJdR4ZuUnIJ1VwPLI-PW-r17ZuXOpDF0eoSBV9KBwX4wXRBC4nv6Li6rPVAA3RYcuX8CobEQu-fgwqyFncY-rpDmtaH_75guwSrvK0MoKyNY2mN1E6/s1600/michellecoynephoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrbHaMXVCPNT_Dpro1TZFdZS8IGUJdR4ZuUnIJ1VwPLI-PW-r17ZuXOpDF0eoSBV9KBwX4wXRBC4nv6Li6rPVAA3RYcuX8CobEQu-fgwqyFncY-rpDmtaH_75guwSrvK0MoKyNY2mN1E6/s200/michellecoynephoto.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle Coyne captures our bliss</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Miss me? I've been busy for a few months, but I have a fantastic and unbelievable excuse. The last time I blogged I had a different last name. My cowboy artist and I tied the knot over the New Year's holiday. Yep, we did it....not once, but twice! And we did it in a big way, a big flaming freakout way (thanks to Wayne & Michelle Coyne and The Flaming Lips).</div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7wP0Ivw6s0lHM7K0w5C5923wM9OSfJ64SPqtBB05dm2o16-0WymUAaMUD5fGDxlL8UrBlBTFMsG_wqJFp_3_CJdPWBiFFQulmu936hAjLnxjPfM3k6nj62Xyg3pD72NIhZWkcLoX-MHe/s1600/marchofskulls+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7wP0Ivw6s0lHM7K0w5C5923wM9OSfJ64SPqtBB05dm2o16-0WymUAaMUD5fGDxlL8UrBlBTFMsG_wqJFp_3_CJdPWBiFFQulmu936hAjLnxjPfM3k6nj62Xyg3pD72NIhZWkcLoX-MHe/s200/marchofskulls+018.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">My skull and Michelle's</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Last January after attending the annual New Year's Eve Flaming Lips Freakout in Oklahoma City, I started the year by blogging about Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips <a href="http://www.feedmefarms.com/2010/01/inspired-by-flaming-lips-at-feed-me.html">http://www.feedmefarms.com/2010/01/inspired-by-flaming-lips-at-feed-me.html</a> and how his words inspired me to write my new year resolutions for 2010. I lived my life (as much as I could) by those resolutions and my year was flaming fantastic. The power of positive thinking is contagious when you surround yourself and others with love.<strong><em>** for 2010 resolutions, click on above link**</em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F5kwDtfiZCaNNPFlBuelZArRsLZDPfjLIPS-2R5rxYfttFBEyPZIondnyc3WdHBTh1rMKj3snNE10-A7MUaDuTL_8-GKjiQRCqQ1F3-w3CIahn4-MAq3ZlMCXAo98LGCxRw1QY5d0tqI/s1600/marchofskulls+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F5kwDtfiZCaNNPFlBuelZArRsLZDPfjLIPS-2R5rxYfttFBEyPZIondnyc3WdHBTh1rMKj3snNE10-A7MUaDuTL_8-GKjiQRCqQ1F3-w3CIahn4-MAq3ZlMCXAo98LGCxRw1QY5d0tqI/s200/marchofskulls+022.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne & Andy after plan was hatched</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is not to say that 2010 was a breeze. We experienced a few hardships, a few deaths, the loss of our crops and a very restricted budget. Instead of getting bogged down in what we didn't have, we made due with what we do have, things like : love, laughter, our animals and each other. As I reflect on the past year, it was full of surprises and adventures ~ the biggest adventure, our journey to unholy matrimony!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j4PFOsQpdhrNTzGVPDyCYuXHjoVjKQold_D0efFwZ50hx1bWVZR1SkzIf-rYBTfkGzcOk0L7kD9Yqnmvsvov8uToYMv56Y9_QZ6HxJyZg5YHfrA9_Z7kvI_iOuvORJHYh7lMAA6etafW/s1600/marchofskulls+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j4PFOsQpdhrNTzGVPDyCYuXHjoVjKQold_D0efFwZ50hx1bWVZR1SkzIf-rYBTfkGzcOk0L7kD9Yqnmvsvov8uToYMv56Y9_QZ6HxJyZg5YHfrA9_Z7kvI_iOuvORJHYh7lMAA6etafW/s200/marchofskulls+045.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us as flaming skeletons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">How did we manage to get Wayne Coyne to marry us on stage you ask? Answer: we just asked him. That's the kind of man he is. He is the most positive creature I have ever met and I told Andy that if we ever got married, I wanted Wayne Coyne to perform the ceremony. I didn't expect it to be in front of 10,000 screaming fans and broadcast live around the world on rollingstone.com, but hey, it happened!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our favorite holiday is Halloween and we had promised ourselves that we would participate in Wayne's wild Halloween parade "March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons", so we packed our skull make-up, bought our skeleton costumes and hit the road for the five hour drive to Oklahoma City (a road we know well because of Flaming Lips events).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On the way there, we crafted a note to give to Wayne if we had a chance to talk to him. We tried to make it short and funny. I tucked it safely into my skeleton costume and waited for the perfect chance to hand it to him. That chance never came, as luck would have it, something better happened.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's a good thing that Andy and I are the self proclaimed king and queen of costumes and face make-up. Our outfits caught Michelle Coyne's photographer eyes and as she was snapping our photos for her incredible art book projects, I asked for a favor. I told her our crazy wedding request and asked if she could help us out. She smiled and said, just go over and ask Wayne, I think he might like that idea.</div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2CwfHKI_PEkz3xbB-4qxB4eTsASlrW_y_KgRlLUomWfZPS0W9sEKH9Nqi0NVoFTHwboiGp5eX2Oqbs-BIzfDdWsVRI7BqnNcZ0xn1pJ7J88IeAxfSe_pUUe1qP4dDwyDTZXyr1MfQGQL/s1600/our+flaming+lips+wedding+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2CwfHKI_PEkz3xbB-4qxB4eTsASlrW_y_KgRlLUomWfZPS0W9sEKH9Nqi0NVoFTHwboiGp5eX2Oqbs-BIzfDdWsVRI7BqnNcZ0xn1pJ7J88IeAxfSe_pUUe1qP4dDwyDTZXyr1MfQGQL/s200/our+flaming+lips+wedding+022.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our psychedelic wedding scroll</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, armed with a shot of Michelle's confidence, we approached Wayne while he was hanging out by the prop truck. To our surprise, he said "yes", he liked the idea and "did I text?". Of course I said "yes, Wayne I text". He then asked for a pen and paper, wrote down his private number and said "text me, text me alot" and that was that. I texted him. I texted him "not" alot , but enough to hatch the wedding plan. He texted us from Oklahoma to Asia and back. Every time I received a text, I still could'nt believe that it was really him on the other end. Who does this for a couple of fans? How incredible that this was actually going to happen.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We spent the end of November and the rest of December assembling our unusual wedding attire. We had decided that we needed a festive illuminated look for a proper freakout wedding. I settled on a vintage "Dolly Parton on Acid" concoction and Andy a psychedelic cowboy. We ordered hundreds of LED lights (thank you China) and spent hours attaching them to our clothes.</div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DWK-OXG16WVcUHuaEForWHJVGEzbnHGPMMf5jSKxv5G_DXWAGwNykXYRUC5Pve0QHWeDFMq-oKNhe1S5X2KGjXSAQrveghSl73_Iqw5jc3aZ-rkYkcxDPSPQ1hMaXCc-3d4s-xMUeay6/s1600/our+flaming+lips+wedding+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DWK-OXG16WVcUHuaEForWHJVGEzbnHGPMMf5jSKxv5G_DXWAGwNykXYRUC5Pve0QHWeDFMq-oKNhe1S5X2KGjXSAQrveghSl73_Iqw5jc3aZ-rkYkcxDPSPQ1hMaXCc-3d4s-xMUeay6/s200/our+flaming+lips+wedding+023.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The proclamation</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Andy painted a beautiful wedding scroll combining Flaming Lips colors with our hand prints made into chickens (symbolizing our farm life) alien watermelons and Oddfellows imagery (symbolizing our association and commitment of leading a benevolent existence). I wrote a proclamation partly based on the Flaming Lips song "Do You Realize" and partly based on the coroner's scene from one of my favorite childhood movies "The Wizard of Oz". <br />
<br />
We drove up the day before the show and got settled in to the beautiful, historic Skirvin Hotel. Wayne asked us to let him know when we got there. He asked if we could do a sound rehearsal with the band and go over the final details. After getting over the excitement of being invited to the rehearsal, we made our way to the back staging area of the Cox center a block from our hotel. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2SdZVDG3oH_IxUJAtVTOuKokTzxsmhCfk3AefaZLCkEf2LxAdxZCmvI_dHf2IToBRdScdfKDtJBvclhauDWiYhDI8zC0cq_Tn9HAN5-bTmwAq1aYJMORMf5-5-JWcHyh__ll1qPaAkjJ/s1600/dressreheasal+with+lips+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2SdZVDG3oH_IxUJAtVTOuKokTzxsmhCfk3AefaZLCkEf2LxAdxZCmvI_dHf2IToBRdScdfKDtJBvclhauDWiYhDI8zC0cq_Tn9HAN5-bTmwAq1aYJMORMf5-5-JWcHyh__ll1qPaAkjJ/s200/dressreheasal+with+lips+014.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne loves the scroll at rehearsal</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFziD-wOa8uRkpXtbAyUa6WBQxPc0tJsFap57HtH1neRlpDhckFCzeZNsdQULdYUdRzngdxzlN34ZEWJud96PzjZqsxFZj2J5DEhKtl1Gc5xjy2iGwSCq0wzWMSKjMm4jLCPVkxyEGZ_eH/s1600/dressreheasal+with+lips+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFziD-wOa8uRkpXtbAyUa6WBQxPc0tJsFap57HtH1neRlpDhckFCzeZNsdQULdYUdRzngdxzlN34ZEWJud96PzjZqsxFZj2J5DEhKtl1Gc5xjy2iGwSCq0wzWMSKjMm4jLCPVkxyEGZ_eH/s200/dressreheasal+with+lips+036.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne jokes about f&%king up</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Wayne greeted us warmly and we unveiled the wedding scroll. We spent the next few minutes pondering Wayne's worries about the nasty commercial chicken farm industry.Wayne re-counted the story of being behind a giant live chicken hauling truck with freezing chickens all huddled up. He was happy to learn that our chickens were free thinkers and free range roamers (btw-I loved this conversation). After we discussed farming and giant disco ball fabrication (trust me, it went with the chicken story), we got down to business. Our initial intention was to get married after midnight on 1*1*11 but Wayne thought the wedding would set the mood of the evening and decided to do it three songs in as a segue to "She Don't Use Jelly" (one of my favorite songs). </div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfRmRaVdR12-KrcA2K9lKppjnYKXDyE_QmY3plLtTbM4QRYETq9BAWc0DtW4F7vOMHukzQy-qNGXSo0qtPFJzuTU4iF-i8luW0Fv_qPWGvgkM3PsaJgFu8rzF4eZ6_b_1_MQu8L8Is0XI/s1600/dressreheasal+with+lips+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfRmRaVdR12-KrcA2K9lKppjnYKXDyE_QmY3plLtTbM4QRYETq9BAWc0DtW4F7vOMHukzQy-qNGXSo0qtPFJzuTU4iF-i8luW0Fv_qPWGvgkM3PsaJgFu8rzF4eZ6_b_1_MQu8L8Is0XI/s200/dressreheasal+with+lips+021.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Bear practices being our escort</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Wayne also had a few surprises up his sleeve, like adding a bear to the festivities. Yes, that's right, you heard me...Mr. Bear would be our escort down the aisle ~ a perfect whimsical touch, that only someone like Wayne, would think of! And a confetti gun and chords of their haunting "Firebird Suite" as an impromptu wedding march. Magical! We practiced several times and felt like we all had it down.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUrpuh3FULuAJ_nwpFx1aibT2rRfPXTYcrrg12Sm0jj8AvkRUlCUDThDavdRc9Z0o_KLB5U1kfhRGIEdhP0c8Bxr2uFAievYrJ3B8El_B4bxz356QhSB60d77lqv_3PUKUnjjb1L2QIBcx/s1600/dressreheasal+with+lips+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUrpuh3FULuAJ_nwpFx1aibT2rRfPXTYcrrg12Sm0jj8AvkRUlCUDThDavdRc9Z0o_KLB5U1kfhRGIEdhP0c8Bxr2uFAievYrJ3B8El_B4bxz356QhSB60d77lqv_3PUKUnjjb1L2QIBcx/s200/dressreheasal+with+lips+009.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The harp arrives on stage</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">That night we participated in all the pre-show preparations and we got to see the immense amount of work that goes into a Flaming Lips performance. We even had cake and sang happy birthday to the sound man's daughter ,who happens to be the Coyne's God daughter and had been born during last New Year's Eve Freakout. Everyone from volunteers blowing up giant balloons with leaf blowers to the roadies were in constant motion, Wayne the grand master puppeteer orchestrating even the minor details.We had a magical moment with the band when the harp was delivered on stage. They all loved it, but Wayne seemed to love it most of all. I snapped my favorite photo of the evening when he sat down to tickle the strings. He was most proud of the bright yellow molded plexi-glass made by a local OKC artist.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcphgrgBMUrwkwcSi-O6Jce8KI-8skykhIZQOdfEOrZQPJXmsU3_p2e9h-4SXw6BTeSBxgAA-GjbzKg4hvVsgJNv7Y7Li1-6jYZRjg1F62zt-0NvyVPIs-IsHn9_xAXb7USkgIUcKc9GL/s1600/dressreheasal+with+lips+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcphgrgBMUrwkwcSi-O6Jce8KI-8skykhIZQOdfEOrZQPJXmsU3_p2e9h-4SXw6BTeSBxgAA-GjbzKg4hvVsgJNv7Y7Li1-6jYZRjg1F62zt-0NvyVPIs-IsHn9_xAXb7USkgIUcKc9GL/s200/dressreheasal+with+lips+046.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite pic of Wayne</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the rehearsal, Andy and I ducked out and grabbed a drink at a tiny local pub in Bricktown. We walked hand in hand marveling at the details of our impending nuptials. On foot, on the way back to the hotel, the skies opened up and a hard downpour of rain and sleet began to fall. We actually took this as a good omen, this same exact thing happened on our first real date three years earlier. We barely slept that night with anticipation.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We went out for lunch the next day and the waitress told us she read about our wedding plans in the paper, turns out a newspaper woman we had befriended during the March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons had put a blurb in the Oklahoma Gazette <a href="http://npaper-wehaa.com/oklahoma-gazette/2010/12/29/?article=1124899">http://npaper-wehaa.com/oklahoma-gazette/2010/12/29/?article=1124899</a> in the Chicken-Fried-News section.</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Wayne is a perfectionist and delivers the maximum amount of entertainment to his fans, it wasn't a surprise to receive a phone call at 3:00 PM on the day of the show to run over and practice the ceremony one more time. We ran through the proclamation and Wayne joked about messing up on something silly, like a name (a self fulfilling prophecy). Here is the rehearsal footage where he gets it right <a href="http://www.facebook.com/posted.php#!/video/video.php?v=488731807851&comments">http://www.facebook.com/posted.php#!/video/video.php?v=488731807851&comments</a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmFY3YJwAW_fKE8qguQp9aYORQ_nO5WPXCjzuF3wUCus8AhpLMvOPFcdnyDdpBT1kTrvlymESxarjR3nCoTPcyMludqLX9xIJbyj15IScrcsXGBGPRi3H7_gXyan0p5fQdZ3epkhjsTj5/s1600/wedding+fox+news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmFY3YJwAW_fKE8qguQp9aYORQ_nO5WPXCjzuF3wUCus8AhpLMvOPFcdnyDdpBT1kTrvlymESxarjR3nCoTPcyMludqLX9xIJbyj15IScrcsXGBGPRi3H7_gXyan0p5fQdZ3epkhjsTj5/s200/wedding+fox+news.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FOX news interview</td></tr>
</tbody></table> All of our friends arrived the next day, and many of them decided to dress up in costume and wear illuminated outfits. We were greeted in the lobby of the hotel by FOX news reporters who had followed one of friends dressed as the silver God Mercury. Next thing you know,we were the lead story on the evening news. This was only the beginning of our incredible night.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqZNZgAPA9s29BEDcfOyy6QoYomMQujCXfMNObp_6SY13i-jZfsIHrlptVHa7hxkmyf86ZpmtgS7vZZ0GvTIx-sG8orZa8aFdw80uTvu2HuZzNxuZgPWPGaQ1zN9r4UOIQOpHcuuCKCod/s1600/our+flaming+lips+wedding+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqZNZgAPA9s29BEDcfOyy6QoYomMQujCXfMNObp_6SY13i-jZfsIHrlptVHa7hxkmyf86ZpmtgS7vZZ0GvTIx-sG8orZa8aFdw80uTvu2HuZzNxuZgPWPGaQ1zN9r4UOIQOpHcuuCKCod/s200/our+flaming+lips+wedding+030.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the wedding party</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFPPiHuEMsriwUrQ7VrNmLg9OA0yXL6fFrjulhGzx2R80osQqXPmzsjJkUfuRUrDIOHW8QyXZjvkU-vGIXzB9iu0qP2FqR_t5z4TTGm3-HNb195L0jo12yeDkYgvixz9q70FTruhc75-i/s1600/our+flaming+lips+wedding+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFPPiHuEMsriwUrQ7VrNmLg9OA0yXL6fFrjulhGzx2R80osQqXPmzsjJkUfuRUrDIOHW8QyXZjvkU-vGIXzB9iu0qP2FqR_t5z4TTGm3-HNb195L0jo12yeDkYgvixz9q70FTruhc75-i/s200/our+flaming+lips+wedding+012.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we are glowing</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The concert began and there was no turning back (not that we wanted to), but the night took on a dream like quality as we were treated like VIPs backstage. There are no words to describe the feeling I had when Mr. Bear came to get us and escorted us on stage. Wayne greeted us with a huge smile and for the moment, it felt like only us and him in the stadium. It was a touching and enchanting moment. We even had to laugh when Wayne fulfilled his own prophecy and called me "Sarah" instead of "Sandra"....oh well, I joked afterward with Andy..you married the "wrong" woman. Later backstage, Wayne hugged us tight and congratulated us just after midnight. You can watch one of many videos that was taken by the crowd <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXX9-G77yxk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXX9-G77yxk</a> (close-up). Here is the entire ceremony captured by our friend Jason in the audience <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cam62NFYiKw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cam62NFYiKw</a> . There were hundreds of videos being shot all at once, including the livestream on rollingstone.com worldwide. Not many people can say they had thousands of balloons and hundreds of pounds of confetti at their wedding reception. We also had the BEST WEDDING BAND ever!</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUvM7U8k0KuqkvWERefyHGK-9nVlrBHs-w8L-I24PnnzM7wHJVaEddHT_B9-3pZpY5LCvct_TTQlZlcq7ofgLSzv1_yJXPfe0lJ3Wg75K0xS_DGBG6o3e4ILCfg156LH9pWBLD1S_B3jq/s1600/wedding+audience.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUvM7U8k0KuqkvWERefyHGK-9nVlrBHs-w8L-I24PnnzM7wHJVaEddHT_B9-3pZpY5LCvct_TTQlZlcq7ofgLSzv1_yJXPfe0lJ3Wg75K0xS_DGBG6o3e4ILCfg156LH9pWBLD1S_B3jq/s200/wedding+audience.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our reception</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlMKpXNmNe3JL503wt8hJYmvaYtgRB3BWvG8WODu7JAKtNVZWgVH8ty1IjH3_j8TJXIQTb35OqVF9Fz4So7yi0-v1RSuInVY_Gql0S_TvK6KmbqYjeLyKbCSLh6Qlf6B2F_okPCq3iQgR/s1600/wedding+pic.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlMKpXNmNe3JL503wt8hJYmvaYtgRB3BWvG8WODu7JAKtNVZWgVH8ty1IjH3_j8TJXIQTb35OqVF9Fz4So7yi0-v1RSuInVY_Gql0S_TvK6KmbqYjeLyKbCSLh6Qlf6B2F_okPCq3iQgR/s200/wedding+pic.bmp" width="101" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the moment</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We finally joined our dear friends in the audience, who had made the long drive to share in our moment. We got to watch the second portion of the show, the amazing "Soft Bulletin" album set surrounded by friends and well wishers. Every few minutes, fans would come up to congratulate us and ask for a picture. We became instant celebrities for a brief period, even after the concert was over, it took forever to get back to the hotel because of the happy concert goers who wanted to stop and wish us happy new year and happy wedding. Here is an incredible time elapsed video that was mounted at the top of the Cox Center that captures the entire concert process from set up, rehearsal, actual show and breakdown in two minutes (it's amazing) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYdUsN8xR00">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYdUsN8xR00</a>.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHZNRfTWt7_DNEHbU81kSu4oRsEd664R2HAinKUW5zGcfRx1Il-NfbpAT2zJHSa5lWrGsdHZaZt3Sv0GguXK-cNOT1cOyOj5R8iRwmd3p1jfm7eC6_lFzsFe0IoZ-QU1eKO0HjIDNdt8R/s1600/the+wedding+walk.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHZNRfTWt7_DNEHbU81kSu4oRsEd664R2HAinKUW5zGcfRx1Il-NfbpAT2zJHSa5lWrGsdHZaZt3Sv0GguXK-cNOT1cOyOj5R8iRwmd3p1jfm7eC6_lFzsFe0IoZ-QU1eKO0HjIDNdt8R/s200/the+wedding+walk.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the wedding walk</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We spent 1*1*11 at a Chinese restaurant with old and new friends (lucky new year tradition) and signed our official wedding document with Jason Cohen, dear friend and universal life ordained minister. It may have gotten a little soy sauce on it, but that just makes it even more special. Our wedding, in our eyes, was perfection. This is an open thank you to all who made it possible (all 10,000 of you).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGjuSWTRCCF_TOOimhM3tVijHHaMikUr3cFd0KIuZR2CkmaCYgoG0B9bCje_Ry1Tgbykm3vFBi289cu0ajTkva7zchnat5EKfG5RJMyDVwvABOheArFxgWm_0cBMOiVS-SaixKG_as13F/s1600/wedding+real+deal.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGjuSWTRCCF_TOOimhM3tVijHHaMikUr3cFd0KIuZR2CkmaCYgoG0B9bCje_Ry1Tgbykm3vFBi289cu0ajTkva7zchnat5EKfG5RJMyDVwvABOheArFxgWm_0cBMOiVS-SaixKG_as13F/s200/wedding+real+deal.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rev. Jason making us legit</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Happy 2011! Wishing everyone love, happiness and many Flaming Lips moments!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">xoxox,</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Mrs. S.B. Emmons</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com86tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-3487245087460589942010-11-06T18:42:00.000-05:002010-11-06T18:42:13.819-05:00Life, Death and a Little of Everything in Between!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqGb4IGo-6WoTN_ZaRn1HrdjRoKQHAIDMG8q-KuWmSe5PGlusZWI4A5XWffU4bbt3PQ_Y0vZ_DIMTQkBe91PkoiC3dpERHtOaU0gzpG8bEAv90VUzcKaU1mGDlJ8Xw5PPZDPUqWXkQ-1y/s1600/charles+many+faces+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqGb4IGo-6WoTN_ZaRn1HrdjRoKQHAIDMG8q-KuWmSe5PGlusZWI4A5XWffU4bbt3PQ_Y0vZ_DIMTQkBe91PkoiC3dpERHtOaU0gzpG8bEAv90VUzcKaU1mGDlJ8Xw5PPZDPUqWXkQ-1y/s320/charles+many+faces+035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I have not posted since the end of August...really? I'm shocked at how time flies when you are living life, and unlike most people, dreading Fridays. The last few months of Fridays have proven to be very unlucky, even though not one of them was on the 13th. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first Friday in question began as a very joyous occasion. Our Sicilian donkey had given birth to a beautiful, although tiny baby Jack. I came home from the museum and found him in the pasture. I knew he was a few hours old because he was dry and perfectly clean. Dusty (the momma) was nearby but was not acting as maternal as she had with Pearl (her Jenny that she had the previous year).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I ran back to the house and got my cowboy to come and take a look. There seemed to be something wrong with this beautiful little bundle of fur. He had extra soft hoofs, a problem with his tiny jaw and he could not stand on his own. We debated what to do, in the end, we scooped him up and took him to the barn, Dusty in tow. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioizACc12bKfO_ofnOiqwmOIScOBWpyFX1hgBe5YMAJcfmhwRyTcTP315Z6hTUIgFdoI93OAZwclBhNyI6yDZozphRib4J9h5ggdBOBw2EGirQuKEiPNLh4CwjO-gw77dH0zBEvMhQCzke/s1600/charles+many+faces+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioizACc12bKfO_ofnOiqwmOIScOBWpyFX1hgBe5YMAJcfmhwRyTcTP315Z6hTUIgFdoI93OAZwclBhNyI6yDZozphRib4J9h5ggdBOBw2EGirQuKEiPNLh4CwjO-gw77dH0zBEvMhQCzke/s320/charles+many+faces+033.JPG" width="320" /></a>We made him a fresh bed of hay and placed him in the middle. I decided to grab a chair and sit on the other side of the gate and observe momma and baby for awhile. The scenario that I envisioned never played out. The baby never stood up, never attempted to nurse and I knew in my heart that it did not look good. I knew after a few hours that this little boy needed colostrum or else he would die, he also needed a vet but it was 11:00 PM on a Friday night.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We worked throughout the night giving him powdered colostrum with a special bottle (he just would not suckle) and some electrolyte gel. Thank goodness we have a vet 30 miles away who has office visits on Saturday. Dr. Bennett did what he could, taught us how to intubate and feed him goat's milk (second best thing when equine milk is not available) but said he felt like chances were slim. Upon examination he noticed that the baby's mouth was very swollen and felt like he had been injured during delivery (fallen on his head).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0cBiR5p1oekEhfLbJfMV_IkY0pJFjv2r9voEl_wgGYBTv_WJqhNp_EecqsvJj2Ltut9kfg9V78NHItY9Lhmxozw7kOdgUeAGWJo3C994Y3GbghrH9PiQ2YttwPxg2O7kJvpZKoe9frLd/s1600/rooster+crowing+in+pasture+II.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0cBiR5p1oekEhfLbJfMV_IkY0pJFjv2r9voEl_wgGYBTv_WJqhNp_EecqsvJj2Ltut9kfg9V78NHItY9Lhmxozw7kOdgUeAGWJo3C994Y3GbghrH9PiQ2YttwPxg2O7kJvpZKoe9frLd/s320/rooster+crowing+in+pasture+II.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Dr. Bennett was right, our little donkey left this earth behind 24 hours after his arrival. Even though he was with us for such a short period of time, it was very hard to say goodbye. To make matters worse, our little Banty Polish rooster, Bad Ass (named for his personality) met a mysterious death inside the open coop in the middle of the day. My tears flowed freely for both, one innocent and one "bad ass" both gone in a blink of an eye.<br />
<br />
At sundown, we buried the donkey near my beloved dog P.I.B with all of our donkeys in attendance. We fed all the donkey relatives some treats and included a few in his little resting spot. Goodbye boys, may you both have sunsets in other skies.<br />
<br />
The next Friday arrives without a thought. Again, I arrived home from the museum and my ritual is to whistle for all the animals. On a normal evening, they all come running for treats. Our horses are usually in the corral yard and the bottle fed cows in the pasture next to the barn. On this day they were all intermingled (a gate had blown open a while earlier).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7t0HgApT96kRN5gaDzzcggA5PcniioICMhyUigTbGamfBQsuFRASwbBwkWbU7cn0kOjuT7RLJb6cese_7EFz8jG4pu6nMdykkYZ3ShJzRe2I3x8EfMDej0ZDYpwUPz2zd9kwJ1Tu9ybk/s1600/skully+and+hoop+house+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7t0HgApT96kRN5gaDzzcggA5PcniioICMhyUigTbGamfBQsuFRASwbBwkWbU7cn0kOjuT7RLJb6cese_7EFz8jG4pu6nMdykkYZ3ShJzRe2I3x8EfMDej0ZDYpwUPz2zd9kwJ1Tu9ybk/s320/skully+and+hoop+house+006.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is after the 2nd day</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I noticed immediately that Skully, our 6 month old colt was standing out in the pasture with an odd stance. At first, I chalked it up to him being in an unfamiliar pasture but as I observed a few minutes, I just knew something was really wrong. I thought he might have his hoof caught in a hole or maybe a snake had bitten him. We decided to investigate. What we found was horrific.<br />
<br />
You have to remember, I'm a city girl and farm and ranch emergencies can sometimes involve mass amounts of blood. This one was no exception. My beautiful handsome colt was in shock and precariously close to passing out, I have to say, so was I. Skully's left upper leg and shoulder were ripped apart. I really thought he had been attacked by a bobcat but later, we learned he had been gored by our miniature bull.<br />
<br />
Again, a Friday night, again, no vet. This is when experienced neighbors come in real handy and this night was no exception. Tonya Anderson, a high school friend of my cowboy lives a few miles away and she is an experienced horse after care specialist. She rushed over with her son and took charge of the situation.<br />
<br />
She was able to lead Skully to the barn, his injured leg dragging but functional. Skully had never been harnessed, so this was a hurdle for all of us. Tonya instructed us to begin hydrotherapy <a href="http://www.equinenaturaltherapy.com/equine_hydrotherapy.htm">http://www.equinenaturaltherapy.com/equine_hydrotherapy.htm</a> as soon as possible. She also wanted to apply a product called Pink Lady <a href="http://www.shanestack.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-25778">http://www.shanestack.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-25778</a>, a wound dressing that would help stop the bleeding and help to heal the injury.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb587Y1xKxg8hNM8AZG8lcO4_WWzmxhSd2rPDg0dQaJmu0KeetKI41kyDNsm2wfwn_16Ny7pTEm3kyjamUYq1ydHtmt43Xsv211nnA2CQi-SlrqTtik4XBKWHGKqnCSvZ5oZujLtQVIjK/s1600/skully2+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb587Y1xKxg8hNM8AZG8lcO4_WWzmxhSd2rPDg0dQaJmu0KeetKI41kyDNsm2wfwn_16Ny7pTEm3kyjamUYq1ydHtmt43Xsv211nnA2CQi-SlrqTtik4XBKWHGKqnCSvZ5oZujLtQVIjK/s320/skully2+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wound after 2 months</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I believe Tonya saved Skully's life that Friday night with those two very important instructions. Again, thank goodness for Dr. Bennett and his Saturday morning appointments. Even though we could not take Skully into him because of the gravity of his injury (it would have been impossible to load him on a trailer), he was able to treat him through technology. I took pictures of the wound and rushed over to his office. He gave me a tetanus/penicillin injection to administer and some puffer antibiotics along with wound spray to keep insects away. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUP_IIDPAcoaSBLM-9eG2MGL1DqNxsiMzqintFk2bpi0RbljeEusau0F01YJXDI5kqfWSGFjsg2CO4hlCzQrITRBosai0rArPbPvRRzj7nyTcMh6s9IwKPM9sA7xHXUP9-8BB74NH3k3S/s1600/skully2+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUP_IIDPAcoaSBLM-9eG2MGL1DqNxsiMzqintFk2bpi0RbljeEusau0F01YJXDI5kqfWSGFjsg2CO4hlCzQrITRBosai0rArPbPvRRzj7nyTcMh6s9IwKPM9sA7xHXUP9-8BB74NH3k3S/s320/skully2+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We also had another vet who does barn calls come out to look at Skully as soon as he could (which turned out to be two days later). He added edible antibiotic powder to his feed for 10 days and painkiller paste. He said that Skully was one very lucky horse, if he had been gored one inch over towards his artery, he would have bled to death. As it was, Dr. Bonner was very worried about permanent nerve damage. The swelling was so bad in the beginning that it was affecting Skully's ability to walk and all he could do was drag his foot. As soon as the swelling went down (about two weeks, he was walking and cantering without even a minor limp).<br />
<br />
