Hot, dusty, and dry...but a cool pond

I've been outside pouring buckets of water on the poor wilted plants. It is so very hot and dry here.

Again last night there was a chance of a thunderstorm or a shower of rain, but for some unknown reason when the clouds get to Franklin County they split and go on either side of us. I'm sure Poppy will say it's something I've done. 

This Poplar tree is losing it's leaves, looking a little like fall with all the yellow and brown. It may just be this hot dry weather. Surely I can't start raking in July! Good Grief!

Poppy has mowed since this picture was taken last week. Even today the grass is beginning to turn brown.

 So the rain stops and with no muddy water running down the side road, the pond has cleared up. Guess we can't have it all. 

It looks nice and cool anyway.

I told Poppy just this morning, there would be no complaining from me about the cold weather this winter.

I kind of enjoyed building that big snowman last winter and I'm certainly looking forward to playing with Eli in the snow. Let's just see if I make it through January and February without a complaint.

Better start supper. Hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Love,
Henny 

A day for visitors

Today neighbors have stopped by from up the road...

and neighbors have stopped by from down the road...

which was fine and dandy. I enjoy the neighbors stopping by. But then these two visitors showed up...both at the same time.

I went in the chicken house to check on a hen that was cackling awfully loud and gasped at the sight. No need in running for the gun, I can't shoot a snake so I ran for the camera. Three times I held my breath and peeped in to get a picture of the snake eating the eggs...

then slowly backing out I happened to look up and saw this above my head...

My friend Nellie was just telling me about a black snake chasing somebody she knows. I closed the chicken house door and ran back to the house. Poppy will be home in ten minutes. 

It has definitely been an unusual day.

Okay, here it is bedtime again. But surely you will want to know what happened. Poppy got home and I told him there were two big snakes closed up in the chicken house. He got the shotgun and went in...He fired one shot, the door opened and Poppy brought out a six foot rat snake. The second snake had totally disappeared. :(  We searched and looked and raked the straw, but no snake.

Whew! What a day. Snakes don't crawl at night, do they? Sure hope the chickens are safe. 

Thanks for visiting. 

Love,
Henny

Lucille's baby

Oh my goodness! This is the longest I've stayed away. I don't have much to post this morning, but wanted you to know that I am still around. You were probably hoping I had taken my silly blog and disappeared. But no, not yet.  :)

This picture was taken Sunday night. Thinking it was unusual that Lucille and her baby were sleeping on the ground, I ran inside and got the spotlight. Could there be a snake or some predator hiding in the little bantam's home. Nope, nothing. I picked up a stick and moved the hay around to be sure. Nothing. 

Lucille's little hillbilly looking husband Festus was on the roost next to the box, like normal. I felt a little uneasy but decided everything looked okay. Maybe Lucille wanted to sleep on the ground with the baby under her wing.

Out early Monday morning with my feed bucket I was absolutely devastated to fine the baby missing. Totally missing, without so much as a trace.  Why did I leave them? Poppy brought his gun out and searched every crack and crevice, but found nothing. If it was a snake, it will come back said Poppy...I'll get him! 

We also lost five new born baby guineas last week...or the guinea parents lost them. Better move on and try to cheer up. I could still cry over all this. 

This was Eli and Smokey playing on the bed yesterday. Looks like Smokey wanted to nap and Eli wanted to play.

We are really needing rain. The teeny tiny garden is dry as a bone, but still producing. I have picked pan after pan of big red ripe tomatoes, but the tomatoes are not that good this summer. Seriously, the tomatoes are too watery tasting.

The yard long beans and the okra have been the best vegetables so far. I have thoroughly enjoyed these long beans stir fried in olive oil and garlic. I hope to grow them again next year.

It's looking a little cloudy now. Maybe there is a shower coming. That's about it for now. Suppose it will take me a while to visit and catch up reading all my favorite blogs. Hope to be back real soon. Thank you for visiting.

Love,
Henny

Cleaning house!

Sorry I am behind again. Has it really been almost four days! What a week!

Today I cleaned house. Really cleaned! We have company coming for the weekend and my little sewing room needed to be turned back into a bedroom.  Everything is put away. In fact, everything but the bedroom furniture is packed into the closet. It's amazing how much will fit into a closet.

Before closing the doors I added a little more.

Shazam! We have a clean bedroom!

