A Free Day!

I took a page from Diane's book of Crafty Passions(http://dianobe.blogspot.com/) and took a day to relax.

Pop and I went out for breakfast at the little country restaurant in our small town. He ordered up fried Bologna with biscuits and gravy. One of his favorites. I had my usual, when I eat breakfast there, a veggie omelet. Yum! It is so good. They dice up lots of great tasting things to go inside. I'm not sure what all they do put in, but I know there are mushrooms,onions,green peppers,and maybe a few tomatoes, and I top it with a scoop of salsa.I think they throw in a little cheese, too. I'll bet they scramble up 3 large eggs. It is huge, and it is truly scrumptious.

Then we were off to Sears to spend a couple of long lost gift cards.We get them for Christmas, and put them up, and never remember where we put them.We finally found 2 or 3 of them and decided to use them today. I think Pop got tools. I slipped off to the other end of the mall to get a couple of pairs of new shoes.I just needed some nice, "in case I need to rush out during the week", shoes. Most of my everyday shoes look well used. I caught a sale, 'buy one get one at half price'.

Then we were off to look at Ford trucks. Pop has spoke of trading trucks for awhile, before his 2004 gets too many miles on it. He says one more new truck should last him out. I really don't think he needs another truck, since we have 4 now, but he thinks he does.I guess it could be worse. He could run out and get a new Mustang, and get us both killed in a bad wreck.He loves fast cars.

Our next stop was at the Tractor Supply Store. I don't know why they call it that. They have lots of different things, but not the one thing I wanted from there. Diatomaceous Earth. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-diatomaceous-earth.html)That is the website where I did some reading about it, to mention one.It sounds like something I'd like to try. I read Lottie's blog from New Zealand, (http://www.towards-sustainability.com/)and she was using it for various purposes, and peaked my interest once more.TSC didn't have it, but they suggested I try Lowe's, but we didn't make it that far.We only bought a really big tomato plant that was already blooming(hoping for some earlier tomatoes) and an inner tube and a tire for the boat trailer. Maybe we'll hit Lowe's another day.

Then back home to finish up the day. Pop watched a few cowboy shows with our neighbor/coffee drinking friend, while I watched my one SOAP. Then I worked on my great nephew's quilt awhile, while Pop rebuilt an old wheelbarrow which was falling apart. Now we have a refurbished "like new" wheel barrow saving us $50.I use wheelbarrows alot in my "yardening".

Don't know if the Martins stopped by today, since I was not out in the yard that much. Maybe another day.Hope your day was as relaxing as mine.Later.

Is It Possible To Amaze One's Self?

