Instead of posting this morning...

 I should be reading your posts and leaving you comments, and I will do that. I just first had to say "thank you" for looking at baby Violet and leaving me such nice comments on my last post. Each one is truly appreciated. I meant to come back and reply to each one...hope you will forgive me.

The days are full and busy...do any of you ever catch up or get ahead? Oh, but it was wonderful having Andee and Todd home for a couple of nights last week. On Wednesday (last week) Lynn and Jason, and my granddaughter Michaela and husband Jacob came for the day too meaning I got to see sweet little Kendall, my great grandson. It was such a fun day. 

With company coming I had to clean out the teeny tiny sewing room and boy! did I ever clean out! Almost looks empty...

Got rid of lots of dust and clutter and moved things around a bit...actually turned it back into a bedroom.

Then come Saturday, Shelby and I had a craft event to attend so that meant pulling out stuff I had just put away. It was the Bee Jubilee in Oxford. Oh my gosh, what a hot day! It was sunny and like 98 degrees, and what a tiring job! It was fun though and best of all, made a little spending money. :)

Speaking of hot! How about hot and dry! We have been weeks, weeks! without rain and temperatures in the high 90s! I've been keeping the garden alive with the water hose. 

Mr. Sunshine and the big sunflower...and the bean vines are covered in tiny green beans...Oh, if only it would rain!

It was very foggy this morning. Probably because there were rain showers around yesterday but none, not one drop came over us. 

Look how brown and dead the grass is! I mean, a few weeks ago it was green all around the garden. 

It has been one thing after the other! Last Sunday Poppy went to wash his hands and yelled, "Mel, there's no water"! Oh, good grief! Had the well gone dry from the drought? Turns out the pump had gone bad. Thankfully, we found a company that would come help us out even though it was Sunday. Cost us a whopping $1,600.00 but we have water again, and a new pump and new wiring! 

Back to the garden...guess where this little fella hides when he sees us coming up the road...

In the garden! He is tiny and goes right through the fence. I couldn't help but think about Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor's garden. I've got to come up with something...he is eating the leaves off the small okra plants. Okra! of all things! And there is kale growing nearby!

Guess I should stop here and say goodby. Could go on and on but I should save a little for next time. Thank you, thank you for stopping by. Oh, so many of you commented about the name "Violet". Isn't it sweet, and her middle name is Lorraine, and that's my middle name. Named after me. I am so pleased. 

Love, Henny

Look what's happened...

 since my last post!

Meet little "Violet", our new great granddaughter. Born May 25th. Remember the big wedding we attended last June up in West Virginia...The marriage of Madison and Hunter? Well, they wanted a baby right away. Can't wait to meet her in person!

Guess my other news won't be quite so exciting or nearly as cute...like my teeny tiny garden. Just have to show you how the beans are growing...

The little wattle fence is holding up fine. On the right is a sunflower that volunteered and came up and then there's four eggplants. 

and here's the onions, lettuce, kale and a few other things...

Tomatoes on the left. I've got a few odd plants scattered here and there...

Found one German Johnson tomato plant at Walmart. It had been dropped and was falling out of the pot. Of course, I felt sorry for it and brought it home, paying full price for it, of course. Anyhow, it's now the prettiest one in the garden. All others I started from seed in the teeny tiny greenhouse.

Well friends, I started this post early last week. Since then, little Violet has grown, the garden has grown, I'm older :) Anyhow, got a few more pictures...wanted to show you Randall Rabbit...

He can't wait for the treats in the bag, kale, apple peels, and grapes...

Randall is such a big sweet bunny...

Willow is doing fine too. She is still timid and will not let me pet her but trusts me more and doesn't mind stepping on my feet.

The playhouse and garden have been wonderful this spring. I could spend my days playing there but :( there are meals to cook and clothes to wash...anyhow this picture was taken from my little rocking chair in the playhouse...

and all those 7' red lilies! Growing and blooming from flowerpots. Sometime last year I dug all the bulbs and put them in pots and sat them inside the garden. Had no idea this would happen. Where in the world can I plant them! The deer eat them!

Poor lilies! Well friends, I must get busy. Have bored you long enough and there is more housework to be done. Andee and Todd are coming tomorrow to stay until Thursday. We are so excited...Lynn and Jason are coming for the day on Wednesday. Can't wait!

Thank you for listening. :)

Love, Henny

 

Just in time...

 

The teeny tiny garden is growing and my grasshopper trap is woven and hanging on a post. :)

On our walk with Eli and Ellie I saw a patch of small leaf long stem Plantain. Just had to stop and pick a handful and bring them home.

