EGGNOG EGGNOG EGGNOG EGGNOG EGGNOG!

Everything is about EGGNOG these days. Quinlyn absolutely loves EGGNOG. She sees her Dad come home from work and the first thing she asks "does he have EGGNOG?" First thing in the morning she wants EGGNOG for breakfast. It is so cute and entertaining. When we run out she doesn't want to believe its all gone.

Today Wednesday December 19, 2007 Addisson had her preschool Christmas party. Quinlyn also got to participate, which she loves. It was very cute. The kids sang 3 songs and had a book exchange.

The girls and I had a busy day. Addisson went to preschool but before we went we looked in the barn to see if there were any baby goats. No there wasnt. While she was gone Quinlyn and I vacuumed and made goat meat chili. Soon it was time to go pick up Addisson. Once we were home we made ornaments out of salt dough. We rolled the dough and used cookie cutters to make the shapes. Then we placed them in the oven to cook. Once they were cool the girls painted them and used lots of glitter. Tonight we are going back to the preschool for a neighborhood/church winter time blues potluck. Grandma stayed in bed most of the day. She was either depressed, not feeling well or freezing. Maybe all three. Asa got home early and did the chores in the barn. Still no babies.

December 13, 2007

Happy Birthday Aunt Kate and Aunt Midge.

The girls both have an advent calender, one from Starbucks. It is in the shape of a tree and each box has a chocolate piece inside. All but the 24th. It has a chocolate shaped star. This has been torturing Quinlyn for a week now. She keeps wanting to jump ahead and eat the star. Yesterday the phone rang and I wasn't paying too much attention while the calenders were out. Next thing I know she has eaten the star. She was so proud of herself for finally eating. She loved every minute of it. Not only did she eat the star she also ate another day. Today they were playing with the calenders again. This time they took all the chocolates out and were counting the days left until Christmas. A few of Quinlyns fell on the floor and before she could get a chance to pick them up Woody, the dog, scooped in and ate them. She was soooo disappointed. Although I wasn't sure if it was because Woody got them or because she didn't get the chocolate. She quickly got over it.

Today I went to Syracuse. While I was there it started to snow, it took me 4 hours to get home the roads were so bad. It usually only takes about an hour and a half. I saw at least 20 cars off the road total. Not all in the same spot. When I got home I went to the barn to feed the animals and one of the pregnant goats caught her head in the hay feeder. I tried to get her out but she was to heavy and strong to manipulate through the wire. At one point she was gagging for air. I must have pushed her in the wrong direction when I was trying to get her out. I ended up having to put a hay bale under her so she could stand on it until Asa got home. She was getting pretty exhausted trying to climb on the fence in order to not be in a strangle hold. Asa was able to get her out with only a little bit of difficulty. One of the ladies is about to drop kid anytime now. Her milk bag is getting big and she is bulging in the vaginal area. I haven't checked her manually but I probably should. I haven't ventured in that direction yet. I didn't see any discharge either. I told Addisson we will go check the barn for babies in the morning. She is enormous and will probably have twins she looks so big.

I was so late getting back from SYR the girls missed ice skating. I wasn't sure if they were having it anyway. The roads were so bad i wasn't sure I wanted to risk driving again with both girls. I figured I had made it home safely why take a chance. If there was skating they missed their rehearsal for their Christmas show. Although the skating instructor didn't decide to have their group perform until last week. This would have only been their 2nd time trying to learn the routine, which wasn't much but for a two year old to remember where they were suppose to go when the show is next week.

December 11, 2007
Asa and I spent the entire day in the barn shoveling goat poop. We were able to get the poop gutter moving. This allowed us to back the truck into the poop hole while we ran the gutter. I would back the truck up and he would direct me, then he would stand in the back of the truck shoveling the poop while I shoveled it into the gutter.
It took over 3 loads. Asa would stand in the back of the truck and shovel it out of the truck into the fields while I drove slowly. We don't have a manure spreader so we have to do it ourselves. But we were just glad we didn't have to wheel barrel it, like we did last year. On our last load I was filling the gutters with poop and Asa was waiting for me so he decided to back the truck up by himself. I said do you want to wait a minute so I can help you. He said no, "I am a man remember". He was just kidding but ironically when he was backing the truck up into the poop hole he went too far and hit the scooper and dented the back of the truck. OOOPS. But the goats are cleaner now. If only they would stop pooping. But if that happens they are dead and we don't want that.

December 12, 2007
Today we had a lady here from Cornell Univ. Extension. She stopped by to see if we needed any help with making a plan for the farm. While she was here we had a lady stop in to give us a quote on the floor of our new room. Asa works with her at Lowes and said she was good. She also had a number for a man who refinishes floors.

Last night the girls and I went out and made a huge snowman. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. It was taller than me. The girls had so much fun. But between the wind and it being above freezing last night it was tipped over this morning.

It was a long day today. We spent over 5 hours at Lowes. We had to pick out cabinets, toilet, counter tops and so many other things. One would think remodeling is fun but in actuality it has way too many decisions which go along with it. Asa had to work at 7am. He took lunch to shop with us and when he was done with work we were still there so we all went to dinner. It is almost 8pm and he is still at lowes loading the truck. Only to get up at 4:30am to go back to work. When I got home I fed the goats and then got the girls ready for bed. We are expecting more babies this month but none yet.

Above is a deer we saw out our kitchen window at the bird feeder. We had a small feeder but it needed to be filled everyday and it got too cold for Grandma so Grandpap bought her a feeder that holds 200lbs of food.

Today we had the breakfast with Santa. The girls loved it. They loved Santa. From there we went to the Thousand Island Winery. They were having a craft show. When we walked in the same santa that was at the schools fundraiser was at the winery too. We told the girls "See Santa is everywhere watching"

It was some what of a fun day. The girls definately liked it. They went to the barn when we got home and played in the snow.

December 7, 2007

I picked Addisson up from preschool and she stayed with two of her teachers and she helped made a chimney for the schools fundraiser, Breakfast with Santa. We spent the afternoon decorating the local Fire hall and part of the evening. I was very tired from staying up way too late the last 5 nights and was up until 3 am so I went to bed early. Asa woke me up around 8pm to catch Guinea Hens.

How do you catch a Guinea Hen?



You wait until it gets dark and sneak up on them.

So we captured 14 guinea hens and switch them into the big milk barn. It was rather comical.

This is the latest picture of the construction on the house. It was taken Dec. 3, 2007

A picture of my fabulous hairdo, Created by Addisson

Picture of Uncle Roger helping Kevin who is putting up one of the walls of our new room.

December 6, 2007

Addisson back in October, before Halloween, found a fuzzy catapillar outside and wanted to keep it. We told her it was ok but it would probally die soon. She stuck it in a plastic water bottle with grass and a stick with air holes. To everyones amazement it is still alive today. The catapillar is going on two months living in a plastic bottle. Now the ground is covered with snow so there is no grass for it to eat. We may have to try spinach or lettuce.

Last night was very cold. It was 7 degrees F. I helped unload a truck load of little ceasars pizzas. We sold them as a fundraiser for the preschool Addisson attends. When I went to bed last night it was 2 degrees F. It doesnt look like the snow will melt or get warm until spring.

December 3, 2007

Preschool was cancelled today due to weather. It snowed most of the day. The girls were suppose to go to a friends for a play date but they were so busy playing and didnt want to pick up their toys, which were all over the living room floor, that they missed their chance. It didnt seem to bother them too much until right before we would have had to leave the play date to go to dance.

The girls played so well today it was great. The made a house by the heater, colored and played doctor almost all day.

It is still snowing and we have about 3-4 inches on the ground and it is suppose to snow on and off for the next few days.

Addisson loves snow. She cant wait to get home from dance so she can go with us out to the barn and play in the snow. Our water to the barn is still frozen. I forgot to remind Asa to bring heat tape home with him. Hopefully he will remember.

