Happy Thanksgiving
I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving this week.
I will be doing a lot of cooking over the next few days after that on Black Friday I will take a nap. No shopping in the crowds for me I will do online only. Over the last 5 years or so I found that this is the best option.
Our 4 youngest grandkids came for a few days and we always have a good time.
Karina and Sophia they are 7 years old helped me sweep up acorns off the side deck there was a large wheelbarrow full. They also helped Pappy plant onions. Pappy planted between 600 and 700 onions so we can have plenty to share with family and friends. There are 3 kinds red, yellow, and 10/15’s.
Andrew the oldest he is 10 years old helped me rake leaves in the yard then he hooked up the lawnmower trailer and we loaded the leaves to be dumped in Pappy’s compost area. Adrian the youngest who is 5 said: “Nahh I do not want to work”. At least he is honest.
The girls climbed several of our trees and made hurdles with 20-gallon buckets creating obstacle courses.
The boys were inside and outside a lot, they do not do the obstacle courses the girls make up.
Enjoy the rest of your week and your time off from work. Stay safe if you are traveling.
A little bit of color
We do not get a lot of fall colors here in our part of Texas.
Our daughter Jeanelle said that East Texas has a lot more color changes but there are a lot of different kinds of trees in that area than there are here.
Here are a few pics I took yesterday while walking around our yard and pasture looking for some fall colors.
The rusted pipe fence behind us looks like it has always been there and it was put up this year.
Fall is a beautiful time of the year and the temperatures here can be amazing enjoy the great outdoors while the temperatures are nice and the scenery is changing.
Bench in the woods
We were in Livingston a few weeks ago I was taking puppy pictures, family pictures, and grandkid pictures.
A lone bench on a trail in the East Texas woods had this feeling of calmness.
Life can be hectic and taking the time to enjoy this moment of serenity was perfect.
The hawk on a T post
I spotted this red shoulder hawk on the fence post across the street from our house.
When they are on the fence post they are watching for the little birds in the bushes and grass along the fence line.
This hawk is very majestic looking just sitting and staring in the distance.
Eastern Bluebird
I love the wildlife in our area but one of my favorite birds is the Eastern Bluebird.
This is a young female bluebird and she was hanging around our side deck area.
I hardly ever see them at the feeders because they prefer insects like grasshoppers, crickets, and worms. They also eat berries, especially in the wintertime. We have a very good supply of worms in our garden areas maybe she knows all about it.
I have some bluebird nuggets I put in the feeder but I have found they mostly attract the woodpeckers and chickadees.
Nature’s beauty paints a new picture every day but we must open our eyes to see what is really there.
Sweet Potato update
After the digging was done we weighed the potatoes there was a total of 262.20 #s of sweet potatoes.
I have enclosed a picture of a few buckets of potatoes. These are 7 gallons and 20-gallon containers.
Andrew and Adrian helped dig one day and Karina and Sophia help dig another day. For kids, it’s like a treasure hunt digging for potatoes.
We had some potatoes that were almost 7#s each and others that were 15″ long. None of these have been stringy I think the stringy potatoes must be old because it has nothing to do with the size we have cooked some big ones.
My husband over plants everything so we end up with plenty of vegetables to give to family and friends. Our freezer is full of squash, peppers, leeks, and onions. Some have been grilled some baked.
He gave one of his friends 50#s of potatoes to share with his family. We gave our daughter Jeanelle about 25#s but she will be back for more.
I have made 3 sweet potatoes pies using my grandmother’s recipe, 2 to give away one to share. I also made a cream cheese sweet potato cake that was the best cake I have had in a long time we shared that with Jeanelle and their family. I made some sweet potato pecan bread that turned out really good. We are trying to be creative around here.
We have been eating sweet potatoes at least 2 x a week. I want to try and cook some Hasselback ones.
I did read you can bake, cool, peel, and freeze so I might do some of that but I need that second freezer.
Fall tilling and planting has started so before you know it we will be overrun with cabbage lol.
Raven’s puppies
Raven our daughters Cane Corso had 12 puppies and all of them survived.
These puppies will be 8 weeks old this week and registered puppies have to be 8 weeks to go to new homes.
Raven did a wonderful job taking care of this large group of puppies none had to be bottled fed.
I think there are 3 females left but the rest are already sold. A lot of people had made deposits 6 months ago on Ravens litter.
Top-quality dogs with good genetics and a reliable breeder make a huge difference in the way a puppy looks and acts.
There are some that look like Mama and some look like Daddy.
They are all so adorable. I can not share 12 pics it would take too long to load but here are a few of my favorite pictures.
Puppy love and kisses are hard to resist.
Sonya Lira Photography 