Back to the pumpkin patch...

Just a couple of random shots I took out at Cuff Farms tonight.....

Short post...

I have been concentrating on my other two photo journals and have neglected this one for a week. Just a few quick shares.....

Red-Tail Hawk Takeoff. I was happy to see the "fingers" after I got this one on the computer.

I love old rusted farm implements! I hope to have a few @thebrownbarn when we move out there!

Dear Turkey,

Actually deer / turkey. We went out @thebrownbarn today so the ladies could tie up some IWRC details. I spent the day cleaning and arranging the shed in between rain showers. I did get a lot of stuff cleaned up! It was getting late and I needed to get my barn, so I headed out for a little ride. What I actually found was a nice doe.

While I was shooting this out the drivers window, I saw this down the road. 

@Windshieldphoto

Bunch of hens. I did get a little closer and took this, not the best, but not bad considering the light. I had to throw on the 50mm and crank it down to 1.8 (makes focusing in the brush really fun!).

More Tomatoes!!

Today was a busy day. First, down the street to get some paver base to finish the patio. Patio done, check... (pictures to come shortly!)

 Next, pick some tomatoes.

I can't believe all of the tomatoes we have harvested this year!!

Then off to thebrownbarn to dump off the rest of the paver base and pick up some wood pellets, check, done. Take some random pictures, and a barn,, check done!

Milkweed pod I.

Milkweed pod II. 

Lydia is staying the night and we will go pick her up Sunday. She loves staying out there with Randie!!

Eggplant...

Well, time to get in another fall harvest. Eggplant this time. Twenty-six eggplants to be exact.

So, if anyone in the area needs any, let me know. I have already given away four, grilled two, and have plans for the rest. Good eating this week. Here is what I do to grill some eggplant...

1. Rinse eggplant.

2. Peel eggplant.

3. Slice into thin slices (1/4" to 3/8")

4. Cover with olive oil. If it seems that the olive oil disappears, put some more on.

5. Season with sea or garlic salt.

6. Grill with medium heat on a non-stick grilling pan.

7. Flip when oil starts to sizzle.

8. Cook until brown and reaches at least 145°F.

9. sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

10 Enjoy!!

We also enjoy eggplant parmesan, and are going to try to cook and freeze a few batches to see if it will re-constitute well.

Historic Day

Today was a great day with the kids, we went over to the Grignon Mansion, Thousand Islands Nature Center, Heckrodt Nature Center, and ended up at Fratello's for dinner.

The mansion was closed, but we still took a few pictures.

The mansion was built in the last 1830's on land that was bought from the Menominee Indians in 1790. This sign tells a little of the story.

Nice price for almost 1300 acres. The real reason I came here was this.....

An outhouse. One of my friends asked me to take a picture of one, and they are few and far between.

Across the street from the mansion, there was an enormous slice of spruce. I would have loved to be alive to see a tree of this girth alive. I guess I will have to go see the redwoods someday.

It is sad that one of the entries on the sign is board feet. This tree was worth more than the 123, 922 board feet that was taken out of it.....

We went for lunch and headed over to Thousand Islands. This is the place where Aurora was hatched and lost her eye.

This was her nest.

I am surprised that the nest was still in the tree. We saw a lot of downed trees from the numerous wind storms we have had this summer. 

This one was making a tunnel across one of the trails. We went quite a ways and ended up at Old Ferry Road. It was an early portage on the Fox River, that was later used as a ferry point for freight.

The best tree of the day goes to the yep, yep, yep tree. (If you have ever watched the Muppets, you will get it!)

Our next stop was Heckrodt. The IWRC was holding a training conference, and we thought we would stop and check it out. The kids got to climb into an eagle nest replica.

After we all cleaned up and loaded the gear, we headed to Fratello's. I had a great dinner of Chicken and Spinach Gnocchi with a nice cream sauce. It was great to sit and relax after a busy weekend.

Beat....

