We are expecting!!

Well, Not me but we took our horses to the vet yesterday and found out that they are both pregnant. Willow is due around March and Badger is due around April!
I am so glad that the guessing games are over! We rescued these Horses and had no idea that they were pregnant when we got them although We did suspect that Badger could be and we were very surprised to find out that they are both expecting mothers.
Willow has mastitis and we are treating her with an antibiotic, other than that they are in good health!!
I hope to get a new camera soon and I will post pictures of our progress with them.
I guess I will need to read up on equine pregnancy, It looks like I am getting a crash course in this area!!

Its been awhile!

I am sorry that I have not blogged in a long time, it has been a hard adjustment to losing my Grandmother and then we misplaced our camera, so I am reduced for now to use my cell phone for pictures.

We have had a lot going on around here, we have done more cleaning on the property and rearranged our barn to fit two rescued Thoroughbred race horses!

This is Willow, she won 9 races in her career and won over $60.000 before a leg injury took her off the track, she has a calcium build up on her left front leg as a result from her injury. Willow stands 16.2 hands high and has a very sweet personality!

This is Badger, she stands 17 hands high and is blind in her left eye from falling into the rail during a race, we have not been able to find her race record. Badger loves her treats and trys to mug us for more!

Both horses have the famed Man O War in their blood lines and Badger also has the only horse that beat Man O War, named Upset in her bloodline as well!

We are treating willow for rain rot that she got while with her previous owner and they both have some hoof issues that we are taking care of.

They have been with us now almost two weeks and they already look forward to seeing us at the barn, they follow us around and get lots of Hugs and Kisses!

We are proud to offer these two beautiful horses a home where they can live out the rest of their lives being loved and cared for like they both deserve to be!

I will post more pictures of them a little later, hopefully I will have another camera soon!

Goodbye Mamaw, I Love You

Monday Afternoon I lost my Grandmother whom I loved very dearly and Greatly miss her already, She was like a Mom to me, she was there for me through 40 years of my life and learning to live without her will be very difficult.

She left this world very suddenly and without pain which I am so very grateful for and I know she is in Heaven with our Lord and those who went before her.

Lillian M. Spielman, 83
NOV. 5, 1924-JULY 7, 2008
Lillian Marie Spielman, 83, of Falling Waters and formerly of Maugansville, died Monday, July 7, 2008, at Washington County Hospital.
Born Nov. 5, 1924, in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late Henry C.L. and Inger Peterson Wolffsen.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest "Jim" Spielman, in 1993.
She was a 1942 graduate of Hagerstown High School.
She was a homemaker.
She was a member of St. Matthew's United Methodist Church in Hagerstown.
She was a member of the Degree of Pocohontas Local Council Redfeather 59 of Williamsport and past great Pocohontas State of Maryland as Great Keeper of Records.
She is survived by two sons, Gary E. Sprankle of Martinsburg, W.Va., and William H. Spielman of Greencastle, Pa.; one sister, Dana Smith of Maugansville; nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by one son, Robert L. Sprankle; and one sister, Nancy Stevenson.
Services will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Osborne Funeral Home in Williamsport. The Rev. Jerry L. Lowans will officiate. Burial will be in Cedar Lawn Memorial Park in Hagerstown.
The family will receive friends Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home, which will open at 9 a.m.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Matthew's United Methodist Church, 443 W. Franklin St., Hagerstown, MD 21740.

Besides the Redmen, She was also Past President of The American Legion Auxiliary, she volunteered her services in many different areas. She was a Loving Mom, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother who found her joy through making other people happy.

I Love you Mamaw and Miss you.

Apple pie baked over a fire

One of my favorite cooking methods is over an open fire, Today I decided to make an apple pie in my dutch oven!

This is the oven over the bed of coals

Here is the finished pie!

I used to do alot of cooking over a fire, It really isn't all that hard, it just takes a little longer and it is alot hotter!
but, the food comes out wonderful and has a better taste than it does from a conventional oven.

For baking I use a three footed dutch oven and get a good fire going, once I have enough coals I then pull the coals from the fire and place them on a pile on the ground where the dutch oven sits and then put coals on top the lid.
I elevate the food I am baking on a wire frame to get a good air flow around it.
for this pie it took about an hour to bake and came out tasting perfect!

First Broccoli Harvest!

Broccoli harvested from our garden, the first of the season!

All organically grown!

I cut the broccoli up and added it to penne pasta with diced cucumber, fresh peas from our garden and fresh herbs also from my garden, then I covered it with sweet vidalia dressing.....The only thing missing was some good homegrown tomatoes!

A walk in the park

We had a rain storm come through this afternoon and cooled things down a bit, so we decided to get sandwiches and have dinner by the river.

After we ate, we all went for a walk in a local park

We had a great walk except for the mosquitos!

