Regarding Goats: Some People Wouldn’t, But I Did

July 19, 2018July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 117 Comments

This is a Goat Chow Dispenser, obviously.

ANTICIPATING LOUSY TRAFFIC THAT I didn’t encounter, I was early for an appointment on the other side of nowhere.

I remembered a fancy garden nursery in the area, so instead of sitting in my car staring at my phone for half an hour I went to the garden nursery to walk around.

To look at the pretty flowers.

COME TO FIND OUT, far back on the property past the perennials on the way to the trees there was a shed and enclosure with miniature goats in it.

Friendly goats. With a propensity to make their will known to any hapless person who wandered upon their enclosure.

Yes, once they saw me they were more than happy to show me the way to the goat chow dispenser– wherein a person can snag a handful of free goat chow, then allow them eat it off the palm of your hand.

With their little nibble-y goat lips❣

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Question of the Day

Would you feed the goats a handful of Goat Chow from your hand? would you put it on the ground in front of them?

OR would you walk by and not feed them at all?

#ThursdayDoors | Visiting A Popular Store In Ohio’s Amish Country

July 12, 2018July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 75 Comments

Today I’m joining Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton, so that I can share with you the following door photos + a few more photos taken at Lehman’s in Kidron, OH.

Lehman’s, originally a small hardware store in Ohio’s Amish country, is now a 35,000 square foot retail store [plus online company]. According to the store’s website, “the full shopping experience is nearly a quarter mile long!”

I believe it. We had lunch, then wandered around the store for over an hour, purchasing gardening tools– and sustenance for the road in the form of fudge.

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DOORS to the east entrance into the store.

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South end of a north bound water wagon, sans horses to pull it.

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DOOR [faux] painted on side of building.

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A large well-kept farm as seen while driving to Kidron, OH, in northeast Ohio.

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Painting of cow, that has nothing to do with doors, as seen on side of building. *moo*

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Grinding stone that at one time would have had a practical purpose, now part of a pretty flower garden.

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DOORS [faux] painted on side of building.

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My Inaugural Three Thoughts Thursday | Listening. Doing. Watching.

June 14, 2018March 5, 2021 / Ally Bean / 95 Comments

I’ve decided that once in a while I need to have a bona fide feature on this blog wherein I allow myself to just tell you, my gentle readers, a few thoughts.

To share with you what I’m focusing on without fiddle-farting my morning away writing a whole long involved story about it.

So with this groovy introduction, I give you the following.

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ONE

I think that the By The Book podcast is delightful.

It’s hosted by comedian Jolenta Greenberg and her skeptical friend Kristen Meinzer. These women pick a self-help book, read it, then live by it for two weeks. Their subsequent conversations about how living by the book went for them, and sometimes how it went for their husbands, are funny, insightful + mature. I’m enjoying this podcast, listening to one episode every few weeks.

TWO

I think that the Happyfeed app for your smart phone is useful.

I admit that initially I thought this app seemed flaky, geared more toward teenage girls than grown-ups, but I’m enjoying doing what it wants me to do each day. That is, I’m creating a small gratitude journal by writing three good things that have happened to me on each day. The app then shows me my days, in a list, with my good things on the list. It’s easy. It’s up-lifting. What’s not to love?

THREE

I think that Santa Clarita Diet is hilarious.

I binge-watched this Netflix TV show a week ago and haven’t stopped smiling about it yet. WARNING: it is bloody & gory. However, once you get past the fact that Drew Barrymore’s character, Sheila, a suburban realtor, turns into a hangry accidental zombie who devours people, the humor in this show is over the top yet *somehow* spot on to reality.

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Question of the Day

What have you been thinking about lately? It’s Thursday, no better day than today to share your thoughts on any topic! Add them to the comments below– and we’ll talk.

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#ThursdayDoors | Visiting A Carillon, Learning About Said

June 7, 2018July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 99 Comments

Today I’m joining Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton, so that I can share with you the following door + gate photos– and a bit of information about carillons.

I took these photos at Dogwood Park in Mariemont, OH. It is a village east of Cincinnati, OH, and is one of the nation’s first planned suburban communities. The park is charming and within it is the Mariemont Bell Tower, a carillon with 49 bells.

Carillons are musical instruments that contain at least 23 cup-shaped tuned bells. Often, as is in the case of this particular carillon, the bells are hung in a belfry and are connected to a keyboard. When a musician hits the keyboard, using his or her fists, each bell rings, creating a pleasing loud sound.

There are only 166 traditional carillons in the United States, and many of them are on university campuses or in city parks, like this one.

Here’s what I saw in Dogwood Park on a sunny summer afternoon. The whole place looked like it belonged on a Hollywood movie set– that’s how perfectly maintained it was.

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