Bug post

Did you ever play with a June Bug when you were a child? 

Image borrowed from the Triangle Gardener magazine

Poppy came in the house with a handful of ripe figs and asked if I had seen all the June bugs on the fig tree.

Boy, did that ever bring back good memories! Running around barefoot with a June bug tied to a string was one of the funnest things I remember playing with as a child...well besides my dolls and lightening bugs.  

These pretty emerald green beetle bugs are clumsy and sometimes fly into things. Occasionally, one would dive bomb into somebody's head and get tangled in their hair. Such screaming and hollering, oh, it was fun. We loved the June bugs and were careful not to hurt them. You would gently and carefully tie a string around a back leg then let them fly. 

Poppy was born on a big farm down in Georgia. They played with June bugs too. He remembers how sometimes the string would slip through your fingers and the June bug would fly away with the string trailing behind. Sounds kind of cruel now. Back then we thought the bugs were having as much fun as we were.

For some reason I associate June Bugs with visiting Aunt Macie and Uncle Vester. Shelby, Jackie, and I loved going to their house? We lived in town...they lived about twenty miles away, in the country. They had June Bugs, and lots of children. They also had a barn with a hay loft full of hay, and almost always when we were there, Uncle Vester would make a freezer of home made ice cream. The boys would take turns turning the crank on the old ice cream freezer. 

Want to know how many children Aunt Macie and Uncle Vester had? Well, there was Don, Jimmy, Peggy, Fred, Nancy, Janie, Eva Lee, and Diane. Aunt Macie was mama's sister and they lived up around Steeds, or it may have been Seagrove. There are several little towns along there together...going up Highway 705, the road with all the pottery places; the road where mama was born and raised.

picture borrowed from Wikipedia

Didn't mean to go on and on, but while I am on the subject of bugs...

It is so humid outside, my camera fogs up.

Poppy came in from the garden carrying this big Cicada...

Pretty, aren't they?

well, enough about the bugs around here. 

There were other things I had planned to post but will them keep for later.

Did want to say that Shelby and I will be vendors at the Duke Homestead, "Pork, Pickles, and Peanuts" festival this coming Saturday. The temperature is supposed to be 97 degrees with heat index of 106. If you don't hear from me again, you will know that we melted. That's HOT! Was thinking about carrying a No. 2 tub filled with ice...to stand it.

Thank you for visiting. 

Love,
Henny

Thank you to my new followers. I do love my blogging friends! Thank you!

We are back! and gifts from Cousin Pat

Can you believe it! Poppy and I are back in business!!! We have our Internet back. Turns out, on top of everything else, our modem was bad so we had to wait until late Monday for UPS to deliver a new one.

Anyhow, that 5 1/2 inches of rain last Thursday was unbelievable. Wish I had pictures to show you. No damage done but the little pond filled so quickly, the water flooded the spillway and flowed over the dam. The chairs on the teeny tiny pier were standing in water up to the top of the seats, and a mountain of leaves, being pushed by the gushing rain water, slammed into the little footbridge so hard, it turned the bridge up on it's side. 

Oh well, all is back to normal so...A big Thank You!

Lynn said to me yesterday, mom, when you post again, please thank all your friends for me, and tell them how much I appreciated their comments on that blog post. Lynn said she read and enjoyed each comment. I thank you too. You truly are the best friends ever!

So much to tell you and so little time so I'm going to finish the post started before the Internet went out...

Have been moving things around a bit in the teeny tiny sewing room...

My cousin Patty, you may remember Patty...

Eli was looking a little wild. He was excited that Pat was visiting. 

So, it was Pat who gave us that beautiful antique cupboard that sits on our porch...

My heart still skips a beat when I see it and realize it is mine, for keeps!

Well Patty has gifted me with another piece. Oh my goodness, as Lynn would say, "be still my heart"!

