Tomatoes for Thanksgiving ........

We finally pulled up all the tomato vines today. They were full of little green tomatoes, but only a few were getting ripe. I did manage to get several fresh garden tomatoes for our Thanksgiving dinner. Don't they look yummy? One year I saved some of the green tomatoes, wrapped them in newspaper and stored them in a cool place. That year we had garden tomatoes for Christmas. They weren't as good as summer tomatoes, but were better than store bought tomatoes in the winter.

My brother will be back in Virginia tomorrow night. I've had cat sitting duty this week while he was gone. We'll have turkey and all the side dishes Thanksgiving Day. There will only be three of us, so we will have to do a lot of eating. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Chicken manure .......

Not far from my house is a farm that raises chickens for Tyson. Big trucks carrying food, etc. are constantly turning the corner in front of my house. Then every so often they transport chickens out, and these huge trucks piled high with crates stuffed full of chickens goes by. I can't stand to watch those trucks because I feel so sorry for the poor chickens. In hot weather, it looks like at least half of them are already dead by the time they get to my house. Just looking at those trucks will make you think twice before buying Tyson chicken at the grocery.



About four weeks ago my neighbor who owns the field right in front of my house decided to fertilize his fields using manure from the chicken houses. If you've never had the misfortune to smell chicken manure in large quantities, let me assure you that it is not a pleasant odor. The manure they spread was very, very dry and must have been powder-like in consistency. There were large clouds of manure coming out of the back of the truck spreading it. Some of these clouds headed directly toward my house. I immediately made sure all windows were tightly closed on the house and on the vehicles. I watched as a fine dust of manure mixed with feathers settled on everything outside.

Luckily, the wind shifted after awhile and blew the clouds in the other direction. It was a bit smelly outside for a few days, but after we had a rain the odor was gone. Just one of the joys of living in the country.

Fall leaves ..........

Our leaves are falling fast. They cover the yard and the roads. They blow around in little whirlwinds and crunch under feet. They get tracked into the house and litter the floor of the car. Hubby has been busy running the leaf vacuum over the yard, but he can't keep up with them. Here are some pictures I took earlier this week.



This is the side of our front yard.



This is the side of our back yard.



View across the field on the other side of the house.



This is the red maple in our front yard. It was planted over an old well and fell below ground when the well caved in. It gradually grew out of its hole and now looks like a bush rather than a tree.

Thank-you ...........

I would like to thank each of you for your kind words and expressions of sympathy on the passing of my Dad. I have really been touched by the kindness of the blogging community. You are a great group of people and I'm honored to know you.

I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal. It must be a sign of getting older when you crave routine and boredom. We went over the yard with the leaf vacuum for the first time this week. The leaves were falling as fast as we were getting them up. Our trees have turned and are very colorful. I must get out and take some pictures before the color fades.

The cats still hate each other. I'm beginning to think they will never get along. I've quit trying to keep the peace. They'll have to sort things out themselves. I'm taking care of my Dad's cat Sandy while my brother is in New Jersey. My brother will be moving back here to my Dad's house over the next couple of months, so the days he's in New Jersey, I will be a cat sitter. Luckily Sandy can stay at home and I won't have to introduce another cat to my three.

Hope you all have a beautiful Sunday.

Back again .........

First, I want to thank each of you for your thoughts and prayers for my Dad. He passed away around 4:00 Saturday morning. I'm glad his suffering is over and that he is at peace. He lived a good, long life (96 years). He wanted to be at home and I'm thankful that we were able to keep him there until the end. We had services for him this afternoon. My brother-in-law played the guitar, and he and my nephew sang a beautiful hymm. My cousin, who has been farming Dad's land since Dad sold his cows, is being deployed to Afghanistan this week and couldn't attend the funeral. He wrote a touching rememberance of Dad that his son read. It was truly a celebration of his life.

We don't usually have many visitors, but over the weekend there were lots of people going in and out. Maggie May is terribly upset over all the strange people smells in her house. She never has been a friendly cat - usually hiding under the bed when someone comes and staying there for at least an hour after they leave. She had been crying and pacing the floor all night, until I finally calmed her down a few minutes ago. Mazie Grace is out and about on her nightly hunting expedition. Last night was very productive - she had a squirrel and a bird for breakfast this morning. Mollie Ann is in the garage curled up on the rocking chair, resting after filling her fat belly.

Our weather has been sunny but cool. It finally feels like fall. We haven't had a frost around my house yet, so my flowers are still blooming. The tomato plants look better than they did all summer, and I have lots of little green tomatoes that will probably never ripen. We will have to start getting up leaves before long - they are falling fast. I haven't gotten used to the idea of fall yet, and before long Christmas will be here. Seems the older I get, the faster time flies.

I'm off to catch up on your blogs - if I don't fall asleep first.

Please vote ............

Tomorrow is election day. I hope everyone regardless of party gets out and votes for the candidate of their choice. Voting is a right and an obligation.

I haven't seen the little black dog again. I hope he found his way home. Our next dog will find us one of these days. If one doesn't show up at our door, we'll visit the local SPCA.

The cats are not getting along any better, but they do try to avoid each other. Maggie May is the main instigator of trouble. She is very jealous and has quite a temper. Hubby was petting Mazie Grace the other afternoon, while Maggie was sitting close by watching his every move. He was ignoring Maggie, so I told him he should pet her too. When he tried, Maggie hissed and growled at him and tried to nip his hand. A few minutes later, she jumped on his foot and tried to bite him. She wouldn't let him touch her until several hours later when all seemed to be forgotten and forgiven. Maggie thinks she is the top cat in this household.

I may not get to update my blog for awhile. My Dad is not doing well, so I've been spending most of my time trying to care for him. He is refusing to eat or drink anything, so we have to continually force liquids into him. I'm afraid he won't be with us much longer, so I want to spend as much time as possible with him.