Legend in her own time. . . .

This is an old post card of Annie Oakley. It piqued my interest so I looked her up online. She joined the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1886 and traveled with the show for 17 years. She performed in the United States, England, and Europe often with her husband Frank E. Butler. In 1926, after 50 happy years of marriage, the Butlers died. Annie Oakley died on November 3 and Frank Butler died November 21 - within three weeks of each other - both died of natural causes after a long and adventuresome life. Highlights of her life from the website http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/oakl-ann.htm

NAME: Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee. She was named Phoebe Ann by her mother, but called Annie by her sisters. Annie promoted the Mozee spelling of the family name. While it has been variously recorded as Mauzy and Moses, Mosey is the version most commonly found in family sources. She took the stage name Oakley, reportedly after Oakley, Ohio.
BIRTH DATE: Aug. 13, 1860.
BIRTHPLACE: Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio.
EDUCATION: Annie did not attend school.
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Quaker parents Jacob and Susan were originally from Pennsylvania. After a tavern fire ended their livelihood as innkeepers, they moved to a rented farm in Ohio. Father, who had fought in the War of 1812, died in 1866 from pneumonia and overexposure in freezing weather. Annie was the fifth of seven children. Her mother remarried, had another child and was widowed a second time. During this time Annie was put in the care of the superintendent of the county poor farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She spent some time in near servitude for a local family where she met with mental and physical abuse. When she reunited with her family, her mother had married a third time.
DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Whether it be a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the legendary markswoman Annie Oakley was masterful with them all. Dubbed "Little Sure Shot" by Chief Sitting Bull (she was 5 feet tall), her sharp shooting in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show won her many awards and captivated audiences far and wide. Her name remains synonymous with firearms and entertainment.
Born in a log cabin on the Ohio frontier, Annie Oakley began shooting game at age nine to support her widowed mother and siblings. She quickly proved to be a dead shot and word spread so much that at age sixteen, Annie went to Cincinnati to enter a shooting contest with Frank E. Butler (1850-1926), an accomplished marksman who performed in vaudeville. Annie won the match by one point and she won Frank Butler's heart as well. Some time later they were married and she became his assistant in his traveling shooting act. Frank recognized that Annie was far more talented and relinquished the limelight to her, becoming her assistant and personal manager. In 1885 they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, run by the legendary frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody.
For seventeen years Annie Oakley was the Wild West Show's star attraction with her marvelous shooting feats. At 90 feet Annie could shoot a dime tossed in midair. In one day with a .22 rifle she shot 4,472 of 5,000 glass balls tossed in midair. With the thin edge of a playing card facing her at 90 feet, Annie could hit the card and puncture it with with five or six more shots as it settled to the ground. It was from this that free tickets with holes punched in them came to be called "Annie Oakleys." Shooting the ashes off a cigarette held in Frank's mouth was part of the Butler and Oakley act. In a celebrated event while touring in Europe, Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany, invited Annie to shoot a cigarette held in his own lips. Annie had Wilhelm hold the cigarette in his hand and not his mouth; she accomplished this challenge, as always effortlessly. In this period Annie Oakley was easily recognizable by the numerous shooting medals that adorned her chest.
In a train wreck in 1901, Annie suffered a spinal injury that required five operations and even left her partially paralyzed for a while. Although she recovered very well, Annie toured less frequently during the latter part of her career. Nonetheless, her shooting expertise did not wane and she continued to set records. In a shooting contest in Pinehurst, N.C. in 1922, sixty-two-year-old Annie hit 100 clay targets straight from the 16 yard mark.
Annie Oakley died of pernicious anemia on Nov. 3, 1926, in Greenville, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six. A legend in her own time, the remarkable life of Annie Oakley would be celebrated in the 1946 Herbert and Dorothy Fields musical Annie Get Your Gun.
In her life, Annie overcame poverty, mistreatment and physical injury with her determination and strength of character. She played a role in breaking barriers for women with her talent and accomplishments in her sport. She showed great compassion and generosity to orphans, widows and other young women.
DATE OF DEATH: Nov. 3, 1926, age 66.
PLACE OF DEATH: Greenville, Ohio.