Take a look down the hall into the teeny tiny sewing room. It's there on the left...

 an old pie safe

Simply love that old timey wooden latch at the top.  This gives me more space for fabric too...

and came with yards and yards of beautiful "Holly Hobbie" fabric. "Thank you Patty".


and speaking of Holly Hobbie, my daughter Andee recently gave me this picture...

It's adorable, isn't it? Thank you Andee.

Guess I had better close this and get supper started. Thank you for visiting and I will be around to catch up. 

Love,

Henny

Henny Penny Gone AWOL

This is Lynn, Henny Penny's most troublesome child.  Maybe I am not really as troublesome as I think, but have you seen my mother's fabric room???  Have you seen that closet full of color coordination?  Have you seen her folding skills?? Mama is a Virgo.  She is neat as a pin.  Everything is folded, ironed, sorted, color-coded, and done so efficiently and with such love!  I, on the other hand, am an Aries.  I have trouble understanding why anyone would instinctively close a drawer.  You might need something out of it again!!

Zodiac signs aside, she is the way she is, and I am the way I am, but we love and adore each other more than words can say!  We are two parts of a trio.  My sister Andee is the third part, and dang it, she's a Virgo!!!  I can't win.  My sister has had her share of frustrations from me as well.  Just ask how many straight pins she stepped on after I decided back in the day that using straight pins was a good way to put skirts on hangers.

From the time of my first memory of sitting in my beautiful mother's lap, watching her lovely face,  looking at her neat, beautiful handwriting, I wanted to be just like her.  Alas, even in spite of my chaotic ways and, according to her, needing to clean up "giblets" of paper I'd left all over the couch, I did pick up a lot of Henny Penny by way of osmosis.  She taught me well!

Why am I here on her blog?  Henny Penny and Poppy had a bunch of rain last week!  They had 5-1/2 inches all at one time.  It somehow affected the internet all around where she lives and the internet is not expected to be up again until about Tuesday!  Henny Penny is worried that all her readers have "given up" on her.  Doesn't that sound just like her?  Can you hear her saying that?

I thought I'd drop in and ease the mind of each person who has given up on her.  :)  She will be back.  My dear mama -- she is exactly all she seems.  Making play houses in the woods.  Doctoring animals.  Somehow keeping the house clean, cooking, being kind, sewing, all at the same time without missing a beat.  I write this from a room that looks like it could be the scene of a thrift store bag sale.

I am partly kidding there.  It is a mess, but I am rearranging my STUFF.  I like for things to look the way mama makes them look.  For me it is a conscious decision.  It takes work to choose it.  My mom, however, is just that way.  Bless her.

In the photo above are my four children and me.  Left to right:  Daniel, Michaela, Lynn (mess maker), John, and Joseph.  These are four of Henny Penny's five grandchildren.  She is the best mama and grandma in the world!!! 

Your Friend,
Lynn
abitofbirdsong.com

PS -- Feel free to comment here to Mrs. Henny Penny.  When she returns, I know Mama would enjoy reading whether or not you'd given up on her.

Beans and the Bee Festival

Have I mentioned how tickled I am to be getting green beans from the garden...and these are not just any old green beans, these are half runners, mama's favorite.

Why, I can't grow, pick, cook, can, or eat green beans without a flood of sweet memories of mama.

Picking the beans, I can just hear mama saying, "try not to tear the vines all to pieces, and watch out for old snakes".

Cooking the beans had to be in her old pressure cooker, seasoned with fatback. Mama knew exactly how much grease and salt to add and exactly how long to cook the beans to make them delicious.

and canning green beans, I remember watching her carefully inserting a case knife blade down each side of the packed jars to get the air bubbles out then adding the one teaspoon of salt to each jar. Mama did everything carefully and precise. I tend to get in a hurry with everything. Everything!

and eating the green beans! Meals were so good back then. Usually if there was a bowl of green beans on the table, there was also new potatoes that had been cooked on top of the beans, fried chicken, fried okra, sliced tomatoes, and crispy fried cornbread patties,  and a pie for dessert. There's just something about the smell of green beans cooking on the stove and okra being fried that makes me happy.

