My brother, PK, called me yesterday evening and talked for quite awhile. He told me that Art had his own Wikipedia page. I did a quick search while we were talking and found it on top of a search for Ova A Kelley. For those of you that are not familiar with Art, he was our Great-Uncle who perished in WWII but received the Medal of Honor. I added it to my favorites so I could get back there today. I returned and read it and decided to add some info that whoever made the original page did not know about. Travel to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ova_A._Kelley to read the entry. If you have anything to add you can either add it yourself or send it to me to add for you. Cheerily IJK
The Brown Swiss heifers shown here represent the future of Kelley's Brown Swiss Dairy. They are the result of 23 years of continuous A.I. breeding. I do all the breeding myself. The heifers above are all bred and waiting to calve. They should be calving within the next 6 to 8 weeks. It is always with great anticipation that I await the calving of a heifer. The hottest part of the summer should be behind us by the time they calve and that is good. Hot weather is a strenuous time for them to calve. We have been raising Brown Swiss for 34 years and have always raised our replacement heifers. It has been over twenty years since we purchased one. The last one purchased was from Mason McCubbin of Springfield, MO. It has been quite some time now since he and his wife, Dorthea, have passed on. He was a very knowledgeable breeder and really loved the Brown Swiss breed. We always enjoyed competing against him in the area cattle shows and learned a lot from him. Cheerily IJK
Once upon a time when our daughter was very small (about two), she wanted an apple one evening and I did not have one to give her. I promised her that I would plant an apple tree for her. The next day I went to town and found an apple tree to buy. I did and brought it home to plant. We nurtured it for a couple of years and although it would bloom it would not bear apples. I did some asking around and found out that for an apple tree to bear fruit there must be another apple tree close enough to pollinate it (I was told within a mile). I thought about it and then realized that there likely was not one within a mile so I went to town and bought another. The next year we had a limited supply of apples. The two trees are now fully mature and giving us lots of apples. My wife has started learning how to preserve the apples in different forms so we may enjoy them all winter long. Today she made applesauce (photos below) and started dehydrated some for pies this winter. We just learned two years ago that an apple can be dehydrated and then frozen and when water is added back and then cooked it makes a real good pie.
Paring and cutting the apples up to go in the pot.
The pot of apples on the stove.
Waterbath Time>
Finished Product.
Glinda worked hard today getting these jars of applesauce but they sure will taste good when the cold wind blows. Cheerily IJK
I have recently finished reading two different books on submarines. They were loaned to me by my Brother, Patrick. The first is titled "Blind Man's Bluff" and it was written by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew. It is an excellent book and I recommend it for anyone who wants the true story about the American submarines that disappeared during the Cold War amongst the other accomplishments of our valiant submarine force. The second is "In The Course Of Duty" by Don Keith. It is a true story about the most decorated submarine of World War II, The USS Batfish and how she came to be a permanent resident of Muskogee, OK. I dare say that even if you are not interested in books about submarines these are must read books. Cheerily IJK
My neighbor, Eric H, needed to do some welding on his brush hog. He had brought the implement over some time ago to get it off his trailer so he could use the trailer for another purpose. Today we finally were able to get together with the sun shining and the tractor home to run the power/welder unit so he called and came over around noon. By 1:00 p.m. we were done. I took a few photos and have posted them below. I do not think Eric knows that I took the photos.
Cheerily
IJK
"Skeezix" & "Lil" up and ready to head to Strafford for a little league ball tournament at 7:00 a. m. Following the tournament they have tickets to attend the Springfield Cardinals Baseball game in the evening.
Cheerily
IJK
We are waiting for the feed truck to arrive before the evening chores and resting in the shade for a few minutes sitting on five gallon buckets. This is "Lil's" first time to get to sit on a bucket.
Cheerily
IJK
I am asking you all to help me write this new country song idea I had. It begins:
Don't promise me you're leaving
(pause) and then not go. Don't tell me you've had enough
Don't give me that same ol line
I've heard it all before
it's the same ol thing
I'll help you pack your bags
and I'll even sit them by the door
Please leave your ideas for the next line in the comments and I will add them as they come in. Thank you.
Cheerily
IJK
Mitzi is reaching up for the camera so she can take a video for me. "Lil" is sure growing and is now starting to give kisses but she is stingy with them. Cheerily IJK
As usual just right click and then choose "view image" to see a much larger picture
Today we all gathered at my Mom's house to celebrate her birthday. All of our children and grandchildren were there. Steaks were cooked on the grill and Gramps did a mighty fine job with them. The food was delicious and we all had a good time and a great visit. Cheerily IJK
Paring and cutting the apples up to go in the pot.
Waterbath Time>
Finished Product.
Cheerily
The photo says it all.
We are waiting for the feed truck to arrive before the evening chores and resting in the shade for a few minutes sitting on five gallon buckets. This is "Lil's" first time to get to sit on a bucket.
