R.I.P.

R.I.P.

 "Big Boy" aka "Mr. Rooster".

Big Boy died this morning. He had been doing poorly these last few days.

Most of you, my blogging friends, knew Big Boy. I've posted about him many times...

He will surely be missed, as he was always by my side whether up at the garden or down near the pond.

Big Boy was the kindest, sweetest rooster in the neighborhood. He was always the first one out to greet a visitor, or anybody getting out of their car here in our driveway. 

and was especially fond of our neighbor Ann as she brought him bread. Most of the time I had to tell him to "move back" so she could shut her car door.

 He was a friend to the duck and to the guineas..

He waited patiently for me as I fed the other animals.

He fathered and helped raise many baby chicks here on Henny Penny Lane.

Then...once upon a time Big Boy became famous, and got his picture painted by an artist from way out in California...

Yes, Pam saw Big Boy on my blog...

in 2013, painted his picture and sent it to me. We love the painting and see it every day as it is displayed in the bookcase in our living room...

It will be even more appreciated now. Thank you again, Pam. 

Better go now. Thank you for listening.

It won't be the same around here without our friend, Big Boy.

Love,
Henny

Gardening and sewing, sort of

Thought I had better check in before you forget me.

The weather here has been hot and humid and we've had thunderstorms. In fact, sometime during the night we had a storm, not severe, but lots of rain! 2 1/2 inches! and just yesterday we were bragging about how dark and pretty the pond was looking. This morning...muddy again! 

My little gathering yesterday...

Friends, I have gone absolutely crazy over jumper aprons! If you go to http://www.pinterest.com/diegartenfrau/aprons-i-like/ and scroll down to the blue checked with the ruffle and big gathering pocket...be still my heart!!! I've simply got to make myself one!

Last Saturday, I talked Poppy into riding to Henderson with me. We can go in Lowes and look at ceiling fans, and we can look for two new chairs for the pier, I said. "Well", he said, "it's too wet to do anything outside and we do need a new fan for the bedroom".  So, if we're going, "can I also look at the fabric in Walmart", I asked. :)

Here's what I found...

if the jumper apron turns out pretty, I will post pictures. Now to find time to sew!

don't know yet what to make with the black cotton fabric with dresses...Did you ever see the bumper sticker that reads, "The one who dies with the most fabric wins". What is it about fabric!

Back to the teeny tiny garden...

Still waiting for the the bell peppers to turn orange.

We have four "orange" bell pepper plants, four green, four banana pepper plants, and four Jalapeno. Wish these would turn orange, darn it!!

Here it is 8:40 and I really want to cut out that new apron tonight. Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

To my new follower...thank you very much. 

Walk around the pond

I'm sorry. Another picture of the house! 

It's just that I carry the camera when we walk Eli around the pond and well, I take pictures. 

Here's our walk...

Poppy lagging behind with the bucket of fish food.

Obedient plants grow along the path.

we pass the cedar tree with the poison ivy, (or oak?) vine

then around the curve...

toward the big Mimosa tree, (oops, the picture was taken after we passed the Mimosa tree) then we head down hill to where the ferns grow...

then cross over the stepping stones, (you can see over to the left) that lead back to the yard and over to the raggedy little pier...

we stopped and fed the fish...

and this Carp came really close. This big fish, and several others, have been in the pond since 1996. 

Poppy says this one probably weighs 15 pounds.

A very boring post, I'm sure. I will close with this rare picture of me relaxing...and even rarer picture of Bickett in my lap. Bickett doesn't do laps, he bites, you know. I could not believe that he wanted to nap with me...

Love,
Henny

Teeny tiny farm update...

and if I don't stop losing height because of osteoporosis, I'm going to be the teeny tiny woman...

Ahhh, Monday! And to think how I used to dread Monday morning. That was back when I was still working as a secretary and driving to Raleigh every day. I wanted to be here...right here, in our new little log home...clearing and cleaning and building a teeny tiny farm. 

So, finally, retirement age...and my, how the years have flown. Now Monday is my favorite day of the week...when everyone else has to go to work.

This morning, I've been busy cleaning the chicken house and patching the chicken wire fence. Aren't chickens messy! The hens were so sure that was feed in the wheelbarrow, not dirty hay.

