A Most Lovely Spring

This has been a gloriously gorgeous Spring.  I always look forward to the blooming of the old pear tree in the front yard.

Lenten Rose

I love Violets!

Pear blossoms.

Fragrant White Violets along with Blue.

Summer Garden

This spring, my husband and I decided we were going to try a "no-till" method on our large summer vegetable garden.  We watched a video called "Back To Eden" and were pretty amazed!
We decided not to plow or till.  He would only mow the cover crop and any grass that was there.  Then he started making trips to the dump to get trailer-full after trailer-full of this wonderful stuff!  I believe her got at lest 6-7 loads and started spreading.

After planting my seedlings which I had started earlier, we put them in the ground and gave them some water.  Nothing much else.
Here is what it looks like today.

We've actually had a hot, dry summer so far, with some rain last week.

Lots and lots of blossoms on the squash.

Patty-pan squash can be eaten as summer squash, or later left on the plant to get big for use as winter squash.

Notice the nice, soft, CLEAN, squishy bed that squash lays on!  

I have yet so see any squash bugs.  That doesn't mean I won't.

My husband has weeded twice.  Each time it took no more that 10 minutes.  Really!  Did I mention we haven't watered? 

See the video here.

The tomato plants look very good, although they have some sort of a leaf curl.  It doesn't seem to have much affect on them, although they are not as pretty.  There is just a tiny bit of blossom end rot on the tomato I picked this morning.  The rest of them look great!

We haven't put any green beans in the ground yet.  Maybe there will be time for a fall crop.  We got it all in very, very late.

I hope you will see the video.  It takes over an hour to view it all, but you will be pretty amazed!  

Orchid Fully Bloomed

Two years ago my husband gave me this beautiful orchid for my birthday.  It was pretty then.  It is spectacular now!  It has been in bloom for a month.

Ashley had great success with orchids when she was home.  She knows lots about them, so I always call her when I have questions.  

"My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever."

More Update

Welcome dear friends. I'm giving you some more pictures that were taken during my nine month siesta! I hope you enjoy them!

Life can be so much fun! It's really in how you look at things.



Here's Mrs. Pelc and I earlier this spring up in Missouri.
She's a REALLY funny gal. We always have such a hoot when we're together.
You should hear her sing!


Dreaming . . . .

We had some new additions to the family. Ducky Doodles!

These little balls of fluff belong to Sayre. He ordered 6 Pekins, 6 Mallards, and 6 Rouens (sp?).
He ordered a straight run.

May was such a lovely month this year. This clamatis is growing just where I found it, at the foundation of the new addition. I don't know how it got there, but I nearly pulled it up thinking it was a weed!

Isn't it lovely!

Here's little Hamlin.

"New Dawn" was simply covered with roses! I invited Marmee over to see it after church, and she just couldn't believe her eyes!

The strawberry patch beckoned again ~ and of course, we succumbed.

Sigh. . . . another last time.

The Last Roses of Summer

Summer has come to a close, and we have been blessed with such lovely mild weather. The roses just love it! With the ample rains they have grown nicely this summer and are now putting on one last flush of beauty for us to enjoy before winter.




Here's my favorite "Rose".

Yours Truly

Cecile Brunner: a climber with the sweetest little pale pink roses.

The Poet: An English style shrub rose.

Falstaff: an English rose ~ ohhhh so fragrant.

These little fellows are busy, busy, busy, as they prepare for the winter.

Simplicity Rose : a lavender shrub rose

Kathryn Morley an English rose.

Having roses has been a dream of mine for some years now. How thankful I am that I can now grow them! It has "pleasured" me to share them with you.

Spring is Here!

Hello friends! Spring is springing all around us here on the farm. Every where I look, there are signs that The Great Creative Genius has once again preserved his handy work to remind me of his reality.
What a blessing it is to know that He made everything with a purpose, including you and me. Now matter what our circumstances, background, or shortcomings, we can only find fulfillment when we become rightly related to Him.

Last August, I planted the seeds (Botanical Interests) for these pansies (Carmel Spice) and was disappointed that they did not bloom in the fall. But now they are rewarding me with so many blooms, and even seed pods! Wow~they were sure worth the wait!

Now what do you think about this sweet face? His Mama has been out in the garden for the last month tending the vegetable garden, as well as this East Garden.
I could not do all my work without my children though. They do so much without a complaint.

All right, all right~ it's time to go in and fix "baby bear's porridge"!

The First Hard Frost!