Well, today was a life experience. I have never before picked up, transported and re-stacked a hundred bales of hay in a day, and don't want to do it again anytime soon. The hay is for Windy, I thought as long as I am posting I should share a few pictures of her.

When we move out to the brown barn, Windy is going to be moving in with us. Hopefully, we will also move out a Belgian to be a friend. Negotiations are in progress. 

The place that I picking up the hay from is Mulroy Irish Acres. The farm has been in the family since 1864. I also posted these pictures to my Barn Blog. I have been wanting to take an upshot of a silo, today was the day. I love that the vines have climbed all the way to the top....

Plus the other thing that really broke up the monotony of he day was this gem...

Now that is funny shit. I guess that I now know one thing about hay... I don't know anything......

But, I am sure I will learn pretty quickly......

Fun Weekend and a Little Backtracking....

Siblings, friends, enemies, playmates, son, daughter. I had a great day Saturday with the kids. First we went over to the park to try some pictures in the great fall colors.

Then we took a ride over to get some ice cream. After that we ran into a fire/police saftey event. The kids got to put out a "fire".

We eventually made it out to the pumpkin patch....





It was a beautiful day! After I told the owner of the farm about my barn project, he told me I should go check out his other barn and abandoned farmhouse. Wow! I could spend a few hours inside, but only stayed a little while.

The barn.

This is a great stove that is in the kitchen of the house.

This is a veiw of the barn through a broken window in an upstairs bedroom.

And now for the backtracking. In my previous post about missing September, I neglected to say anything about the second "final" harvest of the garden.

We got quite a few nice eggplants, a ton of cherry tomatoes, cukes, green, jalapeno, and tabasco peppers, onions, and garlic. It was a good season, and we are still harvesting tomatoes and eggplant.

And one day while out looking for barns, I ran into a bunch of turkeys. No toms, or jakes, just a bunch of squacking hens....











Wow missed a month....

Well, time sure flies when you are busy! I thought I better put some of this down before it all fades away! September was busy, I went to a Brewers game with lots of friends from work

The racing sausages!!!

Brewers Win!!!!

Lots of glitter and fireworks.



Braun in the locker room....

and on the dugout. Did I mention that this was the Division Clinching Game????? Wow, the SPIRIT team picked the tickets this spring and whoever picked the date ought to buy a couple lottery tickets!! They need to win tonight to advance. Go Brewers!!!

Some other things that I have stumbled across in September: Appleton Octoberfest!! I went down there to see none other than Copper Box!! Follow the link to find all of their upcoming dates and to purchase their new CD People Change.  Two of my photos from their Houdini Plaza concert in 2009 are included in the inside cover. Check it out!!! So of course I had the camera and took a few (hundred) pictures. Here are a few:

This is Danny. When I posted this picture to Facebook, it was said that it captures his essence. He puts all of his heart into his music. Well, almost all of his heart, Michelle and the kids have claim to the rest. Well, except for that part that is taken by Jagermeister and cold brewskis. Oh and then there is that Brewer and Packer part, but for the most part all of his heart goes into his music. Speaking of Michelle.....





Here she is rocking the guitar. Michelle also rocks the washboard, sax, and on occasion goes all Jethro Tull and pulls out her flute!! Copper Box is a great band, if you get the chance, you really need to go and watch, and dance, and buy the band a Jagerbomb...

I also went to Atlanta Georgia for two weeks for work. Man, I thought it was rough driving in Milwaukee! If you aint goin' 20 mph over the limit, you're gonna be run over! GPS saved me a number of times when I thought I was lost. And if you go looking for any road with Peachtree in the name, forget it, there are like 300 of them. So being in Atlanta but me quite a bit behind on my Barn 365. I have been trying like mad to catch up sometimes getting 5 barns in a day. This one is my favorite so far.

I can't argue with the logic. The pack is 4-0 chewing up opposing defenses like a John Deere. Do not get in the way of the Pack!

 Well, that is about enough catching up. I will get back to you all soon!!