A very timely rain

We were really hurting for rain on the newly-planted alfalfa crop, and last night we received almost an inch-and-a-half.  I went back to see if anything had germinated, and sure enough, things are greening up nicely; it was so dry, I had been afraid to check, before.  Hopefully the rain will bring up the rest of the seeds.

If we can manage to do it before another rain, we'll put hay in some of the washed places to prevent them from becoming even bigger ditches.

We already have over $400 invested in this little five-acre plot, so of course we want it to do well.  The wonderful thing about alfalfa is that you can get four cuttings of hay a year from it, if the rains come... and it's the most nutritious hay you can feed your animals.  Horses have to be limited, since it's so rich; but a little of it is good for them.

There was a thunderstorm....

It was thundering.  Mandy is terrified of thunder, and cowered beneath me.

She took refuge under my computer desk.  Meanwhile....

My grandpuppy, Dixie, contentedly chewed on a leather chewie her grandma (that's me) gave her.

babies

I didn't know most of the people at Cliff's family gathering Saturday.  There were neighbors and cousins, and the children of cousins... I didn't even try to figure out who belonged to whom.  As I sat and listened to Cliff talking with his cousin Dale, a toddler began fussing behind me, wanting his very young mother to pick him up.  She was obviously frustrated with trying to appease him, and I offered to take him for awhile.  I was sitting in a metal lawn chair that rocked, so I began rocking him and singing all the songs I used to sing to my babies and grandbabies:  "I've Been Working On The Railroad", "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", and "All The Pretty Little Horses".  He immediately laid his head on my shoulder, pacifier firmly implanted in his mouth, and relaxed.  When I'd pause my singing, he'd grunt at me... his way of asking me to continue.

I hadn't realized, until then, how I miss having a baby around.  It came over me like a physical hunger, and I could have cried at how good it felt to have that baby laying peacefully on my shoulder.

At my previous church, I worked in the nusery with a friend of mine, during Sunday School, every Sunday for at least ten years.  I've had grandbabies off and on for nineteen years now, and even babysat a couple of infants when there were no grandchildren close by. 

Now, I have no babies in my life.  The thought of that makes me feel rather empty.  Something must be done!  If I were to take on an infant to babysit, it would drastically cut back on my horseback riding, and other leisure activities... so I will give it serious thought before I commit to anything.  If I could drive, I'd just go back to my old church (I'm still a member there anyhow) and get back to work in the nursery.

Or maybe this will pass.  We'll see.

Monday photo shoot: CATS

From blogfather John Scalzi, another assignment:   Your Monday Photo Shoot: Cats or Feet!

Be aware I am feeling quite daffy today, and this is reflected in today's Photo Shoot:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of your feet or a picture of your cat. Naturally, if you can get a picture of your feet and your cat, so much the better.

Be aware that for this Photo Shoot I want never-before-seen pictures of your cats, if you go in that direction of things. No recycling your previous cat shots. No recycling previous feet shots either, although something tells me that will be less of an issue.

Well John, I'm not about to show my hideous feet to the world.  So I risked life and limb to climb up on a stack of hay and take pictures of our hermit barn-cat, Fudge.  I hope my dog, Mandy, doesn't disown me, since she feels it's a cardinal sin for humans to talk to cats.

Come on folks, find your cat, take a new picture, and head over to By the Way to share your entry with AOL's J-land community.  Unless you'd rather share your feet.

 

A New Recipe

I was fixing Sunday dinner for me, Cliff, and our daughter's family today.  I wanted a dessert that wouldn't involve too much work and would require only ingredients I already had on hand.  Raw Apple Cake came to mind.  However, that particular recipe is in a tattered old church cookbook, and I don't know where it is.  I wasn't in the mood to go upstairs and search through boxes, so I did a Google search for "raw apple cake".

The first recipe I looked at was similar to my old one, with the same proportions of oil and sugar.  My old recipe required raisins, this one did not... but asked for coconut.  Oh well, I have coconut, and decided to try this new version.

