Archive for Brendan

This ‘n’ That

August 30, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Cheryl, Miscellany, Shannon · Tagged , , ,

The end of August is upon us and Autumn is fast approaching, so I guess it’s time I posted another update before the leaves start to change.

School has been going good for the kids thus far. Shannon’s class load is pretty intense this year, with 5 out of her six hours consisting of AP and Honors courses. She tried running some of her endothermic equations by me last night and I can honestly say that there was little I could do but shrug my shoulders…lol.

As for Brendan, he’s doing equally good with his classes. For the first time in his educational career, he breaks out the books as soon as he gets home and finishes up his homework without being prodded. Ninth grade has definitely been a turn-around year for him so far. In addition to his academic classes, he’s a member of Junior ROTC and really eating that up. So much so, in fact, that he’s now a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Lexington. It’s amazing how enthusiastically he’s taken to all of the marching and drilling. Since Brendan is so fully embracing the CAP, I’ve also been volunteering my time to the organization. Not much in the way of excitement has been going on with that as of yet, but it’s a small squadron and going through some growing pains.

This past weekend brought a breakthrough for Cheryl and Star, and that’s probably the most noteworthy event we’ve had over the past couple of weeks. Some friends from Howell came down for the weekend and one of the girls – Dani – is a trainer that Cheryl really respects. On Saturday, Dani and Cheryl worked with Star to gauge his interest in being ridden. It wasn’t long at all before Dani gave Cheryl the green light and, for the first time, she hopped up on Star and walked him around the pasture for a bit. Star was absolutely perfect and amazingly well-behaved. For the longest time we thought that Star was just going to be a pasture ornament, too hot to be ridden by anyone but a trainer or a jockey. Cheryl’s patient work with him over the last year has really brought him around and made this moment possible. With more work, and a dose of professional training, I’m confident that Star will be the trail horse that Cheryl has hoped that he could be.

Cheryl and Star embarking on their firts ride together

The high school football season got underway on Friday, though it was with an embarrassing loss to Clay County. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the game, though the kids went with Dani and her brother – introducing them to how we do football down here in Kentucky. Instead of accompanying the kids to the game, Cheryl and I ventured into Lexington with Dani’s mom for a delicious dinner at the Mongolian BBQ. We really enjoyed catching up and the visit was a really nice treat, especially for Cheryl.

So that’s really been all the excitement here on the farm. We’ve been in a drought, so the foliage is nice and droopy and the grass has taken on a distinctly brownish appearance. Despite the garden being done for the year, a marauding groundhog met the business end of my rifle the other day. Gotta keep those varmints in check…lol.

We have some big plans for the coming weekends, so don’t be surprised if I post more than twice a month!

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Summer’s End

August 9, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Farming, Shannon · Tagged , , ,

It’s not officially the end of summer, of course, but I consider the season to be over when the kids head back to school.  So from that perspective, summer ends tomorrow.  Tonight we headed on over to the high school so the kids can scurry about and find their various classrooms.  Shannon already knew, pretty much, where her classrooms are but this will be Brendan’s first year in the high school.  This past Friday he spent the morning there for the JROTC meet-and-greet, at which he seems to have had a pretty good time.  Besides that class, the rest of his schedule is made up of the typical reading, writing, ‘rithmatic sort of stuff.  Most of Shannon’s schedule is made up of AP and Honors classes, but she somehow ended up with one hour of Floral Design.  I guess she was trying to get onto the yearbook staff and that didn’t work out, so she had this particular class listed as sort of a “joke” alternate.  Looks like the joke’s on her…lol.

As for the garden…meh.  The raccoons completely devastated our corn.  Nary an ear remains.  The vast majority of the peppers succumbed to pests, as did a lot of the tomatoes.  We tried applying an organic pesticidal soap, but it appears to have been too little too late.  The plants produced plenty, but very little actually made it to a ripened state.  Cheryl and I have been discussing strategies for next year, and I think we’re going to go in a radically different direction than the two previous seasons.  I’ll post more about that once we solidify those plans.  On the bright side, we’ve been overwhelmed by a large variety of squash…lol.  Some are unbelievably huge, so we must be doing something right!

The various squash retrieved from the garden

Overall the summer of 2010 has been unremarkable.  No vacations, little success in the garden…it should come as no surprise why there hasn’t been a lot of blog activity lately – nothing to blog about!

Some of our tomato yield. The Lumpy Reds are lumpy, but not so red.

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Last Day of School

June 9, 2010 · Filed under Brendan · Tagged ,

The last day of the 2009-2010 school year has finally arrived, and I’m sure Brendan and Shannon would agree that it’s about time.  Shannon, in fact, has been counting the days for about a month now.  Normally the year doesn’t extend this far into June, but all of the snow days they had this past winter forced the districts to dip deep into summer vacation.  Some districts in the mountain counties had to be granted waivers to keep from extending the year through to August.  So, abbreviated as it is, the kids’ summer vacation is officially underway.

For Brendan, today also marks his transition from middle school to high school.  Cheryl and I spent the morning attending the awards/commencement ceremony and are extremely proud of Brendan’s achievements.  Eighth grade has been quite a turnaround grade for Brendan.  For the first time in his academic career, he really put his nose to the grindstone and muscled his grades up to A’s and B’s.  I’m hopeful that this momentum will carry through to next year and beyond.  Congratulations Bren!

I’m sure the kids are looking forward to a little more than 2 months of doing absolutely nothing, punctuated by brief periods of riding horses and going to the mall.  I’m equally certain that Cheryl isn’t about to let them loaf the summer away, and has already started composing a lengthy chore list.  There’s something to be said for cheap labor, ya know…lol.

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Quick Update

February 23, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Farming, Miscellany · Tagged ,

Once again I’ve let the blog slip.  What can I say, except that late-winter life lacks much in the way of excitement…lol.  Even so, I’ll stoke the fire a bit and report on what little we’ve been up to.

Today is Brendan’s birthday, but since it falls in the middle of the school week we’re not going to do anything spectacular to celebrate.  Cheryl is making him his favorite dinner (chili, which goes well with this time of year) and Daniel and Kelly will be over for cake, ice cream, and presents.

Cheryl and I devoted some time this past weekend to preparing our seed order.  We’ve trimmed the variety of crops we plan to grow, but expanded the number of tomato and pepper cultivars.  I’ll post a full list of our orders once they’ve been placed, since seeds have a nasty habit of becoming sold out between the time we decide to purchase them and the moment we actually place the order.  Johnny’s and High Mowing will once again be our primary suppliers, though this year we may be leveraging Sustainable Seeds for a few items.

The Fusion est mort.  The insurance company has decided that the car is a total loss.  It seems that when the windshield shattered, tiny shards of glass found their way throughout the venting system in the dash.  There was no way to completely clear those fragments from the labyrinth of ductwork, so the entire dashboard was going to have to be replaced.  The cost of doing so, combined with the body work, radiator and mounts, and transmission repairs added up to more than 75% of the retail value of the car.  And so, my car was hauled away to the scrap heap and we have to relearn how to be a one-car family for the time being.

Well, that’s about all that has been going on around these parts so I’ll wrap this up and leave you with a little advice.  If you happen to have any sort of relationship with Bank of America, do yourself a favor and sever those ties immediately.  If there ever was such a thing as an evil empire, they are it.  As large as that corporation is, it depresses me to know that there are so many people in this world (BoA minions) who can do the things they do and still sleep at night.

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Slow News Week

January 19, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Miscellany, Shannon

Last week saw so little in the way of noteworthy activity that I simply couldn’t get motivated to blog.  I don’t want to leave the post about the accident up forever, though, so I’ll give you a quick run down on all of the less-than-thrilling news.

First off, it doesn’t look like the insurance company will be totaling my car.  Late last week they authorized the collision shop to begin repairs, so that’s one less worry on our plate.  They haven’t a clue on when it might be done, however, so dealing with being a one-car family will continue.  Brendan and I spent some time Saturday morning collecting the various bits and pieces of my car that were still left in the pasture, as well as the remains of the fence.  I discovered that I wasn’t the first victim of that particular curve when I uncovered the grill of a Toyota in the same spot as my car’s wreckage.  Probably won’t be the last, either.

Shannon managed to eek out a bit of an exciting weekend.  She attended the high school basketball game on Friday with her friends and was able to meet (and get her picture taken with) a local celebrity.  Mary Jo Perino, sports anchor for our local NBC affiliate and recently named Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year, was covering the game and was gracious enough to spend some time with Shannon and her friends.  Later in the evening we watched the newscast and, sure enough, Shannon could be seen in the stands during some of the footage.  As if that wasn’t enough, her friend Annie (the German exchange student) hosted a farewell party on Sunday for a bunch of the kids.  Annie is headed back to Germany, bringing her stay in the US to a conclusion.  Hopefully Shannon will be able to keep in touch with her, as it would be a nice treat for the two to get together again when Shannon travels to Germany next year.

Shannon and her friends with Mary Jo Perino

Brendan also managed some excitement of his own on Friday, though it wasn’t the most positive of experiences for him.  It seems that during one of his classes another student began rummaging through Brendan’s backpack while Brendan was away from his desk.  Our little angel caught the kid red-handed and said something along the lines of “get out of my stuff you little shit”.  This earned Brendan an in-school suspension, which I think is extreme given the things we hear in the hallways on a daily basis, and all indications are that the other kid received no punishment whatsoever for violating Brendan’s privacy.  Gotta love a system that punishes the victim.

