July already?

Why does the summer seem to fly by so quickly?  It has been one month on the farm and I am still amazed at myself.  I swore I would never survive a country life and here I am living it and LOVING IT!  Last week I drove up to spend a night with my mom, which ended up being two nights because there was no way I was going to miss going to here last radiation treatment with her.  I figured I went to her surgery to remove the tumor ~ here first chemo ~ her first radiation ~ so I should just see the end of it all.  It was awesome!  We had a good laugh driving home reflecting on her first treatment.  So I told my mom I would share the story in my next blog, so here it goes.  Since her treatment was high on her neck, she had to have this CRAZY mask made to go over her face and then it clamped down to the table so she couldn't move.  The only cutouts were her eyes.  So panic set in when they first tried to get this thing on her for the "trial run" the week before the actual start of radiation.  A prescription of meds were needed.  Well they told her people react different so she will want someone to drive her the first time.  We leave her treatment and I am asking her how she feels, does she think she could drive after the medicine (we were in trouble if the answer would be no since she had to go everyday for 4 weeks).  She was telling me she felt fine etc.  In the process of this conversation I am stopped at a red light and the conversation proceeds as follows:
Mom:  "Is it red?"
Me: "Yes mom, it is red"
Mom:  "Really?"  (with a very surprised voice)
Me:  "Mom are you sure you would be ok to drive?  If you can't even tell the light is red, I don't think you need to be driving yourself"
Mom:  "Not the light....Is my neck red from the radiation."
Me:  A HUGE sigh of relief because I seriously thought she didn't think the light was red

                                          Mom's radiation Mask ~ She got to take it home with her

After we got back to her house, she packed up and came to the farm for the weekend with me.  What a joy to have her here!  So we decided to walk the first night.  We went over to see the horses and cows.  We walked the road front going, but coming back I wanted to take her the back way through a path in the woods.  Well, Duke ran along with us and he suddenly went on alert and darted into the woods just as I caught a glimpse of his prey ~ AHHHH  A SKUNK!  I told mom to get to moving up the hill because he was going to chase that skunk right out in the path in front of us.  Well months of chemo and radiation = little exercise time, so trying to get my mom to move it up that hill was not happening.  Luckily, Duke showed up with no skunk back on the path.  Whew - disaster adverted!  I need to start carrying a gun through the woods!!!

We also went to the Blueberry Festival in Augusta, Kentucky.  Ok...so it was about 5 tents of really nothing ~ only one had anything Blueberry.  But we did go down to the Ohio River and enjoyed the view, then we ate a wonderful lunch.  But later this month Augusta is hosting the Ohio River Regatta Festival and it is a weekend long event, so I figure this will be better than the Blueberry Festival.  But I did get an amazing picture of Jim and Me ~ one of my all time favorites.

Let me see, I am trying to think of a gluten free goodie to add here and well nothing is coming to me.  I am still up to my ears in zucchini and squash.  Today, I cut up 30 combined to make buttered pickles.  I am going to also make some zucchini bread tomorrow (gluten free of course).  Tomorrow I am also going to can my first batch of jam:  Strawberry/Rhubarb Jam.  I am so excited!  The cucumbers are coming in now too as are the beans.  I just love the garden!

I did want to share my amazing fly remedy for the cows and horses.  I didn't want to share to much till I knew if it would work.  We made a huge pump spray of it.  We used water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and eucalyptus essential oil.  We sprayed that right on the cows and the flies departed quickly.  I had to do a touch up spray today, but it had been a week, so that is pretty good!  We even sprayed the horses and the flies are much better.  I am hoping the sweet lick blocks will start doing there thing and killing the larve and we will be much better in the fly department.

                                          The much happier cows ~ fly free :)

Well my dear readers, I will end with a few pictures of my gluten free zucchini cookies I made last week, but couldn't get the picture to download.  I will get some pictures of my canning tomorrow and the gluten free bread I make.  Enjoy your 4th of July and happy baking!