A Thyme to Vent

This has been a very long week. My grades are due this Thursday; school is closed on Tuesday for election day but I have to be at professional development all day for teachers; I have a Teaching History Seminar Saturday morning at Cleveland's PBS television station; on Saturday I also have my sister's & brother-in-law's annual clambake which I will be attending with my friend w/benefits (I hate clams but I like the chicken & potatoes).

Side Note: One year when he & I went to a clambake, I decided to try clams but my stomach reaffirmed that I did not like clams & on the way home I got "very sick" in his brand new Dodge Ram truck which he promptly stopped & made me get out to barf my guts out on the side of the road, the road that we lived on....what is up with men & their trucks??? A little barf never hurts anything.....okay well it was a white truck but hey where was his compassion for me??? Well, at least he let me ride home in the front seat & not in the bed of the truck:)

But anyways, back to my issues......so today I had to run around after school.....I had to go to my favorite store to buy all my food & a really cool "snowman" hanging ($106 dollars later at that store!!!); then to Dillard's department store to the Clinque counter; then to the feed store which then meant when I got home I had to unload all the stuff I bought plus the 2 bags of chicken feed, the 4 bags of sheep feed, a bag of horse feed, a bag of rolled oats, & of course the 50# bag of bird seed because I do have like 6 feeders in my yard....what is that like 500 some pounds of feed??? And I still need to stop at the pet store tomorrow!! I started laundry tonight; I should be grading papers now but I am fried out on school; I am sitting on the dog pillow typing because my 3 dogs are sleeping on the couch; at least the weather is going to be beautiful this weekend; I have a seminar to go to this Thursday; another Teaching History seminar at Ashland University on next Saturday; I got paid today & I already feel poor; I am sure I am forgetting something else I have to do but for now I am going to attempt to read some of my new Hobby Farm magazine without falling asleep:)

Another sign made by mom which hangs next to my bed:)

Halloween Kitties

Harvest Thyme would like to wish everyone.........

of course this is one of my many fall decorations......can you believe that the black cat above is suppose to be a rug??? I think it looks much better hanging on my garden barn:)

Above is "CASPER", my very friendly kitty. Casper was a rescue from when I was working at the vet. This "cat breeder" brought 5 kittens in that were digustingly sick, loaded with coccidia, and just weak. Two died and the remaining ones were not looking good. She could not afford to keep them at the vet & was taking them home. It was not looking good for them. I asked her if I could have the sickest one so that I could give him the care he needed. She handed him over to me. Casper is almost 9 yrs old now. He is a Himalayan mix with beautiful fur, of course that would only be when he lets me comb him which is usually on rare occassions.......and he hates Jingles & Jangles.

This is Tabitha, my chunky kitty. Tabby is her own spirit & just likes doing her own thing. She came home with me when "I just went to the APL to get dog tags".

And last is my very "Spooky" kitty. Spooky one of my younger cats & though I do not support declawing cats, Spooky had the choice of staying in the house & declawed or living outside. He was the worst screen climber & one day climbed my screened in porch & somehow got into the overhangings and got stuck. It was not fun. He is a very shy kitty. He came to me via a friend who has very large horses & the mother cat took up residence in her barn w/her kittens. Spooky's littermate also lives with me but she is a Siamese.
I have lived in my house 15 years and have never had a trick-or-treater:( A number of my students said they would come to my house this year..........let me think about that............NO WAY!!! Tomorrow is the big sugar rush day at school and for the next week I will be dealing with candy wrappers in my room. But thank goodness Halloween is on Friday so the parents can have them for 2 days of the sugar rush!!

BOO, this will be my last Halloween post till next year! I will miss my favorite month!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Let's Take a Field Trip on a Drippy Day!!

The weather here in Northeastern Ohio has been really ugly the last 2 days so I refuse to post any outdoor pics as it is depressing. With the presidential election coming I thought I would share some beautiful pictures I took at Mount Vernon; the home of America's first President George Washington. Last year my 7th & 8th graders went to Washington D.C. & Mount Vernon. This year we will be going to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, & Monticello.

