Scenery On My Walk / Leaf & Grass Clippings Cage

I see this amazing creature on my walk every day & always wish I and brought my camera with me. Today I remembered it. I talk to it & it sometimes moo's at me.

A little ways down the road I walk by these creatures. If you have read my blog for any length of time or I may have commented on yours. You will remember that since I was a child I have always loved watching these creatures. There was a cow pasture across the road at Pap & Prams. Somewhere there is a black & white photo of Gram & I standing in the pasture with the cows. I find them to be so peaceful. So much nicer than the young copperhead snake on the road I came across today. It was about 15" long & as round as my thumb.

Other scenery I pass by on my walks. The beauty off green. The sound of running water. Nature in its glory.







To the left of our firewood I added a cage to put the leaves I am racking & the grass clippings Sam empties from the grass bagger after mowing inside the rock beds. I will be using it to amend soil for the veggie garden. I think I have had a change in plans for the dream garden. I looked into building wooden garden boxes & the more I looked at the cleared area in the woods & envisioned my dream layout I thought I would like rocks to build the beds out of. It would just look more natural & blend so much better with the flower garden I have already built. I am hoping my Aunt will allow me to gather & remove rocks at Pap & Grams homestead. She now owns the property where I grew up.

The gazebo is always a welcome site to see when walking into the homestead yard at the end of my walk. A nice place to sit & rest as I watch the birds fly about & sing their songs. There is a little humming bird visiting the rhododendron bush behind the gazebo this week. I think it knows I mean no harm to it for it has gotten to the point it sits on a branch after feeding & listens to me talk to it a bit before flying away. Then off I go to make breakfast.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

What I Found On My Walk

On one of my walks this week I saw this mushroom growing along the road. The sun was shining down on it just waiting for me to pluck it up. I put in in the flowers just to take the photo. It reminded me of the days Pap & I would go mushroom hunting. When Sam got home from school I told him to look in the frig to see what I found. He thought it was part of a deer antler. Oh I have failed to carry on the tradition of mushroom hunting to this generation. I will have to take Sam hunting next mushroom season.

Sam went on a field trip this week. While trying to pass the time & not worry I cleaned his turtle tank. Toby the turtle seems happy with his fresh water.

I thought about changing the spring display on the stove board but I like the little rabbits so much. I added the bee hive jar candle to the granite ware bowl. The apple scent smells so good.

One night Sam & I took supper to the gazebo.

Sam enjoying his supper.

I decided if I was going to get any closer to having my dream of having a potting shed & a box garden come to life I would have to start by cleaning the are.

These three trees made the perfect place to stack the tree branches I picked up after breaking them into shorter pieces. This will be for burning in the fire chimney while enjoying the gazebo at night.

After picking up the tree branches I racked back the leaves just to expose the soil. I was such a rick black color & soft. I believe this will be great soil to build garden boxes on and fill them with.

This is where I still need a tree . I had a tree on each side of this entry way but the one died. It looks unbalanced for now.

I think that I have come up with an idea to close this bare area in behind the gazebo. I saw a grill shack in a magazine. It was really neat. It has a roof, floor & three walls with wide shelves that drop down to hold food. The front is open. Inside you put the gas grill. This would create the privace I am looking for on this side of the property. I am filling this dream in my garden journal for future plans.