No excuses. . .

I managed to put the bush hog on the tractor all by myself. Now, I have no excuses for not mowing the weeds in the bottom fields. Except maybe, it won't quit raining.

The sun is making balls of light all around this picture. I prefer to say it is my gaurdian angel helping and protecting me while I do my "farm thing".

I need to make a sign. . . . .No Cats!

I put this birdbath near the back kitchen door so I could see the birds up close when they came for a dip. That worked for only a short time. Now, that's where the cat hangs out!

Frog in a Flower. . . .

My friend, Millie, had promised to send a picture of her Chocolate Iris. When she went out to take the photo, she found a little tree frog nestled inside. I stopped over later in the day and this little guy was still there. Isn't this the neatest picture?

Toadstools, too cute. . . .

Outside the welcome center at Mounds State Park they have the neatest little garden for children. Areas for smelling, tasting, listening, and touching. Part of the garden includes Toadstool Alley. I'll have to find a couple old pots at a yard sale, but I think I need to make a couple of these for my garden.

Flower printing. . . . .

Well, here it is. My piece of work from the Flower Printing session at Mounds Park. It was kind of fun but as you can see, I need a lot more practice. It was an opportunity to see what flowers made nice prints. The dark green leaf was from clover.....guess it has a lot of juice. Actually, the class was given by a guy park person. I think it was more of an educational "how plants can be used for dyes" thing rather than an art lesson. We just laid down some flowers on a white cotton cloth, between 2 sheets of wax paper and pounded them with a hammer. Guess I got my dollar's worth.

Sieze the day!

Double-Duty Birdhouse. . . .

More crafting. . . . this birdhouse is made from a gourd. I wrapped the outside with vines then stuffed in the spaces with grass and other natural fibers. Hopefully some little bird will easily be able to build a nest with the materials so close at hand. I also put out the obligatory hummingbird feeder today.

Finally, I crafted something. . . .

I bought the smaller windchime for $1 at a flea market years ago. I really liked the soft tinkling sound the spoons made and keep this one in my herb garden. Yesterday I made the windchime on the right with a cream pitcher/gravy boat found at the Great State Road 38 Yard Sale. I don't know if they hold those events in your area, but the Great State Road 38 Yard sale is a weekend designated for everyone who lives on US State Road 38 - all across the state - to have a rummage, barn, garage, flea market sale. There is lots of advertising, lots of participation.

Like attracts like. . . . .

I received an apple tree and a cherry tree for Mother's Day. Now, the task of deciding where to put them. I hope to get them planted within the next couple of days but it'll have to be a place where I won't be walking on and mowing over apples. The walnut trees present enough of a mowing problem in the fall. There is one peach tree on the farm and I always look forward to that harvest. In fact, I don't think one peach was left unpicked last year.

I said like attracts like because last year I had 20 acres of trees planted in a farm conservation wetland program They've been kind of a pain in the - well, actually the whole body and the pocketbook! Lots of weeding, mowing, and this year the $1,600 spray bill! I do get paid per acre for participating in the program for the next 10 years but often wonder if it will be worth it. I obviously won't live long enough to see these hardwood trees sold. I guess they are for future generations and keeping the planet healthy in the meantime. I've done my "green thing."

Busy weeding. . . .

This is a view of where I keep my trash in Aurora. As you can see I've been busy weeding. There are 4 garbage cans and 1 bag on the right, and 2 smaller garbage cans on the left. But that's not all. I took a couple piles down to the river (all clean vines, etc) I have 2 more bags, and there are a couple more piles I haven't done anything with. I will have to go back on Tuesday so I can set the cans down for trash pick up. Plus, I still have a couple more areas to weed. I need to do some weed spraying, weed whipping. I didn't take the weedeater or the leaf blower this time. I sure could have used them!

From the Great State Road 38 yard sale. . . .

Last weekend was the State Road 38 yard sale. I found a few items including this wood pen craft kit......and a bottle of Lourdes Water. Actually I didn't pay for these items. I bought some other little things and the owners threw these in. I guess they thought I should have them. I've already started to make the wooden pen and I think I'll sprinkle some Lourdes water around the farm. . . . . .