December 2, 2007

Asa was off today and he made homemade pizza's. They were very good. Asa went up into the hay loft with Addisson. She loves going up there. She can climb up and down by herself. She also is able to throw the hay bales down by herself too. She loves that part. We went to run the manure gutters and there was too much stuff in them and it got stuck. We parked the truck underneath to catch all of the poop but it didn't work too good. Not too much poop but lots of hay. It was our first time running the gutter and we now know we need to run it much sooner. The water in the barn has also froze so we are back to carrying 5 gallon buckets to the barn. Not fun when it is below zero outside.

I did forget to mention that we now have City Water. Yeah. It has been about a month now and we love it. It is so nice taking a shower in clean water. Especially brushing your teeth. We even use the water to cook with and make coffee. Yippie.

It has been a trying week. Grandma isn't very happy here at the farm. She has said several times "she hates it here and we should have never moved". It is very frustrating to her because many things are done differently. I do like it but the winters make for a poor attitude. Especially since our new windows are giving us problems and the house is freezing. It seems as though every time we make one step forward we make two back.

Our goats are doing fine, it looks like a few are pregnant and one looks as though she will deliver at the end of the month. As of October we had our goats for one year. There has been a huge learning curve. Each season has brought new challenges. We thought we would breeze through summer but it turned out to have the hardest lessons. We hope to grow on what we have learned.

Photos of our new room.

November 27, 2007

The kids are WILD! Today, we started to put up the Christmas tree and they couldnt leave it alone. They were into everything! While I was trying to get all of the lights working, I turned around and on every branch of the tree there was either a doll, shoe, book, toy or stuffed animal. Addisson kept saying " but Mom, Santa wont care if the lights work or not". She insisted we move on to putting the orniments on the tree.

Today we had ice skating. Which was crazy too. Quinlyn wouldnt put on her skates until Addisson had hers on, then she wouldnt put on her coat. And it was freezing in the rink today. Once they finally got out on the ice, Quinlyn wasnt out there 2 min before she peed her pants. By the time I got the extra set of pants from the car and had her go to the bathroom it was almost time for skating.

Before and After Photos

November 26, 2007

YIKES, My last entry was in August. Lost has occurred since August. Over Labor Day weekend my brother Jim and his family came up from CT. Asa's Uncle Tim and his wife came along with a man he works with. They pointed our foundation. Over the weekend we roasted Princess the pig. She was tasty. While we were all eating Addisson said "Boy Dad Princess is sure tasty".

We also started construction on a new front porch. It has turned out very nice. We also contracted to have a room added to the house. It will be a Sun Porch with a bathroom and laundry room. It will be very nice.

Asa shot a small but tender buck during hunting season. Addisson loved watching him skin and gut it. She loves to watch that stuff. Our guinea hens are crazy. They run all over the place and we cant keep them from crossing the road. We have lost 5 to cars.

I took the girls apple picking in Mexico. The apples were so delicous. we picked about 2-3 bushels. We made pies, baked apples and ate sooooo many just off the tree. The girls had lots of fun.

Five Amish men came to build a barn to fit our tractor and a little pump house. They did it all in one day. It was pretty amazing how organized they were. The barn is 12 by 29. It is fairly large and it was crazy to think they built it in on day.

Addisson and Quinlyn dressed up for Halloween. They were both ballerina's in the morning at preschool and for trick or treating Addisson was sleeping beauty and Quinlyn was snow white. They were very cute. Uncle Roger arrived on Halloween. He stayed until November 20. It was great to have him here. He helped out tons. He helped us get the goats in the barn and build a pen. He also picked up around the yard and burned a barn. He had lots of fires.

Asa and I went to Lake Placid and Burlington, VT for our Anniversary. We had a great time. Asa was in Heaven when we went to Ben and Jerry's.

We had our first snow the day before Thanksgiving. My parents came and some friends. It was a nice very low key day.






Picture of Quinlyn and Addisson sailing this summer. They both loved it. Asa has since purchased a sail boat, but hasnt had it on the water yet. Addisson asked her dad "are we ever going to put it in the water?". It was cute.

The summer has been very busy. The girls were in swimming lesson for 3 weeks in July. Addisson started soccer, which she didnt really get into. She also started sailing with her dad on Wed nights. The local museum has a family sailing night and she loved it. Quinlyn even got to go too. She also liked it. They both were in tap and balliet this summer and Addisson tried T-Ball but thought it was boring and didnt want to go back.

Addisson starts preschool again after labor day. She will go 3 times a week now instead of two. She is very excited about school and for ice skating to start again soon. She said her favorite season was winter and that her dad's was Hunting season.

We had a great time at the Ranch, lots of work and I am tiered, then the trip back.
I got back to Long Island late last night, the traffic on the eastern interstates was terrible on the Sunday after a holiday weekend, seems a lot of people took Thrusday and Friday off along with Wednesday and there were trailers, boats, motocylcles, trucks and cars everwhere.. I went through 4 construction sites, bridge maintenance that narrowed to one lane, and each was backed up at least 4 miles, took and extra 3 hours to make a 6.5 hour trip. And then there were the Pocono Mountains, they were packed with people trying to beat the 90+ degree weather here on the east coast.
Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Baby Kids

This was a tough weekend, we all worked hard and still did not get all the work done, again. The window people are coming tomorrow to put real windows in the house, so certain things had to be done.

We lost 2 little twin female kids this weekend, both were born very weak and not able to care for themselves, Asa and Sarah tried to milk the doe and bottle feed them, but it just wasn’t enough to keep them going.

The wind took our screened in canopy down and tossed it into the pond this weekend, we had to drag it out and lay it on the shore to dry out. Net weekend we will stand it up again and see if we can make it a little more permanent. Quinlyn got into the water and lost her cowboy boots and mother had to get her out of the mud, what an exciting weekend.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. - 1 Kings 9:3

We have another set of twin goats, two male kids this time. They are Boer looking, with the white body and red heads, the first two kids were a male and female, they both were white with black heads. It is very nice to see the herd producing well at last. All four of these appear to be doing well, following mother around and getting fed as nature intended.

The Guinea fowl are also ready to put outside in an enclosure, but we haven’t gotten it prepared yet. They are getting big enough to fly and will be off to the four corners if they are not in an aviary.

The play set is set up, at long last!! After working on the play set for the last month or so, Addisson and Quinlyn finally saw some fruit from their labors. The main structure is completed, the rock climbing wall is on, the slide is on, and the climbing panel is attached. There are two decks, about 4 x 4 feet, one at 4 feet high and one at 5 feet high. There are no swings yet, that part of the frame did not get completed before Grandpap Taylor went back to Connecticut, so that will have to wait for a week or two. We have noticed that Grandpap Taylor is doing a lot of the work with Addisson and Q uinlyn as his helpers. They slow him down a bit, but he doesn’t seem to mind, he has taken a real like to these two little helpers. The play set is across the driveway from the house next to the garden.

I drove up Friday morning early and back last Sunday afternoon. Sarah made me reservations on Sunday evening so; I could just take the boat across from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, NY. It is about 1 hour and 10 minutes, but it saves about 3 hours of driving if the traffic is bad, which it always is on Sunday afternoon. The ferry line has 3 ferries. They appear similar, there are a couple of decks for cars and then an enclosed deck with a ticket office and a small snack shop at either end, then there is a lot of seats and tables in the center area and along the sides. Then there in the rear there is a small bar behind the ticket office, and behind that a small section of open deck. The top deck is entirely open with a lot of permanent benches, and some sheltered areas. The ride was a lot better than fighting another couple hours of bumper to bumper traffic.

Love to all


A view of Long Island,

Shaunaugh asked me about what I did here and what Long Island was like, and did I get out to Sag Harbor or any of the fishing villages near there, visit any fancy shops, have coffee on the pier, etc. And the answer is no, I work and I travel: a bit boring at the moment. But, I do see the area around the office and the apartment. And Margie was asking me about those areas because I had told her about all the turkeys and deer and geese in the area and how they all clogged up the roads on site in the morning and later in the evenings. And then I had added that they, the deer, turkeys, and geese, are actually all over the eastern end of the island, not just here on the site. So, here is my impression of Long Island, at least middle island.

