Hotter'n Blue Blazes...and Other Goin's On

I know, I know, we're all hot.  Wow, this summer's been a doozy, hasn't it!  Even up in the northeast, they've been sweatin'.  Even as I type, I'm settin' here waitin' on the A/C guy to come fix my A/C.  It's blowin', but it's not cold.  The inside temps are steadily climbing just as the outside ones are.  And it's only 10:42 in the morning.  I have the ceiling fans on and my box fan right here beside me trying to just stay still until he gets here.

Daughter and BF came home this weekend - she's in a wedding this afternoon and gone to town to get foo-foo-ed up and she's busy with all that while BF went to run errands with my husband.  BF plays football - he's a big tall guy - and hubby has a couple of he-man jobs to do here at the farm that will take more muscle than he himself has got, so he's going to take advantage of BF being here.

I have to thank all of you who have expressed their sympathy and concern for our friends, Helen & Erin, who lost their daughter Kayla two weeks ago.  I really appreciate your love and prayers and kindness and I know that our friends did, too.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!  The Lord is showering His lovingkindness upon them daily!  What would we do without the Lord AND our friends and loved ones??? I just don't know!

(several hours later...)  OK, we're back in the COOOOOL now.  It was the flux capacitor on the A/C. No, really it was!  "Back to the Future"???  Hint-hint??

Anyway, the garden's gone, the yard is gone, all the jelly is put up - 8 pints of grape from my two little two-year old vines, 2 1/2 doz pints of plum and a dozen peach preserves.  Put up only a little corn - 4 gallon bags of ears - small ears, but they DO taste good.  And boo-koo's of pickles.  Oh yeah, about a dozen quarts of tomatoes or stewed tomatoes or tomatoe juice,  8 quarts of purple hull peas, 10 quarts of green beans, and several gallon bags of pinto beans.  Do you know that down here, purple hull peas are like black gold?  I told Tony that we should raise those babies.  The farmers' markets are charging $10-$12 a sleeve for shelled peas - not sure if a sleeve is 1 quart or 2.  Maybe 2.

Here's a picture of my sunflower seeds still on the flower.  They were beginning to fall off and into the garden. The birds were picking them out. Next year, I guess I'll have rogue sunflowers in my garden again!

My dead corn patch...

My dead tomatoes...

My beautiful sycamore tree - I love this tree - it's beautiful against a blue sky

Hoping for rain (which we didn't get) - turned everything kinda orange-y. Wierd...

After one brief shower, the hay pasture greened back up - it looked great for a few days...

I did not re-touch these photos with color - promise - these clouds were awesome...

End of another hot summer day with no rain...

I HAVE to show you this --- My daughter has become quite a fan of the shabby, farmy, rustic look.  Look what her BF built for her apartment.  She was whining about not have any end tables...

Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?  She's been wanting a windmill for something.  She thought he'd forgotten her birthday.  He's been secretly working on this for her!  What a sweetheart!  He's built her a nice TV stand and a nice big heavy desk for school.  He's always happy to build for her whatever she wants!  She thinks he's a keeper.

Well, folks, guess that's all for now.  We're taking daughter and the BF and maybe my son & his wife out for dinner this evening to celebrate daughter's birthday AND

Hubby and my 33rd anniversary!  Take care &

Keep your gown down!!!

This 'N That...

Doncha just HATE fire ants?  I DO!  I was picking blueberries off my 6 bushes the other day when I felt fire enveloping my left leg.  I knew immediately what it was.  I looked down and my leg was covered with the little boogers and I instantly began swatting and brushing them off.  DAD-gum!  It's like they sneakily swarm on you, and then one of them gives the command and they all sting at once!  I know it's true - how many times does it happen!  At least once a week or so!  Ran the water hose on my leg but it burned for awhile and then started itching.  Now I look like I have chicken pox all over my left calf and ankle - looked real purdy going to church this morning... and they'll leave pink scars for a long, long time.  Yuck.  And I just won't put fire ant killer anywhere around our garden areas that we're going to be eatin' from.