So, for the last two months we have been caring for our horse's wound twice daily with the following regime:<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1) Administer a tetanus/penicillin shot as soon as you can. Secure the horse to a post near a high pressured water hose. Give the horse a bucket of tasty oats to distract him, add antibiotic powder and painkiller paste if vet recommended. Begin spraying the wound on low and gradually increase the pressure to as much as the horse will tolerate. The goal is to make the wound bleed profusely. This actually helps regenerate the tissue. It's important to hydrotherapy for at least 12 to 15 minutes per session twice a day for the first month. Eventually, it will be harder and harder to make the wound bleed.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2) Apply Pink Lady for the first couple of days after each hydrotherapy session. Once the bottle of Pink Lady has ended begin applying the puffer antibiotics (just squeeze the fine powder all over the wound). Use the wound spray lightly, it is primarily to keep insects from contaminating the open wound.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3) The wound will begin to fill in, although this process can take a lot of time so be very patient. Watch for fever (around the wound or checking the horses ears), infection is the worst thing that can happen. It's normal for some discharge but if the wound looks infected, contact a vet as soon as possible.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We are so thankful for his full recovery!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmpsat_ARMfZUWS45sola_KGrgiiqLe1iOrxy8xI-RJxdohdYFX4O7ngoS09djMbHE9rHDB86EIe2_I4x4dvxjf8FthNCcCgJQmPp8J47rKkwiOXAi4jRsxw9SeqVqj3C6NyKKHWQf1Uz/s1600/horses+and+dogs+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmpsat_ARMfZUWS45sola_KGrgiiqLe1iOrxy8xI-RJxdohdYFX4O7ngoS09djMbHE9rHDB86EIe2_I4x4dvxjf8FthNCcCgJQmPp8J47rKkwiOXAi4jRsxw9SeqVqj3C6NyKKHWQf1Uz/s200/horses+and+dogs+003.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So that brings us to the final unlucky Friday. No deaths, no injuries, not even a cut or scrape. Nope, this time it was a skunking...yep, a real skunking by a REAL skunk. Let's just say it involved two dogs and one very potent skunk. Bleu and Walter have hopefully learned their lesson, two hydrogen peroxide and baking soda baths later....the white dog is more white and the black dog is....well...a bit more GRAY...and our living room furniture....is going to have to be burned!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ESExxn_VKsyJQNuk4nLf8qdFHJO8lbQqqTLGSy-uWXMkW5l4PqUe6X_pyeO_MfIA2him6yBgj58MnYgLBNlFKWQlonj0FYBmwNR66SgW4oUUDoL3f8KZ4UTnzc2-5md6vRRJcR0qwyNY/s1600/horses+and+dogs+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ESExxn_VKsyJQNuk4nLf8qdFHJO8lbQqqTLGSy-uWXMkW5l4PqUe6X_pyeO_MfIA2him6yBgj58MnYgLBNlFKWQlonj0FYBmwNR66SgW4oUUDoL3f8KZ4UTnzc2-5md6vRRJcR0qwyNY/s200/horses+and+dogs+005.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-78383131602884875522010-08-26T12:47:00.001-05:002010-08-26T13:09:25.227-05:00Blogs of Note, Who Knew?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyjwJMX5uBxjR3W6rDTOpNETjP-StDwrZoaL0vsiw2rPqnWPP5nDIeT10D35Tz9aYcpFLjGkPty44pnRGOpWQjwr6IhtkykgU_mxx1PbX9pmj0ILsLVGAzem1sGv8cqYK_wf1dCcmTjnt/s1600/blogs+of+note+google+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyjwJMX5uBxjR3W6rDTOpNETjP-StDwrZoaL0vsiw2rPqnWPP5nDIeT10D35Tz9aYcpFLjGkPty44pnRGOpWQjwr6IhtkykgU_mxx1PbX9pmj0ILsLVGAzem1sGv8cqYK_wf1dCcmTjnt/s320/blogs+of+note+google+007.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(could not do a screen capture so I tried to take a picture)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Well, I sure didn't. It took a day or two to find out that my blog had been chosen by the Google Blogger staff as a "Blogs of Note". There is no warning or congratulatory message, you just wake up one day and notice that hundreds of readers have logged into your corner of the world. I had messages from readers all over the world, its quite an exhilarating feeling, that is until the spammers find you. I could really do without the spambots, robots, spiders, spamcrawlers,spamnests etc..<br />
<br />
But, I realized you must take the bad with the good. I'm so happy to have so many new readers. I hope I can live up to the expectations that I somehow feel that Google has placed in my non-manicured, short, little hands. The good really does out way the bad in this case!<br />
<br />
Speaking of hands, I'm sure that many of you have no real idea of who I am, or what really makes me tick. Take a peak through the key hole for just a moment, I will give you the penny tour of my life and times and how I got here, writing this entry. Sometimes, I wonder myself!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCpBEyYkesNR7vM5alfu8JPt1Em0UuVFCPLO96yAy-2yPpLk6deTJCofvX_IPkY7y9fa1eYNpgvhqVd1lN8CNbUyj98sMS5ZFNgU0snHpZasb2gORJbnORP6SNrUHTUXB1x9yOXc4GKJg/s1600/dogs+and+flowers+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCpBEyYkesNR7vM5alfu8JPt1Em0UuVFCPLO96yAy-2yPpLk6deTJCofvX_IPkY7y9fa1eYNpgvhqVd1lN8CNbUyj98sMS5ZFNgU0snHpZasb2gORJbnORP6SNrUHTUXB1x9yOXc4GKJg/s320/dogs+and+flowers+006.JPG" /></a></div>I am American by birth , a Texan by choice, but really grew up in South America, my motto when I was younger was "my body is American, but my heart is Brazilian". I actually lived in 4 countries by the time I was 8 , I lived in Brazil the longest and all of my schooling was there. I was more Brazilian than American for a good portion of my life but alas, I returned to the U.S. as a young adult in my late teens and have been here ever since. I went from a life of priviledge to the real world.<br />
<br />
I spent many years discovering who I am and found out that in reality, I still don't know! I did find out that I am a strong, opinionated woman who is adaptable to almost any environment. Life is ever evolving and that in order to survive and thrive, I have learned that I must evolve with it. One year I was a translator, another I was working for a radio station, a few years later I was in the mutual fund business and moonlighting in the photography and modeling business. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Throughout all those years, I was always known for my cooking and dinner parties. September 11th, 2001 changed my life forever. I was living in the largest city in Texas, working in the mutual fund industry and unhappy with the corporate world. I knew there had to be something else than the endless rat wheel of traffic, office, traffic, home, traffic...etc...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, I cashed in my 401K, got married and moved to a little, tiny town and opened a restaurant. It was the hardest thing I ever did but also the most rewarding, I was praised in magazines and periodicals for my cooking and for the vision of keeping a dream alive. An opportunity came along to move the restaurant to a bigger small town with a University campus. So, not once, but twice I went through the unbelievable experience of starting something incredible from scratch.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Fast forward a few years later...the marriage had crumbled (owning a restaurant will do that), the economy was faltering, food prices were skyrocketing and rents were rising. My life as I knew it, was about to come to an end.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As a phoenix rises from the ashes, so does a stubborn woman! A new relationship developed with an old friend (if only we had realized how great we were together back in the day, it would have saved us years of romantic heartache), but yet again, looking on the bright side - we now appreciate each other and know what true love can be. It is truly amazing to find a real partner in life. That more than anything, is the secret to real love. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIt6CmgbPqj0qy8jlfJT3M8IJAfYDddtP1ztfonnixyF3EwYkjjRdM47XU5gTfEz65YHmzTNfZpZn7JQBP7-qfkDvf8WjYsZELaDNHegibVrrVz6vCv0dsyR9Mjm51JpSdW9sBWPE0zMe/s1600/canton+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIt6CmgbPqj0qy8jlfJT3M8IJAfYDddtP1ztfonnixyF3EwYkjjRdM47XU5gTfEz65YHmzTNfZpZn7JQBP7-qfkDvf8WjYsZELaDNHegibVrrVz6vCv0dsyR9Mjm51JpSdW9sBWPE0zMe/s320/canton+001.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Fast forward a few more years, a few more grey hairs and a few fine lines around the eyes. I now live on my cowboy's family farm, mostly happy, healthy and evolving as usual. Instead of receiving food deliveries, we now produce it and it goes directly from farm to table. Instead of dealing with traffic, I deal with wild hogs and deer crossing the road. Instead of pouring over recipes, I am pouring over seed catalogs and wildlife course manuals. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I have not transitioned completely to country life, I work in town as the county curator for the history museum, we have taken up ghost hunting as a hobby (the museum happens to be haunted) and I still cook elaborate meals, even if it is just for two. In the coming months we are attempting to get a few new ventures off the ground, leading us closer and closer to a sustainable life style. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Y4yGRQhZkx_w4vHK5w6jLebVRmSjwWZpUOK7RVcQx6b_kpMb5fn3SfqOlnCVEuHB4RCAPvpfd1QrsBqbESj1fCyzsSxKKo41hro7yJw4yi1WLY8X3NY8F4Oxb3Yl5MST7fXuRcZMrnZC/s1600/wino+sunset+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Y4yGRQhZkx_w4vHK5w6jLebVRmSjwWZpUOK7RVcQx6b_kpMb5fn3SfqOlnCVEuHB4RCAPvpfd1QrsBqbESj1fCyzsSxKKo41hro7yJw4yi1WLY8X3NY8F4Oxb3Yl5MST7fXuRcZMrnZC/s320/wino+sunset+015.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is a bit of what really makes me tick: I love Halloween, I am not so much about Christmas, I love true and unique individuals, I hate conformity, I love different cultures, I hate bigots, I love New Orleans, Rio, and New York but I love small towns and the rural life too, I hate urban sprawl and ugly strip shopping centers, I love history, I hate wrecking balls, I love wine, I hate light beer, I love real butter, I hate margerine, I love maple syrup, I hate artificial sweetener, I love Indian food, I hate fast food, I love art, I hate sports, I love television (I think I am smarter for watching it), I hate video games, I love speaking my mind, I hate having to hold my tongue (which happens too often). I love sunsets and the in between hour.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I'm not rich in cash terms and probably never will be. I have mastered the mystery of money does not equate happiness. You must learn to bloom where you're planted, or else you will wither on the vine.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Please forgive me if I don't blog regularly. You will find that I only blog when I really have something to say. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I really would like to thank Google and Blogger for choosing my blog, to all my old friends for reading this, and to all my new readers for following along on the next adventure.....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Wow, Blogs of Note, who knew?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Stay tuned!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com349tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-45702717048902537522010-07-31T14:27:00.000-05:002010-07-31T14:27:46.294-05:00Shutterbug: Cosmic Hitchhiker & Kali<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EAVp65n3qthcog4NsK5Va3oq68TFS8JUAGOUs16Can067u5SVQ1J7e9tSAOB6lSdail7Rh46I_NQJj0IVBx4coUDRhDRRhipQfZXfC1y8zJHRcECPktUGLlIer-LS0oAqj-NC3Q40egz/s1600/procsunset+and+blacklight+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EAVp65n3qthcog4NsK5Va3oq68TFS8JUAGOUs16Can067u5SVQ1J7e9tSAOB6lSdail7Rh46I_NQJj0IVBx4coUDRhDRRhipQfZXfC1y8zJHRcECPktUGLlIer-LS0oAqj-NC3Q40egz/s320/procsunset+and+blacklight+004.JPG" /></a></div>Sunset on the farm, a beautiful ending to a long, hot July. This is one of Andy's small sculptures. Our alien greeter is one of the many things that makes Feed Me Farms unique. Andy is adept at taking old discardable junk and breathing new life into it. One day, we hope to open our place to other visionary artists and visionary art enthusiasts. I wish this Kali gate was going to stay on the farm (because the cows really seem to like it), but its a commissioned piece destined for an old Victorian home in town, (The Dentage) right on the main road, at least we will get to see it everyday!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-nnEIfQn1l53VE8JS8D2xoFxKp4Bbwj273dRwcntrBMHOtnXrY9GmwcsMSrFU5gR_-C-CXtttLHy1JAziTIbe2ai6DCYW_NTEfDeqnWwTE7BtJ7jLOjfhvbQ1Qhyphenhyphenrsg-LtgSDVTYYxnd/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-nnEIfQn1l53VE8JS8D2xoFxKp4Bbwj273dRwcntrBMHOtnXrY9GmwcsMSrFU5gR_-C-CXtttLHy1JAziTIbe2ai6DCYW_NTEfDeqnWwTE7BtJ7jLOjfhvbQ1Qhyphenhyphenrsg-LtgSDVTYYxnd/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+054.JPG" /></a></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-43297890659046076462010-07-26T18:18:00.001-05:002010-07-26T18:18:17.522-05:00Bird's Nest on the Ground<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="post_message_8186534" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div id="post_message_8186534" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div id="post_message_8186534" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><i>"A bird's nest on the ground"</i></b> describes some thing or some situation that is rewarding to the owner in a very big way. Another similar phrase: "low hanging fruit." Meaning a task that is done easily.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't know about tasks done easily but here goes:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExw50kM8JI2MR3aU2VtWcxhz2puDqM2FQcSTpOf5EAyOLNb5yU9lG-RF3_epaVc2OXMmW6G8kyaOjRoN1cipj9nqKk-DCmBfpgAbrtQbJVjIqN40oKSIEgvlZZptgp46k0_iNKiC5q1Rw/s1600/4th+of+july+and+Andy+Art+109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExw50kM8JI2MR3aU2VtWcxhz2puDqM2FQcSTpOf5EAyOLNb5yU9lG-RF3_epaVc2OXMmW6G8kyaOjRoN1cipj9nqKk-DCmBfpgAbrtQbJVjIqN40oKSIEgvlZZptgp46k0_iNKiC5q1Rw/s320/4th+of+july+and+Andy+Art+109.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>This is the first post in almost two months, but Feed Me Farms is back with a new look and an even bigger vision. All this after a very disappointing summer growing season.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It's very hard to admit failure, but I admit, we failed miserably this summer with our farm venture, but the best lessons learned are the ones that are built upon failure. So as we come to the end of this season (much sooner than we anticipated), we look ahead to fall, winter and 2011. </div><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFccDW-yHVlYwl1ck9ZG4hWxu7_T-L2jZyyHqHdIVRYKEiRAj9nU45wKKNlecJwN6MhtZqL_quYKxjywTpeZg4IivlfZVAxYx93mFnFdlVouR4-EGaeSv4_DYidTzWA5mtF-kSHoSy7jx/s1600/4th+of+july+and+Andy+Art+107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFccDW-yHVlYwl1ck9ZG4hWxu7_T-L2jZyyHqHdIVRYKEiRAj9nU45wKKNlecJwN6MhtZqL_quYKxjywTpeZg4IivlfZVAxYx93mFnFdlVouR4-EGaeSv4_DYidTzWA5mtF-kSHoSy7jx/s320/4th+of+july+and+Andy+Art+107.JPG" /></a>What happened? We are not sure, but we know that this years crops were nothing like last year. Last year we grew beautiful heirloom tomatoes, greens, okra, peppers, melons,squash, tomatillos to name a few. This year we have been lucky to coax a few tomatoes and squash off our vines, and our okra although plentiful, is nothing like last years bounty. We believe it had to due with a number of factors : late winter, dry spring and summer, early heat wave, unbalanced soil...farmer error (our timing), the list goes on and on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOhNwMYM28y_xvAUDmUtfsfE-XGUc1qvNwoW_g0UOPZsBrPG8dlFCGHdQWmRebIDYjPksBh3DsoARLmD7Hz30m-ofVcFcDynVonh5TrSJopJG8ZFEwf3Dbv6_y2wD_aXRYE5oURwC6h-Q/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOhNwMYM28y_xvAUDmUtfsfE-XGUc1qvNwoW_g0UOPZsBrPG8dlFCGHdQWmRebIDYjPksBh3DsoARLmD7Hz30m-ofVcFcDynVonh5TrSJopJG8ZFEwf3Dbv6_y2wD_aXRYE5oURwC6h-Q/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+025.JPG" /></a></div>But, have we given up? No, in fact, we are more determined than ever to have a viable, sustainable and ethical food production operation. We want to grow clean, nutritious and incredible tasting food for ourselves and for others. We want to be good stewards to the land, the animals and the impact that we can make with it.<br />
<br />
In our quest to take care of this <b><i>bird's nest on the ground</i></b> ,we now know that there will be many trials and tribulations along the way. We know too, that this way of life is a grand experiment and that flexibility and resilience must be two virtues that farmers and land stewards must possess in order to survive. Our ancestors had to possess these amazing qualities, and we too, need to embrace these two little words.<br />
