Thanksgiving Day
On Thanksgiving we had goose. Yes, I finally did it. We were thankful for food on the table.
Our plan was to put it in the smoker and 6 to 7 hours later have a wonderful savory feast. Our plans were interrupted when Bob found a starving and dehydrated opossum trapped in the smoker. We haven’t a clue how long he had been in there.
Apparently, having gotten in through the little adjustable air vent on the firebox, he then got into the smoking chamber. In doing so, he dislodged the small grate and trapped himself. (We walked away and gave him a chance to get out. When we came back he was gone.)
Weak and filthy with soot, we are certain he was thankful too.
Having no time to pressure wash the smoker and disinfect it I had to go to plan B. Roasting the goose in the oven. I hate doing that because of all the greasy mess and smoke, but I tried it a different way! Dragging down the big, blue, enamel, roasting pan that once belonged to Bob’s mother, I put the goose in, put the lid on, and Voila! No greasy smoking mess! I am thankful. 😉
Bob came in later in the afternoon and smelled the goose in the oven…
Oh man, this smells so good! I’m glad we had to prepare the goose in the oven because it smells like the holidays when I was a kid!
He was thankful for the memories of holiday gatherings and his family.
Fast forward to yesterday…
Which found us at the Mountain Farmlet and working feverishly. Bob was inside doing demo, and I was outside moving and storing the (possibly) useable planks of lumber from the demo. In between I finished cleaning out the sheds, and then went walkabout in the woods.
I took myself directly to the bridge to look at the creek. The creek and the bridge define the southernmost tip of our property. While I was there, the neighbor lady came over and introduced herself. We talked for almost an hour and got to know quite a bit about each other. She seems so nice, and I look forward to being up there full time and having her as a friend.
We have a ‘date’, she and I, to go down into the creek bed and explore, “when it isn’t too hot and there won’t be snakes.” She’s never been down to the creek! We have to do this, and when we go I will make sure she won’t have to go bush-whacking like I did to get there. There was lots of *saw vine. YIKES! No wonder she’s never been down to see it! 😀
I went down and followed the creek for quite a ways in both directions. It was lovely. Here is what I found…
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- I followed the water
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- down the sluice
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- to the bridge.
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- Decending the limestone steps
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- I found its essence, slowly leaking from between the layers of time, had frozen in the cold.
Later, I went into the woods and forging off of our trail this is what I found. If you are not Lori of Day by Day the Farmgirl Way you may not appreciate the significance of these last photos. 😉
Evidence of life
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- The leaf filled trail starts here going down the back of the pond’s berm…
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- and continues through the grasses and over to the right of the big pine.
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- Here is another deep in the woods. Looking from the bottom center follow it between the two pines in the distance, and just to the left of center
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- Skat.
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- A footprint in the mud. Do you know what’s been here?
I was told by the Octogenarian that the deer no longer come here. Well, they do! You just need to know the signs. Thank you for teaching me, Lori.
So thankful!
*NOTE: The locals call this plant Saw Vine, but it goes by Cat Briar, greenbrier vine, or its botanical name of Smilax bona-nox. To see where it grows look HERE.
Saw vine information can be linked to by clicking on its name above, but an awesome image of the plant can be found on Steven Schwartzman’s Portraits of Wildflowers by clicking HERE
Life on the Farmlet 