Month: August 2018

New Bird Visitors

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I had a lovely surprise this morning, under our bird feeder.

The first was a norther flicker, right under the bird feeder.

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The only other time I’ve seen one was quite a while ago, and well away from the house.

It was quite thoroughly drilling into the dirt!

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Look at those bright yellow streaks in the wings!

Unlike the one I saw last time, this one did not have the distinctive black big marking.  The difference between male and female, perhaps?

Then, while the girls and I were watching the norther flicker, a humming bird showed up!

I tried to get a photo, but it was moving so fast, I could barely get it in the camera frame, and it would be gone.  Focus?  What’s that!

However, I did get this shot that I really like.

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Completely out of focus, but has an artsy feel to it that I really like.

I’m told we only have one variety of hummingbird in our area; the ruby throated humming bird.  This one, which had no red on it, and its back was very green and shiny, would have been a female.

In the near future, we intend to plant a butterfly and hummingbird garden.  :-)

The Re-Farmer

Lighting up the sky

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Some video from the storm we had a little while ago.

Though we had quite the light show at midnight, we were very fortunate.  Across a lake to the west of us, a tornado touched ground, causing quite a bit of damage, and resulting in one death.  The Reeve of that municipality declared a state of emergency to deal with the damage.

The Re-Farmer

Beautiful Shaggy Friends

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The babies are getting so big!

I love when they are at the fence by the road.  Such gorgeous animals.

On a side note, when the time comes to replace our fences, this is kinda what I want to have.  Pressure treated wood posts, and a steel wire mesh, rather than the barbed wire we have always had.  It’ll cost a pretty penny, but will last much longer, look better, and be more secure.

The Re-Farmer

Making Chokecherry Vinegar

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The original recipe for this can be found here.

I adjusted the original recipe for my quantity of chokecherries.

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Soaking time: 24 hours
First boil: 5 minutes
Second boil: 2 minutes

5 cups chokecherries
1 2/3 cups vinegar
1 2/3 cups water
sugar

Wash and mash the berries.  Place them in a glass bowl (I mashed the washed berries in the bowl).

Combine vinegar and water.  Pour over the mashed berries.

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Vinegar and water solution poured over mashed chokecherries.

Let stand for 24 hours.

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Chokecherry and vinegar mix, after 24 hours.

Place in a large saucepan and slowly bring to a boil.

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Make sure to use a large enough pot to give the chokecherry mixture room to expand as it boils.

Boil for 5 minutes.

Strain through jelly bag.  Do not squeeze.

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I placed a moistened jelly roll bag into a large measuring cup.  Layers of cheese cloth can be used instead.

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I used an elastic band to close up the bag and hang it over the measuring cup.

Measure 1 cup of sugar for each cup of juice.

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I got just under 3 cups of liquid from the 5 cups of berries.

Combine chokecherry liquid and sugar into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

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While boiling the berry liquid with the sugar, I could really smell the vinegar!

After boiling for 2 minutes, allow to settle.

Bottle, let cool, and refrigerate for up to 6 months.

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I sterilized a quart jar and a small pitcher with a liquid tight seal to store the chokecherry vinegar.  The pitcher will be a gift for my mother.

To use: put ice in a glass.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of chokecherry vinegar.  Fill with water, club soda, ginger ale or sparkling water.

Enjoy!

The Re-Farmer

Morning Rays

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I visited the beach after dropping my daughter off at work today.  It was so beautiful!

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After the storms last night, the lake is very calm this morning.

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Though I am far from a morning person, I enjoy driving my daughter for her early shifts and being able to visit the beach this early.  I hung around, taking photos, playing Pokemon Go, and looking for interesting rocks, for about half an hour.  By 8:30 a.m., the beach was already getting crowded.  There were even people playing beach volleyball!  Well, it’s Saturday on a long weekend, so I guess that’s to be expected.  Especially a festival weekend.  There’s an annual festival held on the first weekend of August in town that has been going on for the last 80+ years here.  I remember going to it as a child and teen, and it seemed to get smaller and smaller every year.  By the time I moved away, I honestly wondered how much longer it would continue.  Trends changed over the years, though, the the town wisely took advantage of them, and incorporated a viking village with re-enactors (turns out there’s a whole community of re-enactors that travel from festival to festival across Canada), complete with mock battles.  It’s become quite huge.

Which means we’ll be avoiding it, as much as possible! LOL

As early as it still was, I headed home faster than usual because of the growing crowds, where I found another ray of sunshine waiting for me.

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Teeny Tabby is so adorable!

The Re-Farmer

Midnight Light Show

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We had a storm sweep through last night – lots of rain and lightning, but oddly, no wind.

These two photos were taken .04 seconds apart.

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My older daughter and I went into the sun room to watch, and there were many times when the yard was suddenly bright as day!

I tried to take video as well, and have one that I will upload later.  It’s a lot darker than what we were actually seeing, but still shows how much lightning we were getting.

I did a walk around the yard before driving my younger daughter to work, and was amazed by the complete lack of downed branches.  Usually, any stiff wind will at least send willow branches flying.  Not a one!

Which I am grateful for.  This morning, I learned that a tornado touched down to the south of us, and at least one home was torn from its foundation.

We have much to be thankful for here.  The brunt of storms always seems to pass our area by.

The Re-Farmer

Update: I have since learned that the tornado touched down to the northwest of us, on the other side of another lake.  One person was found dead next to his destroyed home. :-(