<br />
There is a tremendous learning curve and we have found ourselves at the very bottom, and now know that there is much to learn and from many different sources. We have also learned that diversifying the risk means we must open our eyes to more options, but where to start?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4PjZjzVCD6JKj5B-lIt50TUxnsW9UB1wIhEQSpWSiL4T5Hnd7ByCi5Ij61yvJvHiUVCbT_hPP4e3YYr3N2mDmvlef2h2LjxJzmOTvXucnv4wMVTld55-svyf8noWgdHAAFYX4HTCetxg/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4PjZjzVCD6JKj5B-lIt50TUxnsW9UB1wIhEQSpWSiL4T5Hnd7ByCi5Ij61yvJvHiUVCbT_hPP4e3YYr3N2mDmvlef2h2LjxJzmOTvXucnv4wMVTld55-svyf8noWgdHAAFYX4HTCetxg/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+024.JPG" /></a></div>Luckily, we live in the great state of Texas and we have discovered that there are others out there just like us (in our way of thinking) and are willing to open their gates and share their knowledge and expertise. I think farmers and ranchers are some of the most generous people to work with in the world, they seem to love to share their own <b><i>bird's nests on the ground</i></b>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22Aq9KWoD6F-7l9ooVXfkW1veZU_UUT02bp_UWnflc3Vkwvke8gODPOkHCl7FCoCmxBGpd0Nx8ohozuT4w1KU2zeXZbznArEty2E5hgNC76_Imt6GQkst6OU3acIJwktB4QCFyUOHx5xd/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22Aq9KWoD6F-7l9ooVXfkW1veZU_UUT02bp_UWnflc3Vkwvke8gODPOkHCl7FCoCmxBGpd0Nx8ohozuT4w1KU2zeXZbznArEty2E5hgNC76_Imt6GQkst6OU3acIJwktB4QCFyUOHx5xd/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+036.JPG" /></a></div>Even though Andy always has and always will be an artist, he was also born into a family of farmers and ranchers and their love of the land left him and his sister with this beautiful patch of Texas soil. I think somewhere in the back of Andy's creative mind, he always harbored an idea to bring this patch of soil back to life in ways that would honor his ancestors. I know this because, as I was cleaning out a book shelf one day, I found this old ,yellow, faded copy of East Texas Farm & Ranch News from March, 2006.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkiwwX_u9VZOWoT-GydV_lUsa5wfrErzp3GFaQao1ffYyePnLIjLmh7nYg32kYX4v5JcPBziUmy0R1SdW7mOkOKtuvz_hP-m83QoY23z5JYvkVcmMkSFE9XIfjuMdWcEZDEAS9B-TGA3v/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkiwwX_u9VZOWoT-GydV_lUsa5wfrErzp3GFaQao1ffYyePnLIjLmh7nYg32kYX4v5JcPBziUmy0R1SdW7mOkOKtuvz_hP-m83QoY23z5JYvkVcmMkSFE9XIfjuMdWcEZDEAS9B-TGA3v/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+031.JPG" /></a></div>I almost threw it away but the cover grabbed my attention...it was a picture of an old cabin with raised vegetable beds surrounding it with the caption " Roots Farming, East Texas farmer growing plants the natural way. Inside it highlighted the work of Moon Swanson, who shares a similar background to Andy's (more of a music loving artistic soul than a traditional farmer), now I knew why he had kept this article for so long.<br />
<br />
I decided to keep the article and knew that one day, maybe Andy's and Moon's paths would cross, and if not, maybe I could hasten the process. It took four years but that day finally came. I knew from the article that Moon's family owned one of the oldest operating old fashioned basket companies in the United States and it was less than 60 miles from here in Jacksonville. I also knew that Moon's farm was even closer, in a little township called Neches just outside of Palestine.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlue8GMzb2ZK8T7XZlTqhx4wORXrX_4Fq82_fv7ClA2Eq3LruibZHNMyIkH3XHLFESdRZuGN8kKCSgAS-AVWNkEjxgBPS4rcoyHRv_1v8EDEtkCVt2T_CZA-m4AWtTkgR1JA6LtDMOx7b/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlue8GMzb2ZK8T7XZlTqhx4wORXrX_4Fq82_fv7ClA2Eq3LruibZHNMyIkH3XHLFESdRZuGN8kKCSgAS-AVWNkEjxgBPS4rcoyHRv_1v8EDEtkCVt2T_CZA-m4AWtTkgR1JA6LtDMOx7b/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlue8GMzb2ZK8T7XZlTqhx4wORXrX_4Fq82_fv7ClA2Eq3LruibZHNMyIkH3XHLFESdRZuGN8kKCSgAS-AVWNkEjxgBPS4rcoyHRv_1v8EDEtkCVt2T_CZA-m4AWtTkgR1JA6LtDMOx7b/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlue8GMzb2ZK8T7XZlTqhx4wORXrX_4Fq82_fv7ClA2Eq3LruibZHNMyIkH3XHLFESdRZuGN8kKCSgAS-AVWNkEjxgBPS4rcoyHRv_1v8EDEtkCVt2T_CZA-m4AWtTkgR1JA6LtDMOx7b/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+032.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcw7jRVZT-yUsEU5AVcdAwAvXKNPDmikG7n2F9YxdK8IqwO1zxt2tU-64s10pNCjMjzUkUyFF1qmFRLZzmaOICB8YCtIlest3-ggMp7Mh-cGbyU1Fx1yrvh1HtI5IL8Yn3M2ZxgH3G88q/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcw7jRVZT-yUsEU5AVcdAwAvXKNPDmikG7n2F9YxdK8IqwO1zxt2tU-64s10pNCjMjzUkUyFF1qmFRLZzmaOICB8YCtIlest3-ggMp7Mh-cGbyU1Fx1yrvh1HtI5IL8Yn3M2ZxgH3G88q/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+033.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
We decided to take a day trip with Andy's mom to purchase some vegetable harvesting baskets and some display baskets for our vegetable cart (at the time, we still had high hopes to be selling our bounty at a farmer's market this year). On a hunch, I asked the woman behind the counter if Moon was there. She replied no, I explained that I really wanted to meet him. A few minutes later, she came out of the back office with Moon's cell number.<br />
<br />
I called it and left a message, a few minutes later I got a return call. I explained to Moon that we had just moved back to the family farm and ranch and really loved the old article that had highlighted his methods and the next thing you know, we were on the way to his place.<br />
<br />
We passed through the gates of the Diamond B Ranch and knew that we were looking at our future. What a serene, picturesque setting, even more amazing, this garden of Eden was feeding many locavores in Jacksonville and Tyler at their weekly farmers markets. Moon, his father Martin and their families have done an outstanding job blending traditional methods with modern conveniences (drip irrigation systems, decorative but functional arbors and hoop houses, even a beautiful old fashioned chicken coop surrounded by a modern predator fence system). He assured us that this was a long and ongoing process and that he was lucky enough to have his father's guidance and some additional help.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2656r9ohy9IQr3O_5QC0pxBmdVCxeUZaLJx82kXFNrDFlFvdM_pz0doYcBqEMPqSlTzcPNJe_ZWTz26zic7h5-nA4tHlyhrPKFfmJr_CFor4n4h30GywC-n3iQB4T17NrwDVAmjmkT3x/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2656r9ohy9IQr3O_5QC0pxBmdVCxeUZaLJx82kXFNrDFlFvdM_pz0doYcBqEMPqSlTzcPNJe_ZWTz26zic7h5-nA4tHlyhrPKFfmJr_CFor4n4h30GywC-n3iQB4T17NrwDVAmjmkT3x/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+039.JPG" /></a></div>It was wonderful experience sitting on the old seed cabin porch, munching on fresh white peaches picked right from the orchard and talking fresh vegetable feasts with Moon's lovely wife, and their toddler son, happily playing with a fresh tomato. Andy's mom was savoring the taste of her peach and marveling at the fact that it was grown without pesticides. We sat for a while and found that we shared many similarities and that they had done what we so want to do, feather our <b><i>bird's nest on the ground</i></b>. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9-hxImf6p2jfD-nV9CrrcTpJzEDm7_idCdCKBmaFmgyVFEG6JjdW-kcggCyrPbkgdSsiQ49irudzvpkgeYaqJa65Q07Yz71pXPHzKYGaisnDv5l-0TcFdJhxo0_5pGMpEs8ALRJ41i-v/s1600/kali+and+texas+basket+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9-hxImf6p2jfD-nV9CrrcTpJzEDm7_idCdCKBmaFmgyVFEG6JjdW-kcggCyrPbkgdSsiQ49irudzvpkgeYaqJa65Q07Yz71pXPHzKYGaisnDv5l-0TcFdJhxo0_5pGMpEs8ALRJ41i-v/s320/kali+and+texas+basket+043.JPG" /></a>Thanks to the Swanson's, we have a renewed outlook and a vision. We do not have the additional help so we know now, that this will not be as easy as picking low fruit from a tree. We are going to have to stretch ourselves and learn to grow in more ways than one. But we need to consider how lucky we truly are to have this <b><i>bird's nest on the ground!</i></b><br />
<br />
* <i>besides our empty farmers market trailer, all of these photographs were taken at the Texas Basket Company & The Diamond B Ranch*</i>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-51637965655301886022010-05-24T10:44:00.000-05:002010-05-24T10:44:21.317-05:00Shutterbug:Learning to Fly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMmIfTRz2CLDDh8LokFIUxugRQEBqpOY6rtPnSw6yML5rEulMerDn61Sd0JvBp1PnCmVrsFYmXdaXCPM0X5TRb9PcbTkH_TrPdXf_hCIZLkI9ylwrl7mcy7WStUnC2kLQgifmpcWrGsUq/s1600/swallows+and+storms+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMmIfTRz2CLDDh8LokFIUxugRQEBqpOY6rtPnSw6yML5rEulMerDn61Sd0JvBp1PnCmVrsFYmXdaXCPM0X5TRb9PcbTkH_TrPdXf_hCIZLkI9ylwrl7mcy7WStUnC2kLQgifmpcWrGsUq/s320/swallows+and+storms+004.JPG" /></a> One of my favorite annual events is the return of our swallows each year. They have made their nests on our porch for years. There is a nest in each corner of our wrap-around front porch, they have now spread to the back porch and the tractor barn as well.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5X1_DkvjxZP7ZATl2kHPmxX8_aq_OOeuwUWiRklUFdkuJu0lzE-TvFRxmPVIQAK_e0TB1XiJE5WUVNirl_oq8m10cLirdZ76-eJK_TIIKQkUYTr6GqS3tdeCsrP71RoKAOp6fpIV-l8N/s1600/swallows+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5X1_DkvjxZP7ZATl2kHPmxX8_aq_OOeuwUWiRklUFdkuJu0lzE-TvFRxmPVIQAK_e0TB1XiJE5WUVNirl_oq8m10cLirdZ76-eJK_TIIKQkUYTr6GqS3tdeCsrP71RoKAOp6fpIV-l8N/s320/swallows+005.JPG" /></a>My favorite nest is the one right by our front entrance, the generations of swallows who have filled it are not afraid of us and the babies like to watch our comings and goings. As they begin to fly, they like to swing on our wind chimes. This year we have noticed that the butterflies like to chase the little swallows as they dip and dive through the air. I love their chatter outside our windows and their patterned flights over all the pastures and barns.<br />
<br />
The swallows stay all Summer helping with insect control and then, just as they appear overnight, they disappear one morning. We will wake up and they are gone and I'm sad for a day or two, but I know in my heart that they will make their way back again next year. Swallows will always be welcomed guests here at Feed me Farms. In fact, we will always keep the porch light on for them.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-47216096091045877532010-05-09T20:46:00.001-05:002010-05-09T21:05:44.295-05:00I'm a mother too... ..it just happens to be to 100+ furry, hooved, feathered, two legged & four legged babies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7730DCQ5C5PWhlMmzPajOHaTH4tE31t-rvRqDTXOml9qqCzuHcWA1WrVuK3SnSnZas_ocEWVPDEBMIkoQOtdb0J5lYA0i6IIVzl8Rqr8Wb2gnVonTg4yUOhA-JNvwtYDIQdhpQGStb5xW/s1600/dogs+and+flowers+074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7730DCQ5C5PWhlMmzPajOHaTH4tE31t-rvRqDTXOml9qqCzuHcWA1WrVuK3SnSnZas_ocEWVPDEBMIkoQOtdb0J5lYA0i6IIVzl8Rqr8Wb2gnVonTg4yUOhA-JNvwtYDIQdhpQGStb5xW/s320/dogs+and+flowers+074.JPG" /></a></div>Today is a day to show love for your mother and oh, how I love my own mother. I have a wonderful mom, she imparted many lessons of love to me, including the love of animals and all things great or small. Fate would have it that even though I always thought I would be a mom, it just wasn't in the cards for me. But, ever since I was old enough to have a pet, I did. I was lucky enough to grow up in South America so besides the usual cat and dog, our menagerie also included at any given time such creatures as spider monkeys, sloths, marmosets, Macaws, parrots, iguanas, snakes and even an anteater.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4II2_kIF2FUn75WWJtokpdf4_xQIPmYYLKZXDPBlP_u-FXixsyJrxlkGrqbcmYD06Jwy6S_7GjuqedMQH-UDQdAAg71yYKklghCs26HfhMnBEy0xnxOeshmbLdzmmUDcg-FNScx4kL2v/s1600/guitarchickens+089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4II2_kIF2FUn75WWJtokpdf4_xQIPmYYLKZXDPBlP_u-FXixsyJrxlkGrqbcmYD06Jwy6S_7GjuqedMQH-UDQdAAg71yYKklghCs26HfhMnBEy0xnxOeshmbLdzmmUDcg-FNScx4kL2v/s320/guitarchickens+089.JPG" /></a>As I grew older and moved out of our family home, the trend continued. I have never been without at least three or four balls of love at any given time. So, am I a mom? Well, yes, I think so.<br />
<br />
I have bottle fed, spoon fed, force fed them. I have cooked for them. I have cleaned for them. I have sat up with them when they were sick and have held them for hours when they were injured. I have kissed them, petted them, rubbed their bellies and necks till my fingers went numb. I have bathed them and doctored them. I have cleaned up their little accidents and their spills. I have assisted with their births and their babies births. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpZZfbMOasy8OJVU7lyZ7r8aLZ06-bLle9n-wjc85An08QauL8b3DNMfsF4qfyKMxxYmJ8aQzy9JhuLmsZ80kqYHp_xn-TQlqbR9zzBDSvlojVvcR6qauxDIdrBa5tPxhr5Kkii9omxZN/s1600/mom+%26+baby+donkey.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpZZfbMOasy8OJVU7lyZ7r8aLZ06-bLle9n-wjc85An08QauL8b3DNMfsF4qfyKMxxYmJ8aQzy9JhuLmsZ80kqYHp_xn-TQlqbR9zzBDSvlojVvcR6qauxDIdrBa5tPxhr5Kkii9omxZN/s320/mom+%26+baby+donkey.JPG" /></a>I have laughed at their antics and cried at their mistakes. I have worried sick over them when they were not where they were supposed to be. I have rushed home from work to care for them and make sure they were safe. I have canceled plans or trips when I felt they should not be left for one reason or another. I have worried sick about them when I left them in the care of others, for fear something would happen or they would not be cared for as I care for them.<br />
<br />
I have been with them from the beginning of their lives and I have felt the deepest sorrow imaginable when their time here on earth came to an end. My heart has loved and my heart has been broken.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3DygA-cdvzGhafHuUjlN-RcggmfVhOl6_qAx2CDQP798a5oByzkkUizhfrX7p1FR-VZoVCfBqQcS6Z2kcpCaee8Nq7GI5yOfLr5EgPzvv-xWHHAnuJkREkqL-gYBN4vywcmLZx7VaTer/s1600/farmbabies+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3DygA-cdvzGhafHuUjlN-RcggmfVhOl6_qAx2CDQP798a5oByzkkUizhfrX7p1FR-VZoVCfBqQcS6Z2kcpCaee8Nq7GI5yOfLr5EgPzvv-xWHHAnuJkREkqL-gYBN4vywcmLZx7VaTer/s320/farmbabies+002.JPG" /></a><br />
What have I received in return?<br />
<br />
I am greeted every morning with smiling faces and wagging tails. I am serenaded with squawks, barks, meows, chirps, braying , neying, mooing and purring. I am followed to every room in the house and every corner of the pasture. I can't even be by myself in the bathroom most times, because one of my little balls of fur wants to be with me. I am licked, cuddled and nuzzled to death. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KpjB53OfQEvkkq-rc2TIQIUIFL6TpriTpcHpPy-zEIkWfMu-hkvwNPpGJDqPJsq5VR2QsY0nMNc6JJRnoL3hTWq92o3jeOgLJsv2yJT3EysGbqLcL3PXrYRATL_2mOQ24EThjygrD4L1/s1600/lulu2weeks+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KpjB53OfQEvkkq-rc2TIQIUIFL6TpriTpcHpPy-zEIkWfMu-hkvwNPpGJDqPJsq5VR2QsY0nMNc6JJRnoL3hTWq92o3jeOgLJsv2yJT3EysGbqLcL3PXrYRATL_2mOQ24EThjygrD4L1/s320/lulu2weeks+006.JPG" /></a>Who else jumps up and down, howls in delight or runs along the fence line when they see me?<br />
<br />
Is it any wonder that I have found real happiness on a farm surrounded by animals, where any given minute I can find unconditional love right beside me? No, I think that the farm life really does require a mother instinct regardless whether you have had a flesh and blood child or not.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVFKdOXQm0dmMkF6QIKP6p5lhWAFliMpkJfpeZNT_lQsSHho-ocTF7AeFm9wWmz7yHirXZV7TvBeYIIzp2fcGNCAs-xz92GOe0cabYANdnJK5uoGyPfSpYxt1oYBhQEe1tzNM1hM_CFNp/s1600/texas+reenactment+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVFKdOXQm0dmMkF6QIKP6p5lhWAFliMpkJfpeZNT_lQsSHho-ocTF7AeFm9wWmz7yHirXZV7TvBeYIIzp2fcGNCAs-xz92GOe0cabYANdnJK5uoGyPfSpYxt1oYBhQEe1tzNM1hM_CFNp/s320/texas+reenactment+017.JPG" /></a>So on this holiday, remember the women who take care of all creatures, great or small...<br />
