Good morning from the Hideaway 6/27/2012

     It is a cool and cloudy morning in the Hideaway.  The sun is peering weakly through the clouds, and there is a lovely fresh breeze.  The birds are singing and carrying on in the bushes around the house and barns.  The baby bunnies and baby woodchucks are busy grazing on the lawn.
     I have been puttering around the house, taking inventory of the herbs and spices in my spice cabinet.  Some need replacing.  This I will do this week.  It also reminded me of a great early summer tomato sauce recipe;
     5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
     5 fresh cloves garlic crushed
     2-28 oz cans crushed tomatoes, or 5 lbs fresh tomatoes from the garden (peeled and chopped)
     1-6 oz can of tomato paste
     1 sweet onion chopped
Saute the onion lightly in the olive oil, then add all other ingredients and let simmer for a perhaps 15 minutes.  To this you can add whatever you like;
     fresh mushrooms, Italian sausage, meatballs, zucchini squash (cubed), summer squash (cubed), sweet Italian pepper (chopped), a handful of fresh spinach (chopped), fresh basil...the possibilities are endless!  Just let it simmer until whatever you have added is cooked to your liking, then serve with your favorite pasta and fresh Italian or French bread.  Yummy!!  Notice that there is no added salt or sugar?
     Well I am off to organize my tack room.  All is quiet on the western front.

Magical scene 6/24/2012

     I just went for an impromptu walk in the woods.  It was just getting dark, but everywhere around me, all through the woods on both sides were hundreds of fireflies!!  It was an amazing and unbelievably beautiful scene.  I felt as though I was walking through a fairy tale. 
     Just the sight of all those tiny twinkling lights floating around in the dusky forest made me feel that anything was possible, witches and ghosts, princesses and fairies.  Truly a magical walk.

Good morning from the Hideaway 6/24/2012

     It is a perfect Summer morning in the Hideaway.  We have survived the heatwave, and the storms of last night which ushered in this cooler, clear weather.  The birds are singing happily in the freshly washed world outside.
    Have you ever noticed that the birds, especially the robins and the cat birds sing their morning and evening songs before a rain, no matter what time of day? There was a veritable symphony yesterday afternoon.
     The horses are all feeling good, and were full of energy when I fed this morning.  The hounds are basking on the deck, in the gentle morning sun.  Everything is so alive this morning.  Each blade of grass, each leaf, each spider's web is glistening with tiny droplets of rain water.  The air conditioners are off and the windows are opened wide to the breeze.
     All is quiet on the western front.
     

Good afternoon from the Hideaway 6/23/2012

     It has been a hot and muggy several days in the Hideaway, but as I look out the living room windows I am watching the dark and roiling clouds that spell relief roll in from the northwest.  All is still outside at the moment...awaiting the first breezes of the cool front.
     I am eyeing my old hound Ginger, but she gives no indication that there is thunder coming.  Both hounds have been lounging out in the yard, and are now sound asleep on the living room floor.
     During this last little heat wave I have been researching online about animal care in high temperatures.  Fresh water, and shade have been the order of the past several days.
     This new journey with the horses is teaching me a lot.  It is a journey that I am enjoying immensely!
     Well, thirty minutes later and the skies have opened up and it is thundering.  We just had a couple fairly close lightning strikes. I feel cozy in the house with my husband and hounds.  Relief is on its way.

Good morning from The Hideaway 6/19/2012

     The air feels soft this morning.  There was a light mist draped across the back pasture when I went out to feed the horses.  The sun was just beginning to filter through the trees along the outdoor arena, dappling the lush green dew covered grass with patches of gold.  All the horses are well, and fed.
     The mist has now burned off and the air foretells the coming heatwave.  Mmmmmm Popsicles, ice cream and ice cold lemonade.

Good morning from the Hideaway 6/14/2012

     The sun is actually peering through the clouds this morning.  The breeze is light and mild.  I have the windows open in the house, and I can hear the birds singing and rustling in the bushes as they go about their business.  It's good to see blue sky.
     The horses, and hounds have been fed.  All are well.  All is quiet on the western front.

Still Laughing at the Hideaway 6/13/2012

I'm still laughing at my horse feeding adventure of a few minutes ago.
     While feeding the pony at the rear of the back barn, I was accosted and attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes.  One flew into my right eye, just as I was losing my right boot in foot deep mud, staggering out of the mud, with grain pails in hand I was run over by the hungry pony, who trampled my left foot as I was still battling the mosquito in my right eye and trying to keep my right boot on.  Oh for a video camera.  I could have won the ten thousand dollar prize on America's Funniest Home Videos I'm sure.
In reflection:  I returned to the house, minus the mosquito, with both boots on, and a left foot that is still attached and intact due to the fact that #1 this is a smallish pony, and #2 she has a conscience.

