Sat. June 20th... They Were Right On The Money With The Weather......

This morning we got up early, grabbed our eggs and some hospice items, and flew off to the Farmer’s Market in Greenville. The Cultural Society of Greenville is sponsoring it every Saturday morning from 8:00 to 12:00 noon, as a way of perpetuating the town quaintness and boosting tourism.
Once upon a time... before air conditioning and cheap air fare, this area of New York was plastered with resorts, farms and little businesses which flourished in those days. Visitors were tickled to be here and buy our goods and the upstate’s businesses and farmer’s relished the monetary trade income. After air conditioning was made affordable and air fare was reduced by deregulation.... many resorts closed and tourist attractions could no longer survive. The area started to die... Every so many miles, one can see a dilapidated, closed resort, just wasting away and many empty buildings that once housed thriving Mom & Pop family businesses like grocery stores, general stores, gas stations and restaurants. Boy, how everyone here would love to see those days again.
Many people from the city can remember when their Dad’s would go to the city on Monday to work and Mom and the kids stayed here all week long, enjoying the resort, the meals, the entertainment during the hot summer weather in the coolness of the Catskills and their Dad's came back up on Friday evening to spend the week-end. Vick spent her entire life coming here during the summer... living that very life. Joe was a professional entertainer and worked the resorts here in the Catskills, often employed by the same resort for the entire summer as the daytime social director for the people’s children and the parent’s musical entertainment during the evenings. In any event, Vick, her brother and mother and father arrived at the beginning of the season, only to leave at the end of the season, to return to Brooklyn. There he continued to work throughout the fall, winter and spring months entertaining in nightclubs and performing at weddings, parties and Bar Mitzvahs. His yearly vacation actually lasted all summer as he worked in the Catskills. Now, we’re all up here... living day by day and enjoying all the intrinsic beauty that brought thousands of visitors to the Catskills. It’s still here... all the natural beauty folks have come here to see for hundreds of years, yet most of the tourists have stopped coming. I don’t understand why...

Rain, Rain, Rain!! They were calling for it to start this afternoon... and it did... right on schedule and it has continued ever since and is supposed to run into the next several days.

We moved the new ducks from the brooding house in the middle of this rain, into the new bunny brothel with the chicks. As soon as they are big enough to release, we’ll turn them out to roam with the big ducks. Last year, we had the “Rat Pack” of six young ducks to watch all summer... but this summer, we’ll have a group of nine new ducks, walking around with a chip on their feathers... especially if any of the other ducks try to infiltrate their ranks. Ducks are very social, but only within their own little group. Thrust several groups together and just as oil continually separates from water, so will the groups of ducks. The chickens are much the same way too.

Vick is making a special rooster and egg table cloth for the next Farmer’s Market, and we are coming up with several other display items for the front of the table. We are making a centerpiece which will be an egg basket filled with emptied shells to simulate a full wire basket of eggs. We will also empty some duck, turkey, bantam and guinea fowl shells to add to that display, to show how each of the different eggs look. Next we plan to take six empty egg boxes piled on each side of the wire basket and have one box on top with the top open and have it filled with a full dozen shells, which will be glued into the box as displays. It should actually boost the sales at the Farmer’s Market by making them look much more natural and delicious.

The hospice gift shop and rear deck is on weather hold. Now we’ll shift to the barn, bunny pens and wiring in the bunny brothel, because we are due to get our Angoras next week. Below are a few pictures of the farm, turkeys, hospice house and one of Tina the turkey, who survived her mate Timmy.





Our living room after Vicki and her Mom finished last week.













Isn't everything nice?






I told Anita that she had missed her calling as an interior decorator.

A crew of Five!!

This is Tina Turkey

LOOKIN' GOOD... Real Good!!

Soon the board & Batten siding...

Saturday, June 20th... Went to the farmers market

We went to the farmers market in Greenville this morning. Sold a lot of eggs, but need some better advertising items for the table. Going now to get that material and order new signs. We have pictures of the hospice gift shop progress for later too. Stay tuned. Sorry for the delay in posting, but we were up early and on the run.....