Box Garden & Potting Shed Dream Update

After five days & help from the boys & hubby the area I want to build my dream box garden & potting shed is almost ready. Thursday I dug out hubbys power saw. Being raised in a sawmill family I did my share at times. So I figured I could manage cutting the smaller trees I wanted to have removed. Well no such luck. The saw would not start. Friday hubby asked why his powersaw was out. Oh I did not bury it back on the shelf. I left it sitting on the basement floor. Yep I had to tell him I got it out & why. He told me I could not run a saw or cut the trees down. I reminded him I was raised in a sawmill family. I have hooked up logs & pulled them from the woods with a tractor to the wood yard. Measured them with the wood stick & marked them to be cut. I done my share of cutting & driving a loaded truck out of the skid roads. I went about clearing the very small strags by cutting them with my tree trimmers. Soon I heard the saw running. In a short time the trees were cut down. They were sawed in pieces to fit the fire chimney for burning at the gazebo. The limbs were removed by the boys & I. Next the stumps will need to be removed & the dirt pile will need to be spread out to level the area. The dog will no longer have a deep hole to lay in. As I said in another post where there is a will there is a way. Getting there & just why did I wait so long? For now I will continue to plant my veggies in the back of the rock beds. This summer the boys & I will be working on building the garden boxes & getting the soil ready for planting next spring.

A thought to ponder: I heard a preacher on T.V. today say why do we believe what the news says so easily but have trouble believing what the Bible says?

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

What I Found On My Walk

On one of my walks this week I saw this mushroom growing along the road. The sun was shining down on it just waiting for me to pluck it up. I put in in the flowers just to take the photo. It reminded me of the days Pap & I would go mushroom hunting. When Sam got home from school I told him to look in the frig to see what I found. He thought it was part of a deer antler. Oh I have failed to carry on the tradition of mushroom hunting to this generation. I will have to take Sam hunting next mushroom season.

Sam went on a field trip this week. While trying to pass the time & not worry I cleaned his turtle tank. Toby the turtle seems happy with his fresh water.

I thought about changing the spring display on the stove board but I like the little rabbits so much. I added the bee hive jar candle to the granite ware bowl. The apple scent smells so good.

One night Sam & I took supper to the gazebo.

Sam enjoying his supper.

I decided if I was going to get any closer to having my dream of having a potting shed & a box garden come to life I would have to start by cleaning the area.

These three trees made the perfect place to stack the tree branches I picked up after breaking them into shorter pieces. This will be for burning in the fire chimney while enjoying the gazebo at night.

After picking up the tree branches I racked back the leaves just to expose the soil. Ii was such a rick black color & soft. I believe this will be great soil to build garden boxes on and fill them with.

This is where I still need a tree . I had a tree on each side of this entry way but the one died. It looks unbalanced for now.

I think that I have come up with an idea to close this bare area in behind the gazebo. I saw a grill shack in a magazine. It was really neat. It has a roof, floor & three walls with wide shelves that drop down to hold food. The front is open. Inside you put the gas grill. This would create the privacy I am looking for on this side of the property. I am adding this dream to my garden journal for future plans. The garden journal is expanding with all my day dreaming.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

To Stencil Or Not / Mothers Day Gifts

I love to see painted colonial stencil designs on a wall. To stencil or not I am wondering? I was thinking a narrow stenciled design above the wide painted board in the middle of the wall & a wider stenciled design above the painted window trim. using flat black paint. What do you think? Would it add to the wall or be to cluttered looking?

I received my summer issue of A Primitive Place magazine. Loads of prim perfect beauty inside the cover again. Well the story Farr from Ordinary gave me the wonderful idea to paint the bead board with chalkboard paint after I get it all cut & installed in the back of the cupboard.

My oldest son Atlee & his girlfriend are repairing a chicken coop on her parents farm to make it into a play house for my grand baby girls. They found this chicken feeder still in good shape. They came to visit one night last week & gave it to me for Mothers Day. It was better than anything he could have bought I told him. Well Altee sure knows his moms prim likes. Hubby took Sam & I to pick out some flowers for Mothers day. I got a tray of Violas & two water plants for the pond. I added some of the Violas to the chicken feeder. I will plant them soon with the rest of them that I have already planted around the pond.