<br />
Happy Mothers Day! <br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1657471260"></span><span id="goog_1657471261"></span>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-22193576901205402062010-04-14T13:56:00.000-05:002010-04-14T13:56:24.855-05:00Shutterbug: Training Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywKDfIz2Cu9XTgX2trJE7hS6Fuq1iq_GEE80_0DhR3e73dJrI7a-1fn7xPrtR9wmbKwtOb_DdTnS7J6xMWVrM9MlrVwEKDl0vX3RTc-aONYahB_NGmRzvlesDxeADlmWUB6BBrsuT75uA/s1600/bleu+channel+8+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywKDfIz2Cu9XTgX2trJE7hS6Fuq1iq_GEE80_0DhR3e73dJrI7a-1fn7xPrtR9wmbKwtOb_DdTnS7J6xMWVrM9MlrVwEKDl0vX3RTc-aONYahB_NGmRzvlesDxeADlmWUB6BBrsuT75uA/s320/bleu+channel+8+007.JPG" /></a></div>It's training school for me and Skully. We get to learn together. This is my first attempt to train a horse from birth. I grew up around my dad's race horses in Brazil and they came pre-trained. I used to exercise them on occasion. Back then I weighed only 90 pounds and at barely 5' 1" the other jockeys thought I had potential. My mom put a big stamp of "no way" on me becoming a jockey. She felt it was too dangerous. Damn, I could have put my shortness to use! Now it just comes in handy when climbing under fences.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-25458715906609473822010-04-12T23:01:00.001-05:002010-04-12T23:13:34.691-05:00Lucky La Moo Wins This Round<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjZu185gclsRNM6LcheLv271DZdl6EThqpZeLQK3EQZCCt56FpEV_ui_0rBWWwl7UaPfl5-A-j2wGY6fheVKDOhup0wgI7UINL3eiGAgyM8IoZpQQGb8ESDMTNtqwFE_-GY-eeiZaaIyF/s1600/lucky+lucky+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjZu185gclsRNM6LcheLv271DZdl6EThqpZeLQK3EQZCCt56FpEV_ui_0rBWWwl7UaPfl5-A-j2wGY6fheVKDOhup0wgI7UINL3eiGAgyM8IoZpQQGb8ESDMTNtqwFE_-GY-eeiZaaIyF/s320/lucky+lucky+007.JPG" /></a>Lucky La Moo has survived her health crisis and is back to her sweet self. It started almost exactly a month ago, we noticed late one afternoon she was straining while trying to defecate. By that evening a part of her rectum was hanging out. My cowboy was calm, separated her from the herd of misfits and valiantly disinfected her backside area and placed it back in. I could barely sleep that night because I knew there was an underlying condition causing this and knew that she was going to have a rough time surviving this. By the next morning, she had a prolapsed rectum. It was a horrible sight, I thought she was going to die.<br />
<br />
Our vet made a barn call and said he had seen this over a hundred times. He even said it was common after weaning (and we had weaned her just a few weeks before) . We have weaned four others and never had anything like this happen, but there is always a first for everything. Instead of feeding her for almost 4 1/2 to 5 months, I weaned her at 3 months according to a very famous bovine care book. Another farm lesson learned, don't always listen to the experts and follow your instincts sometimes.<br />
<br />
The vet gave her an epidural (to stop further straining), an antibiotic injection and then corrected the condition with minor surgery and stitches. Her back legs were paralyzed for almost 12 hours. It would be touch and go for the next few weeks while her intestinal illness waged a bacterial war inside her. He told us not to get our hopes up too high.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuyBifaDX2Z25Hlt4WnnGsE7X0X19aenULNMWAtGMGF9oDQVOL4DRjgFcXxcHiALK9S9KmEW8R8ZnJn4TRXiVTB-J27FRtlpyM3iNcKL1cS4Ch9eWUvO1bWAMS6v2jpkVNYyurgU80_tJ/s1600/lucky+lucky+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuyBifaDX2Z25Hlt4WnnGsE7X0X19aenULNMWAtGMGF9oDQVOL4DRjgFcXxcHiALK9S9KmEW8R8ZnJn4TRXiVTB-J27FRtlpyM3iNcKL1cS4Ch9eWUvO1bWAMS6v2jpkVNYyurgU80_tJ/s320/lucky+lucky+002.JPG" /></a>Lucky's backside got better but she was dull and seemed to be getting weaker. We fed her milk replacer, scour ease and electrolyte gel but she was just not getting better. We called the vet after two weeks and had him come back out again, he was surprised that she was still alive. He said we must be doing something right as many calves do not survive the intestinal illness and infection. He gave her another round of antibiotics and this really seemed to help her fight off the internal infection.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsTSWHz7BwDfF5avCk2GUVJQ1mmBgEgi6F2Lq0Zjt6wWmiVsogMMS4HPu3NjVJo4eaOD3fEF_BghupVKzAXOoMZ_99sBVLvk0XD6sILDnr-Cj32iUsKpW2Q5ekBJlhCU4WvmZYfPVIkY-/s1600/lucky+lucky+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsTSWHz7BwDfF5avCk2GUVJQ1mmBgEgi6F2Lq0Zjt6wWmiVsogMMS4HPu3NjVJo4eaOD3fEF_BghupVKzAXOoMZ_99sBVLvk0XD6sILDnr-Cj32iUsKpW2Q5ekBJlhCU4WvmZYfPVIkY-/s320/lucky+lucky+003.JPG" /></a>We did not give up on her either. We made sure that she drank large two bottles of milk replacer mixed with the electrolyte supplement that seemed to help keep her energy up. We had her segregated from the rest of her calf friends and her mom , but we decided it would be better for her to re-join the herd. We would just have to make the pasture trek to bottle feed every day. My cowboy had to rope Nandi the little bull calf that shares the pasture with her, otherwise he would fight for the bottle. Lucky was finally feeling so much better on Easter that she even came up to watch my God son's Easter egg hunt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgs-pBVh_5Mub9rdOxndCJwOzrTAnHpF0Dj_QHL_KFG9nYMNU_Y3E9W5o6NO6DhzlAg4g1PxO2X7bx1be6ZikFrCZgKgS0PrarKw7iwK7qUJy9FgpioxjAafRI6zWNGnjcxxy8Sx-IpKt/s1600/Easter+everywhere+099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgs-pBVh_5Mub9rdOxndCJwOzrTAnHpF0Dj_QHL_KFG9nYMNU_Y3E9W5o6NO6DhzlAg4g1PxO2X7bx1be6ZikFrCZgKgS0PrarKw7iwK7qUJy9FgpioxjAafRI6zWNGnjcxxy8Sx-IpKt/s320/Easter+everywhere+099.JPG" /></a></div>Our calf box that we keep stocked with essentials came in handy through this crisis. I highly recommend having an emergency box stocked with powdered colostrum, milk replacer, scour ease and electrolyte gel. I also recommend having wound cleanser, clear iodine, medicine droppers, clean bottles and latex gloves handy. We replenish it every time we make a trip to the tractor supply and feed store. Emergencies tend to happen when everything is closed and a few hours can mean life or death.<br />
<br />
Lucky's voracious appetite is back and she is up to her funny antics in the pasture. She has really lived up to her name. We are SO happy to have you back Lucky La Moo! You really are one lucky little calf.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-40837714328808420622010-04-03T13:15:00.000-05:002010-04-03T13:15:24.973-05:00Shutterbug: Just in Time for the Hunt!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsSMWG8usl0086i_ZiqIEnAm8IphcS2Q5JZvGSy0IP6fzxHyYRvm0sDhp1RzVFYLZ0_YadhKxr_OXbd5OU1pQKKLXf2iH0P6NcriSdt9dU4xGJBSostvW1mnqEuCCFIEso4wpbQNe-YJH/s1600/familyjail+and+Lulu+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsSMWG8usl0086i_ZiqIEnAm8IphcS2Q5JZvGSy0IP6fzxHyYRvm0sDhp1RzVFYLZ0_YadhKxr_OXbd5OU1pQKKLXf2iH0P6NcriSdt9dU4xGJBSostvW1mnqEuCCFIEso4wpbQNe-YJH/s320/familyjail+and+Lulu+018.JPG" /></a>Wow, the Easter bunny delivered just in time for my God son's visit!!! My hens had slowed down egg production in the last couple of weeks and I just attributed it to their cycle. It looked like there was going to be a shortage of eggs for Easter weekend. I had planned on having a big Easter egg hunt for my little God son (he just turned two). But the hens and Guineas were just not cooperating, or so I thought. Imagine our surprise when we moved some fence posts that had been leaning on a wooden rail. There was a hidden nest that had been receiving deposits for about a week.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7xaCBfVeR9cTo9IgADcFC_UR_Lis8lmNvCaQbhmYvajefieksUgL_ySw9Ch_GUA6bf5T4qHxvEgGnFeIQFphNhmeEUtED5613krpLDwNE_Ar5oHzoDAl-JDTevf2iZij9W8-wepLmqPu/s1600/misc+981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7xaCBfVeR9cTo9IgADcFC_UR_Lis8lmNvCaQbhmYvajefieksUgL_ySw9Ch_GUA6bf5T4qHxvEgGnFeIQFphNhmeEUtED5613krpLDwNE_Ar5oHzoDAl-JDTevf2iZij9W8-wepLmqPu/s320/misc+981.JPG" /></a></div>Looks like Easter after all, and because some of my hens lay green, blue and pink eggs - no need to even dye them this year. Have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, laughter, Easter eggs & lots of chocolate!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-42011060754622098532010-03-27T14:09:00.000-05:002010-03-27T14:09:50.079-05:00Shutterbug: Happy Horse Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuQtI1EXkeW9E7eYti7pXY_t4cEv3b6JVVQsAU-MP-ZoE0UNQlw3_-xBfb_41RSqMnnWsIDwL3u1nX27Qj6SOY34B2q7w_adJoFMFe3RQUEJnKQ6CG_meisGsD6ratvQQiH5Dv5yag0tO/s1600/SkullyandStar+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuQtI1EXkeW9E7eYti7pXY_t4cEv3b6JVVQsAU-MP-ZoE0UNQlw3_-xBfb_41RSqMnnWsIDwL3u1nX27Qj6SOY34B2q7w_adJoFMFe3RQUEJnKQ6CG_meisGsD6ratvQQiH5Dv5yag0tO/s320/SkullyandStar+006.JPG" /></a></div>The day finally arrived. Our beautiful mare and handsome colt have been delivered. Star (named for Lonestar because of the unique shape of Texas in her markings) is a beautiful 5 year old mare that came to us from a good friend who breeds and trains wonderful horses. Star is so well behaved that she will allow you to hunt off her back and is steady on trail rides (even near busy highways). Skully is her handsome colt who was born a few weeks ago right after a late snowstorm here in Texas. Skully (his nickname for obvious reasons) will get a new regal name for his registration. He has to be regal as he is a direct descendant of one of the top horses at the famous King Ranch here in the lone star state. We're in love with them both. What a way to welcome Spring!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-25048060217887538312010-03-23T22:49:00.000-05:002010-03-23T22:49:04.998-05:00Lessons Learned and Still Learning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUOzsmCMVT37TcJ3GOc3Y3GBWuE-JAazeu4nIE8s4bat9_gzwxH_iIaSkB7wD4yZYd1aJzp_9YRBSxnhfQjOAz7-0OqTMsRp1qkhNZMDsIFXC8NoSpNvJwA7Q6DPwofZlZXJ1-_wGuD5y/s1600-h/sunsetaftermarchsnow+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUOzsmCMVT37TcJ3GOc3Y3GBWuE-JAazeu4nIE8s4bat9_gzwxH_iIaSkB7wD4yZYd1aJzp_9YRBSxnhfQjOAz7-0OqTMsRp1qkhNZMDsIFXC8NoSpNvJwA7Q6DPwofZlZXJ1-_wGuD5y/s320/sunsetaftermarchsnow+009.JPG" /></a></div>Mother Nature fooled us last year. You know the saying "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" from those old margarine commercials? Well , we're turning the tables on her this year! As I sit outside on my laptop enjoying this lovely Spring afternoon, my cowboy/artist now turned farmer sits on top of his beloved tractor carefully tilling the many black soil rows that he is designing along the old terraces used by his ancestors. Our Guineas happily following along behind him nabbing each and every tasty bug that surfaces. <em></em> But lest we forget, it was only a few days ago (the first day of Spring) that we had a freak snowstorm that put a damper on all those poor gardeners who were so eager to play in the dirt a couple of weeks ago. All those poor little pansies and cucumber vines that went in too soon, may have been all for not. We learned our lesson the hard way.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKQRbkYWWcKWJ2j7TDUKPI9b32uIZ6m2wo5Fk6I-vkLfUnUgi8aT4gY1kY8u6EPDNWMRi4LWFKUm0J5ku9h2X0m44WOt7x-_MlChTwA2WX4KA2oFO-6WpFn41ocej4YnKYvH0fXE-qB1l/s1600-h/springplanting+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKQRbkYWWcKWJ2j7TDUKPI9b32uIZ6m2wo5Fk6I-vkLfUnUgi8aT4gY1kY8u6EPDNWMRi4LWFKUm0J5ku9h2X0m44WOt7x-_MlChTwA2WX4KA2oFO-6WpFn41ocej4YnKYvH0fXE-qB1l/s320/springplanting+015.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncAdEyFQNK38VsT6rL-e77hPYqHa5XqJue7lVSiDutIYKcBT-PTD_-mWQgFt8OE_8KZJCInEOan8hVrIKwSPvK_1fc9680o4OKVDfeDsBxn3ti9k9Vhmoar1uimclRQdxeFIdxC-o2KHt/s1600-h/springplanting+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncAdEyFQNK38VsT6rL-e77hPYqHa5XqJue7lVSiDutIYKcBT-PTD_-mWQgFt8OE_8KZJCInEOan8hVrIKwSPvK_1fc9680o4OKVDfeDsBxn3ti9k9Vhmoar1uimclRQdxeFIdxC-o2KHt/s320/springplanting+017.JPG" /></a>One of our dear neighbors and best friends passed away earlier this year and we are so saddened by his loss. He was a life long farmer/rancher and taught several generations of farmers around here how to grow and prosper off this land. Last year we were trying our hand at our first large scale vegetable garden and we were so eager that we planted at the beginning of March because the weather had been so beautiful. Our old friend found out that we had already seeded the garden and stopped by our place to tell us that we should have waited till after Easter here in Central North Texas. To soften the news, he brought us a few wonderful vegetables out of his Winter garden. Oh was he right! A few weeks after our plantings were popping up everywhere, a late March freeze came and killed about 30% of our vegetable garden. Hard lesson learned. If only we had sought his wisdom out BEFORE planting, but again lessons learned.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuq5dlTz1_ZIAeXT3eUGLbRo5K0_OdQpDJ24h6YcnEYfPtv9wwncL8Ce4y-YRGpOkMpCJYLSH85mm7neY4pJeuRqB7cLpY-nSpyJBIz380z1dEYgtNFDja5ISug7jbOC18c0_09nX9lCa/s1600-h/eggs,seeds+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuq5dlTz1_ZIAeXT3eUGLbRo5K0_OdQpDJ24h6YcnEYfPtv9wwncL8Ce4y-YRGpOkMpCJYLSH85mm7neY4pJeuRqB7cLpY-nSpyJBIz380z1dEYgtNFDja5ISug7jbOC18c0_09nX9lCa/s320/eggs,seeds+010.JPG" /></a></div>To curb our hastiness this year, we entertained ourselves over the Winter by pouring over colorful seed catalogs (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Landreths and a few others) and power reading a few good books (Good Bug, Bad Bug, Seed to Seed, Carrots Love Tomatoes, The Have More Plan). Last year we waited until February to order seeds and found that many of the varieties of heirlooms we wanted were sold out. Lessons learned. This year we started our ordering in January and even then, missed out on a few things we wanted. Another valuable learning experience.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH9hcb6ibIOmstG1jx6fGLWlTiO1TPqprGYPZO1ApMhE6ZwXTBJflplZcpZS9ul-KzROojosraV0-hFZAy1f3SmMp0uK2nrT3EukQnSdzzkD4Z3nBjOx_OanUgjRX4QXHd83Be3IMslLx/s1600-h/springplanting+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH9hcb6ibIOmstG1jx6fGLWlTiO1TPqprGYPZO1ApMhE6ZwXTBJflplZcpZS9ul-KzROojosraV0-hFZAy1f3SmMp0uK2nrT3EukQnSdzzkD4Z3nBjOx_OanUgjRX4QXHd83Be3IMslLx/s320/springplanting+009.JPG" /></a>That's the great thing about gardening and farming, there is a constant learning curve. Every planting season and harvest teaches us a new technique or trick. This year we are trying a new technique that our local Sheriff imparted to us. He learned it from his neighbor who learned it from the Japanese when he was a POW in a Japanese work camp. The sheriff patiently drew out a diagram of tomato cages fed by a compost tea IV contraption when he heard we were getting into heirloom vegetables. Ironic that something learned by the enemy during the war would bring several generations of joy and great harvests to him and his neighbors and now he was passing his knowledge on to us. That's really what I love most about farming. It breaks down age, ethnic and economic barriers. I have seen a room full of gardeners who would otherwise have nothing to talk about because of their different lifestyles, but you get them talking about their garden secrets and you can't get them to stop.<br />
<br />