Our first stop this morning however, was to check the garden...

Hand me the camera, said Poppy, and I'll take a picture of our little lizard...

Here he is! He hangs out under the bean vines mostly, even though his water dish is under the squash vines. We need to give him a name. Poppy wants to tame him...which will probably happen.

It has been years since we've enjoyed such pretty squash, and so many of them...so far, no squash bugs! Could it be help from the lizard? Hope I haven't jinxed us by saying so. Excuse the bandanna. I forgot to carry a basket.

These are the orange bell peppers, so we are waiting.

Do you think a carrot will grow in the half barrel? If so, it will be the first time in my life to grow an edible carrot! 

and here, the zucchini have stared to produce.

That's about it for now. Hope to be back soon, reporting from the sewing room. I've simply got to get busy!! :)

Love,
Henny

Saying hello!

It was not my intention to stay away so long. Where do the days go! Ever since spring got here, all the house gets is, as mama used to say, "a lick and a promise", and I am out the door and in the garden.

Walmart reduced their Lilac bushes to half price, $6.00, so I had to have one. Now to find a sunny spot to plant it. Oh I do hope it grows and blooms pretty. (and blooms as pretty as Deb's Lilacs way up in Canada). 

Used to, late in the afternoon, we would sit out on the raggedy little pier and feed the fish. The catfish and carp were practically tame. Somehow we got away from feeding them. So, we fed them today.

we were disappointed when only two catfish and a few bream showed up to eat.

If we feed them every day, it won't be long before they all come back.

the little pond was actually pretty late this afternoon...for a change!

Eli said he would keep watch.

The Mimosa tree on the other side of the pond is in bloom and the sweet scent filled the air around us. It truly must be making up for last year when the unexpected freeze killed all the leaves and buds, and there were no flowers.

See, here it is 9:25! Bed time! and I've got things to do. Like sew! All I've worked on lately, in the sewing room, are two dresses my neighbor asked me to cut off and hem, and then another friend asked if I would add length to her dress...add !  

Better let this be it. Thank you visiting. But wait...I did want to show you my first little gathering from the garden. Keep in mind, this is a teeny tiny garden...

It made a good meal for Poppy and me. Just added a pan of cornbread.

Love,
Henny

A rainy Monday!

Just when our little pond begins to clear up...

we get a big rain storm, and the big rain storm makes big orange mud puddles that overflow with bright orange muddy water, and that bright orange muddy water fills the ruts in the dirt road, then runs swiftly like the rapids down hill, turning the corner onto the side road that runs past our little pond. But wait, the muddy water doesn't run past, it makes a sharp left turn into the head of the pond. See it rushing in?

and...

Poppy was out Saturday cleaning up, then painting, the little john boat he bought off Craigslist last year. I'll let you know when he catches that ten pound Bass from the pond.

We are getting cucumbers from the garden...five, so far.

Mama used to love cucumbers fresh from the garden. She would peel a small cucumber, cut two slits in the top for sprinkling salt into, and then eat the cucumber whole. She peeled many a cucumber for me too, just like that.

Why she and Aunt Ruby would carry the salt shaker with them to sit outside under the shade trees. Somebody was always bringing up something from the garden or cutting a ripe watermelon...and we put salt on everything.

Have you ever heard of mater biscuits? Take a cold biscuit, one left over from breakfast, slice it in half, spread mayonnaise on each half and then slices of a red juicy tomato right out of the garden. Oh my goodness!!

Before we got this big rain today, the garden was very hot and dry. There is a lizard living under the cucumber and squash plants, and what a perfect home. I am hoping he will stay there and eat any squash bugs that come visiting. Anyhow, I put a saucer of water under the plant for him.

As Poppy was leaving for work at 10:30 this morning, I thought to myself, there is a break in the clouds and the sky is looking brighter! With three buckets of cuttings to pot up, well I needed to be outside...

even as bad as I needed to sweep and vacuum the floors, I marched right up to the little potting shed, and got busy, I was finishing up with the eighteenth pot when the rain started. Hurrying, I got everything put away and was back inside before the bottom fell out.

Gosh, I'm wound up today. You've probably walked away by now. We've got another break in the rain, so I need to feed the bunnies. Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny