Down On The Farm...

Lots going on around Sand Flat Farm right now. I sure do miss y'all!  Canning season is here!  I have two 5 gallon buckets of plums and four 2 gallon buckets of plums, two more buckets full of cucumbers.  And these don't even make a dent in what's still left on the trees and vines!  I put a bunch of squash in the freezer, too.  I juiced plums all day Wednesday and came out with 5 1/2 gallons of juice. And that was only HALF of the plums!  But K's coming to do jelly and so is my sister and my dad, so we'll have plenty for everyone - AND THEN SOME, I do believe!

What is it?  I mean, one year we have very little rain, or too much rain, or it's too hot, or there's a late freeze, or there's not one.  I guess all the conditions were just right this year.  It's been about 4 or 5 years since we've had such a nice growing season.  I know it's not over yet, and it's getting a bit hot and dry already, but with our mild winter and early spring, it seems that most of the gardens here are well on their way to bringing forth a bounty of goodies!  We do our best on the garden each year, but God sends the rain and the sunshine and makes the conditions just right so our gardens will grow and flourish.

Here's what I did with part of the squash...  I divided it up into the big ones and the smaller skinnier ones.  The smaller ones I chopped up  and put in quart sized freezer bags for boiling or making casseroles. They freeze well.  The bigger squash I cut the necks off and saved the wider parts to slice up for making fried squash.  I'll keep these in a gallon bag and just take out what I need for Tony and I.  There's LOTS of squash and flowers on the vines, so I'm sure I'll be putting up some more of that.

We've got pintos about ready, the green beans are making, the purple hull peas are coming on, too.  The tomato vines are loaded with big green tomatoes - best I've seen in several years - and up to now, no blossom end rot, just hornworms (which the chickens are enjoying!)  Only thing that didn't do as well is my onions.  I decided to plant them in my raised garden boxes, but I believe they prefer the sandy hot soil in the main garden.  They stay too moist in the raised beds. That's the only thing I can figure... You learn something new every year.  Sometimes, the hard way!  Good thing Daddy has gobs of great onions in his garden!

Here's a few current pictures of the garden... if you're interested...

My raised beds below...

Can you see this rogue pumpkin (I think) vine that is growing right in the middle of the corn?  Last year we threw our fall pumpkin remains in the compost and a few of those seeds came up in different spots in the garden.  Think I'll leave those and see if we get any pumpkins this fall!  I hope they're not stealing moisture from the corn, but from the looks of the corn, it seems to be okay!

Gypsy is going around the yard and garden areas digging huge holes to lay in and cool off.  I don't know why she can't use just ONE hole - she's got to have several.  What she does is run down to the pond, go swimming and then come back to the house or garden and dig her a hole to lay in.  She drug up a big ole snapping turtle carcass that stunk to high heaven the other day.  We also found a goat skull that she's been chewing on - thank goodness it was already bleached white.  Now, the turtle - it was another matter.   It still had bones in it... Why do dogs like to roll in stinky stuff?  Then, they wonder why we don't wanna pet 'em. And since Gypsy is a "leaner" and has to be touching us all the time, we could possibly smell like turtle carcass, too!

Even Bug, the chihuahua, has decided that she likes chicken poop - either eat it or roll in it.  I started banning her from coming outside when the chickies are out of their pen. Yuck.  Speaking of chickies...

I liked the light in this picture.  Most of my chicken pictures have one or two blurry chickens. They are always moving, flapping, bobbing, strutting around - (note to self - figure out the correct setting on the camera to prevent blurry chickens.) 

All's well on Sand Flat Farm.  Just busy.  Jelly  season is upon us as well as pickle season, pea pickin', bean pickin', tomato cannin', salsa makin', corn shuckin', puttin'-stuff-up-in-the-freezer season.  That's what's goin' on down here on the farm.  How 'bout you???   ;-)

The Hermitage, Nashville, TN

Hey folks - back from Music City and back to the old grind at work again... sigh... a wonderful time was had by all in the 'Ville.  We took advantage of the long weekend and went to see Adam, our oldest.  While there, the weather was absolutely fantabulous - cool nights and warmish days - but not so warm that an outside adventure is out of the question.   We LOVE to visit historical sites. And Nashville and surrounding area is full of them.  Adam loves this stuff, too.  We decided to visit The Hermitage, the plantation home of President Andrew Jackson.  It was gorgeous, immaculately up kept and preserved and the perennial gardens were out of this world!  If only I could duplicate that at home!

