Spit and Shine!

Spent a little time refurbing the shine on this sterling silver platter.

I don't recall where this came from but I pulled it from a box I brought down from the attic.

Picked up some sterling silver polish and with the help of an old toothbrush and some elbow grease, WAALAA!

Before - 

After -

It's kinda hard to tell in the pictures but the after is 100% cleaner and shinier! Still needs more work but I'm happy with the results so far.

I Shredded It, Of Course!

I've been doing a bit of shredding the last several weeks, UGH!  We pulled down from the attic our old, real old like late 90's, bank statements, paychecks, mortgages, etc. and began the process of shredding them. I filled, and I mean filled, (3) leaf bags full of the shredding's!

What a chore, as we have a rinky-dink shredder, not made for such heavy use.  I does a great job but would shut itself off when it got too hot, which meant I had to find something else to do while it cooled down. 

In the end, and now that it's behind be, it's all good.  Very happy to have all that paperwork shredded and off to be recycled.

Covid Explained

 

Vacancy?!

This Blue Jay was checking out this sparrow nest the other afternoon.  Sorry pal but you're too big, move along.

Just Hanging

I don't have any bird feeders hanging in the yard this season.  However, the Blue Birds are still here and bee-bopping all over.  They're seldom is one or two, typically there are a half dozen or so.  They're still hanging out and checking out the bird houses. Hoping for their return and nesting again come spring.

They're fun to watch and photogenic, at times.

 

Tight As A Drum!

I just finished installing the below Frost King insulation shrink kit on our family room bay window, PHEW!

Simply enough but yet I find myself putting the install off thinking it's a bigger process than it actually is.

My work at home area is just to the left of this window and the fact that our family room has cathedral ceilings, it's gets a tad nippy in this room.  Covering this window really makes a BIG difference in keeping this room warmer.

Of course our cat, Oliver, is none to pleased with this latest development, as he can now no longer jump up and keep an eye on things.  Hence the dangling "reminders' taped to the plastic...

Prepping the area; washing the inside windows, wiping down the sill, etc. -

Complete!  Added a thick layer of old curtain, folded nicely, atop the sill for added insulation -

Bring it on Mother Nature, we're prepared!

Thoughts To Ponder

I came across this profound statement from my dad today -

Circa 2000

Here is a picture of our house as it was listed back in 2000

Here she is today in 2020 - 

The 20-years has gone by in a flash and so much has changed.

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

Pulled and scanned some old pictures the other day.  The process, although tedious, is wonderful, as it beings back SO many memories of growing up and times gone by.  I'd be lying if a tear or two isn't shed...

Here are some pictures of my goat Nani!  She was awesome and more like a dog.

Here she is atop of Charlies Place getting a birds eye view of things.  She would love to get up there and then literally jump off the front and soar -

She wasn't bothered by the snow and loved her some plastic!  Here she is eating the plastic garbage bags that she could get a hold of -

The pictures below are of Nani at her new home.  Honestly, I don't recall why I chose to sell her, perhaps graduating.  Perhaps falling in love.  It was tough decision but set in motion a friendship that has lasted over 30+ years now. Fate?  Karma?

Here she is again enjoying a tasty plastic bread bag -

She really loved to climb on things and jump off them, often times sideways.  She became a mother at her new home too, an excellent mother too -

I miss her and I apologies to her often...

CUT...And That's A Wrap!

Officially done with outside chores for the season!

Did some raking yesterday and filled up two more lawn leaf bags and mowed the entire law once last time.  All the gas powered machines have had some high octane fuel and stabilized added to them and each started and run for ~5 minutes, and all stowed out of the way for the winter.

The finishing touches for yesterday was putting out the driveway markers for the snow that's sure to come. 

Feeling good and happy the season has come to an official end here at the ole homestead.  Now, to focus on more cleaning, sorting, inventorying, organizing and tossing, what seems like endless "stuff" we've accumulated here since 2000.

Fender Bender

Although we don't seem to have as many deer as in the past, they're still out there.  I see signs all the time, from their hoof marks, droppings and eaten plants.  Here are a couple pics from the other morning of a mother and her daughter, twinsies!

There was some excitement last weekend, late one evening, where a deer was hit by a car at the end of our driveway!  Substantial damage to the front end of the car and some broken headlight glass strewn about but the deer took off down back.  Hard to imagine she'll survive but who knows. I won't be too disappointed to be honest, nor will all our annuals.  However, that being said, I hope it wasn't one of these two, as I'm sure they're bonded and it'll be a long lonely winter. 