Friday June 19th... No Farmer’s Market This Week... No Surprise Either......

Well folks... today’s the day and we had better make the best of it! I’d say the farmers market, scheduled for Saturday morning is off! We won’t have another clear day until Friday of next week. According to the weather report for the next ten days, they are calling for everything from showers to torrential downpours and thunderstorms. That’s a full six days of rain or the threat thereof.

We are therefore, going to work on the hospice gift shop today, even though the grass is definitely in need of mowing. The banks of the Pupskill Bay Lake Pond, are overflowing with weeds (also, with water after the rain) because we have not mowed it properly since the wild geese were raising their young there and we didn’t want to scare them. Perhaps, Vick can run the mower when I am doing the gift shop and there is nothing she needs to do. I can also run the mower this evening after it is too dark to build. There is a great set of headlights on the Deere, so you can comfortably mow after dark, as long as you care to.

All’s well with the critters and later today, we’ll let them loose. Right after we return from getting hair cuts, which have been scheduled for a week or so. We’ll receive our hair cuts at 1:00 and grab a bite afterwards, then come home and turn everyone loose and get to work. Hopefully this will all occur without incident and we can post a few updated pictures of the gift shop this evening.

Thurs June 18th... Well... This was definitely a “Sleep In” Day here!!!!!...

I was awake this morning at six o’clock and I heard the rain hitting the air conditioner in the window. That caused me to think of last evenings closing statement, in which I mentioned “rolling over, pulling the covers up around your neck and going back to sleep...” Well... that’s just what I did this morning... until about nine o’clock! It must have rained most of the night, because when I looked at the swimming pool, I noticed it was within two inches of overflowing. I will have to remove almost four inches of water for the skimmer to work properly. Right now, the water is above the opening to the skimmer and if it rains all day as they are calling for, it will run over the top..... Or at least out the skimmer cover.

Since it is entirely too wet to work outside today... I guess this would be a very good day to go shopping for a few items we need. I enjoy shopping with Vick. It gives me an excuse to walk beside her, holding her hand or walking with my arm around her. I always get yelled at by the clerks and cashiers for hugging or kissin’ her, or dancin’ in the isles. We once heard a check-out clerk at a register chiming, “No hugging in the check-out line....” Anyway... we always find a little cozy café or a quaint little restaurant for a bite to eat and then return to shopping. What an enjoyable day when it is so nasty outside. You guys that don’t do it should try it once in a while... It’s not all giving; I want you to know.... you get a bunch of cuddling and lovin’ in return!!

Speaking of rainy days... I sure hope the Cultural Center gives rain tickets for vendors at their Farmers Market on the lawn of the Cultural Center this Saturday... because we paid the fee to set-up and sell eggs and hospice gifts and considering the predicted weather.... we’ll be doin’ nuttin’ there too. You know... for all the nuttin’s we’re always doing.... I sure get tired of nuttin’.

Wed. June 17th... Worked on the building for a little while anyway......

We took Vick’s Dad to the therapy session this afternoon at 3:00 PM. After that was over, we stopped by Hairtique, for Anita to get a hair cut. While Vick and Anita went inside, Joe and I sat in the car, relaxing and watching a guy trying to move a huge section of an expensive looking machine tool into a doorway appearing too small for the machine.
When we returned home, I went to work on the hospice gift shop. Since there was really nothing for Vick to help with, she went inside and processed eggs, so we would be ready for Saturday’s Farmer’s Market in Greenville. I installed four roof rafters, before deciding to do the lay out work, then mark and cut the notches for the fly rafters on the end. I stopped when Kenny and Katie arrived to take Joe and Anita home. After saying our good-byes and helping them load up, Vick and I went to work and we completed the rafter notches. Vick had finished the eggs earlier, so we decided to knock off and go for dinner so we could be back by dusk, to put all the birds away, collect eggs and feed everyone so we could call it a day before it got late.

