“What’s today?” cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.
“Eh?” returned the boy, with allhis might of wonder.
“What’s today, my fine fellow?” said Scrooge.
“Today!” replied the boy. “Why, Christmas Day!”
-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! And I hope as you tear open all the wonderful packages and boxes you pause and remember The Gift that this day is all about. Although it didn’t come wrapped in brightly colored paper, only in humble swaddling clothes, it did come with a tag that said this: From: GodTo: Everyone who will recieve it.
“God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not die but will have the gift of eternal life.”
I have been silent on the tragedy that devastated our nation one week ago today simply because I was at a loss for words. Then I realized that nothing can be said to express or reduce the overpowering sorrow, confusion and loss we are all experiencing. So I would simply like to say my prayers go out to you Newtown. May you feel the presence of God holding you tightly even in the midst of your incredible grief. We love you and cry with you. You are not forgotten.
By the way, not only was this post inspired by my love of farming, but also because my favorite pair of rubber boots that were actually cute blew a hole and started to leak. If anyone knows of cute rubber boots that are built for actual farm work (as apposed to just being a fashion statement) please let me know!
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
-C.S. Lewis
Emily and Me
You heard me mention in this post, that I met a new friend named Emily at the Mumford Civil War reenactment. Well after I had recovered sufficently from the fair I had her over for a visit. I had a wonderful time showing her the farm, teaching her how to sew Civil War undergarments, getting to know each other better and discovering all the things we had in common. We even got to go flying in my neighbor’s Cessna 150 air plane!! (I had never been flying before) and I got my miniature horse Lucky!
Emily is a wonderful photographer and was constantly snapping shots at my house. She kindly gave me a disc of the pics she took. Here are some of my favorites and a couple that aren’t on her blog. You should totally check out her blog here to see some more, plus other awesome photos she’s taken!
(note: these photos are all Emily’s awesomeness. I didn’t take any of them.)
We’ve been exhibiting animals at the Erie County Fair my entire life. In fact, Dad has shown cows there every year since 1975! Since I bring my goats, pigs and cows I literally live at the fair for the entire 10 days. It’s a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. At 5am I have to get up and milk the cows, then clean out their beds, give each one of them a bath, feed them and sweep up. Then I have to head over to the goat and pig barn and do all the same things for them, and that’s just the morning chores! Thankfully my dad, Addie and Marcus all show animals as well. We all work together to get the jobs done. By the end of the fair you’re definitely tired! (that’s the understatement of the century 🙂 ) Here are some pictures we took during the fair!
Here’s a pic of our “show string” as it’s called. In other words, our cows relaxing on their specially tended beds. My dad may never make his own bed, but he takes very particular care that the cow beds are made perfect.
our cows relaxing on their bedMarcus and his calf AdventAddie’s sweet calf BeatriceRuby and meWestley loves helping with the goatswaiting to show my goat (photo courtesy Erie County Fair)Ada and me in the ringtired and dirty, but happy (photo courtesy Erie County Fair)the monarch butterfly tent was really neat!Cool! Marcus got two at once!two stunning butterflies
My favorite part of the whole fair was definitely winning Jersey Grand Champion with my cow Annabelle!! I never in a million years thought I would! For those of you who don’t know much about showing cows, Grand Champion means your cow was the best one at the fair out of their breed (in my case the Jersey breed).
July 13th-15th was a very special weekend for Addison and I! One of my absolute favorite places in the world, Genesee Country Village and Museum, hosts a civil war reenactment every year. Normally we just go watch, but this time I was able to go as a reenactor!
Although I had already been to several reenactments this one made me feel like I a real reenactor, mainly because Addie and I bought our own tent and my Civil War mom wasn’t there until Saturday.
We had to be at the reenactment on Friday evening, so the main part of the day was spent packing and frantically doubling checking my list to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Our tent barely arrived in time for the event and Dad had to build the poles and stakes before we could use it. Once he got them done Dad helped me practice setting the tent up in the yard.
our new tent!
That evening we loaded up the van and Mom drove us girls to the event. On the way there it started to pour rain! I was so worried we wouldn’t get to stay because Mom said she wasn’t leaving us at the event in a downpour. Thankfully by the time we got there the rain had pretty much stopped. It took a while to find our camp spot since the civilian camp where we were staying was at the farthest end of the village. Mom helped us put up the tent and I was so relieved I remembered how to do it!
