Veterans Day 2010

Thank a veteran

Thursday, November 11 is Veterans Day, a U.S. federal holiday honoring military veterans for their patriotism. Major hostilities of WW I were formally ended in 1918 at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month with the German signing of the Armistice; this day is celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world.

Something I learned last week is that when the holiday is termed Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements – both are incorrect – according to the U.S. government which declared that veterans is attributive (word that modifies a noun) and not possessive.

Last weekend, our small town of 500+ celebrated Veterans Day with an annual celebration and parade. There was a Coast Guard color guard, scout troops, a high school marching band . . .

Fire companies from neighboring towns joined in the parade.

Many antique cars were in the parade line-up.

After the parade, town residents were invited to the local fire department for hot dogs and chili and an awards ceremony to honor area veterans. The historic Onley train station held an open house the same day.

Veterans Day has undergone many changes since 1918.

• In 1938, November 11 was designated as a legal holiday to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.”
• In 1954, Armistice Day was officially renamed Veterans Day to honor those who served in World War II and Korea.
• In 1969, The Uniform Holiday Bill was signed to  increase the number of 3-day ensure holiday weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. However, many states continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.
• In 1971, the first Veterans Day under the new law was observed on October 25 and met with objection by veterans  groups and the general public.
• In 1975, a law was signed returning the annual  observance to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978.

Today, Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls.

Thanks to Veterans – Everywhere

Feathered Friends

Now that we are back home, the bird feeders are once again being stocked. This weekend we were welcomed home with a gathering of feathered friends who are fun to watch from the back patio – while  sitting around the chimera enjoying a late afternoon cup of coffee – yes, it’s a “tough” life, but we make the best of it and ENJOY!

At one time 6 or more goldfinches were hanging onto the thistle seed sock. I don’t have a long zoom lens like fellow bloggers Elaine (Artic View) and Mona (Montanagirl) to really capture these backyard visitors. Also, check out Shelley’s  Birding in Michigan  and Frank’s The Early Birder for some amazing shots and wonderful close-ups as well as lots of information.

Even given the limitations of my digital zoom, it’s still wonderful to sit outside and watch and listen to these visitors, especially in late afternoons after working around the yard. As Grenville mentioned in an earlier post, we do have some catching up to do after a month long road trip which was well worth it.

Male and female house finches converged on the feeders with sparrows joining in as well. Next week, we will be heading to the local Tractor Supply to stock up again. It’s amazing how quickly these little birds can go through the feed. They also had help from a blue jay, several mourning doves and a cardinal whose feathers were molting.

The blue jay does not share well and prefers to eat alone after noisily pushing out the other birds.

A pair of mourning doves hung out and watched for awhile. They tend to sit in the middle of the flat feeder and seem oblivious to other birds joining in around them.

Some visitors keep a lookout atop the feeders or in the nearby crepe myrtle trees.



So far, the annoying crackles and starlings have not returned and good riddance – they usually empty the feeders within hours. Perhaps switching to safflower seed is having an effect as most nuisance birds (and squirrels)  dislike its bitter taste and will usually avoid it. It is a bit more costly and we’ve been mixing it with wild bird seed and sunflower seeds (cardinal’s favorite). Of course, we may expect some VERY unwelcome visitors once the weather turns colder and there is less to forage in the fields. But, at least for now we are enjoying their absence.
Speaking of cold weather, check out the SNOW photos posted by fellow blogger Christer at The Cottage by the Crane Lake.

As Monty Python would say

And now for something different!!!!! Thanks to loyal and super observant follower, Possum, we have the results of this years Darwin Awards. For those of you who may not know what the Darwin Awards are (hard to believe anyone wouldn’t know) they are tributes bestowed on certain individuals who have found truly creative ways to eliminate themselves from the human gene pool. And here are this years winners:

8th Place
In Detroit , a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after squeezing head first through an 18-inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys.

7th Place
A 49-year-old San Francisco stockbroker, who "totally zoned when he ran", accidentally, jogged off a 100-foot high cliff on his daily run.

6th Place
While at the beach, Daniel Jones, 21, dug an 8 foot hole for protection from the wind and had been sitting in a beach chair at the bottom, when it collapsed, burying him beneath 5 feet of sand. People on the beach used their hands and shovels trying to get him out but could  not reach him. It took rescue workers using heavy equipment almost an hour to free him. Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital.

5th Place
Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed as he fell through the ceiling of a bicycle shop he was robbing. Death was caused when the long torch (flashlight) he had placed in his mouth to keep his hands free, rammed into the base of his skull as he hit the floor.

4th Place    
Sylvester Briddell, Jr., 26, was killed as he won a bet with friends who said he would not put a revolver loaded with four bullets into his mouth and pull the trigger.

3rd Place
After walking around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door, a man walked into H&J Leather & Firearms intent on robbing the store. The shop was full of customers and a uniformed officer was standing at the counter. Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up and fired a few wild shots from a target pistol. The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire and several  customers also drew their guns and fired. The robber was pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics. Crime scene investigators  located 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified rounds
from 7 different weapons. No one else was hurt.

HONOURABLE MENTION
Paul Stiller, 47, and his wife Bonnie were bored just driving around at 2 a.m. So they lit a stick of dynamite to toss out the window to see what would happen. Apparently they failed to notice the window was closed

RUNNER UP
Kerry Bingham had been drinking with several friends when one of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from a local  bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more heated and at least 10 men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 a.m. Upon arrival at the midpoint of the bridge they discovered that no one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham, who had continued drinking, volunteered and pointed out that a coil of lineman's cable lay nearby. They secured one end around Bingham's leg and then
tied the other (!) to the bridge. His fall lasted 40 feet before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously survived his fall into the icy water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen.  Bingham's foot was never located.