Yes, Vicki, I amaze myself sometimes. I started writing a blog story here lately, but felt I might be dragging others down, so I deleted it. It was about the fact that I have days when my energy level is nil and I feel I simply must lie down. I think about those days again when I am feeling great, and wonder if it might be medical or just days when I don't get enough sunlight.You know they say that is a factor, as is the weather and season.All play a big part in your energy level.Pollen has been really bad. I haven't been bothered with it as much as some folks around here.Mary and Richard have it bad. They live among all those pines, you know.The ice storm took most of them down in her yard, but the woods behind her cause her a lot of grief this time of the year.
We've had a beautiful Spring so far. The yard work has had to take priority over all else, and with the rain we've had lately, it will be getting ahead of me, if we don't get a break soon, so I can mow.I don't want to complain about the rain though, even though it has been really heavy at times during the last few days. There was quite a bit of wind damage about 5-10 miles up the road from us, during this storm.Steve, next door, lost his barn roof a few weeks ago with another bad wind we had here.Tornadoes are such a threat in our area. They don't care what season it is either. It seems they come anytime,anymore.
Mary's 2 goats did have their babies.Between the 2, they had 3 babies.I took a few pictures, but they are not very clear. The mothers want to keep them close and away from people, it seems.
The baby chicks are growing fast. Already making feathers. It amazes John and Leah to see them change from one visit to the next.Terry's family has been in for about 3 days, and his 2 step-sons came home with John and Leah from the dinner at Mom's. They love the country life and all that goes on around here. I try to give them some kind of crafts to do while they're here.They really enjoy that.Dakota especially. Michia(not sure of the spelling)is very quiet. He enjoys talking to both Pop and I, but he prefers to stay close and talk to Pop.
I put a lot of flowers in pots this time. With the hot dry summers here, I felt I might be able to keep a little color close to the house where I can see it. The iris are in bloom now.Tulips are all gone.Hostas are doing great, as are lots of my plants with this rain.The beds are overflowing with growth.If only we could bottle a little of it for later.
With the rain, I have had a chance to do some 'indoor things' which I had been 'putting on hold'for awhile. I work on Richard's quilt for awhile, until my fingers start to go numb, then I jump off to my 'cup cupboard'.
I have yet to finish it, and as you can see, my cups are waiting patiently to move into their new home. Pop got me this new compressor and nail gun at the auction to use in my small building projects.It shoots brads and staples. Boy, was it handy in putting the shelves in my cup cupboard.
I did some rearranging in the basement and worked down there most of the day.I don't mind being down there at all, now that it looks more inviting.John told me the other day, "Now Meemaw, if we just had some food down here." I opened the cabinets to show him, we did have food down there. I had just gone to the grocery the day before,and that is as far as they got.Oh yes, he wants to call the living room, where the stove is,our den. He has a den at his house.I got this set at the auction, also. I didn't really need them, but they were a steal. All three pieces for $46. I could no where near make them for that.I will put a coat of clear shellac on them eventually, but for now, I am using them for coffee drinkers when they visit the basement to see what I've done to it lately.(They are hinged, and the chair part folds back to expose a storage compartment in the lower part of the seat.)
I have some beautiful oak panels left from our cabinets upstairs, and I will be putting them on the new cabinets to make them really look professional.I am constantly tweeking things downstairs, so stay tuned. You never know what I will be doing next. I think I have amazed Pop, although he would never let on.Dragging a compliment out of him is like 'pulling hen's teeth', but when visitors drop by, he always has them to check out my basement.He must be a little bit proud,anyway.I expanded my goat pen just a little this morning. They have eaten the grass and weeds pretty low in the pen I've had them in all winter. They were as happy to get to the fresh new grass and weeds as I was for them to get to them.They are doing their job well.I started this post last night, but waited until today to get a few pictures. I mowed the grass as soon as the grass dried off a bit today and got it all finished. Pop came in about the time I was finishing up and mowed the steepest banks for me.While we were in the yard, about 15 Martins started swirling over our heads. It was delightful yet a bit scary, too.You know, "The Birds". They did that a few times. That many must be a sign of some kind, that they are going to move in. Oh I do hope so. I am so anxious for them to stay. Will keep you posted about all of the above , as usual. Time to go spend time with the coffee drinkers in Pop's garage. Catch you in another post. Love you,Vicki! And Happy Blogging to Everyone Out there in BlogLand.

Oh No, Not My Blankie!

This is my older sister,Mary of "Nail in My Pocket"and her youngest grandson.Several years ago, Mary had a close friend with whom she spent a lot of time with, and her friend had left several precious family possessions there at Mary's home. Just recently, Mary contacted one of the friend's family to come and get those items, since she was needing the space.The friend's sister came, and one of the first things she wanted was her grandmother's quilt. In the last 10 years Mary had the quilt draped over the sofa in her living room, and her grandson had grown accustomed to the quilt being there for his daily nap.When the sister gathered up the family's possessions and left with the quilt, Richard was devastated. Grandma Mary had no choice but to explain to him how the quilt happened to be in her home, and it was only fair to let them have it back to remember their grandmother.She tried to comfort him by telling him that his Great grandmother could make him another one. Well, that being my Mom, too, we knew that her eyesight was failing fast, and knew she would not be able to make another quilt, but then all on his own, Richard suggested that Aunt Sue make him a quilt. Of course, I was delighted that he thought of me.So I will be making Richard a quilt in the next few days. Thankfully, I have a top already made, so it should not take too long to finish it. I only hope he will learn to cherish it as he did the other quilt.

I'm as Busy as a Bee!

