In the Mood...

There's nothing like a stroll through Walmart to get you in the mood for the upcoming Holiday. Our local store is remodeling, and you need to take a stroll in it several times before you go to do your actual shopping. If not, you will end up a very upset shopper. Nothing is where it use to be. Everything has been totally rearranged.Some items have been discontinued to make way for a lot of new items.It is unreal, the changes they have made.Many of the shelves are low enough you can see clear across the store.The isles are much wider, or so it seems to me. It is mind boggling.I spent an hour, just looking things over Sunday, before I even began shopping. I still did not see it all.I did see, however, they have more Fourth of July decorations than I have ever seen in any one store.That is what I mean by getting you in the mood. All of the vibrant colored items.I never dreamed you could get so many different items in red, white, and blue. I mean down to the wash cloths. Even they are packaged in the colors to match the holiday.I have said it before, and I will say it again, Those marketing folks know their business.They know just exactly how to pull in the money. The pet supplies are equally mind boggling. They know folks are crazy about their pets nowadays, so they have at least 6 rows of shelves, both sides, filled with pet supplies.

I got so excited about he 4th after visiting Walmart today, I came home and began thinking of things I could put out for the Holiday. I don't usually decorate that much for the 4th, but I was In The Mood after this mornings trip.This is an old aluminum bowl I have used for flowers and bird seed for years. I decided to dress it up for the holiday.The top picture is a bird feeder I got from my sister, Mary, years ago. I dressed it up last year. the picture below it is a pot of red, white, and blue flowers. I wish it had been filled out more,but I should have got the idea much sooner for the flowers to look really nice.Beside the hanging flower is an old chicken feeder lid I converted into a bird feeder. I give it a face lift of red, white, and blue paint also.I had a few more things to put out, but hopefully next year, I'll be better prepared to pull out my decorations for the 4th of July.When I was working, that was a big part of my pleasure. Decorating the cafeteria and my bulletin boards with all sorts of Holiday ideas.I just hadn't got in the mood for decorating my home that way, but maybe I will give it a try.My crafts are nowhere as neat as some folk's, but I do love making them anyway.

Guess What?

(Not a very good picture, but hopefully you can see it is 1/2 of an eggshell.)

Today is the 28th of June,2010, and we have baby Martins hatching. Oh,happy day. We have long awaited this day. Now comes the hard part. Wishing and hoping they survive to adulthood and return next year. I have learned that the activities of the Purple Martin are very unpredictable.You can hear and read so many tales of the experiences of others with their Martins, and still find that you cannot predict what any of them will do in your particular case. You simply have to observe your birds and learn as you go.That is what we are doing and it is a never ending lesson.You learn something new each day as to how they act. From watching them daily, we have decided that the female sits on the eggs during the incubation period, and the males gather food for her during that time. They come in and feed the mate several times during the day. We have noticed them early, about midday, and then later in the day, on a fairly regular basis. That is why we came to the conclusion,he is feeding her while she sets. Now that they are hatching, we figure both parents will be active, collecting food for the young ones.We'll learn more about that in the next few days. I am anxious to learn how they learn to fly, without ever hitting the ground. That is going to be a dangerous time for the babies. Leaving the nest for the first time. Many folks say they leave the nest flying,but we'll need to see that first hand to believe it.Most every being needs to practice anything,before they master it.But, Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens!

Pop's Encouraging Words

Vicki, this is my comment for your post on encouraging words. I felt I wanted to say more than they would allow on that small space.

It's all about Pop.Pop is an amazing man, He did not have a lot of education, and he uses a lot of crude language,and I don't really know where the blame lies for him growing up with that kind of vocabulary.But no one can deny the fact that he is the most sensitive and caring person when it comes to his friends and family. He never meets a stranger. He can meet anyone for the first time and carry on a conversation with them till the cows come home.Yesterday was Stephensburg Day,and we spent most of the day, there helping with the grandchildren, while their parents worked with the festivities. They are both involved with the local Fire Department, and that event raises a lot of money for the department.However, the point I started to make is:Pop loves people. And it would be an understatement to say that People Love Pop. It took me a lot of years to understand how he was in that area. I began the first several years of our marriage, very jealous of the time and energy he put forth with each and every one of his individual friends.I heard him telling some folks yesterday, as I had heard him tell many others in his conversations,his philosophy on people.I don't remember who told him this, but he has carried it with him throughout his life and made it his mantra.He says,
"Each time, you meet anyone,make it about them."That is such a simple line, but he has practiced it and carried it out to the fullest, each time he speaks to anyone.Therefore anyone he has ever spoken to, feels like they are the most important person in the world. He is loved by so many people, my life with him can be compared to that of a celebrity.The spouse needs to realize early on, that their partner belongs to the world, or their marriage will not survive.There is no room for jealousy in a marriage, when one person has that magnetic personality and loves his friends and family as he does. He is a very caring person and you never have any doubt when taking to him,that you will love him and be drawn to him again, anytime, anywhere, anyplace you see him again, from that point on.When you are in his presence, he makes you feel special. That is a wonderful gift. And he is a great man in the eyes of the world just because he makes everyone he meets, feel special.Ask anyone who knows him, and they will tell you the same. Hershell Nugent is truly, a one of a kind, man.

The Good Old Days!