Green: very heavy on the green. This is a very wet and woody area the humidity is above 80% most of the time. The temperatures are more moderate due to the ocean, but it never really cools off, and it never gets dry. The trees have been allowed or encouraged to come right up to the road on most of the secondary roads and streets. Imagine a trip to Margie and Roger’s, they live in Acme up on one of the hills. The streets here are a little wider, about a foot (US of course), then there are power poles every so often, and mail boxes, and other things you would see around Latrobe, Lysippus, Jeanette, etc. Some of the houses would not be visible if it were not for the drivewa y entrance. The people have left it really become overgrown, but it provides some sense of privacy on a very crowed island.

Lots of trash, there is trash along all the roads and in the parking lots and in the bushes. It might be just the sheer number of people, sloppy trash collectors, a lot of loose newspapers. People here read a lot of newspapers. Or it just may be a combination of all these and other issues.

Chaotic, the traffic, the people, the landscape. As Cheryl said, it appears like an old tourist trap sea coast village: everywhere! The old original buildings are there, in between is an new drug store, a little Wal-Mart, a collision repair shop, etc. Very chaotic.

And the selection of people and vehicles is interesting. A lot more bicycles and motorcycles than I would have imagined. Maybe they have a subconscious death wish or something. Anyway there are lots of limousines, a lot of fancy sports cars, there is money here. Yesterday I was passed by a White Rolls Royce sports sedan (?) of recent vintage. It was being driven by an older gentleman: chauffer, butler, or owner, who knows? He had a perfect short white and mustache and neatly trimmed hair, could have been from a movie. Quite dignified, he reminded me of myself of course. Then there are lots of beaters, just something to get to work and if it is hit, get another and lots of hot sports sedans and SUVs. On the way over on the ferry last weekend I waited in line behind a hot red Ferrari T top convertible, very nice, but hardly room for grandma and me let alone 2 car seats and the suitcases we need.

But there are lot of parks and beaches here and the people go there when they have time off. So once you get off the traffic in the Bonx is bad, but it is only 6 miles and then the George Washington Bridge and you are in the Garden State (?), New Jersey.

Speaking of driving last weekend I was driving up to the Reed Ranch and saw a group of vultures along side the road, first time I ever saw a group of them like in the films. It felt like being on a safari; with all those vultures jumping around something and just barely getting off the road as the cars pass.

Yesterday at lunch some one made toast with mushroom soup, at least that is what it smelled like for awhile. Sort of like home. Someone put his burrito in the microwave for 3 minutes, initially it reminded me of home and cooking all the toast in the oven, always burning a couple of pieces and the mushroom soup heating up on the stove. Well he hit an extra 0 by mistake and had 30 minutes not 3, and he walked back to his office to get something, got interrupted, and at about 10 minutes the smoke pouring from the kitchen area reminded everone that there was a problem. Sort of like when I was making the toast, I burned a lot of loafs of bread.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

The trip is interesting, but gets rather tedious after the first dozen or so trips. On the way to the Reed Ranch I take I-495 (Long Island Expressway) to the west end of Long Island, then at exit 31 (?) take the Cross Island Expressway north till I reach the Throg Neck Bridge, which I cross to the Bronx. Then I go west on the Bronx Expressway to the George Washington Bridge, cross which I am in New Jersey. Then I take I-80 west to the Delaware Water Gap and cross the bridge there and then continue on I-80 to I-380, which I follow north to around Scranton, now being in Pennsylvania. I get off I-380 onto I-81 and go north till I get to exit 49 which is NY Route 411, take it east till I get to Route 37 which I take north till I reach Redwood, then I take Rout 192 west till I am at the Reed Ranch.

The return trip I will discuss on the next email.

Long Island is an interesting place, one of the most intersting aspects is that fact that it is so isolated. To get on or off of Long Island you have to take a ferry or cross a bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is free as are 3 other street size bridges: they are all in the Manhattan area, so cross the bridges I use gets expensive and the ferrys, well they are almost US$50 dollars a crossing, one car one driver, other persons are about US$12 apiece, which is the same price as a walkon passanger, of which there are a lot, I don't know if they leave a vehicle on each end or what, but a lot of people seem to walk on and then go to the parking lot when they get off. So you end up with a lot of Long Island people who very seldom get off the Island, and with Laguardia and JFK both on Long Island are probably more like to fly off than drive off.

The Bridges are an interesting topic in themselves. They are all massive engineering structures, miles long, strong and build to take a lot of abuse, which they recieve. The toll booths that the varioius brigde organizations put up are somewhat archic, they are a real bottle neck, but in the case of the Whitestone Bridge which I use if the Throg Neck Bridge is jammed up the traffic jam is usually tied to a backup all the way from JFK across the Island, that means a couple of hours to get across the bridge and on to I-495 east for me, so I try to avoid that route all together.

The Long Island Expressways are like interstates, but the Parkways you see on the maps are not truck accessable, a lot cheaper to build and keeps the miserable truckers out of the traffic. (Sorry Josh) The interstates are all typical US eastern interstates. 2 lanes in most areas, some rest stops, and gas stations and McDonalds at the exits.

Love to all,

--Asa Reed Jr.

Tim and Judy visit. Dad did well, walked around the pond and back up to the house, quite a hike.

They all helped finish the swing set, photos to come soon. We got it done on Friday afternoon, put the girls on it and Quinlyn hit her leg on the support leg in the first 5 minutes. Asa B said he thought it looked too narrow, so he said replace the 8 foot header with a 10 or 12 foot one. We agreed so took most of Saturday’s free time to get the boards, take the first one apart and put the longer header in. However, Asa was correct, it is much better with the wider beam. So the girls put their flag up and they are ready to play. Even Grandpap Reed got on the swing and tried it out. We have his photo swinging with the girls, it will be along soon also.

Rigged the sailboat Asa bought last week, it is a Lightning, if you know anything about sailing and regatta racing then you will know about the Lightnings. Not fancy, but a nice 19.5 foot day sailer, with a sophisticated design, good stability, and good speed. (For a sail boat Richard, not one of your motor boats.) So Tim and Judy and Dad helped Asa B figure out what all the parts were, where the various riggings went, and how to get the boat rigged once you get it to water. Now for the sailing. Yea!!!
--Asa Reed Jr.

Hello everyone,

You all have left someting in the car that you should have taken in, but when you just about live out of the car like I do it gets a little harder. I left some stuff in the car the other day and it was one of those hot days. I ended up with Pearson’s Mint Patties, slightly melted and then re-solidified, one big mess. But the mints were not the bad part. My medicine was in the car from the weekend. I keep the pills in the little day packs, 1 per day, seven in a row. So I don’t have to keep all the bottles, only the week’s pack. Well some of the liquid jels melted also, or expanded and exploded, they had googy stuff all over the other pills, some of which then dissol ved, so they all tasted terrible!!! But it was the last set of pills I had with me so I took them anyway, Cheryl made me wash the container out to refill, I was tempted to throw it away.

Speaking of melted, Asa and the girls made a nice banana, zucchini bread last weekend. As we do not have a stove yet they baked it in the little broiler oven, but Asa forgot to set it for bake after he gave it a half hour of broil to get the top nice and brown, so when the top was the done, the bottom was still almost liquid. Cheryl and Sarah discovered this the next morning, but put it back in and cooked the bottom, it was a little dark on top, but still very good.

Love to all,

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Isaiah 58:6
--Asa Reed Jr.

