Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

[lularat]

Interesting list,
much fun!
Scott

Agreed Scott....fun, and a lot of work. Tara, you are so busy, creative, and productive. I need to take lessons from you .

I've been lazy this winter, but when Spring comes around, I got to get to work. So much to catch up on. The dog bus is looking great!

 

[CanuckBock]

Interesting list,
much fun!
Scott

Tis suppose to be fun and fun it shall be...fun with benefits...FOOD!

Speaking of which...

Lunch on Wednesday


Fresh bread for that evening...
​

Tried out something new...this cichlid fish was on sale, so what the hey...

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Whole fish so besides the fillets...that all went to dog soup...a fish chowder for the gals.

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Winged the recipe...literally...

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Took basil, oregano, thyme, some lemon, then mixed mayo and parmesan...

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Threw butter on top and drizzled lemon...into oven on broil.

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Flipped it over, coated it with parmesan/mayo/herb mix and broiled this side till it looked like above...

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It was OK but like Rick said...tasted more like mayo and cheese than actual fish. hee hee...bother to do it again, probably not.

​

Added a salad and that was din last night.

Girls loved the fish chowder but then again...how hard is it to cook for dogs?

Agreed Scott....fun, and a lot of work. Tara, you are so busy, creative, and productive. I need to take lessons from you .

I've been lazy this winter, but when Spring comes around, I got to get to work. So much to catch up on. The dog bus is looking great!

Glad to amuse you...so many find what I would be doing unsavory.

​

Judge Judy was on Ellen the other day, or it was a re-run? Rick watched it and recounted it to me; I never saw it, busy driving. I did laugh as many think she is still a real judge...she is retired...it is one of those reality tv shows...agh!

Problem nowadays...nobody bothers to strive for perfection...nobody is rewarded as a keener. Far easier to drop out and DUH up and join the rest of the droves of NON-keeners. My son got called that...he is just like his Mah and his Pah...we are keeners and proud of it. Seems nowadays, miserly loves company...why bother trying, occupy a space and reap the self-entitledness...I want that...

Every day is a day and every day is the time you are given to make a difference. Positive or negative, but heaven forbid you are neutral and jest taking up space.

J.R.R. Tolkien; Gandalf the Grey:
Make a difference...smile, open a door for someone, compliment them...tell them something about them glows...share a smile, a kind word...it is the small acts that matter the most.

Be the reason each day matters.

​

The kids on the bus got these today...pre-Valentines Day goodies...making memories, eh!

Rick is just whipping on the white truck...dog bus going well!

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He shampooed the front bench seat on the tenth, Wednesday. Nice weather to let it dry.

Yesterday we both worked (on either side) to get the bench seat cover on her. No pic of that yet.

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He also painted the back hubs Chev orange...think it looks nice.

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Besides the power adapter for his phone, he also wired in the front driving lights.

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Course yah gotta know...I love the TWO ROO covers...

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I brought Foamy out for when Rick was working on the truck...she is so much calmer to work around and not jumping up on you with springy wet paws...not like some canines do here...

Foam Dome ​

"Is it...is it??"​

"WELL?? Is it time yet?"



"It IS..."​

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It is hug the dog time...

Old dog, old hands...all is good!

And so nobody figures the two youngun's got ignored...them girls were both out in the morning yesterday as always...

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"Yeh...we were out...and about!!"​

The terrible two?

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"And up to no good!"

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Yeh and not stomping the old dog, eh...

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Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[perchie.girl]

As usual I so love your posts

love the foamy searies

sorry Ia m not seeing too well

deg

 

[drumstick diva]

How nice to see Foamy, how old is she now?

 

[drumstick diva]

Deb are you okay? Something wrong with your eyes?

 

[lularat]

Tara, you are so right. Too many people today think they are entitiled and don't want to work like we did for what we have. They want new cars and houses right away...something I worked for for years and then they can't make the payments on them. Or they are living in tremendous debt. Too much too soon. And yes, they're too many people just occupying space and not contributing. I'm blessed to have had parent to instill in me to work hard and not to expect things to be given to me. Yes, I have worked hard and far from rich, but I am content and happy.