We use to hear older folks telling of how things were when they were young, and it seemed so different from our time of growing up, but now,I guess our time of growing up,seems just as different to the youth of today. Growing up on a farm, with lots of room to roam outdoors, is almost rare any more.So many kids never get the opportunity to run free on acres and acres of land, free to play, and explore new things, as my siblings and I did growing up.Being bored was never a problem for us. Then too, with so many siblings, we always had each other to play with, or close neighbor kids who would visit often. The word bored never entered our minds.We always had lots of friends to drop by for one reason or another.Dad knew a lot of people through his work , and Mom and us kids had lots of friends from church and school, so we had lots of friends over often.But even when no one else was visiting, we could always find ways to entertain ourselves. Working on the farm took up lots of our time, but I still remember lots of play time, too.We all had our chores to do. With a farm and farm animals, there is always something that needs attending to.We'd milk the cows early mornings and late in the afternoon every day. We always had at least one cow to milk at all times.The chickens ran loose, so they pretty much took care of themselves. We always had pigs to water and feed.When the feed was low, we had a field of clover where we would spend lots of time sitting out in the pasture picking bushel baskets of clover for the pigs. Who would have thought picking clover on those hot days could be that much fun. The cattle had lots of pasture, so they only needed feeding during the winter season.We always raised our own hay and corn, so Dad always had feed for the animals through the winter months.During the fall, we always had lots of pumpkins we'd raise in the corn. We'd gather a huge hay wagon load of pumpkins, and each day, we'd go out and cut up several pumpkins to feed to the livestock. I don't know if they liked them that much, but they ate them. I guess it was better than no food at all.We ate a lot of pumpkin ourselves. Mom would can many jars of it and we'd eat pumpkin quite often, but at least she would cook it and add cinnamon and sugar to it. We all loves it. Mom would buy a half gallon of Bob White syrup weekly, so we had lots of those jars for canning. They used the # 63 jar lids.I've never used a lot of that size myself canning, but we used them a lot back then.A few of the 9 kids can today. It gets in your blood.I have canned every year since I left home at the age of 18.That is a craft that is trying to make a comeback with some of the younger folks today, but most folks don't have access to a garden plot of their own anymore, as we do. They buy most of their produce from the various markets, or maybe from the Amish.I remember every nook and cranny of the old houses we lived in, being filled with cans of various foods. Most of our lives we had access to fruit trees for canning.Then we always had to pick wild berries.That's why I grow the tame berries today. I hated those thorns. A lot of folks say they do not taste as good, but I am willing to sacrifice a little flavor for the thornless berries.I only use the juice of my berries, anyway, for jellies and cobblers.We would can lots of green beans, tomatoes, and oh, yes, squash. I think we ate more squash and pumpkin than any other family in America,but we were never hungry. Mom grew up in South Louisiana, so she had to learn to cook all over again in Kentucky.We ate a lot of things other folks never heard of, but Mom would always find ways to make anything taste good.My mother was a tough lady. I could probably write a book just about her.She deserves a lot of credit for the raising of us 9 kids.Dad was always there in the background, making a living, and keeping the roof over head, even though it leaked quite a bit at times.We were never without a home.Dad saw to that. Mom did most of the raising of the kids.She tried her best to raise us in church,too. We were in church about as much as we were in school.Bible School every summer,GA's or RA's after school some weekdays,Sunday School on Sunday mornings, Training Union on Sunday nights,prayer meetings every Wednesday.Sometimes I think that's why many of us don't attend church today. We got burnt out on church, if there is such a thing. I hate it for Mom, because she worries so about the fact more of us don't attend church today.I guess we all think we have good reasons for not attending, although there is really no good reason for not attending church on a regular basis.She is 84 now and Dad has been gone for now on to 10 years, but Mom still attends church, pretty much every time the doors are open.She never drove a car, but she always managed to get us and herself a ride to church somehow, as she does for herself even today.While it's so hot outdoors, I thought I'd share just a few more bits of my past.It was hard back then to realize how grateful we would be,later, for the kind of raising we had. And at the time, we thought we had it so bad.

Oh, What a Life!

Years ago, I subscribed to a magazine that had a regular entry on an Amish family and their daily life. I found that very interesting, since the Amish are a people that prefer to stay off to themselves.We are fairly close friends with several of the local Amish families in our community today. We have used the services of one particular family, since they moved into this area many years ago. I am pretty sure it was in the late seventies or the early eighty's.I was fascinated by them at that time and still am to this day. I think the reason is simply because they live their lives so similar to the way my family was raised and I can identify with them more so because of that.My family has always been teased about being part Amish because we are so similar in our ways of doing things. My Mom tells of an Amish man who did marry into our family many, many years ago, but I am sure it has nothing to do with our genes or our lifestyle, but it does make things more interesting when brought up in a conversation.When us kids were growing up on the farm, we never give it a thought that we were any different from any other kids we associated with.Most of them lived very similar lives to ours.I think now, that a lot had to do with being so poor, but when you are young, you have no concept of money and it's effect on your lifestyle.Dad was self employed, with his own Bulldozing business.It was a small operation, but he stayed busy at it. We always had a house and plenty of acreage.We had cows,pigs,chickens, and a pony or two at all times. We raised a big garden every year and Mom canned everything she could.Dad raised corn and hay on the land for the livestock. That kept us busy during the picking season, since we did it by hand,as we did our milking. We always had several milk cows.Most of us kids knew how to milk cows. I'm not sure about the three youngest. Dad and Mom, and the five younger children, moved to an island in south Georgia, before they were old enough to learn. Dad was out and gone most days before we got out of bed, bulldozing for someone.He would come home many times, with a fine dust,covering everything but his eyes.I guess those were hot dry days like we are having now.He stayed busy with the bulldozer, but collecting the pay for his work, was sometimes a task.When Dad retired and moved away, in the early seventies, he left with many people still owing him for the work he had done. Dad was soft hearted, so he never pressured them to pay.Many times, he would take land or houses as payment. I never knew that until I was much older. Dad always owned a house or two, or another lot of ground somewhere, at all times.I guess that was better than no pay at all, but it doesn't buy groceries. Mom struggled for all of the years they were married to store everything she could from the gardens and the livestock we raised.We always had animals for meat, eggs from the chickens,milk from the cows. Mom used the milk every way possible. She made cottage cheese, butter, buttermilk.She even tackled homemade cheese. She tried to cook every garden vegetable possible to where we would eat it. We experimented a lot with all sorts of dishes, till we found a way we would eat different things. We were never that picky about our food. We were always so hungry from farm life and all the chores we had to do.Many times Mom would have something planned for supper, only to have some of us 9 kids to sneak in and eat it up before mealtime.It seems we were always hungry. We did not have free rein to the food like kids of today.I was one who did a lot of the experimenting with cooking. We were always craving something sweet.Very little sweets were brought into the house. The weekly groceries were minimal, and every item on the list was preplanned for a particular day and use. We dared not use anything for other than was it was intended.On occasion Mom would give us permission to cook up something sweet. She would always warn us though. We could cook up anything we wanted to,to satisfy our sweet tooth, but we'd better eat it. Nothing was to go to waste, so I would experiment until it was edible.We didn't have a lot of choices of things to use. We most usually had syrup, oatmeal, peanut butter, molasses,sometimes cereal, and of course flour, sugar, eggs, and meal.You would be surprised at some of the concoctions we'd end up with, but we'd eat it and be satisfied for awhile. I think that is where I got my love for experimenting with various foods and recipes. That is why I loved working for the school for years before the government got so involved and made every school begin using centralized recipes and foods. All the fun left out of it for me at that time. No more whipping anything up from scratch anymore.
Well, I've enjoyed reliving a little of my life here today, and will, no doubt relive bits and pieces along the way, but I'll stop for now, and get to my daily chore. Hope you've enjoyed reading bits of my early life and memories. Later!
(The top picture is Mom and Dad on their wedding day. January 27, 1946.In the bottom picture,I am the second from the right,front row.This picture was taken 10 plus years ago. I think it was at the party for Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary.)

It's Too Hot Outdoors for Me!

