We Have Direct TV

We had Direct TV installed yesterday.  It is going to save us some money each month especially with my new AT&T account for my phone.  By getting direct and AT&T together is will save us over $50 a month.  We loved DISH but it was getting too expensive having it for tv and Internet and also having a data package.  If DISH could of worked a deal minus the phone we would of stayed.  Of course when Tim called and canceled they were willing to work with us but where was that a couple of months ago when we were looking for options?  Anyway, so far all has been good!  Hello Direct!

Sill Waiting...

Well, I am still waiting to hear something from Blogger, the host of this blog.  I have been with Blogger.com for six years and have been very happy until now.  I can still blog but, for now, I am unable to post pictures which I feel enhances my blog.  I have sent another inquiry and hopefully will hear something soon.  If not, I will be changing blog host sites.  There are several out there I just have to choose one and set it up.  If you have any suggestions for a blog host site please let me know by commenting on this blog, emailing me, texting me or by facebook, twitter or Instagram.  I have one requirement, it needs to be a free host site.  Fingers crossed I get to stay with Blogger!

Things Go On...

...things go on here at the farm but for now I can only share with you through words because I still am unable to post pictures and I have some nice ones too.  Back to the farm...it was a busy day around here.  George was grooming Quail Way by getting all of the weeds and grass and trees cut down on the sides of the road.  It looks so much nicer now, thanks George!  Lisa has harvested our first big harvest picking over 10 pounds of veggies.  Tim has been  sprucing up the yard with cutting the grass, weed eating and he even planted some wild flowers.  I have been busy in the Crafty Cottage working on door prizes for my sister's SAS in July.  Travis has been busy working and unpacking more boxes now that he has things the way he wants them in his home. The dogs are all happy running around playing and laying in the grass enjoying the cooler but sunny weather.  See I told you there is plenty going on at the farm.  Hopefully I will soon be able to show you too!  It is just another day at the farm!

Troubles With This Blog

I am not sure what is happening with the pictures on this blog but as of yesterday I have been unable to add pictures to this blog.  I have sent in the feedback to the blog host site but have not heard back on it yet. I will be updating the blog daily and hope that a solution is found.  If it is not Just Another Day At The Farm will be moving to a new blog host site.  If you have any suggestions for one, please share!

Helping The Golf Game

Tim and George play golf in a Senior's Golf League where twice a week they have an opportunity to play a round of golf at several different golf courses in the area.  The golf courses are as far away as Kingsport and as close as Greeneville.  They don't play every week because they have the opportunity to pick and choose which courses they want to play.  Tim decided it was time to help his game out a bit by putting new grips on his clubs.  They are due and it is not a hard job but it does take a little bit of time.  Once they are all done hopefully it will help out his game with a better grip on the club.  The league they play in can be fun, frustrating, winnable, maddening, enjoyable, etc.  FORE!

Got Mulch?

The Welcome fence or sign fence or whatever we call it needed some life or color to it besides our holiday decorations.  We have had several discussions on what to do to the area to make to it more colorful but because it does not get a lot of sunlight it makes some flowers or bushes obsolete.  We enjoy decorating the fence for the seasons or holidays but it just needs more. George has come up with a plan and has started to put it in place.  He mulched the entire area.  Now this did two things, made it look better and because of the color of the mulch makes the decorations on the fence stand out.  Phase one is done...we got mulch!

My New Fitbit

Last August Jenny and Nate gave me a Fitbit Charge because my other fitbit was giving me issues.  I love the Charge because it has a watch.  I wore it every day but in the last month the band started to fall apart from the fitbit unit.  These bands are not replaceable and I was so disappointed but I decided to contact Fitbit and see if anything could be done.  Fitbit was excellent and was going to replace my fitbit because it was still under warranty.  They sent it out the next day but I never received it.  After waiting 12 days I contacted Fitbit again telling them my issue and they asked me to track it down with Fed Ex and the Post Office and I did but got no where.  Fed Ex said it was delivered to the Post Office and the Post Office said it never received it.  I believe it was lost by Fed Ex because the tracking number is still saying in transit.  So, I contacted Fitbit once again and asked what could be done.  They looked into my issue and sent me another Fitbit but sent it 2 day delivery.  I got my Fitbit Charge yesterday and while setting it up I had another issue and contacted Fitbit support again and it corrected it with me.  Thank you Fitbit for backing your product and for also having a great support system to aid your customers and their issues.  If you want a good step tracker that backs their product and has a great support center then buy a Fitbit.  You will not be disappointed.

Waiting For Cindy

A couple of days ago I kept getting texts from my daughter in Florida about Tropical Storm Cindy and that it was heading their way.  Yesterday while talking to Jenny she was glad it did not move that far East but realized that it was heading for us.  So yes, way up here in Tennessee we are awaiting the arrival of Cindy.  Now we will not have the damage that Cindy caused on the Texas/Louisiana border but we will get rain and maybe a tornado.  It rained on and off yesterday and it is suppose to rain on and off today but late tonight early Saturday morning is when Cindy will be arriving.  Hopefully it will just be rain but we will have to wait and see.  So, we are waiting for Cindy!

From Full To Empty Nester

The second batch of baby wrens have hatched, as you know, and they seemed to have grown rather quickly this time.  The nest, when checked, was so full that there was not any room for the birds.  Once we saw this we knew it was just a matter of time before the birds would fly the coop and they did.  Shortly after the full nest pictures were taken the birds took off.  We even had one of the wrens trying to start a new nest inside our grill.  We caught it in the very early stages and took it apart then fixed the grill so the wren could not get back in.  Now with the nest empty we are wondering if there will be more eggs.  The wrens in this area can lay eggs this late in June.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.  For now, we have gone from a full nest to an empty nester!

A Patriotic Fence

On this first day of summer it was time to get the spring decor off the fence and make it festive for the summer.  We went with a partriotic theme.  We wrapped garland around the rails and bought some big bows to also place on the rails.  It looks so good and even better when you see it in person; pictures do not do it justice.  It only took Lisa and I about 15 minutes which was good because after 5 minutes we were dealing with gnats.  Did you know I dislike gnats? Anyway, we are ready for the 4th of July! Go U.S.A.!!!

A New Addition To The Bird Sanctuary

Lisa and George have set up a really nice bird sanctuary and while we were in Dillsboro they purchased a new birdhouse for the bird sanctuary.  It is actually a church birdhouse and it is really a nice one.  When we got back from Dillsboro George got right to work to hang the new addition.  It really looks nice and helps complete the bird sanctuary.
Today is the longest day of the year for daylight and it is also my son-in-law's, Nate, Birthday.  Happy, Happy Birthday Nate!  We love you very much and could not be happier or prouder to have you as our son.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Dillsboro, NC Arts & Crafts Festival

On Saturday we took a little road trip to Dillsboro, NC to attend their Arts & Crafts and Music Festival.  We have never been to Dillsboro and had no expectations of what to expect but what we attended was just that, an arts and crafts festival.  There were over 40 vendors selling pottery, sewn goods, bird houses, dog accessories, paintings, jewelry, furniture, candles and more.  Along with the vendors there were live bands playing all day and the local shops were also opened.  It was nice festival and Dillsboro is a nice small historic town in North Carolina.  For more on Dillsboro visit my blog Travels With Ruth this Thursday.  There is another festival in August that Dillsboro sponsors so we may be checking that out too!  It was a fun day!

Happy Father's Day!

I want to take this opportunity to wish all the fathers a very Happy Father's Day!  A special shout out to some wonderful men in my life.  To Tim for being the best Dad to our girls, I love you very much! To my son in law Nate who is an outstanding Dad to our girl Rory, we love you Nate!  A special loving Happy Father's Day to both my dads, Warren Colley and Edward Winship who have loved  and guided me through life.  I love and miss you both everyday.  Happy Father's Day!

Planting Times Three

We planted the garden for the third time yesterday.  We are trying to make some crops grow longer and have staggered the growing times so we would not have so many of one item at a time.  Corn, green beans, lettuce and carrots are the main crops that we did this process with.  If they all grow the way we are hoping we should have these crops harvest well into August and maybe even September. I guess time will tell.  We did do our second harvest yesterday.  We picked some more blueberries, about 6 of them, and three cherry tomatoes.  I ended up just eating the blueberries and I am sure that is what Lisa will do with the tomatoes.  Later in the afternoon George was in the orchard with Lisa looking at the fruit trees and did pick the first peach.  It was not quite ripe but the parts that were tasted great.  Harvest time will be upon us before we know it!

Some Cricut Fun

Did I mention in this blog that I have a Cricut now?  Well, I do and I love it! My daughter, Jenny, bought a new one because she is starting a side business with a friend and wanted to have an updated Cricut for the business.  So, I received her old Cricut that she has had for a couple of years.  Well, needless to say, I am thrilled!  I have wanted one for several years but knew it was not in the budget.  So, with my new toy,  I have already been having fun learning and creating things.  My latest creation is my tea jar and tin bucket where I learned to layer vinyl.   The tea jar is simple vinyl and the images on the tin is done in layers and it was fun to put together.  Now that I have the Cricut I want to decorate everything!  The pictures posted are some of the projects I have created so far with my Cricut! 

