Hold on to your hair!!!

Good afternoon. Thought I would take a break and put something on the blog. Come in and take a break with me.
Today I have been up since 5:30 and I just feel like I am not getting as much done as need be. I did get like 8 loads of landry  done and it is up on the line. It is so windy I have to make sure it does not fly away! I got the mail, stamps and stopped at the store. I have some boxes put together so that I can hopefully get them sent out soon. That will be a great day becuse they wll be out of my way, one less thing to take up room.
I need to get into the garden and put more stuff in, my daughter of course does not want to help so things are taking longer than if there were two of us doing it. However it is nice to be able to do it by myself and not have to chat or deal with attitude. The animals have been helping..... Hank seems to think he is my shadow.

Hank my helper. He is a handsome boy tho.....

After I planted some things he had to hop up there and see if there was anything he could do for me!  He actually ended up gently eating bugs from around the plants!

Of course the old saying birds of a feather flock together...... well Goldie and Whitey had to come and see what Hank was doing. They are so nosey!

After all was said and done. Hank had to take a nap, right by where I was still planting of course! LOL He is a mamas boy!! You would never know we have had him only a short time, we got him at the auction. Actually I got 5 roosters at the auction, we sold one to a little boy who had barred rock chickens at home and he needed a rooster for them. Then Hank, Goldie,  One eyed Jack, and Wyatt came home with us!

Of course as I have been weeding I have been feeding the pigs the weeds and roots, which they love!!! Here are Poppy (the polka dotted on) and Wilbur (the black one) enjoying the goods. Of course the chickens always have to come and check things out!

Wilbur comes when you call his name and Poppy she always wags her tail but she just has not made it to coming when called. She was a petting zoo animal and so maybe she just doesn't want to be petted! They do get along very well, we have only had Poppy for a couple months so we are still working with her.

This is Wilbur the day we brought him home in the car.  He was not happy about being walked to the car but he did like the ride and never got up or anything... slept the whole way! He was not happy about going to the Fair last year either, he did not like being lead around! Talk about sqeeling, and whining! Everyone laughed tho as they thought it was halarious!
Ok well that is all the time I have right now. I have been asked to share some of the pictures of the animals so I thought I would get some of them on here. I have to go to knitting. I will share more pictures later.
Please keep a friend in prayer. They had to put there dog down today and we all know how hard that can be! Jack was a great dog and he will be missed.
Have a great day, buy someone a cup of coffee. Remember to smile, people do appreciate it.
Hugs... Until next time.

Happy Memorial day!

Today we are going to write in red as it is one of our flags main colors. It also represents the blood our strong men and woman have spilled defending this country as well as helping other countries in need. I appreciate each and everyone of you, I may not know you personally but you are or have been  in my prayers. I am thankful that you have answered the call to defend America and give me the freedoms I  tend to take for granted along with all the other Americans out there. I can never thank you enough. I think it is too bad that I never thanked my dad for being in the service while he was alive, kids at times just don't get it!
I challenge each and every one of you to thank a military person, do something for one of them. They should always be in our mind not just on Memorial day.
Until the next time... be a blessing to someone.

I survived!!!!

Good morning.....and looking at the sun out there it looks like it will be a good morning!
I am so sorry I have not posted anything lately, life has just been so busy. Mikhaila had to get all the homework in by last night at midnight. So what were we doing all last week .......homework! She has all her finals this coming week so we are not completely finished yet!

                               Chicken on the grill, a break from weeding!

                                        Mikhaila and Dutch working on Algebra out on the lawn

                                                   as I was grilling and weeding

Last week we did grill out, that was my break from the garden. As you can see I had "help" out there. These two won't even sit on the grass they have to have a blanket! I am always running around barefoot!

The weather here has been cold, cloudy and at times rainy. So all I have done is plant, weed during the times that I could. Now that I am not needed with homework help I can get back out there and crank the rest of the work out. Weather permitting, although I did do some planting in the rain. I figured I didn't have to haul water that way!

Ok here are some of the flowers from the end of the driveway that we planted. They are much prettier in person. I just thought it needed something down there as its boring otherwise!

I will show you what I found in the back garden as I weeded. I was starting to freak out because I saw no chives, could not find the peony that I transplanted and could not find the hosta that I knew had to be somewhere!!  I looked all over both gardens and then I started to weed and poof I find a flat that has my missing chives as well as the hosta that my friend Linda gave me last year! I also found the rubbarb that I had already plant as well as the one from Linda!! I am happy!

Found the chives still in the plastic flat that my friend had given me last year!! They were growing and everything! Also found the hosta in a plastic pot with little to no dirt, doing just fine! What hardy little plants!! I also found some carrots, Mikhaila ate about four of them, there are still some more in the ground.

   

                                                                      The little hosta, the black is the pot, the plant is the little leaves coming up out of a dusting of soil!