Oh, and I did can a measly four quarts of beans yesterday. Shelby has already canned a shelf full of green beans, and probably has a couple of big cream cheese pound cakes sitting on the counter. :(

so here's what I've got to show for my hard work yesterday.

Well enough about green beans. My plan was to tell you about the Bee Festival last Saturday...

It was really fun. Shelby's jams and jellies were a big hit! Big hit! There she is, doing some kind of figuring. :) and to think, she had cases of each of the different flavors you see displayed there on the table.

I did pretty good too. Got a little spending money in my pocket which, by the way, is burning a hole. 

Next time I buy a tent, it is going to be pink. I like that pink one. It would make my aprons look prettier. My set up doesn't look all that pretty. 

Aren't these three cute. The young people there were extra nice and friendly.

and this young lady with the rings in her nose strolled by with her parents... 

I was totally shocked when she bought a bonnet and she actually wore it. She was very sweet. Later they came back and her mother bought a bonnet.

and there was a big bee that stopped buzzing around long enough for a picture.

I hung a few aprons on the wall across from our tables. Behind that wall were animals. Well, not many showed up with their animals but there were a couple of goats and a chicken for the customers to see. 

That's about it. My pictures aren't great but it gives you some idea how big this place is. It was a fine day, oh! the weather! It rained early morning on the drive there and while we were unloading our vehicles, but faired up and the rest of the day was fine. I've never noticed before how funny "faired up" sounds, but I've heard that all my life. 

Anyhow, better get busy. Poppy gets off work in 45 minutes. I've been out mowing in the hot sticky weather so you can probably imagine how I look. 

Thank you for visiting.

Love,
Henny

Bee Balm and Bee Festival

The Bee Balm is blooming

I cannot believe ten days have passed since my last post. Time flies, doesn't it! and I really haven't been having that much fun.

and the row of flowers along the garden fence are beginning to bloom.

Tomorrow, Shelby and I will be vendors at the "Bee Festival" in Oxford, NC. A craft event we have been looking forward to. 

But listen to this, if you will...all week the weather forecast for Saturday has been for fair skies, low humidity, temps in the mid 80's; perfect weather for a craft show.

So, yesterday, I emailed Shelby and said, can you believe the perfect weather we are supposed to have for the "Bee Festival"?  I mean, this never happens! 

So, early this morning we turn on the local news and the weather man is saying we could have rain tomorrow, and thunderstorms, and some could become severe. WHAT!!! Seems a front has formed way up in Omaha Nebraska and is dropping down our way and should arrive here in the early morning hours. In all my life, I have never heard of a front forming in Omaha Nebraska that would affect us here in North Carolina. Seriously, I heard this on the news this morning!

Oh well, the car is packed to the brim and I am leaving here at 6:00 am for the Bee Festival, if the Lord is willing. 

Got my camera packed too and bound and determined to take pictures. Don't know what I was trying to do here, but looks like I need glasses, bad, and a hairdo, and to paint that mirror.

Hope to visit you all real soon. Hope to be back here real soon too. I sure appreciate you all!

Love,
Henny

A soggy wet Henny Penny Lane...

But come on in...

Even our Franklin County is making the news with the flooding and washed out bridges and roads!

Our 5" capacity rain gauge was level full when we walked Eli and Weetie late yesterday. then it rained again during the night.

The picture was to show how tall those red lilies have grown, compared to the house, but you would have to see them in person.

Are lilies supposed to grow to 6'?? I wanted lilies growing around the bird bath.