Saturday morning Addison and I got dressed, ate some breakfast, and the set off for a ride in the museum’s new reproduction of the Civil War hot air balloon, The Intrepid. The view was absolutely gorgeous, and it was clear enough out that we could even see Rochester. Our balloon operator was able to tell us about the balloon’s orignal operator, Thaddeus Lowe, the history of the Union Army’s Balloon Corps and how balloon’s were used during the Civil War. The original Intrepid was smaller than the museum’s reproduction, but went up much higher (up to 1,000 feet!).
After our early morning adventure we went back to camp to help my Civil War mom set up. The rest of the day we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible since it was very hot! We met some new lovely little friends and had a great time playing school with them. When we got bored of that we played some Civil War games and practiced our steps for the ball that night.
The ball was held in the carriage barn and looked very pretty with strings of (non-period correct 🙂 ) lights hanging from the rafters. One of my partners was a verrrry cute boy named Josiah (he was 6 🙂 ) Dancing is definitelty one of my favorite reenacting things to do! I was also able to meet a wonderful new friend, Allison there!
By the time we left the ball it we had to find our way through the village in the dark. Thankfully Addison is very good with directions, otherwise I might still be wandering around there trying to find our camp! Here’s a map of the village. The red arrow is where the ball was and the blue arrow is where our camp was.
As you can see it wasn’t a good recipe for a girl who can’t find her way out of a paper bag!
Sunday just happened to be my 17th birthday! Mom, Dad and the boys came and surprised me with a delicious, period correct 1-2-3-4 cake (1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 eggs, 4 cups of flour) that she spiced up with lemon juice and dusted with powdered sugar! I got even bigger suprise when I found that Addison and our little friends had set the table and then decorated it with fresh flowers, a table cloth and homemade cards! (Thanks girls that was SO sweet! Thanks for helping them Miss Kathy and Mrs. Woolley!)
I recieved some lovely gifts (including a much needed fan and a beautiful flower hair comb) but my favorite was definitely getting introduced to my new best friend Emily!
Here are the pictures of our windmill raising! The turbine went up on June 29th and we pretty much turned the entire day into a big barbeque/party. All our neighbors came to watch it go up!
I went out in the pasture to get some clear pictures of the tower being raised. The crane operator from Benchley Cranes was seriously awesome, my dad says the operator could have buttered toast with the end of his hook.
Well I’m finally posting about an important event here at the farm. We built a wind turbine! Since we live on such a high hill and are in direct line with Lake Erie we always have lots of wind. After doing research, wind power seemed like a great option to utilize all the wind we have, save money on our electricity bill, and be green at the same time!
The 50 kw turbine we put up is our own personal windmill (not like the humongous ones owned by power companies). It should offset about 80% of the electricity we use.
The actual building process took 6 months, but we’ve been planning the project for over 2 years. The ground breaking took place in December, when the footer that anchors the windmill to the ground had to be put in. An excavator dug the pit to hold the 3 legs of the windmill. A tractor trailor load of rebar and 8 cement trucks of cement were used for the footer!
A bleak December day to work on the turbine
The turbine footer in progressCleaning the rebar before pouring the concreteWe’re getting a windmill!
Have you ever imagined what it would be like for a painting to come to life? Perhaps you would enjoy talking with the Mona Lisa or watching a Degas ballerina dance gracefully on stage. This year Addison and I participated in Art Alive for the second time and helped transform oil and canvas into real people.Hosted by the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, Art Alive is an event where you become the painting. School groups, art classes, or even individuals (like me) can choose a painting to recreate using costumes, backdrops, and props. The tableaus are set up on the gallery’s lawn for the public and judges to view and vote on. Many different awards and cash prizes are given at the ceremony at the end of the event. However, it takes months of preparation to be ready for the big day.
Addie and I started working on our Art Alive tableaus in January. Our art teacher, Mrs. Bossert, was the one who introduced us to Art Alive and helped prepare for the event. Addison teamed up with her friend Katie again. Together they chose to do Harmony in Green which is one of Claude Monet’s famous water-lily paintings.