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Quick pop in because I completed one seed order! Celebration to see it sendable...

This ones going to Hope Seeds...asking for no subs so see if they have all I am ordering.

Absolutely incredible weekend...as Rick called it Valentine's WEEKEND...not one day but THREE days of festivities...we know how to live high on the hog, eh!

Yes, yes, dogs got dressed up and extra loved for V-Day...silly girls!​

Weekend began on Saturday, Rick took me to buy patterns for my dog show outfits (yee haw!) and big surprise...

The surprise was that Rick took me to see son for a lovely obviously them two men planned it visit!! Alexander has a new c@t and Alexander gave me chocos in a heart shaped container...luv it! Course I shared...not sure who ate more of the chocos but they never made it outside the house...hee hee...

Shadow and Cookie​

On Sunday, right after Rick installed the back seat (shampooed it too - he was doing things like painted front calipers, etc...) in the White Sub...

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We went to Calgary in the White Sub for the grand opening of a new Chinese smorg (we're talking crab and lobster besides the normal fare--oh MY!)...

Gonna grow some of these sprout type Chinese food style Broccoli this year!

Where I witnessed my first (and probably ONLY) lion dancers (yeh, got pics of it...but here is a sneak preview of one of the SIX lions that competed for the Chin...). What an incredibly FAB V-Day indeed...the dancing was just amazing!! More photos to follow shortly...

Thar's the chin suspended ever so high up on the roof!

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And spent Monday (Family Day, eh) with Rick and the dogs (Rick working on his vehicles and moi working on my seed orders which I completed half of today).

The Mandarins have seriously started to lay eggs in the tree nest...

Two eggs above and another one yesterday evening...so that be three and counting...

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My my...what a blurrr the past few days have been...happy ones indeed.

Gotta fly...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[CanuckBock]

As usual I so love your posts

love the foamy searies

sorry Ia m not seeing too well

deg

Happy to entertain but not at the expense of yer health...

I expect you are doing better now? Sight is working better...

How nice to see Foamy, how old is she now?

She's a rescue...SPCA found her wandering at large in a city park and the manager was retiring so I got THE call (please come save her so she is not put down--she was nothing but hip bones...now quite plump). Foamo, she missed out on all that major important socialization so canines bond well with their humans...simply, put, she can't be fixed. About as good as she gets is she wanders at a respectable distance but she does come in closer for hugs--that is the best it will ever be for her...sigh. She makes for a great dog that never gets under foot...unlike the two girls here now. Bwa ha ha...dang if I don't watch out, I'll be doing cartwheels over dog bods...dang thing-a-lings...Thing 1 and Thing 2.

V-Day Sweetnesses...sans the heart pinky neckers eh!​

Tara, you are so right. Too many people today think they are entitiled and don't want to work like we did for what we have. They want new cars and houses right away...something I worked for for years and then they can't make the payments on them. Or they are living in tremendous debt. Too much too soon. And yes, they're too many people just occupying space and not contributing. I'm blessed to have had parent to instill in me to work hard and not to expect things to be given to me. Yes, I have worked hard and far from rich, but I am content and happy.

I'm watching and listening quite alot to the day by day blow by that the media here is spreading. Not sure who is orchestrating the whole thing but if you paid much attention, it sounds rather frightening for the average Joe and Jane...thank the stars that our immediate family NEVER saw fit to live like the majority of society here, eh. We chose to purchase a dwelling that was cheaper than rent costs... Yeh, the house was and is a dump but hey, the outbuildings are where we were going to spend the most time enjoying ourselves anyway--Rick made those the Taj Malahs. We tested the things you cannot change easily...the dirt, the water, we liked the pasture and forest balance and we planted shelterbelts right off and began making soil improvements right away...We bought the place for the LAND and its amenities as that was the whole point of living in the sticks. Never about the wore out house as we have both lived in beautiful places...but not like that ever made us feel whole or accomplished...oh my BUT (and a big BUTT it be), we shall be solvent within the next 3 to 4 years (pinch me...time flies when you are having FUN..way way too much FUN). Not quite sure what to do with ourselves then...we always paid and been paying and paying and just stepped up and paid our dues...hee hee snicker snort!

