Merry Christmas!

Always For Pleasure

I watched a documentary from 1978 called 'Always For Pleasure' by director Les Blank.  The film was about life in New Orleans leading up to Mardi Gras, and was primarily footage of street parades, funeral processions and people in amazing costumes.  It was beautiful and you should try to see it.

helping paws

I did a massive organizing project the other day - my stationary and paper goods - and Rudy did an excellent job overseeing the whole process

boot & noodles

I took out a box of winter clothes and stuck my foot inside a boot, only to have my toes encounter a stash of egg noodles.  Sometime since last winter, mice had discovered a bag of egg noodles on my pantry shelves, squirreled them into the basement and into my boot.  I remember finding the nibbled bag of noodles last year and moving them into a storage container, and now see where the mouse was relocating them.  Ha!

sky study #156

The Rainbow Thrift Center

Vinyl record for teaching your parakeet to talk - note bird wearing graduation cap on the center label $0.25

I love vintage health food cook books, and I found this one from 1978 which not only provides macrobiotic recipes, but advice for how to dress, bathe, and lifestyle in general.  There is a chapter called, "Principles of the Order of the Universe" that offers nonsensical statements like "All phenomena are ephemeral, constantly changing their constitution of yin and yang forces; yin changes into yang, yang changes into yin." $0.50

an envelope of really beautiful vintage post cards - mostly unused - of Florida.  They had me with the ostriches $2

autumn decor

My Mom's bicycle from the 1950s - adorning the front of my farm with a mum in the basket

caterpillar & sasquatch

with my good friend Jeanette at a Halloween party Saturday

harvest bounty

Traded at the last Traverse farmers market last weekend: apples, parsnip, garlic, Fall cookies

Happy Halloween!

Raquel & Marie

black walnuts

A neighbor had a dozen large bags of raw black walnuts free for the taking, so I took one home.  They are a lot of work.  The fruit are like rotting tennis balls, a thick, fabric-like flesh surrounding the walnut.  Step one is peeling off that skin - rubber gloves are a must, as the walnuts contain a dye that will stain your hands for days afterwards

Once the nuts are cleaned (this only represents about 1/3 of them - all I had patience for tonight)

you rinse them and cure them for a few weeks.  I will post a follow-up when I get down to opening them up with a hammer and wire cutters!

thrift haul: bedding

King sized bed sheets are expensive, but not these: perfectly white 100% cotton set for $8

Excellent vintage quilt print twin bed spread with matching pillow shams

cute cotton flannel PA Dutch print nightshirt $2

t-shirt-o-rama

We did a school farmer's market up in Sutton's Bay, MI this morning, and my favorite part was the kids t-shirts

she said she did know the original lyrics

sky study #155

sunset over the West pasture, October 7, 2016

the secret cave

Mom & I were driving south on Bayshore Drive last week and I caught a glimpse of this beautiful hillside stone cave behind a house.  We turned around and pulled into their driveway - it seemed nobody was home so Mom, with her 83 year old moxie, went inside and looked around. Inside was a sizable empty room, with a rotting door and lots of cobwebs.  I imagine someone built it as a wine or root cellar - it would make a great cheese cave!

I can fit that in my mouth sideways

Cozy's toy: a pear

hello kitty

kid at farmers market last Saturday: matching pink sequin hat & mittens, great glasses, chocolate croissant

mud on your face

Mom in a chocolate face mask

Rudy at the window

humptulips

snugglers

Rudy loves Cozy loves Rudy

Detroit, my beloved

Spent a few days in Detroit a few weeks ago - saw the amazing Chris Robinson Brotherhood - look how close we were! 

sugar skulls at La Gloria Bakery in Mexicantown

Megan and I in The Palm House, Belle Isle Conservatory

Indian sweets

clementine love!

shake a tail feather (singular)

My sweet old rooster Roosty is getting older and one by one is losing his beautiful tail feathers.  Since I took this picture last week, that last one has come out, so he looks more like a hen these days.  

sky study #154

Chica got game

Raquel's new puppy brought her DTL game to the farm

I love you, Dry Jack

A piece of one of my favorite cheeses in the whole world: Vella Dry Jack

the stray dogs

 A few weeks ago two stray dogs wandered onto the farm: an enormous white Great Pyrenees, and a skinny, skittish Doberman mix.  With leashes in hand, I tried to coax them to me.  The Doberman was very frightened and ran off, but the Great Pyranees came right over.  He wasn't wearing a collar, but I was able to get a leash around his neck and tied him to my deck while I went inside to make some calls.  The local vet, the Humane Society - my next thought was to get a photo of him.  I went out with my camera to get a picture, but in the 5 minutes I had tied him up,  he chewed himself free, and all that was left was the chewed end of the leash.

Spumoni deep dive

'

Rudy tucks in

in a dirt hole

Max's summertime spot to beat the heat - in a shallow patch of cool dirt beside the cheese barn

heterodon platirhinos and ophidiophobia

A puff-adder snake (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_12201-61207--,00.html) was in pursuit of a large frog in the driveway the other day, which caught the attention of the dogs. Frogs emit a noxious tasting slime when threatened, so the dogs left him alone, and the snake played dead (as you can see by his curled tail) when the dogs investigated her.  I put the dogs in the house and everyone was left unharmed.  I am not afraid of snakes, and it was a sizable snake. 

the bean fairy

I was down in the barn the other day, and when I came back in the house there was a large bag of green beans waiting for me, but I had no idea how they got there.  Turns out it was a neighbor - what a nice surprise!

morning greeting

Cozy double-turkey-leggin' in the sheets

love me a fritter

zucchini fritters

sky study #153

another glorious sky at my favorite intersection

includes a free mustache

Boss Mouse wonder employee Teri sporting the cardboard mustache that comes on every box of Screamin' Sicilian pizza