One Crazy Chicken

If you have read my blog at all you will know that chicks were purchased with the dreams of one day eating some eggs we in a round about way GREW. Well the best plans of mice and men and women I guess. Here is the rest of the story.

I got the chicks and brought them home with the best of hopes. All was going well on the sunny little farm and we were all enjoying watching the chickens grow and hoped they would soon be as fat as the dogs. Well much to my dismay the dogs decided to eat the chickens. They have never killed before and I was in tears when I came outside that afternoon to find the chicks dead, dogs with feathers in their mouths and shaking with the thrill of killing.
 OH, I worried about what my precious granddaughter would think. After much worrying and talking with others we decided that our loved hounds would have to be put down and our hearts were broken. The deed done, and hearts sad we were trying to get back on track and my grand baby was playing outside. Grandma, grandpa she screamed.. come out here I hear  a chick she squealed. My hubby went out only to comfort the child he thought the chicks had all bit the dust. However to papa's surprise one little yellow chick had not only survived the dogs but two days outside alone as well. What a little survivor the chick was. Well now she is a little red hen, we call her Birdy and I am afraid she does not know she is a chicken. We are however hoping she will at least give us an egg one day soon.

July

Well here it is in the heat of July, my potatoes are growing well and my one little laying hen hasn't. There were 10 chicks in the beginning but thanks to some very bad dogs, well lets just say I am down to one chicken who has no clue that's what she is. Poor thing.
My best layed plans for a garden were stomped out by arthritis I hate it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy if I had one. My poor body hurts so much of the time I cant even go shopping without much pain.
Then when I make it home I am pretty much laid up for a couple of days.

We have been getting stuff done though. The new lawn is in and about 1/2 acre in size. We've already mowed it a couple of times. The siding has been removed from the house and tyvek that wonderful invention now snugly wraps the little cabin.

Bunny rabbits enjoy the new lawn and so do the folks who come by on their way down river.
More later.

Adventures with Grandchild

My grandbaby has a wonderful imagination.  We were at a quarry for a cook out the other day and she was crawling around on the large rocks. We had a great time and collected a couple of small rocks and leaves to put in our memory books.  This is one of those pictures. In this one she is a snow leopard. She loves all animals no matter how ugly no matter how many legs or eyes she is just in love with all of them. She is very entertaining I love to listen to her share her wealth of animal wisdom!

Swans, Cranes, Ducks and Geese

They are back! A pair of swans flew over a couple of days ago and yesterday I saw my first flock of ducks. When you live here in Alaska that is a sure sign of the coming summer, one that is never wrong. The wildlife is not fooled by the weather, they know when to arrive. I laugh because every year around this time I see in the paper that spring is holding on and we can expect a late break up. Yet every year the fowl arrive right on time and so does break up. Break up is a time of pot holes, and wellie boots, each day you wonder outside to see what has thawed out of the snow, be it grass or some bit of trash you have to pick up. Day by day and inch by inch the snow withers and soon the grass and flowers are once again growing. Soon the bugs are out and rushing to complete their hurried life cycles. Like myself who will be bustling to get my garden going, with my head net as a crown.

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

They are so easy and so good everyone will love them. I was first given them in elementary school and they are just as good today.

In a sauce pan,  melt one stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar add 1 bag of white and one bag of semi sweet chocolate chips  and 1 cup peanut butter, heat until melted well. Turn off heat add 3 or 4 cups quick oats and cover with lid and let sit for 3 min, this allows the oats to suck up some moisture. Then quickly using an ice cream scoop make cookies let cool and they will become firm.