Hey, did you get to see the lunar eclipse? It is still ongoing, but obscured by the sun here in the US Eastern Time zone. It was one the busiest eclipses I have seen. Cheryl and I watched it start, and then I headed to work. And in the next few minutes, I got a call from Ms. Addisson, her mom and dad left her get up to see the eclipse, she really likes to watch the moon and wanted to see it disappear. She then called Grandma and watched some of it with her and told Grandma, “Daddy gets up early to go to work!”, as Asa B was getting ready to leave while the moon was disappearing. Then I got a call from Shaunaugh and we watched part of the eclipse together from opposite si des of the earth, it looked remarkably the same. We all should get together again for a real family trip. Then Cheryl called me again to comment on the moon and tell me what Addisson had told her, Grandma is missing the girls. Then, Asa B called me to discuss the eclipse just as the final slim sliver of the bottom of the moon was disappearing and the sun was taking over the sky here in the US Eastern Time Zone.

Hope you further west enjoy the lunar show.

God bless you all,


--Asa Reed Jr.

The tow truck said his shop was too busy on Saturday to take drop in (or tow in) customers, so he towed them to the PEP Boy’s parking lot and dumped them. The state police was happy, the truck was off the entrance road to the airport, the tow truck operator was happy he got a tow and didn’t have to go far or work hard, Asa and Cheryl were NOT happy, PEP Boys said, Oh, we are too busy to help you, Sorry. So in the face of another disaster, Asa B snatched victory (?) from the jaws of a dead battery and charger, he went across the street to the Firestone Repair shop, he likes them as he has always been treated well by them, and they said sure we can fix it, it will be about 20 minutes and we will fit you in to the next bay. They were sorry to see the goats sitting there.&nbs p; So let’s hope it goes well.

Hallelalua!!! It was raised from the dead!! Or, at least charged. Looks like it was the alternator, so the Firestone repair guys have a new one, are installing it and Asa and Cheryl should be back on the road in an hour or less. Wow, what a hectic time. This truck was a nice buy, but it has had a lot of little (?) expenses since we bought it. Oh well, used vehicles, what can you expect?

Now I know that I am not the only one out there with raccoons on the porch, or the neighbors dogs visiting several times a day, etc. Tell the family some of your little trials and tribulations. Karen, nothing happening? How is your car since Dad and your brother fixed it? Cathy, how are the wedding plans coming along, your wedding is different from the norms in our families, Asa and Sarah have been to Cancun, but not a place like your’s. , I am sure some of us are interested. Josh, how is the life of a professional trucker?&nbs p; Since your mother reads this sometimes, don’t be too explicit.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Well goulish things come out sometimes on the full moon. This time it was a dead battery.

Well last week Asa and Sarah bought some additional goats for our herd. Today they are taking the first load of them back, seems that they have an infection, that while not fatal is very serious and a lot of trouble to control. The farmer they bought them off kind of alluded that they had something, but that it was taken care off, etc. Anyway, on Wednesday, I think it was, the day after they picked up the goats, they went to visit the head of the goat program here in NY, a lady at Cornell. She said they had made a mistake, that this condition wasn’t just treated and ok, etc. They should not pickup the rest, but should take back the part of the herd they had already picked up. They called the rancher, and he said, ok, bring them back and he would give them their money back. But, he wanted them back Saturday so he could work on selling them to someone else this weekend (for a lot less than he got from Asa and Sarah no doubt). Well the truck had a battery problem last weekend and it had been left got till last night and Sarah wrote in her blog about the night of the full moon, which I sent to most of the family earlier.

So today at the crack of dawn, Asa and Cheryl take off for Rochester to return the goats. Sarah decided to stay home and let the kids sleep in and see how the kittens were doing this morning. Asa and Cheryl were just at Syracuse airport when the battery gave up. So there they sit with a truck full of goats, stuck! A state police man pulled up behind them and suggested a towing service, they were trying to call the insurance company to find one when he arrived. So they are getting towed to the Walmart just up the road which had a tire and battery shop, hopefully it will do alternators if that is the problem.

WoW!!!

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

June 29, 2007

On the night of the biggest full moon of the year it was our 1 year anniversary on the farm and it was as crazy as usual. Woody went to the neighbors in the afternoon and I had to go get him. The trucks battery was dead and a part broke while trying to replace it, so we had to drive to Watertown to get the part Asa needed to fix it. While driving to Watertown we received a call from Grandma who was home with the girls alone. She called to tell us the two neighbor dogs came for a visit and what should she do with them. She didn't have any car seats in her van and there was two dogs with no collars or leashes. We told her to put them in the blue car with the girls and take them next door and put them in the back yard. She no sooner got the girls buckled in and the dogs were out again and following her back to our house. She then took them back over and put them in their garage. We were both nervous they would eat something they shouldn't so Grandma brought them back to the house and tried to put them in Woody's Kennel. However they wouldn't go in the kennel. Grandma then used Woody's collar and tied them outside to the porch with the orange tie down straps. When we got home Asa fixed the truck but puked because it was almost 10pm and he swallowed a few bugs which made him gag. After he fixed the truck we took the neighbors dogs back and Asa insisted they would be fine in their garage. Once back at home we were talking in the kitchen and heard a funny noise. At first we thought it was Salem the kitten stuck outside. I stated I bet Sparkles is having her kittens. We all went out to see and sure enough she had 3 kittens on the porch and one was sprawled out crying. I found a towel with holes and put her and the kittens in a tub so she wasn't giving birth on the yucky wood of the porch. We woke up Quinlyn and tried to wake up Addisson but she just rolled over and went back to sleep. Quinlyn loved looking at the babies. By 10:30 she was delivering another kitten. She had two tabbies and I couldn't really tell what the other one looked like. It was another exciting adventure at the farm. It never fails, anytime Asa and I go anywhere together alone and leave Grandma alone with one child or both something always seems to happen.

June 29, 2007

On this date one year ago we began our adventure at our current residence. We arrived at the farm at about 5pm. We were so overwhelmed by the conditions of the house we opted to sleep in the car. So tonight we are going to celebrate our Anniversary by sleeping in the car. Grandma and I decided one Asa and the kids fall a sleep we are going to sneak back to the house and sleep in our beds. Leaving him in the car with two kids and a dog. LOL.

Looking back at the past year has been a year of learning. Especially recently with the goats.

To be continued.........

Mr. Raccoon is at it again, last night he was up on the porch just after Asa and Sarah took of for the drive in. Just before they left Asa B set the live catch trap, turned around and Sparkles the cat got caught in it. So he set her free, reset the trap, and headed to the car and bang, Salem the kitten got caught in it before Asa and Sarah were out of the drive way. Cheryl did not know how to open it so she just let it sit there with the kitten in it, no harm done. When the raccoon showed up it was trying to get the kitten from the rattling and the kitten crying, so she chased the raccoon off the porch and brought the cage into the kitchen. Though we hopped otherwise, the raccoon came back and this time Cheryl sic’ ed Woody the dog on it. Woody ran off into the yard area barking and howling, but we have no indication that he caught the raccoon. So, for now Mr. Raccoon is still free and a still being a pain. He had opened up the birdseed, the turkey seed, and most of the other containers on the porch creating quite a mess. What a pain raccoons are.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Pancakes anyone? Well the girls and I make breakfast a lot of times and they know how to make them by now, Addisson can almost receipt the scratch receipt, not bad for a 4 year old. So they know that you can make them a lot of ways, their favorite being blueberries by a large margin. Well this weekend, they had a small supply of gummy bears, gummy worms, and gummy lobsters thanks to Grandpap Reed. (Grandma Taylor had supplied them both with little plastic tweezers to pick up their gummy bears, there is a little light in the tweezers, so when you squeeze the gummy bears they light up and the shine, even when you put them into your mouth, the girls loved these tweezers.) So they took the next step and wanted to try t he gummy bears in pancakes. Not a good idea. We tried on gummy worm and one gummy lobster in the pancakes and they melted completely and then fried on our griddle and what a mess Grandpap had to clean up!

