Hey, you can't have too many weather updates

Little Henny...

Somebody must have said, "it's going to rain again today". Looks like I started early, sitting in the yard crying.

If you need a weather report, tune in to Henny Penny Lane. Not really, but I do complain talk about the weather a lot! Hey, the rain fell again yesterday, all day long. Weather for today? Rain, mist, drizzle, snow flurries. Seriously, I'm not complaining. Next summer when the garden is dry as a bone I will be wishing for a shower of rain. 

It's just that I need to put more T-posts put in the ground for the fence, and finish the raking, and the guinea's lot with the big pine tree laying through the middle, that needs to be cleaned up.

Mrs. Goat asks, "Did we even have a Fall season, time to prepare for winter"? I don't think so.

Remember Poppy hiding in the leaves last year...and he thought I wouldn't see him. :)

Would you believe that I have been hauling leaves back into the yard instead of away. The side yard with the fence and the clothesline, that ground is totally washing away. So, all these raked leaves I am emptying here to build new ground...

A person has to march instead of walk in a foot of leaves, and hanging clothes on the line is a little tough but that's okay. :)

Guess I had better get busy. The repair man is supposed to come look at my screaming dryer some time today. Poppy will be back soon too. He's working at the deer processing plant for a few hours this morning. I'm taking advantage of a few minutes at the computer.

Thank you for stopping. Be back soon, hopefully!

Love,
Henny

Another Christmas is past

So, Christmas is past. Hope you all had a merry one. Now we can start waiting and wishing for spring and flowers and digging in the garden. Seems I am always waiting for the next day instead of really really appreciating each minute of the present day. That's not good.

Four days ago on Christmas Eve I posted about the rainy weather making me feel gloomy. Here's that rain! I was a tad concerned that the cabin, with me in it, might wash down hill and into the pond.

The rain ended late Christmas Eve. Poppy and I were on the road to Virginia by 8:00 a.m. Christmas morning. We, along with the sunshine, arrived there a little before 11:00. 

It was good to spend Christmas Day with Andee, Todd, and Madison, Lynn and Michaela. The sunshine, see the brightness there in the back yard, added to the cheerfulness of the day...

Madison...

Here's Percy, Madison's kitty cat...

and Madison

and sweet Bell...

Todd gave Andee a Golden Retriever puppy for Christmas. It will be a few more weeks before the puppy is old enough to bring home. :)

I've been meaning to show you who has been coming in the house more lately...

and on the bed! Playing with Poppy's belt...

Guess who was the first to hold the front door open and call, "kitty, kitty, kitty"! You're right. It was Poppy! 

Thank you for visiting. Now I need to catch up with all the posts I've missed! Be back soon!

Love,
Henny

A little more weather talk

These dark, dreary, rainy days sure get me down. Seriously, I just had to get out of the house yesterday and go to town. As much as I don't enjoy being in large crowds, walking around in the brightly lit stores, hearing the Christmas songs actually cheered me up. It was fun to be in the hustle and bustle of shoppers. 

The weather today is awful. Just awful! Pouring rain! A chance of thunderstorms and high winds. Even a marginal chance of a tornado. I must stay home today! This is Christmas Eve, for goodness sake! Need to get ready for the trip to Andee's tomorrow. Andee is doing the cooking but I want to take the ham, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, brown sugar chew bread, chocolate pecan pie, and  a platter of Bass Farms hot sausage biscuits. Why, it wouldn't be Christmas without Bass Farms hot sausage! Oh, that other stuff in the picture...that's fat back to fry out for the green beans, and coconut bonbons...

You know how things are always reminding me of mama. Well those coconut bonbons, mama loved them. Back when the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog, the "wish book" would come in the mail, mama would order a box of bonbons. I can just see it...it was a large flat white box which had two or three rows of each color, the chocolate, the white, the pink, and the yellow bonbons.

Remember this house I passed by last Christmas on my way to Henderson. ...

Well, yesterday I passed by another one that caught my eye...

No amount of decorating can make a home any prettier than simply removing the trash.

Oh my! Better go turn on the oven and get busy. Thank you for stopping by and a Merry Christmas Eve to you all!

Love,
Henny

A little "hello" post

To begin this post, pictures of the guineas and chickens and such just looked so bland and dull here at warm wonderful Christmas time. So, I simply "dashed" into living room and took another picture of the mantle. Well, I have added a thing or two and since Poppy and I are going away for Christmas day there is no need in doing a lot more decorating out here in the woods...

Having the Christmas tree up and the stocking hanging over the fireplace has been fun. If nothing else it brings back good memories. Who knows, Santa just might stop by and put something in our stockings. I've been good all year. I don't know about Poppy though. He just may get a lump of coal.

Another pot of cedar... :)

I have finished off one of those cans of old fashioned hard candy and started on another. Talk about cutting down my sugar intake! Have you tried the Hershey's chocolate peppermint candy canes? The ones with a brown stripe. I do like those...

I've just come in from feeding the animals on this, another, cold rainy morning. Seems like that's all we have lately. The duckies like whole corn by the water...

After Christmas, I plan to look for a couple of Muscovy ducks. It makes me sad to think about our old ducks. They were with us a long time. Muscovy ducks become pets. These two are just pretty to watch.

Okay, I'm just rambling here. Got lots to do today and need to get busy doing it! Be back soon... I hope!

Love,
Henny

Burrr! Another cold market day!

Okay, I really need to post a little something here. Don't want folks thinking I blew away. Can it really be four days since I looked at my blog! 

Lynn and I were visiting vendors at the Wake Forest Farmer's Market again today, and guess what happened! Snow! And not just snow! We had snow, sleet, and freezing rain! The entire time! What is it with me and markets? It was really a cold miserable day at the market. Anyway, a day with Lynn is always fun. I sold only three dolls today. Nothing else. Lynn had a few sales too.