I try to get in a few minutes of yard or garden work each day before it gets too hot, but by the time we have finished our breakfast and our morning ritual of sitting together on the porch for coffee,conversation, Pop's after breakfast smoke, watching the Purple Martins, and the garden growing, it's already getting pretty warm.I hate to sit there so long, but if I don't spend a few minutes with Pop, at that time, I don't get to sit and visit with him all day. We are busy people. Today, I went to Mom's, just in case Stacey couldn't get off from work, in time for Mom's doctor's appointment.Mom is taking therapy for her shoulder.Something strange is happening with it, besides arthritis and a near frozen shoulder joint. We took pictures of it today to show the doctor. He was out, so the therapy folks didn't have her do her exercises today until they could show the pictures to her neurologist.
All was not lost though. Stacey got off in time to take Mom, so I visited with my sister,Rita and her two daughters,Tina and Cindy, and Rita's grandson,Braydon,Cindy's child, while they were there mowing Mom's yard.Rita and her daughters all work, and we don't get to visit as much as we'd like to. Everyone has such hectic schedules.She mows for Mom once a week,so that's a good time to visit.
I have started working on one of my little quilts again, especially, when it's too hot to work outdoors, some days, I sit and visit with friends or watch TV with Pop, and sew.I can really get in the sewing mood, if I know I can't go outside, for whatever reason,heat,rain,darkness,etc.You might remember,this is the quilt I started way back when I first began working on my craft room, painting the shelving blue,etc.I had it hung on the divider wall, until I could get back to it.

I took a couple of valances down this morning. It was bugging me, the fact that the background in the valance fabric was much whiter than the background in the curtains themselves.I just got lucky in finding material so close in that particular pattern.The curtain material was bought new when the house was first built, but the valances survived the house fire.I took the valances down and drenched them in coffee. That made them just the right shade. Coffee may wash out,though. I think I should have used tea. I wasn't real sure which to use.It looks good at the moment. But we'll see what happens after a good washing in a few weeks.If it doesn't hold the coffee, I will try tea, then iron it in. Maybe that will help set it for sure.

I returned home to find my goats out. First time in a long while. Pop thinks maybe since it is so dry,the ground rod is not making good contact. He had me to pour a bucket of water around the metal ground rod.We'll see if that helps. I laid a few more obstructions under some sections of the electric fence. That discourages them somewhat.These are just a few of my doings today,on my little piece of the world.Until my next post, Happy Blogging!

I Need (Want) a Good Camera!

The camera I have now is wonderful, but it has been dropped and I think that has affected it somewhat. It has a small crack in the housing, but evidently it has done something to the inner works,too. It acts up at times.Sooooooo!I am opting for an upgraded camera next time. I love taking pictures for my blog, and I need and want a zoom lens.I guess I'll call on my son-in-law for advice. He has a fancy camera, and he can figure out anything when it comes to electronics.I'd like something,not too expensive, but of good quality,but I doubt you can get those two features in one product.We'll see what he comes up with.
Had I had a good camera, this would have been an excellent shot. There were 5 little yellow and black gold finches in my newly painted feeder. There are 4 in the bowl and one is perched up high on the chain.Hardly even visible. They were all sitting around the edge of the bowl, but had moved by the time I could fetch my camera, and even then I zoomed in, looking through the kitchen window, which could use some cleaning. But now you see why I want and need a new camera.I'd love for my blogger friends to see the beautiful things I get to see in my own surroundings.Most folks have to go somewhere else to enjoy a lot of what we see here on our own little 5 acre lot.

The kitten that went to town......

Pop and I were out doing a few minor chores which took us to town, and of course, the traffic was bad.We were right in front of the busy mall when Pop stopped suddenly in the middle of the road and put the truck in reverse. I screamed,"What are you doing. You're gonna get us killed."Luckily the red light had caught the traffic behind us, and we were in no immediate danger, but nevertheless, I persuaded him to pull over to a safer spot, which he did, then proceeded to get out and walk back to where he had seen a tiny kitten, in the road.He said he couldn't bear the thought of that cute little kitten getting smushed with all that traffic. That was very unusual for Pop. He hasn't wanted me to get a cat for some time. I have wanted to get a new kitten for the grand kids for some time now. It looks like we have one now.We stopped by the bank, for one of our chores, and were able to get a small box to put the kitten in. It kept crawling in tight places under the seats of the truck and we were afraid it would get stuck or do something worse in our new truck. A box seemed like the answer until we could get it home.We stopped by Long John Silvers for our lunch, and saved a bite or two for the new kitten, although it was too frightened to eat or drink. We brought it home and kept it in the garage for now.The grandchildren will be so happy. They love cats. Especially baby kittens. They have 3 cats of their own.I have had several cats in my lifetime that I dearly loved, but they don't last long in this rural area, and we are not much on house cats.The few house cats I have had in the past would eventually get out and meet their demise on the road. I could not bear that again. It is too painful.Hopefully we won't get that attached to a barn cat, but you know how that will go.Cats love being touched by gentle hands and we'll end up spoiling it, just like every other living thing on this little farm.
Well, the weekend has come and gone, and the grand kids and our dog,Sarah, have made friends with Lucky,our new kitten. He will be staying in the house and garage until he gets use to his new surroundings, then, hopefully, he will become a yard and barn cat.We'll see how that goes.

A Little More Blue

It was too hot yesterday to do much outdoors. I could hardly muster up enough energy to get started,then Mom called. She was telling me all about her projects she had going, and got me motivated to go out and do SOMETHING,JUST ANYTHING.She's 84, you know.I guess you could say she laid a guilt trip on me, and it worked.This was around 8 a.m. and it was already muggy and hot outside.Nevertheless, I found a can of blue paint, left over from my 2 shed roof touch ups, and headed to the shop to work on a birdhouse I had salvaged from the neighbor's discarded lumber pile.The storm, a few weeks back, took the roof off Steve's barn, and the Amish were just now getting to the job of fixing it for him.He gave us all the discarded lumber for kindling this winter.We waste very little.There on top of the pile was 'The Birdhouse". I think Pop had already hinted to Steve that the birdhouse would not make it to the kindling pile.I would have it restored the next time he saw it. He was so right. It was such a nice bird house.Six compartments. It just needed a little TLC.I proceeded to work on it, when I passed an old wooded ladder in my yard,that my baby sister,Stacey, had given me. Someone she knew was discarding it, and it was in tact. Just old and weak. She immediately thought of me.Everyone knows how I love to use old things in my yard as yard ornaments. Usually to hold flowers. The ladder would be perfect for the Hummingbird vine, or maybe some morning glories,or more birdhouse gourds.Maybe even a Clematis, a Wisteria, or a Trumpet Vine.The possibilities are endless.Anyway, I stopped long enough to paint the ladder, then on to my Birdhouse. I think I got sidetracked and did 15 other jobs before I got to the shop. That's normal for me.I ended up painting one post on the tractor shed, another project I had planned to get to some day. I set out a Burning bush and a few touch-me-nots, by the tractor shed door, to keep the grass from growing up there so bad.We never trim as close to the out building, as I would like, but I'm trying to do better(we have so many things to trim around).Hopefully,I will get a picture, later in the summer, of the ladder all covered with something.And the tractor barn. I'll work on it a little along the way, if the summer heat doesn't get the best of me first.And 'Oh, yes, the birdhouse'.Stay tuned.

