Happy Fall, Y'all

                    Happy Fall, Y'all

This is the pumpkin my brother Andrew and I designed.

Well, after a long and hot summer fall has finally come. I always look forward to autumn because it's not too hot and it's not too cold. I like autumn because it's perfect weather for being outside, reading books near a fire, and being thankful for what God has given us. One of my family's fall traditions is to carve pumpkins. Dad has always been our chief pumpkin carver. After we draw up the plans for the way we want our pumpkins to look, dad will carve them. No matter what  the design is, they always look just like our designs-if not better. When we finish carving our pumpkins, we butter and salt the pumpkin seeds and toast them in the oven. Another  fall tradition of ours is to go to the Dallas Arboretum and look at their magnificent pumpkin displays. My favorite types of pumpkins are the really small  Jack be little and the big Atlantic Giant pumpkins. If you live near Dallas you should definitely go to the Arboretum and see them.

My all time favorite autumn food would probably be Pumpkin bread. I enjoy pumpkin bread because it is a very healthy bread. The bread has canned pumpkin, raisins, and walnuts in its loaves  Instead of  using a regular loaf pan, I bake the bread in a mini loaf pan, that way I can bake more loaves to give to neighbors and family members. If you would like to learn how to make pumpkin bread click here to go to my recipe page.

Pumpkin bread 

Me with the seeds

Mom and Andrew buttering the pumpkin seeds

Andrew salting the pumpkin seeds.

Hogs

Picture of the hog that Dad shot.

 Today when our dogs started barking, we realized  that they were barking at three feral hogs. Dad ran and got his gun and shot the biggest one twice. Then, he tracked it down and found out that it was a male.
The reason Dad shot it was because that they will tear up our lawn (like last year) and they will eat our chickens. Plus they are very dangerous if you happen to run into them. If you would like to learn more about feral hogs read the following.

A different picture of the hogs on an earlier date. 

Diet: Feral hogs eat nuts, roots, grass, fruits, mushrooms, vegetables  bugs, small birds, rabbits, eggs, and even dead animals.


Size: they can be up to 5 feet long, and weigh 300 pounds.

Hunting Season: There is no hunting season because they are not native to Texas. 

Popularity: Many people don't like feral hogs because they compete with native animals for food. Also, they root up native plants and grasses. 

Lego Lighthouse

Last year at Christmas one of the gifts I  received was this Lego Lighthouse creator set. During the time I've owned it I have had a wonderful time building and rebuilding this fabulous Lego set. As seen on the box, you can build this set into a lighthouse, restaurant, and a boat house. I've only built the lighthouse and have not built the others. The lighthouse has a big door on the side of it so you can open it and look inside. It also, has a handle in the back of it for you to turn the light up top. When you finish  building the light house, you can build an included boat and to sea gulls. My favorite thing about this set is that it comes with a real light.

                                 Five lighthouse facts

1. The world's first known lighthouse was built by the Egyptians around 283 BC.
2. The oldest light house in  America is in Sandy Hook, New Jersey and is still in use.
3. The most expensive lighthouse built in America cost $ 715,000.00.
4. Once there were 850 lighthouses in America at the same time.
5. The first fog horn was a cannon which was at the Boston lighthouse.

For more facts go here:http://www.seathelights.com/other/facts.html

Our newest pets

Callie

 The newest addition to our farm is four new kittens. We recived these kittens from some good friends of ours. Their names are Smokey, Spot, Indiana Jones, and Callie.

Smokey has a kind, shy personality and loves to play. Smokey's favorite game to play is tag, where he chases Indy and bats him with his paw, then runs up a tree. 

 Indiana Jones is an easy to please, loving, friendly, active, all around cat. He loves to explore, climb trees and play. Indy likes to play fight, where he wrestles and bites the other kittens playfully . 

Indiana Jones 

Spot's personalty is shy and secretive. Spot loves to hide, climb, and explore. He loves to play spy, where he sneaks up on people and kittens. Also he likes to pounce on bugs that he never catches.