Even cleaned out the old wardrobe and added a few wooden hangers.

Now, as mama would say, I am simply worn out. The rest of the house had to be cleaned too.

How the kitchen looks when I'm cooking supper. :) I wouldn't have it any other way!

Here it is bedtime! Better get all the critters all settled in for the night. :)

Love,
Henny

Hillbilly chick and other things

Sure hope this video plays. It doesn't show a lot, but is the best I could come up with in these last three days.. 

I've been trying awfully hard to catch that little hillbilly bantam chick climbing up that tall ladder and going into the box. All I can say is this chick has had to learn mighty fast. When he was only two days old I heard him chirping like something was wrong. I ran out to check and found the mama, Lucille, way up in the box clucking and coaxing the baby to find his way up that ladder. By four days old, he was going up the ladder and sleeping in the box. She even pecks him on the head in the video...did you see that?

Eli has a vet appointment at 2:30 today. His left ear is bothering him again. He is a sweetie pie! I love this dog! Can't wait to find out what his weight is now.  Weetie is going along too for her three year Rabies vaccine.

There is no shortage of help around here. I can always count on Weetie and Smokey to come along with me, even in the hot garden.

Better get busy. It's a thirty minute drive to the vet's office and our appointment is in one hour. Need to get all the animals rounded up and situated...and find Weetie's collar and leash. 

Hope to be back soon. Thank you for visiting. 

Love,
Henny

Housework, chickens, and meeting Miss Ann

The older I get the more I hate cleaning house. Seriously, What's happened to me! Things are nice and tidy here now except for that dreaded, dragging out the vacuum cleaner. Don't know which is worse, dusting or vacuuming. Probably dusting. 

However, guess what I accomplished this morning! Got the living room windows and screens washed. Clear bright shiny windows are beautiful! Kind of like the pond when it clears up after being muddy all winter.

When I think of all that needs to be cleaned in this house, I get overwhelmed. If I try to get one of those dreaded jobs done every day, it 's not nearly so bad.

Late this afternoon around the edge of dark I plan to hide and watch for that tiny baby chick to climb that high ladder. It's a mystery to me how he gets five feet up and into that box on the back of the chicken house. For the last three nights that baby has been with its mama up in the box. It is surely a mystery!

Update on Jewel's baby that hatched back in the month of May. Look how she has grown...and thankfully it is a hen, not another rooster.

And now would you like to meet Miss Ann modeling her 1920's inspired flapper style dress?

Actually this picture was taken in May at their son's wedding. The event was held in their yard...just down the path. In case you are wondering about the expression on Ann's face...when asked to pose with her husband for a picture she hesitated and asked, do I have to? It's very cute, rolling her eyes that way. Looks like Fred thought it was funny.

Miss Ann is the neighbor who recently gifted me with a stack of lovely fabrics. And that's not all! When Ann decided she no longer wanted to deal with chickens, her husband Fred caught and brought their entire flock to me. Oh, and remember the many many truck loads of pine straw that I spread in the yard last winter...all that straw came from their yard...raked and hauled free of charge...and unloaded at my doorsteps. Yep, that's our neighbors.

Here with their son, the handsome groom, Trevor. Sorry I didn't borrow a picture of the bride. She was beautiful. 

Since Miss Ann is mentioned occasionally on my blog, I thought you might like to meet her. So now you know.

Good grief! The day will be gone! I am getting busy, right now! 

Love,
Henny

Around the teeny tiny farm and garden

It is so hard to catch up with everything once you get behind! I have a minute here. Should I visit my favorite blogs, reply to friends who left comments on my last post, or quickly do a new post? Decisions, decisions!

I'm tired tonight since Poppy and I were up at 4:30 this morning. Wednesday! Poppy's "early to work" day. 

Smokey has the best idea...just get somewhere cool, stretch out and relax. 

Okay, here it is Thursday morning. I was simply too worn out last night to stay on the computer. Now that Poppy is off to work, I need to get out and feed the chickens, the goats, the guineas and ducks. Then check on the little hillbilly bantam family with their new baby. Still haven't named this little fellow. 

This tiny chick the size of an English walnut is already following his mom up this five foot ladder to sleep in the box that is nailed to the back of the chicken house. I never would have believed it, but know it's true. I saw it with my own two eyes.