(I hope you can see the bee on the flowers.)The weather has been great for the last few days. I have concentrated on the yard work and things that need attention outdoors. The temperatures have been excellent for that. I little cool at times, but it usually warms up a little through the day. Not too hot either. I went to the neighboring green house and got myself a flat of annuals and 32 more tomatoes.I had already gotten 8 tomatoes from her and gave Mom 2 of them.We should be good on tomatoes, but then that depends on a lot of circumstances. Varmints, dogs, cutworms,you know the usual plight for tomatoes.I placed them closer to the water source this year.In this case, it's a rain barrel, placed at the garage drip line. My plan is to make manure tea and use a soaker hose at times.If bad comes to worse,I plan to concentrate on one row,in hopes of getting enough tomatoes to can plenty for Pop's nightly cornbread and tomatoes ritual.I can a few other things, but as of the last several years, we buy a bushel of green beans, and maybe 2 or 3 gallon of strawberries from the Amish.I love to grow some things, but for the most part, I enjoy growing something new each year for the novelty of it, more or less. This year, I will be trying spaghetti squash.
I spent the day doing a lot of little odd jobs around the property. I started a temporary fence for the goats. I am letting some of the back yard grow up a little for them to graze. We have too much property to fence it in completely, since we are not making a living farming. We keep the extra four acres mainly to keep folks from building more houses right in our front door.It would be my dream to do something with the property, but Pop chooses not to. We just keep it mowed and let the kids play on it with their four wheelers.I did mention to him that I would like to plant fruit trees on it. He kinda thought that would be OK, but I'll bet he was thinking to himself that I would never get to it anyway.We'll see what happens with that.
I spent a big part of the day potting up the flowers I got from Martha's Greenhouse.That reminds me, I need to paint her another sign. I painted one for her yard a couple of years ago, and I saw it had deteriorated away.
The grandson was with me the day I got the flowers and tomatoes, so I let him choose the flowers. I think he goes by color. I usually choose things I know will withstand the heat and dry weather.We'll see what happens. I got begonias, petunias, scarlet sage, portulaca,vinca,impatiens. I don't think I missed any. I tried planting them in boxes and hanging baskets this time. I potted several kinds in each pot and added a few marigold seeds to each pot "just in case".
I put up another Martin birdhouse. Six holes.They are still dropping by, checking things out, but none have offered to move in and stay.It is beyond me why they won't stay. I keep hoping.So goes another day. Till my next post. Stay tuned.

All in a Day's Work!

Today was rather busy around our house. The son-in-law,Marc, came by to add a few more switches and plugs in our basement.I am so glad to have that done, but I know he would rather be spending his free moments with his new hobby. He has taken up bee-keeping.I have a few shots of him in his new role.(He is a brave man.)
I do appreciate him putting me first on his list of 'things to do' today. I hate running more lights than necessary. The electric bill is forever on my mind. It is a hard job to keep it down as low as possible, with all the goings on around here. It is a real challenge,but now, hopefully, with the ability to use fewer lights now when I am down there working, it should improve.Before I started fixing the basement up to look more like the rest of the house, you could flip one switch and light up 1/2 the basement at once, but now I have the capability of turning on one room at a time.I like that better.
While Marc was doing the wiring, I reworked an old rabbit cage that we have had around here for the better part of 30 years. Parts of it had deteriorated so bad I had to replace several boards and sections of the wire mesh.It has been used for baby chicks, setting hens,and rabbits.All of that was before we got the grand kids. Now We are getting some of these same things, just so the grand kids can have the experience of caring for them.I think I did an excellent job, if I do say so myself. I boxed in the bottom around the legs to catch the droppings. They are great on my flowers, and in my compost heap.
I added another 2 sections of wire fencing to my chicken pen this morning. They love the white clover so. I feel so sorry for them when they run out of it. I keep expanding the pen.The fencing I am using is in sections.Roughly 6 X 10 feet. It is fairly stiff, but lightweight, so I can move it around when and wherever needed. It's working great that way.Less grass to mow. More eggs.
I mowed the larger section of the yard. It's probably equaled to half my total yard. I break it up in sections when I mow. That way it is not such a big job at once. I have time left to do some trimming as I go.And there is a lot of trimming. It gets out of hands most of the time, but I do try to keep it as neat as possible right around the house.I have felt for years that you can judge the rest of a person's life by their yard.I know it's a crazy idea, but I have always felt that way, just as I always thought you can judge a woman by the way her husband dresses. Another job I have let fall by the wayside, as I get older.I use to polish his boots, iron his shirts and crease his jeans, but since I have got older and retired, I have twice the duties I had when I was younger and working public work, so he has to wear wash and wear everything. And as for the boots, he's on his own with them, too.I'm lucky if I get my own polished.