Folks, it's great!  I went back to the on-line recipe and copied it for my recipe file.  I may as well share it with my readers.  After all, apple season has started in Missouri.

                                        RAW APPLE CAKE

"You simply cannot go wrong with this raw apple cake. The ingredients of coconut and the apples ensure that the cake will be moist and flavorful." Preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare, 1 hour to cook, 30 minutes to cool.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (we use grapeseed oil)
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
3 cups of white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups chopped apples (varieties that are good for baking - i.e. granny smith, gravenstein, Fuji)
1 cup of coconut (the fresh grated, not the dried. If you use dried, soak first in water.)  (note from donna... I used dried, and did not soak it)
1 cup of chopped nuts - walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
Beat sugar and oil. Add remaining ingredients. Bake in a greased and floured bundt cake pan about 1 hour. Test around the centers with a long thin bamboo skewer or toothpick to make sure the cake is done.

When cool enough to handle, gently remove from pan. If the dough has raised substantially around the middle areas of the bundt ring, you may need to use a bread knife to gently level off the cake so that it sits even.

Glaze:
1/2 stick sweet butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Blend glaze ingredients and cook until melted. Place the cake on its serving dish. Prick all around the top of the cake with a fork so that when the glaze is applied it easily seeps into the cake. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze liberally around the surface areas of the cake, or use a spoon to dribble the glaze on the cake.

another happy, busy day

Cliff and I had already planned to go to Booneville to a tractor show when his brother, Phil called, and suggested we ride with him, hit the tractor show briefly, and then go to their cousin's lake house for a family fish fry, on the Lake of the Ozarks.  Phil took two granddaughters along; he had promised them they'd be able to swim in the Lake of the Ozarks, but had neglected to tell them we'd be stopping first at a tractor show.  They were less than thrilled, but he bought them off with a couple of cowgirl hats. 

There are three of Cliff's mom's siblings still living, and he got to see them all today, plus several cousins.  I enjoyed the food, the peaceful setting on the lake, the tour of Ronnie's house under construction, and traveling in the back seat with Phil's giggling granddaughters.

It was another good day for sure.

Harley Day

We left home shortly after 7 this morning, having put my two granddaughters in the care of a next-door neighbor.  Charlene and Pat (Cliff's sister and her husband) had told us they would arrive at the Harley open house at 7 and save us a spot in line... although sign-up doesn't start until 9 AM.  When we arrived at 8:30, we appreciated our early-bird relatives, because the line went back a long way.  Someone told us people had started arrivng at 4 AM.

Cliff had to show his Driver's license (he took his motorcycle test two weeks ago) and I had to show my non-driver's license.  Then we signed a form that, in so many words,  stated than any harm that might befall us was our own derned faults and Harley-Davidson was not responsible.

Because we were so near the front of the line, we were among the first to be able to ride.  Cliff wanted to try a touring bike first, so we ended up on a beautiful Electroglide Classic.  What a smooth ride it was!  Almost as smooth as a Honda Gold Wing, which we're shopping for (in case Cliff gets the Allis Chalmers D-17 sold).  We won't be buying a new one.  We don't ride enough to justify that kind of expense... like $18,000 for the Electroglide. 

We were waiting in line to ride a "Fat Boy" soft-tail Harley next, and the lady said it would probably be twenty minutes before that one would return.  So I went to the rest room, which was in the factory, quite a distance away.  When I returned, Cliff was gone.  I knew what had happened:  his turn came, and rather than give it up, he left me stranded.  Humph... paybacks are hell.

Our third ride was the Harley Sportster, which didn't impress either of us, although it's half the price of the Electroglide.  Then we went through the museum, and took the tour of the plant.  Cameras weren't allowed, but it was a fascinating place.  There were lots of robots doing amazing things.

We'd noticed, this morning, a Honda Gold Wing for sale in a yard a few miles from here.  So on our way home, we stopped to see about it.  It's really older than we want, but the price was good.  The poor owner is getting a divorce and needs some cash; he told us more than we wanted to now about the situation. 

It's been a fun day.