AND THE WINNER IS...
Zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt ( Paderborn , Germany ) fed his constipated elephant 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally got relief.  Investigators say ill-fated Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the ailing elephant an olive oil enema when the relieved beast unloaded.
The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground where he struck his head on a rock as the elephant continued to evacuate 200 pounds of dung on top of him.
It seems to be just one of those freak accidents that proves.... 'shit happens' (CENSORED since this is a family sort of blog) “Poo-Poo Occurs”.

No Place Like Home,

unless you’ve been away for a while and the chores, projects, and seasonal stuff is waiting for you. Our month in  Maine was fabulous. But when we got home there was grass to contend with, unpacking, sorting out cloths that were headed for the thrift store (remember, i bought a bunch of stuff at Remy’s).

So what else have we been up to???? Well there was getting our local train station ready for an open house last weekend. AND who can forget our visit to the Bodacious Bovines and Swingin’ Swine at Turlington Farms in Chancetown (pop. 25). The greenhouse is more organized now, and as of this afternoon it has electricity. The boat is winterized and covered now. AND as of today the wiring in our barn is finally finished with the lights on the front that are on a dusk to dawn photocell.

Almost looks like a little village, all we need is some elves. Maybe they will show up after we put the Christmas lights on all the outbuildings.

And after a long day of barn work for me and wildflower chopping for the Princess, we relaxed with some late afternoon coffee and a fire in our new Chimera out on the patio. Really hard to get a good shot of the Chimera, especially from the kitchen window, so i did the smart thing and asked Beatrice to do it. So now you know the rumor that Beatrice locked me away is greatly exaggerated.  Possum, if you make a comment it better be nice!!!!

Better Days

There are numerous old and abandoned homes and farmhouses on the VA eastern shore. While driving along back roads, we have come across countless once-proud structures.

I’ve often wondered as to what made folks up and leave these places, but of course there’s no one around to ask. It’s been said that “if only walls could talk” surely what tales they would tell about the people who once lived within.

These two homes were both spotted during a recent weekend drive. Several blogging friends also enjoy photographing old homes, and these are especially for Elaine at Artic View and Mona at Montanagirl.

There is no shortage of similar homes in these parts; others will be shown in future posts.

This little house seems lost in the autumn colors which would have been even more striking with a clear blue sky.

Hog Heaven and Bodacious Bovines

Yep, that’s exactly what we saw last weekend when farming friends hosted their final Chancetown Farm Day festival of the season. It was held every Saturday in October.
This was the second annual event held by this family to introduce children and their parents to farm life.

Sure glad we made it home in time. 

There were plenty of family fun events from bobbing for apples, playing in a corn bin, pumpkin picking (and carving), a corn maze and hayride.Mama Pig (the name fit) was busy tending to her week-old family of 11 piglets. They were named – we were told – bacon, ham, sausage. But, they won’t be leaving home for quite awhile.

This was a wonderful local family event for all. Even the weather cooperated with cool temperatures and a beautiful sunny afternoon.

The cows enjoyed the attention and snacked on pumpkin fresh from the field.

Meanwhile Gertrude, Mildred, and Henrietta were busy having – pardon the pun – a hen party.

Although Grenville and I only raise veggies on our little mini-farm, The Frog & PenguINN, we can appreciate all the hard work that this family invests in this event and are glad they open their farm to share – we had fun too!

Steeple Chasing

Not horses, but building tops.

Nearly every town we visited on our Maine road trip had one or more churches and some very unique town halls. It’s true that they certainly don’t build structures like these anymore – too bad. It became a daily challenge to capture as many as possible along the route; sometimes from the car.

Here are some of the church steeples . . .

And here are some of the city halls . . .

There were steeples hidden in the trees . . .

Here’s my favorite – there’s a steeple in all that color !

Looks Like

Ever notice that things in nature can often resemble something else?

Like this tree branch, for example.

Looks like a shore bird at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Maybe a Great Blue Heron . . .

or a Great Egret . . .

What do you think?

Splish Splash

They were taking a bath on Sunday

at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Stewed Up

There’s a nip in the air here on the VA eastern shore – FINALLY. Now that we’re back home, it’s back to cooking and autumn is definitely time for crock pot cooking. That’s great too because we have lots of catch up work around the house and in the yard. Ever notice how those chores don’t go away even if you do?
This is a basic beef stew and extra veggies can be added. My choice was green beans thanks to Grenville’s produce from the Frog & PenguINN garden.
Once all the prep work is done and everything is in the crock pot, you’re done with dinner. Crock pot meals usually serve 4-6, but we plan for leftovers and freeze a container too.
Beef Stew

• 3 carrots, cut up
• 3 potatoes, cut up
• 2 lbs stew beef - 1 ½-inch cubes
• 1-2 stalks of celery, cut up
• 3 onions quartered
• 1 1 C fresh (if available) or 1 can mushrooms
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp parsley
• Salt to taste

We brown the meat before adding to the crock pot.
Put about a ½ C of flour, some salt and pepper into a zippered bag. Toss the meat with the mixture and shake off any excess. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add some of the meat; don’t crowd the pan. Stir and turn until the meat has browned on all sides. Remove and put in the crock pot; repeat until all the meat is browned adding more oil as needed.
F&P Tip: Brown the onions in the pan after the meat has been removed to scrape up any bits of flavor. 
Place ingredients in crock pot in order listed. Stir just enough to mix spices. Cover and set on LOW for 10-12 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours. If short on time, start on High for 2 hours, then set  to Low for about 6 hours.
(2 hours on Low = 1 hour on High).
Go do something else while dinner cooks – come  back and enjoy.