I'm getting behind on my posting, so I'll close this one here. Catch you another day.

Golden Harvest Organics

(http://www.ghorganics.com)
While doing some research on Diatomaceous Earth, I found this site. It appears to be an excellent reference page for those of us who do a lot of work in the yard and garden.I have found a lot of interesting topics there, and plan to keep the link handy to check with them on many more concerns.

The product I was researching,Diatomaceous Earth, sounds like something every gardener should use. I had heard of it in my Organic Gardening magazines and many other gardening books I collect, but have never tried it. While reading the post of one of my blogger friends from New Zealand, she speaks of it often. She was using it in her chickens nests to control mites. Since that peaked my interests, I decided to do a little more reading on it. It will blow you away to learn what it is and how it works. I am very seriously considering trying it. There are so many uses, and most of them would benefit me tremendously.

I'm Experimenting!

As you can see, I have been working with Paint.I love playing with it.I have got involved a little with digital scrap booking, just so I could cutesy up my blog on occasion, but as of yet, I have not learned how to use it. I keep experimenting with various things trying to do a better job of displaying my posts, without disrupting things too bad, but haven't stumbled across the right technique yet.I'm not giving up though, so don't be shocked if you find me doing a little experimenting in my upcoming posts.I am hoping to get myself into the yard sale mood today. A couple of my sisters are setting up a huge lane long sale, and have invited me to participate. I love going to them, but setting up my own is drudgery to me. So until my next post, have a good day!

Our New Bed

I moved the older cherry bedroom suit to my newly set up bedroom/craft room in the basement, so we had to purchase a new bed for the guest room. I already have a chest of drawers to use in that room, and I didn't want to fill the room too full with furniture. The desk and computer are set up in that room as well.Pop doesn't want to move the computer right now since it will involve moving some wiring, so I'll leave it as is for now.
I got this rug at the auction tonight. I think I got a deal on it. $20. I will do some rearranging in the near future and more to the floor, but for now it will do just fine under or feet.
Not much happening here today. Too cool to do much outside, so I stayed in and cleaned a little more, and set up my new bed. I mowed a section of the yard later today, then went to the auction. No grandchildren today. I spent the day with Mom yesterday. Took her a flat of flowers, a few tomato plants, and a 5 gallon bucket of rich dirt. We refilled her flower pots and set out all the flowers and tomatoes I had picked up at a neighbor's greenhouse near my home for her.She was so tickled to get that done. We went to Walmart and picked up a few items. Mom got 2 gallon of paint. She loves to keep things painted and looking fresh.All her neighbors brag on her for keeping her yard so neat all the time.That makes her really proud.We fear that we may get another night or two of frost, so we nestled the flower boxes under her bushes until the danger passes. Hopefully after this weekend, the danger of frost will be over.My baby chicks are growing. They are starting to make wing feathers. The grand children will be here tomorrow. They both enjoy just sitting and holding the chicks.They are a little frightened of them. I try to tell them, there is no way those little chicks could hurt them, but they think they might peck or do their business on them.City kids, you know. That's why I like to give them some exposure to farm living. So they won't be so squeamish about such things.It's bedtime. We will try out the new bed tonight. We may like it better than our usual bed. I hope not. The new one is only a double. Our usual bed is a queen and we need all the space we can get. So until my next blog,"Bonsoir".

New Addition!