Still packing up the house. We DID get a contract on the house, and Lord willing, that'll go well so we can get moved out to the farm permanently.  I'm so tired of the back and forth.  Princess came home this weekend so she could help me pack.  I swear she's the most organized thang you'd ever meet.  She saves EVERYTHING, but it's all neatly organized and labeled.  She packed up lots of plastic crates with her stuff.  She probably didn't want me trying to do it cuz it would not be organized.

Garden's going well.  All you're getting today is some random shots of the farm. DISCLAIMER - You'll have to excuse the photo quality.  These pictures came off the cellphone. 

Dad came over to make plum jelly with me.  We had so much fun!  It's such a hoot when we get to do "garden stuff" together, cuz my sweet mom is just not into this stuff.  She'll do some freezing, but she will not can, doesn't want to, has no interest.  So that's me and Daddy's play time.  Sometimes my sister will come up and do it with me.  We put up 3 dozen small jars, and I still have another batch to go.  Oh yeah, here's a batch of green beans.  I think I put up about 10 quart bags of beans in the freezer.  I've got to get out there and pick my pintos, too.  They're ready...

One thing that I have really enjoyed growing at the farm, something fun just for me - is giant sunflowers!  I absolutely love them to death.  They're so big and sunny and cheery.  They make me smile!    The birds moved the seeds all over the garden from where I planted them.  They came up in random spots and I just left them where they came up.

Baby mockingbirds under my kitchen window.  There were 4 of them, just like last year, and all 4 of them probably won't make it this year either unless I guard the nest 24/7.  And I can't.  Too many cats around.  They are stretching and hopping on the side of the nest now so it won't be much longer before they are hopping out to their death.  Maybe tomorrow they'll start.  Sad, but true...

Just some more garden pics - corn and tomatoes and my watermelon vines.  I even planted  pumpkins this year just for fun.  There are several small ones forming. Maybe I won't need to buy some during the fall!

My grapevines did well this year.  They have several clusters on eath of them.  This year, we wrapped our fruit trees and the grapevines in bird netting and it HAS helped alot.

Below - my plum tree before I picked all the plums off...

AND, my morning glories are finally starting to bloom!  They've been a long time in coming. Don't know why.  I've tried them in different places around the farm to see where they did the best.  I got this piece of iron fence from Margo cuz I thought it would be good to grow something on it!

AND...................a parting shot of some of my day-lilies.  I hope you all have a wonderful week with your families and that God blesses each and every one of you richly with His grace and love!  Catch ya later!

Keep your dress down!

Meanwhile, Back at the Farm...

First off, I just want to add my condolences, well wishes and prayers for all those folks that have suffered loss of life and property in the wake of the tornado up in Joplin, Mo.  As I sit and watch the devastation on the TV and hear of the mounting casualties, it just breaks my heart for those people.  It's hard to imagine. The wreckage that I see in the pictures is some of the worst I've ever seen from a tornado. Every time I think about them and hear about the rising loss of life I could just sit down and cry.  I know we all have some blog friends from that area AND from the Alabama area that was also hit hard.  Let's all continue to lift them all up in prayer now and in the days and weeks to come...

Second of all - Vee is having a giveaway!  YEA!  She's giving away a copy of Mennonite Girls Can Cook and I want to direct you over to her blog and enter - WOW, what a treat to win that book!  Those gals can really cook!  Check in at Vee's place, A Haven for Vee, and also go by and visit the Mennonite Girls! They have some great recipes that we all would  appreciate! 

Here's a quick picture of the beautiful flowers my oldest son sent me from Nashville on Mother's Day.  He NEVER forgets his mama on special days.  He's so thoughtful.  (don't look at my Christmas mat...)

My Princess's boyfriend, "the beast" (her words, not mine) football player, happens to be quite handy with power tools.  She had him make her a thingie to put on the wall in her closet to hang her necklaces and such on. (I know you don't end a sentence in a preposition...)  But that's the way we talk down here in Texas.  I guess that rule doesn't apply here... You know there are alot of rules that don't apply  in Texas.  It's like we are our own country or something (she says proudly...)   He also built her a nice heavy desk that she distressed and painted and it looks great!  He lives in a second story apartment and his closet is full of power tools and such. He ran an extension cord down to the parking lot and they worked on the desk all of one or two days.  It may last til kingdom come.  It may also have to double as a dining table in her tiny apartment that she just moved into (another preposition).

