We Were at Belmont Park!

On Saturday, Mark and I took a ride down to the Belmont in NY to watch the races. We had been to tracks before but never been for a big stakes race like "The Belmont". Can I just say what a blast we had! I got wonderful pictures, met some wonderful people and had a great time just the 2 of us. I really didn't think I was going to like being there all day since we got there at 10 and the main race wasn't until 6:30 but time went by fast and we had great seats right on the rail. We were near the finish line and had a great view of everything. The people were mainly friendly,but there were plenty of rude people too, a lot were drunk and so funny to watch and the people that were so over dressed for the cheap seats...they must have thought they were at the Kentucky Derby but sitting in the cheap seats! That was interesting to see. It was a great time and it was wonderful to have some "adult time" just me and Mark. We came home tired and really sunburned but it was well worth it!

I am so proud of some of the pictures I got. I owe it all to my wonderful husband who got me the Canon Rebel XSI for Christmas. These pictures would not be possible without it. I have started a new Flickr page that has more photos on it if you would like to see more. I did this because I was so surprised when a man came over my shoulder when I was looking at some of the pictures I had taken (200+!!) and he saw some he liked and asked if I sell them and wanted to know if he can purchase a few. Can you say EXCITED!! So I hope I can figure this out and any and all advice on selling pictures would be greatly appreciated!! Please!!

This is "mine that bird" getting ready for the gate
This is Summer Bird taking the lead

Just a photo of one of the turf races

Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to talk about ways that I try to be green. I would also love to hear how you are green!! Maybe we can learn from each other :) I am not the "greenest" person out there but I try to do my part.

To start, I had my local utility company come to my home and run an energy efficiency test. They locked down my home and tested to see where air was seeping out of which windows and plugged up any holes in the attic and crawlspace that air may be getting out. They also changed all of the light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs and this was all done for FREE!!! If this is something that you would like more information on please feel free to contact me or check with your local utility company to see if they have this kind of program. I didn't know that this program existed until I spoke with someone who had it done. Not like they are going to advertise it since it costs them money but not me!! LOL! But it is a great program to take advantage of if your utility company offers it.

I also do my part in recycling plastic, glass, tin and newspapers. Every week our recycling bin goes out full with our trash.

Speaking of trash...I think my biggest "green" project is my compost pile. I started composting full time last year. I have a little bit of an advantage with having chickens. I use all the pine shavings I have in the chicken coop with the poop of coarse! Chicken manure is one of the best compost you can get. It just takes longer to compost then other manures due to the high amounts of ammonia in the droppings. I have 2 empty coffee cans on my kitchen counter...one for the chickens and the other for the compost pile. Not very many food scraps make it into our trash due to my little system. The compost can get anything that is not meat or food that will rot and attract rodent or nothing that has seeds. The girls get just about everything else.

The pictures below are of my compost pile from last year. It sat all winter and this is what it turned out like

When I left this pile at the end of the fall it was well up over the top of this black plastic "compost holder". I got this plastic from my town hall. I didn't know they offered this either until I saw someone walking out with one! There are so many little hidden secrets out there

This is a close up of what it broke down to. You can still see the shavings but the deeper you go the blacker the new "soil" gets

If you look on the right hand side of this photo you will see a longer piece of something...it kind of looks out of place...I think that is a piece of a corn husk. I did learn that corn cob doesn't break down like I would have liked it to.

These are my 3 raised beds that Mark built for me last year. I live on a rock ledge so there isn't much digging that can take place in my yard. Raised beds are supposed to be the best way to garden. They aren't expensive to make unless you go with top material of coarse but we always find a less expensive way to make things. We will try to make something before we buy it!

This is Ash in the compost pile. The girls love pecking around in it. When it gets warm out, there are all sorts of bugs and worms in it and the girls go crazy. When I find worms in the garden I feed a few to the girls and the rest go into the compost! The best thing for compost is a bit of moisture, different materials and WORMS!!

I just started a new pile when I cleaned out the coop and I have already spread the old pile into my raised beds to get the soil going. I cannot plant veggies until around mid May. Mother's Day is the rule of thumb for us up here in CT. I am nothing close to a expert gardener but I do try and LOVE trying!