Let me take you on a brief tour.  I believe the tour guide told us that the Jacksons had around 1,200 acres and today still they have all but about 80 or so.  We had these headsets that we could wear and take our own tour at our own pace. Sweeeeet!  Andrew Jackson bought this place and he and his wife first lived in one of the log cabins on their place and later built the big home that we see today. His son inherited it later on, wasted alot of the money, and a grand-daughter took over the place and had it restored to a museum and historical landmark.  I believe her foundation still maintains the upkeep even today.

There is a nice museum and gift shop and restaurant on the property - not attached to the main house.

There are several oil portraits in the museum of Andrew Jackson, photos of the family, the slaves, and lots of interesting information about the family and their lives and history.  They have a movie about the Hermitage also, but we did not take that in.

(above)  This picket fence is what you see on approaching the house...

(below) the family carriage and Jackson's personal phaeton are housed in the museum...

(below)  The staff would not let us take photos inside the house - everything is under glass and climate controlled to prevent mold and decay.  Everything is much the same and they have most of the original furniture in the house.  Original French wallpaper murals adorn the entryway, library, and upstairs bedrooms. It's QUITE beautiful... wish I could show you pictures...

(above) We were able to take a picure of this dining room.  Very nice - notice the old linoleum... Just outside the dining room was the chef's pantry where all the dishes and serving pieces were kept.  Normally, the affluent kept a sugar cabinet in the parlor or the formal dining room.  It was a sign of wealth.  There was also another pantry that was kept under lock and key, and the mistress of the house kept the keys.  All food was raised on the farm, but anything else they wanted was shipped in and kept locked up for special occasions and special guests.

An outside kitchen was later built - There was a kitchen in the house at one time, but people used to have outside kitchens, in case it caught fire it wouldn't burn the whole house down...

THIS (above) was the smokehouse right outside the kitchen.  They would butcher the hogs here, drain the blood in these big vats carved from some mighty thick trees and  hang the meat in the rafters and they would smoke the meat for about 6 weeks to cure it...

(above) a view of the back of the house...

(above) horse-drawn wagon tours available, too!  How fun!

(above) The Jacksons had an English styled garden - foursquare and all symmetrical.  The family graveyard is there, too.  They did own slaves and at least one of the men is buried near Jackson.  They had a beautiful monument/tomb erected from Andrew and his wife surrounded by the gardens...

(above and below)  The whole garden was very "Monet-ish" and provided lovely photo ops and painting ops for me!  YEA!  Hope to get to that pretty soon!

(above and below)  The monument that contains the tomb of Mr. & Mrs. Jackson...

A side view of the house from the gardens...

(above) Adam reading some of the headstones in the garden and family burial plot...

HAD to get a picture of these two hard workers!

(above)   Adam and I in the garden - notice the sunspot on my nose!

(above & below)  one of the cabins on the property.  I think the one above was converted into a barn structure.  See this sleepy guy hanging out?

This is a renovated cabin believed to be the first cabin that Andrew Jackson built on the property - later converted to slave quarters.  To the left of this cabin behind the trees were the "Field Quarters" - a couple of hundred acres where the slave cabins were - they must have had quite a few to take care of this large estate- the gardening, the field crops, cotton, the animals and the daily tasks of running the home.

(below)  These were the resident roosters - Dave & Buster.  They crowed the entire 2 and 1/2 hrs that we were there...

(above)  My guys along with one of two of the other draft horses that pulled the wagon.

And, you might be a redneck if.....

You wrap your carport in Confederate flags, and sell steaks and seafood out of your home!!!   (spotted in Arkansas...but why am I surprised?  No offense, Arkansas - we got stuff like that in Texas, too!)

 You might be a redneck if you use your defunct tractor as a pond fountain to aerate for your catfish!!!!

Spotted in Pittsburg, Texas (I think)

And just one more...

You might be a redneck...

If you ride ON the mower ON the trailer from job to job

And get your picture taken not once but twice while stopped at a red light!!!  I had a guy even pull his car out of the way so I could get my shot!  (spotted in Arkansas - sorry Arkansas - gotcha twice on this trip, I did!)

Next up - a few shots of Adam and his Rock 'n Roll show at Big Shotz, downtown Nashville Saturday night Sept. 5!       Hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did!