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the above photo?!

Don't Waste Time!

 

Office Visit For The Day

I went into the office on Wednesday, first time in over 3 months.  The place is eerily quite with not too many people there. It was a nice change and even the commute up and back wasn't too bac but walked into quite a mess.  After a full day in we got everything accomplished that we went in for AND cleaned up the area and organized.

 

Like New!

A freshly bathed and cleaning smelling Trixie-dog, thank you Emilie, enjoying her post spa time soaking in the afternoon sun on our back deck and nodding off too...

Smells SO much better but still needs a haircut.

A Blast From The Past...

Here's a blast from the past!

Spent ~12 years employed here, which as it turns out was the gateway to where I am today.

SO, very thankful!

Hello Ladies!

The ladies trying to sweet talk me into letting them out, um no!  They really do like eating the grass when I open the gate and they have a chance.

Out of (7) pullets, we're getting a single egg a day. The white pullet on the right is one currently laying.  They're somewhere in the 28+ week age and should all be laying now, however, we have some free-loaders for sure!  Yes, it's colder and yes the days are shorter but they're young and should be laying more, a lot more!

This lovely lady being spotlighted in Svetlana, our Russian Orloff chicken -

Thinking maybe chicken soup if laying doesn't pick up soon!

Inconsiderate Neighbors!

Ever since our rear neighbor cleared his back lot of 95% of the trees, which is now wide open, his dog, as well as several others have uninhibited access to our back yard and lawn.  So far they've not fussed with or bothered with the chickens but what's happening is they're pissing and shitting in our lawn, UGH!!  Franklin has a leash law, however, like most things these day the law clearly doesn't apply to them, GRRR!

Our dog is a Chihuahua dog, so all things considered relatively small poop but NOT so much with the neighbors dog!  Sweet Baby Jesus, I'd swear a cow had been through and dropped a cow patty, that BIG!  Although, I've not yet stepped in, I have squashed a patty or two with the ride mower tires, which is disgusting!  It's just so hard to spot with all the leaves.

So there's that issue AND the fact that the piss is killing the grass. The first picture below shows just two of the 5 dead grass spot!

I decided to take the high road, at least for now, and not call the animal control officer...yet.  Instead I had a couple rolls of 5' tall wire (thank you Randy and Deb) that I strung almost half way across the back property line.  Of course this will not prevent them from being able to get over if they want but it does prevent them from ambling over like they used to.

We'll see how this works.  If the problem persists, fuck the neighbors, I'm calling animal control!

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves!

This past Monday was leaf bag pickup day for the town.  In preparation, I spent the last couple of weekends out in the yard raking and bagging leaves.  I was able to compost some and put some in the chicken coop for bedding and to give the girls something to pick through to keep busy but there were just too many.  I don't really have a good spot here at the ole homestead to pile all these leave, so town leaf pickup is a day I circle on the calendar.  Raking also helps to pick up acorns and sticks that are mixed in with the leaves and that the mower doesn't pick up.

Here's the front yard -

Driveway side yard with a glimpse of the bagged leaves -  

Garden side yard - 

Here, the trash truck just pulled up and getting ready to load the bags - a total of (38) packed full to the top bags of leaves and sticks and stuff, all gone!

Of course there are more leaves to be picked up again still but Mother Nature has been helping move these along for others (neighbors) to worry about.

Wax On - Wax Off!

I washed and waxed my car the other day in preparation for winter.

Subsequent rain confirms I did a pretty darn good job!

Gone But Not Forgotten

Came across these Sunny Rock Farm memorabilia items.

Sunny Rock Farm was a 74-acre farm hidden in North Walpole that opened back in the early 1920s.  I didn't live too far from there when in Westwood and even closer when I moved to Walpole.  I would take my oldest, Stephanie, there all the time.  They had a big barn with cows and a section dedicated to 4H, which had rabbits and chickens.  The farm store, which included the kitchen\bakery and always smelled of fresh bake goodness, also had fresh eggs, milk, candy, soda and other goodies.  That's where I'd get my bark mulch from and you could also bring your leaves and grass clipping to dispose of.  

It was a sad day in late 1990s, when the elderly couple passed away and, from what I had heard at the time, the property got tied up in a family tough of war and closed never to reopen again.  In 2015 30 new home lots were approved on the land.  I've not driven by in year and suspect the homes are big mini mansion types being it's North Walpole and prolly all look nice.  Sadly, however, I would have preferred to see the land kept as a working farm...