We found this guy on the side of the path!

It was a nice evening away from the house for a little while, now everyone is just relaxing and the dogs are sleeping!

Thief in the hen house!

When I went into the chicken coop tonight to collect eggs and secure the chickens....I found a thief!

All curled up in one of the nest boxes, caught red handed!

He had several big bulges in his belly and yolk dripping from his mouth!

I called Alan down to the barn to apprehend the felon

court was held, the jury... Robin and Myself voted for execution but the high court... Alan, ruled against us and decided that this egg bandit should be banished from the land and so Alan took the snake in custody... inside of a cooler, to a land far, far away... well, actually about five miles down the road and released him.

I hope that is the last we see of him!

No chickens were harmed, just robbed or their eggs!!!

My Birthday

Yesterday was my Birthday, the big 4.0.

We went to my Moms river lot for a get together, we had Hamburgers and Hot dogs on the grill, potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs and more!

We made home made cherry vanilla Ice cream with the cherries we had picked last week!


Mom made two cakes that had a blackberry filling and coconut frosting!
After we ate we all sat around the camp fire and enjoyed some good company while others played a few games.
We talked and visited until midnight!

Thank You Mom, I had a great time and all your work is greatly appreciated!

Today is my Daughter Amanda's 20th Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday Amanda!!!

Fathers Day annual Picnic

We had our annual Fathers Day picnic yesterday, I didn't get as many pictures of all the family that I wanted because I was too busy talking to everyone!

My Dad at the Grill

Ryan and his Great, Great Grandma!

My Step Mom, Cousin Buffy, her daughter and my Grandmother

Playing pass the cup, we had alot more people playing than this,

I started taking pictures after I was eliminated.

Volley Ball

Ryan enjoyed the playground!

Robin, Ryan and myself at a campground we stopped by on the way home!

Everyone had a good time, we had great food, games, swimming in the pool and visiting with Grandparents, Parents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins!

Sweet Cherries!

I went Saturday morning to pick cherries,

I picked 3 gallons which gave me;

9 quarts and 1 pint

with enough left out to eat and to make home made

cherry Ice Cream!

I would liked to have more but,

the cherries are expensive at $ 2.25 a lb for pick your own!

The Garden is Growing!

The garden is growing very well, we had a heat wave come through early this year with 100 degree temps so now I don't have any more spinach but everything else is growing great!

Tomatoes

Flowers on the Tomato plants

Peas

Potatoes in the front and Broccoli in the back

Broccoli

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Chives and English Thyme

Herbs in containers.... Mint, Dill, Summer Savory and more Thyme.

Sweet Basil, Lemon Balm and Coleus

I planted 52 seeds of bush beans but only 5 have germinated, I'm not sure what I did wrong... we had ALOT of rain though and I think that might have been part of the problem. The Spinach bolted and now I have to do some research to see what I can plant in its place!

Everything that I have growing right now, I started from seed!

To me it is exciting to watch my garden grow and I enjoy the time I spend with all the plants, there is just something very therapeutic about working in the garden!

Gone Fishing!

Last night we were invited to a friends house for a cookout and to do some fishing in their pond, It was Ryan's first fishing experience and he had a great time, fishing and watching everyone else catch fish!

Alan fishing in the pond


Robin casting her line

Robin caught the first fish of the evening!

One of the Sunfish Alan caught

My first fish of the evening

Sun Fish

Ryan's very first fish!


Alan helped Ryan with his fishing but let him cast the line out and reel it in, Ryan cast out twice and got a bite immediately each time!

Our final count came to twelve! a few small mouth Bass and Sun fish!... Not bad for a few hours of fishing and socializing with friends!

Guess whats on the menu for dinner tonight?!

Big Black Snake

We decided to camp out on our property this past weekend and while we were sitting around enjoying a nice camp fire, Trevor noticed that we had a visitor.

Trevor holding the Black snake

Closer view of Alan holding the snake

Robin checking it out

Alan guessed the snake to be over 5 feet long

After everyone was done looking at it and taking pictures, we set it free in the woods.

Black snake or not you will not find me holding it, but it was neat to look at it anyway!

Carnival and Fireworks Fun

Last night we enjoyed a great evening of fun, we went to a friends house for a cookout and they are lucky enough to live with in walking distance to the carnival that was going on in town, so we walked to the carnival after we ate some really good food and then came back to their house to enjoy the fireworks. We had front row seats for the fireworks, it was a very fun night to spend with friends and family!

Ryan's expression when we got to the carnival!

A Teddy bear ride!

Of course, no visit to a carnival is complete until you ride the carousel!

Alan, Matt and Trevor playing the carnival games, Alan won a stuffed panda bear for Robin!

When the Fireworks started!

After the fireworks were done and the night was coming to a close, everyone was worn out from all the activities that we shared!