Being a vendor at the farmer's market is really fun. It is work, but fun. I miss being there. Lynn and I are thinking about maybe doing it again...part time anyway...if things can be worked out. Selling crafts is different from selling vegetables or eggs. Customers are simply not going to rush out to buy an apron or a doll every Saturday. Selling craft items one week a month, now that would be good. :)

Poppy and I will be driving to Yorktown on Christmas morning to spend the day with Andee, Todd, and Madison. Looking forward to that!

Not much of a post here, but hopefully I will be back soon, with more...better stuff! :)

Love,
Henny

Me, the procrastinator

The front porch last Christmas...before the men in white showed up with their paint buckets. Very rustic. I like rustic.

Why am I such a procrastinator? That's me alright! I never never get things done early. In fact, my good ideas pop into my head after it's too late. Poppy said to me just this morning, "you need to do nothing but get ready for Christmas these next few days. Stop worrying about the yard and raking leaves".

I was in town yesterday, standing around in the stores like a lost dog. Then back at home thinking, why didn't I get the things needed for my baking, and that couple of gifts that need to be delivered...this week! Now it's another trip to town! And another thing... now that the Christmas cards written and in the mail, I've come up with the perfect picture to put on a card...too late!

Something interesting going on outside again. It's not the pig this time...

I know it's not. I saw him pass by the house early this morning headed toward home..

Poppy called me not long after getting to work this morning to tell me the store where he works was robbed last night. Seriously! Three guys came in waving guns. One guy went straight to the front office while the other two rounded up all the employees and ordered them to lie down on the floor. The guys left with the money and no one was hurt. Those employees were given the day off today. I'm sure they needed it. How scary that would be!

Eli said he is soooo glad Poppy was safe at home when that robbery happened!

Not much of a post. Thank you for visiting. Be back soon, hopefully! :)

Love,
Henny

A stranger in the yard

Do you ever have one of those days where you watch the hours passing and you simply cannot get anything done. That's me! Today!

Would you believe me if I told you that it is pouring rain, lightening, and thundering right now? Well, it surely is. The loud thunder just shook the house. Who would have thought! You know what they say about thunder in the winter time. Snow within ten days!

It's been a strange day. Early this morning Eli got to barking and the Guineas were running through the yard hollering and carrying on, like there was danger around.

Even Dumperoo jumped up on the sewing table for a look outside...

Then I look out and see the goats perked up and on high alert for whatever is lurking about out there...

There is definitely something out here! But what? 

Old sleepy head goes with me out to the goat's lot and immediately he began barking and running around the fence checking things out...

That's when I see...wait, what is that coming up the road? 

Is that a pig?  It is! A pig stopping by...

Seems this pig has been the talk of the neighborhood lately, visiting around, sampling the dog's food from yard to yard, going under folk's houses and up on their porches. He is so cute! I really want to pet him but better not make him feel too welcome. He might want to stay.

Well, the storm has passed. Wonder how many leaves blew into the front yard. I will peep out to see and let you know. 

Thank you for visiting. Hope to return soon.

Love,

Henny

A bunch of this and that!

First of all, tell me. Can anybody spot a kitty cat in this picture? :)

I'm inside for a break from raking leaves and moving junk out of the front yard. Why does everything in the yard look like junk this time of the year? 

Speaking of junk, that old well house still needs to be carried away. It is too heavy for me. Anyhow all the leaves are out of the front yard...better look quick before the wind blows in another load...

and all those leaves have been hauled up to the garden. Now I know how a mule feels. The garden is all covered and warm and tucked in for the winter...

and here sits those same peach trees that were supposed to be put in the ground as soon as fall got here...

I just can't get it all done! 

Eli rolled in the leaves in the garden as I raked and hauled sheet loads in to be emptied. Then I had to fight with him to get my sheet back. 

Look who climbed into Bun Bun's little house and made himself at home...

He seemed to want to stay and visit with Bun Bun but I was a little worried. Do kitties and bunnies get along?

Poppy says he wishes everybody was as glad to see him come home as Eli is...

And before getting back to work, I have another little pot story. This cute granite-ware pot jumped out at me in the thrift store last week so I bought it...

Now I know better than anybody, just how dangerous I am with a pot of anything left on the stove. You can read a couple of my older posts,(see "burying pots").  This little pot seemed just right for simmering potpourri. That's a scary thought, knowing how quickly I forget and walk off with a pot on a hot burner. But I'm thinking, the scent of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg drifting through the house would be a constant reminder that, "THERE'S A POT ON THE STOVE"! However, as Elmer Fudd would say, I must be ve-ww-wy, ve-ww-wy careful simmering Potpourri here at Christmas time!

Thank you if you've managed to stay this long. Hope to be back soon...and catch up with my reading.

Love,
Henny

A little decorating update

We have sunshine today! Finally got around to cutting some cedar boughs. Picked up a few pine cones too, as Mama used to say, "such as they are".  Not many out there. Look who likes my basket. I should tie on a red bow and sit him on the hearth "as is"...

A touch of cedar helps and since I can't seem to get things right this December, this may be it, with the decorating! Somebody else likes my basket...

I suppose the mantle looks a bit better with the green added and the smell...I love the smell of cut cedar...

And yet another kitty cat has crept in...

Red beads are added to the tree. I loved the suggestion of popcorn. That would be really old fashioned, but then I remembered Eli! Could he resist the popcorn. We haven't found yet anything he won't eat...

Gosh, better get busy! There's lots of leaf raking to be done and as I said earlier, we have sunshine today. I need to be out there in it!

I surely do appreciate your stopping by. I just love you friends out there!

Sincerely,
Henny