Hmmm? I just thought that maybe I will write a little more on composting and take pictures of my new compost pile so you can see how it breaks down and how to do one. You don't need a big pile...you can make a small pile in one of the lawn and garden brown leaf bags..yep, really! it works! If you have children it is great to start even a small one so they learn there is another way to dispose of food and the reward of healthier plants later is a great one. I know Thomas loves taking the coffee can out to empty it. Sometimes he will notice it is full and take it out himself. This year he will learn what all that hard work has done for our garden. He gets very involved in gardening and it makes me happy to know that he would be able to feed himself, if necessary, when he is older. Hopefully it will stick with him and he will teach the same thing to his children.

Oh!! I can't forget to mention that I try to remember my reusable grocery bags every time I go shopping too!

I apologize for the long post but I feel as being green is very important and I feel as though we should all take pride in trying our best to be as green as we can!!

I would love to hear what you do to be green! Please share!

Happy 4th Birthday!

To my son Thomas. I can't believe that it has been 4 yrs already.

I put together a little slide show of some of my favorite pictures since the moment he was born till now. I hope you enjoy a little trip down memory lane :)

Sorry couldn't get the slide show to work but I got it working now!

More of the White Stuff

Yep, we had another round of snow last night and today. We got about 12" maybe a little more, but this is the first big storm of the winter. We had a lot of snow this winter but it came little by little. It seemed like it snowed everyday there for a while. This storm was a good one for the amount but not for the quality. Not good snow for making a snowman or snowballs. I had one very upset little boy who wanted to make a snowman so badly. But we all still got out there and enjoyed it and I mean everyone!Reese LOVES the snow. Sasha doesn't like to be cold or wet for that fact, so she gets a little upset with her brother when he wants to play. She is usually a good sport and goes along with it for a little bit. She is 14 but still has a lot of pep! You also have to imagine that this poor little dog couldn't walk in the snow..she had to hop!
Thomas was so upset that we couldn't make a snowman or make snowballs so he went with the next best thing....throw snow at everyone. Daddy got smart and started going after him with shovels full. Thomas didn't mind at all.

After Mark got home from work, we all headed out to watch the 2 "big boys" clean all the snow off everything. You did catch "watch" right...LOL. They do such a good job all by themselves! I did have something set up with our neighbor that was supposed to come back and plow the driveway before Mark got home...he never showed. Nice neighbor :/

It really doesn't help that the dogs have a touch of spring fever and have so much built up energy from being inside all winter. It was fun to watch them get some energy out. Sasha kept up...at least Reese made her think she did!

Now who wouldn't love this face!

He is the sweetest and most loving dog! Yes, he is one of those dogs that thinks he is human. Can you tell? Ok, we let him think that way too...LOL.

Snow/Ice of 2009

This is turning out to be a crazy winter. I have had enough. It is down right cold and all the ice and snow we are getting is crazy. Yes, this is the way New England is supposed to be. I think we have been spoiled over the past several yrs. I do love looking at all the white on the trees and such. I do find it beautiful as long as I don't have to go out in it.
This is Ginger yesterday afternoon. All the girls were out and about once the snow started they all went back to the coop. Ginger was one of 3 that stayed out to brave the cold and snow. I don't know why since she looks so unhappy with snow on her back and one leg tucked underneath her to keep it warm. I don't get it.

The one thing that kills me the most about winter is the bitter cold and the ice. Ice is the worst. Living just a hop, skip and a jump away from Long Island Sound, we get a lot of sleet and icing. Not usually as bad as the picture above. We usually get some good snow and then it will usually change to a sleet or freezing rain (like the storm we had last night), leaving a coating of ice on top of the snow. It is no fun for the kids to sled on and you can't do anything with it.

This morning I went out to open the door to the coop so the girls could come out (if they wanted to) and only one made it out. Paprika took a few steps out, looked around and said "no way in hell". She then just turned around, went back inside and that is the last I have seen of her. The rest of the girls were smart and decided not to venture out. Could it be because they are spoiled and have a heater? Humm? Maybe I should have followed their lead this morning. I have had enough of winter. I love the first snow. It looks so beautiful and everyone goes out and plays in it. After the first snow, according to me, Old Man Winter can take the snow, cold, bitterness, ice,sleet, freezing rain and everything else that has to do with winter and shove it!!

Hopefully, for the ones who like winter, are enjoying this winter with all the snow.