The girls and Grandpap in the midst of the real work spend a couple of hours in the hay barn putting together the swing set. Since the work was going way too slow for a 4 and 2 year old, they asked if I would hold the two person swing while they tried it out. Whoa!!! Grandpap can hardly lift the swing let alone hold it with my two favorite granddaughters on it. So, I told them no. Addisson then asked it I could temporarly put it up like I had put the single swings up? This was a lot more doable, so we took a couple of minutes and a couple of pieces of rope and hung it from the rafters. The girls loved it and spent their free t ime, when they were not helping mark, drill holes, and screwing screws for the next couple of hours riding the swing. And this was not a casual swinging time, they put a lot of gusto into this. Little Quinlyn had to literally stand on her feet most of the time to keep up with Addisson and they both were flying, shaking the rafters of the whole hay barn. Well, but the time we quite, Grandpap was in trouble again. Addisson had sore arms and Quinlyn actually had blisters on her little hands!!!! Today, Sarah has identified blisters on Addisson抯 hands also, Grandpap clearly worked these little farm girls too hard.

That night we all went down to the pond for a hotdog roast. What is a picnoc without a little fishing at the pond, Asa B and the girls caught a couple of cat fish immediately and the girls helped me clean the fish and put them on the grill, so besides the hot dogs we had 3 nice catfish for dinner. Quite a nice day, gentle wind and temperatures in the 60s it was nice.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Sarah and Dan Trimming the bushes out front. They hadn't been pruned in probably 40 years. It made a huge bonfire.

Just to show that hunting is often more normal at the Reed Ranch than you might suppose from reading Sarah’s blog I would like to share this photo of Asa B and Tom.

Love to all, any of for a drumstick?

--Asa Reed Jr., PE, PMP Sr. Technical Advisor Nuclear Safety and Project Management

June 19, 2007

This weekend was exciting, well at least very busy at the Reed Ranch.

On the way up t the ranch I saw a pilated woodpecker flying across Interstate 81 near the Sandy Creek exit, just south of Watertown, NY. Asa B had said he say one flying along the road down there earlier in the summer. This is the first time I have ever seen this woodpecker, very large and distinctive.

Cheryl was already there when I arrived, she had brought her mother up after the trip to the Sood’s place in Wisconsin. And then Aunt Midge decided to stop over, all the way from Vermont, to visit the family and Grandma Kistler, so all the beds were filled, Grandma Kistler slept with Cheryl as she needed a real bed, she has a lot of troubles getting up and down nowadays. I ended up on the couch or the lazy boy depending on the night, Aunt Midge took our upstairs study for her bedroom. So even in the ramshackle condition it is, the house is a happy house and lots of company comes our way.

Every trip to the Ranch I try to get a load of trash to the dump. This time it was another section of old fence that we had pulled out and cleaned up. Well as I got it rolled up and into the pickup along with the 7 or 8 garbage cans of trash and parts of the old chimney that we were getting rid of, I thought I will have to be careful that no one runs into those fence posts the way they were sticking out. As I walked around the truck to look at it Quinlyn followed me and Bang! She ran right into the old fence posts I had sticking out of the back end of the pickup. BANG! Poor Quinlyn had another ding on her little forehead. Then she started to cry and Grandpap felt as bad as she did. Grandpap is going to have to be a lot more careful when the little ones are following him around.

Before I left to drive back Sunday afternoon, I told Asa B that we had to have some fun stuff for everyone as well as the work or it was not worth all the work. So Asa B swam the width of the pond, trying it out for a swimming hole. He said he kicked bottom a lot, thus it might only be 2-3 feet deep in spots at that place location and somewhat muddy, over by the rocks it was about 5 feet deep or so. Also he hit a lot of things that moved in the water; there are a lot of big things living in the pond! The bullheads (catfish) he would not mind, but the snapping turtles are another matter!! And what else was there rubbing shoulders with my favorite son? So he might be reluc tant to try swimming again for awhile. We might want to clean it up a bit, by trapping some of the larger turtles and making sure there is no junk hidden under the water.

Of course there seems to be something to fix all the time. Besides the whole house of course. So early last week the dryer broke down, it was getting very old, but still I would rather have it continue to run. So Asa B tried to get it to run, and then when I got home on Friday I tried to fix the dryer, not even close, it gave no signs of life after I fiddled with it a while and I did not have that much time, so Asa B got us a new one, good and big, six cubic feet, on sale at Lowes and it is in and drying the clothes. Yea, Asa!!

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Thursday June 15, 2007

In the evening after dinner Asa decided at a moments notice to go down to the pond and fish for a while. He had a rough day at work and needed to blow off steam. He took Addisson with him and they had a ball. They were down there until after dark. They had a fire and even dug their own worms. Addisson thought it was great. Once they had got back I was going to give Addisson a bath but she didn't want to have anything to do with me. She insisted she shower with Dad. She even wanted to everything he did. She went and pulled out her bath robe because he was using his. It was too cute. They had a great father/daughter time down at the pond. While they were down at the pond, Quinlyn and I had some great bonding time too. We snuggled, read books, played and giggled. It was very nice too.

Friday June 16, 2007

Great Grandma has been here since Tuesday and after one day she wanted to go home. It took a while to convince her but she decided to stay through the weekend. Some of her reasoning for leaving so early is because she was so cold. However it was 80 degrees in the house and more outside. After she finally got warmed up she was feeling better. She kept asking when Aunt Midge was coming up. We told her she couldn't make it. Well low and behold Aunt Midge surprised us all and arrived on Friday. She decided to come after all. This perked Great Grandma significantly. They played cards the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening until Great Grandma started to feel poorly. They did take a break for about an hour when we went up stairs to demo. Aunt Midge loves to tear down the walls. She even brought her own tools.

Grandpap also at the last minute decided to come up for the weekend. He left at about 3:30 am in the morning and arrive about 10:30 am. It took him about 7 hours to drive this time. This is the quickest time yet. The last few times he has been flying into Watertown. From the moment he arrived he was busy. Either with the girls, who were very excited to see him, or working on the dryer which broke a few days ago and we have been having to hang the clothes on the line. He also picked up fencing and rocks around the yard. It was great having him back at the farm.

So, it's your first kiss and several questions might come to mind.

Is it the right time?>>>

Is anyone watching?>>>

Does your partner even want to?>>>

Is your breath fresh?>>>

Then you lean in and just go for it!!!
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I am sure glad this isnt one of our girls!

Wednesday June 13, 2007

The roofers stayed late and finished the roof. It sure does look different. Grandma and I went over the house plans trying to work out a layout for the upstairs bathroom. We have lots of space but we are trying to optimize it as well. Addisson and I fed the animals. In the afternoon I mowed the grass and our path down to the pond. Over all it was a nice day.

I forgot to mention that once Asa got over being Zapped on Monday night he did appologize to the girls and told them his behavior was very bad. Addisson piped in and said "yeah it was dad, what were your thinking!"

Tuesday June 12, 2007

Addisson had preschool and it was her snack day. This is very important in a young girls life. It means she gets to be the helper that day at school. She loves to help. It was 90 today and very humid. I felt bad for the roofers up working. Yesterday I made them smoothies. They loved them. This afternoon I asked if they wanted any water and they asked if I had an more slushies. I said no but I can make you a smoothie if you want. They all said yes. The girls were happy I made them one.

Grandma Reed and Kistler arrived about 5:30pm. We had dinner and then Asa went out and watered all the animals. It was a very uneventful evening. Not like last night. It was about 9:30pm when grandma reed called me into her room and asked me if I saw the black thing running in with the goats. I couldn't see what it was. It may have been happy birthday but I couldn't really see. It was almost dark. I called Asa, who came out of the bedroom in shorts and a gun. I grabbed the light and we walked to the chicken coop where the goats had gone inside. We didn't see anything. At first I thought I had seen eyes glowing int he hay but it turned out to be lightening bugs. They were every where. We didn't see anything with the spot light and we didn't hear any mauling. Hopefully they are all alive tomorrow.