Callie is one of the friendlier kittens who will follow you around everywhere. Her pastimes include playing, batting kittens tails, jumping, exploring and chasing things. Her favorite game to play is when you drag a string and she pounces on it.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing about our kittens. 

Callie with Smokey in the background. 

Smokey 

 

Vintage cars

 Ford Sedan Slant Back 

I really like vintage  cars, so I was excited when a local Volunteer Fire Department  put on a car show. My favorite cars were this Cadillac and the Ford Sedan Slant Back. 

10 interesting vintage car facts:

1. Karl Benz, the first inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile, made one of the first cars in 1893.
2. Henry Ford, the inventor of the Model T in1908 , once said about the colors of cars he produced “any color you want, so long as it’s black.”
3. The first Chevrolet Corvette came out in 1953.
4. Original V.W. beetles had no gas gauges but if you ran out you could pull a lever under the dash to access a "reserve" supply of 1/2 gallon. 
5. More than 15 million Model Ts were produced.
6. Henry Ford sold his first Model T for $950.00. 
7. The first V.W. beetle was made in 1945.
8. During the Model T nineteen years of production the price came down to $280.00.
9. A new V.W. beetle in 1968 cost $1,800.00.
10. The first car radio was invented in 1929.

A Cadillac 

Iroquois Indians

Today I've learning about the Iroquois Indians. So far I've learned the following information about them:

1.   Iroquois man dancing.

                          - Name

The first thing I'm going to share is the Iroquois name. Iroquois is pronounced, “eer-uh-kwoy”.

They call themselves "Haudenosaunee" which means: "people of the longhouse." Their enemies nicknamed them Iroquois, which means "snake". They were nicknamed snake because they were known for their warring and fighting skills. 

2. An Iroquois Indian home.

               

             

                   - Housing 

The Iroquois lived in the woodlands of the  Northeastern United States. The Iroquois built houses called "longhouses". Theses house were made from tree bark. They could take parts off the roof to let the smoke out. Longhouses were one hundred feet long and could house sixty people.  They would later fence in their towns and clear land around the village to see approaching Indians and farms.  

3. A example of Iroquois clothing. 

                            - Clothing 

 Most of the Iroquois clothes were made from deerskin that they obtained from hunting. Although, some clothing were made from corn husks or plant fibers. Iroquois men wore leather shirts and leggings and a few wore tattoos. The women wore leather dresses with legging underneath. Sometimes the women wore special beaded tiaras. Iroquois women never cut their hair unless they were mourning. The children dressed like their parents. They all wore leather shoes called moccasins. A Iroquois baby's diaper was made from the fat end of a cattail. The men also wore feathers on their head these were called "gus toweh". The gus toweh showed other Native Americans what kind of tribe they belong to. 

                   - Food

4. Food of the Iroquois.

The Iroquois women were farmers.They planted crops that they called the three sisters, which are beans, corn, and squash. Besides these they ate melons, berries, mushrooms, roots (like potatoes), and nuts. While the women tended to grow fruits and vegetables, the men hunted and fished. The meat they valued the most was venison. They used almost every part of the deer. They used bones for tools and weapons, and sinew(which is made from the animal’s tendons)was used for thread.

     

5.  Iroquois weapon.

          -Weapons

The Iroquois tribe used bows and arrows,spears, tomahawks, clubs and shields for hunting and fighting. To fish they used bows, arrows and spears. The weapons mentioned  above would be made from stone, wood, animals, and bones. Before the Iroquois tribe declared war, the members of The Iroquois Great Council would unanimously all choose for or against war or trading.

         - Handmade items 

6.  Water drum.

The most common crafts of the Iroquois are bead-work, and porcupine quill-work. Other skilled workers would steam wood and bend into wood tools. Some lacrosse sticks are still made this way today. They were also known for their masks; their masks were so sacred that they didn't let outsiders see them. Iroquois also made flutes and drums. The drums were  filled with water so they would make a different sound. At night men would play the flute at a women's door to let her know that he was thinking about her.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments, questions, & suggestions on this post.

