The last pepper picture

My plan was to not post anymore about the garden. 

but look what we've got now! I give up trying to figure this one out!  and the bright orange one in the bunch...well, it's from a totally different plant...

Yep, this one grew from a seed I saved from those small colorful peppers you buy in the grocery store. It's so cute!

Friends, I can't begin to tell you how badly we need rain. All of our county got storms and rain yesterday, except us. Seriously! The sky turned dark and there was lightening and thunder, but nary a drop of rain fell. Well, neighbor Miss Ann said she counted ten drops.

Speaking of Miss Ann...the little wild bunny is growing...

it is so hard to get a good picture of this little bun bun.

adorable, but he looks wild, doesn't he? 

Lately, Poppy has been trying to steal Eli's bear...

I told Eli that he is a mighty lucky dog to be inside guarding a teddy bear on these hot days instead of outside guarding sheep.

Fighting over a teddy bear must make you real tired!

Smokey, going out to prowl around a while before dark.

Guess I won't sew any tonight. Last night all I did was sit at the sewing machine and yawn. Think I will sit in the living room tonight and yawn. 

Love,
Henny

Cats, dogs, and a little bit more

Smokey...

looking smoky.

Eli says it is too doggone hot to play outside.

Weetie agrees!

but it is never ever too hot to run out to meet Poppy coming home from work!

It's been a real struggle keeping the garden green and growing lately. We need rain! it's HOT and it's DRY!! The rain keeps missing our place.

Okra likes hot weather! and we are still getting lots of the little Sun Gold tomatoes. Everybody who stops by, leaves with a bag of these sweet little tomatoes.

I haven't done any canning this summer but have been freezing quart size bags of green beans, okra, bell peppers, stewed tomatoes, and peaches.

The regular tomatoes are plentiful and still producing,

but let me tell you about the bell peppers...

as it turns out, the orange bell pepper plants are not orange at all, but are growing green bell peppers. The four green bell pepper plants are growing red bell peppers. Someone had to have mixed up the little plant markers at the store.

and cooling in the kitchen...

old fashioned crustless egg custard, except this time I added a heaping cup of coconut. Sigh...and I really want to lose ten pounds!

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

Making aprons

Four days since my last post! Where do the days go!! 

I've simply got to get busy and finish up some aprons, and stop trying to make the perfect cross-back apron. Here's one...

and another...

this is my try at sewing an apron with a ruffle all the way around.

not exactly what I had in mind, and a far cry from the pretty blue checked below. Need to use a different pattern to get the look of this apron I saw on Pinterest. I love this one!

borrowed from Pinterest

The two muslin aprons I made a week or so ago wear pretty good. I've been trying them out, along with a new pair of pantaloons...

Pantaloons used to sell pretty good at the farmer's market, along with the bonnets and aprons. I have to tell you, I felt like "Little Bo Peep" out walking Eli on Saturday, and he made a good looking sheep. :)

He's tired and sleeping good here.

It's bedtime, so I won't get any sewing done tonight. If it wasn't so late, I would delete this boring post and start over. :(

Love,
Henny

Been in the garden

Henny Penny Lane...

and the sun shining through the trees, early Monday morning...

I carried my coffee out to the front porch and sat in the rocking chair. Hearing the rooster crow, and the birds singing sure beats listening to the morning news on TV.

Here it is Thursday already and I've just come in from the garden...

Is it as hot there as it is here??? Good grief! I thought I would roast! and there must have been 200 or more little sun gold tomatoes to pick, and there were just about that many Japanese Beetles on the bean vines. Most of those got thumped into a pitcher of soapy water. It's been like this since early June.

The green beans are looking pretty bug eaten and bad right now. The many eggplants are big and heavy and pulling the plants over. I've cooked two, given some away, and still plan to make eggplant parmesan one day soon. 

Please, would anyone know why the Gomphrena in the garden looks like this...

so many leaves and so few blooms? The Gomphrena we grew several years ago reminded me of red clover. It was tall with a larger flower head...easy to pick and tie and hang up to dry. I'm disappointed in these. We ordered the seeds on line and paid over 5.00 for the little pack which was supposed to be mixed colors.

but so far, this is what we have.

The house seems empty and too quiet today. Poppy had to go in to work and won't be home until 6:00, and Eli is at the groomer's getting a much needed bath and brushing. Nobody here but the cats, Weetie, and me.

Speaking of cats...

