Author Archives: Mitzy Bricker

Before the Rain Comes

Only a couple hours before the rain was to start and then to linger for the next couple days. By the looks of the sky, this weather forecast seemed accurate.

I had a weather dependent project to be done. Days have just begun warming up so the time was right, that is before the rain came into the picture. Projects that stay on ‘the list’ too long start screaming at me—“Looky, looky! I’m still here waiting to be done. How long is it going to take?” This particular project was mulch. It had been frozen all winter, and was just warmed enough now to get. The barn was in desperate need of a fresh layer of mulch all in front of the stalls where the horses live. It really is a never-ending project because it gets picked up with the daily barn mucking, and the chickens scratch it all over the place!

Over the past year our neighbor has had many trees removed from around his home and property. Much of it was turned to firewood but a heavy load was shredded into lovely, big mulch piles. He kindly told me I can take what I need. A generous offer he did not have to make twice. Corralling my daughter and son-in-law for some fast help before the rains came was easy. I knew our new SIL, Jon, had never driven a tractor and being the fine car/truck mechanic that he is with a passion for all things related to engines and four wheels, I knew this would be an easy sale. Not only that but he is very sharp and clever.

Using the loader to fill the club car and hauling a load with the tractor as well was a sure bet for getting this project done quickly. After a basic lesson on tractor driving skills and working the front-end loader, he was off and heading to the mulch piles. Just as I knew, he caught on very quickly, smiling all the way. Tractors have a way of putting a smile on one’s face. There is something magically fun about them (though I suppose if I were on them 10 hours a day I’d have a different opinion).

Anyway, it was a successful project. Rain was falling with purpose when we dumped our last load. Time to check it off that perpetual farm work list—for the time being.

As for Jon? I heard he quietly whispered to his young wife—“We need to get a tractor!”

Five Minute Friday Writing Prompt—Spring

Spring, Spring in the air!

Here in our part of Virginia frost date is in May. So it can still feel a bit like winter for awhile. However the cold is not as bitter, the ground is warming up, the daffodils are in bloom, and the chickens are out in the yard..

But the best part, the neighbor children are outside running over to visit chickens, horses, the dog and cats! Full of chatter, they happily feed the horses carrots as they visit. All talking at the same time!

Oh! The joys of Spring!

Home Canners Beware!

Finding home canning supplies has been a challenge these past couple years. Jars were hard to find, collars and lids were even more elusive. Jars come with collars and lids, but I do not need any more jars.

As a long time home canner I have jars and collars a plenty, however, new lids must be purchased every season. They have been in short supply these past couple years. The brands I use, Ball or Kerr, was no where to be found in any local stores, except on truck delivery days. At which point only one or two boxes were sold to customer. It was a challenge.

Late in the season at a hardware store in West Virginia I found a supply. Hastily I drove there, where I found a brand name I had never heard of before. PUR was the name. Odd as it’s name was, I purchased several boxes of lids and collars for both regular and wide-mouth jars. I could share the collars with my canning friends, I thought, if they needed some. Collars need replacing every few years as they wear out.

The initial problem with this PUR brand was the collars did not fit my jars. What? All canning supplies are the same size, and as such I have not ever had an issue with them prior to this. May I just give a hint of the surprise and anger when in the last stages of the hard work of canning, in the final stage and collars don’t fit!? They would not screw down onto the jars. Let’s suffice to say I was very nearly rabid!

They were all thrown in the trash. Probably one in six of them screwed onto the jars. Thankfully I had a good supply of old collars, and the canning project was completed.

I heard all the lids make their wonderful PING! the seal is complete. Or so I thought…

Last week I opened a jar of tomato sauce. Something in the sound of the pop when opened caught my attention. To my utter astonishment there was corrosion all over the underside of the lid! I scraped it off and to my dismay, I found a tiny pin hole in the lid! This has not ever happened in all these years I have canned. It was shocking!

See that tiny hole?? I found it after scraping away all the corrosion.

So please, please be careful with your home-canned goods if you have used this awful PUR brand. They are an inferior product and cannot be trusted. Take Care. I am throwing out any left in my supplies, and telling every home canner not to use them.

P.S. I just noticed I said the ‘lids’ did not fit. I meant ‘collars’ The collars would not screw onto my jars.

FMF Writing Prompt—Carry

Carry—we are called in the Christian faith to carry one another’s burdens….

We live in a rather ‘hidden valley’—indeed that IS the name of our street. There are only six homes/farms ‘back here’. It is beautiful and secluded with our dead end driveway that serves all our homes.

On this blog of mine I write posts entitled ‘#loveyourneighbor’. We all know one another, and though we are all of different lifestyles and outlooks, we care for one another. It is lovely and comforting, and a blessing.

I write some blogs entitled #loveyourneighbor because that is what God commands us to do. In fact He says we cannot love Him unless we love our neighbor. Isn’t that lovely? How, He asks, can one love whom they don’t see if they cannot love whom they DO see? Think about that!

To help carry ones burdens is a task and joy at the same time. What a paradox! What a challenge. Thank God!

Do you remember that great song Diana Ross sang? ‘Reach out and touch somebodies hand, make this world a better place if you can.’

I hope you have a be-a-blessing-to-someone kind of week. #loveyourneighbor

Pray without ceasing.

Five Minute Friday Writing Prompt—Stretch

Stretch. What a great word.

We can stretch so much in our lives, spiritually, mentally, and physically. It is a good thing to stretch ourselves in each of these areas of our daily lives. For they can all use a good stretch every now and then.

It takes deliberate action on our part to cause a stretch in our lives. Though sometimes life itself forces us into stretching and prayerfully, not breaking.

