Saturday, July 11th... Went to the Farmers Market Today and Sold Out Early...

We got up very early this morning and went to the Farmer’s Market in Greenville to sell our eggs. We only had a total of sixteen dozen this week to sell, since the chickens all went on vacation...it seems! Being there every week is the key. People are now looking for us and unfortunately; we turned several customers away without eggs as we were packing up to leave. They were disappointed that they did not get eggs, but they understand we cannot control the chickens and whether or not they lay eggs regularly. I believe chickens are the most fickle creatures on God’s green earth and any little change can trigger a laying strike in which they will not lay an egg. We recently let some ducks change their residency to their coop and had five young turkeys decide to stay in the big barn. I don’t to this day, know if that is a factor or not.... as it could be the weather, the ducks, the turkeys, the molt or the heat. WHO KNOWS with fickle chickens?

When we were sold out, we just hung around and talked to our friend Judy, who sells soaps, jams & jellies every week. We also talked to another couple that sells farm produce and fruits from Berne, NY. In our discussion, we talked about good places too eat and he mentioned a great place in Knox, NY called “The Township Inn”. We told him we might just try them out for dinner later today, and when we returned home and unloaded everything, we just decided to take off to Knox. We found the Inn around 3:00 this afternoon and was all ready to have dinner there, when we found that they didn’t open until 4:00 PM. To kill some time, we went to the Agway down the road a few miles in the town of Altamont. We needed some rabbit items anyway and while we were there we bought 25# of pasture mix seed for reseeding the Alpaca’s pasture. We killed an hour in Altamont and then returned to the Inn for our dinner which was excellent! We had the greatest shrimp and scallops over linguini and tomato sauce you could imagine.

We returned home, got out of the car, let the dogs out to pee and jumped into the truck and headed for Middle Field Lumber to pick up our purlins for the rear deck roof project. When we got back home with the lumber, we fed and watered all the critters, gathered evening eggs and called it a day.

Friday July 10th... A Day of Rest for the Dummy that Did It All (to himself)......

Today was one of those days when you roll out of bed and walk side saddle and every spot on your sore body, that you never knew you had, now hurts!! Vick say’s I over did it yesterday on the rear deck project and I positively agreed with her... and said so... Following with a truer statement of fact, I said... “well... I gotta make hay while the sun shines”. I make that statement because I can't just perform my desired work schedule as it comes and relax when I’m tired... especially on a good day. Oh, I rest for short periods, between any grueling work we perform. I'm not stupid or think I'm invincible like superman. I remember the two heart attacks I’ve already suffered years ago, but I gotta keep on performing as long as I feel good, because the very next morning or even the next hour, things can change and I can be rendered almost useless to crippled. Every morning when I awake, I need to do a personal assessment to decide what I may attempt to do that day. Sometimes, I pop four Ibuprofen pills just to be on the safe side if I need to do ladder work that day, because that is what kills my knees... Not actually the joints, but the tendons and ligaments above and below the knee joints. Today it was my ulcerated finger tips that kept me from “making hay”. They are raw and tender with deep ulcer type psoriasis spots that break open and bleed. Have you ever pricked your finger on the tip? Remember how sore it was for several days after poking it? Well, imagine ten such “pricked” spots on a finger tip when this stuff breaks out and you can imagine how hard it would be to work with your hands. Some days, (like today) I can’t even take a nap without waking myself as soon as my fingers touch the jeans on my leg...... just by laying my hand down on my leg. It’s miserable and getting worse it seems, so I guess I’ll have to schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist soon.

We did do some ramming around and got a few more errands out of the way. We took the car to the garage and had new front brakes installed. We also returned some items to Kohl’s in Albany. Later in the afternoon, we had coffee and cake with Vick’s parents and Kenny here at home. After they left for home, we went to the Rite Aid and made copies of our wedding pictures for Vick’s Mom & Dad and my Dad and stepmother. We placed the 4x6” pictures in an album book so they have a way to view them and show others.

Well, that was our day..... And we’re hoping for a much better one tomorrow, but we’ll deal with whatever we are granted and smile to be alive and with each other!

