This & That

Is There a Lumberjack Gene?

I really think there must be.  Either that, or DH is just really getting into the tree health.  He has wandered the property a bit, trying to locate Pine Beetle infested trees that he can cull.  There happened to be one right next to the cabin and since there was plenty of help last weekend, he enlisted it to get rid of this 50 footer.  The only problem was, it truly did live right next to the cabin and was in fact, leaning in the direction of the building. 
True to his nature, there was a lot of walking, talking, debate and discussion before the deed was done. The actual cutting only took a couple of minutes.  The planning stage took a good 2 hours. 

Finally it was decided that one of my BIL's would climb the extension ladder that reached about to the half-way point of the trunk.  He must not be as scared of heights as I am....or apparently everyone else, who were more than willing to hold the ladder and shout encouragement.

He wrapped a chain attached to a tow rope around the tree and secured it, returning safely to terra firma.

  Keep in mind that the deck where I'm standing to take this photo runs around the middle (height-wise) of the cabin and that I am looking up to take this shot.  Gives you an idea how high he actually was.

There was more discussion and conjecture about how to accomplish the task. 

In the end there was some winching (not wenching), some pulling, some chain-sawing and the dang thing fell right where we wanted it to fall.  Must be something to that planning and preparation stuff.

The Birds

I put away the hummingbird feeder each time we leave the cabin.  The birds drink it dry and then there's nothing there for them to eat and when I come back and refill it, they don't come back very fast, because it's been empty.  So one of the first things I do is set the feeder out when we get there.  I wanted my nieces and nephews to be able to see them a lot during the reunion. 
One of my SIL's likes to take photos and when she saw the hummingbirds, she set her camera up on a tripod by the feeder, focused in and started snapping away.  She got some great shots.

Then her DD wanted a chance to try and she had fun shooting them, too.

When my SIL got home, she cropped some of the images and did some sharpening and this is what we ended up with.

 Fascinating, isn't it?

Water Babies

Our cabin property is bordered on the back side by a river, but we do have little streams in various other places.  When DH took the horses to get a drink of water, the kids all tagged along to see what that was like and, like the magnet that water is for kids, they spent some time playing in the stream. 

First it was just the novelty of the very cold water on a warm day.  But then they decided that they wanted to construct a dam across it.  Or maybe it was a bridge.  Whatever the label, it was a good thing they all had extra clothes to put on because they were pretty much soaked during the construction process.  And it wasn't just a one-shot deal either, they spent some time each day refining the structure....and getting more wet. 

My LA nephew (who is down to his underoos in the above photo)  said he was going to miss the dam most off all when we went home.

Noah Would Have Been Proud

During the time we were cooking our dinner in the fire, we heard distant thunder rumbling.  We weren't really too concerned as weather up in the mountains there can be pretty hit and miss.  However, as soon as we pulled our Dutch oven dinner off the fire and took it up to the deck to dish out, the heavens opened and dumped a gully-washer down on us. 

I don't remember it ever raining so hard anywhere I've ever lived.  We had thunder, lightening, rain washing dirt everywhere and even hail, which sounded pretty cool on the tin roof of the cabin. 

We sat on the deck eating our dinner and marveling at the changing sky. 
There was a lull in the rain when a couple of my nephews ran to the fire pit to try to revive the flames. 

They were hoping for a little s'mores action, but about the time they got there, the rain starting in again with a vengeance and all they got was soaked for their trouble.

All About Family Reunions

So for the past several days, DH and I have been hosting a family reunion at the cabin for his parents and siblings.  I'll come right out and say that I was a really bad scrapbooker, because I didn't get photos of family groups during the weekend....including one of DH and all his siblings.  Can't believe that....and I had even thought about it early last week. 
Still, there were plenty of photos taken and I'll be sharing some of them over the next few days. 
There were lots of things to occupy the time this past weekend.  We were trying to give my little nieces and nephews, most of whom are city kids as opposed to semi-rural kids, as opposed to Mountain Men (which is what my DH wishes he was), a weekend of outdoor experiences.  We did a little tree thinning in the thickets right around the cabin and the first night everyone was there, we burned some of the thinnings and cooked a Dutch oven dinner in the coals. 
What happened after the dinner was one of the biggest adventures while we were there, but that is tomorrow's tale.
Mountain Man Wanna-Be:

Mountain Man Wanna-Be and his brother:

One of the sisters and a niece from a different family.  She's a little cutie.

Couple more nieces waiting for dinner to be done:

And the dinner, bubbling merrily away.

Tomorrow, Mother Nature lets loose. 

It's the 4th!

Just wishing you all a Happy Independence Day! 
Posting some random 4th photos from several different years that make me smile...and sigh at the same time.  I'll admit to feeling nostalgic lately.

Where Did They Go?