Ahhh, some of you may remember our last little bantam family, "Popeye, Olive, and their baby, Sweet Pea" and how they died suddenly one by one. It broke my heart.

I will always, always, believe it was the medicated starter feed that killed them. After testing the feed, the manufacturer claims that it was fine. It took six months to hear back from them and that was after calling them twice.

It was a year ago that I posted their sad little story. If interested, you can click on "popeye" under "labels". 

Have you ever seen such a squash vine!

Seriously, the stem is as big around as my wrist.

and bunches of little squash.

Kind of freakish looking. I've never seen a squash vine grow like this. Hope it's not getting ready to take over.

The squash vine has filled this entire corner of the teeny tiny garden. If I disappear from up in the garden one morning, well, tell someone about the squash vine.

Sometimes the volunteers turn out to be the nicest. These are the little wild Black-eyed Susans that bloom along the roadside. This plant volunteered and came up in just the right spot, so I left it.

Volunteers know where they want bloom.

The little patch of Spider Flowers are blooming.

and the tall Phlox.

Gosh, if you're not careful, thirty minutes at the computer can quickly turn into three hours.

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

Things on my dresser

Hopefully, no more dizziness for me for a good long while. I am feeling much better. Thank you for all the nice comments. I appreciate your friendship so much!

Sitting at the dresser putting on a little make up this morning, I thought, why not post about, well, about my dresser.

There is almost a story behind everything here. The black vase was a gift from a favorite boss of mine back in the 1980's when I was a secretary. Yep, we were secretaries back then. I actually enjoyed bringing my boss his morning coffee.

The black glass candleholder came from the home my husband and I bought back in the 1970's.

Have you seen the lovely brooches my daughter Lynn makes.

Lynn sells these when we do a craft show together and she also sells them in her Etsy shop..."a bit of birdsong". I love the old fashioned Victorian look of these pins. I enjoy wearing these pins. One here has a thimble charm. Oh, and those on the right with Mama's picture are very special to me.

Remember when a pretty ashtray made a nice gift?

This lovely glass ashtray was a gift to me back in the 1970's. It even has my initial etched in the glass. Yep, I was a smoker back then. I have put out many a cigarette in this pretty little ashtray.

This drawing sits on a table near the dresser. I found it a thrift store several years ago for nearly nothing. I think it is absolutely beautiful. Who would throw this out!! It is signed KFB.

So that's a look at the dresser.

And funny! Here's the first picture taken when I came up with this great idea...not even thinking it would be a picture of me and Eli.

Better get going. I need a few groceries and the weatherman is calling for storms today. Timing is everything...walking around in the grocery store with other shoppers, you hardly even notice the thunder. :)

Thank you for visiting. I will be around to catch up shortly.

Love,
Henny

Ever suffered with vertigo?

It was a busy last Thursday morning and things were fine here...Poppy was off work and we both had stuff to do and errands to run. 

Around lunch time I began feeling awful. Simply awful. Had this strange feeling behind my eyes, I felt nauseated, and everything seemed to be bouncing up and down. This got worse as the day wore on. The only bit of relief came from closing my eyes pressing my fingertips on my forehead. This feeling stayed with me overnight. As soon as my doctor's office opened yesterday I called. Come in at 10:30 said his receptionist. Poppy drove me...I was too dizzy. After a quick checkup, he decided the problem was vertigo. Sure hope he knows what he is talking about. Poppy and I got the prescription for Meclizine filled and came home. I am feeling a little better today but moving very carefully. It's a feeling like any quick or jerky movement would put everything to spinning out of control. What a miserable feeling. The doctor talked like a number of things could bring on vertigo; the heat or a virus. So this my second time this summer feeling sick enough to see a doctor...and this is enough!

The pond seems to be clearing up a bit. This usually happens in July.

I don't have a big interesting post here...mostly wanted to say why I've been away for three days. Focusing on a computer screen didn't seem like a good thing to do with vertigo. I do have a bit of news to share with you. 

Remember the little hillbilly bantam couple my friend Nellie gave me a while back. "Festus" and Lucille".

Well finally! Lucille has hatched one tiny baby chick. I was just before taking her off that nest of eggs she had been sitting on for a month, when out popped this baby chick from under her wing. He is tiny and he is cute! Now if we can just get him raised!

Thank you for visiting.  Hope to be back soon. Things are still popping around here so maybe there will be something worth posting a little later.

Love,

Henny