Woods Branch Farm: 8/1/09

8/28/09

Goats are SO Funny!

Was down to Betty Manning's today to get some mums for the yard, and saw this "Picture".......had to park the car and walk back to where I could get a clear shot - he was all comfy lying there in the sun. They had the feeder away from buildings - wonder why?

8/27/09

My Love for Old Quilts

A quilt top I found that I felt worthy of finishing. I bought it from a wonderful little 93 year-old woman - with a story that she had no children to leave the quilt to, and that it had been made by HER grandmother - so I can date it to well over 100 years old - the last part of 1800......According to my pattern books, it is a "Pine Burr" pattern, but since I don't know what a Pine Burr is, I am calling it a "Chestnut Burr", as we have chestnut trees here on the farm, and I definitely know what a Chestnut Burr is!

I bought a thin cotton batting, an unbleached muslin backing, and am trying to quilt it worthy of its beauty.

It has become an obsession - I find myself working on it at all hours of the day and night.......have it about half done. At least it is a break from mowing grass!

8/24/09

And Then It Was Late Summer at Woods Branch Farm

Everything on the farm has tried itself this summer, the flowers and weeds are in full bloom, the nut and fruit trees are full of fruits, the grass on the hillsides is still green and growing, the Indian spring-fed pond in back of the barn is full and running down the spillway.............. the floods and rains were very trying at the time, but guess Mother Nature had some catching up to do?

Woods Branch - the rocks have gotten throroughly scrubbed this summer from all the rains.......

The soybean field is beginning to show a tinge of brown, the plants are full of mature beans and beginning to dry.......

The chestnut trees are full - I try to duck when mowing under, as these spiny burrs really hurt when I bump into them!

So many walnuts - and they are extremely large this year, I guess from all the rains - they are pulling the branches down on the trees.....

Even the roadside weeds are in full bloom

8/21/09

Happy Birthday, Terri

Dinner at the Key West Shrimp House, Madison, and guess who got to wear the prestigious Lobster Hat.......

A better picture -the waitress had heard us say something about a birthday, and they surprised us all - even with a piece of key lime pie with a candle. And the whole room sang "Happy Birthday"........

Madison 's "Riberfest"

What a beautiful setting for the event. The streets around and between the Lanier Home and the Ohio River. What started out as a BBQ Contest has turned into a yearly Festival with live bands and all the trimmings!

The boat traffic is moving in for the week-end......

The BBQ Teams beginning to set up for the "Riberfest".......this is only Thursday, and they fire up their cookers seriously Friday night for the competition Saturday. However, a get-to-gether party is in the making, and a lot of the cookers are going full blast with chicken, pizza, corn on the cob - my goodness it smelled good along the Ohio!

Sarge, Terri and Steve - we checked them out......they were just having too much fun!

Betty and Steve

Steve and Linda, set up for the week-end

Grandchildren at the Farm last week-end

Ashley reading to Tessa

Laura and Smiling Charley

8/6/09

The Flood of 2009

Tuesday started out with a soft rain, and as the day went on, the rain grew more and more intense - and finally coming down in torrents - too fast to run off. Kelly and Bill came out early on, and during this heavy rain, Bill cut a tree off the road that had blown down - they couldn't even get in........and they stayed and helped. (We reported had from 5 to 8 inches in the area). We still have fans and humidifier going in the basement, but the river is back in its banks, and all is back to normal today.

Securing the Pontoon in calmer water - the river gets wicked when flooded and will take anything and everything in its path. The boat is cabled to the front - also to the back onto trees up in the yard, and we just pull it from the front with rope up to the edge of the yard (with the help of the truck).........and Andy will come out when all is back to normal, and push it back in with the tractor.

Woods Branch, which got up to the road to the side of the house.

Betty and Steve (notice boots on Betty......had been squeeging water (with Kelly's help) out of the basement - which was the largest problem. Water coming off the hillside had found a weak spot in the sealed basement wall, and ran through to the drains). We keep everything in the basement in plastic tubs - a lesson learned long ago.)

River in front of house

8/3/09

A Sunday Get-Together for Chris

Chris is home from Tyndall AFB, Florida - for a couple weeks, and we had a family get-together at the farm Sunday. After a dinner, topped off with a peach cobbler, and Becky's blackberry pie, the kids, and grandkids were wound up and ready to do things......