Anyway, that’s been our boring week here down on the farm.  Hope yours has been just as good or better!

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Brendan’s Hearing Test

January 4, 2010 · Filed under Brendan

While today was supposed to mark a return to ”normalcy” after the Holiday break, for us it started out a little bit on the out-of-the-ordinary side of things.  We had an appointment first thing this morning for Brendan to have a hearing test, the final follow-up step to the tympanoplasty (eardrum reconstruction) procedure he underwent back in September.  Previous follow-up exams confirmed that the surgery had been quite successful, and Brendan has exhibited improved hearing over the last couple of months, but today was the day we were to find out exactly how beneficial the procedure was.  I can’t tell you how excited and relieved we were when the audiologist reported back to us that Brendan’s hearing was completely normal.  Normally stoic, even Brendan was grinning from ear to ear at the news.  The doctor took a final look with the microscope and declared the perforation to be completely healed.  We couldn’t have hoped for better news to start off the new year!  Of course, Brendan will no longer be able to act as if he can’t hear us…lol.

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The Week in Review

December 7, 2009 · Filed under Brendan, Holidays, Miscellany, Shannon · Tagged , , , , ,

The first week of December passed fairly well in the Knoch household.  The Bluegrass saw the first snow of the season on Saturday morning, though in our particular region of the county we had barely a trace.  The snowfall this morning was more significant, however, accumulating just a bit and creating some slick spots on the roads.  Taken together with the frigid temps over the last week, there can no longer be a doubt that Winter has arrived.

 Along with the sub-freezing nightly temperatures, we were treated to a rather unfortunate experience in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  At just about 4:30 we lost power, a fate shared by everyone in our area.  It was restored by 7:00, but very old farmhouses don’t hold the heat well and by the time our heaters kicked on we were well on our way to becoming icicles.  That night was the coldest of the season so far, and when I think back to our first winter here in Kentucky I seem to recall losing power (and heat) on what was the first really cold night of that season.  Coincidence?  Maybe so, but when I called the power company at 4:32 Saturday morning they already knew of the outage and had even assigned an expected time of restoration.  Of all the other middle-of-the-night power outages we’ve had here, that was the first time the company was aware before I called it in.  I suspect that somebody in the plant threw the red switch when they should have thrown the blue one.

 The high school track team began their winter practices on Tuesday.  Shannon, who has never run outside of PE, found herself battered and bruised by the end of the week.  Despite her blisters and aching muscles, she seems to enjoy the workouts and weight lifting and isn’t the least bit deterred.  In fact, she pestered us to take her running on Sunday so she wouldn’t have such a hard time when practice resumed today.  The first actual meet isn’t until March, so she has plenty of time to get those legs into shape and find an event (or events) that best match her abilities.

 The weekend was a rather busy one for Shannon from a social aspect.  Annie, one of her friends who is a German exchange student, invited Shannon to go see New Moon on Friday night.  Cheryl refused to allow Shannon to give any details about the movie, so a review will have to wait for a future blog…lol.  Another one of Shannon’s friends, Tiffany (from Columbus, OH), held her Sweet 16 party at the Holiday Inn on Saturday night.  Apparently the party was a hit and Shannon had a great time dusting the rust off of The Sprinkler, The Robot, The Shopping Cart, and the host of other weird dances she loves to do.  Cheryl and I drew carpool duty, shuttling Stephanie and Annie to and from the dance.  It was the first time we’d met Annie, and we had a blast listening to her talk of everyday life in Germany.  From the way she tells it, they take the whole Christmas naughty and nice thing to an extreme over there.  I sure would hate to find myself being beaten with a stick by a disfigured elf!  Another interesting thing is that Annie, even though only 16 years old and a sophomore in her school in Germany, is classified as a senior in here in America because their educational system is so much more advanced than ours.  Sad.

 Brendan’s week was probably not one of the best he’s ever had.  He had the unfortunate pleasure of visiting the dentist on Thursday morning for a root canal.  He tolerated it much better than I thought he would, though at times we could hear him yelling as we sat in the waiting room.  Ultimately the dentist decided Brendan had had enough for one sitting, and scheduled the completion of the procedure for the 30th.  Afterwards he really wasn’t in much pain, which was also surprising.  I’d hoped this whole ordeal would finally convince him of the benefits that come with teeth brushing, but if he breezes through it…  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

 Christmas is of course edging ever closer, with the number of shopping days dwindling at an alarming rate.  Cheryl and I really didn’t accomplish much in that department over the past week, ordering just one item from an on-line merchant and picking up a couple more from a brick-and-mortar establishment.  As usual, the final week will see a frenzy of buying activity…lol.  Till next time, stay warm!