Thinking of mama, I wove the long stems threw my fingers trying to remember just how she did it. Anyhow, this is how it turned out. I will be sure and let you know if it catches a grasshopper. :)

Baby chicks...

Not really babies any longer, these chicks have moved into the lot with the big chickens.

Cutie pie! All of them are cute, and so friendly. Poppy says, "because they think you are their mama".

but the cutest are the two black Marans with feathers on their legs. 

Speaking of the garden, so far, so good? The beans are up, and I've built the crooked little wattle fence, such as it is...

While up at the garden taking pictures only five minutes ago, would you look at this!

a guy from Duke Energy spraying weed killer under the power lines. The mist was blowing my way, I could smell it!

and here's his truck...

If my plants all die! Well, what can I do?? Always something!

Better get busy. Need to get the animals all fed and settled in early since they're calling for a chance of thunderstorms this evening. Oh, I feel so bad for all the people in Iowa where so many tornadoes hit. My heart goes out to them. I can't even imaging going through that. 

Hope to be back soon. 

Love, Henny

Been working on the old cupboard, with springtime dishes. Be back with pictures. (hopefully)

Shoot! I meant to show you the pretty lettuce growing in the garden. I usually can't grow lettuce!

Thought I would take five minutes...

and start a new blog post. This was at 7:30 a.m. It is now after 8:00. I got wrapped up reading other blogs. 

Anyhow, remember my little, "Old Motor Grader Road", museum? Well, even though the dirt path has been fixed and gravel spread...we still occasionally find old rusty farm pieces.

It's kind of like looking for arrowheads after a big rain. Bits and pieces keep coming to the surface. 

Know what this is? Hope someone does...

Look how rusty! It has a loop on one end and is sharp on the other. Poppy spotted this sticking out of the dirt along the ditch. 

You know what's funny about this new piece is that one evening on the Western, "Gunsmoke", Poppy saw a piece just like it hanging in an old barn. Mostly what I find are old rusty nails. :(

Oh and look at this...

It's barb wire. Very old, barb wire!

Here's a better look...

I can't even imagine how this must have looked at one time. Poppy says the wire must have been put up using a cedar tree as a post. The tree grew over the years, covering the wire, bringing it into the tree. Eventually the tree died and rotted away leaving just pieces like this. Can you imagine how many years that would have taken. 

We both laughed and laughed...Poppy said, "when was barb wire invented"? "Have no idea", I said, "Google it and find out". Poppy asked, how do you spell bob wire anyway? Is it just like it sounds?  b.o.b. w.i.r.e. ?  Hey, I was at least 50 before someone corrected me. :)

Got the neatest gift from Andee and Todd for Mother's Day...

a cast iron pie pan! There are lots of wild blackberries growing along Henny Penny Lane this year. Can't you just picture it? :)

Caught Poppy loading trash on the truck...

and as he went out, told Smokey he needed to go outside for a while...

That's okay Mokey, I'm coming to let you back in. :)

Guess I had better get busy. Need to feed the bunnies. We have storms predicted for late afternoon. yuk! Be back soon.

Love, Henny

  

My dearest and best friends...

 Don't know why I've had such a hard time putting a post together lately. 

Anyhow, I was in the teeny tiny garden today and thought to myself...

"Hey, you could at least stop in and say hello and tell the best friends you've ever had how much you appreciate their friendship over the years".

So, here I am! "Thank you friends so very much"! I miss you and think about you just about every day.

Oh, there has been lots I've wanted to post about...like this beautiful spring. These few pictures were taken very early spring...

when the leaves were tiny on the trees, and everything seemed to be turning green, and I was going absolutely crazy...

Even in the back yard and around the...

Why, I think every yellow water iris was in bloom this spring...

and now those wild bushes that smell so very sweet are in full bloom all along Henny Penny Lane...

the black dot back in the driveway is Smokey, waiting for me to get my senses back and come home. Oh, the sweetness!

While I'm on a roll with spring yard pictures, here's the playhouse...

Oops, here's the playhouse! That's Smokey on top, again waiting for me. :)

For a little real news, Sunday before last I was on my way to Food Lion for a few groceries...I turned off the boulevard onto the little street that goes into the store parking. About half way down a truck came from a side street, failed to stop at the stop sign and crashed into the side of my car. Thankfully, I was not hurt, but my little SUV was badly damaged...

Lucky it hit the front quarter instead of my door which probably would have hurt me. My car can be repaired, and his insurance will pay. Yay for that!

