Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tuesday Display Chain "Mary Mary How Dose Your Garden grow?"

This Tuesday Display Chain I must say grabs my heart. Gardening is near & dear to my heart at this time of year. The ideas come faster than I can make them happen. How dose my garden grow? Well I invite you on this stroll of my 16 year journey to see for yourself. The garden sleeps in the cold under blankets of white magic that falls from the heavens above.
As God shines his bright yellow sunshine down the rays warm the soil & the white magic melts away & the life begins to be reborn in the gardens as my heart stirs with my garden passion & I itch to get the warm soil in my hands once again. Flats are planted with seeds & kept in the mini greenhouse tended with love. The clean up begins in the rock beds & the pond is drained cleaned & refilled with fresh well water for the golden glins that swim under the water fountain.
Expanding the gardens continues with each passing year. Trips to the mountain for rocks to build more beds. This years beds will mainly be for veggies & herbs. The lower field is being planted with fruit trees. Four apple trees have been planted & some peach await. With high hopes & prayers of planting pear plum & cherry trees in the what will be the homestead orchard.
Most plants I have planted come up each year so while adding more I can see the show begin in all its glory. What beauty God has given us is amazing.
There oh so many more I could show you but I will wait for this years blooms to open & share with you on your return visits to the homestead gardens for another stroll. By then I hope to have all the creature houses moved & we can stop by to visit them as we stroll among the garden expansion. Thank you Misi for hosting the Tuesday Display Chains. I have enjoyed joining in from time to time & seeing all the wonderful chain posts by other amazing bloggers. htp://1890gablehousemusings.blogspot.com visit to see more. Blessings Til Next Time! Lara

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

What Do You Think?


I am getting the gazebo ready for the summer picnics. I hung the fern baskets & hung the chicken crate my son Atlee & my mother bought me last fall. What do you think? Should it stay after stained & the basket inside be filled with flowers? Or is it just to much?


The pond is cleaned & waits for water plants. All seven little gold nuggets survived another winter. Just feeder fish that have grown very large & dodged many cats.

I looked for pillows to use in the room I am giving a makeover. I wanted Heirloom Weaver pillows but the colors I wanted were not being made. I bought their napkins at the shop I sell in & decided I could make them into pillows.

I pinned the napkins right sides together & sewed around three sides.

Two reversible pillow covers for the makeover in Sams old room. I do not do zippers so I think I will pickup some velcro next trip to Walmart. I have two duck pillows to a comforter set from when the boys were little & shared a room that I will put inside once I fins them.

I went shopping for a small tent in hopes of the grands staying over night with grandma this summer. I was looking for a small one much like the one my kids had long ago. It fit in the living room & we watched movies together as they camped out & fell asleep. To my surprise this tent was much bigger & took up all the living room floor space after the table was taken out. New plan was decided at that point. The tent will be set up inside the gazebo. I had a little dog very interested in the tent while putting it together & when the door was in his sight. After going in he did not want to come out so I put a sheet down & his bed inside. I guess he thought it was for him. Soon Sam was in there & they both went to sleep. Two birds with one stone. Sam will enjoy the tent to.



Blessings Til Next Time!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Moving Day For The Bunnies


Today was moving day for the bunnies. I think they will be much happier in the new garden area. I can talk to them as I work in the garden expansion & later tend the newly planted seedlings. No neighbors dog kennels right behind their hutch with dogs barking for hours on end each day into the night any more. Less stress for the little critters.

After school today my boys Lucas & Sam loaded the bunny hutch on Lucas's truck & moved it to the new garden area across from the outhouse tool shed.

This is the view into the lower garden from the bunny hutch door. They will get to enjoy the fires in the outdoor fireplace by the gazebo & picnics this summer.

I like to sit & swing as I ponder just what next to do in the gardens. Well the chicken coop needs moved & the enclosure built. More rock beds to build. Another trip to the mountains for more rocks. So many ideas I have marked in garden magazines to. My ideas come faster than they can happen.

The little flock has been put in for the night. See the girls looking out the window? They will not go to roost until I go inside. Now to move the chicken coop into the new garden area. Not sure how this will be done. The day we brought it home I backed the truck into a bank & Laken Lucas Sam & I slid it off the truck bed on to their old little tikes wagon & pulled it into the trees. Well the wagon was well used over the many years of play & all the kids taking turns riding in it down the hill. Yes even me a few times. There were some spills & crying kids back then. As I was saying the wagon was well used & the back tire rod bent & then a wheel fell off. We need a new plan. It will come to me I am sure.

This week I have finished reading this book. It is a wonderful book. You may want to read it yourself. Tasha Tudor was an amazing woman. If only I could have met her.

Night has fallen & all is warm & cozy inside as the temps drop outside. The candles light the windows to welcome all home. I liked it better when my kids were just riding the wagon down the hill. Now there out driving vehicles instead. Well thats why I pray. So glad you stopped in to visit & listen to me chat tonight.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Monday, April 9, 2012

Garden Expansion / New Treasure Found


The gardens are getting greener & full of color here & there as the weeks go by. The trees have bloomed & Easter flowers have bloomed since I last chatted with you. The seedlings are growing well in the greenhouse. I have been busy reading gardening books & clearing the future veggie plot with the help of Sam. The future veggie plot was started September of 2010. It has went slow but progress is noticeable now. The bunny hutch & chicken coop still need to be moved there. My dream veggie plot was to have raised veggie beds with the critter houses among them with rock paths to wonder about the veggie plot.

The front side of the future veggie plot before any ground clearing began.

The back side of the future veggie plot before any ground clearing began.

After tress were removed & firewood stacked for the outdoor fireplace there was no more progress until a few weeks ago when Lucas & his friend moved the outhouse tool shed to the veggie plot. This got things moving again. Over the past few weeks the tree stumps tree roots & rocks have been being removed.

A load of soil form a cow pasture delivered for filling the beds.

The first raised bed has been built for the garden expansion. A layer of grass clippings. Next a layer of shavings from the chicken coop with much chicken poo then top soil.

I sewed some more seeds & added the trays to the greenhouse. Outside I planted our pea gardens. The chickens are laying many eggs. The duck eggs have not hatched yet. God has been moving for my family & I in a mighty way. Praise be to God! Thank you for your many prayers. I pray God meets your needs & answers your prayer requests.

This shelf beside the frig holds my crocks filled with tatters & onions. It has worked well for some time now but I wanted an oak bookcase to put beside the frig. It would help hide the frig & hold more things allowing for more counter space.

My treasure hunt for an oak bookcase has ended with this beautiful oak bookcase I replaced the old shelf with beside the frig in the kitchen. I have more counter space now to. My gray granite ware bowls & basins have a home & can be filled with fruit. My sewing machine has been under the cabinet waiting to be put back to work making more bonnets. When the raised beds are all built out the sewing machine will come again. I have purchased beautiful fabric colors as I seen them. They are folded & waiting in my baskets that are now sitting in the old shelf from the kitchen. Sam has his game system & T.V. on the top shelf. We have been working on making his old room a game sewing T.V. room to share. We call it the little den. Laken is working more hours & has no plans of moving home. But she is staying here tonight with us. Good thing the couch in the little den has a pull out bed in it. Lucas is starting to work more hours to. I am waiting for them to get home & I have catching up to do reading your blogs. I hope to get started tonight.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara