Archive for November, 2008

November 30, 2008 – First Real Snow

On our way home yesterday it started to rain a few miles north of Ames and turned to snow by the time we arrived home. Light snow fell most of the night and left a winter wonderland scene. Highbush cranberries are adorned with snow.  About 5 inches fell and left delicate shapes everywhere. one year ...Read more.

November 29, 2008 – Gift Box Assembly

It’s time to start putting the Christmas gift boxes together again. Claire and Emma start putting the boxes together and stuffing them with packaging grass.  Soon we’ll have different assortments featuring homemade jams, honey, soap, and beeswax candles. one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #97″.

November 28, 2008 – Thanksgiving

We motored up to Rochester for Thanksgiving. Mom ended up with a houseful – about 20 folks all together. This photo reveals some of the day’s elements – Emma counted 13 different desserts, cousin brought a great selection of microbrews from Madison, we brought a turkey and cousins got to run around like maniacs.  Lots ...Read more.

November 27, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #143

Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry. Also check out the last thingamajig answer. As always, put your guess in a comment below. Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer. one year ago…”End of Season Berries”

November 26, 2008 – Boy Work

There’s important work for boys to do. Here, Martin is busy kicking rocks and sand off a ledge into the abandoned quarry below. Later on, it was important to throw rocks out onto the ice to test the thickness. It’s also a good time to test rock skipping. Other important work includes breaking sticks down ...Read more.

November 25, 2008 – Waiting for Turkeys

I was up at 5 am to bring the turkeys to Milo, about 30 miles south of Des Moines.  It’s first-come first serve and my turkeys got in about 11:00.  Then it was about a three hour wait until they chilled in ice water so they could be transported.  After dropping some off in Ames, ...Read more.

November 24, 2008 – Loading Turkeys

Thanks to Martin, the turkeys look good and are ready to go.  The second day we had the turkeys, Martin sheepishly asked us if he could take care of the turkeys.  We anointed him primary turkey feeder and waterer.  About a week or so into the turkey care, we went to bed one night, but ...Read more.

November 23, 2008 – The Fine Line Between Fall and Winter

Here’s the fine line between fall and winter. one year ago…”Looks Like Valentine’s Day”.

November 22, 2008 – Stringtown Grocery Visit

Near Kalona Iowa is an Amish-run grocery store that we find to be quite fun to shop. On this trip we found 4 oz jelly jars that are not available in any of the usual places, and even online, we found few, and the ones we did find would be about $30/dozen jars after shipping. ...Read more.

November 21, 2008 – Sweet Sound of Success

It was a sweet sound to hear the tractor crank, start and turn off after replacing the solenoid! I could then proceed to the original task, getting the blade on the tractor in preparation for snow. That to is accomplished and we are ready! one year ago…”First Snow”.

November 20, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #142

Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry. Also check out the last thingamajig answer. As always, put your guess in a comment below. Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer. one year ago…”Wholesome Winter Meals”.

November 19, 2008 – Tractor Repair

I called the John Deere dealer to see if they could tell me what was wrong with the tractor (the starter would keep cranking even when the key was out) and they said it sounded like a bad solenoid. I’m not much of a motorhead, and only had a vague idea of what a solenoid ...Read more.

November 18, 2008 – Handy Blogging Archive Software

One of the unintended benefits of the this blog is as a “scrapbook” of sorts for our kids. I think it will be a hoot for the kids to look at in years to come. The only problem is that the software I use to create it requires server software and all the info is ...Read more.

November 17, 2008 – Can Anything Else Break Today?

I’ve had these kinds of days before. The day usually starts out on good footing. Today, for example. I was able to get the to get the town job work and other minor things done in the morning and started on the day’s farm work. After about an hour of steady getting things put away ...Read more.