Thurs. eve July 9th... Still working on the Rear Deck Roof... Ouchin’ All the Way...

We worked on the roof project all day long. I have raw finger tips that feel like they are full of splinters. It’s not too bad when wearing gloves, but it’s miserable afterward when I take the gloves off. Everything I touch is a bump or scrape over them and you know it. Going for dinner as soon as I change and we get all the animals in for the night. Keep watching for more pictures of the project.

Thurs. July 9th... Yesterday a Good... and a Bad Day... Still a Day All the Same...

We started out yesterday by going to lunch after releasing all the critters to roam. We enjoyed a quick bite at Frank’s “Green Hill Café” and then sped home to get to work. I ran to the old lumber pile out by Fort Apache and loaded fifteen 2x8’s which measured 17 feel long, unto the utility trailer behind the Cub Cadet and moved them around to the rear deck area. In the mean time, Vick loaded up the compressor, hoses, nails the framing gun and saw horses from the potting shed and barn and we went to work. I cut two pieces, bent over to pick up a little sliver of wood trim and pulled a muscle in my back! Imagine... moving all those 2x8’s, some of which were soaked and weighed over fifty pounds and were awkward as hell. Now I pick up a piece of wood weighing less than ½ a pound and pulled a muscle. JEEZE!! Man I hate getting older..... ANYWAY... we continued on after taking another handful of ibuprofen and a fifteen minute break to let it kick in. We got another ten pieced marked and cut before the sky opened up and sent us running. (Well... Vick ran... I hobbled, muttering dirty words under my breath, I guess!)
The rain dragged on into the evening, so we plotted our course and figured how much metal roofing we would need to order form GNH for the roof once it is up. We will order it ASAP, so it has time to get here. After that, I sat on the sofa like a lump while my loving wife made steak, mashed potatoes and green peas for dinner. She grilled our steaks to perfection and like the lazy lump I was, I hobbled to the dining room table, to enjoy the fruits of her labor. It was the most delicious, tender steak that I’ve enjoyed in quite sometime and we both remarked about the splendid taste and how tender it was. Looks like Price Chopper has won us over and will be our exclusive shopping spot in the future.....especially with the gas reduction program they also have going on with Sunoco gas stations. The last time we shopped, we left the store and filled up on the way home for $2.17/gallon when gas was currently selling for $2.77. We actually saved a full $.60/gallon by shopping at Price Chopper. I suppose it is like the old S&H green stamps you used to get at the A&P grocery stores many years ago. You got green stamps relative to the total of your grocery shopping bill, and then you redeemed the stamps for merchandise at an S&H Green Stamp store. You actually paid for the stamp value in marked up groceries, Yet everyone still shopped there because of the stamps. I’m not so naïve to think that Price Chopper is selling me groceries cheaper than all the other stores AND giving me a sixty cents per gallon reduction at the pumps.... so I figure my entire store order is reflecting an extra $9.00 or so to cover the gas of an average fifteen gallon gas tank on the vehicles of today. (15 gal x $.60 = $9.00) This is probably true, but like the green stamps... I feel like I got something... and I want it! I actually feel like I’m sticking it to the gas pump. (though I’m still making those OPEC bastards richer) Even so, I feel better about my gas bill... and isn’t that what we all want.... Just to feel a little better.... maybe.... sometime?

Wed. July 8th... Just Another One of Those Lousy Aching Finger Days......

Again! Rain, Again... all morning long too. After it finally stopped, we opened the doors and allowed the animals to be out and fend for themselves. We figured they were surely smart enough to step in out of the rain, so the only thing left to do them in is the hawks or foxes....... and they do what they do, when they do it. They just don’t want to do it when I can see them or they may not ever do it again.
We made several errand trips and had lunch at the bakery, then came home where I just sat and hurt all day long with the tender, thumping finger tips again. We actually saw the little blister like bumps coming out, due to the psoriasis, so I gave up and did nothing again. This is happening more and more often, so we must make an appointment with a rheumatologist to see if there is anything we can do, that we are not already doing. If I can apply the Cortisone crème and keep it from being rubbed or washed off, I can control the outbreak, but when you are working with wet wood, or sweating, it’s difficult to keep the medication on my hands, so the psoriasis runs rampant until I can no longer do anything. Then it’s a few days of sitting around with sore fingertips and bitching about bumping them on everything. ANYWAY...........