The NENANA ICE CLASSIC

IT is that time of year again in the quaint little village of Nenana, Alaska. The Nenana Ice Classic official clock has been connected to the watch tower and now mother nature is the final judge in the last Game of its kind. Started in Alaska's Territory Days back in 1917 when the boys of the Alaska Railroad rolled into town to what was then the end of the highway and the railway. The 5 year project was to build what would then be the longest single span railroad bridge in the United States over the raging Tanana River and finally connect the interior city of Fairbanks to the much needed flow of goods provided by the Alaska Railroad.  With the rail connection the interior of Alaska was officially open for business and started to boom.
The first Ice Classic was held in a rather unofficial way in 1917, when a group of Railroad Engineers met at Mike's, a local drinking establishment. They bet on when the ice of the Tanana River would go out, heralding the arrival of summer in the small town of Nenana. From then until today the prize has grown considerably now winners receive a prize of around 300,000 dollars by guessing the day, hour and minute that the famous black and white Tripod makes its way down river, breaking the official clock cord. Tickets are on sale until April 5th and the river usually makes an exit late April to early May.
Nenana Ice Classic

God's Greatest Gift

Grand kids..they are a gift! We are having a visit from three of our ten grand kids right now and I can tell you these three little ladies are little entertainers. We wake in the morning bright and early for coffee and before you know it out pitter patters one of the little twins. Papa, Meemaw they call down the hall. I know they have been laying in their bed quietly listening for a sound from our room. Knowing that when they do they can come on down the hall for a happy good morning hug and a little song. They cozy up with us in our chairs and sleepily blink at the morning news show and wake up with us.
The cutest little brown eyes look up at us in wonder of everything we do, from making dinner to writing my blog. Little voices ask curiously, what ya doing? We play games like office and restaurant and put on little plays like Little Miss Muffet and The Old Woman in the Shoe. They are our Little Women and we encourage open thought and creativity. This summer we are building Western Town for our  sweeties. It will be complete with a sheriff's office, saloon (which serves root beer) a theatre to put on plays, a general store and a livery stable/ petting zoo. One tepees and Indian encampment one trampoline and a large wooden fort and swing set. This is Alaska so it will all be fenced in for protection of the kids and too keep them away from that old river. There has been much talk about this all winter and the little one's are almost as excited as the big folks who will be building it.
Funny what a grandparent will do for their babies isn't it? I can see them playing there already and I cant wait to join in.

Ernie Evan.wmv

Here is our uncle Ernie Evan.

Fire in Nenana

Here is a picture from a fire in our town tonight. It was pretty exciting, nothing much happens here so there were a lot of looky loo's. Looks like the building is pretty much a loss.

We heard it on the scanner and went to check it out. No one was hurt.

Radiation Realities

The front page of the Fairbanks Paper, (the Frontiersman you can read it at http://www.frontiersman.com/) had a rather scary headline yesterday. It was all about the terrible earthquake in Japan and the resulting nuclear plant damage. I know all the people of the world are watching close as the truth about the dangers of nuclear power are revealed. But when the paper runs a story about the possibilities of the people of Alaska may need to take Iodine pills in the event the radioactive cloud comes our way is a bit unsettling. I wonder if anyone in the lower 48 that is living near a Nuclear power plant realizes that once things go this wrong that people are pretty much helpless. Japan in all their glory were the worlds leader in Nuclear technologies and although they are sitting on the ring of fire and certainly no strangers to earthquakes they still thought that nuclear power was a good option. I have heard from time to time on the news that they expect the east coast of the United States to have a really big earthquake this century, and I have to ask myself if they are ready? Was BP ready for their disaster---No. Are the Nuclear plants--NO. They make it clear on the news that the levels of radiation are to dangerous for people to go near....so in the event of a major earthquake WHO is going to be able to fix these problems? Whoever they are they are going to die soon there after if not in the event itself. The 50 employees of the Japanese Power plant are being viewed as hero's and maybe they are in some respects. Maybe they are victims too. Victims of greed, money and big business. Just like the folks who suffer because of the BP spill. They knew it  was dangerous and they KNOW the oil is still out there in the ocean floating around the east coast of the US but as long as there is a dollar to be made from it ..nobody cares. How do you get around this stuff, in your head and heart? Don't invest in BP for one and don't buy their products. Do all you can to stop the creation of more Nuclear power plants whether its just signing a petition or starting one. Do what you can. If you can only PRAY then do that. We must work together to save our Earth from destruction, keep our children safe and our food safe. I'm not an activist in any way, but I do love our Earth Mother.