A Clear Phone

Yesterday Tim and I spent a couple of hours at an AT&T store in Morristown because we were switching my phone from Staight Talk to AT&T.  The associate helping us did a fantastic job handling us and about 10 other customers.  Straight Talk was giving us a bit of problem in porting my number but AT&T and the associate was persistent and got it done.  Now,  I liked Straight Talk but I did discover one thing after switching; my phone is a lot clearer when talking on it.  I can hear better and the ones I was talking to said I sounded clearer.  I guess having AT&T with the AT&T tower right near by makes a huge difference then using a third party through it.  Thanks AT&T!

Old Mill Square

The Old Mill Square is a shopping area that surrounds the Old Mill Restaurant that is a mill that was built in 1830 and has been in operation since then.  The Old Mill has demonstrations daily as to what and how the mill works along with candy making demonstrations and pottery making demonstrations.  The Old Mill is a big restaurant that serves homemade foods like your grandmother use to make.  Around the Old Mill are more shops and restaurants that also feature items made at the mill and lot of other merchandise too.  There is the Farmhouse Kitchen store, the Farmhouse Candy store, a huge pottery store, along with jewelry, clothing, soaps, metal sculptures, blacksmithing, and wood working stores. There is even a distillery and much more.  It is a nice area to spend some time shopping at but make sure you go hungry so you can enjoy a meal at the Old Mill.  We did not get a chance to but we will be returning to do just that especially since the cross stitch store I like is located a block away from the Old Mill.  If you are visiting the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area make sure you take time to visit the Old Mill and Old Mill Square.

Girls Day Out

While the guys were off golfing and since Kaitlyn (Lisa & George's daughter) was still in town we decided to have a girls day out.  We headed to Pigeon Forge and to the Old Mill Square (more on that tomorrow) then headed to the Apple Barn for lunch.  After lunch we went to Old Time Pottery where we walked the entire store and down every aisle.  We then headed to Joann's and then Hobby Lobby before heading back to the farm.  We had a great time and I enjoyed spending the day with Lisa and Kaitlyn.  Thanks ladies!

We Have More Baby Birds

We have more baby birds!  The second batch of eggs in the wren nest has hatched and it looks like they are all doing well.  Lisa got some pictures yesterday and the birds are bigger that we thought.  They are probably not far from fleeing the nest.  The next question is will that be it or will our mama wren have one more batch?  There is still time to do so which means we will be doing an egg check of the nest for a little while longer.  Welcome to the world little birdies.

A Twine Holder

I was able to purchase several rolls of baker's twine in several colors but storing them so I would not forget them was troublesome.  So I came up with a storage idea and I had the items needed to make it so I did.  I used a wood plaque, a wooden dowel ( cut into two pieces), a drill and some wood glue.  Tim and I assembled the twine holder together by drilling two holes into the plaque, cutting the dowel in two and placing them into the holes filled with wood glue.  It took all of 5 minutes from start to finish.  Thanks Tim for helping and now I have a great storage area for my baker's twine!

A Gadget That Works

My daughter Carrie gave me one of the best kitchen gadgets that actually works really well.  It is a watermelon slicer that will cut a watermelon in slices easily and almost no mess.  It is a simple tool that has a strange look to it but it slices through watermelon with ease and literally only took me maybe 30 seconds to slice up a quarter of a watermelon.  I will be using this tool going forward.  The best thing each slice is the same size too!  Thanks Carrie, I love it!

Wonder Woman

I have never been a fan of comic books, with the exception of Archie when I was a little girl, but now that Marvel and DC Comics are bringing out movies I am becoming a fan.  I do like the Avenger movies along with Thor, Captain America, Ironman and Guardians of the Galaxy.  We went and saw Wonder Wonan and it was great.  So now I am looking forward to DC Comics Justice League.  Wonder Woman tells a story I never knew and it was well done.  The movie is action packed and the special effects are really good.  If you are looking for a fun and action packed movie with a good story then go see Wonder Woman!

Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg is an amusement park and snow ski area located in the mountains overlooking Gatlinburg, TN.  It was built in 1962 and it has a large mall with indoor amusements, a skating rink, restaurants and stores.  Outside there are ski runs, an alpine slide, a mountain roller coaster, some kiddie rides, a maze, miniature golf, a wildlife encounter and a scenic chairlift to the top of Mount Harrison (elevation 3590 ft). In the winter there are ten ski runs, a terrain park, three chairlifts and a multi lane tubing area.  To get to Ober Gatlinburg an aerial tram is taken from downtown Gatlinburg up to Ober Gatlinburg that is a 2mile ride and takes about 10 minutes.  The ride has some spectacular views especially if you get by a window. During the fires last fall in Gatlinburg it was reported that Ober Gatlinburg was totally destroyed but I am happy to say that is false.  The fires did surround the area but Ober Gatlinburg was safe and is in full operation.  The scenic chair lift to the top of Mount Harrison is a relaxing ride that leads to some spectacular views of the Smokey Mountains.  An added touch at the top, live music that is played all day. Ober Gatlinburg has so much to do in any season and is very family friendly.  This was our first time (Tim and I) and we will return.  It was a great day and a great place to spend anywhere from a couple of hours to all day.  If you are in Gatlinburg for a few day then visit Ober Gatlinburg and have fun!    To see more of our Gatlinburg visit please visit my Travels With Ruth blog.  travelswithruth-ruth.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Carrie!