I was thumbing through some photos the other day, trying to put some kits together to scrap while we're at the cabin this week.  I don't know that I'll get anything accomplished, but at least I'll have them ready should the opportunity arise.
Anyway, I stumbled across this one:

These are my two oldest boys in 1985.  They are playing in a stream that runs fairly close to my DH's childhood home.  And I had one of those moments.  You know... where a photo instantly transports you back in time and you have this crystal clear recollection of a particular time in your life?  And then you go hurtling in the opposite direction because this is what they really look like now.

And you can't figure out how 24 years evaporated while you weren't paying attention.

I Protest

I'm protesting summer.  Every year I have to do an anti-summer post and this is it, so just bear with me.  I know there are those of you who just look forward with barely-contained summer anticipation.  This is not me.  When March comes, bringing spring with it, I get that little twisting sensation in the back of my mind, letting me know that summer's coming.  As an adult, I have always looked forward to the changing of the seasons, but could we just skip summer?  Isn't there somewhere in the world where there's a nice fall, a pleasant spring, a chilly winter, but no summer?

I've tried to analyze my summer hatred.  Maybe it's because I'm a redhead and the summer sun does just horrible things to my skin in a matter of minutes?  Or maybe it's because there is a constant stream of insect life like flies and mosquitoes that burst forth with the summer weather?  Or maybe it's just the brain-frying temperatures that irritate me to the point of screaming?  Or maybe it's that all my kids are home together more and there is a semi-constant barrage of needling and teasing that goes on...in spite of the slave chores I give them?  Or maybe it's all of the above?  Yeah, I think that's it.  All of the above.
Can I have another test sheet please?  One that doesn't include the "all of the above" bubble to fill in?  Because I'm going to take this one and put it out on my driveway where it will spontaneously combust because it's so dang HOT!!!
We are going up to the cabin (last night, actually) where it's guaranteed to be at least 10 degrees cooler than it is here...and where the nights drop to a wonderful mid-30's range.  I don't know if I'll have any more planned ahead tech-magic posts done before we leave.  If not, you're just going to have to watch Preemie Boy mow that same section of lawn until we get back. 

Just a Little Push

My boys love to sing.  The Princess, not so much.  The boys will sing anywhere and frequently in the most unlikely places.  When they mow the lawn, they are often yodeling at the top of their lungs.  The computer sits along the same wall as their bathroom and I will often hear music while they shower.  It makes me happy. 
So last week, Preemie Boy attended music camp at the Jr. College in our town.  Various clinicians will come from out of the area to give classes to this group of musical kids.  Interestingly, a couple of these teachers have judged my boys in various competitive settings.  In any case, Preemie Boy has attended for a few years now and one thing he does look forward to is the Musical Theater class.  This is interesting because one of the most frequently heard constructive criticisms on his evaluations in the last couple of years is that he needs more "emotional connection" to the songs he sings.  In other words, he's a little stone-faced.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when he came home from camp one day and announced that he had been given the solo for the musical theater concert at week's end.  He had been assigned to sing "If I Were a Rich Man" with the other boys in his class backing him up.  First I said, "Well, Sweetie, how nice!"...just like a mom should.  But in my head I'm thinking, "Yeah, but I remember how that song works....you have to move..."  I knew he could sing the socks off it, but I could just see him frozen to the floor while he did.
The concert night arrived and as is always the case, I had sweaty palms.  I wasn't even performing and I was nervous. 
We began with this very typical Preemie Boy singing face:

And we evolved into a little stroll across the stage along with that universal "money" finger rubbing gesture:

And then my stone-faced, 5' 8", 120 lb. half-baked child busted out the full-throttle Topol belly-shake move!  Holy COW!  (Yeah, he's blurry, I know, but that's because he's moving!)

Of course, he has no real belly to shake but we as a family literally sat with our mouths agape.  There was even a smile on the last phrase which I didn't catch. You just never know what your kids can do under pressure.

Something Yummy

DH has a sweet tooth.  My family will back me up on this because since I think it's mostly hereditary, they all seem to have one as well. 
This is one of our favorite desserts.  It's very easy to make.  I got the recipe out of this cookbook and the page it's found on in the cookbook is smeared with all kinds of things.  That's how you know a recipe is well-loved. And anything that's been made as often as this recipe qualifies as Mom Food.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
Serves 9
1 cup flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (opt.) Since I have children with nut allergies, I never put nuts in.  I have been known to substitute 1 cup of mini marshmallows for the nuts and that's tasty.
1 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups hottest tap water

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, sugar, 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Add milk, oil and vanilla and blend until smooth.  Pour into an ungreased 9x9 pan.  Sprinkle the batter with brown sugar and remaining cocoa powder.  Pour hot water over all.  Bake for about 40 minutes.  It is best served warm with ice cream. :)
You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan, but add about 15 minutes baking time.