Meanwhile, back at the farm, the garden is going good (Texas license to talk thataway).  I was wondering if I was going to have any time at all to get it in this year, what with the wedding and all.  But get it in I did.  I planted some grapevines last year and this year they are doing great and even have grapes on them.  If the crows don't get 'em before we do, I hope they'll be great.  We did go buy some bird netting to cover the blueberries, the grapes and the plum tree.  I hope to have enough to cover the peach tree, too.  Cuz they're all going to ripen about the same time.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures - I took them with my IPhone and they're not as sharp as with my camera.

See this here?  You know what it is?  Chicken litter - no, not chicken little - CHICKEN LITTER.  It stinks to high heaven.  Our hay man is fertilizing the hay pastures with it.  I also confiscated a few bucket loads to mix in my compost and put in the garden and a little in some of my flower beds. Last Saturday, the hay man was applying that stuff and the wind was blowing and it really stirred up a brown cloud of chicken poop. I'm sure all the neighbors were happy.  Smells like money to me.  A different guy last year did the hay and he used commercial fertilizers and weed killers - chemicals - and they did great, but part of me is glad that THIS new guy is doing it naturally.  You know, the cows and such eat the hay, and then we eat them - are we getting all those chemicals?  I don't want to think about it!  So I feel good about this process and I don't mind the stink so much.

Thought I'd slip this in, too.  Daddy's birthday was Sunday and we all went out to eat to help him celebrate.  I'm so thankful to God in heaven for my parents and that they've stayed healthy for the most part and they're still kickin' around in their 5th wheel camper every month, and they're still keeping the road hot with all their running around they do.  Thank ya, Lord!

A few random shots of my garden... This year I planted 'maters, peas, beans, onions corn, watermelon, squash, cukes and a couple of pumpkin plants from seed I had leftover last year from the pumkins I bought. Oh yes, and jalapenos - I'm planning on lots more homemade salsa this year!  We're already pickin' beans and have cooked up several batches.  I've got a couple of bags in the fridge right now that have to be snapped and blanched and put in the freezer.  The cukes are about ready, the plums are ready (I'll be making jelly come thursday - daddy's going to help me - he helped me do pickles last year. We had a blast!) and the corn ain't too far behind.  We've been eatin' on the onions for awhile now...June is usually the busiest month for the garden produce around here.

This mornin' about 7:30 before I left for work...

Now, early this spring I planted some sunflower seeds in an area in the back by the watermelons.  Can you see where they came up?  I'm guessing the crows moved them or something.  They've come up in random places all in the garden - mostly in the onion patch. Wierd.  I just left them alone. They look kinda cool sticking up in different places.  I imagine some people may think they look like big huge weeds, but it's just nature doing its thing.  So I left it alone.

Just a little quick shot of my garden shed which I love immensely.  I had some morning glories planted along this little rickety piece of fence last year, but didn't get them in soon enough this year.  Hmmm, maybe some clematis would be good.  I'm trying to get perrenials planted everywhere and just do a few annuals to fill in so I won't have to keep spending so much money on new plants every year.

Plum jelly making is in store for Thursday, so I better round up all my jars this evening and get 'em washed and ready to sterilize.  Friday we load up a sofa and loveseat and drive it out to the Princess's apartment 4 hrs away.  Glad to have "the beast" to help us move some stuff... Last night we went and helped the newlyweds clean out Lindsey's duplex and get everything over to Josh's house.  They guys moved and me and Linds cleaned.  I know that was hanging over their heads to get done so now they can quit worrying about it.

Well, I'm gonna take off - allergy season is here in full force (and has been for me for the last 3 months) and I'm fixing to lay my head down on my desk here at work and take a little nap.  JK!  Wish I could - that Benadryl really knocks me out!  I haven't had much luck with Claritin, etc.  Ya'll take care - I'll be back soon, good talkin' to ya this mornin'.  I've missed ya!