A Little Housekeeping (In the Yard)

This is one of my beds taken BEFORE I did a little housekeeping in my yard.

This is the same bed AFTER I did a little housekeeping in my yard.

I have so many bed everywhere. Usually they are there for a reason(at least I thought it was a good reason, at the time,many years ago),but now I am rethinking my landscaping. In a rural area such as ours, it is very hard to have a neatly manicured yard like the city folks do. So much area to keep up, but I hope to narrow my work down my rearranging things a bit this summer.I am seriously thinking of using the #3 rock, or something similar,in some places, since the mulch melts down after awhile, and needs renewing yearly.The types of mulch and edging available for beds nowadays,is endless.Surely, there is a product out there that will be just right for solving my bedding problems.

Update on My Wishy Washy Post

The best I can tell, there are 3 pairs of Martins nesting in my gourds. They seem to have a routine. I'm not sure, but it appears the mother sets on the nest full time, unless there is an intruder close by. In that case, I believe the entire flock comes out to run the intruder off. They ran off a couple of large yellow breasted birds that were trying to build in the multiplex Martin Box.The Martins have never attempted to use that box, but I guess the other birds were too close for comfort.The yellow breasted birds are no longer trying to build there.Each morning, Pop and I go out to the back porch, where we sit and drink our morning coffee and read the daily paper. From that spot, we can oversee the garden as well, as to how it is progressing.Sarah sits with us,usually in our lap, but she is mad at us both this morning.We had to give her a bath last night with the garden hose, after she had rolled in something stinky, while with Pop at the neighbors barn raising.

About an hour after day breaks, the male Martins appear to come in from the tree tops nearby,and proceed to gather food for their mates. At least that is what we have surmised from watching them. They will circle the sky for several minutes, then fly to their prospective gourd for a second or two, then they are off again, only to return a few minutes later,going through the same procedure. Surely, they are feeding their mate.After several minutes of this, the 3 males(we assume) will fly away, and be gone for a few hours, only to return and go through the same process once more. This goes on 2 to 3 times a day.Then at night the males disappear for the night. It's fascinating to watch them. I only hope they have good luck in hatching out several babies, who, hopefully, will return to our home each year. Some folks have told us there is no guarantee of that.They may vanish and not return at any time. I hope that is not true, but it is all new to me, so we'll see what happens with my Martins from this point.Wish me luck!

Don't go through life being bitter.

Did you ever wonder why some people are so bitter. I guess if we took the time to sit and talk to these people, we just might see why they would have reason to be the way they are, but does it really do you any good to harbor all those thoughts and feelings that made you this way? I think, in the long run, it only hurts the person harboring the feelings. Bitterness can eat away at you in many ways.So much so, that you get to the point where you are physically ill.The person who made you feel this way is usually going on about their business as usual, without a care in the world, if they are still living.If they are not, then who are you hurting by being bitter. Those people you come in contact with every minute of every day, when it was never their fault.I suppose it is hard to let something go, that has hurt you so bad, in the past, but continuing to dwell on negative things is not healthy.I think one way of getting past these kinds of feelings is to get involved with life and find something that you dearly love to do, and do it.When your mind is actively involved in something that makes you happy, there is no room left for sadness or bitterness or any other negative feelings.(Thanks for listening to my opinion on bitterness)

My Flower Beds Do Double Duty

The chickens aren't the only things that pull double duty around our place. I love to get more than one use out of some of my beds. I transplanted about 25 strawberry plants this spring in a spot where I felt I would be more apt to take care of them. Usually they are in some out of the way spot, which is unhandy to attend to.This way I have to pass them umpteen times a day, and hopefully, I will keep check on them better. I came from a long line of farm families, and believe me, they are more trouble then tobacco,which we've raised most of our lives.I feel the strawberries are well worth the $7 a gallon that the Amish folks charge for theirs, already picked.
It's hard to see in this picture, but I have planted a few other things in the strawberry row. I put in a few broccoli, a few squash, and an occasional sunflower. I figure if I need to keep the strawberry row nourished all year, I might as well put in some edibles for the summer, and a few flowers for good measure. I use this bed, since it is on the back side of the house, for growing a few extra veggies.I use to have my own little play garden out front by the pergola, but since I am getting older and can't take care of it like I'd like to,and it did get neglected quite a bit, I felt it was an eye sore right in the front yard, so I let it all grow back up in yard. Now I just incorporate a few items amongst my flower beds. Pop still raises our regular garden, but that's mostly his project. I like to experiment with different things.Things that he doesn't care about.I'm like Gavin of 'The Greening of Gavin'. I need my hands in the dirt on a regular basis.

Multi-tasking Chickens

Everything, nowadays, has to be thought out to the fullest, whether it be cutting down on back breaking work or spending unnecessary money.I try to be as frugal as possible, since the life expectancy, nowadays, is increasing, and the money does not go as far as it once did.(Who would have thought a medium size box of washing powder would be around $10 or so. Who knew milk would be as much as $4 a gallon at times, or gas $3 a gallon or worse at times.The price of staples is outrageous.)So here at Good Enough Acres (my pet name for our little 5 acre lot)we do what we can, both being retired, to save ourselves as much work and expense as possible.We both feel that chickens are not worth the feed we must buy to keep them producing eggs, so I try to get double duty from them, as well. I know that sounds cruel, but I feel they get lots of pleasure and a few little treats now and then from the work they do for me. Being couped in the small area which they are confined to, must be boring, so I feel the things I have them doing for me,breaks the monotony for them.
I purchased a compost tumbler 10 years ago, pictured in one of my gardening magazines. I know it was 10 years, because my Dad helped me assemble it, right before he became ill with the cancer that took his life 9 years ago,September 5.I have never really used the tumbler to make a complete cycle for a batch of compost. It requires more work than I cared to put into it.That's when I decided to let my chickens help me make my compost dirt.We have always had a good relationship with the tree trimming crew that keep the electric lines free and clear of tree limbs, so that is where most of my mulch has come from for many years. Now we have a tree trimming business in the family. Pop has helped his cousin on that job on occasion, when his regular help is unavailable, so we get all the free mulch we need.Cousin Larry has kept me in mulch for a couple of years now. I use Pop's BIG tractor, which has a bucket on the front, to transfer some of the mulch to the chicken pen.The mulch has been sitting for awhile, so there are lots of nice juicy morsels like earthworms and bugs in it.A feast for the chickens. All they must do is scratch it around to get to them.They enjoy doing that.
After they have scratched it around for a couple of weeks, I take my leaf rake to the chicken pen and scratch up lots of compost. I use my fancy sifter, which Pop and I make,to sift the finer particles from the coarser ones.The finer compost goes to side dressing or transplanting my plants and flowers.The coarser matter goes back into the compost pile or is used as an additional layer of mulch around other plants.I have so many beds to mulch, it would break a bank, if one had to buy enough to cover them all.
I do purchase the red mulch to top dress some of the beds, but even that gets expensive.Over all, I agree with Gavin, in one of his latest post, http://www.greeningofgavin.com/,the therapy is like no other.