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Back-to-School Edition

August 10, 2009 · Filed under Brendan, Miscellany · Tagged

Guess what?  This blog hasn’t been abandoned.  I’m sure it appears to have been left by the side of the road, covered in dust and missing a tire, but I assure you that the engine purrs like a kitten when there’s gas in the tank.  Lately, though, there seems to be a bit of a gas shortage around these parts…lol.

A number of things have been going on around the farm since I last posted, some significant some not nearly so.  Most recently, occurring today in fact, the kids headed back to school.  From their kindergarten days the kids have been used to starting school “in the fall”, usually just before or just after Labor Day.  In Kentucky, no such luck!  As early as our county starts, some – like Anderson County – have been in session for two weeks already.  While you may think an early start means an early release come spring, not so!  Lawmakers down here have been trying for several years to adopt year-round public school, but have repeatedly been thwarted.  Every year, therefore, the start and end dates creep closer together with a few extra “no school” days tossed in during the school year.  Ultimately the number of days of instruction isn’t much different than in Michigan, they’re just spread out.  I certainly don’t mind, but I’m sure the kids don’t share my opinion.

With a return to school imminent, a good portion of this past weekend was spent collecting all of the necessary last-minute supplies and articles of clothing we’d missed or not known we needed.  Brendan did receive a bit of bad news, however, as the owner of “Buddy” finally revealed herself.  It seems she’d been on vacation when the dog went missing and only returned home late last week.  His real name is Puggles, and he lives a few miles away – which was why none of the neighbors knew him.  Needless to say, Brendan was pretty bummed out because he assumed that no one would claim the dog, and I have to say that we thought the same thing.  So we’re now back down to two dogs.

Well, that’s all the recent news for now.  I’m sure the kids will come home this afternoon with some great stories, though…lol.

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Down at the county fair

July 26, 2009 · Filed under Brendan, Family Fun, Shannon · Tagged ,

While this weekend has been full of thunderstorms and raccoon hunting (the little bastards are starting to have their way with our corn), we took a break from things last weekend and spent Saturday evening at the Franklin County Fair.  Our county, Scott, also has a county fair but we chose to go ahead and pass on it this year.  We drove by several times but from the looks of it the thing wasn’t all that.   Add poor advertising and promotion by the organizers, and there just wasn’t a lot of incentive to attend.  The rest of the county must’ve felt the same way, given the distinct lack of fair-goers.  The organizers of the Franklin County Fair, on the other hand, took the time to promote the heck out of their event.  Makes a huge difference!

Anyway, we had a great evening/night of riding the rides, watching a rather pathetic Battle of the Bands, and getting splattered by mud during the awesome demolition derby.  Yep, I guess we’re goin’ country…lol.  Brendan absolutely loved the rides and the derby, but Shannon had to have her arm twisted to get on anything.  Eventually we shamed her onto some of the “less scary” rides, and as you can see from the photo below she had quite a good time – though she’ll never admit it.  We’re planning on another trip to King’s Island before the summer is out, but I’m thinking we should leave her in the car and save on admission…lol.

Brendan and Shannon having a little fun

Brendan and Shannon having a little fun

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New Addition?

July 25, 2009 · Filed under Brendan · Tagged

Thursday afternoon, as fate would have it, a little dog wandered onto our property.  Phoenix, one of Brendan’s cats, immediately attacked the little guy but Cheryl was quick to shoo the cat away.  The dog had no collar – though it was obvious he’d recently worn one – and looked both clean and in good health.  I put up “Found Dog” flyers at the IGA and on a couple of telephone posts, as well as Craigslist, while Cheryl and Shannon went to all the neighbors around to see if the dog might be theirs.  Yesterday Cheryl took him to the Scott Count Animal Shelter where they checked for a microchip, but no such luck.  The vet there says he’s a beagle/bassett mix that’s about a year old.  She wormed him, took some pictures, and sent Cheryl on her way since no one had called looking for a dog like that.  This particular shelter is not a no-kill shelter, so we didn’t want to leave him.  The only no-kill shelter in the area is in Woodford County, but they won’t take lost or stray animals unless captured by Woodford County Animal Control, which eliminates that as an option.  So, I guess we wait – but so far not a single call.

Of course, Brendan has already adopted him.  He’s named the dog Buddy, and though we’ve been keeping him in a stall in the barn Brendan convinced us to bring the dog into the house last night.  I suppose you can see where this is heading.

"Buddy"

"Buddy"

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