No, we're not building on to the house. We simply have added 5 new baby chicks to our menagerie of animals. They are mostly to expose the grandchildren to "Life on the farm".They have had brief experiences with baby chicks, but things happen on occasion that require getting new ones. IF they make it to adulthood and they are not all ROOSTERS, we will have a continuous flow of eggs. We have 8 full grown hens now, and usually get 5-6 eggs a day most of the year round. Some of the hens are getting older, so, hopefully,we'll have these to replace them someday.Right now they are in a coup in Pop's garage eating cornbread and water.We have a small light hanging over them to keep them warm during the cool nights.Our housedog,Sarah, has already got in trouble bad, over the chicks. She thinks they are varmints that need eradicating.So you can imagine the time we are having with her wanting to get at them.She sits and moans and groans and whines and trembles wanting to get at them really bad.She is an excellent mouser, so we hate to scold her.I guess we'll get through it.Until my next post. Happy Spring!

Who Says Goats Are Dumb?,etc.

I haven't had as much trouble with my goats getting out lately, so I'm not having to run out every little whip stitch and get them in. I was reading the blog of one of my blogger friends in New Zealand, who was considering getting a goat or a heifer calf for milk for the family. She had heard so much about goats escaping, I'd say she probably went with the heifer calf.I just recently figured out a way to keep my goats from rushing under the electric fence, which they had gotten quite good at. I placed anything I could find along the ground under the bottom strand of electric fencing, to where they are afraid to tackle going under it. I think they are smart enough to know that if they go really fast under the fence, they aren't going to get so much of a shock, but if they have to wiggle through the obstructions and the fence, they will surely get a much stronger jolt of the electricity.There is no reason for them to want out. There is plenty of fresh grass in their pen. They have an enormous bale of hay to eat. They have water. I give them corn on a fairly regular basis. I guess they are just inquisitive, and spoiled.I will be expanding their pen in a little while soon. That will help me out in the mowing department. They need a little bigger area to roam and a little more grass to eat, and,therefore, there will be no need to mow the nice green grass.


I have expanded my chicken pen for the same reason. It doesn't look like much at the moment, but it is "a work in progress". Hopefully I can cutesy it up along the way with vines and bushes of all kinds. I must leave Pop access to the woods entrance and the pending tool shed entrance, so that is as big as I could make the pen and get away with it.The chickens lay much better when eating the white clover,which grows good in this part of the yard, and it cuts down on my mowing time, even though I love to mow.It is such a waste to mow the white clover, when they love it so. Pop doesn't want to spend the money on a real fence for my animals, so I use whatever I can find and manage to get the job done,and it usually works. I have used some fence panels we got from a cousin in the construction business, who finds lots of good salvageable things for us to use for whatever.I hate having the property looking so messy,so it is a constant struggle for me to clear certain areas and make them more manageable, whether it be using it for pasture,flowerbeds,yard, or garden.



The flower beds get out of control at times, since I have so many. It keeps me hopping, trying to keep ahead of them(and most years, it's impossible.)My goal is to eventually have them all bedded down with perennials, and mulch and hopefully they will not get so out of hand.



I keep strawberries, for novelty, more or less, since we buy what we need for jams and jellies, from the Amish. As a matter of fact, just last night and this morning, I dug up a few stray strawberry plants, and started another row.The flower bed I had some of them in, was running over.I am trying to build up the soil in the row I made for them with dirt from the chicken pen and the shredded tobacco stalks, and the decomposed mulch I collect. And, too, they are at the edge of the yard, so that will be handy to keep check on them. I hate having my produce "way out yonder", when it comes time to care for it or gather it.I like to keep a lot of things like that, close at hand, just so the grandchildren will learn where they come from.They do enjoy picking and eating them straight from the vine.



Blackberries are the same. I do freeze several of them since they grow so abundantly, but give a lot of my starts away to friends and neighbors. My blackberries are thorn less. Some say they are not as flavorful as the wild, but I picked enough wild ones as a kid,and I hate the thorns. I am willing to sacrifice a little flavor. If someone is that much of a connoisseur of berries, they need to buy wild berries from someone else, or pick them themselves. I'm sorry, but that is one job I don't want.Considering the thorns, and now the turkey mites and ticks. No thanks.

I have rambled on so this morning, I must get off here and get a little more done, before the grandson comes. We are planning a big day with my older sister,Mary, from "Nails in My Pocket".She has her grandson again today, so we are planning a picnic and a play day at one of the local parks for them. Will give you an update on that in a later post. Have a Good Day!