Monday June 11, 2007

The roofers showed at 7am. They said it would take 3 days to complete the house. They are putting on a metal roof. The color is ok, it doesn't look the best with white but it will look very nice once we get red siding. It is a burnt slate but it looks brown.

Asa and I spent most of the day working on the garden. He rotatiled and planted, while I weeded. While we were in the garden I noticed a lady walking by. I didn't pay much attention and kept weeding. Asa however yelled out hello. She then proceeded to come down the driveway. He met her halfway and started to talk to her. She was lost. He asked the roofers if they knew her son, they didn't. He went inside and got the phone book and looked him up. She was on the right road but was disoriented. He asked me if I would take her home in the car. He was so nice to her and gave her water. It was hot out. It was about noon. She said she has been walking since 9am trying to find her sons house. She knew it was close but didn't quite know where. She felt silly or "stupid" as she said.

He helped her in the car and I went left out of the drive as per her instructions. Once I saw that the house numbers were going in the wrong direction I turned around. She was very confused and kept asking me if I was sure. I said" I am pretty sure and if its not right we can turn around again". We went back past our house and down the road about a mile and a half. When I pulled in the drive way I asked her " if this was the right house". She couldn't tell me. It didn't seem to look familiar to her. I looked at the house closer and saw a sign on the house with their last name which was the name of her son. I knew we were in the right place. I asked her if she was going to be able to get in the house and she said yes. I started to watch her go in the house but Addisson, who was in the back seat got me distracted by a horse fly who was bothering her. So I really never got to see her go inside but she was gone so I assumed she made it in ok before I left the driveway.

On my return home I thought to myself " that is why I love my husband". He has a great sense about those situations. He knew to just say "Hello" to this woman. I was in awe of how he can do that. I would never have thought to do that. I asked him when we got home, how did he know she was lost? He said she just didn't fit into the surroundings. An elderly lady dressed how she was, out walking! I never even thought twice about it let alone the big picture and the details of how she was dressed and the entire situation. After he got her talking he introduced himself and got her name and took care of her. It made me very proud.

Later that evening we were getting cleaned up while waiting for our pizza to arrive. Can you believe it, Yes, we do have pizza deliver! Only one place delivers but it is just ok pizza. I happened to look outside and I saw the goats heading to the street. By the time I got my shoes back on and hollered at Asa in the shower a car had driven by and scared them back into the yard. They bolted for the new fruit trees in the garden. I had to cut them off. I grabbed an empty bubble container and started to beat them off the trees. It was a frenzied. The trees were just starting to grow their leaves back from the last time the goats attacked them. They are so small they may not make another de-leafing. I had to get them off. They had the trees bent over and were starting to stand on them to get the leaves at the very top. It took me a little while to beat them off but I did succeed, but not without casualties. They stripped all of the grape vines of their leaves and a couple of trees. We hope they will come back like the last time. We had just yelled at Woody for eating a grape vine only a few hours earlier. We were able to get the goats back into their pen and find where they were getting out. The door of the chicken coop had rotted off the hinges. It had looked like the door was closed from a far but those sneaky goats knew better. The goats were in but not with out a screaming tantrum of 4 letter words from Asa. Not only was he mad at Woody for eating the plants, he was P. O. at the goats only to get ZAPPED but the fence. This created a new episode of cuss words. Which were all heard by our daughters ears. He got zapped soooooo good it dropped him to the ground and it took him several minutes to get up. He said it was the worst he has been zapped yet. He was wet from the shower and from sweat. He said it went through his thumb down his spine and out his feet. He said it felt like he was having his spine pulled out.

Once everything calmed down and we were walking back towards the house I said to him " Don't ever scold me about saying a swear word in front of the girls because our neighbors just heard you!" He gave me a smirk and we both chuckled. He then proceeded to shower again since he had just worked up another sweat. The good news is he actually got dressed once he got out of the shower the first time and wasn't putting the goats back naked. Although it was daylight his nakedness must only come out at night!

It turned out to be an exciting night! Asa told me the roofers boss stopped by walked up to the fence and grabbed a hold of it because he wanted to see what it was made out of. I said to the roofers this morning " I hear someone got zapped yesterday" They all laughed, "yeah our boss".

Sunday June 10, 2007

Asa and my Dad, worked outside most of the day. It was hot. They worked on the brush hog and the lawn mower. My mother and I made lunch and dinner. We seemed to cook most of the day. In the evening we went for ice cream.

Saturday June 9, 2007

Asa, Addisson and my Dad went to an auction in Cape Vincent, while my mother, Quinlyn and I went to Walmart. In the Afternoon they moved the torn off front porch from the grass to the burn area. Asa moved the baby goats. They both went to Watertown to Tractor Supply, one of my father's favorite stores. In the evening they went to the race track in Lowville. Our neighbor races there every week. He did win that evening. They call him the Redwood Rocket. He is the 3 time season track champion. Asa and my Dad had a good time that evening.

While they were at the track we had a ladies night out. We went out to dinner in A Bay at a very nice restaurant. Then we went for a small drive. Let the girls play with their make up and then it was bath time and bed. It was a nice evening.

Friday June 8, 2007

Today was Addisson's field trip to the Zoo in Watertown. We met everyone at the preschool at 9am. It was a combination field trip between the 3 and 4 year old class. All week the weather has been on the cool side. Two days we didn't get about 60. It was beautiful. It figures on the day of the field trip it was already 80 degrees by 10am. By the time we got to the Zoo it was 90 degrees and extremely humid. Everyone was sweating. It was a nice time and we had a picnic lunch in a shady pavilion. It is a very small zoo. Asa had told me that but I didn't realize how small it really was. It only took about an hour to go through. We got home about 2:00pm. A

Asa arrived home about 5 minutes after we did and my parents arrived about an hour after that. The girls were very excited to see them. Once they arrived my mom did dishes and was sweating. Which never happens. However the house was 83 degrees. It was hot! She took a break and folded clothes. Asa moved the baby goats. Then he grilled dinner, steaks and lamb chops. After dinner I cleaned out the car and Asa and dad moved the roof which we took off the porch and has been sitting in the front yard since the last time they were here to visit. Asa then drove the tractor down to the pond to dig out an old hay rake. He wanted to try it out. I followed him in the truck. They hay field is ready for its first cut of the year. It was half way up the truck door in spots.

Around 8pm we Grandma decided we should all for Ice cream. We weren't going to because earlier in the evening Asa had looked out the kitchen window onto the porch and saw Addisson and Quinlyn holding the kitten, Salem, and one of them was attempting to hit it in the head with a hammer. Asa saved that poor little kitty. He happened to look out in the nick of time.

Thursday June7, 2007

This morning I received a phone call from the post office at 7:15am. Our Guinea Keats had arrived. We were all still in bed. Addisson had preschool that morning so once I dropped her off I picked them up about 9am. They were so noisy I could hear them outside the post office. When I went in to pick them up I told the lady at the counter I was here to rescue her from all of the noise. They were packed in a small box with lots of air holes. I couldn't believe there was 30 in there. Once I opened them up I realized you could actually have fit more in the box. I left them in the car while I cleaned out their home and put bedding and water down for them. When I went to release the hens one didn't look like it was going to make it. As I examined the box they had come in I realized they had just hatched on Tuesday. And were sent two day mail. These birds were in the mail most of their lives.

It was time to pick up Addisson so I brought 5 of the birds with me. The kids at her preschool loved looking at them. They all wanted to hold them but I would not let them for the birds were so tiny and too fragile for 3 and 4 year old hands. Addisson was glad I brought them so her friends could see them. I had a small petting zoo in the car. As I was leaving to pick Addisson up both Salem ( the kitten) and Woody jumped in the car. I had a dog, kitten and 5 guinea Keats in the car with me when I picked up Addisson.