I'm So Proud of Myself!

I have known how to copy and paste for awhile, but today I tackled a picture using those same skills. It isn't much, but who knows what will come next.I did tinker with my latest blog picture, and I think I did a fairly decent job,so maybe there is hope.Everything I have learned to do on the computer, I either learned at work during the last year or so before I retired,or I have learned by trial and error. I had hoped to make my blog really cute like some of the others I have been following, but I am too frugal (around here they call it tight or chincy)to spend the money on any of the programs that offer that type of help.I may break over soon, if I don't see results in my present plan. I spent an hour or so taking pictures of lots of pretty pieces of fabric that I have in my collection. I have filed them all as backgrounds 1 through 42.I may save more as time goes by. Depending on whether my plan works out. Hopefully, you can see how I will be using some of them in my up coming posts.The rooster picture was compiled from several blocks of varying size of my fabric photos.I am sure there are lots of beautiful variations, if only I can learn a few more tricks.

Sorry,I'm So Wishy Washy.....

......but the birds are back. I think I'll quit posting about the Martins for awhile. It only makes me look silly, worrying whether they are coming or going.I'll spend my time doing a little more research on them. Stay tuned for further updates a little later in the season.(Unless they stay long enough to produce new babies, then I'll just have to tell about that.)

Oh Where,Oh Where Have the Little Birds Gone?

I suppose it's possible the oil spill in the Gulf has affected the birds migration pattern, even here. That has to be the reason so many of my hummingbirds have not returned. And my 2 Purple Martins. They have not been seen for 3 days.I was so sure the one pair that had visited for 3 days and nights, were here to stay,but no.They are nowhere to be seen.What could I possibly be doing wrong. I guess I want them so badly, it's kinda like getting pregnant or warts. If I would simply forget about it completely, it will happen.Stress affects a lot of things.Maybe the birds can sense my stress.I know dogs can do such things.If we only knew the secret to solving all the problems in the world, I doubt we would be using it on such trivial things as birds.(Sorry,little birds.I don't really think you are trivial, but in the grand scheme of things, others might think so.) I do love my birds.I think it might be a age thing.Bird watching just seems to go hand in hand with sitting on the front porch swing with a morning or evening cup of coffee.

Trying a New Picture for my Blog

As you can see, I am experimenting with a few new things. I have played around with a site or two hoping to learn how to cutesy up my home page a little, like some of the other bloggers, even though I don't have the technical knowledge and I hate to spend too much money on unnecessary classes.Hope you like my new opening page. It shows a few bits and pieces from various aspects my life.

I'm One Happy Lady today!

It's nearing bedtime at our house, and one of the Purple Martins are still resting near the gourd, hopefully where the mate is beginning the process of setting up housekeeping. I hope that is what's happening anyway.
I took a chance and went out to see if I could get a picture of him resting above the nest, and lo and behold, he signaled a few notes to her, and she poked her head out to see what was up. I got a great shot of them both.I am so proud to have my first pair of Purple Martins to move in today.If they only knew how welcome they are and how happy they have made me.

Please,Please,Please! Let It Be True!

I hope I am not jumping the gun or jinxing myself by telling you this, but I don't think Terry is the only family moving into a new home. I think I have Purple Martins moving into their new home. HERE AT MY HOUSE!I have been working in the yard for a few hours early this morning, while it was cool enough to get your breath,and the Martins were busily checking out my gourds. Most days, they visit for about 5 minutes, but this morning, they have stayed. I went inside to cool off and get some Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes, and post a few stories on my blog, and behold, when I went back out, around noon or so, they were still there. By golly, I think they're here to stay this time. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though. They are a strange lot.

First Moon Flower of the Season

I figure it opened about 8 p.m. last night, but we were too busy to notice.That's really sad when you consider the fact that we are both retired. We are busy people. Always something going on at this house. Not a lot of time for birdwatching or flower watching, either, for that matter, but we do slip in a few minutes on occasion. We built a porch around 3 sides of our house, just so we can watch such things. The garden grow, the deer graze with their young, the turkeys passing through with their new babies, an occasional coyote,a squirrel pillaging grain from the hen house,a rare glimpse of a bobcat. No bear yet, but they're in Ky., so maybe that's just around the corner.Some mornings we get to see the fog roll in or the sun rise, or set.The grandson and I set out lots of evenings when he is staying over, just to see all the airplanes and jets passing overhead after dark. He loves finding a moving light in the sky at night.That's how he knows it's not a star, but an aircraft.We usually take our 'blankies' and our hot chocolate and sit out on the porch swing until we decide it's bedtime.It's turned into a routine with him. Pop says it's a ploy to avoid bedtime, and I figure he's right, but it's "our special thing to do together". John's sister is 5 years older, and he's heard her tell stories of "the special things we do together", so I think he just wants something special to do with Meemaw when he's here.The time is coming when they will be too old to spend"special time with Meemaw and Pop".They will have their friends who will monopolize their time doing teen ager things with them.Then they'll start driving, and be gone to whereever teen agers hang out,showing off their parents wheels.Then they be off to a job,we hope, then off to college.So maybe we are be too busy to catch the eight o'clock showing of the opening of the first moon flower of the season, but I'm sure there will be plenty of others to follow. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch a few of them.

This is A Sad Day, with no undoing!

