Papa to retire from whiffle ball

On Sunday 9-20-09, after a summer on injured reserve Papa Sullivan returned to the mound to quiet his critics. They claim he was hiding from his nemesis Connor ( Casey at Bat) Colburn. After a warm welcome from his fans he took the mound to face the mighty Connor. The challenge facing the aging pitcher was to get the WONDER BAT out on three straight pitches.

Well after much trash talk and a few side bets Papa threw his first pitch , a fast ball strike, the crowd roared "fraud,fraud". Next pitch was a knuckle ball, because WONDER BAT hates junk and can't hit it, strike two. Now the crowd was silent , but Wonder Bat was his usual confident self, still trash talking. Papa knows WONDER BAT likes to pull everything to left field so his next pitch was inside on "THE BATS" hands. Oh my gosh he made contact, but right into the hands of the catcher Kory Colburn who tagged him out. An argument started about that not being a real out on three pitches but after review the play stands as called!!!!!! The wonder bat now humbled by the old veteran pitcher has to make good on his bet to bow whenever he is in the presence of

"Papa ruler of Appleton Wood Farm" for the next week. After the game Papa announced his retirement and stated there will be no rematch EVER!!!!!!!!!

Ascoli Piceno Italy

Ryan has arrived in Ascoli Piceno, Italy to study for three months. Besides studing he will be teaching an English class to grama school kids. Melissa and Ryan are going to try to team up and have her students work with his through the internet. I hope to get him to post updates here also.

Well summer is almost over. We had so much rain late spring that our gardens didn't dry until the end of July and everything we planted just washed away. We did have some success with potatoes about 50lbs. and they taste great. Our grape vines are two years old now and should start to produce in another two years. The chicks are 3 months old and should start laying eggs
in 4 to 8 weeks. Fiddles the smallest of our two donkeys follows them everywhere, if they get to far out of sight she brays until they come back into view. We think there are two roosters and 10
hens . Billy the Belgian is about 17.5 hands high (6ft) and almost 1800lbs. He thinks he is a golden retriever, loves to visit with people and help with the chores around the barn( you know how hard it is with a 5yr.old helping you ,try it with a 1800lb 5yr.old) Billy has been saddle broke and is very gentle to ride. We have just started working him with a harness and hope to have him pulling a cart soon.
Ryan will turn 21 on Sept.3rd and is off to Ascoli Piceno, Italy to study for a semester on Sept.6th. He will start a blog if you are interested, so please send your e-mails to him or follow on face book.

Best wishes from all of us at the farm

Chickens are here

12 Chicks arrived on friday the 22nd. All are well, were keeping them very warm until the weather heats up. They should start producing in about 8 to 10 weeks. I expect to be suppling
McDonalds soon after.

Col.Lyle M.Shelly

Grampy passed away this morning around 7:40 am. He was and always will be a great inspiration to all of us. Always the first to answer a call for help, he was never judgmental and responded with a smile and laugh. He will be missed and forever cherished. Surely he is already enroute to his next duty station to do what he does best, lead, after he locates the Mess Hall of course!
REST IN PEACE

Uncle Geoff's Texas trip

Blog followers, Uncle Geoff is off visiting again!!!!!! Please click on his icon under blog followers for an update . His is the good looking red head in front of the Queen's flag. Also the Appleton Wood Farm chicks will be here in May, Eggs to follow !!!!!!!

Grampy's 88th birthday

On February 27, 2009, retired LTC Lyle M. Shelly turned 88 years old.  Gramp is an inspiration to us all.  

Maple Sugar Season

Well the weather broke this week and sap started flowing. We have boiled off over 40 gals. of sap so far and have a little less than a gal. of finished product. We should start shipping in a couple of weeks.

Geoff's trip to England

Geoff is back from England and has sent an update of his trip. Click on his picture in the upper right corner and it will take you to his blog. Thanks Geoff.

Welcome Home, Geoff!

All of us here at Appleton Wood Farm would like to send their sincerest thanks to Geoff Tate for his service to our country.  We are so happy that you are home safe and sound.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT !!!!!!!!!

All of us here at "THE FARM" are very excited to announce that Uncle Geoffrey has agreed to become our very own foreign correspondent !!!!! His first assignment will be a trip to " THE
MOTHER LAND" to visit his family , maybe even drop in on the Queen. So please stop by the blog during Feb. for updates. Please don't get alarmed if he publishes in the Queens English, he
still calls me "LOVE" after 40 years !!!!

More pictures of the Appleton residents

Billy, Solo and the rest of the Appleton gang

Hope everyone is enjoying the new blog.  Let us know if you have any suggestions (like more baby pictures and less animal ones!) - written by Melissa

Laura training Silly and Fiddles

Our big project for the summer was to train the donkeys how to drive. Laura Londrigan did a

great job working with both donkeys. We learned as we went and as you can see with great success. Laura spent most of the summer working with Silly Girl then in late August it only

took two lesson for her to get Fiddles up and running. It is a blast going for a ride. We are going to put them together as a team and pull a buckboard this spring. Her Granddad Paul even went for a ride. Thanks Laura, Billy is next !!!!!!!!!

More Pictures of the Colburn boys

Connor is a great big brother.  He always wants to hold and help feed Spencer.  He was even nice enough to put up with his mother's matching PJ's picture!

The Many Faces of Appleton Wood Farm

Can you believe how a few months can change the view?

Spencer Patrick Colburn

Hi everyone!  Spencer Patrick Colburn joined the world on November 28, 2008 at 2:30am.  It was an interesting Thanksgiving day, as Melissa was in labor most of the day.  She was able to enjoy our dinner and headed to the hospital at 7pm.  Spencer was 9lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. 

Storm Update

In Dec. we were hit with a very severe ice storm. Lost power for 11 days, phone and cable for 15 days. We were able to get by fairly well with our generator, which picks up some lights, the heat,
the pump for our well and a few outlets. Unfortunately our maple trees took a beating. We had
plans to increase our taps from almost 150 to well over 200, but we will not tap some of the trees
that were damaged and let them recover. Today I got out back and started clearing some of the downed limbs and located more replacement trees, hopefully we'll have a good run.  Our goal is to build to 500 taps over the next few years. Damage could of been worse, but Terry and I cleared a bunch of trees in early fall to open another pasture for the horses this spring. Plenty of firewood if anyone needs an alternative energy source.

Visit Us

Hi, we are going to start our own blog for news at the farm. Hope to post some interesting updates as we continue
our adventure as Hobby Farmers