Prince Charming

I have felt horribly neglectful of my poor blog, and of my blog reading friends. This fall has been hectic and rough (to say the least!), but all that can wait. I needed a little silliness in my life, and it came hopping by this afternoon, so here I share.

PICTURE #1.....THE FROG AND THE PRINCE




PICTURE #2........WHY AM I KISSING THE FROG?.........






........I ALREADY HAVE MY SWEET PRINCE......

BUT HEY, IT MADE FOR A GOOD PICTURE, AND FOR A FROG, HE WAS PRETTY DARN CUTE (but definitely not cuter than my sweet hubby!)

PS.......IS THIS NOT THE BIGGEST FROG YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN TEXAS? HE WAS DEFINITELY CALAVARAS COUNTY FROG JUMPING CONTEST MATERIAL (thank you Mark Twain).
SWEET FROGGIE WAS GENTLY RELEASED NEXT TO OUR FULL POND WHERE HOPEFULLY HE FINDS HIS PRINCESS. DON'T WORRY SIR FROGALOT, SHE'S OUT THERE SOMEWHERE......AND I'M TAKEN!

INTRODUCING.......Leo the Wonder Kitty

Hello all you fans of God's creatures! This is a long overdue introduction to one of the most precious, most loved kitties to have come thru Ararat Acres' gate. So, with great fanfare, I bring you, Leo the Wonder Kitty (surely you are hearing a drum roll about now).

He may not look like much. To many of you, he may even appear mild mannered, which he undoubtably is. During these moments, he is simply, Leo- your everyday "average joe" of a cat. However, average he is not. See, when no one is looking, he dons his magical cape and becomes:
Leo......The Super Above Average, Rather Extraordinary, Melt Your Heart,Wonder Kitty. Leo started out as a greasy spot on the road, or so some heartless person who tossed him in the road had hoped. He arrived at our church in the care of another church member who had found him. About 3 1/2 weeks old, a spinal cord injury and a horrid respiratory infection. He could not breathe well and could not use his front paws. I did not hold much hope that he would live. We took him home and then took him to the vet, where he stayed for about 10 days- receiving antibiotics and steroids in an attempt to decrease the swelling in his spinal cord. He came home to us with limited use of his front paws, and still on antibiotics. It was unclear if he would walk normally as his paws were "flippy floppy"....sometimes obeying his commands, but often not. Initially we called him Ernie, but it became apparent to us that he had a heart of a lion, so we changed his name to Leo. Despite his rough start, he was unstoppable and totally loveable. He purred, and purred and purred, and he slowly mended. At first we thought he might have a little bit of a mental disability because the trauma injury, but he doesn't. He's just happy to be alive, and high on life. Leo is friends with everyone....cats, dogs, horses (he likes to ride them), turkeys...it doesn't matter. So if you are visiting Ararat Acres, and see a streak of orange come running towards you...... If you see a flash of a cape (that is mostly invisible to those who don't believe)......get ready to open your arms and receive a huge hug from a great big, loveable, ALIVE cat who just celebrated his first birthday. He teaches me about joy almost every day, and makes me laugh almost as often, this guy......who almost became that greasy spot in the road. Stay tuned. Leo the Wonder Kitty has arrived and will be making semi regular appearances here. He's got some stories to tell, and some joy to share.

Contest with Prize! --correctly name this melon

In the beginning, I wasn't sure we were going to have a successful garden this year. The late freeze, the abnormally cool weather combined with the frequent rains made starting a garden a true challenge this year. We start our garden from heirloom seeds every year. Heirloom seeds are different than the seeds you would normally find at your local Wally World or Home Depot. These are seeds that are harvested because of their original genetic attributes. Unlike hybridized seeds, they don't always produce the abundant crop you might wish for (although we've always had excess production thanks to our pollinators, the bees) . Heirlooms are usually known for their hardiness, taste, and uniqueness. Additionally, I recently read an article in Mother Earth News noting an additional characteristic of heirloom varieties. Apparently, while scientists have been working hard to produce hybridized crops that are high producers with the ability to fight off certain diseases (which can be easily done economically and organically if needed by the way), they are breeding OUT the nutrional value of our fruits, vegetables, and grains. Oh happy day. In some cases, the nutritional value of the newer varieties have been depleted by 50-70%. AND, some of these seeds have nasty little chemicals in and on them (genetically imbedded) that cause harm to our friendly little pollinators (and probably we humans as well).