We made it into the afternoon doing little things around the house that are usually neglected, like paperwork, receipt entries into QuickBooks and cleaning, until the phone rang and we found Stanley Maltzman on the other end, inviting us to dinner in Leeds. We accepted and told Stan we would pick him up. After a nice dinner, we returned to Stan’s house where he cut two pieces of homemade apple pie for us to bring home and showed us his latest art piece he has been working on for several years. What a beauty.... I wish I could display it for all to see, but I could never do that unless Stan wanted it viewed. Stanley also recently received an award for his Evening Embers pastel which can be easily found by simply googling “evening embers pastel”. I am amazed at how easy it is to find Stanley’s artwork on the internet, simply by searching the paintings names. I guess when you are as well known in the art world as Stan, you’re easy to find.
After viewing his work in progress, we returned home in time to place under “protective custody” until this morning when we again turned all the “critters” loose. And that was our day... not to exciting with sore fingers.... not at all.

Tues. July 7th... Work Commenced on the Rear Deck... Looking Good So Far.....

Yesterday, we started in earnest to work upon the rear deck project and we made a significant dent in the start of it. We got all the posts in place, installed the rear header and placed two rafters on the rear side (toward the barn) and one of the five foot side rafters (toward the pool), so we could see how it would look. We think it does a real nice job as an addition to the deck, allowing us to use it when we couldn’t possibly be out there without the roof. My main concern was the way the rain blows against the kitchen door, through the screen, soaking the entire door, jam and kitchen floor sometimes. That idea aside, it will be excellent for utilization of the deck too, because you are not only out of the rain, but the blazing hot sun too. That’s never fun when you’re trying to eat and be comfortable.

We worked on the roof until we came to a problem, sat down and reasoned through the problem and picked up on the solution and continued on. At the end of the day, we were very pleased with the progression of our project. We are very slow and sure footed when working twelve feet off the deck with long timbers. I don’t heal as easy as I used to, but I certainly bounce higher, so we use extreme caution on those ladders. Since we are going to use hurricane clips and bolt plates on every joint and rafter, we will drag out the framing nail gun and compressor for today’s work. It will make securing rafters much quicker. Below are a few pictures of the project when we quit for the evening.

When we got to a point that I figured we would have just enough time to shower and get dressed for dinner, we quit working and put the tools away. Vick had already done the feeding, watering and gathering of evening eggs. That way, we were cleaned up and dressed and all we had to do was wait for darkness to envelope our farm, so we could go out and close all the animals in for the night. We were then free to take off for dinner. We headed to Tannersville for late dinner at the Villa Vosilla, where we would enjoy Lee’s excellent cuisine while listening to the masterful music of Joe Drao, Vick’s Dad. He was performing all evening and we know that there is no better way to enjoy an evening and a meal than to listen to Joe as he sings and plays for the crowd. Our pleasure was also rewarded by the company of Lee and his wife Doria as their children catered our meal to the table. We all dined and chatted as Joe entertained us in his usual eloquent manner that sets him apart from so many of the newer entertainers. His soft, perfect voice conveys true feeling in all the love songs he performs and he executes continuously without flaw. No wonder folks flock to the Villa when he performs and few entertainers today can boast of the vast age difference in his following.
When Joe entertains, he can captivate an audience of teens through older folks in their senior years; for Joe.... is a true entertainer!





Looking from the pool area.....







The roof will be great!!








Looking from the kitchen door, which will then be protected........


Oh Yeah....... Here's a little cutie we will display on our table at the Farmer's Market this Saturday. We will have a little silver laced wyandotte in it! CUTE ehhh?

Mon. July 6th... Life Back to Usual, If That Was Ever a Possibility????????