Good night from the Hideaway 6/12/2012

     It is a quiet evening in the Hideaway.  The air is heavy and still.   It speaks of coming rain.  I was beset and besieged with baby bunnies as I went out to feed this evening.  They are so cute, but I worry for my garden.  I got alfalfa cubes and grain today.  The hay is holding out well.  I actually got zapped by the electric fence today, so my brush clearing must be working.  

     The horses, hounds and husband are all fed and watered.  The hounds are, at the moment giving some poor soul what for.  There is also a tree frog of some sort churring from the bushes right outside the windows of the Summer room.  I've never had one that close. 

     I transplanted three patio tomato plants yesterday, and they are doing well.  There is nothing better than sun warmed home grown tomatoes.   I hope to have some of the first in August.  I bring in the plants at the end of the season to protect them from frost and freeze.  I remember a couple years ago, I harvested my last on December 27th.  Where there's a will there's a way.  

     My daughter Jessica has started her own photography business https://www.facebook.com/LilaBellaPhotography.  I am so proud of her. She is doing so well. 

     Anyway...the hounds are asking to come in, and the perceived threat must have passed. All is quiet on the western front. 

       

Good night from the Hideaway 6/10/2012

     The sun is setting and the horses, hounds and husband are fed and watered  I just took my two hounds Ginger and Nutmeg for their second walk of the day out on the trails.  I don't even dare to say anything, but I haven't seen a tick today.  They enjoyed their walks immensely, and should sleep well tonight...I hope.
     The deer flies are out, but at least the mosquitoes were not too bad.  I find that the hounds pull less in harness than on their collars.  Nutmeg bays the whole way, in true Coon hound fashion.
     When I went out earlier to feed the horses, I had to be careful as there were baby sparrows all around my feet.  Perhaps it's because they are so young, that they don't fear humans.  They have had no reason to fear.  I wish it was the same with all living things.  I wish that no one ever had reason to learn to fear. Maybe that's what Heaven is all about.  Anyway, the pups are pooped, and soon we will go up to bed.  There is a crescent moon in the evening sky, and  all is quiet on the western front  

Good Morning from the Hideaway 6/10/12

    It is another beautiful morning in the Hideaway.  The air is cool and calm, a heavy dew has coated the grass and leaves.  I was greeted by the woodchuck as I went to feed the horses just now.  He or she just sits up and gazes at me as I walk by.  We will need good fences for the garden.     The horses are fine.  Marina is a little miffed as Parker has left for Show Jumping Rally.  She calls for him between mouthfuls of lush green pasture grass. The Hawthorn bushes are still blooming and the yard is full of their sweet fragrance.
     Everywhere I look there is new life, the little barn swallows nesting in the rafters, the sparrows nesting in the eves, and the mourning doves in the back barn.  All is awake and alive.
     The warm golden sun is bathing the trees behind the main barn with its light.  The hounds are still relaxing in bed, and except for the lonely mare in her paddock, all is quiet on the western front.

     It is a sparkling, sunny morning in the Hideaway, in the wake of the storms of last night.  There are a few high thin clouds in an otherwise perfect blue sky.  Everything is so lush and green, a soft breeze stirs the leaves and grasses.
     I fed the horses around 6:30 this morning, when all was wet with dew, and the sun was slanting through the trees along the outdoor arena.  The birds were singing their early morning songs.
     It feels as if it will be a hot day today.  A good day for working outdoors, or going for a bike ride.  As my mom and I were driving back from grocery shopping, I looked down on Route 495 north.  Traffic was already heavy.  I imagine that many are driving to either the beach or the mountains.
     I am planning on some barn work today, and working on my book this evening.
All is quiet on the western front.

Good morning from the Hideaway

     It was a misty cool morning in the Hideaway.  Calm and quiet, inspite of the forecast of Thunder storms this afternoon.  I hear rumors of dangerous lightning, possable hail, and wind.  Right now the sun is peering through the clouds.
     We got 4 of the outside lights fixed yesterday.  It was such a relief to be able to see outdoors after dark last night.  We still have 3 more lights to be installed, and the back barn to be rewired.  We need to dig a trench between the main barn and the back barn for the wiring.  I hope to have it all done by the end of July.
     Then it's time for roofing.    Little by little we are emerging from the shadows.

     Good afternoon from the Hideaway, and welcome to our blog.  Rain is falling steadily from the heavily laden sky.  The wind whips the rain sideways, and shakes great torrents from the tree branches.  The tall grass in the yard is bent low under the onslaught.
     The horses, hounds and husband were fed and watered.  Marina went out to play for a couple of hours, but is now snug in the barn.  The hounds didn't want to go out at all this morning.  Not that I blame them.  I fed the horses, then crawled back into bed for an hour, before making eggs, fried potatoes, and coffee for breakfast.
     I'm at work now, but wish I was home with my sweeties.  There's nothing like the sound of rain on the roof to make one feel cozy.