I would like to wish my daughter Carrie a very Happy Birthday.  It doesn't seem possible that you are turning 33 years old today especially since I am only 32 myself.  I hope you have a wonderful day and wish we were with you to celebrate your special day.  From the time you were born to currently you stole my heart and it will be forever like that.  You have grown into a woman that can do anything and you have your whole future ahead of you.  Keep doing your best, make good choices and just live.  Happy Happy Birthday Carebear! ❤️

Dead Men Tell No Tales

We went and saw "Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Dead Men Tell No Tales" and if you are a Pirates fan then you will love it.  Even if you are not it is good.  We are and so we throughly enjoyed it.  We all liked it better than Pirates 4 and it kind of wrapped up the on going story from the first three movies and still left it open for another Pirates movie.  I don't want to say much more than that because I don't want to spoil it for anyone but if you want to go to a movie for fun and action then this is it!

The Plants Get Fed

After planting all the seeds and plants in the garden some of the tomato and egg plant plants were not looking very good so Operation help the tomatoes & eggplants began. Lisa was reading about the impact of heavy rains on the nutrients in the soil and found out that the rain will wash away key nutrients such as nitrogen. George & Lisa decided to use tomato & vegetable plant food and George sprinkled the granules around the plants and Lisa followed him with the liquid food both hoping it would work and it did. The plants are doing much better and we are all pretty sure there will be a bumper crop of tomatoes and eggplants.  Sounds like some eggplant Parmesan will follow too!

The Dump Truck Lives On

As you know the dump truck on the farm has had its ups and downs and most of the time it has been down so the saga of the dump truck was created but if you remember a couple of months ago Tim and George ended that saga and yesterday went even further than the saga.  When repairing the truck used parts from an old truck that George had purchased, to be used for parts,  fixed the problems on the dump truck and yesterday it had its maiden voyage and it did a great job.  The maiden voyage was to pick up horse manure from a local rancher and instead of using the pick up truck and make several trips George and Tim were able to make one trip with the dump truck.  One small problem is the battery was weak and as the manure was getting loaded they did have to jump start the truck.  Other than that everything went well and now there is a working dump truck on the farm and a whole lot of horse manure!  Basically the Dump Truck lives on!

Catching Squirrels?

If you want to catch a squirrel just ask Lisa.  She has managed to create quite a squirrel trap and didn't even realize that is what she had purchased.  She thought she bought a bird feeder which is exactly what she did but. However, a squirrel thought it was its personal feeder and managed to flip open the lid and crawl inside getting trapped.  The squirrel got in easily but getting out was a different story.  George, Lisa and Tim tried a few things to get the squirrel out but eventually Tim, using thick gloves, took the bird feeder and placed it on its side on the ground and opened the lid so the squirrel could get out.  The squirrel got out and ran like its life depended on it. So, if you need to trap a squirrel get a bird feeder with a lid.

The Fruit Trees Are Showing

If you have followed this blog for the past couple of years you know that at this time of year I do a lot of blogs about the orchard and the garden.  There is one big reason for that and it is because a lot of our time and effort will be dedicated to the orchard and garden for at least the next three months.  Today is all about the fruit trees.  They are looking really good and if the trees keep doing their thing then this year should be a good year for all the fruits.  The grapes and pears have been good the past couple of years but we have not had as much luck with the peaches, nectarines and apple trees.  So far, they are all bearing fruit and we just hope we can beat the birds and insects to harvest.  As for now we just wait and see and watch the trees show their fruit!

Planting Time Again

More seeds were planted in the garden which is a strategy that we are hoping will work out with having crops last longer and not get too much all at once.  Corn and Green beans were planted again along with replanting cantaloupe, acorn squash, watermelon and cucumbers.  We had some visitors in the garden (cows and wild boar) that decided to walk all through the patch where the above items were planted.  They killed a some of the plants that is why they were replanted.  We may have beef and pork soon if they continue to ruin our crops.  This time when planting Lisa used a PVC pipe to plant the seeds.  It worked well and only cost $5 compared to the $600 seeder we tried earlier; the seeder was returned for a full refund.  So now we are hoping the plants will grow or continue to grow and we will be harvesting in about a month or earlier.