These colonial style gardens are just beautiful and an inspiration to the type of gardens I hope to have one day.
One needs a whole day to truly appreicate Mount Vernon. I have been there twice for field trips and I never tire of it and I always learn something new.

Pictured below is the main house and the kitchen area.
Mount Vernon is a piece of American history that everyone needs to see & appreicate......I think too many people have lost sight of what American values are and where they started.

On another note, I wanted to share with you my summer home in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Isn't this a magnificent home?

Okay, so I lied. Its not really my house but I sure won't mind having a house like this. Last summer I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks down in South Carolina on the Sea Islands & in Charleston studying the African Slave culture and the Great Migration.

It was an awesome opportunity.....and it was free through a Teaching American History Grant. I even got paid to go!!

The picture above is what I deem the perfect driveway to come home to. These Live Oak Trees with Spanish moss hanging from them are just breathtaking.........I feel a connection.....perhaps I was a Southern Belle in another life???

Okay, I don't have the dress on but hey, I could get use to coming home to a house like this!!

It Must Be the Weather! Wether?

Today's weather is nasty, rainy, cold, ugly, windy, & yucky! And on top of that it is Monday & Friday is Halloween and my students are already driving me nuts about the Halloween dance on Friday.....who else but 8th graders would be contemplating what to wear 4 days from now? Halloween is the biggest sugar rush of the year & being surrounded by hormone screaming junior high girls is a drink in the making.....too bad I don't drink; therefore I must have a Coke & Reeces Cup in one hand at all times. I already informed the girls that I have been practicing my dance moves as I watch Dancing w/the Stars every Monday........of course, they just roll their eyes at me like "Seriously, how could a 40 yr.old woman who lives in the country with a bunch of animals possibly know how to dance?" Little do they know about growing up in the 80's...........I was Michael Jackson's extra......okay well maybe Madonna's.......do you know that last year one of the first graders dressed up as Madonna? You know I paid good money for clothes like that back then!!!! Well, anyways that was me just venting, must be the weather!!

Now I will get to my original post.

I thought I would start with a cheerful flag on such a drippy day seeing as it will only be up for a few more days!
The weather today forced the boys to eat inside their house. I love this lean-to as it has a loading shoot on the back so I can just drop the hay in and they can pull it through the bars as they need it....saves on a lot of wasted hay.

Speaking of wether, this is Hamilton above & below (on right). He was my first lamb every born on the farm. He is actually a black Cotswold/Shetland cross. By the middle of winter Hamilton's face will look like it is being swallowed in by his wool which is so thick it is ridiculous. In the picture below on the left is Windswept Harry Potter. Harry was my first Shetland (along with Betsy). I bought him as a wether because at the time I was not sure if I was going to like the Shetlands.......gee I wonder what happened!!!

Well, 2 weeks ago I was trying to decide on who to wether & who should stay intact. I decided that this little guy should stay intact & was not going to market. He ended up to be a smooth polled ram, no scurs at all. His fleece is wavier & smoother than Jed's whose fleece has an awesome crimp to it. I would still like to sell his little guy but till then he can stay here. He has been warming up to me & will even let me get in a nice under the chin rub. He is in my opinion, just too nice at this point to dismiss.

This will be Harvest Thyme's "Jackson".

And last but not least on the wether issue, I decided to wether this little black smirslet guy(pic below). He lost his one scur this week. He is working on his friendliness as he still thinks I am some "scary" person. I wish I could find a nice pet/fiber home for him. But if not........home this shall be. His fleece is interesting. I am wondering if he is double coated? His fleece is almost white underneath the top layer. Can you see what I mean in the picture below?

His little guy will be called Harvest Thyme's "Jasper"!

"Does this mean that if I am a wether,

I get to still play with the girls all year round?"