----------------------------Helpful websites I used below----------------------------------
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/if_you_lived_with_the_iroquois.php
Lap-book above.
http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm

http://www.dynamic2moms.com/iroquoisconfederacy.htm

//www.prontolessons.com/iroquois_native_americans1.html




           ---------------------------Photo Credits------------------------------------

picture 1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/95753/Traditionally-dressed-Iroquois-man-chanting-and-dancing-outside-a-reconstructed

Picture 2. and 4 http://www.dynamic2moms.com/iroquoisconfederacy.htm

picture 3 and 6.http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm

picture 5 .http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7GGLR_enUS261&biw=1024&bih=611&tbm=isch&tbnid=FQ2BOUe6alW42M:&imgrefurl=http://canada-natives.blogspot.com/p/iroquois.html&imgurl=http://www.westirondequoit.org/technology/k-6/Iroquois_Nation/images/bowarrowquiver.gif&w=763&h=480&ei=3X9CUMKKJYOd2QWF_IDQDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=203&vpy=313&dur=199&hovh=178&hovw=283&tx=115&ty=196&sig=103665139066187244955&page=1&tbnh=99&tbnw=157&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:109

Walt Disney

This post I'd like to start with a quote by Walt Disney; "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing". My awesome Dad found this really neat book about Walt Disney at a book store in Dallas. The book is in one of my favorite series called Childhood of Famous Americans. This book told a little more than just about his childhood which I enjoyed reading. I learned the following about his life from this book: 

In the year 1906, when Walt Disney was four years old, his parents, three brothers and one sister all moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri because his father thought city life was unhealthy for his sons. Walt's brothers were named Roy who was thirteen at the time, Herbert who was seventeen, and Raymond who was fifteen. Walt Disney's sister Ruth was two. Walt's brothers Herbert and Raymond were not too fond of leaving Chicago but were excited about moving to Missouri. On the train ride to Marceline, Walt befriended the conductor and was shown around the train which he greatly enjoyed.


When they moved to the farm, Walt's Dad, along with Herbert and  Raymond plowed, planted and tended the crops. Roy's job was looking after two horses and a few cows. He also milked the cows in the morning and at night. Walt Disney's Mom tended her small garden, cared for the chickens and sold eggs in town. Walt's chore was tending the pigs which was a hard task because there was not a pigpen built yet. Walt really enjoyed his chore; once he even dressed up one of the pigs! He also rode the hogs and named them too. One day Roy taught Walt how to milk the cows. Walt enjoyed this job and liked feeding the barn cats milk. Walt Disney's father had brought some tar near the house to fix a leak in the roof. When Walt saw this he thought it was paint and began to paint a picture of one of the pigs on the house. Soon his Dad found out and Walt was punished. Paper was scarce on the farm so when his Aunt Maggie gave him a drawing book he was really happy. One day a doctor asked Walt if he could draw a picture of his horse. Walt agreed when the picture was finished the doctor payed him a nickle. Walt Disney was very pleased for this was his first picture he had ever sold. Herbert and Raymond left the farm and went back to Chicago. The remaining Disney family had to sale their farm because there were few buyers for their crops. 