Bits and Pieces of Another Week

Meemaw's Baby Sissy, Stacey, came by today to help me do a little "catching up".The laundry had gotten out of hand as did the house work, with the yard demanding so much attention these last few days.I cleaned all morning until she could get here to rescue me, then we both tackled everything head on.She stained and varnished the latest set of cabinets for me. I was so thrilled to get that done. I had put the job on hold to do the yard work and I was getting anxious to see it finished.Things are gradually coming together in my basement. It will be a nice place to work this summer when the days get too hot to work outdoors.At least, that is my hope.
We spent some time hauling mulch to put around the edges of some of the flower beds this evening. That makes it so much easier for me when I'm mowing the grass. Not so much time wasted with unnecessary trimming. I'm all for saving time and avoiding the backaches these days. Pop is forever telling me, I do all the yard work for nothing.It's just something I want to do. It's not necessary. And, of course, I totally disagree. Ask anyone who is in the real estate business and they will tell you, landscaping is a big part of a sale on a piece of property. I doubt he would believe them either, so I just continue on doing what I enjoy, working in my yard and my flowers.

All in all, it was a very good day, but still no Purple Martins yet. Six or eight dropped by yesterday and peeked in my gourd houses and my apartment house, but didn't linger long.It's beyond me, why they don't stay. I'll continue to wait and hope a little longer.Later!

Another Piece Falls Into Place

No, I'm not putting a puzzle together. That is Mom that's working on the puzzle. I am talking about my basement project.Pop and our friend, Howie, put a couple of my cabinet fronts up today. When I can get help, I take advantage of it. I guess that's why Pop stays gone so much. He's afraid I'll put him to work.It took a little effort to get them matched up to MY cabinet building, but it wasn't so bad. I am proud of MY cabinets.I didn't start out building cabinets. It just evolved to that.I started out with an open face shelf over the stove and 3 shelves over the freezers. The more I worked with them, the more I thought the shelves would look good as cabinets. I am so glad it worked out.I stained and varnished the cabinet fronts as soon as the last screw was in.I'll do some minor tweeking to them as I go along, but I am so proud of them so far. This weekend, if all goes well, Pop says he will work on getting the set of cabinets up, that goes over my new counter that I had made at E & H Cabinets of Caneyville.They will go to the right of my canning jar shelves(another area that will get a facelift later), but one step at a time. I'm in no rush on this project, although I am getting real anxious to see how it all will look when it's finished.

Do You Feel Lucky?

Today was a very good day for working in the yard. It was a
little windy, but the temperature was just right. Didn't need a
jacket or a sunbonnet.I got a lot of work done in my yard, but
things grow so fast during this time of the season, things will
need redoing again next week.I don't know if my body will hold
up for another round. Pop complains about me killing myself
over the yard and flowers.I do it every year. It's not like this
was the first time.I remember for many years, when I was still
working, and the time would change, it would stay daylight
longer, and I would work in the yard until 10:00 at night. I would
be so sore the next day, I felt I could not possibly get out of bed,
but as usual, I did, and all was fine.

I worked with my pergola today. I have had it for about 10 years,and most years,it gets neglected. My brother,Jerry, stayed with us for a little while and he helped with a lot of building projects.I sure miss not having someone to build whatever I want or need to be built.That is one reason I am so glad I found E & H Cabinets.They will come in handy for building little things for me.They do custom building of cabinets and the like.