Well, the wedding has taken place, the party afterward... Hello’s.... Goodbye’s... family came and family has gone and our world has returned to normal. (If that is what it ever was?)
We enjoyed our weekend with Bill, Loraine and Andrew.... better known as our son, his wife and our daughter and our Grandson, but we always look forward to and enjoy their semi annual visits. They come this time of the year and again in the dead of winter, when we all find things to do and share the shivers and heaters together! This time held special meaning though.... as they were able to stand by our side, as we exchanged vows to one another and the world. Renewing our vows at this time was a good thing to do, because all family missed the original exchange of our vows and our promise to one another some time ago... but it’s especially nice that all were in attendance, to be a part of the celebration of our union this time.
Joe and Anita were able to be completely involved, because Joe wasn’t working and didn’t have to perform any entertainment. He was free to relax and enjoy the day with us. Rich, Robin, Kenny and Katie... Vick’s brother, his wife and our niece and nephew enjoyed sharing our special event too. My Dad and his wife Rose (my new and dear step-mother) unfortunately could not make the long trip from Central Pennsylvania, due to health and medical reasons, but we knew they were here in spirit, along with my dearly departed mother, so we felt no one missed it. We will put together a photo album and Bill shot a video on DVD which we will send to Dad abd Rose, as soon as Bill gets it finalized on disc.
On a new note... it seems to us, that it would be better to tell you about yesterday’s activities than to always try predicting what today may hold, so we will begin relating yesterday’s activities in detail. Too many times I’ve written what we might do or what I hoped we would accomplish, only to write something totally different later. Now we can write with some certainty that, what we relate is correct and has actually happened. (Unless my mind goes completely!)
Anyway; yesterday we went to the Freehold House Restaurant for their “Sunday Brunch”, which was an excellent meal and further enjoyable by the décor of the Inn, where we ate. It is a highly acclaimed establishment of many years, which continues to serve excellent cuisine, even through the exchange of management some years ago. After enjoying their all you can eat brunch, we returned home.
We went to the barn and Vicki and I harnessed the Alpacas and administered their monthly Ivermectin injections to ensure their continued health, then walked them all around the pasture, allowing Andrew to lead all three before turning them loose to graze. We had Loraine take a bunch of pictures, because it isn’t very often that you can see Vick and me working together, because one of us is always taking the pictures! Yesterday we had a photographer, so we have pictures of us harnessing and handling them, just as we enjoy interacting with them daily which is seldom recorded or seen.
After a time of enjoying these docile, loving creatures, Bill, Loraine and Andrew packed up and left for home in Long Island, NY.
Vick and I just relaxed a bit and then went to Yannie’s Too; an exclusive water front restaurant at “Coeyman’s Landing Marina”, along the Hudson River in the town of Coeymans, NY. It is one of Vick and my favorite spots to dine for obvious reasons that this TV video advertisement shows. When we returned home, we relaxed with the dogs until it was time to close all the critters in and then we made our rounds, closing doors and counting ducks and chickens to ensure none were overlooked and locked out. Then we went to the upstairs where I watched TV and Vick worked on her latest artwork until bed time.
I love my Life... and my wife... I am truly blessed!






Skip Holding Iggy to harness him....












Vicki puts the harness on Iggy....

Now I'm holding Luke...

Vick installs Luke's harness...

We could use five people to put Bollero's harness on.... he's a pistol... full of energy!

Andrew walking Bollero around the pasture.....

They love to be harnessed and walked

This was Andrew's first time to be this close and walk them.

He had no trouble at all and loves them......

Vick and our favorite. IGGY. He is very special to us.....













Andrew walking Iggy.....

Now Andrew is back with Bollero again...

Vicki and Iggy interacting. This is excellant, because Iggy was an abused animal in the past.

How anyone could abuse such a loving, beautiful animal is beyond us. Iggy was not very trusting with us at first, but he quickly found we would never hurt him and he trusts us now. See him cuddle.....

Andrew and Iggy again........

The boys grazing after their shots and walks.........

Iggy says, if he's with Skip and Vick... I can trust him and cuddle!

Turned loose to graze.....

Even Bunnice Kay Jr. got in on the action...... He's the wild bunny from under the board pile.....