Here’s Chip & Quincy ready for football season!
Trip to the Thumb Octagon Barn and Agricultural Museum
September 11, 2010 By
Today Steve & I stepped out of the backyard and went to the Octagon Barn in Gagetown, Michigan. They have a Fall Family Days Festival the weekend after Labor Day every year. I’ve never been before. Honestly, I didn’t even know about the octagon barn until I heard about it from Louis Wehrmann a friend from the Gera Old Tractor Days. You can see the whole history of the barn and some great photos and info on the place on their website. Here are some pictures I took of the barn itself.
The pictures, really do not do the barn justice, you have to see it in person!
We saw the barn (of course!) and checked out all of the exhibits within. They have so much neat history! We learned about honey extraction, milking, and rural electrification. There were great displays of different types of grain separators 
and bean sorters, milk separators. There also were people demonstrating rug weaving (and selling rugs) and demonstrating broom making and selling brooms. They also had honey & honey combs for sale. 
Then, we walked through the flea market area and checked in with the vendors. There were over 200 vendors at the show! There were a lot of great crafts including woodworking and glassware and ceramics. I found a great piece of glassware. I collect cow creamers and I did find a pig creamer, but no cow creamers. We also saw the one room schoolhouse and museum. It was packed, so we didn’t walk through. Then, we crossed a little bridge and stopped in at the sugar shack where they were making sorghum syrup and allowing tastes. 
We walked past a children’s activities area which looked cool. They let the kids try some bean sorters, washing clothes with a washboard and walk on stilts amongst other activities. Then, we went into the newest building, the grain elevator. That’s where we found my friend, Louis.
From there, we walked across to see the antique tractor show. 
There must have been nearly 100 tractors including a very cool Oliver 77 RowCrop with an aftermarket cab. 
The theme this year was Steam Engines. There must have been more than 10 different steam engines on display and in operation. We also saw the sawmill which wasn’t demonstrating while we were there, but had some very neat displays nonetheless. Then, we saw a McCormick Deering 10-20 power unit operating a Bay City Shovel. It was very cool and they were loading the dirt into an antique truck. I almost got trampled by a horse-drawn wagon while trying to take video. 
From there, it was just a short walk over to where a guy was making electricity! That was the coolest. We watched him stoke the fire in the boiler and get it really going so that he could light 4 light bulbs. There were gauges so you could see how much juice he was pumping out. 
Then, we were onto the feature tent where they had vintage toys and dolls. We did not walk through the flea market tent or take a tour of the house. We did buy a few souvenirs from the Friends of the Octagon Barn. We would have loved to have some cider, donuts or popcorn, but the line was SO long! They had a pretty great bluegrass band entertaining the crowd in line, though. We also walked past the powerhouse, but did not have time for the tour there either (had to get home in time for the U of Michigan vs Notre Dame game!).
All in all, this was an awesome trip! We plan on going back again.
Long time no blog
January 4, 2010 By
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. For New Year’s I thought I should write some kind of blog and get back on track with this.
Update on Shadow (my found Plott Hound): We ended up not keeping Shadow. No one ever contacted me from the Michigan CoonHound Rescue despite my repeated emails, phone calls, facebook requests and Tweets trying to get their attention. I wasn’t really impressed by that. I honestly needed some help with that dog and I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. I think she was mostly a Plott Hound. My Dad used to breed Walker Hounds and one of his buddies is still really into hounds of all kinds. He ended up taking her. He was all set up to have the hounds. He had 3 in his pack already. He hunts Bear, Raccoons and Cats with them. She turned out not to be into Bear or Cat hunting, but he is going to keep her around for the raccoons. At least she is well fed, cared for and safe. I never could have kept her from running in our unfenced yard.
Update on Quincy (My beautiful Basset Hound): Quincy has been doing really great. She is completely housebroken and spends all of her at home days now free of the crate. We ended up taking the crate out of the house and she hasn’t seemed to mind. She still gets some crate time at Doggie Day Care. Steve and I are considering getting her a new basset hound friend in the spring from the same breeder (if at all possible).
Update on the House: Steve and one of his friends covered the crawlspace in a 6 mil plastic. They used spray on adhesive to adhere it to the walls of the foundation and allow any moisture to run off and prevent it from getting stuck under the plastic. This completely solved our moisture problem in the house. It is now almost too dry!
Update on The Backyard: We’ve been keeping up with the feeders, but I haven’t had time in my schedule to participate in Feeder Watch (no 2 days in a row to be able to watch). We are seeing the usual suspects. Also, we were observing at least one bat every night until pretty late in the fall, so I am pleased to report that our local bat population seems not to have changed. Steve and a couple of his friends saw a mole in the backyard above ground this fall. That was our one notable sighting. Squirrel numbers are down from last year (only about 4 – 6 per day instead of 10 – 18). I have still been seeing pheasant and turkeys, but not in the backyard, just in the neighborhood.
Update on Steve & I: I am going to rededicate myself to this blog and some outdoor photography. I’ve been admiring a lot of other people’s nature photos on Facebook and resolve to take more of my own. We also are going on a New Year’s diet and hopefully going to get a little more active, hopefully that will include spending more time in the backyard.
So, how have your new year’s been? Any new interesting winter bird sightings? More posts to come (with pictures!).
Found a Dog in the Backyard
October 1, 2009 By
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Steve and I do not want to keep this dog. If you know of anyone looking for it, please let me know! |
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Dog Information |
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Name |
?? |
Sex |
Female (probably not fixed) |
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Breed |
Coon Dog Mix |
Color |
Black with brindle coloring |
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Age |
4 – 5 years |
Hair |
short |
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Markings/ Distinguishing Characteristics |
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Black with dark brown brindle colors. Friendly. |
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Contact Information |
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Name |
Elizabeth Gross |
Phone |
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Address |
Bridgeport, MI 48722 |
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Where Found |
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Location |
On my back step – Roedel Rd between Reimer and Portsmouth |
Date |
Wednesday, September 30th @ 10:30pm |
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Story |
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The dog was not wearing any collar and showed up on my doorstep. I took the dog into Bavarian Veterinary to see if it had a microchip, but none was found. She seems friendly and well cared for. If you know who owns this dog, please let me know! |
Strange Lizard!
October 25, 2008 By
We saw a strange lizard this evening when we took Quincy out for her walk. There was a red/black lizard with 4 toes slithering down the sidewalk. It was 45.9 degrees Fahrenheit out today according to the LaCrosse Technologies Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer. Steve relocated the lizard to under the enclosed snowmobile trailer parked in the woods alongside the garage. We have to get more familiar with our Reptile and Amphibian book to allow us to identify these lizards. I think they might be skinks or salamanders, but I’m really not sure. We didn’t get any pictures of this guy.