What is left of a yummy carrot!

Well I need to go for now. I need to help a friend move. Please have a safe and happy weekend. Remember to thank the Veterans in your life as well as those that you see while going about your day. Buy them a cup of coffee or put a big smile on and say I appreciate you! We really owe them alot for fighting for  and representing our country.

Until next time....

Hello from sunny Wisconsin!

Good morning! I am so glad to sit down and have a quick cup of tea and catch up with what is going on in your area. I have heard that the rhubarb is really growing for some folks, ours is alittle behind but it has kicked into gear now that we have had some warm sun on them. The transplant from my friend Linda is actually bigger then the one I planted 2 years ago, so I am hoping with some compaby the little plant will take off this year! Plus I put some manure on them and stuck tires around them to warm them up some. I couldn't even find them at first because the grass had taken over that area! I  bought some more Rhubarb, in a bag ( never done that before) and so I planted that out there as well- guess we will see if it grows. I love rhubarb and would love to get some from my own yard ...... someday!

The peonies in some folks yards are really BIG!  Mine however are not! I did see that the main peony that was here when I moved in came back this year. It has never gotten  big or flowered so last year I took some off of the root and put them in the back garden. I see the one transplant came up this year, I still have to find the other  one. I really have not spent to much time in the back garden yet as I am trying to get the side garden put in! I really want big peonies as my great grandmother always had beautiful peony bushes. Matter of fact my Aunt Claudia ( her daughter) has peonies that came off the original plants.

Yesterday I did get the front and the side lawn mowed. I have to brag - I was the first in the neighborhood to mow!! That really is bragging rights because I never am the first to do it, my lawn does get alittle shaggy at times, and when I was working fulltime I did not have the time to mow! So anyway the Lampert family beat the guys to it yesterday and then I think they felt guilty because they came out looked over here and then when and fired the mowers up!

After mowing the long side of the driveway where the garden is going in I went and started laying down the weed fabric. Not as hard as I thought it would be, although the breeze did not help things out at times. It is putsy tho, which is a little irritating, but if it helps me to keep the grass and the weeds down I am game for it. I am putting the fabric down because the grass in this lawn is super thick! I would kill myself if I dug it up, I did try tilling it with a tractor,- which got me one planting season that  I pulled grass and weeds all summer long! This year I am doing the fabric to control the weeds, and mulch the grass underneath the fabric, less work hopefully for me. Like I said in earlier post this is a year of trying new things out, the fabric is a new thing. I have heard about those that use it and I see bigger veggie farmers using it so I am going to try it. So far the 8 tomatoes, 4 cabbage, 4 cauliflower look really nice. As you can see in the one picture there was no fencing up yet, and the grass has been cut , but you see what I am working with- land that is just grass. That is why we are doing the weed fabric- this will be garden( whatever is mowed).

                                              starting the planting of cabbage,tomatoes, cauliflower in the weed fabric.

a close up of the plants in this area right now

2 tires of onions (left) 4 of potatoes

Some things I am trying are working good, the onions in the tires are growing and have broken through, the potatoes are growing in their tires as well. I did fence these in yesterday as I have some geese and chickens who are helping me garden!!  I threw the grass right on top of the spuds to mulch them. So far the tires have soil, manure, wood pellets that got wet and grass- sort of like lasagna gardening.

As you can see we added the planters that have flowers in them for some color. The flowers will get moved around as the garden expands, but we needed something out there to make it look pretty. Plus we planted the dahlias that I bought from the greenhouse in there as well. I have to look to see if these are dahlias that will grow the tubers (like the dahlias I don't have planted yet) or if they are just annual flowers that will not reproduce. Anybody know anything about the difference? I felt themas they were planted and I felt no tuners so I am expecting them to just be a seed flower. Anyway they are pretty ad they are planted!

marigolds and litttle flowers that look like daisies

3 different dahlias

Well that was yesterday getting things "growing" around here. I am off to work in the yard. I will post pictures of the tires at the end of the driveway that we got planted yesterday. Any other pics I might take today. Go have fun in your gardens!!

Remember plant acouple extra rows of food to share with someone, you'll both be better for it.