Addie’s painting – Harmony in Green
Last year I did a painting by Charles Sprague Pearce that I really connected with. Unfortunately, I never really used the costume that I worked so hard on again.
The Woodcutter’s Daughter by Charles Sprague PearceMy 2011 Tableau (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
This year I decided to do a Civil War painting because, A: I love the Civil War era, and B: I wanted to be able to reuse the dress in reenacting. The painting I picked was called TheInitials and was created by 19th century artist Winslow Homer who was famous for his Civil War illustrations and battlefield paintings. The Initials shows the civilian side of war by depicting a lone girl leaning against a tree carved with (presumably) a loved one’s initials.
The Initials – My 2012 Painting Choice
This year Mrs. Bossert helped us brainstorm what painting we wanted to use and how to execute it. Then she guided us in how to paint our backdrops. My dad built my backdrop frame (thanks Dad!) and I sewed the dress.
Working on the backdrop (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)Painting in Mary Ellen’s basement (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
After months of working hard on our tableaus we arrived at the Albright Knox only to be told the event was cancelled becuase it was raining and windy. We came back the next weekend on a day that was still soggy and wet, but less windy and began setting up our tableaus.
Setting up Addie and Katie’s Tableau (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)Addie & Katie’s Backdrop (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)Setting up my tableau (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)Setting up (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)My backdrop (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)Doing my hair (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
At noon the audience began braving the weather to come see the tableaus.
Addie and Katie’s Taleau (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)My Tableau (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)My Favorite Pic (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
To make my tableau interactive, I asked the audience to write their initials on my tree with a piece of chalk.
Audience participation (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
Mrs. Bossert asked me to show off all my undergarments that I made myself.
Showing off my underpinnings, shocking! (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
At 2 o’clock the anticipated moment finally arrived, the awards ceremony! We nervously awaited while different awards were announced. Addie, Katie, and I didn’t have to wait long! The girls recieved the award for Best Craftsmanship and I earned the most votes for the People’s Choice Award in the highschool category!
Recieving my award (photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)(photo courtesy Mary Ellen Bossert)
You can see pictures of the other tableaus here, on the Albright Knox Website.
“The best day I ever had!” That’s how one kid described his Farm 2 Table field trip. And who could blame him? In a time when most kids think that milk comes from a carton, this child had the opportunity to pet real live calves and piglets, talk to a maple farmer, and plant his own pizza garden.
Farm 2 Table is a unique field trip experience for 3rd and 4th graders hosted by the Erie County Agricultural Society. My sister Addison and I have helped since the program started in October 2010. Two Farm 2 Tables are hosted each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Each day for a week schools come to the Erie County Fairgrounds for an awesome learning experience about agriculture. The trip costs nothing, in fact each school wa given $100 per bus to offset transportation costs.
Addison and I have helped on various stations, including sheep (where the kids made their own Ojo de Dios craft with 100% wool yarn) and the goat station (where my own goats were on exhibit for the kids to pet). This June we were once again placed on the pig station with our wonderful station leader Laura. Our station actually had piglets for the kids to pet after they heard a talk about pigs and labled where pigs originated on a map.
Kids petting the pigletsLaura feeding the pigletsFeeding Frenzy
After our station they went to a variety of others, including:
Chicken: a chance to see a live chicken as well as day old chicks and goslings
Cow: the kids got to go on a cow scavenger hunt and “milk” our resident fake cow Mable in Milkable Mable’s Stable
Bees: learn about the fascinating life of bees and how honey is produced
Maple: get to taste both fake and real maple syrup (the Maple leader got frusterated because most kids liked fake over real 🙂 )
Chia Pets: a grass “hair” growing pet planter
Gro-Ums: garden kits with themes like pizza, salad, and taco
Blacksmith: a live demonstration by Paul Gresz
Paul Gresz mesmerizing the kids
All the kids have a blast and don’t even realize all the things they are learning about agriculture and where their food comes from. This year they all got to sign planter boxes that were later used during the fair. After they went through all the stations the kids ate string cheese and milk with their lunches. Before each kid went home they were given a goodie bag full of cool stuff like a horse shoe and passes for their parents to come to the fair (kids are free).
One of our Farm 2 Table ambassadorsOne last cute pic
The Farming Daughter 