Sunday Serenity

I just saw a deer walking down my driveway.

Probably the same deer that ate all our grapes and my Purslane.

Purslane

But, that's OK.  They need to eat too.

I hear Purslane is edible for human consumption as well but haven't tried it.

If the food prices rise, as the media is touting, I may have to resort to trying it, heehee!

It's the beginning of a brand new day and it promises to be a good one.

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,

to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;

I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts!

Psalm 92:1-5

 Linking with

Till next time,

From Mowing to Sewing

Sounds kind of extreme don't ya' think?

Not around here.  It's all in a days work!

We've had quite a bit of rain this summer so the grass weeds are growing like crazy.  You also have to mow in between the rain showers.

Yesterday was rain free so as soon as the dew dried this morning I went out and mowed the yard.

The side yard... home of the bird feeder station

I enjoy being outside and working in the yard.

I also enjoy working with my hands and being crafty.

So, after I finished mowing and weed whacking (with both the mower and the weed whacker, ha!) and had my shower, I decided to do something domestic and crafty.  I had just the project in mind.

My brother and sister-in-law came over for a visit yesterday and brought me some liquid gold (honey) from some friends in New York who have bees.  I'm a huge fan of honey and this stuff is awesome!

Anyhoo, she had the jar wrapped in a towel and nestled in a picking basket.  After unwrapping the liquid gold she said I could have the picking basket too.

I knew right away that I wanted to use it to hold my dish cloths and kitchen rags since we no longer use paper towels.

I tried using the basket as is but the interior was rough and the rags were catching.  So, I decided to try and sew a liner for the basket.

Now, I am not a seamstress, mind you.  I have picked up a few tidbits here and there from watching my neighbor who has helped me on numerous projects.  She's a fantastic seamstress and at one time had an upholstery business.   I made sure to pay attention to what she was doing.  It has helped me with the basics of sewing.

Several weeks ago, I purchased some fabric at a Thrift Store for $1 which ended up being about two yards worth of material.  I wanted to use it to make the liner.

I started pondering my design, measuring the basket, cutting the material and then just started sewing.  I wasn't quite sure what I was doing but I figured if I just started then I would quickly find out if it was going to work or not.  Luckily, it worked!

It took me about an hour and half to make from beginning to end.


It's far from perfect but it works for me and gets the job done!

So for less than a dollar, I have a cute, functional basket to hold my dish cloths and kitchen rags.  Frugal and creative... ya' can't beat that!

Till next time,

Morning Stroll

Yesterday morning Lady LizzieBelle and I went for our morning stroll around the neighborhood but this time I took my camera with me.  These are some of the sights we saw...

After coming out our gate we turned left and headed for one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood...

A little piece of Gum Slough.

We live in the southern portion of Gum Slough.  With all the rain we've had this summer these sometimes dry areas in our neighborhood have filled up with water again.

slough, n. - 1 .an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike regions.  2. a hole full of mire, as in a road.  3. Also, slew, slue, Northern U.S. and Canadian . a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like.  4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

It's such a beautiful and serene spot.  I wish there was a bench to sit on while absorbing the scenery or reading a good book.

A majestic cypress tree surrounded by cypress knees.

LizzieBelle was so patient with me as I snapped one photo after the other.

I was constantly on the lookout for alligators, snakes and a good shot.  They are all plentiful in areas like this (and the gators like small dogs).

LizzieBelle on high alert and watching for gators too!  Not really, she was keeping an eye on one of the neighbors dog that had followed us.

Fortunately, the mosquitoes were not plentiful and I did not have to spend time swatting them.  The county has faithfully been spraying once a week for several weeks now and it has definitely helped.  Since our neighborhood is surrounded by these sloughs the mosquitoes can get thick as mud.

Time to head back home.

I hope you enjoyed the sights from our morning stroll!

Till next time,

LizzieBelle Update

It will be one month tomorrow since LizzieBelle became a part of the homestead.

If you missed the introduction of Lady LizzieBelle you can read about it HERE.

Ah, isn't she cute?

Along with some obvious skin issues and fleas, she also had tape worms and, unfortunately, she tested high-positive for heart worms.

The tape worms and fleas are now gone.

The hair is slowly starting to grow in some areas.

And, it's been two weeks since her first heart worm treatment.

She's had one heart worm shot from the vet.  In the last 14 days she's had a daily dose of antibiotics with 14 more to go.  Every Wednesday she gets a dose of Heart Guard until her next heart worm shot in four more weeks.

This process will continue until all the heart worms are gone.

It's a slow process but it's healthier and easier on the dog.

She's quickly becoming spoiled-rotten but she remains a sweetie-pie and such a good dog.

I honestly believe she appreciates her second chance for a good life.

She is sound asleep on my lap as I'm writing this blog post. She's definitely a lap dog.  

It has taken us a while to get into a routine but after four weeks I think we finally have one established.  Which makes us all happy!

Till next time,

Beating Boredom

Me, bored?  Never.

Even as a child I was rarely bored.  That's because if I ever admitted I was bored my Mom would find something for me to do.  And it was usually an extra chore or two, nothing fun!