I have noticed something else about farmers and gardeners. There is a bit of gambler in all of us, sometimes it feels like the odds are stacked against us battling weather, natural disasters, wind, heat, cold and bugs. But once we bite into our first tomato or saute up some fresh greens, we know that our gamble has paid off hitting the gourmet jackpot.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz1rRcDclZHTPg1FaaSv6B7WwEAUwm-gUyi24t8VUQEFU0Eoyu0xKaVAB8mjbDWnLUne166YWQkOnyx6HaKp3RPpvlKUCaqJBAJX2vgO6uAHS316RisA9OOXJIOSPfk0JxAnilcvEqkAO/s1600-h/springplanting+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz1rRcDclZHTPg1FaaSv6B7WwEAUwm-gUyi24t8VUQEFU0Eoyu0xKaVAB8mjbDWnLUne166YWQkOnyx6HaKp3RPpvlKUCaqJBAJX2vgO6uAHS316RisA9OOXJIOSPfk0JxAnilcvEqkAO/s320/springplanting+013.JPG" /></a>So as we watch the weather report for tomorrow, we find out that there is more cold and rain on the way. Easter is only a week away and the tangy taste of a Cherokee Purple tomato is yet a few months from consumption. But patience is a virtue, and that too, is a lesson well learned out here on the farm.<br />
<br />
Happy Planting Everyone (but not till after Easter)! This years planting is dedicated to Don Tolar, a thick neck Czech who could grow anything. We will miss you and your wisdom Don. Wise lessons learned.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-91868666965021546682010-02-28T15:17:00.000-06:002010-02-28T15:17:52.773-06:00Redneck Snow Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxThHTxy8KQq_9F-m_HeDdaIIot8Ag2spN3CE_NPXUnwoPSkcpZOUdKisKr9VVJVf7j35j9nyfLdSDpDBrSr1G4mxMERK3pjl81L-HML3nRh_iH6Hqdt_6ph4S5PYOcc8ANCgfB6RBP1K/s1600-h/more+snow+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxThHTxy8KQq_9F-m_HeDdaIIot8Ag2spN3CE_NPXUnwoPSkcpZOUdKisKr9VVJVf7j35j9nyfLdSDpDBrSr1G4mxMERK3pjl81L-HML3nRh_iH6Hqdt_6ph4S5PYOcc8ANCgfB6RBP1K/s200/more+snow+015.JPG" width="150" /></a>O.K. I know I talked about snow envy earlier this month and then lo' and behold the snow deities delivered a few inches so we would not feel slighted. Well, I'm not sure how my wish went haywire, but obviously those same snow deities got their geography messed up this week and decided to deliver a second storm that dropped a record 7 1/2 inches here in Texas. You know, that place where all the retired RV roaming Northeners go to , to get away from the stuff. <br />
<br />
Now, we could have gotten down in the dumps about our Winter crops failing, our animal chores increasing and the fact that we were without electricity during the night but instead, we chose to have a "snow day". A "snow day" is what kids pray for back in the North East, so we rolled back the clock for a day, and did a few things that adults wished they could do on a Tuesday during the beginning of their work week.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwdPLXDnMnZkpB8912F3S4cJ6yCIIs_E_QFmSpUFhyphenhyphenTdunUu8G9jWFQM-YBJe_sCcJNdY_VIe02S-yruJOfNXE8ZPEHgjvYoUpTioy59A49QK9I1CrraOOknMNpF80_Dv1fUaSAbTuJws/s1600-h/sledding+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwdPLXDnMnZkpB8912F3S4cJ6yCIIs_E_QFmSpUFhyphenhyphenTdunUu8G9jWFQM-YBJe_sCcJNdY_VIe02S-yruJOfNXE8ZPEHgjvYoUpTioy59A49QK9I1CrraOOknMNpF80_Dv1fUaSAbTuJws/s200/sledding+028.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>My cowboy artist went into town to get his childhood sled that was stored away in his mom's shed. Unfortunately, he found out that she had sold it during last year's annual citywide garage sale, thinking it would never see action again since her children were all grown up and over 35... undaunted, he looked around and spied his old basket ball hoop that was out by the pool. Now he hadn't shot hoops with that thing in 20+ years, but, he did notice it had this great plastic base that even had a place to put your feet. I can see the light bulb glowing over his head as he turns a basketball hoop holder into a mean sledding machine.<br />
<br />
He came back out to the farm all proud of himself and said "look what we have, it's a redneck sled, I'm going to tie it to the truck and we're going to Antioch (the part of the farm that has hills). I thought he was crazy but having a little cabin fever, decided what the heck, let's go redneck sledding!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zv500lO7Pr-4GF1bgb5jSuK_LHotMzXzQfA0wOX_34blo-85C82gTNBpqdSxF364UzZeOMm1zu07vC-Ip2-FCI_530Yoz1dhAxFeb92pauo4WVOFzELudC0-pKTh_JoXShgmVN7TDdAp/s1600-h/sledding+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zv500lO7Pr-4GF1bgb5jSuK_LHotMzXzQfA0wOX_34blo-85C82gTNBpqdSxF364UzZeOMm1zu07vC-Ip2-FCI_530Yoz1dhAxFeb92pauo4WVOFzELudC0-pKTh_JoXShgmVN7TDdAp/s200/sledding+009.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDIoaFBheAn12IdKAeHUlVHis6Ps3tlw0V4OBgwTL6YpKi_cF5d59mpWSm8puzfTolpNvUb8XVrVY3VH0MPfMx7eG7shB3vHZis6ec2fPpdSGoXMfbeHNU2e_39zic4lK8MFS-Vpqfl-3/s1600-h/sledding+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDIoaFBheAn12IdKAeHUlVHis6Ps3tlw0V4OBgwTL6YpKi_cF5d59mpWSm8puzfTolpNvUb8XVrVY3VH0MPfMx7eG7shB3vHZis6ec2fPpdSGoXMfbeHNU2e_39zic4lK8MFS-Vpqfl-3/s200/sledding+019.JPG" width="200" /></a> Not only did we go sledding but also built a snowman for his mom's yard, went around town snapping a series of Texas snowmen built by locals and just enjoyed this very rare occurrence. I say "rare" , we will see what March brings us !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7miYs-41yjhIJ9t6He48Ka39SaAWfuoHEyLve2Q5Weymr7k0kmL49tfp2hZyWiKzeUc9JfwpXSAyfGZiK1xHv5am1A98HEIli5dgKUL7J5rpgz8p2knHNXIXJwhLP1Z1Lja-X3QAAs8Tv/s1600-h/sledding+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7miYs-41yjhIJ9t6He48Ka39SaAWfuoHEyLve2Q5Weymr7k0kmL49tfp2hZyWiKzeUc9JfwpXSAyfGZiK1xHv5am1A98HEIli5dgKUL7J5rpgz8p2knHNXIXJwhLP1Z1Lja-X3QAAs8Tv/s200/sledding+026.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeLW7DJbV1kswb33eCG6OOryz9JzfNOJKTF_hoNh6C6rIIAxjfyyJaUkmozwO-qacOOWQyIAIwm8f7IZKi0HgEu81FoSVNEbp_y4xADRFJWqu_udsEyvdMo2nNS7bRhkEVfuH27TD9CuR/s1600-h/sledding+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeLW7DJbV1kswb33eCG6OOryz9JzfNOJKTF_hoNh6C6rIIAxjfyyJaUkmozwO-qacOOWQyIAIwm8f7IZKi0HgEu81FoSVNEbp_y4xADRFJWqu_udsEyvdMo2nNS7bRhkEVfuH27TD9CuR/s200/sledding+030.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
Last year we started our plantings in March but this year we may postpone until April based upon the Farmer's Almanac and other weather forecasters. We are not out of the woods, or possibly , the snow until then ~<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xB2Vs8FBXZpH6ZNpu5oTiHEuagmByJdUD54V8vMLjoMWRCC5um34W5HIHB0q8wmIDqSPEGf_KTiN1hah585eVaXTu1Af2XXBrIOQ92BYwwSWt6Zlif8e80P-cR0wMXpagHXcCMur5zyI/s1600-h/sledding+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xB2Vs8FBXZpH6ZNpu5oTiHEuagmByJdUD54V8vMLjoMWRCC5um34W5HIHB0q8wmIDqSPEGf_KTiN1hah585eVaXTu1Af2XXBrIOQ92BYwwSWt6Zlif8e80P-cR0wMXpagHXcCMur5zyI/s200/sledding+054.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDeaAETjIwgThFzu4MUzBHtm7CL3FzJ7hGl5W80K8ozCfde1Gl7OcmK6taGllvkqSdtEbHEppJFA8MMS5Le6-m1mPgFdc7e34uKzvQ4Cp_7L0IG_QjHUhp1EXsVGYTp40kQZRYxh8MeHP/s1600-h/sledding+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDeaAETjIwgThFzu4MUzBHtm7CL3FzJ7hGl5W80K8ozCfde1Gl7OcmK6taGllvkqSdtEbHEppJFA8MMS5Le6-m1mPgFdc7e34uKzvQ4Cp_7L0IG_QjHUhp1EXsVGYTp40kQZRYxh8MeHP/s200/sledding+047.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6kS8QDAuRSjBu1zdmJDAJACCB20sEOGN-IuNRyhDqkkh3wHgBC2tGQa6oMvHjOQ5LycLPwDnA8CAR97mGcyKFTXjFWSrl6HXsXFtneof07XxNGOd1zudavMkbv0VVtV1Jk7JHjkRJ6NX/s1600-h/sledding+060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6kS8QDAuRSjBu1zdmJDAJACCB20sEOGN-IuNRyhDqkkh3wHgBC2tGQa6oMvHjOQ5LycLPwDnA8CAR97mGcyKFTXjFWSrl6HXsXFtneof07XxNGOd1zudavMkbv0VVtV1Jk7JHjkRJ6NX/s200/sledding+060.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-34008620679415878692010-02-28T12:48:00.000-06:002010-02-28T12:48:11.858-06:00Shutterbug: Fun with Double Yolks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTMW4-2AfH2hlaWi8FIkAfIhPNNiqnmC8QKbdcZeea1e5gdtT-d6ZxlHdrDaM9nYlHkrfwDpWv7a2eyCTyptwNi7oO-t1tgp69hMPrImez5V1LcKO1q22dMMT5x2C0D39OdxGh-uzF_7n/s1600-h/Griteggs+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTMW4-2AfH2hlaWi8FIkAfIhPNNiqnmC8QKbdcZeea1e5gdtT-d6ZxlHdrDaM9nYlHkrfwDpWv7a2eyCTyptwNi7oO-t1tgp69hMPrImez5V1LcKO1q22dMMT5x2C0D39OdxGh-uzF_7n/s320/Griteggs+047.JPG" /></a>No boring egg sandwiches around here. This is our newest quick farm lunch favorite. We have named it "The Sleestak" for obvious reasons, instead of the eggs sizzling, they just hiss! Land of the Lost was one of my top 5 childhood television shows (right up there with H.R. Puff'N'Stuff , Lidsville and the Banana Splits) hhhmmmm banana splits....we need to plant some banana trees!<br />
Sleestak Sandwich: Good crusty bread like Ciabatta, slightly toasted with a little butter and melted shredded sharp cheddar topped with heirloom tomatoes, avocado & fried Pancetta & egg. HHmmmmmmmm! Hisssssssssssssssssss!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-64892229406260936912010-02-21T12:31:00.000-06:002010-02-21T12:31:21.923-06:00It snowed back East, East Texas that is!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsG6ukWJE88fP6ey_vPy1OdOAPpKQwN69Zf0O8m8yOkSvIul-CxIv-V0Cw5TgRXIl3-6kHE437GKdOILBeRP67dUPHWA5AKbdwl1cRgFDSBqd7P4ia_XRnR8I6wKfh2s9fp4KmicKrqtn/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsG6ukWJE88fP6ey_vPy1OdOAPpKQwN69Zf0O8m8yOkSvIul-CxIv-V0Cw5TgRXIl3-6kHE437GKdOILBeRP67dUPHWA5AKbdwl1cRgFDSBqd7P4ia_XRnR8I6wKfh2s9fp4KmicKrqtn/s320/februarysnow2010+019.JPG" /></a></div>Even though we had high hopes for a Winter garden this year, our dream came to a tragically beautiful end a few days ago. We had been keeping our eyes on the Dallas news stations as snow began to fall, and fall...and fall. I had to admit that when the weatherman said some areas were going to receive up to a foot, I actually felt snow envy.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWBXothqt6oQcitW1ot_96nGLz64YbrM5JcwPnEuxL9A2oZPTo6GRZKC7_ODtJB3Rsrx8oD7Fb95hJ_YG-qwkUmhpMQKd5LYDA2-DFngTDopqHNrsSxdEQx6uYc8f0oOZ9ELG8ol6SUo4/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWBXothqt6oQcitW1ot_96nGLz64YbrM5JcwPnEuxL9A2oZPTo6GRZKC7_ODtJB3Rsrx8oD7Fb95hJ_YG-qwkUmhpMQKd5LYDA2-DFngTDopqHNrsSxdEQx6uYc8f0oOZ9ELG8ol6SUo4/s320/februarysnow2010+007.JPG" /></a>We are about an hour and twenty minutes South East of the Dallas area. As the Dallas/Ft. Worth area was becoming a Currier & Ives postcard, we were becoming an ice cold rainy mess. I cursed the weather report and told my cowboy artist that I would gladly trade this horrible, muddy, ice cold rain for a few inches of snow. The "jazz hands" weatherman (we named him that long ago because of his absurdly exaggerated hand movements and overly excitable personality) kept pointing out the fact that the big snow event was going to miss our area and head further North East.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IYzQbOSKcaKyepdrfsek4ia-Ff8rbI5BDYRHmDdndZsQY-4P4jqmI6BjJvSJ7lulPp5RuYxfi61I0T3RvdG0SI60t7fNWPLtRtGovnd1uOJsVnaD0L7wXEHXK3U25ivCuFlpSPhAKCXl/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IYzQbOSKcaKyepdrfsek4ia-Ff8rbI5BDYRHmDdndZsQY-4P4jqmI6BjJvSJ7lulPp5RuYxfi61I0T3RvdG0SI60t7fNWPLtRtGovnd1uOJsVnaD0L7wXEHXK3U25ivCuFlpSPhAKCXl/s320/februarysnow2010+014.JPG" /></a>No snow day for us, or so we thought. Oh a few big flakes and some ice pellets hit our metal roof throughout the evening but we were convinced it would all be gone by morning. The last radar report before bed, showed the snow line well above our area and heading off where it was supposed to go.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-cbloOZpElmY7_qZmgD5YFKGuriKJph8OgX-DBVlNBjp8x580pCIAM5Z_UfVbvyL93m_-SQ6dubQfaGRuCVeOYoC4IZxahUgp4RB3nvWOJkCOOF0ubCiV6SNE1RKaLTbKSfFTEAjgOPh/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-cbloOZpElmY7_qZmgD5YFKGuriKJph8OgX-DBVlNBjp8x580pCIAM5Z_UfVbvyL93m_-SQ6dubQfaGRuCVeOYoC4IZxahUgp4RB3nvWOJkCOOF0ubCiV6SNE1RKaLTbKSfFTEAjgOPh/s320/februarysnow2010+049.JPG" /></a>I woke up early the next morning and listened to the silence, no early morning traffic along the road, no bellowing from cattle, not even our roosters were crowing their morning hello to the day. I jumped out of bed and looked across the frozen landscape and was sure that I had woken up possibly back East, not East Texas. Our rain gauge was no longer measuring rain, it was completely covered by SNOW!!<br />
<br />
Our Winter challenged garden was now officially declared a disaster area! Instead of cursing Mother Nature - we embraced it, savoring a little slice of winter wonderland, if only for a day or two. We spent the morning enjoying the quiet whiteness, giving extra feed to the animals, walking through my cowboy's family cemetery and enjoying this peacefulness that only a snow blanketed landscape can provide. It was a magical day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0y-7_e9kRy8ft1jomQKAE__56fXqbgSi6aBdJWoj_azcBpPVK4ho3R_7jZv4H0RZa93Bya1f91nO17k3VkJSdNj-r7Ozh9dYINP75gloB4oM8Mj2UvXY5DFU_g-7ogBHaEcPmOp1nOcZ/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0y-7_e9kRy8ft1jomQKAE__56fXqbgSi6aBdJWoj_azcBpPVK4ho3R_7jZv4H0RZa93Bya1f91nO17k3VkJSdNj-r7Ozh9dYINP75gloB4oM8Mj2UvXY5DFU_g-7ogBHaEcPmOp1nOcZ/s320/februarysnow2010+018.JPG" /></a>This Tuesday - they are forecasting another snow storm for North East Texas. Surprise me Mother Nature! Even though it causes disruption of the farm routine and a little more work later, I'm secretly keeping my fingers crossed that we get another Currier & Ives moment. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpd7KlVoYERGchn9hZjhPYnURDyctbkOeFRlBtcSKE5am8dlW1BA41igu9b9ljAT1BUWlBisIlajPWsnnBr-Z8fmMPK80daVAFLlvAqEzxNBUOORIJlMxVIGO-J2f-We6GE-LDxp7F0mjj/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpd7KlVoYERGchn9hZjhPYnURDyctbkOeFRlBtcSKE5am8dlW1BA41igu9b9ljAT1BUWlBisIlajPWsnnBr-Z8fmMPK80daVAFLlvAqEzxNBUOORIJlMxVIGO-J2f-We6GE-LDxp7F0mjj/s320/februarysnow2010+085.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8F7IScltbL9qkLGgXAvQgmWvd6yynxiAxJrY8TT1rHNJQXRrVH9Mwq7y0fVS3rBkgnDMlsXVkdXbL17b0LvvdUqxHJxvB1TCKi39ySajKETnXyb1u0WmhLIJfy9w8My-HmRCPZLc5w1C/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8F7IScltbL9qkLGgXAvQgmWvd6yynxiAxJrY8TT1rHNJQXRrVH9Mwq7y0fVS3rBkgnDMlsXVkdXbL17b0LvvdUqxHJxvB1TCKi39ySajKETnXyb1u0WmhLIJfy9w8My-HmRCPZLc5w1C/s320/februarysnow2010+072.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAoI0K4JsqrfKlIkYNjyDWnNJ5CtDfhRKSZlTAQ0N_1S3Pp5tSf8AfiFLHQ6qkzjEAscYpSbgzc3-XNeSzeAuIauLtnsm1ua2kiIoKDUwXadnQC4aLHHmm8UJ40RMUnsKaL8Wmniyuxp6/s1600/februarysnow2010+063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAoI0K4JsqrfKlIkYNjyDWnNJ5CtDfhRKSZlTAQ0N_1S3Pp5tSf8AfiFLHQ6qkzjEAscYpSbgzc3-XNeSzeAuIauLtnsm1ua2kiIoKDUwXadnQC4aLHHmm8UJ40RMUnsKaL8Wmniyuxp6/s320/februarysnow2010+063.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36XghCcMDAhHCmM9j93GKud3UF9dRhmYst-Ojw8WUiDm08bo9ffnoenkwiloENe5GEXQ74U5vMLIegLiIlRga4bNRnsVqYrfDDBkw7UAPl5w18pV3fUYltWp7ZJzpa0fbkr9gHb5Y0iLo/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36XghCcMDAhHCmM9j93GKud3UF9dRhmYst-Ojw8WUiDm08bo9ffnoenkwiloENe5GEXQ74U5vMLIegLiIlRga4bNRnsVqYrfDDBkw7UAPl5w18pV3fUYltWp7ZJzpa0fbkr9gHb5Y0iLo/s320/februarysnow2010+002.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86xdOGlDk68ZcKCXZO6czxuXjM5ub6A9yRnfbFwrtfIewuaPe__S0LaGyi5qlcPRhxvaxyKNsebDnXgFNOGuSMFkhvq-XAxNjSyNuUfXbBbijcyopiirFCGSbU96T3pR8Tu35UfMzmj4M/s1600-h/februarysnow2010+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86xdOGlDk68ZcKCXZO6czxuXjM5ub6A9yRnfbFwrtfIewuaPe__S0LaGyi5qlcPRhxvaxyKNsebDnXgFNOGuSMFkhvq-XAxNjSyNuUfXbBbijcyopiirFCGSbU96T3pR8Tu35UfMzmj4M/s320/februarysnow2010+029.JPG" width="320" /></a>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-60490961096726013682010-01-31T15:48:00.000-06:002010-01-31T15:48:04.812-06:00Inspired by the Flaming Lips at Feed Me Farms (10 for 2010)How can a man (Wayne Coyne) and a band (The Flaming Lips) inspire us here at Feed Me Farms? It all began on New Year's Eve. We decided to take a well earned break from the farm and drive through snow and sleet to see The Flaming Lips play their hometown of Oklahoma City on this celebratory evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDzDp1ny2kOrFq-dAO6-_SA2QNikopsxRIUFPsIlJ4s2Tz5-dEZH4BREeRGAdzEh7i6PunCt1mzcYl3LackpaYQP3I-WvpFx-KWu-xPz0C_bZkWOYcmVDsd2SUPRXlnpVnU2dAWipoHUE/s1600-h/new+decade+060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDzDp1ny2kOrFq-dAO6-_SA2QNikopsxRIUFPsIlJ4s2Tz5-dEZH4BREeRGAdzEh7i6PunCt1mzcYl3LackpaYQP3I-WvpFx-KWu-xPz0C_bZkWOYcmVDsd2SUPRXlnpVnU2dAWipoHUE/s320/new+decade+060.JPG" /></a></div>As soon as we hit the city limits, we began to see the positive influence that this band has had on their hometown. Instead of heading for the bright lights and big time status of living in L.A., New York or any other glamorous urban setting, they have chosen to stay in Oklahoma and help their States tourism and economy. And what a great job they've done. Wayne and his band mates have turned the ordinary into extraordinary. If more people did this, the world would be a much better place to live. No matter where in the world that might be, from small rural farms to big urban sprawl.<br />