When Asa got home from work we had lost another guinea keat. He had stopped by the neighbors on his way home and asked him about our grey water issue. He came over and looked at and asked Asa if he wanted to do it to night. Asa said "sure I will go change my clothes". Thursday evening they dug up the back yard with a mini backhoe. Of course the small project turned into a larger one and took way longer than expected but they did finish and now our basement isn't flooding with grey water. YEAH. Once they started digging they saw that the drainage system was probably placed in the ground in the 1950's and was a cheap tar and paper pipe. Once it ages it gets brittle and crushes. Which is exactly what happened to ours.

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Tonight Asa and I moved the goats fencing and added to it. It is a flexible and very visible electrical net. We were out in the tall grass of the fields and when we looked back we couldnt even see Quinlyn. She was following her sister but she went too fast and so she just stopped. The grass was taller than she was. It was very cute. Woody was going crazy running in the grass. Addisson would lay down in it to hide from Woody. He would find her very quickly. Quinlyn and Addisson started to play Doctor and nurse with Woody in the tall grass. They were having a great time. It didnt take too long to get the goats moved. Once we let them out to the new area they bolted for the tall stuff. It was so tall they had to jump through it. We hope that will keep them busy for a few days. The last area we opened up for them only lasted 5 days. The pickings were starting to get thin so we had to move them tonight for we didnt want them to escape tomorrow.

We now have no turkeys. We are suppose to have 30 Guinea Hens coming sometime this week. Our practice turkeys didn't work out too well so we are hoping for much better with the Guinea hens. Asa is feeling blue because animals and plants keep ending up dead. The goats ate a few trees, blueberry bushes; Jinx 1 and 2 are missing. 5 of the turkeys drowned and one got eaten by a raccoon. A few of the goats died this year. He came home today and one of the blueberries which was starting to look good again was all chewed up by Woody. He was bummed. He did say he really likes the pigs because they haven't died on him yet. He did really like the turkeys too because they would follow him around. He said the key to get the goats to follow you and the other animals is you have to sing to them. LOL. When his mom called all stressed about trying to get the goats back in while we were on our way to NH, he actually told her to just sing to them.

I brought up the turkeys because a few days before they died, Quinlyn had gotten into their turkey food and threw it all over the porch. So when we came home that evening all the turkeys were on the porch and had pooped everywhere. This was right after I had cleaned and hosed down the area. Which took a while because it was a disaster. This was the same day I had taken Jinx to the vet. Which I am sure didn't help with the raccoon situation. Which reminds me the Raccoon even pooped on the porch. What hasn't pooped on our porch? I think Woody, The kids and Us are the only things that haven't pooped on the porch.

I thought I would right large because I am tired and starting to squint at the screen, but I wanted to finish.

You heard a little from Grandpap about the Raccoon being on the porch a few times. Two days earlier I was taking Addisson to preschool where I heard a cat crying under the care. I looked and it was Jinx. I had just seen him about 20 min. earlier before I let Woody out and he was fine. Now he was under our car and couldnt move and was crying for his life. I backed up the car, I couldnt reach him from the side, I hoped he wouldnt move and took one of the kids blankets and wrapped him up. He was soaking wet. I knew what had happened. Woody had played with him and got too rough. I told Addisson when I dropped her off at preschool that he may not be alive when she got out. I called the vet and he could get us in. It turned out he was just stunned. If it was Salem I dont think I would have taken him to the vet but I really liked Jinx because he had six toes.

It will teach me. Two days later he turned up missing with the turkey. Only to have the Raccoon show up the next night looking for more kitties and turkies. We sure feed the wild life great around here.

More view from Grandpap

And by the way, the goats got out again yesterday and ate up most of Asa B’s new blueberry bushes, hope the goats taste good when we eat them.

By the way if you care, Cheryl did not get the goats back into the fenced area. They were laying in one of the shed, full of Asa B’s grain and too lazy to move, so Cheryl just locked them in. Done, they are of f the streets and out of sight, Asa B can put them in the fence when they get home form New Hampshire.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.


Hello,

Sorry if any of this is a repeat for any of you, but I just wanted to keep in touch.

I have moved to Long Island for a temporary assignment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. They are finally going to remove most of the radioactive material from the old Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor. It was an air cooled, graphite moderated, graphite pile reactor, originally with natural uranium, then with enriched uranium fuel, that has been shut down for several decades now and they are getting around to cleaning the site up. It has been run as a museum for a lot of years recently.

Right beside it and sharing some utilities, like ventilation and the 100 meter stack, is the infamous High Flux Beam Reactor, that was shut down in 1999 after a tritium leak was identified and published in the press here. It was heavy water moderated, highly enriched uranium fueled reactor. The laboratory and DOE have decided to go totally non nuclear here, nothing but accelerators of all shapes and sizes is in the foreseeable future here at BNL. So, again, I am temporarily part of a team that is working itself out of a job.

As we were working on some of the licensing documents last week we had a meeting at the local DOE office, and I got lost on the site, it was my first time herre. As I got to the meeting I found that of the 8 people on the DOE review team 6 of them were people I had worked with at ohther sites. Is it not a small world?

Well, it is getting warmer out here on the Island, Monday moring it was 35 F in the parking lot this morning it was 60 F and the leaves are starting to really fill in, the fog is rolling in off the sound every morning now, it is a pretty place. There are wild turkeys, geese, and deer everywhere here on site, a real driving hazard, those turkeys are big and fly across the road right in front of your car.

Most of the U.S. reactors were light water reactors, Westinghouse built pressurized water reactors and General Electric built boiling water reactors which were the majority, Combustion Engineering and Babcock and Wilcox also built a couple I believe.

But the main fleet of base loaded nuclear power stations in the US are either Westinghouse or GE.

The new research reactor you all just commissioned was a design by Brazil wasn’t it?

The Canada Geese who live here on the site are all leading their families around these days. The goslings, usually seven or eight balls of fluff, are getting bigger everyday as they eat grass in all the surrounding fields. There are also turkeys all over the roads here as well as deer. The deer have fawns with them in many cases, but so far there have been no baby turkeys to be seen. What are baby turkeys called anyway, does anyone know? If names were metric like some countries use numbers they would all be just babies, no kids, goslings, cygnets, fawn, foals, calves, chicks, tadpoles, etc.

Speaking of turkeys, Asa B, not that he is a turkey, but you know,… Anyway we were working in the hay barn with Mr. Taylor, when Sarah called him on the cell phone and told him that the turkeys were out. This was not big news as the goats, dog, and the turkeys all had been out that morning. But, Sarah said no, the wild turkeys in the field were out!!! And it was still hunting season, sooooooo Asa B goes running up to the house to collect his shotgun, which Sarah had brought out to the door for him and off he went , the great white hunter, chasing the turkeys across the fields. In this case he went down behind them and got a big tom with one shot. Very nice, we have some photos, which I will try to get to you all. His mother actually saw the turkeys first, got the gun for him and went out to tell Sarah who carried out the support roll of getting Asa B into the field, just like a safari on the Reed Ranch.
--Asa Reed Jr.

Other Happening In May

We went to the drive In opening night for Spiderman at dusk thinking we could get in. That was foolish of us. They said it was sold out hours before dark. We went again the weekend Shrek 3 came out. This time we went about two hours early. They were still sold out. We decided to go see Spiderman on the other screen. We liked it. Addisson told us she never wanted to see that movie again but she was glad it had a happy ending.

Asa and I drove to NH to learn about fencing. We had left Addisson home with Grandma. We were about 1/2 hour from Syracuse when we got the phone call that the goats were out. Asa turned around and headed home. We got about 15 miles back towards home when she called again and said she got them back in. We arrived in NH at 2 am and received a phone call that the goats were out again and she had seen a snake trying to get them back in. It sounds calm the way I am telling it but the entire thing was chaotic and frenzied. However, Grandma did very well especially since she saw a snake and it was very hot.