So, needless to say, I managed to keep myself occupied!

Maybe that's why I have so many hobbies that I enjoy!

But my chickens, on the other hand, are showing signs of boredom.

Several of my girls' bottoms are bare which means other girls are pecking at the feathers out of boredom.  All the rain we've had lately hasn't helped either as they tend to stay in their coop when it rains.

I read somewhere about hanging a treat for the chickens to help with the boredom.

This is what I came up with...

A basket made out of leftover chicken wire and the old rope from the chicken coop windows.

Then, I dropped a head of iceburg lettuce in it and waited.

I knew it would be a while before anyone got up enough nerve to really check it out so I went indoors to shower and cool off.  (After cleaning the coop and removing all the leftover rocks that weren't used around the duck pond I was pretty ripe!).

Several hours later I went back outside and they had finally discovered it!

Ol' Roostie is keeping his eye on me while I'm photographing his girls...

Isn't he handsome?  He knows it too!  He's also VERY protective of his girls.  Some days he just does not want me near them and he lets me know it by attacking my feet, sigh.

Here he is showing off and doing what he does best... making noise!

Here's a fun little video of how the girls are beating boredom...

I'm hoping this will help ease their boredom.  I do not want the girls to have bare bottoms when Ol' Man Winter comes along.

Linking up with

FarmGirl Friday

Till next time,

Saxon Manor Update

If you've followed me for some time, you'll probably remember me writing a couple of posts about an old abandoned house that was recently purchased and is currently being renovated to hold special events.  If you're new, you can read about it HERE.

Last week I was in the neighborhood of the old house so I stopped by to see how it was coming along.  Not a lot of progress has been made on the exterior of the house but the garden had undergone an enormous makeover.

The gazebo and bench were added along with the plants, path and garden border.  The bird bath was there already.

I think it was a good idea to get the garden going while the house is still under renovation.  This will make a lovely spot for photos to be taken especially when the garden matures.

Here you can see the proximity of the garden to the house.  It is located at the side of the house.

I keep hoping that there will be some workers around so that I can ask about checking out the interior renovations but there never seems to be anyone around when I'm there.

Maybe some day my timing will be right!

Till next time,

Too Much Rain & A Silver Lining

What? you say.

How can there be too much rain when some areas are getting none?

We have been getting almost daily torrential downpours.

While it is good for the grass, the aquifer, the animals and most plants,

it is NOT good for my lima beans.

They are suffering horribly.

At one time, you could not see the fence.  My plants were full, green and lush.

Now... there are very few leaves left and what is left is molding up quickly.

Even the lima bean pods turn moldy and mushy almost overnight...

Sometimes the beans inside are still good if caught in time.

My cornflowers evidentally don't care for lots of rain either...

Sigh.

And, if you're not careful, the mosquitoes will pick you up and carry you away.

There are swarms of them and they are HUGE.

Some are the size of my thumbnail.  I kid you not.

Thankfully, the county comes onto my property and sprays once a week.

How I wish I could bottle some rain up and send it to

those of you who are having a drought this summer.

However, the majority of my plants (and weeds!) are soaking up the moisture and thriving...

Impatiens

Mandevilla

While a few of my plants have suffered from too much rain, I would still prefer to deal with that and the mosquitoes rather than no rain at all.

There's always a silver lining to every situation.  It may be harder to find in some situations but there will be one... somewhere.  Just keep looking for it!

My silver lining for too much rain (other than those previously mentioned above)... it has kept our usually hot, humid and muggy temps here down to somewhat more reasonable and tolerable temps this summer. For that, I will continue to swat mosquitoes when outside!

Till next time,

Routines

Do you like routines?

I do like routines.

I also enjoy variety and like to be spontaneous.

Do the two go together?

I think they can work well together and balance each other out.

Lately, my balance of the two have been off.

I can't seem to find a daily or weekly routine anymore.

There seems to be more variety and spontaneity in my life these days which

sometimes makes me feel like I haven't accomplished anything.

But, that's OK.

Times like this often come up during one's life.

The key to getting through these times is flexibility.

By being flexible, you may just find yourself another routine.

Hopefully my balance will be back soon and I can, at least, get into the blogging routine again!

Till next time,

The New Bird Perch

When I created the flower bed in front of the house this past Spring, I added a trellis with a Pink Mandevilla planted at its base.  The Mandevilla is climbing its way up the trellis but the trellis also serves as a perch for many of my wild birds.

Yesterday, I heard a loud noise on the front porch so I went to investigate.  I saw Precious standing in the corner looking out towards the front yard.  I followed where she was looking and saw a hawk perched on the trellis.  (I'm not sure what the noise was.  I'm guessing Precious made a sudden jump or move because of the hawk causing the noise.)

I ran to our bedroom to grab my camera and to snap some photos.

They have extremely good hearing as it turned its head toward me whenever I was moving around the bedroom.

I hid behind the curtains and snapped these photos between the blinds!

This is why my chickens have to stay in their run.  We have lots of hawks out here that would love to have some chicken for dinner.

Till next time,