<br />
I picked up a local paper in the lobby of our hotel upon check-in and to my delight found an article called "10 for 2010". To my surprise and delight, the first person listed was Wayne Coyne and his 10 for 2010:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzj8jotE_m1Xn-HavGgThZDV00YAWNlnEXPCxNZHzSlKS7uzJm8-0e95nCYsaYZ8w4IEPqjiLP-XG_V3xU6cfqJqPAcpD0Ys4mxbkgajGrksqVIeMpjRqgJDLTUkDng3zP92LFjT4h25w/s1600-h/new+decade+076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzj8jotE_m1Xn-HavGgThZDV00YAWNlnEXPCxNZHzSlKS7uzJm8-0e95nCYsaYZ8w4IEPqjiLP-XG_V3xU6cfqJqPAcpD0Ys4mxbkgajGrksqVIeMpjRqgJDLTUkDng3zP92LFjT4h25w/s320/new+decade+076.JPG" /></a></div>1. To see U.F.O.s come down and enlighten all humans<br />
2. To see all humans be kind to animals<br />
3. To see religious fanatics disappear<br />
4. To see the Pentagon levitate<br />
5. To see Global Warming stop<br />
6. To see marijuana de-criminalized<br />
7. To see humans give love instead of taking it<br />
8. To watch the Oklahoma (or in our case ,Texas) sunset more often<br />
9. To sleep late<br />
10. To accept things we cannot control<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuu-0MtEXAX0yZCSb_FbCyxHYttNlcaEN-twqFhLDr_e0Rfp_nq0vsvq9bu2BJym3zxbK-2tTNgXiJaCO5SY41LWKDbfJi107BdNzuHCw68Y1lftxvXwxBi-729dbLf7-nAGx4tX_mPPu/s1600-h/new+decade+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuu-0MtEXAX0yZCSb_FbCyxHYttNlcaEN-twqFhLDr_e0Rfp_nq0vsvq9bu2BJym3zxbK-2tTNgXiJaCO5SY41LWKDbfJi107BdNzuHCw68Y1lftxvXwxBi-729dbLf7-nAGx4tX_mPPu/s320/new+decade+092.JPG" /></a> I was immediately drawn to Wayne's wonderful philosophy and decided, right then and there, what my new year resolutions would be. I would adopt his and add 10 for 2010 of my own:<br />
1. To live every day with no regrets and fill our life with art, music, entertainment and laughter<br />
2. To think less of what I want and need<br />
3. To think more about what I have and can do with it<br />
4. To savor the smell of fresh hay, freshly turned dirt and green pastures<br />
5. To savor the joy in finding a hidden egg or newborn farm animal on any given day<br />
6. To really love those around me - be it family, friend or animal <br />
7. To make things grow so that I can feed the minds, bodies and souls of those around me<br />
8. To enjoy the simple pleasures of fresh food, a good bottle of wine and the time spent preparing it with the<br />
one I love<br />
9. To embrace middle age and what it really means to be happy with yourself<br />
10. To BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJpCIdNEadl_tBW-rTScnb3EUEy6RYRRBdeamBzByZBziBeRtSolg1WmIcEi9CyQWAB7g8PBRsPVPdsO2TKBGAwCp10g2xzBZis3hDf_pnyuTFkqwf9hhQC5Pl09JefdsIA7n1zIUlhSG/s1600-h/wino+sunset+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJpCIdNEadl_tBW-rTScnb3EUEy6RYRRBdeamBzByZBziBeRtSolg1WmIcEi9CyQWAB7g8PBRsPVPdsO2TKBGAwCp10g2xzBZis3hDf_pnyuTFkqwf9hhQC5Pl09JefdsIA7n1zIUlhSG/s320/wino+sunset+017.JPG" /></a></div><br />
So as we begin a new year here at the farm, these 10 + 10 will play a role in our philosophy here. It may not be the most glamorous of lives and it's not what I ever dreamed of when growing up, but it is where I've landed and I really love it. I have come to realize that life is what you make of it, not what others make for you. I want to find the EXTRAORDINARY everyday in the ORDINARY everyday.<br />
<br />
Thanks Wayne!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkrJgEuThXDn1sNqQkbC90exwR3HqLJmLlfN_LzbZyihyphenhyphenjVtcoUXYeufSLn_2O_-gz-Fv_FfqpjUom2haH9Ve2LbKqyTMH5s1rTN28m9Z0pPaWr9jHHPMyRCTUdoujOuOelj4TWFwGslH/s1600-h/winter+antioch+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkrJgEuThXDn1sNqQkbC90exwR3HqLJmLlfN_LzbZyihyphenhyphenjVtcoUXYeufSLn_2O_-gz-Fv_FfqpjUom2haH9Ve2LbKqyTMH5s1rTN28m9Z0pPaWr9jHHPMyRCTUdoujOuOelj4TWFwGslH/s320/winter+antioch+012.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEsf1miAeUDQyfsI2dcMxU_yXXY5D_0nANaaE5f1QgUbzV_ROrdaHAowyI57fSfYKxSO_7QpFKcEbobzQW1HZogj3cJafDj40MlH5A_EoNuWl87Mp2ioDXeQ3PzykOIHyX5j3F5NqzjF7/s1600-h/winter+antioch+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-34516968043492723252010-01-07T16:34:00.000-06:002010-01-07T16:34:36.782-06:00Shutterbug: Winter Vacationer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSlckxJiLapVTPZsLPnvuGF-G0hj7i4HCLxZdOht8Pw2PY6MbZjRfc8dFtNTM0RqkFOPfNWbqVKN5I_nHD_9spgEdqEazuuvSYK4jz8nwzyXL5QVyg7wIFu_FmBUoi5djfJcpX6lKKWgj/s1600-h/pelican+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSlckxJiLapVTPZsLPnvuGF-G0hj7i4HCLxZdOht8Pw2PY6MbZjRfc8dFtNTM0RqkFOPfNWbqVKN5I_nHD_9spgEdqEazuuvSYK4jz8nwzyXL5QVyg7wIFu_FmBUoi5djfJcpX6lKKWgj/s320/pelican+010.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>We were out near the barn prepping for the single digit weather that is taking over for the next few days (a rarity in Texas). We were surprised by this visitor swimming in one of the tanks. Seems like this pelican is taking a 300 mile inland vacation. Not a good time to leave the coast, if you ask me!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8UdttJDzg2wkm24Z4Wr9o4uNI6gZzPB5FuEC2i29nS-y2ze4GAnMKoVq7Nir4lytx-QuQAzTcUvHAnD2Rq3FcXSWdFEn9wMZPy00Anhyphenhyphendiq-A8jj57gUzy34l_1u-JlpVF88iHsjSyXG/s1600-h/pelican+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8UdttJDzg2wkm24Z4Wr9o4uNI6gZzPB5FuEC2i29nS-y2ze4GAnMKoVq7Nir4lytx-QuQAzTcUvHAnD2Rq3FcXSWdFEn9wMZPy00Anhyphenhyphendiq-A8jj57gUzy34l_1u-JlpVF88iHsjSyXG/s320/pelican+011.JPG" /></a>Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-45820384829186403492009-12-25T10:32:00.000-06:002009-12-25T10:32:08.587-06:00Do Cows Know It's Christmas?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8ydB36lA3d1OqIMWGTwMfzZDbIx3V8CxxzClrwPUbO6DiCraBjuDOlerlIah__V9qvKF0XzSChyphenhyphenzGHEvEMocvRIu99Y_fW_6639Gel9HsCuj5v28iNegijIQYdNXceB7jiAkvuCfVtht/s1600-h/sunset+calf+closeup+%28lucky%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8ydB36lA3d1OqIMWGTwMfzZDbIx3V8CxxzClrwPUbO6DiCraBjuDOlerlIah__V9qvKF0XzSChyphenhyphenzGHEvEMocvRIu99Y_fW_6639Gel9HsCuj5v28iNegijIQYdNXceB7jiAkvuCfVtht/s320/sunset+calf+closeup+%28lucky%29.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
Probably not, or else they would have not behaved so badly these past few weeks! It all started innocently enough...my cowboy and his business partners (mom & sister) decided it was time to move the herd from the farm where we live, to the wide open spaces of the Antioch property. In anticipation, all the border fencing had been repaired except for an area that was considered swamp and flooded. There was fence back there, it's just that a normal human being would have trouble getting to it, so the assumption was...so would the darn cows.<br />
<br />
The night before the herd was to be worked (branded and ear tagged) and moved, we were able to trick most of them with sacks of treats and corral them into the barn. This would make it much easier once our hired cowboys (former NFL football players) would arrive the next morning. Brahmans are good cattle till they think someone is about to corral them, they become as agile as gazelles and nothing keeps them in. BUT, so far so good that is, until the other cowboys arrived.<br />
<br />
We had a plan or so we thought. The bottle fed babies were going to stay with us at the farm. The young bulls were on the way to the sale barn and the calves that needed weaning would stay on the farm too a few more weeks but then join their mommas at Antioch along with our breeding bulls. Seems easy enough...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhu4HwsbfM7KSw1pPhhYZM-tCzYi5e2nRq0o4wAvbfMDgz16mTC-_gP9RMroqsPTBtDIGuvLLZ_zVg8S1gr5v0xEW64_ibqZ5Xwm22eprOD88H9W_NIgsjmMBARGYP0LEyHgui3Og7A8YA/s1600-h/krampus+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhu4HwsbfM7KSw1pPhhYZM-tCzYi5e2nRq0o4wAvbfMDgz16mTC-_gP9RMroqsPTBtDIGuvLLZ_zVg8S1gr5v0xEW64_ibqZ5Xwm22eprOD88H9W_NIgsjmMBARGYP0LEyHgui3Og7A8YA/s320/krampus+006.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Not so, my cowboy's sister all of a sudden gets sentimental and does not want some of her registered ones to go to the other property for fear of theft. They get a reprieve and get to stay in the back pastures. So now we are splitting the herd in half and only some of them will be placed at Antioch.<br />
<br />
So now we switch gears and concentrate on working them, separating them and hauling them. By the time it was all over, one large bull had jumped a 6 foot corral fence and some of the younger ones decided to skip the gazelle move and just run right through it. Keep in mind it's made of foot thick posts and heavy gauge wire. They also managed to tear off two gates and pretty much trash the 35 year old barn.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19xlRH4pXReBIr1iR5ggAazVbbqC_LhRuO3RA5yzUGT7ePEYd8FWxSx-wRK9-3inll0uR6CHI-IC9D7kCBKEZ0VmBp2gF698ufk3zKGMZfaZH2eYAcVHtss-3EZUiFM7dYdxGnyo3Zmrj/s1600-h/winter+antioch+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19xlRH4pXReBIr1iR5ggAazVbbqC_LhRuO3RA5yzUGT7ePEYd8FWxSx-wRK9-3inll0uR6CHI-IC9D7kCBKEZ0VmBp2gF698ufk3zKGMZfaZH2eYAcVHtss-3EZUiFM7dYdxGnyo3Zmrj/s320/winter+antioch+027.JPG" /></a>To add insult to injury, the herd that was taken to Antioch managed to find the only bad place in the fencing (way back in the flooded swamp) and make a clean break for it. Half of them came back on their own but the other half are now happily residing with one of my cowboys cousins cows in their pasture that backs up to Antioch.<br />
<br />
The half that came back on their own are happy as can be roaming around Antioch with two big lakes and many tanks, lots of hay that was baled during the summer and still some coastal grass to munch on until real Winter hits. So you might say, they got their Christmas gift.<br />
<br />
The half that took off and did not come back through the only opening of 800 acres of fence is having to rely on the kindness of kinfolk till we can get them separated and brought back. You could say that they are getting coal for their gift.<br />
<br />
Then there is the misfit bottle fed babies that are staying with us at the farm. They will all be getting fresh hay and carrot treats for their holiday gift. I never knew how much I could care for a cow until I had to raise 5 of them from birth. I love each and every one of them. Each time one gets weaned, I get just a little sad and wistful because I miss my twice daily ritual of their feeding. Therefore I consider the newest calf (Lucky La Moo) my personal gift from Santa (albeit a little early). Thank you Santa!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdylax6gPFyCZ64QFBXKDA2WlY21W09EyeDvFWyH6Jx6CJ7TAjc_EB0AG6l9AMD5UfKJW50CLOdftiMGF1nmqMBVzBrZC2UAICwEj3NskdnaFYB_JEha0FKFs0D26yGXb3hG_GfJh-N_MA/s1600-h/nov2009+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdylax6gPFyCZ64QFBXKDA2WlY21W09EyeDvFWyH6Jx6CJ7TAjc_EB0AG6l9AMD5UfKJW50CLOdftiMGF1nmqMBVzBrZC2UAICwEj3NskdnaFYB_JEha0FKFs0D26yGXb3hG_GfJh-N_MA/s320/nov2009+014.JPG" /></a><br />
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and be sure and kiss the little calves in your life, in a blink they will grow up to be ornery cows!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-43291937413942983362009-12-17T12:49:00.000-06:002009-12-17T12:49:55.082-06:00Shutterbug: All Ears!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDJD4CKT76NDf8ms6tda3CrOqpOl_i-DfrpJ5HDOz2BnZqp-emUa-1SzZq5rJJoHUPM_N2JWA2E7bnn9BlbwrpDupTHCQoUJJQVmKFyJIlc6DPBI5p_JhlIKfcg-ZP1O-VsEGzMkftGj-/s1600-h/bottlecalf+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDJD4CKT76NDf8ms6tda3CrOqpOl_i-DfrpJ5HDOz2BnZqp-emUa-1SzZq5rJJoHUPM_N2JWA2E7bnn9BlbwrpDupTHCQoUJJQVmKFyJIlc6DPBI5p_JhlIKfcg-ZP1O-VsEGzMkftGj-/s320/bottlecalf+012.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Here comes Lucky La Moo (born on Friday the 13th). She was playing out in the pasture until she saw her milk bottle. She has a very healthy appetite and kicks up her heels when it's bottle time.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-20825343041512158852009-11-18T16:52:00.000-06:002009-11-18T16:52:42.861-06:00Shutterbug: Mootherly Love!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHxNRQrmZxWEgbEQ-hds7vQmXZwTrhzR8AxBwpwDzf6gH3ABGZP6K782SGcMnxapTQUlIoB7xE9e1ZHd1Wy1fme2JTaL3Yol6fByJ0myVaooFo7FSly8r1b8vagvLUgXyQom-h7AK4421/s1600/HPIM2651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHxNRQrmZxWEgbEQ-hds7vQmXZwTrhzR8AxBwpwDzf6gH3ABGZP6K782SGcMnxapTQUlIoB7xE9e1ZHd1Wy1fme2JTaL3Yol6fByJ0myVaooFo7FSly8r1b8vagvLUgXyQom-h7AK4421/s320/HPIM2651.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Here comes the sun, what a beautiful day! Our adult miniature Zebu Beauregard, using ZZ Topinha, one of our baby bottle fed Brahmas as a pillow.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-74312344222181583922009-11-13T16:22:00.000-06:002009-11-13T16:22:06.170-06:00A Love Letter To My Cowboy (13 is our lucky number)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxOrbpykmAPfClGVJmGzG2ipRYE6UJE-IZD_PFVtW7uX1X6cF1xOa-TXX9ccgyXDayOwHSchHKIJVMmfzynV8WL9fCIVekpzSCVZvDeWvfwEuFOKWIFmfwlpg4WQthsgOE7o-v00i2I6k/s1600-h/canton+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxOrbpykmAPfClGVJmGzG2ipRYE6UJE-IZD_PFVtW7uX1X6cF1xOa-TXX9ccgyXDayOwHSchHKIJVMmfzynV8WL9fCIVekpzSCVZvDeWvfwEuFOKWIFmfwlpg4WQthsgOE7o-v00i2I6k/s320/canton+001.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Two years ago today (November 13th, 2007) a small kiss changed my life forever. Funny how two people can know each other for years, live parallel lives, run in the same circles, share many of the same friends and not realize that they should have been together all along. But then came a kiss and the deal was sealed or as he would like to say...we pitched some woo and the deal was done.<br />
<br />
I had no idea that pitchin' woo could be so wonderful, considering I thought he was referencing a barn activity (and looking back now, I guess it actually could be..hee...hee..hheeeee).<br />
<br />
I never thought that two years later, we would be living on the farm and settling down into a life of love, laughter and finding the little things in life are what is most important. He is the best thing that ever happened in my life and I thank my lonestars every day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTB7Q66JKxuT69k029_jK-E5rTNR9pzbdbz1XMYiQ82j9ftZ1wEWVbEEXu-H8Kqv69Ex3_B6Bxh8o4pc55arG5iFgyL7lgiMky4Kc0w7Rs5nJJL2nzBXNDOsQTvsQN8YciU1Bk6mzbY5H6/s1600-h/recipephotos+162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTB7Q66JKxuT69k029_jK-E5rTNR9pzbdbz1XMYiQ82j9ftZ1wEWVbEEXu-H8Kqv69Ex3_B6Bxh8o4pc55arG5iFgyL7lgiMky4Kc0w7Rs5nJJL2nzBXNDOsQTvsQN8YciU1Bk6mzbY5H6/s320/recipephotos+162.JPG" /></a> Four nights away from the farm and my cowboy have made me realize how much I have grown to love my new rural life. The city life is no longer an option, I cannot wait to go home. I miss the clucking of the chickens, the mooing of the cows and the sweet nuzzles and waffling that the little donkeys like to greet me with whenever they see me.<br />
<br />