The lady that helped us with fencing asked us what we wanted to fence or keep out. We said goats. She immediately said " Oh don't say that nasty four letter word, GOAT" Then she said "good luck and you have come to the right place."

After being at the fencing store for a few hours it over whelms you. I never thought there could be so much to fencing. You really could have a masters degree in fencing. On our 6 hour drive back to NY Asa and I discussed fencing. Neither one of us could have dreamed we would be spending 95% of our time on the farm dealing with fence. We were definitely naive. We thought it would be fun to have goats. Never knowing how frustrating and infuriating they can be. They are also fun too but they are also annoying. I had goats growing up and they were fun. Maybe because we only had 2 or 3 at a time. Not thirty. We are learning. We call these 30 goats our test case.

Here is Grandpap Reeds take on what happened.

As to the goats, Asa has been experimenting with some new fencing, an electrified woven 6 X 6 (inches) net, made and sold by Primer Fencing. It is pricey, but very effective. He now has 3 sections, one light duty for the kids and Happy Birthday, and 2 for the herd of does. The goats do not bother the fence at all and he can move them around the areas of the Ranch where we want some weed control as well as foliage for the herd. Yesterday they took down most of our stand of Sumac, it was getting out of hand and is a real hassle with the poison and all, but the goats are not affected and just seem to love the stuff. We would much prefer they eat the Sumac and Poison Ivy than the blueberries and Sarah’s new weeping cherry tree!

Well Cheryl went home today, after helping me set up my little apartment. She dropped me off at the local airport, Islip MacArthur Airport, to rent a car until I can find one, then she headed for the Upstate Toll Road. Getting off the Island took a good part of the trip, even when things were not that bad traffic wise. This Island is just crowded.

Once she got home she got to help chase the pig! Princess, the young lady piglet, she is only about 45 pounds, got loose. She has been much more aggressive since we got her. She has already charged the girls trying to scarce them off, and tonight she got out from the pig pen and was running free with everyone chasing her. Addisson and Quinlyn were to hold positions and wave Princess off if she headed their direction, Asa and Sarah were doing the chasing and Cheryl was to hold the center of the circle, if I understood correctly. But to no avail, Princess got through the line. Asa then decided to form a new section of fence adjacent to the existing pen. He hooked up a panel, bent it in a half circle back the existing fence and viola, princess was inside the fence again. But, not the right fence, so Asa jumped in, chased her down and grabbed her hind legs as she made and escape attempt. He could hardly lift her, she was digging with her front legs and was partly stuck in the hole!! But, her got her out and stuck her in the main pen, now for how long we are not sure, but Princess is going to take some extra care.

And take a look at these photos of my favorite little girls,

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.

Oh yes we got another pig and she was getting out. She was so hard to catch at first until we got smarter than her. She squealed and squealed. The kids loved trying to catch her and she wasnt even greased or muddy.

More from Grandpap


The goats are at it again, lead by Janet this time.

Asa B and Sarah are on the road tonight, they are heading to a fencing shop in southern New Hampshire that specializes in sheep and goat fences and provides training in putting up the fences. Their prices are reasonable, so the kids decided to give them a try. Asa B and Sarah are traveling tonight, staying at the Super 8 near the store then heading home tomorrow night with enough fencing supplies to do 10 acres. That is about 2640 feet of fence. They took Quinlyn along to help with the heavy work. (See her photo, doesn’t she look like a ranch girl?) They hope to spend most of the day watching demos of how to do the fencing correctly, then try their hand at the fences they are going to buy. We need to get some permanent fences in to get the goats on browse. There should be plenty of fencing left for Carrie to help with if she comes to help for a while.

Well, as they get on the road to New Hampshire, they are no more than the end of the drive when Miss Addisson gets all teary eyed about the family leaving her at home, Grandma is ok, but Daddy, Mommy, and Quinlyn all took off without her! She would have gone, but needed to be at the dance practice and photo session on Wednesday, the tyranny of the schedules. Schedule conflicts at such a young age! Well, just as Addisson and Grandma were getting the Peter Pan DVD going, they looked out the window, and who but Janet was out of the fence and in the new trees again!!! So Cheryl calls me, tells me what is happening, I tell her that she should call Asa B and Sarah back, they are just south of Watertown, I had just talked to them as they were leaving the Starbucks there. She does not like that answer, they need the fence and should go get the training and materials. She decides that she really needs to talk to them however, she calls them and goes through the goat recovery via the cell phones, holding the Janet’s collar in a choke hold with one hand the bucket of feed to entice the other goats in the other hand and the phone somewhere between the two. It might have bit marks on it, if someone were to look. So, she got the goats back in the fence before Janet choked, and the kids are still on their way to New Hampshire. Let us hope that the fencing works till the kids get back Wednesday night and they can chase any runaways.

Last night when the family was done chasing the wild pig, Princess around the yard they all got ready for be and tuned in, especially Asa B as he had to go to work in the morning. Cheryl and Sarah decide to sit up and discuss the work needed on the house and how they are going to schedule the window work, as it will be disruptive of every room in the house. They call me and we get into some of the issues, then we all decide to hang it up for the night and hit the hay. Somewhat literally now that we are on the ranch. So, before it it too awful late, all are in bed. A couple of hours later, Cheryl hears some noises out it the kitchen and thinks it is Sarah up puttzing around. Well it goes away then starts up again, and she asks Sarah what she is up to and does she need help? Sarah does not answer, so Cheryl gets the idea that it is not Sarah making the noises in the kitchen and goes out to see if the dog got out of his kennel, or the cat is into something, but no they are not in the kitchen. Then she hears the noise again, and it is from the porch. Now what is out there making that type of noise? The windows are open, but she can not see anything outside. As she is looking around for something, Sarah comes out of their bedroom asking what the noise is, Cheryl explains that something is on the porch, Sarah grabs a big light and out the door she goes to face ….a big raccoon which immediately knocks over some of the dog bones he w as in and scampers off the porch into the darkness. What an exciting evening!!!

--Asa Reed Jr.

The goats are at it again, lead by Janet again. With Asa B and Sarah are on the road at the fencing shop in southern New Hampshire Cheryl is in solo in charge of the ranch, not a task she volunteered for, or even wants. So as day broke this morning she looked out to see how the goats she had shepherded into the pen last night had made it through the night. What?? There are no goats in the pen! Now all the does are gone!! So Cheryl starts hiking around the ranch to locate the missing herd, hoping they are still on our property and off the road at least.

She found them, Asa B has the animal food sitting around in the bags it comes in and now he has a lot less food, the goats ate everything. This is the second time they have raided the store house and cleaned it out. Cheryl is adjusting the fence to hopefully keep them in and it is hot and muggy today, and she saw a snake at the entrance to the pen area. Not a good day for my wonderful wife.

Her and Addisson will lead the goats in to the pen later this afternoon then Addisson has to be at her dance class for photos. Speaking of photos here are a couple more of my favorite girls.

As to Asa B and Sarah, they got in to the hotel at about 2:15 am and were tired, I had called to keep checks on them as they drove and told them to get to bed as I was going to do myself.

Love to all,


Mr. Raccoon was back!

Cheryl heard the noises on the porch again last night, but now she knows what is up. She grabs her flashlight and heads to the kitchen and shines it out the window. There he was, standing on his hind legs getting into the bird seed container. He stood tall enough that his nose was above the height of the railing, a pretty big coon.

Grandma called Asa B, get your gun and get this coon! Well, as usual the coon is still safe. Oh well, he will be ready for another night at the Reeds. Grandpap left out the part where Asa didnt even bother to get any clothes on and was naked in the front yard with his gun looking for the raccoon. So if you ever want to visit and go on a Naked Raccoon hunt, call Asa @ huntinaked (555-482-4588) or email him @ nakedhunter.org

I just am hilarious.

The kids did get the goats all into a fenced area and out of the prison that Grandma put them in. They are going to give them a little more room tonight.

Love to all,
--Asa Reed Jr.