1st Batch of Fall Raspberries

All I can say is YUMMMM-ME!!

Actually, let me also add, BAM!

BuuurrrrrrrrrP!

JoAnne stuck the landing with this scrumptious masterpiece!

A "Berry Good Coffee Cake"

And it "was" VERY, berry good (as I unbutton my pants)!

Boxed Candy Warning

Hi All,

Wanted to pass along a friendly heads-up warning about boxed candy. If you happen to receive a nice box of candy as a gift - check the expire date before opening and consuming!!

Of course the expire date doesn't necessarily mean that the item is spoiled. However, since it's 2010, a box of candy with an expire date of 2006, for example, might not be a good idea.

Some think otherwise. Just saying...

That's all Folks!

Plymouth Barred Rock Cockerals

I picked up these (3) Plymouth Barred Rock chicks for free several weeks ago. The posting had them listed as Black Sex-Link cockerels, which clearly they are not. Well, let me clarify that - they are not Black Sex-Link chickens, however, they are in fact cockerels, alas. I thought I was getting the better end of the deal and was thinking that if the person posted them as the wrong breed of chicken then it's possible he was also wrong on the sex. The birds looked like pullets in the picture he included with his advertisement but then again they were only 4 - 5 weeks old at the time. Well, as it turns out they're cockerels and I'm stuck with them, double alas. Efforts to give them away (free) have failed to date.

Sadly, the town of Franklin does NOT allow roosters (incessant barking dogs are OK though), so these guys MUST be gone before they learn and start crowing, which I'm guessing is a couple of months out. However, from a feed perspective these dudes need to go; they're little piggies.

My guess is that they can't swim any better than squirrels and chipmunks...

Would make good stew birds!! First come first served! Don't be shy!

1st Mess of Pole Beans of the Season!

Our veggies are coming in fast and furious now.

Here is a sample of our first pole beans haul. There are a SO many more out there to be picked too. I'm not sure what JoAnne has planned for them but I can't wait to start eating them.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen too and the potatoes will need to be dug in the not too distant future. We have three different varieties of peppers; green, red and yellow, which are not too far off either. Oh, least I forget to mention the end-of-summer boom of raspberries, which are plentiful. Sadly, this might be the last year for our peach tree, it's not doing to good. Actually, it's been in rough shape for several years now. There are plenty of peaches on there but they're on the smaller side and don't look to good in general. Time will tell and if they're not good for us to eat, the rabbits love em! One way of another they'll be put to good use

It's Official My Oldest is a Pionner!

A Sacred Heart University Pioneer that is...

Tuesday August 10, 2010 drove my oldest daughter to college! She's a freshman, attending Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She is also playing for their field hockey team, #15!

Although, classes haven't official begun, the athletes are required to be on campus almost a month ahead of time, as they need to prepare and get ready for the season. So there will be practices and meetings and practices and practices and more practices. It's been about a day and a half and the text message I received from Stephanie this morning read, "Pain! So much pain!".

I don't know where the time went. How can I be dropping my daughter off at college already?! It seems like only yesterday that she was tooling around the yard with her baseball cap on with curls running around the sides. Am I really that old (not old as in old but old as in I have an 18 yo daughter starting college old)?

It was very emotional (for me anyway). It was a a BIG day for both of us. She's starting of a new chapter in her life and I couldn't be prouder.

1st Head of Broccoli of the Season!

Here is our first head of Broccoli of the season!

This head is from one of the plants that was nearly eaten to the ground by the woodchucks. As you can see it made a very nice, and tasty, recovery.

There are several more broccoli plants out there, so if we're lucky, and the varmints stay away, we'll have some more to pick soon enough.

After Life?

A couple made a deal that whoever died first would come back and inform the other if there is sex after death. Their biggest fear was that there was no after life at all. After a long life together, the husband was the first to die. True to his word, he made the first contact:

"Marion ... Marion"

"Is that you, Bob?"

"Yes, I've come back like we agreed."

"That's wonderful! What's it like?"

"Well, I get up in the morning, I have sex. I have breakfast and then it's off to the golf course. I have sex again, bathe in the warm sun and then have sex a couple of more times. Then I have lunch (you'd be proud - lots of greens). Another romp around the golf course, then pretty much have sex the rest of the afternoon. After supper, it's back to the golf course again. Then it's more sex until late at night. I catch some much needed sleep and then the next day it starts all over again"

"Oh, Bob are you in Heaven?"

“No...........I'm a rabbit in Arizona.”

Insect Fornication 2010

Ah, if you're a potato beetle all is good here at the Lincoln Street homestead!

The Hornworm Tomato Pest Has Arrived!

This (leaf damage) -



Plus this (fresh droppings) -



Equals this (culprit) -



Do you see the critter? Can you find him?

We've found (8) of these tomato hornworm munching on our tomato plants so far. I'm a little surprised to find so many, especially with having all of our tomatoes, like so many other folks on the East coast, wiped out last year by the blight. Perhaps, that alone explains why there are so many this year - they're hungry from having no tomato plants to dine on last year.

In any event, the chickens LOVE em! Toss one in at a time and watch the ladies battle for it.

1st Red Onions of the Season!

Here is our first two red onions of the season. Awww, don't cry!

I bought a 6-pack of these little fellas back in early Spring. The 6-pack was jam-packed and had approximately 20 - 30 of tiny red onion seedlings. I planted most of them, however, the majority didn't make it. There are several more to be picked but from a numbers perspective we didn't do too well. I guess I need some tips on growing red onions.

One thing's for sure, whether we have 6 or 50 onions, they're dam good eat'n and tasty!

Scrap Metal Recycling, Trip #4 - The End

Truck load # 4 - These items came from all over - basement, shed and the yard. Surprising what you find in the nooks and crannies; items stored many years ago.

The total weight of said scrap metal was 660 LBS!

That's it, this was the last trip. Although, I'm sure thare are more metal items lying around just not enough to justify a 5th trip.

The grand total weight for all four trips is - 3140 LBS!