Keep your dress down!

Gardening 2011 and the FIRE at Janaye's Granny's House

And so begins "Gardening 2011" season.  YEA!!!  It's beginning!

Saturday, January 23, 2011 - Onion sets out in the garden!!!  Tony got out "Boss Hawg" the Tiller, cranked it up and we worked in 10 bags of clippings and leaves, and he turned up that dirt like nobody's business.  When we first started that morning, the ground was still hard and a tad frozen, but it warmed up after a bit.  Daddy was there, too, and he threw his efforts in and helped me make rows, fertilize, lime and get the onions in the ground.  Set out about 500 or so - Yellow Granex, White Granex, and Aggie 1016's.

After Dad & I dug the first row, we put some fertilizer and a peench of lime into the row and worked it in good.  Dad says the onions will grow underground while it's cold and they'll reach down for the fertilizer.  Cain't argue with that - he always has a good onion crop!  In a few weeks, we can start eatin' green onions with our meals!  We luv 'em even tho we're all a bit stinky - everybody has to eat some so's we're all "armed"...

Now, see how straight this row is?  Daddy was an architect when he was young, and he always is a stickler for detail.  His brother, Uncle Bob, always said you could grow more from a crooked row than a straight one.  Dad used to give him a hard time about his crooked rows.  But he always had a bumper crop, too!  So I guess they're both right!

I know they're hard to see, but the onion tops are there. I wound up with 7 rows of onions.  Taters will go in next after the ground is not freezin'.  Taters are easy and really make you feel like a farmer - they look so pretty while the tops are growing!  Can you eat tater greens?  Hmmm...

Mr. Jasper is always nearby watching or helping.  Today, KATHY at Cedar Pond, I caught my first two gophers for 2011.  Jasper pulled one of the traps out of the ground, and ate the gopher off it - all except for the jaw.  There was only a piece of hide left on the trap and some gopher teeth.  I pulled the second dead one out of another mound, and as soon as I took it off the trap, Jasper grabbed it and started playing with it.  He was hoping it would move I guess...  He knows what I'm doing when I'm setting traps, and he helps me dig.  I have my little hand spade and he sticks his arms way down in the holes and feels around.  I've seen him catch one.  He does know what he's doing - and he knows what I'm doing, too.

Sorry, people - some of you squeamish folks might not wanna hear about that...

In other news, Saturday p.m., the cute little gingerbread house on the land behind ours burned to the ground.  The area volunteer fire departments raced by our place and we went out to see if we could see where they were going.  Little did we know that the house behind us was engulfed in flames.  There were about 8-9 firetrucks  there fighting the blaze for most of the night.  They left in the wee hours, but were called back Saturday morning when it broke out again in some hot spots.

No lives were lost - no one was home.  A space heater - probably propane - was left burning, and they think that was what sparked the fire.  Nice young family lived there on the land.  It had been family land for a long, long time.  I need to call and check on them and see if there's anything they need...

We took the Mule and rode over there about midnight to see what we could see.  You hate to be a voyeur, but you also wanna know what's going on.  We stayed in our pasture hoping none of the sparks flew our way...

There's a bit of a shell on the front of the house - you can still see the picket fence...

Such a sweet family... I just think of all the personal items that were lost - the things that cannot be replaced - the pictures, the keepsakes, the hand-me-down treasures --- but they have the most important thing - EACH OTHER!

Thank the Lord for volunteer fire departments!  If you have one or more in your area, be sure to support them both physically and monetarily!  They are selfless, brave and a dire necessity in small communities!  They've saved our hay pastures on our place.  Fire would have gotten to our house had they not been around!  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS!!!!

OK, there's my soapbox for the day!  Have a good one, and as always...

Keep your dress down!

PS - had to git rid of that snow header.  I was gettin' blue... From here on out, it's warm colors, warm thoughts and ...

"Blue Skies and Rainbows

and Sunbeams from Heaven,

are what I can see

when the Lord is living in me!"

(Know that song?)