Welcome friends! Burrrrrr! It's cold out side! This week, we woke up to a thick layer of frost covering all the plants outside. Whatever was tender, is gone. It's actually rather exciting,
because now we can start enjoying hot crackling fires in the fireplace.

Back in August, Thelma and I put out some cool weather plants
that we are just now harvesting. I'm really quite a novice at vegetable gardening,
so I was so pleasantly surprised to see these little plants mature and bear.
I was told that these heads of cauliflower are unusually large.
They are bigger than the ones in the grocery store! And quite tasty too.

Here you see the remains of the cauliflower plants after harvesting heads,
and being bit by the frost! The variety I grew was called "Snow Crown"
and I bought the plants at Wal Mart.
They are an early variety, 50-55 days. But I harvested at 87 days.

This one still has a little head inside it. Make sure YOU space your plants 4-5' apart!
It makes for better air circulation, as well as allowing you too get to the heads
without stepping on other plants.

Here it is peeking out! Isn't it amazing! This one is not ready.

I'm so thankful the Lord has allowed me to have a garden.
Reading books about gardening is one thing, but actually
doing it is another. There is something fulfilling about
cultivating a garden: it is almost like watching your
children grow and blossom, only faster.

Welcome Home!

The Lord always gives us what is best. It's not always what we would like, but it is what He wants ~ and it is always best.

I love old houses. I hope my mansion in heaven is an old farmhouse with a big wide porch that wraps itself all around the house. It should have a nice wide entry way with the not-too grand staircase emptying out into it. It really ought to have a butler's pantry!



How thankful I am for the home He has given me! It does not, in any way, resemble that old farmhouse I just described. Instead, it is just right! Full of quirks! One of the quirks is that the big entry way is at the BACK of the house!

Come right in! Make yourself at home. This is part of the new addition my men~folk built for me.



The pocket door goes into the laundry room.



Looking into the kitchen.



My dear Dad loved building and he was was a bit innovative when it came to making things. He made this "little kitchen" for Ashley when she was just a little thing. The boys have had as much fun with it as she did.



It's a wonder he didn't make the burners to light up!

Tristan's baby cup sit atop a sweet dresser scarf my sister-in-law gave me from her aunt's collection. It's one of my favorites.



Another of Tristan's baby cups with a little basket of tiny clothespins.



This was my mother's lingerie chest. She was an avid yard sale-er. About the only thing she ever bought new was her mattresses and sofa. The same holds true for us!



This is looking into the dining room. We planned to put french doors into the room.



I would now like to share a couple of wonderful receipts with you. I love trying new things!


Rose of Sharon

Now for you who were not raised in the North as I was, you may not have as great of an appreciation for this one. Rhubarb IS quite edible! You just have to be introduced to it an a young age!


Nasturtium

You can feel free to substitute other fruits for the rhubarb, if you really must! I happened to have some frozen rhubarb from Michigan.

RHUBARB CRUMBLE

from "FEAST" by Nigella Lawson


2 lbs. rhubarb, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/4 C sugar
1 T butter,
1T vanilla extract.

Heat in a pan on med heat for about 5 minutes. Cook until the rhubarb is glossy and everything has melted together. Transfer to an 8 1/2" pie plate (glass if great) that is about 1 1/2" deep.

1 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C unsalted butter.
3 T sugar
3 T brown sugar

Rub the butter into the dry until thoroughly combined. The texture should be that of soft crumbs. Spread evenly over the fruit, attempting to cover all of it. Exposed parts will bubble up.
Bake 35-45 minutes. Be sure to place a sheet under it to catch any drips that might occur.


I love the white and blue striped morning glorys that came up in this planting. These will be allowed to return!


My friend, Marmee, gave me a bunch of unripe pears and this following receipt. It is absolutely delicious! You must hoard it for Saturday morning biscuits or cornbread this winter! It almost tastes like honey!

This clematis was a surprise, coming up at the foundation of the addition. You don't know how many times I nearly pulled it up thinking it was a weed!


PEAR HONEY

8 C peeled, cored and chopped pears
(I ran mine through my Bosch berry press after slightly cooking them. It was a lot less work)
1 C unsweetened pineapple juice
8 C white sugar
(next time I'm trying raw sugar)

Place chopped pears into a large pot, and pour pineapple juice over them to prevent them from browning. Stir in sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. When the pears are at a full boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is the color and texture of honey. The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets. Cooking time is usually 2-3 hours.

Ladle into hot sterile jars; fill to with 1/2 of top. Process for 10 minutes in hot water bath.

MMMM~MMMMMMMMM GOOD!


Morning clouds.

I'm so glad to be able to share a little bit of our home with you!