Most of all, I missed my cowboy. I missed drinking coffee in the morning and contemplating the day based upon the weather outside. I missed having lunch together, we make it a habit to drop what we are doing and meet for a bite to eat at the old kitchen table or in town at the museum I curate. Most of all, I missed our evenings together tucked away snugly in our little farmhouse, just us and the four dogs and two cats who share the same little four square at night. <br />
<br />
It's funny where life takes you and who it throws in your path. Like I said, we had known each other for years - before we REALLY knew each other. I think I knew somewhere deep inside that we loved each other right there and then on that fateful night of November, 13th.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvy2q7yV5uSQjTBfjN_89mM-_4Mg2shLZv7EQQ6pXkN8UP8pImdS8-4aL0vPUji0R-yQwtbCSWoPSi3YT6bWTNFkTWeq6MenoVFDkBSNTWihAc3Ku9fCmp_JQ9fQKi-comx5BO3uqlwJ-/s1600-h/friday13th+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvy2q7yV5uSQjTBfjN_89mM-_4Mg2shLZv7EQQ6pXkN8UP8pImdS8-4aL0vPUji0R-yQwtbCSWoPSi3YT6bWTNFkTWeq6MenoVFDkBSNTWihAc3Ku9fCmp_JQ9fQKi-comx5BO3uqlwJ-/s320/friday13th+024.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>So 13 to us is a very lucky number indeed, so lucky, that we made it permanent - in ink, on Friday the 13th no less.<br />
<br />
So, the question is now - what are we doing next year?<br />
<br />
Stay tuned!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-34335747615252036242009-11-07T12:15:00.000-06:002009-11-07T12:15:14.860-06:00Shutterbug: Have you kissed a chicken today?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKhjm5XlvbvJlm-SwXGuvuPwiumkC5ZoA7BgcHeoVlTyHz0nJWHMwd46ojFgXw1Yet2hiJYqCMVTwt68JdgQNwvm0jfrQa63cniabvTDqu2XtEyfBsI3nlswjh1PFed68SZOtAKyoqshd/s1600-h/IMG_0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKhjm5XlvbvJlm-SwXGuvuPwiumkC5ZoA7BgcHeoVlTyHz0nJWHMwd46ojFgXw1Yet2hiJYqCMVTwt68JdgQNwvm0jfrQa63cniabvTDqu2XtEyfBsI3nlswjh1PFed68SZOtAKyoqshd/s320/IMG_0931.JPG" /></a>The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" really resonates with me. I am old school and prefer a real camera over my telephone one, so I actually carry my camera wherever I go. This makes for a sore purse shoulder but the additional weight in my little black bag (or whatever else I am carrying that day) is well worth the muscle pain. I have decided to share glimpses of our life through our photography (mine and my artist cowboy) whenever the shutterbug bites us. Sometimes they might make you laugh, other times they might make you smile and some may transport you to the farm, if only for a minute.Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-64448132899871586522009-11-05T11:27:00.014-06:002009-11-05T15:17:31.676-06:00Edible Folk Art (or Cookie Decorating 101, Sugar Skulls)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxHjo3MsFX-a_cMM1yg4XVXHg5PAR_B7Xidys35HnP_AMFBojFLC0f2SeasUUudD72L8gPWWNWRoqh3mgRyT-TIiMeYPTfZAsf5tuXOhtg5dFMOGO9TuMqOiXdFZY3tqzPapNd0dOrH83/s1600-h/710.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxHjo3MsFX-a_cMM1yg4XVXHg5PAR_B7Xidys35HnP_AMFBojFLC0f2SeasUUudD72L8gPWWNWRoqh3mgRyT-TIiMeYPTfZAsf5tuXOhtg5dFMOGO9TuMqOiXdFZY3tqzPapNd0dOrH83/s320/710.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400731062908261250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIe7PWMbGJYI42j45-ucQh3ePlHMQAxdl7DWTDx1VsnumseWoH7D5FE0LBVmB1WfDIyctQkPNKbNyOd4EqU-hx8zVMedAlUKp9XMmoKB6sog406fMAdf642_31eGwMH8sek8c-WSgPTT_/s1600-h/715.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIe7PWMbGJYI42j45-ucQh3ePlHMQAxdl7DWTDx1VsnumseWoH7D5FE0LBVmB1WfDIyctQkPNKbNyOd4EqU-hx8zVMedAlUKp9XMmoKB6sog406fMAdf642_31eGwMH8sek8c-WSgPTT_/s320/715.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400731052254796242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CSlxDS5KVXK_bxG6LHHLQcDmMg6udMtqCHKY2hRw-e438u9AFWqb1GSJITK7eFN58pon8EU06K-0diobWaQZELztwYL46jYSLRwPkN0wPVIawrdkmcAE5sYITGLiXRRZhGo3CtTVoA_l/s1600-h/716.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CSlxDS5KVXK_bxG6LHHLQcDmMg6udMtqCHKY2hRw-e438u9AFWqb1GSJITK7eFN58pon8EU06K-0diobWaQZELztwYL46jYSLRwPkN0wPVIawrdkmcAE5sYITGLiXRRZhGo3CtTVoA_l/s320/716.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400731050354773746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8u32tddgR_9HPXkf_tKgqemAFGrYHk2xJaH6rofj9-0rgeo2zPgO52iMfSgTqeM2_RhL0skujTK55R1VuxwKeLsPQmP3R1bxUVyKyOqfb1-J4n_hMhGdAdI3nhfYphwiuBW7z25rp9spZ/s1600-h/754.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8u32tddgR_9HPXkf_tKgqemAFGrYHk2xJaH6rofj9-0rgeo2zPgO52iMfSgTqeM2_RhL0skujTK55R1VuxwKeLsPQmP3R1bxUVyKyOqfb1-J4n_hMhGdAdI3nhfYphwiuBW7z25rp9spZ/s320/754.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400731046163972882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tJQaH3Q25CxpDD3HFGnm6aHb-hIBowWluoc0Pkj12bViCcubGNPeNLspsD6JLJe4v67lsM_mGBSe7iX1IyIfaN-G7PHevoKuv7ZnpkGBqL_r1GnXBkjEgXo0KsoQ_TJM12m2IhXOHoDS/s1600-h/740.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tJQaH3Q25CxpDD3HFGnm6aHb-hIBowWluoc0Pkj12bViCcubGNPeNLspsD6JLJe4v67lsM_mGBSe7iX1IyIfaN-G7PHevoKuv7ZnpkGBqL_r1GnXBkjEgXo0KsoQ_TJM12m2IhXOHoDS/s320/740.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400731038604374482" /></a><br />What is better than looking at Folk Art? The answer is Folk Art that you can look at and then eat! Up to this point in my life, I always considered cooking as my artistic expression. Now I have found a way to combine my love of cooking with my love of folk art. <br /><br />By definition, Folk Art is a result of ordinary people expressing themselves through their creation and construction of utilitarian objects that convey meaning and value to themselves and to others within their culture. A Folk Art object's final form often carries a certain beauty that elevates ordinary objects into the extraordinary. <br /><br />This year for Halloween, we decided to go as Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls. To complete the look, we decided to make edible sugar skull cookies to pass out to party guests. My artist cowboy is well known for his zany, whimsical visionary art and I'm known for creativity in the kitchen, so this seemed like a perfect match.<br /><br />I have said this before and will say it again, I am not a baker by choice. I love to cook and create savory dishes and cakes, cookies and desserts have never been my strength. But it's time to push the envelope, think out of the box, get the old KitchenAid mixer off the shelf and just go for it.<br /><br />I went in search of the perfect cookie recipe and found a beautiful website called Sweetopia.net, I only hope to be as half as creative as Marian (the Sweetopia blogger). Her blog has great tips, artsy themes and I consider her a true cookie folk artist! So I tip my cookie decorating squeeze bottle to her.<br /><br />My Go To Every Time Shortbread Recipe (For Decorated Cookies):<br /><br />6 cups flour<br />3 tsp baking powder<br />2 cups butter<br />2 cups sugar<br />2 large eggs<br />1 tsp almond extract<br />1 tsp vanilla extract<br />1 tsp kosher or sea salt<br />( Optional: For a more Mexican flavor I added in fresh grated orange zest and about 1/2 teaspoon of Chipotle powder )<br /><br />Directions:<br /><br />Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time and continue to beat. Slowly add each extract flavor and cream till blended. <br />Put dry ingredients through a flour sifter and blend well. Mix dry ingredients with creamed ingredients a little at a time until the dough comes together.<br /><br />**Culinary Tip** Roll out your sheets of dough between parchment paper and stack in refrigerator on a cookie sheet. This eliminates the step of adding more flour and rolling after chilling. The cookie dough will be ready for the cookie cutters in 1 hour, once chilled in the fridge. This recipe made about 5 rolled sheets (about 50 cookies).<br /><br />Heat the oven to 350 and allow to heat for one hour before placing the cut cookies in to bake. Bake the cookies on parchment paper till light brown around the edges, about 8 -10 minutes. Cool on racks.<br /><br />Perfect White Royal Icing:<br /><br />3/4 cup warm water<br />5 tbs meringue powder (egg white powder)<br />1 tsp cream of tartar<br />1 bag (2 lbs.) powdered sugar<br />1 tsp clear vanilla or almond extract<br /><br />Hand mix the warm water with the meringue powder till blended and frothy . Add cream of tartar and hand mix another 30 seconds. Pour in all the sugar and mix gently by hand. Using an electric mixer, blend with a paddle attachment on lowest speed for 10 minutes (yes, 10 minutes - the frosting will become silky smooth and shiny).<br /><br />**Culinary Tip** Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and take out small amounts as you go to blend with your food colorings. In this case for the skull cookies, I used a lot of white icing and made black icing using red, blue and green food coloring. The other color accents (red, yellow, green & blue) on the cookies were very easy to do with culinary decorating pens (purchased in the baking aisle at the local grocery). They are really easy to use, just do not press down too hard or they crack the icing and ruin the tip.<br /><br />Decorating:<br /><br />Pick out your base color for your royal icing frosting. Make sure your cookies are completely cool before icing them. Place your base color in a squeeze container with a thin tip ( I buy them at a restaurant supply store). Outline your cookie, the outline will act as a dam. Allow outline to dry. Add a little warm water to your frosting bottle to thin the royal icing. Flood the surface of the cookie and evenly spread within the dam. I use the bottle tip to do the spread the inner icing. Once the cookie has a nice even layer of icing, allow to dry and harden before adding other color.<br /><br />For the skulls, we took our black icing and made the eye sockets, noses and jaw/teeth outline. Once the black had dried, we then began decorating the skulls with unique patterns, using the culinary pens. The final touch was to outline the entire cookie with black icing for a more dramatic effect. Be creative, do not be afraid to experiment. Just like true Folk Art, there are NO rules!!<br /><br />**Culinary Tip** Allow to harden overnight before packaging. Have fun, your cookies will be the hit of the party. We may do some turkey ones for Thanksgiving, Krumpus for Christmas etc...Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518554080448048546.post-83052335718639133152009-10-30T14:08:00.005-05:002009-10-30T15:34:45.572-05:00It's the Most BOO-tiful Time of the Year....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WUy9vFHHAK0h2REWAeaf0eshnCZgIbA4fCTT_Td3aFB3kWaU6WKUYZW7feOQlpNFnJp4uV4TX5LrRuBDz_sG-G4hO-sU1c8JGtbZcvy-RQuKremqRVUyUcE49vC1qBiBWpflOfr386vj/s1600-h/Picture+1132.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WUy9vFHHAK0h2REWAeaf0eshnCZgIbA4fCTT_Td3aFB3kWaU6WKUYZW7feOQlpNFnJp4uV4TX5LrRuBDz_sG-G4hO-sU1c8JGtbZcvy-RQuKremqRVUyUcE49vC1qBiBWpflOfr386vj/s320/Picture+1132.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398489249273200738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInNbDm5GfWCf2WhhA7yyRLChUw87t5ocwAbr6uN1mJC7LHV4lR0puPIvs4ywmtdazGg32mNlQM1WMsTJtWEke3jWiEjffQjYhSts42RlidpfzWsyIRHyV_7ETvGFnO4hErgMfTVXVUpoM/s1600-h/Picture+1138.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInNbDm5GfWCf2WhhA7yyRLChUw87t5ocwAbr6uN1mJC7LHV4lR0puPIvs4ywmtdazGg32mNlQM1WMsTJtWEke3jWiEjffQjYhSts42RlidpfzWsyIRHyV_7ETvGFnO4hErgMfTVXVUpoM/s320/Picture+1138.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398489242175744146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuzl7HyrPiYvRGuh6Y4k8o_yy8N5iYR59FP9tVRn7uxF7zVZm7hsT0F9GMgy1SEjfoTBIh6gFvLccJXom6YA-RPdYASauNdzisAfVVytmFWvsjH7avLX8mG3orKGyCe0zJzXA1FxeDY-2/s1600-h/Picture+1146.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuzl7HyrPiYvRGuh6Y4k8o_yy8N5iYR59FP9tVRn7uxF7zVZm7hsT0F9GMgy1SEjfoTBIh6gFvLccJXom6YA-RPdYASauNdzisAfVVytmFWvsjH7avLX8mG3orKGyCe0zJzXA1FxeDY-2/s320/Picture+1146.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398489237102344658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvglX-HECO6OW4OrT8N2_jjVzxHJvTClUfIbIcuOOSchBSu5fMGO2f_XZh-RIpZJbFj5iP6o1w-TC9f4JTT8a1HpHckicLfRWKEfqQiplqiu3pK2twMn_HFHfWxKcD7fUS9jhEXFLofEx_/s1600-h/Picture+1153.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvglX-HECO6OW4OrT8N2_jjVzxHJvTClUfIbIcuOOSchBSu5fMGO2f_XZh-RIpZJbFj5iP6o1w-TC9f4JTT8a1HpHckicLfRWKEfqQiplqiu3pK2twMn_HFHfWxKcD7fUS9jhEXFLofEx_/s320/Picture+1153.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398489232212871282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtC5YGlzwMfyOmLQUgBjvxxhC1yzWYvjK7mYUmRnrPhyphenhyphenijGXAPD0xYDWSfDQ8UqVLmQb2D2YBUlvpFZGZSx8iCE3D1ph45Np1Wvn9sDv4tnwdYvdbp0fotVjOXY3G_4pCsu4YAWERoR_tB/s1600-h/Picture+1174.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtC5YGlzwMfyOmLQUgBjvxxhC1yzWYvjK7mYUmRnrPhyphenhyphenijGXAPD0xYDWSfDQ8UqVLmQb2D2YBUlvpFZGZSx8iCE3D1ph45Np1Wvn9sDv4tnwdYvdbp0fotVjOXY3G_4pCsu4YAWERoR_tB/s320/Picture+1174.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398489226259615058" /></a><br />No, I am not talking Christmas, I am talking my all time favorite holiday..dun..dun..dun (insert spooky music here)...Halloween. The leaves are turning, the fires are burning, there is a chill in the air and our very first pumpkin patch has delivered The Great Pumpkin (over 50 pounds)! I must say, Linus & Snoopy (in this case Gunther my Fila Brasileiro hound) would be proud. The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown cartoon was always a tradition in my household and Halloween holds my fondest memories. My dad was the master of macabre, he would spend days decorating the walkway and would carve the largest pumpkin he could find. No cutesy themes, mind you, he would use dry ice, fake blood, voice recordings etc..on the other hand, my mom always made our house the most popular one on the block (mostly because she gave out her famous spiked apple cider to the grown-ups). Hey it was the late 60's and early 70's and my parents had a weekly martini party too. Ahh..life growing up in crazy California. When we moved to Brazil my American school still carried on the tradition of Halloween so I did not miss out on too much, even living in a foreign country. We carved "aborboras" and ate "cocada" to celebrate.<br /><br />We have been so busy here at Feed Me Farms, have not had much time for the ol' blog, but soon there will be a new and improved version, just hang in a few more times with the old format. <br /><br />The rain has dominated our lives since the beginning of September but there are blue skies and brisk nights on the horizon. Our planned Fall garden did not get in the ground on September 1st as planned. It is now a "Winter" garden as we took a window of opportunity a few weeks ago to get some more heirloom seeds in the ground. We may have drowned the little guys but we hope to see some sprouting action within a few days. <br /><br />Real love is your cowboy artist planting the entire garden for you while you are gone on a culinary producer business trip (yes, I have been freelancing for a new web based multi media cooking show). His Ms. Texas mom even came out to the farm to help.<br />Now that's love all the way around. He also built an outdoor temporary holding coop for my new 13 Ameraucana chicks that we got for our birthdays. Can't wait for Easter, just because we won't have to die any eggs - they will naturally be green and blue.<br /><br />We are crossing our muddy little fingers that our radicchio, kale, Asian greens, baby bokchoy, broccoli, spinach, beets, carrots, cabbage, turnips, mustard greens, collard greens and a few more live to see another feast!<br /><br />Well, no rest for the weary or the Halloween obsessed! Enjoy some pictures of our pumpkins (New Jersey Giant, Red Warty, Italian Green Sea Pumpkin and a few others)and the Fall foliage at the Antioch camp. We are working on our costumes and a recipe to go with them that I will post in a few days (can't spoil the surprise).<br /><br />Have a BOO-tiful Halloween weekend!Sandy Bates Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07342956567980057618noreply@blogger.com7