So, without further adieu, I present to you, the mystery melon. Apparently, we had a hitchhiker seed added to our cantaloupe seed packet we had ordered. Charlie and I have already figured out what this melon is, and have harvested one of them (Actually two.....one was picked prematurely, thinking it was a watermelon perhaps). In addition to the picture, I will give you a few clues. The first person to guess what kind of melon this is will win a genuine organic Ararat Acres cantaloupe (quite tasty I might add). Unfortunately, this contest is only valid for local participants....I doubt the cantaloupe will ship well :).














In addition to the pictures, here are your clues:
1. It is an heirloom variety
2. The ready to pick fruit frequently weighs 8-10lbs
3. When ready, the fruit will turn from dark green to a deep yellow, with a light orange meat.
4. If you cannot tell in the picture, the not ready fruit is lightly fuzzy, with deep grooves and bumps.
5. The seeds date <1800's.

Good Luck! I'm looking forward to deliver a cantaloupe to someone soon.

A Catharsis

Thank you Webster: Catharsis: -noun; the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art or music. to cleanse.

Sometimes, you just have to do something to get a rush of immediate gratification. Some people shop. I do windows (thank you Dad....it's genetic!). First they are dirty, then they are clean. How simple. And even better.... you SEE the dirt, and then you don't. I wish life and cleaning up messes in life were equally simple. However, windows (as in life) are still prone to left over streaking and specks of dirt no matter how much you scrub, and that is a bit frustrating. The good news is this: at least the view isn't so fuzzy anymore. (I'm afraid these pictures didn't do the grime justice...speaking literally and figuratively of course.)

simple pleasures

A few weeks ago after a storm, Charlie found this little bird's nest in our yard. (I am choosing to believe that the babies had already grown and flown away when their home was blown from the tree.) It is such a sweet and perfect little thing. What is even more special is that the nest involves many of my animals. Every time I brush a dog, comb a cat, or groom a horse, I put their fur in the yard or treeline, for the birds to use. Looking closely, I can see bits of Bear (our Great Pyrenees) hair, as well as tail hairs from at least 3 different horses (probably Katie, Maggie, and Lola judging from the colors). The Mama bird did an incredible job of creating a recycled soft home for her chickadees. I always find a bird's nest architecture so amazing. Durable, woven, soft, circular, beautiful. How do they do that using only a beak? I doubt we humans could do such a job using only our mouths!

Ode to Mother's Day.......Farm style

I am not a mother to children. God did not have that in His plans for me, and I am at peace with His choice. However,I am a mother and caregiver to many many many of His creations, most of whom were rescued from their former unloved and uncared for lives. If only people would stop and watch.....I mean really watch..... animals around them, they would learn so much and perhaps even grow to love and appreciate what they see. But this blog entry isn't about that. It is a look at Mother's Day.....Farm style!

Every mom has a different style of mothering. This holds true regardless if the mom is a person or an animal. There is the overprotective mom, the adoptive mom who doesn't differentiate between blood and choice, the nurturing mom, the laid back mom, the mom who is still in mothering mode even tho her kids are grown.....well, the list could go on and on.


I will start with ZaZa, our little white silky banty hen. She sat on her eggs last year and successfully hatched 2 chicks. Truthfully, they weren't even her eggs, they belonged to a couple of much larger hens, but she didn't care, and she loved those eggs and loved her subsequent chicks. It didn't take long for them to grow up, and become twice as large as their mama. Even after the chicks developed feathers and could fly up to the roosts at night, ZaZa would choose the nesting box instead, and carefully attempt to cover her teenagers with her wings. Finally, one of them left on her own, and decided that roosting was a less crowded sleeping option. Fast forward a year......Would you believe that ZaZa still sleeps in a nesting box with her one chick (who is now huge!) almost every night. Both mom and baby are in denial that the inevitable "growing up" has happened I think.


Oprah, our fluffy, talkative black Americauna hen, got broody earlier this year, and we decided to let her sit on a clutch of eggs. 4 of them hatched. There just isn't anything much cuter than a baby, any baby, don't you think? We put them in their heated "nursery" with mom, and she proceeded to teach them about life.....what to eat, how to eat it, danger signals, how to drink water, etc. Yes, a baby chick will eventually learn most of this on its own, but Oprah was shooting for the Mother Hen of the Year Award. When I would give her favorite treats of strawberries, she would hold them in her beak and simultaneously call to her chicks, and then hold the strawberry while they pecked at it. Only when the chicks were done would she eat the leftovers (sound familiar, moms?). We watched as she led her little chickadees through the first 6 weeks of life, and when we finally returned them all to our chicken coop, she continued to teach them more life lessons, returning to the nesting box each night to tuck in the babies under her wings. Then.....one night.....it happened. Oprah must have decided that she had had enough of motherhood, so she flew the coop (so to speak), and spent the night with her girlfriends on the roost. I was in the yard and heard a terrible ruckus coming from the coop and went over to investigate. All four chicks were sitting in the nesting box looking at mom and peeping up a storm. They were furious for being left alone, and were giving mom an awful tongue lashing.
Oprah was ignoring them, and had already started to go to sleep. It was so comical, but I also felt sorry for the babies. Oprah had done her job, and it was time to really grow up.