Got to tell you about our mowing! What a job! Poppy with the riding mower and me with the push mower we finally, finally, got all the mowing done. 

 

Down near the pond I mowed with the push mower. When Miss Duck refused to move so I could finish the last spot, Poppy came along, picked her up, I mowed the grass under her and Poppy sat her back down.

Like everything (and everyone) around here, she is getting old. :)

Maybe I should stop here. This has been a busy stressful day and bedtime is getting close. Hope to be back soon.

Love, Henny

 

A Little Easter post...

 So, I went all out yesterday and dyed six eggs for Easter. My little dish of colored eggs looked out of place on the table so I carried them outside and placed them in the violets and green grass, (and weeds)...

Oh, I think of Mama this time of the year, when the grass is green and the violets are in bloom.  Seeing a patch of tall green grass mama would say, "wouldn't you love to hide Easter eggs in that pretty green grass"?

and a little pink for my Easter post...

sorry about the weeds and leaves. The yard will look better after the first mowing of the season. 

and there are Easter bunnies hopping here...Willow and Wandall Wabbit...

sharing a bite of fresh hay. You know, I should have named Randall Wandall Wabbit because that is what I have called him since day one. He answers to Wandall. :)

Miss Willow has gained some weight. Here on Henny Penny Lane we don't skimp on the food, that's for sure...just ask Poppy. 

Got a sweet Eli story...

Remember back in November when he was very sick...had a large mass touching his right kidney, plus he had gastroenteritis? Well he has been well and gaining weight again but had to go in last Monday for x-rays.

Probably remembering all he went through, Eli looked awfully worried on his way to see the vet Monday morning...

Poor baby. We convinced him everything would be fine...

and told him all the girls would be waiting to see him...

I love how his look of distress eased up. Dr. Gerry and the girls in the vet's office really do love Eli, and Ellie...and best of all the x-rays showed no signs of the mass coming back. What a relief!

Well, I do wish you all a Happy Easter. We aren't doing anything special. I miss the days of grandchildren coming for a big Easter dinner and the fun of hiding eggs for them to find, miss too, seeing them climbing the big Mimosa tree on the hill by the pond. The days go too fast.

Happy Easter, dear friends!

Love, Henny

Leave you with pictures of the yellow Carolina Jasmin beginning to bloom along the path...

A little peek through the Redbud tree...

 

Yes, we're still here. Hey again, dear blogging friends. Problems with pictures for my blog still continue...I sure miss the days with my little $99.00 kodak camera...taking pictures and loading them on the computer was a breeze, and so was pulling them for my blog posts. Anyhow...

It's really looking like spring these days and I am loving every minute of it. The yard is dotted with purple violets and even the tiny weeds are pretty now. 

So, I'm thinking, what better time than now to do a blog post, so much to show and tell, like...

our new baby chicks..

There are six of them, two black marans, two easter-eggers, one golden comet, and a tiny red one that I've forgotten what she is. :) We are down to three old hens and a rooster. Hardly getting enough eggs for just the two of us.

Oh my gosh, I haven't shown you Willow, the newest bunny on the block...

So far, I haven't been able to get a good picture of her. She is still a little afraid of me but getting sweeter every day and eating kale from my hand. 

Oh Randall Rabbit, Randall Rabbit...

:) have you ever seen such a big rabbit foot and cottontail? Randall is such a big boy! Anyhow, I had to divide the 10' x 10' rabbit lot to keep them separate...as much as I would love a bunch of baby rabbits, what in the world would I do with them! So, I'm on a mission now to raise $190.00 to get Willow spayed. The vets here and around the Raleigh area charge between 350.00 to $400.00. Isn't that crazy! There is a place in Greensboro, Sheets Pet Clinic, that will spay a rabbit for $190.00. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive from here but worth the trip, I suppose. 

and Smokey wants to know if you can find the kitty cat in the picture...

silly kitty! Oh my, speaking of kitties, I want to show you one of Cousin Patty's Ragdoll Cats. They have two, Beau and Teddy. I'm pretty sure this one is Beau...

I would just love to pick him up and hold him. Pat said they had been on a long stroller ride. Beau and Teddy look like a ball of fur in this picture...

Okay, I promised myself to finish a blog post tonight! So, no matter how boring, or how sorry  a job I've done here...I am hitting the publish button. Oh, I do want to thank you for the nice comments on my last post. My goodness! I too wish that I had a shop on line. 

and now I promise to get around to reading your posts. 

Thank you!

Love, Henny