Soft and Sleepy...

I'm a little out of the loop as far as popular music goes, but Pandora Radio is bringing me around.  I Love Love Love Pandora Radio!  I have my old favorites that I have stuck with for a very long time, and I almost never listen to local radio.  Well, maybe a little for the traffic report on the commute or NPR.   I create radio stations on Pandora based on my old favorites, and then it plays songs by other artists with a similar style.  I may be the last one to the party on this, I dunno.  I especially love Dispatch, The Grateful Dead, Michael Franti, and Ray Lamontagne.  My new favorite is Iron and Wine.  The photo above is of Sam Beam, the lead singer.  I love music with positive energy, and I am a sucker for a feel-good song, no matter how cheesy.  Sam Beam is in no way cheesy, but soft and sleepy... mostly acoustic guitar behind gentle, mellow lyrics.  His music feels like a crocheted blanket on a crisp autumn day with the windows open.  Anyway, I wanted to share.


Peace, love and happiness,
Earth Mother

Daddy Bakes a Cake...

I personally think the Old Hippie did a damn good job on the twins' 15th birthday cake... considering that he had never made a cake before, ever.  Not evan a box cake mix.  I think his only mistake was that he used butter-flavored cooking spray instead of non-stick spray.  They are not the same thing, as he discovered when he tried to get the cakes out of the pans.

I usually bake whatever kind of cake they want... anything from Coca Cola cake to Italian Cream cake, always something yummy and homemade.  This year they requested a Funfetti cake.  I didn't even know what that was...

Yep, a boxed mix, but that is what they wanted.  It worked out well considering that I was sick and in bed for two days this past weekend.  I am a little better today, but for the past two days I felt like I had a golf ball covered in knife blades stuck in my throat.  

The Old Hippie stepped up and represented.  He thinks his cake was a definite Cake Fail, but I think he did a wonderful job... considering.  Please leave him a comment telling him what you think!

Peace, love, and happiness,

Earth Mother

Eagle Sighting...

We have a confirmed sighting of the eagle on our lake...

Can you find it in the photo?  Click to enlarge for a closer look....

I enlarged and lightened the photo so it is visible. I believe that is a sycamore tree with leaves measuring 6-8 inches across, so that gives you an idea of the size of this eagle.

And then it was gone.

The Guidefather...

The Guidefather knows where the trout are...

Success!  I am SO spoiled.  The Old Hippie rigs me up, baits my hooks, cleans the fish...

Another one...

And another....  sweet!

I could do this every weekend...

It is a very satisfying thought knowing that guides get paid hundreds of dollars a day, and I have my very own... free of charge. I'm a very happy girl!

He cooks them, too....  What more could I ask for?

A shrine in honor of the almighty trout....

Although from this angle it looks like a shrine to something else altogether.....

Peace, love, happiness.... and trout fishing.

Earth Mother

Fishing...

Our cove...  Several years ago, we were lucky enough to spot a "For Sale" sign in front of a lake-view home down a long drive on a private, 35 acre lake that is five minutes from decent shopping, but for all intents and purposes... it's in the country.  The sign had only been up for one week.  Though our dream is to live completely off the grid, this will certainly do for now.  We have much wildlife: deer, fox, geese, ducks, owls, squirrels, rabbits and we just spotted an eagle and have an unconfirmed report of an owl with a 6 foot wingspan.  Our neighbor says he has seen the eagle on and off  for ten years now.  Yes, we are looking for feathers every time we go out for a walk!  There are about 200 acres, including a waterfall, belonging to the POA, so there is plenty of room to explore and get into nature.  There is a small church on the other side of the lake that puts stock fish in the lake for yearly fishing derbies for the kids.  The lake has become so overpopulated with fish that the Game & Fish Commission no longer allows them to add any more fish to the lake.  Needless to say, we have PLENTY of fish.

We go out in our paddle boat or in the canoe whenever we get a whim.  No motors are allowed on the lake except quiet trolling motors. 

The neighbor's dog is good company now that she has grown up a little and no longer chases your bobber when you cast.  That was a real pain for a while.

The cat belonging to the other neighbor patiently waits for us to catch a small crappie or bream for his special treat. 

Alligator snapping turtle?  The turtle wasn't actually hooked, it just had a good clamp on the bait.

Limenitis arthemis astyanax, beautiful!

 

A nice carp, fun to catch but not so fun to fix and eat. Plenty of catfish, bass, bream, and crappie though.

Peace, love, and happiness,

Earth Mother

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

"In a true dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning." 

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Free Stuff, Gotta Love It.....

There is nothing I love more than free stuff.  Well, there is, but I really, REALLY like free stuff.  Our mailbox usually has some sort of free sample or other freebie daily because the Old Hippie is a bit obsessive about his free stuff.  Sometimes the mailbox is packed.  What I HATE are the freebie teasers that make you fill out time-sucking surveys and other various crapola.  I wanted to pass this one for Cheetos along to you, totally free, no survey or anything.  Go here to sign up.

Here is another easy one for free meals at IHOP. 

Peace, love, happiness.... and free stuff,

Earth Mother