Tomorrow, we’ll install all the finished rafters, the tie boards for the fly rafters and with Vick handing rafters up to me on the ladder, we’ll finish in short order. Nothing will interrupt us tomorrow, because we are back to our normal routine again. Perhaps I’ll start out at 6:00 Am again with coffee and cake. There’s nothing like cranking up at sunrise!! (Unless, perhaps it would be rolling over, pulling the covers up around your neck and going back to sleep... which I do on a rainy morning sometimes!) ((Hummm, sucks to be retired sometimes, ya know it?))

Wed. June 17th... Working on gift shop today is of Top Priority... or something else...

Ever notice how my planning goes right out the window? Did you ever wonder if I do what I plan to do in the first place? Have you ever wondered if I know which end is up? Well the answer to all of these is...... I don’t know nuttin’!
Oh... I plan to do things in a certain order, but I never miss an opportunity to do everything as it becomes possible to do, and keeping your itinerary flexible, means you don’t have to worry, the whole world can see you don’t know nuttin’ until it happens! And they can easily tell that you actually don’t have to know nuttin’ about nuttin’ at all, because they can see without any laborious investigation that not knowing nuttin’ at all is perfectly ok, because even though you don’t know nuttin’, you still, somehow get sumpen’ done. Now then... I hope since I made that perfectly clear, it’s much clearer to see nuttin’!!!!

Today we are going to work on the hospice gift shop. I finished the trusses yesterday evening before dinner and cut the end trusses for the fly rafters. All I need to do is notch them and start throwing them up into position and within approximately a half hour or so, we’ll be ready for purlin’s on top. We’ll work on that until Joe is ready for his second therapy session. I’ll knock off then and Vick and I will take him and Anita down to Greenville for his visit and then I guess they’re going home??????????????????????????? I don’t think Joe is really ready, but Anita is! Jeeze, I don’t know what will take place if the therapist says "NO STEPS YET". Joe will probably go home! Little choices, do we sometimes have........

When we return, we’ll pick up on the gift shop again. I’d like to finish it up and get to the rear deck project and at least get the other posts and rafter frames in.
Well... that’s the plan...... and you know I don’t know nuttin’, so we’ll see what happens.

Tuesday, June 16th... What’s the deal??? Rain, drought, Sun, Hail, Cold or Hot...

Man o man... we never know what to expect anymore! Yesterday, we took Joe to his scheduled therapy session and afterward, quickly ran to Agway to pick up a chick watering bottle and was caught in a pretty fierce downpour with some lightning and really dark clouds. Until we got home, it was all over, but we could see the extent of the downpour by the numerous deep puddles of rain standing all over the yard. Later in the evening, Vicki and I went to Albany to pick up a few things and while traveling through Guilderland at approximately 6:00 PM, we snapped the pictures below. There was a dense fog hanging in the air that touched the ground and was about ten feet high. Above that the air was crystal clear. It was the temperature differential with all the hail lying on the ground. When we later left the Buca di Beppo restaurant, after a delicious meal, Vick mentioned that the evening was as chilly a fall evening and would be a beautiful night to sleep. We began our trip home from shopping around 10:30 PM and the hail was still lying in the streets and grassy areas. When we arrived at home, we had coffee and cake with Vick’s parents and then we retired to the upstairs bedroom for the night.

Today we will work outside for awhile. We have more rafters to cut and place on the gift shop, some grass to cut and we might be able to turn the birds loose from the day. We’ll see how it goes and what the weather station says is in store for us.






Imagine how deep it was when it happened!

This was a good half hour after it hit!

Mon June 15th... Into Every Life A Lot of Rain Will Fall... Especially Today.....

The sky was an ominous gray, angry color this morning... leading one to believe that this day will be one of little sunshine. Then, upon checking the forecast, I saw that there is to be a little rain during the day and scattered thundershowers this evening again.