February is a hard month for me personally. Think it is cabin fever that is the culprit. So I must work extra hard to keep on stretching and not get bound up with sour feelings.

Time for me to get in some stretching before starting this new day! How about you?

Five Minute Friday Writing Prompt—Commit

“At least one year is what I commit to.”

Was the answer to my older sisters question about training the adorable new puppy she had purchased. Plan to commit one year for your pup to be attached to your hip if your goal is to have a good, smart dog that folks like to be around. Not a sweet, dumb dog that knows little to nothing of how to live happily with we humans.

One year of good deliberate work with a puppy will bring years of joy. I say one year because we have ‘life’ to work around as well. Little by little is the plan.

HoneyPie, our 10 month old Corgi, is coming along very well. There are things she and I still need to learn and sharpen. It is a fun, fascinating journey.

The rewards of being committed to this goal are outstanding. May I introduce HoneyPie to you?

It is Frozen!

Every so often the Old North winds blow long and fierce enough to give us some fun with a good layer of ice on the pond.

This past week has been just that. The best of it is that some of our grandchildren were here to be part of the fun. They had not been on ice before. A new experience!

The pond has frozen over several times in previous winters. This freeze though is the thickest layer of ice we have had since living here. It is over six inches thick! We measured it after one of our sons drilled a fishing hole in it. He measured the ice at over 6.5 inches thick in the middle! Ice is thicker in the middle of a pond than on the edges. The edge measured 5 inches, still plenty thick and safe for skating. Cool! Time to break out the skates. We have various sizes to reasonably fit several pairs of feet, adult or child. No professionalism going on out here on this little farm pond. Just fun.

Drilling through ice.
The ice was good and thick.
It was the first time our grandchildren have been ice skating.

Our greenhorns did a fine job for their first time on the ice. It must help that they have been on in-line skates before, as well as skateboards. Having this special time with them was terrific.

Before we got out the skates, we played on it with our families to get a feel for the ice!

Our fisherman was able to get in some great ice fishing as well at nearby lake.

Several days have now passed since I started this post, and alas, the ice is no longer safe to be on. Another good round of freezing weather yet may offer more skating fun. Only time will tell.

FMF Word—Trial

I wasn’t sure how to write about this word. The trials of my life have changed so much with the times. Time—golly, that’s a trial in and of itself for me…

I have always been acutely aware of time. And now, in my 60’s, it seems to occupy a good deal of my thoughts. Perhaps that is because I am in the short end of a good long life?

So this week—my trial has been to enjoy our frozen pond. We’ve had terrific cold weather for the past two weeks and our little pond has over six inches of ice on it.

So my trial this week? Enjoy our frozen pond, ice skate carefully, slowly, and have fun with this ephemeral time of winter…Glory to God!

Bring it On

We heard the storm was coming for several days over the radio, giving us goodly time to prepare for it. It is not that we live so far from town, but we have a long private drive to keep open and clear. Winter has been slow hitting this year, but has made up for it this week.

There are about five inches of snow on the ground, with a nice, hard layer of ice firmly placed all over the top like a crusty bagel. The strong winds demand the ice to stay put, which makes it all the more easy to stay put in the house as well. No chance of any melt today either. There is some clearing we need to do with the tractor blade out at the barn. The thick ice and frozen ground puts a strain on the horses, most especially the minis. They stayed in and around the barn all day yesterday. Duke ventured out a bit this morning, but not for long. Our mini, Snowbell, thought she would join him, but smartly changed her mind.

In preparation, this past Sunday afternoon found my husband in the warm garage getting blades set up on the tractor, checking fluids, and filling up with fuel. I, on the other hand, was out tending to the animals and barn. Spreading fresh, warm straw in stalls, and under the roof for the horses, checking salt, filling water troughs, filling the chicken feed dispenser and fresh water. How chickens enjoy scratching around fresh straw!

Tractor is ready and waiting
How chickens enjoy scratching in fresh straw.

It is a magical time just before a storm. The overcast sky foretelling the coming weather, preparing itself, just as we were. A text from families living in both Harrisonburg, and Timberville happily announced snow was falling. Was it at our place? Not yet. They generally always get it before we do.

The gentle announcement of snow falling.
High Hope doesn’t seem to notice snow, she is happy with her hay.

‘Keep going, it will be all ready for the animals,‘ I told myself. Thankfully one big worry that no longer exists is water troughs. With heaters in them, the only concern is keeping them filled. That is for the horses anyway, the chickens’ water is different. Having two water containers for them, one stays in our heated tack room, to switch out when the other gets frozen.

Fill up water troughs. Heaters keep them free from ice.

Something told me to stop my work and look around. For one thing I needed to find our puppy, and be sure the chickens were hanging around the barn. That is when I saw the snow quietly making its gentle announcement. It fell steadily and thicker for the rest of the day. As night fell so did the sleet, and with it, the Old Man Winter wind blew his icy blast heartily over our cozy, buttoned-down farm.

Duke ventured out for a while. He had to paw through ice and snow for grass.
Snowbell had difficulty breaking through ice.
She decided the barn and hay were better option.
Our icy, snowy field and woods.

Looks like there may be a break one day this week to clean things up and prepare again. Bring it on. We are ready.

Spring will soon be here!

FMF—Writing Prompt: Determine

Determine. I like this word.

It speaks of a persons strength of character. To determine to do something or achieve a set goal is a deliberate action. It seems as if I am in God’s plan for me when I work towards a heartfelt goal of mine. God knows our hearts.

One of the goals this year is to become more comfortable, knowledgeable, and accurate with my shotgun at the range.

I am off to a good start.