Summertime....

Sorry I've been so remiss in posting...  Life is so busy on the farm, and it seems there is a never-ending list of things to do and to keep us up late.  I HAVE thought about you all and have made a few visits here and there.  Hang with me here....

This is what we've been doing for the last week...

Hay is being cut and baled all over the farm...

Pipe fences are being constructed over on the east side of the farmhouse...

Old barbed wire fencing is gettin' torn down... seems like this fencing business is an on-going thing, as you farmers/ranchers know....

This tractor is probably the best thing that we've ever bought for the farm.  It's amazing the amount of work and the different kinds of work that one can accomplish with this little baby...

And me???   Well,  let me show you ----

From  pickin'...

to  ripenin'....

to  eatin' !!!!!

I've been puttin' up peach jam the last few days.  I've already finished off the first jar by MYSELF.  Peach is my absolute FAVORITE of all the jams and jellies!  It's my very favorite fruit, too!

This weekend promises fresh  PEACH COBBLER  and  HOME MADE PEACH ICE CREAM!!!

And these peaches are only a drop in the bucket.  We've got lots more between me and Dad.  We'll be peelin'  em and freezin'  em this weekend, too, I imagine!

The dadgum birds are trying to peck holes in the peaches, too.  I know we gotta share with the animals, but good grief!  Cain't somebody learn them birds to eat off the same peach!  I mean, every time they come by they wanna peck a different peach!  I hung Walmart bags all in the peach trees and also bright shiny CD's, hoping to scare them off. I'm SURE it looks quite trashy (no pun intended).   But I guess there's plenty of peaches to go around...

Y'all have a great week!  I'll be back with pictures of our yummy peach treats this weekend!

Keep ya gown down!

Seating Arrangement

For 2 years I've been watching and waiting for just the right chair for the living room at the farmhouse. I think I've found it!  On Craigslist, I ran across this cute shabby chair and ottoman for cheap and the lady lived about an hour away from me.  I emailed her and she answered  back and it was done!  Hubby hauled me over there after work and we scooped it up.  I thought I was actually looking for a leather chair, but it hasn't materialized and i thought this one would fit the bill.  I'll get Tony a leather chair/ottoman when we get our new house at the farm built.  Whadaya think?  I've been piddling around with how to arrange everything as the room is small and there are two antique china cabinets I'm keeping and some other stuff that has to stay...

This little farmhouse cottage is a mish-mash of texture, color and style.  Not quite Shabby Chic, not quite Cottage, not quite all antique, not quite all vintage, not quite all primitive.  It's garage sale stuff, estate sale stuff, some antiques from the family, hand-me-downs from family - mostly grandmothers' stuff on both sides, and last but not least, some treasures pulled from the dumpster at my work at the storage facility (you'd be surprised what people throw away when they get tired of hauling stuff around...) 

Yes, I admit, I AM A DUMPSTER DIVER.  Actually, a dumpster "fisher".  I refuse to actually get into the dumpster.  I have a couple of long sticks and a piece of metal that I've fashioned a hook of sorts on one end  that can reach most stuff.  Anything I can't reach that is absolutely, positively a MUST-HAVE, I get my husband or son to come and dig it out for me.  Sometimes you can use a box for a scooper.  I can get real innovative when it comes to digging a "treasure" out of the dumpster. 

Only thing is, our dumpster sits just across from Ewing Irrigation, and they are a busy, busy place.  They sell lawn sprinkler stuff.  Landscaping, etc.  I have to be a great joke to the fellows working there and their customers.  I could probably sell tickets to this show. That's another reason I'm not getting into the dumpster.

I've actually found quite a few really neat things that I've taken home and used. Books, lawn chairs, boxes of office supplies, a sweet antique floor lamp (in my living room), antique dishes and pottery, a nice farmy painting print that is hanging in my bedroom, some power tools for my husband, this list goes on...

Found these two little antique/vintage prints at a garage sale recently - I thought they were sweet and they're in their original frames, too.

Well, I'll wind it up.  Princess is back at school, and we are back at work and our regular schedules.  Three weeks til we leave for Mexico.  I'm really looking forward to a break AND having all my kids with me.  First time in a few years to have that.  And our best friends and their kids are going.  I'll be sure to share pictures of their vacation home in Akumal so you can feel bad for me.  It'll be just terrible I'm sure...

Keep yer gown down!