Right now I am having trouble with my Purple Martin set up. The wind has been so bad, I can't put up my big apartment house on the pole that I had planned to use. Howie, our friend and neighbor, has Martins, and he says the house doesn't need to be that high.We had only used that pole originally, because it was already there for the CB antenna, but it was a pain to get the house up and down from the tall pole. I don't have a hoist system for it.(But, I would love to have one someday. I'll put that on my wish list.)I guess in a perfect world, you and your spouse would love all the same things and you'd have no problem getting all the necessary things needed to get the job done. Pop and Howie are hashing the situation over as to what we need to do, and they have decided to wait another day and put the house up on a really tall cedar post, and attach it to the corner of the shop.It would be much easier to raise and lower it, when the time comes to clean and maintain the house, but now the question is, Will the Martins come to it?They are a picky lot. It is unreal, all the tricks I have tried to get them to drop in and stay.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch......Howie went home and another neighbor friend, Steve, stopped by, just in time to assist Me and Pop in putting the Martin house up on a 15 foot cedar pole. We decided to attach it to an existing post at the corner of a dog run,that use to hold our latest, but deceased beagle,Zoe.I was a little leery of him attaching it to THAT pole since my wisteria is just now in bloom and more so than it has been in years. Nevertheless, since I know the wisteria is so hardy, I agreed to let him put it there.It's nearly 9 o'clock P.M., and the Martin house is up.I really do believe they should like it there. Only time will tell. We will have to wait till tomorrow and see if they drop by once more. I did put nesting materials in several of the gourds and in the house nests. My sister, Vicki, sent me a link on Martins, and that was one of the tips to try to draw them in.Another was to smear some mud around the entrance holes, but I never got to that before putting them up. This business of trying to lure Martins in to our site is hard work. Who would have thought. Some folks have no problem attracting them. They just come. Then others have to go to extreme measures to lure them in, and sometimes, nothing works. Maybe this will be our lucky year on attracting the Purple Martins to our home.We should know one way or another, soon. You'll be the first to know if they move in, so stay tuned.

A Woman's Work is Never Done....

I have been working in the yard a bit the last few days, trimming around some of the beds. I have planted a few things, but we don't plan to have as much garden as usual. We can get most anything we need a lot of like tomatoes or green beans or strawberries, from the Amish. They sell their produce really reasonable.

I did paint some on my 2 sheds lately. I'd try to do a little painting every now and then, so it won't seem so much like work. Heaven knows, when the growing season starts, there is plenty to keep in check on this 5 acres.I just dread the hot days ahead.That's when I will enjoy being in my basement, working or otherwise. It is usually cool there most days.
The flowers are all blooming. It is such a joy to be out in the yard. I don't think I'll put out as many annuals this year as usual. It is so hot here through the main part of the summer. it gets desertlike. I never have watered a lot, especially flowers. I feel if they can't survive these temperatures, I'll just try to find other plants that can. I don't like being a slave to my house, and I am beginning to feel that way about my plants. I don't need any needy plants.

And....another unexpected job arose today. The Martins are still checking things out trying to decide whether or not to move into our site. Evidentally they are looking for the old house we had up for the last several years. It was a regular Martin birdhouse with multiple apartments. We took it down last Fall to clean and paint it, and decided not to put it up this Spring.We opted for the gourds instead hoping they would get better results. The Martins have been visiting for several days now, but not staying. They were flying all around the site of the old house that we took down, so I decided to put the old house back up, thinking they have finally decided to use it. I painted it to match the house and all the other out buildings.I hope they aren't partial to white,the original color.

Now the problem is letting the wind die down enough to get it up on the 30 foot pole we had it on last year. The pole holds a huge CB antenna,also, which we thought might be keeping the Martins from moving into our house.We kept the antenna after the house fire, thinking we might get back into CBing.Since the Martins were flying all around that particular spot today, I assume they are looking for the old house to be there.
So another day in my ife has been documented.Stay tuned for another day at a later date.Happy Spring!

A Slight Detour

I know I have been going on so,about my craft room, forever, but other unexpected and unpredictable tasks have caused me to take a slight detour from my original plan.I have a bad habit of tiring from one job and jumping off to another. I feel that keeps me from getting bored to tears with any one project.When I have rested my eyes, or muscles,or back, or whatever is tiring from any particular job, then I move on to something more calming and let my body rest where needed.Whenever I sew or do anything that requires tilting my head forward, I have a pinched nerve in my neck and back that causes my hands to go numb. I know this, so therefore, I just have to adjust my tasks to make things better.I feel that's better than surgery. It works fairly well for me, anyway.But nevertheless, I have started working in the yard, since Spring has arrived and everything is growing like crazy.I have been mowing,weeding, and trimming,the yard and my many many flowerbeds.I always like to rearrange a few flowers, too, at this time. I know it is not the best time to do that, but it seems I can visualize things a little better, if I do it in the Spring.And I do realize I take a greater risk of plants dying, when they are moved now. As of late,I have been working with the kitchen part of the basement, and I have gotten so excited over it, I can't bring myself back to the craft room. I have the rug down in there and a bed set up, just in case it's needed before I finish everything completely, but that's as far as I've gotten with it.I had some fronts made for all my existing cabinets. Some I have made, and some that we salvaged from the housefire. I had one base cabinet made totally, and I think that was what got the ball rolling for me in that section of the basement. I decided I wanted it all to match as much as possible.It is coming along nicely. I haven't made any decisions on the floor yet, but I am constantly thinking about what I'll do with it, when the time comes.