I posted an entry back in February about our loss of Dooley, an almost 2 year old gelding. In it, I mentioned his mom, Waco. Waco is perhaps the most attentive horse mom I have known. Each foal she has given birth to has had the ultimate "mom" experience. Waco is always aware of where her babies are, she talks to them constantly, and clearly just revels in being a mom. She is such "a mom" that she will try to adopt other foals in the pasture. I have witnessed her standing, making every attempt to get a foal that wasn't hers to nurse (this is not common in the horse world). Waco mourned Dooley's death, and would look for him, calling for him frequently. This went on for about 2 weeks. It was oddly comforting to know that I was not mourning alone, and we shared our tears. I was describing Waco's version of mothering to my own mother a couple of years ago, and finished my description by saying ".....so Mom, if you were a horse, I'd have to say you'd be Waco" . After a brief silence, my mom replied, "I think that is one of the nicest things you've ever said about me". Not all people would see the compliment in my statement, but my mom did. She knows how much I love and respect "my kids" and understands the animal lingo and analogies that frequently enter into conversation. My mom is most definitely a "Waco", with a little "ZaZa" thrown in the mix.

Finally, on Mother's Day on the farm, who could forget The Queen? The saying, "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" most definitely holds true in bee hives. The queen does set the mood of her hive. If she is moody or irritable, you will definitely have an emotionally unstable hive. Likewise, if you have a gentle queen, you will have a calm hive. Beyond emotions, the queen also sets the style and layout of the comb (messy or organized?). She must be a strong leader for the sake of her family. If she is not, the worker bees will eventually lose their strong work ethic and the hive will become weaker because of it. I think the queen has set a high standard for all moms everywhere.

So, kudos to all you moms out there, and Happy Mother's Day from me and all of "my moms" at Ararat Acres. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Springtime B(ee)logging

My sweet little bees are out and about this lovely spring afternoon. They are so busy....almost urgent in their actions. And actually, things in the hive probably do require a bit of urgency. Winter is over, and the queen is actively moving from cell to cell, laying eggs. Eggs, of course, translate to more mouths to feed at home. With winter stores depleted, the girls have alot of responsiblities upon their wee little shoulders......gathering pollen, nectar, and water.....tending to the babies (larvae), and making honey just to name a few. They are happy to be free from the confines of their winter lair.

If you are a gardener, I've got to make my plea now: please please please refrain from using pesticides containing Imidacloprid. This is a "newer" pesticide that is highly suspect in contributing to (if not directly causing) Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bayer is just one of many companies that makes pesticides with this ingredient. Personally, I am an organic gardener, and have found that guineas do a better job than any pesticide, but everyone has their preferences. So, what is CCD? There has been a mysterious disappearance of entire colonies of bees over the last several years. This is a devastating event for any beekeeper. Beyond that, it is a devastating for anyone who eats.........for 3 out of every 5 bites of food you put in your mouth, you can thank a bee. Without bees, the world cannot produce enough food for all of the mouths that need to be fed. Colonies of bees affected by CCD simply disappear over a very short period of time. They appear to simply wander off and leave the hive, honey, larvae and all. The pesticide seems to have an Alzheimer's like effect on these highly functioning insects. Wow. To me, this is a "canary in the coalmine" sign for us. Really, if the pesticide does this to bees, what is it doing to humans longterm?

Not every flower attracts bees. Most people don't know that. The Divine Creation part of all of this is that the fruit and vegetable flowers that "need" bees for pollination in order to produce fruits and vegetables just so happen to be the ones that bees are attracted to. How cool is that??? So, what plants need bees for optimal production? Plants common to this area include: okra, beans, watermelon, cantaloupe and other melons, cucumbers, squash, zuchini, any fruit tree, grapes, any berry plant, and many herbs and spices. If you plant these things, your efforts will be appreciated by "the girls" and then justly rewarded at harvesttime. The caveat to this is that you've got to HAVE bees in your neighborhood for this to happen. The more pesticides that are used = fewer bees = less food (which means increased food prices). Please get the word out to all of your friends who are gardeners (both ornamental and fruit/vegetable).

Allow those little worker girl bees to bless your socks off, and have a great growing season~