Wonder what was going on here between Poppy and the cats last night.  There 's no telling since it's like a zoo around here most of the time! Poppy keeps telling them he is going to turn them into a bunch of outside cats, if they don't behave. :)

Better get busy and do something with all those little piles of stuff I brought in from the garden. Hope to be back soon. Oh, and I have an idea. I am really going to try and reply to comments from those of you without a blog. It is easy to correspond with those of you who have a blog, and whose blog I follow, but replying to comments is the only way to respond to my friends without a blog. Good grief...here I go again. :)

Love,
Henny 

The bunnies on Henny Penny Lane

These hot days, says Bun Bun,

it is cooler under the bunny cage. Oh, it is not very pretty down here, but much cooler.

Why, there is a fine breeze in my upstairs room said Fiona.

Who cares, said penny. Dig a hole like I do. Holes are cool. Good thing Henny built a secure fence or I might be right out with the wild bunnies. Hey, I know a secret, said Penny.  There really is a wild bunny who lives just up the hill by the old shed where the tools are kept...

Pshaw! said Bun Bun. Are you sure about that? 

Sure I'm sure. Look for yourself...

I was watching one day said Penny, when Miss Ann pulled in the driveway. It was about three weeks ago. She tooted the horn for Henny to come out. Then Miss Ann gave Henny a shoe box and there was a baby rabbit inside...

Miss Ann said her dog caught the baby rabbit and brought it up on their porch. 

Seriously, friends, I am caring for a wild baby bunny. I am not trying to tame the bunny, just take care of it until it is old enough to turn loose. Most wild bunnies that are caught, die from shock or fear, but this one is eating and growing and doing good. 

Inside the pen is a little brush pile and also a little straw hutch for the bunny to hide. Late afternoon, there is clover, hay, kale, apple peelings, and rabbit pellets put inside. During the night time, the bunny comes out to eat and play.

A silly little post, I know, so thank you for visiting.

Love,
Henny 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

This most beautiful Stargazer Lily came up through ivy and weeds in the back yard two years ago and bloomed like crazy on a tall healthy stem. I fell in love with it!

So, last year I moved this lovely Stargazer Lily to a flower bed along side the path that leads to the shed, then went out and bought more lily bulbs and added them. I then decided to move the little peach tree...

this one, that had outgrown it's pot, and plant it in the same flower bed. The little peach tree, happy to be free from the pot, grew like crazy, shading out the lily bulbs. So there were absolutely no pretty Stargazer Lily blooms last year. None!!

Early this spring, I hurriedly dug out the lily bulbs from under the spreading branches of the pretty peach tree and put the poor stressed bulbs, plus another handful in a new bed in the front yard around the bird bath, all the while picturing the beauty to be...

and here's what we've got. Have you ever seen such a tall spindly flower. I thought it never would stop growing, and bloom. 

Looks like there will be only one lily bloom this summer, but if the good Lord lets me live another year, and if I don't go digging and moving things again, maybe there will be a bed of Stargazer Lily blooms. There are fifteen bulbs here. The little group in front, to the right of Weetie's head will be a surprise as I bought them for $1.50 at Lowes on Mother's Day, after the blooms had fallen off.

Maybe it's time for a Dumperoo picture... 

Dumper likes nothing better than to curl up in somebody's lap...he watches for the first opportunity.

These days lately have been hot and humid, too miserable to work outside after lunch time, so there is no excuse for not getting more sewing done.

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny 

Plans for the Fourth!

Happy July 4th!!

As usual, Poppy and I will watch the fireworks and celebrations on TV tonight. We had planned to drive up the road a piece, 15 miles, to the town of Castalia for their fireworks show, but just found out we missed it. It all happened on Saturday the 1st. ??

Castalia, population 268, is kind of well known for it's fireworks show. The town became even more well known after July 4th 1995 when about 4,500 people had come to watch the show and lightening struck a metal fence there. 36 people were taken to the hospital. Glad we were not there.

How to turn a nice healthy purple eggplant into this...

I put the sliced eggplant in salt water for about thirty minutes, drained them, dipped the slices in a batter of flour, milk, a little salt and an egg white and fried them in oil. 

Mama used to say, "I can't stand an old eggplant", so I had never eaten one until I married Poppy. His mom told me how to fry eggplant. Next time, however, there is a really good sounding recipe at Allrecipes.com that I want to try. It uses breadcrumbs. Sounds tastier.

Sharon at Rivercrest cottage asked how I freeze bell peppers. Well, I simply wash them, pat dry with a paper towel, cut, remove the seeds, slice, and freeze. They keep really well this way. 

I'm no expert at anything though. Hey, for somebody with about a third grade vocabulary, I sure can use a lot of words. :)

Better get moving. I do appreciate your friendship. 

Love,
Henny