Another entry I never posted. It's going as is, also.Later!

One Step Closer.......

I made the trip to Caneyville and picked up a new face I had ordered for a set of cabinets that we salvaged from the housefire.They will go over the counter I had E & H Cabinets to make for me. I have ordered two more faces for the other cabinets I built myself over the freezers and the cookstove.When all is said and done, they will all match.I tossed an idea around with them today about making a face for my canning jar shelves in the same manner. I will hopefully do that in the near future. I will give Pop a little time to adjust to the cost of my remodeling job, although it was very minimal.I have still not got back to my cup cupboard to finalize it. Too much going on around here.My brother and his new family are in for Easter. We will all gather at my older sister's house for a meal while he is in, then my baby brother,David, is having an Easter Dinner at their home. I will drive down and take Mom to visit with Kynan, his 1 year old son. Mom hardly ever gets to see Kynan and she wants so bad to get to know him.She's 84, you know.David was born the year I graduated from high school in 66, and this is his first natural child.(Now I am the only one left out of the nine children in my family that does not have a natural child.Just thought I'd throw in that piece of family trivia.)

Patiently Waiting for the Purple Martins

I have tried for many years to get Purple Martins to take up residence on our property to no avail. A couple of times in the last few years, a scout or two would drop in, but never stay. A couple dropped in one year, but stayed a few days then left out again.The neighbor has Purple Martins that come to his site every year, and I keep thinking we will win some of his younger birds over to our property, but we haven't yet. Day before yesterday, a pair stopped by and checked out my site. Then today 2 pairs dropped by and checked out my site. I have 8-10 gourds hanging this year. The expensive Martin box bird house that I purchased from the Amish, several years ago, did not entice them in, so I thought I'd try gourds this year. I am very hopeful that they will stay this time. I have built a platform for scrambled eggs and egg shells. I read on the Purple Martin site, that there are many little tricks you can try to entice them onto your property. I set out a container of string, and straw, and pine needles for nest building.I will continue to read up on the hints they provide in hopes of encouraging them to stay. I ordered a cassette tape of the Morning Song of a flock of Purple Martins. I try playing it for a few minutes each day.
I had the Grand son for a couple of days and a night, so most of my usual activity had to be put on hold. I did get my new carpet down in my craft/bedroom, plus I had a set of base cabinets made for the basement. I picked them both up on Tuesday, and with the help of my family, we got them home and put in place. Not totally in place, but they are in the basement.While I was there, I discussed an idea I had, with the cabinet maker, of him building me a face for the set of cabinets I had made myself. He called today. It is ready for pickup. I wanted it to match the base set he had made for me.I may pick up a door to match,for my over-cookstove cabinet I built.I have been kicking around the way I will finish the cabinets down there in the basement. I am very seriously considering a natural and white combination like the small set of table and chairs I am using in the main kitchen. And now,I am considering tile for the floor in the basement kitchenette area. With Pop wheelbarrowing wood in during the winter, it would be much easier to clean up.Things are coming together, but it is a slow process, since I have taken it on myself to fix it up. It's not like a contractor coming in and everything is done in a few days.I will close for now, and try to get a better night's rest. I moved our extra bed to the basement yesterday, and the Grandson refused to sleep down there, so we slept on the floor on a twin mattress, which I keep for an extra bed during sleepovers.It was not a good night for me. I'll bet you can guess who hogged all the bed. Yes, I slept on the floor, for the most part, and then I wonder why my back hurt all day. Till my next post, hope you had a Happy April Fool's Day.