(http://lifeisshortsawn61.blogspot.com/2010/03/so-what-is-that-in-people-years.html)
This is the link to the post where I wrote about our dog "Dixie". Well, today is a sad day here at the Nugent household.I won't be able to come back tomorrow and say that we have changed our minds and decided to keep her a little longer, as I did with the goats, when we intended to sell them to the neighbor, but went and retrieved them the following day. Our trusted friend has left us.We have never really figured out her age, but a close guess is 20-24, and we are pretty sure it's closer to 24. Maybe someday we will figure it a little closer, but nevertheless, she has been the most wonderful pet for ever how long it was. She use to be our house dog.She was an excellent house dog. She was so meticulous with her grooming. Many a night we would awake to see her lying on the sofa, grooming her fur from one end to the other. She never cared for water, but when we would go to the lake on our pontoon, she would be frightened when getting on it and getting off,(we would have to pick her up and put her on and off) but she loved riding it way up in the front with the wind and the mist from the lake hitting her, ever so gently, in the face.She was our guard dog and she was exceptional at her job. She would lie in the yard or on the porch and watch our five acres from one end to the other. If so much as a crow would light, she was after it.We have another dog, that Dixie trained, I suppose, just by her watching, to do the same thing. As Dixie grew older, she became jealous of the new dog to a point. I guess it's like anyone who knows the day will come when the job will no longer be yours, but the new trainee, and that is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. She has trained Bear well though, and I am sure Bear will do just as good a job as Dixie has done for all these years.I'm sure I could write pages of stories of moments we've had with Dixie, but tonight, we'll just hope to find comfort in remembering every one of them.Farewell, our Faithful Friend.You have been an excellent friend and companion, for our entire family and to many friends and neighbors who loved you as we did.

Getting Ready for The Big Move

I am getting behind on my blogging. I had wanted to post some pictures of the mother wren while she was raising her babies, but things get so busy around here this time of the year. Hopefully, I will get the story about the wrens posted later. Stacey(my baby sister) has gone to work for Walmart. She is helping with all the rearranging and remodeling the store is doing.I think their goal is to finish off making us all crazier than we already are. Like we needed any help. But now that she(mom's usual right hand man)is tied up,we all need to help out a little more.I went to Mom's to lend a hand where ever needed, but today Mom and I went to help out my older sister, Mary,wash down the walls of a mobile home that one of our brothers and his new family will be moving into on Friday of this week. He will be purchasing the mobile home and moving his new family to Ky. from West Virginia. He has not lived in Ky., since 1972.He just turned 53 and he has not lived here since he was about 15, so we are so happy to have him home,even though we are sorry he did have to make some major changes in his life to get here.So Welcome Home to Terry, Kim, Dakota, and Mikiah.(I think Mary got a snapshot or two of some of the work we were doing, but I didn't get to see any of the shots, so I'm dreading seeing what she posts, when or if she does.)(The pictures are of Terry, one of a set of twins, and his new wife,Kim, and the other is of Kim and her two boys working on a craft while visiting our home.)

Have I Gone Bird Crazy?

Funny how sisters think so much alike. Especially when they were not raised together(except for 6 years),and have always lived so far apart, but we think and do things so much alike.Vicki Lynn of "My Favorite Things", wrote about the birds just today. I have been wrestling with my bird situation around my home for weeks. I normally have lots of hummingbirds, but this year I have maybe 2. That is very strange.We have had as many as 15 at a time buzzing around my flowers and feeders.Can't imagine why they are not coming this year.
Then there are the Purple Martins I have been trying to attract to my home for 3o years to no avail.I have built Bluebird boxes off and on for years, only to have the cats to eat the babies as soon as they hatch and their feet hit the ground.We no longer keep a cat for that very reason(and that they get run over by speeding traffic through our little road, which is a cut through road to the lake.}
Now I have taken up watching the little house wrens. They build close to the house in any little nook and cranny they can find. We've had them to build in a busted out headlight of a bush buggy that wasn't moved that much. They have built in boots, in hats, in hanging flower baskets, in half open drawers. I love finding their nests in unusual places and watching them raise their young. But now we have Sarah.She is a dog that thinks she needs to hunt down and kill every living thing that moves. A cute little wild rabbit, a squirrel sneaking corn from the hen house, a ground squirrel scurrying from my flowerbed to his hole,any pretty song producing bird,a pesty mole, baby chickens,nor a dreaded mouse.None of these things have a fighting chance with her around. My grandson,John, has mentioned taking Sarah,our dog, to the dog pound, and exchanging her for a chihuahua.He wants a chihuahua so bad, since he saw one and learned that they stay little their entire lives. He loves little animals of all kinds.Back to the birds. I was stacking our winter's wood yesterday, and I heard the worst rippet coming from my pergola. I glanced up just in time to see a darn starling coming out of one of my wrens homes, with something in it's mouth. I had heard that they destroy other birds nests and break their eggs, but I had never witnessed it first hand. That done it. I HATE STARLINGS MORE THAN EVER.I pulled up a few sites and did some reading on the dreadful bird, and it seems Europe has programs trying to eradicate the pesty starlings. I will gladly join them in their venture now. I have tried to keep them out of my Martin housing, at least until they come, if they ever do come,but now I am declaring war on them whether I get Martins or not. I'll not have them messing with my wrens.Sarah is giving me fits trying to keep her from them.She and I have war over this daily.I agree with Vicki. Watching and listening to the birds is, indeed, a soothing,calming, peace inducing hobby when you can find a few quiet minutes to enjoy it.A rare commodity here, but cherished when I can find it.(Sorry, no pictures with this blog.I have been to Louisville today, visiting a friend who had serious back surgery, and am a little too tired to wrestle with the pictures.Maybe I will insert a few at a later time.)Hope you've had a good day where you are.We are experiencing another good rain at our house.

Look What I Found!

I found this giant strawberry(the real one in the front of the dish) this morning amongst my flowers. I guess that all the Miracle Grow I have put on this bed since last season paid off. If only I hadn't chopped out all the rest of the strawberries.I have never had much luck with growing big strawberries. Big enough to worry with anyway.
I grow lots of small ones around the yard for the kids to pick and eat , but I get my freezer jam berries from the Amish.Dumb, I know. but it is more work than I care to put into them, since I have so much to do otherwise.These are the size I usually fine in the yard. I did find enough today for Pop and I to laddle over the Strawberry cake(with a huge dollop of whipped cream) that, our grand daughter, Leah, made Sunday while she was here. Since finding this one huge berry, though, I may try one more time. I have already transplanted a bed of about 25 berries this spring in hopes of trying once more. This just convinces me for sure to give it another try. I'll just use more Miracle Grow, more often on the berries throughout the entire season.I read somewhere, sometime ago, that 25 plants would bear enough berries to feed a family of two.I'll see if that's true, if all goes well.If I post this goal for myself, maybe I will come closer to attaining it.
(P.S. Vicki, those blooms are from Dad's Peony in Mom's front yard.They were beautiful again this year.)

What Once Was Old,Is Made New Again!