Today, we are taking Joe, Vick’s Dad, to his first therapy session this afternoon at 1:00 PM. It is right here in Greenville and we have already been informed that Joe will probably be going home... like it or not.... and against our better judgement..... Even before the therapist has an opportunity to see his knee, start working with him therapeutically or even had a chance to give her recommendation. Had we known the decision was iron clad, we would have made the appointment in Windham, which would have been much closer for the everyday trip. We just figured he could stay here and only be two miles from the therapy and continue with one level living until the therapy built his muscles back up for the steps at home. Being in his position a few years back, when I suffered the same injury to my knee, I found you can turn the wrong way, or perhaps step wrong and create further trauma, re-tearing the weakened meniscus again. It isn’t hard to do because of the weakened condition...hence, the need for professional therapy and their recommendations!
Oh well... so be it. Perhaps the Therapist will recommend to stay on the single level lifestyle another week and they might just listen. If not, Joe will be treading stairs with twists and partial width steps where they turn corners... creating a very dangerous condition for a mending knee.

I guess he’s needed at home......

Onward, we shall go.

Vick and I shall begin working on all the loose ends here again now. We have a hospice gift shop sitting in the rain... a rear deck roof project setting in the rain... a bunny brothel in need of lights and receptacles and we need to manufacture and install four new bunny pens in the new bunny area. If it rains as they are calling for, it looks as though we will concentrate on the wiring and bunny cages. Our Alpaca boys will enjoy the company. They love to watch us as we work around them.

NEWS FASH...... Barbie and Boobie have officially returned for the season!
We’ve included a picture of their latest “garden antics” observed as we drove past recently. We found them on a little back road, on the way to New Scotland last summer. We were driving to and from Guilderland everyday, while going to Vick’s spinal decompression therapy. Once we found them, we continued to report on them until late in the season when they went away for the fall and winter. Now they’re back, with their frequent messages and greetings we receive as we pass by. Stay tuned to us and we’ll report on them as the summer progresses. They make us smile a lot!

Thought for the Day...... If you don’t watch your puppy very well during a summer rainstorm, there will be muddy footprints that someone must clean up... even if you don’t!







Barbie and Boobie, celebrating Memmorial Day.
As you can see, Barbie is holding Bebe.. the new addition last year.








This is our favorite spot along route 81. It's a beautiful beaver pond.

Here's Mr. Beaver now.....

This is one of Bunnice Kay's little ones. Bunnice Kay has lived under our deck ever since we moved in...

Sunday, June 14th... What a nice day yesterday was for Vick and I......

We attended the craft show as our late night mini blog entry stated, but we had more than fun. We met lots of new people and made a few bucks for the hospice program. I must however tell you all that the part we enjoyed the most was spending the afternoon with Isabelle and Wendy. It’s so nice to be in the company of two such friendly and giving individuals. Wendy spent countless hours in the pen that held Caleb and Joey, answering questions and making sure that kiddies didn’t get hurt by climbing the fence or hanging through the fence. Caleb and Joey are old hands at this type of event and remain very calm and friendly, but there were some unthinking dog owners, who rushed right up to the pen, which scared the Alpacas terribly. They have few predators in the wild, but dogs, coyote and wolves are at the top of the list, so they really get tense if a dog rushes toward them and in an alert state, a child could get hurt while hanging through the rails. Isabelle manned the table, taking care of customers and answering questions too.

Vick and I sold a few mini hearts, a pretty stained glass "Remember Me" heart and some Amish recipe laundry soaps. We also displayed our "Go Green with Hospice" shopping bags and numerous other items.

There was some slack time however, which we all enjoyed the most. Occasionally, we weren’t selling hospice items, the alpaca pen was void of visitors, and Isabelle's table had no customers, so she and Wendy could sit and chat with us as we all enjoyed the pleasant day.

We plan to attend many of the “Farmers Market” days, starting on June 20th through September 5th, on the lawn of the Cultural Arts Center from 8 a.m. to 12:00 noon every Saturday. Come see us there!!! It’s right next to the library.





Wendy with some kids and Joey

Our Luke (from Last year)