Beauty!

This was the most exciting thing going on a few weeks ago. Seriously, these tiny green sprouts and a sunny day really went a long way toward lifting my mood. There have been many more since these were taken.

They are the anxiously awaited sprouts of the peas I had planted at the end of February.

Since then there have been many more lovely things to brighten many more days.

Johnny-Jump-Ups

Bluets

Maple tree



Some kind of ornamental pear. (make it big and check out the lichen on the branch)


And of course, Daffodils! I don't know what kind these are, they were here when we got the place. There are several clumps and they are all really double like this.

Credit where credit is due:
With the exception of the peas and the maple, all photos were taken by my dear daughter Charlotte. ( who may have decided to be a photographer for real!)

Macro Monday--The Seasons They Are A Changin'

The old gives way to the new...Green things are popping up all over...

and we are looking forward to greener pastures

Give It Away

I wish I had things I could give away to random strangers..... Anyway, here is a super nice person giving away a super neat camera. Yes, I said CAMERA. All my Sunday Stills, Macro Monday, and Wordless Wednesday *peeps* ought to check it out!

And I can't post without a picture, so here is something random.

Macro Monday--Signs of Life!

Autumn Joy sedum
More like Spring joy! Oh yea!

Come on Spring!

Even the children of the house are busily planning for Spring planting!

This is very serious business...It has to be just so...

There! Can we plant now?

I REALLY needed that!

NOTE-Blogger likes to underline and color my text. I gave up repeatedly fixing it so it's kinda random.


What a glorious day! Warm. Sunny. Exactly what I needed. I spent the entire afternoon in the garden pulling weeds and generally tidying up. The kids ran around and played and got dirty just like kids lucky enough to live in the country ought to. My favorite was either when they were climbing on the hay ring like it was jungle gym crowing like roosters at the top of their lungs, or when Emily was walking around carrying and talking to the big snail I found.

All in all it was just a lovely day. Even the "weeds" were somehow inspirational:)Elijah looks like he has burst out in song!

Farm kitty basks


One final thing- here are some "after" pictures of the pond. I'll try to remember to take one from the same spot as the "before" and "during" pics.

A not quite up-to-date update

As of May 24:
The spinach was bolting(going to flower/seed)



















The peas were climbing beyond expectations
















and beyond the fencing

we had a nice little harvest

















I put in some tomato plants and something dug right next to one the first night. (They are fine, and I never did figure out what it was. I probably prefer, on some level, not knowing.)



Last ,but by no means least, I built this uber awesome trellis/obelisk for green beans to grow on. Mimosa must be eradicated, but that doesn't mean it can't be useful!

Radishes

OK, here is a tiny piece of my garden. It is about4x8 and contains some radishes and carrots as well as the peas starting up the back and the parsley spilling over the front.

I started out planting the radishes and carrots in rows.....






but I got tired of that tedium pretty quickly, and went with a more "try to scatter 'em fairly evenly" method.


They look like they aren't going to wait to be pulled, like they will just hop on up out of the ground right now thank you very much.







First harvest of the season!









They clean up well, don't they?
Oh, here I go again with teasers in the background. That is our new puppy wondering if maybe those are for her.

No, they are definitely not.

Hope Springs Eternal

.

Eternally hoping for Spring......Hoping for eternal Spring.....Oh, sorry. Rambling.

It's just that I'm so giddy. He did it! My dear, kind, thoughtful husband finally got the tractor to wake from her long Winter's nap and tilled my garden spot. What a rush! All the sins of last season wiped away! Hmmm....I must try to make the very best of my fresh start.

What service! He fumigated it too! Poor tractor needs attention. Is the garden still organic?

By the way, THAT friends and neighbors, is a tiller.

Just a reminder...

to myself really. We do actually make progress here. The first picture shows how overgrown and shaggy this side of the property was when we got it. (although, it was taken before all the vines and brambles had started to green up in the Spring) The shadow line in the center of the picture is as far as you could walk. We didn't even know what the rest of it looked like until we started getting it cleared.

If you look closely at the "after" picture, you'll see the pond area at the back. Close ups can be seen of that area in my post about tractors.

Anyway, we just need to remember to give ourselves credit sometimes. But, by no means does this mean we are going to rest on our laurels and stagnate in a pool (or pond)0f self congratulation! No! We will press on with renewed hope for further and greater accomplishment! With that in mind, tomorrow my DH has promised to till my garden. Yay! I just love new beginnings, don't you?

Let's just pretend I haven't been absent for 6 months

When I started this blog last year, I envisioned wonderful, witty, fascinating posts flowing daily from my keyboard. Didn't so much happen, did it? Oh well, as I always say, "so what?". It's a whole other year now so let's move along.

Things I Want To Accomplish This Year

1. Actually plant my garden. (so that I have something to photograph and blog about)(obviously that's not the only reason:feed my family, save money,etc.)

2.Finish the @#$% bathroom. (wanting a sink in the bathroom doesn't make me high maintenance does it?) At least it doesn't look like this anymore.

Oooh, nature, my favorite

Hi there! I just thought I would post a little post about gardening so that you all might learn from my vast experience.

Some reasons not to let your garden get overgrown with weeds.

1. It is unattractive to the human eye and artistic sensibilities.

2. The things you have actually planted in your garden suffer due to competition.

3. It will sadden and embarrass you to see your once lovely garden in such a state.

4. You will feel compelled to remedy the situation. If you do not use chemicals this may mean hand pulling an obscene amount of grass from a ridiculously large area.

5. If it is hot, this is unpleasant.

6. Bad, bad things lurk in weeds.

OK, so it is technically only one bad thing (and her cottonball of billions of baby bad things).

It is clear isn't it? You do know what this is, right? No? Look it up.

I pulled up a clump of grass, and there she was. I missed grabbing her by about a centimeter.

That was the end of the weed pulling that day.

I would like to say "live and let live" or something about all God's creatures....but no. I smushed her and her little ones too.

I read 'em , why not write one?

Maybe because I have no idea what I should say. Hmm, I have an idea! Maybe if I put photos of my "projects" up here and resolve to update my progress frequently, I'll not only have something to say, but I'll be honor bound to actually MAKE progress. OK, I'll start with my vegetable garden(because I happened to take some "before" pics today).

As you can see, there is much work to be done. The garden area is about 40x40. Those are my compost piles on the right. Don't get the wrong idea, I actually have very little gardening experience. This will be my second year to have one. Last year had huge successes(okra, zucchini, green beans) and HUGE failures(tomatoes, corn, peas). I don't use chemicals at all and don't yet know all the organic tricks. I hereby vow to post new pics as progress is made. There!

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Soon, I'll put up pics of the antique dresser I'm repurposing as a bathroom vanity and the whole bathroom remodel itself. Oh, and don't be surprised to see pics of the horses, cats, dog, random critters I run across, and the chickens(ok, not yet, but someday and soon)(I hope).

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"Most things in life won't kill you, and the things that will, will only do it once."-don't remember who