This is not a new idea, but one that crossed my mine again today. I just finished my 2 latest quilts for the great nephews, so my hands were idle, and you know me and idle hands. They don't mix.I had stopped for a break from all my doings, and Pop and Howie were wanting coffee in the "pouting room", so I fixed a pot at the house and took it down to them.Pop always asks me to sit and visit with them a spell, but they spend so much time sitting, it's more than I can stand, so after a few minutes with them,I'll go on with whatever I was doing.Well today, I went down there prepared. I had laid up a serving tray that went through the fire,for a future project.It was a nice tray in the beginning, although it was not real silver.I use a lot of different trays, since we serve so much coffee to company around here.I just like having different trays to use for such. Most of them are usually basket trays, or wood trays, or whatever cute tray I might have picked up at a yard sale for a song. Well, this old tray had been used under a flower pot for a few years, and a hole or 2 had rusted through, but I still felt it was salvageable.I hate to throw anything away, that can be used in any other way. I never think to take a before picture until I'm well into a project, but this tray was ready for the dump. Most folks would not have hesitated to send it on it's way with out a second thought.I cannot bare to part with what has once been mine, no matter how bad it gets. It is a sickness, I have come to realize, but I accept the fact that I have this problem and wish that others could except it, too.I usually end up with several tiny scraps of fabric when I quilt, and I do mean a few, because I don't waste much.I save them for projects such as this. I have used the scraps to decoupage cardboard boxes,wooden boxes,pint jars,and other things,too. I think I have posted several of those projects earlier in my blog.The glue is not quite dry yet, so I won't be using it for a few days, but I am anxious to try it out on the next bunch of coffee drinkers.

There are Good and Bad Bacteria (Could the bad be winning?)

The story on the E.Coli in our laundry caught my attention as it did many others, I'm sure.They are literally scaring us to death with these stories of E. Coli lurking under our nails, in our clean laundry, in the mint bowl at local restaurants.Evidently, it is everywhere. Even on some of the produce we get from the markets. Now I know, some germs are really bad. But I do think we have brought a lot of this on to ourselves by using so much anti bacterial soap on everything we touch.There are good bacteria, as well as bad, and we are disrupting their balance by using these products so extensively.I plan to do a little more research on this topic to help myself and my family. Pop has had a bout with the MRSA bacteria, and I am convinced that I did too, although I did not think about asking the doctor to test in my case, for MRSA until Pop showed up with a similar sore a little later.I had just recovered from a group of what we thought were boils, on my hip(too close for comfort to other delicate body parts).I was fortunate to have my Mother staying with me at the time, recovering from eye surgery. I would not allow anyone else to change my bandages in that area as often as she did for me. The doctor lanced and packed the carbuncles or boils or whatever they were, and had to repack them every other day. In the meantime, Mom would change the bandages and wash the area as good as possible for me 2 and 3 times a day.Thank God for Mothers!I think the MRSA is a staph infection. I am not a medical student, but do know that staph and E.Coli are both BAD.I'd like to avoid getting either of them at all costs, if possible. I know that E.Coli comes from fecal matter, and everyone has staph in their own body.It is my understanding that the staph that is harmful to us is the staph of others.Our own does not harm us.Hospitals and other medical people, and now we know the same goes for manicurist and the like,can spread these germs by not sterilizing their instruments properly.Anytime the same instruments are used to treat several individuals, the possibility is present for spreading these types of germs.
The article I read said the water temperature in our washing machines, in most cases, was not hot enough to kill these bacteria,and bleach is not effective when used with hot water.You cannot use regular bleach anyway, on colored clothing.They also said the temperatures in our dryers was not hot enough to kill the bacteria.They recommended running the washer empty on occasion with bleach and cold water to sterilize it, but I can't believe that would help that much. The article said that each piece of underwear had the equivalency of a quarter of a peanut of feces on it. They recommended washing the underwear separate using bleach. That could help to a point.A lot more research would be necessary in educating ourselves on this topic for our own and our family's safety, but I believe the key to a lot of it is keeping our immune systems as healthy as possible. That also, will require a lot of research on things to do to achieve that, but the time has come for us to take our health concerns more into our own hands. We have access to all the knowledge in the world right at our fingertips. Now we must learn how to find it and weed out what we feel is best for our own self and our families and work on it.It's never too late to start helping ourselves to live a healthier life.

Compost-A Gardener's Best Friend

I am a gardener of sorts. I don't do a lot of typical gardening, but I love plants of all kinds whether it be edible or ornamental, and I love being able to improve my plants health and appearance by adjusting the soil.There are times when I can't decide which I love the most.The plants or the work with the soil. My father worked with dirt his entire working career, until he retired, then he worked with some gardening, as a hobby.I love turning the soil and mixing it with better components to make it better, in hopes of having a better plant, and eventually better produce.I have read a little of several blogs who do composting, but cannot say that I have found one who uses my method of composting. I could be wrong, and possibly have not read the right blog just yet, but hopefully, I can use my idea to help others cut out the daily or weekly drudgery of turning the compost heap or tumbler, which ever method they may be using, and save their backs.I have chickens ,as do many of the bloggers I follow. Most are multitasking, as am I, so I would hope they would do as I have done, and let the chickens help with the composting.My chickens are kept in a pen for the most part. Sometimes we let them out when there is no garden, and when I am here to make sure they stay out of my flower beds. When they scratch my mulch out of my beds and into the grass,I really get upset.Our five acres and acres and acres of neighboring woods around the back of our lot, and they choose to scratch up my flowerbeds.Go figure!Nevertheless, I have expanded their pen this year, so they can have more clover to eat, and thus,less mowing for me.I have started putting some of the "wild mulch"(from the tree trimmers)in their pen to give them something to scratch around for bugs. After it lays for awhile, the earthworms begin to move in under it.I have tried introducing night crawlers to our five acres to no avail. That is another thing I have on my list of failed ventures.So far, I can't get Purple Martins to take up residence here, or night crawlers, or the cleome flower, or the bleeding heart, or the money plant. I keep trying. I will not be defeated.But back to the composting, I take my leaf rake, and go into the older part of the chicken pen and find a corner where the soil is as dark as I can find and start scratching.Sometimes I take a spade in the pen and turn some ground for them to look for worms and bugs. The chickens all come running to my feet when I am in there, looking for a quick treat.Most of their droppings are inside the hen house.That is a good fertilizer, but very hot and strong. Pop says when he was young, his grandparents would make manure tea. They'd put it in a grass sack, tie it up, and place it in a barrel of water. That would keep out all the weed seeds from getting back into the garden. Then they would use the water to fertilize their garden plants. I use it sparingly and/or mix it lightly with my composted dirt.Sometimes I even pitch some soil into the chicken house, so they can mix it with the droppings.I am forever taking up sod from areas where I want to plant something. I use a lot of it to rework areas of the yard that are missing grass, but some of it, I toss into the chicken pen for their pleasure of getting out the bugs and worms.The remainder goes into the composting heap which they will scratch around day after day looking for more insects.I have made myself a couple of sifter strainers for my compost. It's a square box, made of 2X4's and a small piece of mesh screen tacked to one side. I sift the compost through it, separating the wonderful loose black soil from the larger components, which I toss back into the pile to be broken down more, or toss them in a gully to slow erosion in areas where needed.Dirt is a precious commodity around here. We don't have much of it, amongst all our rock, so we do what we can to keep it from washing away to Mammoth Cave.If you haven't used my composting method, I hope you will give it a try. It's quite wet here today,after having a day or so of heavy rain,wind and hail, but I hope you are having a Good Day where you are. Later!