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Lourdes water is water which flows from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. The location of the spring was described to Bernadette Soubirous by an apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes on 25 February 1858. Since that time many thousands of pilgrims to Lourdes have followed the instruction of Our Lady of Lourdes to "drink at the spring and wash in it".
Although never formally encouraged by the Church, Lourdes water has become a focus of devotion to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Since the apparitions, many people have claimed to have been cured by drinking or bathing in it, and the Lourdes authorities provide it free of charge to any who ask for it. - I'm hoping for some miracles here on the farm.

Sieze the day.

Gourd plans. . . .

Yesterday I drug another gate to the garden and set up the old swing set with poles. I have one other place by the milk house set with some old wrought iron rails for the vines to climb. I hope to grow lots of gourds this year.

I've joined a "Gourd Patch" group started by a young lady named Emily Wallace. I've attended one meeting They showed a film featuring Jim Story from Pendleton. He has passed away but is very famous for the gourds he grew. Lots of tips in the film on hand pollination, trimming vines, cleaning and shaping the gourds.

I moved Miss Scarecrow and took off the flannel shirt and muffler. Now I need to find her a new outfit. I'll be checking out the garage sales!

Survivor. . . . .

I found this lonely asparagus growing at the edge of the garden. I had about a dozen plants and told one of the neighbors to take them. For 2 years the plants were spindly, nothing happening plants. They took up a lot of room and you weren't able to hoe or dig around them. The whole corner of the garden where they resided was a messy looking affair. They didn't even yield enough asparagus spears for a good mouthful. . . . then this guy. If they had done that before I would have given them one more year. . . . . .

MOWER UPDATE: I lucked out on the mower. Of course, it didn't start when I went out in the morning; however, as I was jiggling the charger cable I noticed how corroded the positive terminal was. As I went to clean it, the whole side of the part that fits over the post broke off. I bought a new one to replace the broken one, attached it, and the Green Machine fired up. YEAH!!!!! Fixed for under $4.00. Now, I have an old riding mower that is sputtering - going to try spark plugs, but I did that last year - surely it doesn't need plugs again! And, actually it sounds more like not getting gas????? Gas has made it to the fuel filter, so maybe the plugs will bring it to life. Besides, that's about all the mechanical stuff I know. Then, on to try the weedeaters! Surely something besides my push mower has survived the winter without a breakdown.

Mushrooms. . . . . again!

Mushrooms. . . . . . again! That's right. It's still going on. Here's my son again with a couple of his largest. Finally, a year when I've got more than I'll eat. John Michael says the best way to save them is just let them dry, put them in a plastic bag, then soak them in water for a day or so before you use them. Freezing makes them mushie. I have a few I will try the dehydrating with this year.

Update on "it's a wonderful life" here on the farm. First of all, the man the neighbors recommended because he did such a good job for them, did take off with the $650 I gave him to begin work and replace the pump. I called the sheriff, have been to the prosecutors office to file charges. Here's what they said: they will investigae but the prosecutor will probably throw it out......he didn't steal enough money from me. I can take him to small claims court (filing there will be another $75 and chances are he won't be able to pay me) My renter did see this guy at the gas station and called the cops. His name is James Puffenbarger, don't hire him! - The cops talked to Puffenbarger and told him to call me and make arrangements to pay me back......do you think he called? Not! In addition to the $650 Puffenbarger stole (I could have had a nice flat screen TV or new mower or little ATV to chase people off the farm). - that little plumbing job cost another $800 labor, and $700+ for pump, lines, and that tank thingy. I have got to start wearing my baseball cap again. I say I wear that to cover up the S-T-U-P-I-D that must be written across my forehead!

Now, on to my next problem........I haven't been able to mow because of the constant rain. Today I went out and I can't get the big John Deere started. I used it once earlier this year to mow the woods so I'm hoping I left the key on or something simple. The battery light doesn't come on but it says in the book to call your John Deere dealer if that happens. I shudder to think what this will cost. I put a trickle charger on over night and have my fingers crossed that it will work this morning.

I guess I could always have a U-pick mushroom farm to raise money to get my mowers, weedeaters and tractor going.