We would sometimes look up and quite frankly...many a time were we felt poor...because well, uh, we did not have the new quads, the new vehicles, the new smart phones, the new skidoos, the new house, the new new new just sign here on the dotted line and sink yerself past sensibility. Oh my, the banks are always ready and willing to sink you past ever getting out...the whole point of credit cards is to strap you in to pay the minimum balance...forever!

We never ever saw the day when there was not going to be a mortgage and I guess our virtual RENT payment--cheaper than rent. So waz that like...no payments past the utilities...yer food, transportation, clothing...yer fun hobby stuff...what is that like?? You know, every day that goes by...it is way better than the last...on the other side of being worth something being ALIVE eh. We use to kid that we were worth more DEAD (life insured the mortgage...don't one of us kick now...no windfall in that like in the past!) than alive...one of us kicks, thar goes the payments...I guess you can hold your own sobbing head up when your payments stop. Ha ha ha...so morbid, eh. Now, there is no sense in Rick or I dying...since there is NO windfall payment wise since the life insurance will hardly make it worthwhile...I guess we better take good care...stay living...no expiring and ruining it all...

Things I am hearing, in no particular order...

- the oil surplus will last for the next 24 years (thinking on that, if'n you're 16 years old as of today...add in that doom & gloom and you'd be 40 by the time the oil glut is depleted...)
- one in three Canadians believe they will be declaring bankruptcy
- shortfalls for monthly expenses averages $200 a month
- Many are saying it will take them 5 to 6 years to pay off their current debts
- Forget the figures but average person up here owes $1.63 (think that was a trend that began some time in 2013...can only imagine now!) or so for every dollar them make...yeh...truly...that completely blows...

Dec 2014...

:

Now keep in mind...this is GROCERY bill...and to me, that sounds awful quick since we see our Canuck buck sucks on buying all the imported items we purchase, especially at this time of year...time when all we can grow outside is ICE WORMS (fer bait to use ice fishing, eh)!


Few years back...there was this item about how we were not purchasing too many potatoes...I am like thinking...OK fries from fast food would not be decreasing, but what was being told was potatoes as in ones in the home fur cooking. The reasons...people were stating that "potatoes took too much effort to prepare and cook!" Yeh blows my mind...you wash up some spuds, you puncture them with a fork and toss in the oven to bake with say a roast beef, or pork and crout dish...too hard to prepare and cook. Oh my... and heaven forbid you have to PEEL them for mashers...good gack!

Whatever...I simply don't get lots of things but that is a good thing or during these economic downturns...maybe Rick and I would be in trouble...instead...we chug along, happy as larks, doing what we have always done and then moreso in many cases too.

Got my other seed order tallied up and order sent off... by tomorrow should hear what they will send me and that be that.

I am so ever thrilled on these...:
BEAN BUSH BEURRE DE ROQUENCOURT
BEAN BUSH WAX BIS
BEAN POLE BLUE COCO
BEAN BUSH BLUE JAY
BEAN POLE EARLY RISER
BEAN BUSH JACOB'S CATTLE
BEAN POLE KENTUCKY WONDER
BEAN POLE O'DRISCOLL
BEAN BUSH ORCA
BEAN BUSH PFAELZER JUNI
BEAN BUSH PISARECKA ZLUTOLUSKE
BEAN BUSH ROYALTY PURPLE POD
BEAN BUSH THIBODEAU DE COMTE BEAUCE
BEAN BUSH UKRAINIAN COMRADES
BEAN RUNNER BLACK COAT
BEAN RUNNER SADIE'S HORSE BEAN

BEET ALBINO
BEET BASSANO
BEET BULLS BLOOD
BEET BURPEE'S GOLDEN
BEET DEACON DAN
BEET EARLY BOOOD TURNIP
BEET EARLY WONDER
BEET LUTZ GREEN LEAF
BEET MANGEL COLOSSAL LONG RED

