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.