Just another so you can see it a little better

Mowing the lawn

Good morning! Come sit for a quick minute as I am about to head out the door. I hope all is going good in your neck of the world. We are all doing just fine here. Busy, but fine.
A quick recap of what has been done and is going to happen today.
I planted some cabbage in my straw bale and someone ate the three of them out out of there, nobody has confessed yet, its a toss up between the goose and the goat! So I have to get some fencing up around that area but before I can do that I need to mow the area and then I am putting down weed cloth and then I will be able to plant through that. So guess what is first on my agenda? That is right I have to go into town and get some gas ( known around here as go-go juice) . Why is it called that you are asking? Well because your car uses it to go here and go there so its always been called go-go juice. What can I say we are a little strange! Then I will be mowing and hopefully I will get planting done today as well.
So I just wanted to jump on say a quick hi and I will check back in with you later. Please let me know what you are planting, what is growing or maybe a really good recipe that I can share with others. Be blessed!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Good morning! Come in and sit a minute! I want to tell each of you to have a fabulous Mother's Day. If you are lucky enough to still have a Mom alive then call her, or visit. Its nice to get a gift but the  real things us Moms like is to spend time with our loved ones! Real inexpensive gifts such as home-made cards, dandelions picked from the yard, a walk in the country those cherished memories last forever!!
If your Mom has passed away, sit quietly and think of some fun things you both did together. Go for a walk, put a smile on,  remember the love you both shared. Even though you may not have her here any more she is always with you! Rememer that!
I want to say a big thank you to all the Moms in the military! I appreciate each and every one of you! I hope you get to talk to your husbands and kids at some point today and hear  how much they love you!
Go out and have a wonderful day with your loved ones.
Be blessed dear friends!

Brrrrr.....It is May right?

Good morning friends, come in and chat a minute so we can catch-up on what has beeen going on.
Lets start with the weather as that is what is on everybody's mind. Is it ever going to warm up? Great question that I have no answer for. I will tell you that it has been hard to get things to grow, I really wish I had a greenhouse of some sort, any size!! I can't imagine what the big greenhouses are spending in money to heat everything to make them grow!! I will have to end up buying things this year so I am glad someone is getting things to grow!

This week  has been really hectic with geting the daughter caught up in homework, trying to get her 4H project done in Food Review, we had to get her passport so she can go to Mexico in July. That was a huge undertaking as I could not find the birth certificate and then we had people that were not very educated as far as the paperwork. So after running all over and having to go to the bank and get things notrized we were able to get it sent in. Such a HUGE relief!! Now we just wait til it comes, which sounds like it should be easy but it really is not!

Lets see I did get some things planted, or put in pots. I stopped by th local garden store and bought some plants, I just could not handle it anymore. I had to have something green around me - however now they are under plastic trying to stay warm! I put the onions in tires, the geese and the chickens thought I was going out there to feed them so they were all around the tire looking in as I planted the onions. When they talk about curiosity killing the cat they have obviously never seen curious chickens, I hope my neighbors did not see me out there trying to reason with the poultry! My potatos are cut up and need to go into the tires, if it stops raining long enough they may get put in today or tomorrow. I pruned some on 3 trees, 2 apples and my pear. I need to still get my saw out and cut the dead branches out but I think I did very well with pruning the live areas. They look better and I think they will feel better too . They are starting to get buds on some of them so I hope by the time they really bloom it will be warm out there. It felt good to just be able to get something planted and my hands dirty!

Mikhaila and I planted some cactus at Spring Workshop day (4H) on sat. The Mn Master Gardeners always come and teach at Spring Workshop day and each year they plant different things.  This year they did cactus! I was really excited! I have loved cactus all my life. I remember my great grandmother having cactus and that has to be where I was bit by the cactus bug! I remembr she kept cactus in a big horse watering tank in front of the big window, I am amazed that nobody grabbed at them whn we were little! Anyway we each picked out 3 plants and  planted them in  our container. We will have to transplant them into a terra cotta or some other container but they really are cute! The two men that  donated the plants did an awesome job growing them!! They each grow and sell to different retailers and they sold these gorgous, healthy plants to the Master Gardeners for $1.00 a piece! Wow! Thanks for helping out the 4Her's. We also took a class taught by a member of the Minnesota Dahlia Society. He had a good movie to show us how to plant, grow and store the Dahlias. I have always wanted to really grow Dahlias and we always go see the huge display of them at the Mn state fair every year, then we fall in love with them all over again. Once I did try to get some so I could plant them in the spring and I got them from my neighbors and well they did not make it! I still think it was me who killed them by not storing them over the winter right but I am not sure if they were good healthy tubers to begin with. That is why I needed this class! The class was alittle small but we asked alot of questions, I learned alot and actually feel like I could grow a Dahlia. Which is really good being the generous guy gave us all dahlias that he had started from his own Dahlias! We walked out of there with 3!!! What a great plant day! Here are some wbsites that he gave me and now I am passing them on to you-  http://www.dahlia.org/, http://www.containerdahlias.com/, http://www.dahlias.net/ . Go check them the websites and learn something new about Dahlias and put some in your garden this year. I know I will get to plant some finally this year! I can't wait!

Ok that is all I am sharing for right now. I have to go get other things done and can't talk about flowers and gardening all my life! Have a great day! Take an interesting plant, see what you can learn about it and then try to grow it! You might be surprised to find you are the next one teaching a class!