BROCCOLI DE CICCIO

CABBAGE COPENHAGEN MARKET

CARROT EARLY SCARLET HORN
CARROT DANVERS HALF LONG
CARROT PARIS MARKET
CARROT PURPLE DRAGON

CELERY PARIS GOLDEN SELF BLANCHING
CELERY RED STALK
CELERY SOUP

CORN GOLDEN BANTAM IMPROVED
CORN MANDAN BRIDE
CORN TOM THUMB POPCORN

CUCAMELON

CUCUMBER EARLY GREEN CLUSTER
CUCUMBER LEMON
CUCUMBER LYALUK
CUCUMBER MINIATURE WHITE

GOURDS SMALL EARLY MIX

LETTUCE 'HOPI RED DYE'
LETTUCE BATH COS
LETTUCE CRISP MINT
LETTUCE MASCARA
LETTUCE SPECKLED
LETTUCE WHITE PARIS COS
LETTUCE YUGOSLAVIAN RED BUTTERHEAD

MUSKMELON GNADENFELD
MUSKMELON MINNESOTA MIDGET

OKRA CLEMSON SPINELESS

ONION TROPEANA LUNGA

PEAS AMPLISSIMO VIKTORIA UKRAINSKAYA
PEAS ASPARAGUS
PEAS CAROUBY DE MAUSANNE
PEAS CHAMPION OF ENGLAND
PEAS DWARF GRAY SUGAR
PEAS LARGE MANITOBA
PEAS MARGARET MCKEE'S BAKING PEA
PEAS PRUSSIAN BLUE
PEAS RUSSIAN SUGAR

PEPPER ORANGE BELL
PEPPER FEHER OZON

RADISH EARLY YELLOW TURNIP ROOTED

RHUBARB OLD HOMESTEAD

SUNFLOWER 'RUSSIAN MAMMOTH'

SPINACH MONSTREUX DE VIROFLAY
SPINACH STRAWBERRY

PUMPKIN SMALL SUGAR

TOMATO 42 DAYS
TOMATO BLACK CHERRY
TOMATO BLACK ZEBRA
TOMATO EARLY ORANGE STRIPE
TOMATO GRAY'S SWEET CHERRY
TOMATO GREEN ZEBRA
TOMATO MINI ORANGE
TOMATO MONOMAKH'S HAT
TOMATO PINK PEACH
TOMATO PIRKSITINE ORANGE
TOMATO PURPLE RUSSIAN
TOMATO SNOWHITE CHERRY

TURNIP NAVET DES VERIUS MARTEAU
TURNIP PURPLE TOP WHITE GLOBE
TURNIP WITHELMSBERGER GELBE RUTABAGA

flowers
COLUMBINE 'NORA BARLOW'
PAINTED DAISY
MORNING GLORY 'CLARKE'S HEAVENLY BLUE
MORNING GLORY 'GRANDPA OTT'S'
MORNING GLORY 'SUNRISE SERENADE'
OLD FASHIONED VINING PETUNIA
MARIGOLD 'TASHKENT #1'
PETUNIA 'ROSE OF HEAVEN'
NASTURTIUM 'EMPRESS OF INDIA'

What are Rick and I doing because of the economic changes--pretty much what we have always done (no vacations, no new vehicles, no cel phone for moi...no lots of things)... BUT we are gonna grow a bigger and better garden...should have seed enough for carrying over for the next 3 to 5 years (life expectancy of germination for many of the seeds I have ordered)...so one of my hobbies will not necessarily save the place, but a hobby indeed where I can actually validate the time and resources I sink into this aspect of my fun times to feed our faces with much better for us foods. There was a time a few years back when I did have to question...the sensibility of growing potatoes at home and the work and efforts, costs and such to do that. Seemed hardly valid an undertaking when a box of fifty pounds was like ten bucks...well they are not ten bucks now and the taste of your own grown...well I guess we are just going to hafta suck it up Buttercup and relish the premium better for all of us veg, eh.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[scottcaddy]

You Go Girl!
Scott

 

[Wisher1000]

I love home grown veggies,
My family doesn't.
I love to garden, but I love my chickens, too.
My family doesn't.
With a full time job and a full time hobby, and a house to keep, and three teenagers to tend, there is little time for gardening only to feed myself.
I miss my garden, but I usually manage to tuck a tomato, or cucumber vine in a bed somewhere. Maybe the occasional crook necked squash, or a few broccoli plants....