A Good Job is Hard to Find

I find myself having trouble falling to sleep tonight, so I decided to write a little story about something my husband told me today.I spent the day with Mom, and he went to an auction right down the road from our home. The auction had been getting a lot of publicity around our home and I think a lot of folks went out of curiosity. From some of the stories that were circulating, I was a little fearful for Pop to go, but he felt confident all would go well,so that was settled. He went.When we both returned home later in the day, he told me about meeting a fellow at the auction, that lives only 3 miles from us, whom he had never seen before. That was really strange, since we are both retired, and having lived here for 32 years, we know most of the folks in our area. But this one Pop had never met. The auctioneer pointed out this fellow and introduced him to the crowd, at the regular nightly auction, which Pop also attended later in the evening.Pop, being really hard of hearing, he didn't quite hear what this fellow's occupation was,so he struck up a conversation with him, on his own.He explained to the man that he was hard of hearing, but he thought Damon, the auctioneer, had introduced him as the only person he knew that made a living picking up "poop".Sure enough, that was exactly what he said. As it turns out, this man had moved down to our area, and bought a small place we were both familiar with, right up the road about 3 miles from us.He said he worked in Louisville, so between work and raising a couple of kids alone, he didn't have time to get out and meet folks.Evidently, this was one of the few things he had done for relaxation in a couple of years.Nevertheless, he explained his business to Pop. He said he has more customers than one man can really handle, but he tried paying folks $15.and hour, and in cash, and still couldn't keep help.He said he had his business laid out in a chart, on the computer, listing all his customers, how many dogs each has, and where they live. He has it set up to where the computer charts his route each day,and how many homes he can cover in a days time, depending on how close together the homes are. Occasionally, he can walk from home to home.He charges a set amount for 1 dog, and an additional amount for each additional dog.It seems he said he has about 85 regular customers, that he cleans up for each week.He said he had devised an apparatus to pick up the "dog poop"that never requires him to bend over, and he has also learned that he could compost "it" and make excellent fertilizer for his yard and plants. I, too, would have enjoyed hearing him tell of his operation. If one can make a good living out of something that simple,yet unappealing, which is so needed by millions of folks nowadays,that is amazing. Who would have thought there was such a demand for that.But when you think about it,folks have gone all out these for their dogs and their yards.Smart Man! He may be extremely wealthy, one day when he gets all the kinks ironed out of his little business.Good for him. I wish him all the luck in the world.Someone has to do it.

Touche,Julie!

Julie, I didn't ask permission, but I hope you don't mind me using your picture on my blog today.


No, that is not my French Word for the Day, although it could be added to my list. (At least,I'm pretty sure it's a French word.)It is a word I am using today directed toward Julie of Newcastle,Australia.I have been reading more and more of her posts here lately, and am convinced that she and I think a lot alike. She seems to be, or if she wasn't at first, she is now, well educated in Getting Back to the Simple 'Unrefined' Way of Life.She does a lot of research(one of my first loves)on whatever she chooses to use and improve in her life, and shares it with those of us who wish to read her blog.I don't know her profession, other than being a Mother to three lovely children, and a wife, but she could be a professor from all the knowledge she uses in her posts.Here is the link to her post"About Me"that tells of her life and her mission with her blog. I follow her blog on a regular basis, and try to incorporate some of her knowledge and ideas into my way of living. She is an amazing lady.Drop by and check out her life and endeavors in Newcastle,Australia.


http://www.towards-sustainability.com/

Mother Hen and Her Five Baby Chicks

This is not a very good shot of the chicks, but the mother hen and our dog,Sarah, were both getting so agitated over us trying to get a better picture of the little ones, we got this quick shot and decided to call it quits.Just wanted to let everyone know that the one we worked with last night, survived, and seems no more the weaker for his rough entry into the world.I only wish we had thought and got it at all different stages of the delivery from the shell to it's present state.That would have been neat for all to see. Especially those who don't have any exposure to farm life and the like.

(The one in the front with the spots of white on it, is the one we worked with.)

Helping Another Mother

Today being Mother's Day, I had to offer a helping hand to another mother. I feel she could handle things on her own, but Pop didn't think so. With him having a weak stomach,and I mean 'really weak', I was elected to help.The Mother Hen already had 4 healthy chicks, and another peeking through the shell. Well, you would think, with Pop growing up on a farm, as he did, he wouldn't have thought a thing about that.But he was worried, the newest chick might be having trouble getting out of the shell.The Mother Hen is a really vicious hen, anytime she is disturbed.Whether it be sitting on the nest, while laying an egg each day, or setting on eggs to be hatched. She is bad. I had to adorn myself with a pair of heavy leather gloves to move her to the coup she's in now, away from the other chickens. Nevertheless, I took the partially hatched chick out of the coup and to the house to work with it.Both grandchildren watching my every move and popping every imaginable question during the process. I slowly picked the shell off the chick, leaving a small portion for it to continue feeding on, just in case.We gathered some dried fresh cut grass from yesterday's mowing, and put it in a little wooden box, and turned a lamp on over the chick.We'd cup it in our hands occasionally, and rub it's down with the grass, trying to be gentle, but yet drying it's down to a fluff.It was beginning to look more like a new chick. I hope we did it no harm, by doing this. We chose to put it back with it's mother, hoping she could handle it from there.There is no guarantee it will make it,but we tried.I'll try to post an update on the new baby chicks.I have 2 batches now. Five from the flea market, and so far five from our hen, if all goes well.The grandchildren are loving every minute of it.But then, that why we do these kinds of things.For them to enjoy and be exposed to the farm life just a bit.

Oh Spring!

Oh Spring!
Why must you go so soon? How I would love for you to stay a little longer.The site of the fresh new growth of green grass;
The fruit trees all aglow with their blossoms, getting ready for another bountiful season of fruit;

The spring flowers wearing their best atire for all the passersby to admire;
The iris in every color, the peony,the primroses,the mock orange, the roses,the carnations, the phlox,the money plant, the tulips, the hyacinths,the columbine, the clematis,the illium,the yarrow to name a few;

They have waited a whole year to show their beautiful faces once more, if only for a little while.

Summer comes so quickly with it's long hot days. All the beautiful colors will be gone until another Spring.

If only you knew how much I will miss your beautiful colors all around me as I work in my yard all summer long.