age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill any day...

I turn 40 this week.  I will have also been married to a great man for 18 years.   I know some may gasp, but I love the passing of time.  I love getting older.  I am way happier at 40 than I ever was at 20.  To celebrate I thought I'd share some of my favorite age quotes.

Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.

Proverb

 The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob

also turns to the left. 

~Jerry M. Wright 

 How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? 

~Satchel Paige

 There was no respect for youth when I was young,

and now that I am old, there is no respect for age

 - I missed it coming and going. 

~J.B. Priestly

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age. 

~Victor Hugo

I recently had my annual physical examination, which I get once every seven years, and when the nurse weighed me, I was shocked to discover how much stronger the Earth's gravitational pull has become since 1990.

  ~Dave Barry 

 You know you've reached middle age when a doctor,

not a policeman, tells you to slow down. 

~Author Unknown 

At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment.

~Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. 

~Author Unknown

 I'm not 40, I'm eighteen with 22 years experience. 

~Author Unknown

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. 

~George Burns

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. 

~Robert Browning

 

Hope you enjoyed the quotes.

 

 

New Traditions...

My sister called the other day and surprised me by asking if I would like to start a new family tradition.  I was all ears.  They wanted to know if we would like to come out for the opening of pheasant season.  Taking the girls pheasant hunting sounded like great fun, so we said yes, packed up the dog and headed across South Dakota.  We were amazed at what a big deal pheasant hunting is at the Eastern end of the state.  We saw thousands of hunters.


We got to their farm close to noon.  The girls had their orange vests and were ready to hunt, so out the door we went. 

The littlest hunter and I followed in the all terrain stroller with the camera.  The girls were so much fun.  They laughed, talked, and we all enjoyed the world around us.   

 Right off of the bat pheasants were all over the place.  Uncle Kelly had a bird down before we knew it.  The girls were so excited.  That is until the bird started flapping around.  That little crowd dispersed quickly.   We got everything back under control and took the prize photo of the hunting party and their quarry.

After a lot of hiking and no more
birds, we headed back to the house for a wonderful meal.  My sister is an awesome cook.  Their house is filled with laughter. 

We headed out again for another round of hunting.  It was a little cooler out so the girls wore their special hunting hats.

The baby had to stay home.  Maybe next year she will be ready to come along.  She wasn't too upset.  With three sisters any alone time with Mom is pretty special. 

The next day Tyler came along.  We drove around and found lots of great hunting areas.  While the guys waited, the girls, Ella, and I bird dogged the thick areas looking for more birds.  There were no more pheasants, but these two little birds kept things lively.

 

 

The girls were great hunting partners.  Even without any birds they made the hunt exciting and an adventure.  

Sunday night the sun set on a new tradition.  One filled with hunting, eating, some rousing games of Uno, balloon volleyball, horseback riding, chores, and laughter.  Lots of laughter.  It was a great time.  The girls enjoyed their first pheasant hunt and couldn't wait to take the tail feathers to show and tell.  It was great having some time with my sister and her family.  They were great hosts and such a fun loving group.  It was a wonderful start to a family tradition. 

 

 

What is in the dark...



We took our game camera down for awhile.  I was tired of deleting tons of photos of does.  Our neighbor just put his up.  I'm afraid his camera did not ease my mind as to what is out there in the dark.

This is obviously a young lion.

This is the older and now quite fat lion we have seen on our camera. 

 

This little girl is not going out in the dark unattended.

 

Something old is new again...

In case you haven't noticed I love reusing old things in new ways, or in this case the way it was meant to be. My wonderful husband went to an auction yesterday and picked up these little goodies.  The auctions items were from an old grocery store.  He managed to get an old produce scale and 15 crates.

 

 I'm really excited about the produce scale.  Although it is huge, it fits perfect in our little kitchen.  It will sure come in handy.  We used it to weigh the honey the beekeeper gave us from our hives.  Thirty five pounds of honey is a jackpot in my book.

The crates are now scattered though the house.  They perfectly matched the old sled and lantern we got at another auction.  Then I used them upstairs and downstairs. I don't have everything perfectly placed yet, but I couldn't wait to post about our finds.   

It is funny how something that sat unused for a long time can be brought back to life.  Do you have any auction finds that you found particularly useful?







 

Transitions...

 Well, fall is working its way into winter.  We had our first snow and currently it is drizzling, which will become additional snow tonight.  The chipmunks are hurriedly cleaning up below the feeders.  I've planted my garlic, dug up my gladiolas, and pulled up the tomatoes. 

Time to start on my winter projects.  I cut out all the pieces for my new quilt this weekend.  I hate that part.  Now comes the fun, sewing it all together.  What winter projects do you have planned?

Compost is king...

My sweet husband bought me a compost tumbler when we moved to the cabin.  It is so wonderful to use.  Every fall it gets moved to the deck.  When I clean up my containers, I just dump the used soil in.  Then it gets filled with fall leaves.  For my morning coffee grounds and other kitchen items, I just step out the door. I fill it all winter (which can be many many months here in the hills) and then a top off in the spring with grass clippings.  The rest of the summer it just sits.  I give her a roll every week, if I remember.  This year I kept it in a shady area and added some of my composting worms.  

While the tumbler does it's thing, I spend the summer filling this compost pile. It is not going to finish as fast as the tumbler, but can take the bulk of garden cleanup.  I am very happy with this bin.  It has proven Ella proof, easy to turn, and very accessible.

I can't say enough how easy it is to compost when all you have to do is step out your door.  We learned the first year not to leave it on the deck during the heat of summer, unless you like the smell of rotting stuff wafting through your house.  It just gets moved to a shady spot.  If you are wondering how my worms are doing.  I still have them in a bin in the house.  I feed them about once a month.  I've been running their food through the blender to speed up the process.  I'm going to mix the worm compost into the spring containers.  I did that mid-summer this year and was pleased with how well my containers did and the number of worms in them.    

 

Below is a photo of my black gold, complete with wiggly worms.  I mixed it with some leftover buffalo compost.  Each rose got a generous shovelful and the rest was used to top dress the flower beds. 

 

 

I guess it is still Bonnie season for my husband as he snuck a couple of photos while I was working in the beds today.  He is practicing for deer hunting.  Meanwhile, I was emptying containers, dividing perennials, cleaning beds, and giving the plants some homemade fertilizer.  There is snow in the forecast and I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be.