Have I mentioned how tickled I am to be getting green beans from the garden...and these are not just any old green beans, these are half runners, mama's favorite.
Why, I can't grow, pick, cook, can, or eat green beans without a flood of sweet memories of mama.
Picking the beans, I can just hear mama saying, "try not to tear the vines all to pieces, and watch out for old snakes".
Cooking the beans had to be in her old pressure cooker, seasoned with fatback. Mama knew exactly how much grease and salt to add and exactly how long to cook the beans to make them delicious.
and canning green beans, I remember watching her carefully inserting a case knife blade down each side of the packed jars to get the air bubbles out then adding the one teaspoon of salt to each jar. Mama did everything carefully and precise. I tend to get in a hurry with everything. Everything!
and eating the green beans! Meals were so good back then. Usually if there was a bowl of green beans on the table, there was also new potatoes that had been cooked on top of the beans, fried chicken, fried okra, sliced tomatoes, and crispy fried cornbread patties, and a pie for dessert. There's just something about the smell of green beans cooking on the stove and okra being fried that makes me happy.
Oh, and I did can a measly four quarts of beans yesterday. Shelby has already canned a shelf full of green beans, and probably has a couple of big cream cheese pound cakes sitting on the counter. :(
so here's what I've got to show for my hard work yesterday.
Well enough about green beans. My plan was to tell you about the Bee Festival last Saturday...
It was really fun. Shelby's jams and jellies were a big hit! Big hit! There she is, doing some kind of figuring. :) and to think, she had cases of each of the different flavors you see displayed there on the table.
I did pretty good too. Got a little spending money in my pocket which, by the way, is burning a hole.
Next time I buy a tent, it is going to be pink. I like that pink one. It would make my aprons look prettier. My set up doesn't look all that pretty.
Aren't these three cute. The young people there were extra nice and friendly.
and this young lady with the rings in her nose strolled by with her parents...
I was totally shocked when she bought a bonnet and she actually wore it. She was very sweet. Later they came back and her mother bought a bonnet.
and there was a big bee that stopped buzzing around long enough for a picture.
I hung a few aprons on the wall across from our tables. Behind that wall were animals. Well, not many showed up with their animals but there were a couple of goats and a chicken for the customers to see.
That's about it. My pictures aren't great but it gives you some idea how big this place is. It was a fine day, oh! the weather! It rained early morning on the drive there and while we were unloading our vehicles, but faired up and the rest of the day was fine. I've never noticed before how funny "faired up" sounds, but I've heard that all my life.
Anyhow, better get busy. Poppy gets off work in 45 minutes. I've been out mowing in the hot sticky weather so you can probably imagine how I look.
Thank you for visiting.
Love,
Henny
The Bee Balm is blooming
I cannot believe ten days have passed since my last post. Time flies, doesn't it! and I really haven't been having that much fun.
and the row of flowers along the garden fence are beginning to bloom.
Tomorrow, Shelby and I will be vendors at the "Bee Festival" in Oxford, NC. A craft event we have been looking forward to.
But listen to this, if you will...all week the weather forecast for Saturday has been for fair skies, low humidity, temps in the mid 80's; perfect weather for a craft show.
So, yesterday, I emailed Shelby and said, can you believe the perfect weather we are supposed to have for the "Bee Festival"? I mean, this never happens!
So, early this morning we turn on the local news and the weather man is saying we could have rain tomorrow, and thunderstorms, and some could become severe. WHAT!!! Seems a front has formed way up in Omaha Nebraska and is dropping down our way and should arrive here in the early morning hours. In all my life, I have never heard of a front forming in Omaha Nebraska that would affect us here in North Carolina. Seriously, I heard this on the news this morning!
Oh well, the car is packed to the brim and I am leaving here at 6:00 am for the Bee Festival, if the Lord is willing.
Got my camera packed too and bound and determined to take pictures. Don't know what I was trying to do here, but looks like I need glasses, bad, and a hairdo, and to paint that mirror.
Hope to visit you all real soon. Hope to be back here real soon too. I sure appreciate you all!
Love,
Henny
But come on in...
Even our Franklin County is making the news with the flooding and washed out bridges and roads!
Our 5" capacity rain gauge was level full when we walked Eli and Weetie late yesterday. then it rained again during the night.
The picture was to show how tall those red lilies have grown, compared to the house, but you would have to see them in person.
Are lilies supposed to grow to 6'?? I wanted lilies growing around the bird bath.
I am so excited to have three new followers; Hey Betsy H. and Sandra Kelly and Deb B. There's just nothing like blog friends...Best friends I've ever had. Thank you!
and good gosh!! talk about blogging friends and being excited, would you look at what UPS delivered to my door last week...
another big box of fabric from my very special friend Diane in Kentucky. This is the same generous Diane who sent two other boxes of beautiful fabrics. Have you ever!! I am blown away!! I've never met Diane in person, but know her through my blog.
Diane and her husband have the sweetest yellow Lab named Molly. Molly is super special; very intelligent and very sweet. I've never met Molly either, but love her too.
Dumperoo was pretty excited with the package UPS delivered too. A new box, complete with padding. I had to let him think it was his, for a while...
then I got busy...
Can you tell I've cleaned out, sorted by color, and re-folded all the fabric? Talk about fun! Poppy kept checking in the sewing room to make sure I was still alive. Gosh, and most of what you see, well the prettiest pieces anyhow, are from Diane.
We are still babysitting Cousin Pat's new born baby doll, Danny Lloyd. You may remember several posts back how Pat had asked if I would repair the cloth body on her doll...
I had never done anything like that before, but it turned out pretty good. Then I bought Danny a little outfit. Yesterday in the thrift store I found a sweet little receiving blanket.