Then they moved to Kansas City where their father ran a newspaper company. Roy and Walt were both paperboys for their father's business. Between delivering papers and school,Walt did extra jobs to earn money such as deliveryman at a drug store and a part time job at a candy store. Walt Disney  took a class on how to draw comics through the mail. One day when Walt was looking for something to draw he drew a picture of the barber. His picture was so good that  he obtained a job drawing comics for the barber to put up in his shop each week. It was then when he decided to become a cartoonist. Sometimes while he was on his paper route, he would find stray dogs. Then he would take them home to play with after school. They never would be there when he returned though. One day on his paper route, he found a  baby mouse on a sidewalk. He put it in his pocket to keep it safe while he continued his chores. Later, while he was at school the baby mouse had woken up and began to explore his pocket. Soon it escaped and sat on Walt's desk. This caught the other students attention and the teacher made Walt let the mouse free outside. Another time Walt and his Mom and sister went to a magic show, Walt was picked as a volunteer for a card trick. After the trick was over, Walt knew that he wanted to learn how to do magic tricks too. When he went home, he found a magazine with magic tricks for sale. He purchased a plate lifter and an few card tricks. He learned how to do all of the tricks and taught his mother how to use the plate lifter because she wanted to try it out on Walt's Dad. When Walt's Mom tried this, Walt's Dad couldn't tell that his plate was moving. Walt Disney also liked to see vaudeville shows, moving pictures and really liked Charlie Chapman. He liked putting on his own little acts with his friend Walter Pfeiffer. 


The Disney family moved again this time back to Chicago. Walt Disney's Dad purchased a jelly factory with his and Walt's money. When not in school, Walt's jobs at the Jelly factory were preparing the fruit into jelly, running machinery,and helping with the packing. Once he even was a night watchman for the factory. Beside the job at the jelly factory he was a gate-man and worked at post office. Two of his brothers were serving over in Europe and Walt wasn't old enough to serve. So one of his friends found him a job with the Red Cross. Together they left to take the job. They spent some time in Chicago and Connecticut training. Later Walt and fifty others left for France. Walt Disney's tasks included driving ambulances, making posters, driving supply trucks, and served in the canteen. When Walt returned from France his father offered him a job at the jelly factory. Walt refused the job and told his Dad that he was going to be a cartoonist. This made his father upset but finally he agreed to let him go.



When Walt Disney moved back to Kansas City, he found a job at Gray Advertising Company that payed fifty dollars a month. The first person he told was his aunt Maggie who was very excited for him when he  told her the news. Walt's job at Gray Advertising Company ended after six weeks. After being layed off from his job, he and his friend Ub Iwerks decided to start their own business called  Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artist.  Walt found a job at the Kansas Film Ad Company so he and Ub got a job there. They really enjoyed making animated cartoons.  Walt made his own animated cartoon advertisements called Laugh-O- Grams and sold them to the theaters. Then he decided to animate seven fairy tales which were each seven minutes long. The next thing Walt Disney came up with was his own small company called Laugh-O- Gram Corporation. Sadly, Walt's  company went bankrupt and Walt was out of a job again. This time he found a job taking pictures of people's kids. With the money Walt had earned, he went to see his brother Roy. There they decided to go in the cartoon business again. Walt along with other artists would draw the cartoons and Roy would manage the money.


Walt Disney married a lady named Lilly. Together they went to New York City to ask the distributor of  one of his films for more money. Instead of getting more money, to film the distributor said he could make the cartoon without Disney's help. Sadly, he and Lily left to go back to California. While on the train he came up with the idea of Mortimer mouse. His wife didn't like the name so he changed it to Mickey Mouse. After allot of time, he and Roy made Mickey Mouse a success. Mickey became famous world-wide by
the Queen Mary of  England, President Theodore Roosevelt, and even the Italian dictator Mussolini. Then Walt started animating Snow White and the Seven Drawfs; this became a huge success. After WW2 was over, Walt used the English countryside for a setting for Robin Hood, Treasure Island and Rob Roy.


No one really knows where Walt Disney came up with Disneyland but it first started when Walt ran a mini train through his yard. Then he convinced Roy to come up with the funds to create a theme park that would be fun for Dads too. One thing led to another and soon lead scientists started helping  build and design Disneyland. Walt lived to get to see it finished in 1955. Walt Disney died in the year of 1966 of lung cancer. His legacy still lives on in Disneyland and Disneyworld. I woul like to close with a qruote by Walt Disney " Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved". Thanks for reading. 
If you have any questions or suggestions please fill free leave a comment.  

Read more quotes by Walt Disney at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/walt_disney_3.html#yUVEK7PLvDd6ybrW.99