I am so excited to have three new followers; Hey Betsy H. and Sandra Kelly and Deb B. There's just nothing like blog friends...Best friends I've ever had. Thank you!

and good gosh!! talk about blogging friends and being excited, would you look at what UPS delivered to my door last week...

another big box of fabric from my very special friend Diane in Kentucky. This is the same generous Diane who sent two other boxes of beautiful fabrics. Have you ever!! I am blown away!! I've never met Diane in person, but know her through my blog. 

Diane and her husband have the sweetest yellow Lab named Molly. Molly is super special; very intelligent and very sweet. I've never met Molly either, but love her too. 

Dumperoo was pretty excited with the package UPS delivered too. A new box, complete with padding. I had to let him think it was his, for a while...

then I got busy...

Can you tell I've cleaned out, sorted by color, and re-folded all the fabric? Talk about fun! Poppy kept checking in the sewing room to make sure I was still alive. Gosh, and most of what you see, well the prettiest pieces anyhow, are from Diane.

We are still babysitting Cousin Pat's new born baby doll, Danny Lloyd. You may remember several posts back how Pat had asked if I would repair the cloth body on her doll...

I had never done anything like that before, but it turned out pretty good. Then I bought Danny a little outfit. Yesterday in the thrift store I found a sweet little receiving blanket.

Anyhow, don't know how I got off on that...I need to get up from here and walk Eli and get up to the garden. The rain supposedly has stopped for today but will be back tomorrow. 

Appreciate your visit. Hope to be right back here real soon.

Love,
Henny

Look! It really is pink!

With the Leek's nightcap removed all the teeny tiny flowers have opened in a soft shade of pink...

and in the garden this morning there were the tiniest little bees working in and out of each little flower. Looks like all I got a picture of was the small beetle.

and let me show you our first gathering from the teeny tiny garden...

I know, I know, most gardeners would be showing a bushel basket of potatoes but I'm proud as can be of this little dishpan full. Why when these potatoes were planted back in April, Poppy said the ground was too wet and that the potatoes would probably rot.

We are lucky too, to have gathered any yellow squash or zucchini. As soon as the plants began to bloom, those sneaking ugly squash bugs arrived in town. 

Have you ever dealt with squash bugs? Sometimes I think those things are part human. As soon as they see you they hide behind a leaf or down near the ground and then sneak around, looking at you from their hiding place. The best way to get rid of them is to carry a container of soapy water, pick the bugs off and drop them in. Of course, then I feel sorry for them.

anyhow... 

got my workbasket cleaned out once again. Still think this is one of my best ideas ever...course you know how simple minded I am. Little things make me happy. The word "little" makes me happy.  But really...

everything I could possibly need, working outside is in this old basket, or soon will be. Poppy has a drawer full of old reading glasses he used before getting his prescription pair that he wears all the time now. A couple pairs of those glasses are going into the workbasket to help me read labels and find squash bugs. 

also in the basket, underneath those new pink gardening gloves I am showing off are more clean gloves and several folded bandannas, there's a plastic bag with nails, screws, and staples, and a bag full of plant markers, a pen and pencil, a knife and two pairs of scissors, a hammer and a hand saw, wire cutters and small pruners. Oh yeah, a hair clip, a little mirror, twine and pieces of wire, and usually a piece or two of bubble gum. Guess that's about it. 

Recently, Poppy and I started walking Eli and Weetie all the way to the end of our dirt road, up to the highway. It's a fun walk. The dogs enjoy it too.

Well, this dirt road we live on has been here many many years and used to be called "the old motor grader road", long before we ever moved here. Anyhow, seems like every day we walk, Poppy will spot a piece of old rusty metal buried in the red clay road. With his pocket knife he scratches around and well, has come up with all this...

Pretty neat, isn't it. Wish we would find a chunk of gold. 

Boy, I'm really wound up today. Must be the rain. The weather folks say we could end up with three and a half inches rain by Monday, and I was just telling you how dry it is.

You've probably checked out by now, but if not, thank you. Hope to be back here soon.

Love,
Henny

(Willie, you were right about the pink flowering leek) :)