I added these two Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees to this rock bed over the weekend. I still have one more spot in another rock bed that I can put another tree. I would like it to be much larger. The larger the more they cost. I am waiting for that Lowes coupon I get every summer. Hurry Lowes & send it. The peas & onions are growing. The chickens & ducks are quacking & clucking about the homestead grounds along side the kitties. My Ollie has been missing for the second week. I sure hope she returns. She has been with us for eight years. I miss seeing her curled up under the trees in the rock beds. Sams little dog is enjoying the outdoors & the monster dog is not entering the yard while hubby is at work. If only I could keep him out when Hubby is home. To bad Hubby thinks he has to be where he is when he is home. The dog acts like he owns the yard when Hubby is home. I don't enjoy the dog smirk he has when following behind Hubby right through the entry ways into the gazebo. I am not giving up. Where there is a will there must be a way.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Kitchen Cupboard's Cleaned Out

As the rain started to fall down today it ended working outside. While unloading the dishwasher I decided to clean out this section of kitchen cupboard's where the dishes are kept.

I started to empty out the cupboard's deciding what I no longer wanted or needed. Leaving the door's open as I took thing's out & moved thing's around. I decided it was time to take the cupboard door's off. I have been wanting to do this for a long time.

I got these basket's last summer & had sewing supplies in them. I emptied the sewing supplies & filled them with my little jar's I put soup in & the medium jar's I make sweet tea in. This works well. It look's much neater & the jar's are safer. I put the mix & match dishes I have acquired over the year's in a box for now. Not sure if I will be dropping them off at goodwill or taking them to auction. It will depend on how much stuff I no longer want or need after cleaning out the other cupboard's & the bedroom closet's. I am in the mood to de-clutter. The pink wallpaper from 15 years ago must go. It was on sale really cheap when I moved in way back then. I have an idea to give it a more prim look.

I saved the end's of the pine panel's that I am covering the door's with in the hall. I think they will work well after they are cut to fit & painted then glued in the back of the cupboard. I need to get those door's done to see if I will have enough pine panel end's. I will no longer have to shut the cupboard door's after the family has been in them. I won't have to say shut the cupboard door's over & over. Best of all I can see my pretty yellow dishes. You all know how I fill about yellow in every room. It screams HAPPY to me. Add a little yellow to your life & see if it work's for you.

Blessing's Til Next Time!

Chickens Out & About / Dog Training / Pond Cleaning

I planned to be out side much of the day & since it was a beautiful day I left the chicken's out to roam about in the little wooded area behind their chicken coop. They enjoyed scratching & cackling. Not sure that is a word. You can see how much they have grown since we got them.




Yesterday I started dog training. My goal was to train the dog not to enter any of entry way's in the rock bed. I sprayed the rock's & the entry ways with vinegar. It did not work. The dog seemed to like the taste of vinegar because he just licked it. Today I put wire across the entry way's. He was out side the rock's.

The wire seemed to be keeping the dog outside the rock's. This made me a happy gardener. All was safe.

I drained the pond today for the spring cleaning. Lot's of muck & leaves were in the bottom. To my surprise an area has bowed in since we filled the pond last fall. The tub from the chicken brooder the boy's & I made worked fine for holding the fish.

Crystal clear water ready for water plants when all danger of frost is past. I am in a hurry. For now those glints of orange surface & dive in the rippling water.

As I looked up from the pond after finishing up what did I see but the four legged monster inside the rock's. So much for the wire he just went under it. Well I lowered the wire another notch in the fence post. Now he will have to practice the limbo to get in. Even if he learn's to stay out after the wire is removed I think he will just roam right through the entry way's while his pet my Hubby is home. I wish the vinegar would have done the trick. Hubby has no sense of smell.

I found another pattern for a doll in one of my pattern book's that I have cut out & started to sew. I am working on it at night between picking up the kid's when they get off work. Gas has went up to $3.99 a gallon this week. Lucas pumped in $26.00 worth & that got us a little less than half a tank. Laken & Lucas are both learning to budget for gas to go to & from work from their pay check's. I am glad they both have job's close home. I must be off to pick Lucas up from work so I will close wishing you all a good night's rest.

Blessing's Til Next Time!
Lara