Anyhow, don't know how I got off on that...I need to get up from here and walk Eli and get up to the garden. The rain supposedly has stopped for today but will be back tomorrow.
Appreciate your visit. Hope to be right back here real soon.
Love,
Henny
With the Leek's nightcap removed all the teeny tiny flowers have opened in a soft shade of pink...
and in the garden this morning there were the tiniest little bees working in and out of each little flower. Looks like all I got a picture of was the small beetle.
and let me show you our first gathering from the teeny tiny garden...
I know, I know, most gardeners would be showing a bushel basket of potatoes but I'm proud as can be of this little dishpan full. Why when these potatoes were planted back in April, Poppy said the ground was too wet and that the potatoes would probably rot.
We are lucky too, to have gathered any yellow squash or zucchini. As soon as the plants began to bloom, those sneaking ugly squash bugs arrived in town.
Have you ever dealt with squash bugs? Sometimes I think those things are part human. As soon as they see you they hide behind a leaf or down near the ground and then sneak around, looking at you from their hiding place. The best way to get rid of them is to carry a container of soapy water, pick the bugs off and drop them in. Of course, then I feel sorry for them.
anyhow...
got my workbasket cleaned out once again. Still think this is one of my best ideas ever...course you know how simple minded I am. Little things make me happy. The word "little" makes me happy. But really...
everything I could possibly need, working outside is in this old basket, or soon will be. Poppy has a drawer full of old reading glasses he used before getting his prescription pair that he wears all the time now. A couple pairs of those glasses are going into the workbasket to help me read labels and find squash bugs.
also in the basket, underneath those new pink gardening gloves I am showing off are more clean gloves and several folded bandannas, there's a plastic bag with nails, screws, and staples, and a bag full of plant markers, a pen and pencil, a knife and two pairs of scissors, a hammer and a hand saw, wire cutters and small pruners. Oh yeah, a hair clip, a little mirror, twine and pieces of wire, and usually a piece or two of bubble gum. Guess that's about it.
Recently, Poppy and I started walking Eli and Weetie all the way to the end of our dirt road, up to the highway. It's a fun walk. The dogs enjoy it too.
Well, this dirt road we live on has been here many many years and used to be called "the old motor grader road", long before we ever moved here. Anyhow, seems like every day we walk, Poppy will spot a piece of old rusty metal buried in the red clay road. With his pocket knife he scratches around and well, has come up with all this...
Pretty neat, isn't it. Wish we would find a chunk of gold.
Boy, I'm really wound up today. Must be the rain. The weather folks say we could end up with three and a half inches rain by Monday, and I was just telling you how dry it is.
You've probably checked out by now, but if not, thank you. Hope to be back here soon.
Love,
Henny
(Willie, you were right about the pink flowering leek) :)
Been in the garden again this morning! I can't seem to stay out of the garden these days, so I have decided to wait until this winter to clean house again. :)
The lint balls blowing off the ceiling fans will just have blow a while longer.
Early morning and the leek is removing it's night cap, or that's what it looks like to me. Isn't it neat?
Last summer Lowes had their garden plants on sale including leeks. I know nothing about leeks but bought a six pack and planted them. The plants never amounted to much so when the garden was cleaned up last fall I threw them out...except for this one that was missed...
This leek has grown and grown and attached itself to my heart. It's so pretty! I'm keeping this one, as long as it lives.
and those six foot tall lilies towering above the bird bath are blooming.
and a patch of wild yarrow growing in the front yard...
Summer of 2017 I bought a pot of Yarrow, set it out in the herb garden and it died. The wild will do just as well.
Oh, and this is the little leaf cucumber planted in the half barrel...
and this will be our first cucumber. Did you know that Poppy hates cucumber? He sure does.
and speaking of Poppy. Sunday was a nice quiet day so Poppy thought he might fish a little, maybe catch a big fish from our teeny tiny pond...
instead he caught a teeny tiny fish...
poor little fish. It was not injured and is now back in the pond swimming with the big fish.
here's Eli...
this is where he stands to see down the dirt road. Sometimes I put my arm around him and we stand there together, especially at night when he sees something in the woods or hears a strange noise. Scary things in the woods, you know. Last night it was tiny little flying squirrels eating at the bird feeder. Poppy got the spotlight and we saw them.
Guess that's about it for this time, Oops! the stir-fry broccoli...
see the tiny broccoli heads. We've had the broccoli twice already, in stir-fry.
Thank you friends, and thank you to a new follower, Chi Chi Mum from North Carolina. Yay!
Also, I appreciate the comments on my last post, and glad several of you warned me about the pretty plant 'Spiderwort' being invasive. Like you, I'm planning to keep it anyhow.
Willie, meant to tell you, that frog on the playhouse wall is not real. :)
Debbie, I do sell some of those plants that I have rooted, but mostly I give them away.
and Deb, no, I did not know there were so many kinds of blueberry bushes. I will Google that and try to find the ones that grow here.
Hope to be back soon.
Love,
Henny
so here's what I've got to show for my hard work yesterday.
It was really fun. Shelby's jams and jellies were a big hit! Big hit! There she is, doing some kind of figuring. :) and to think, she had cases of each of the different flavors you see displayed there on the table.
Next time I buy a tent, it is going to be pink. I like that pink one. It would make my aprons look prettier. My set up doesn't look all that pretty. 
Aren't these three cute. The young people there were extra nice and friendly.
I was totally shocked when she bought a bonnet and she actually wore it. She was very sweet. Later they came back and her mother bought a bonnet.
and there was a big bee that stopped buzzing around long enough for a picture.
I hung a few aprons on the wall across from our tables. Behind that wall were animals. Well, not many showed up with their animals but there were a couple of goats and a chicken for the customers to see. 
