Porches and color

Well, it's that time of the year when the pond clears up and looks pretty enough to bring us out to sit on the back porch...

and from the porch we can look down at those red lilies that grow 7' tall! I've never in my life...

Today we got a little rain and the tiniest bit of a breeze blew the tallest of the lilies over.

Couldn't leave the lilies lying on the ground so I stuck them in a vase, without a lot of arranging to make them pretty...

Anyhow, the back porch! Our neighbor Ann called and asked if I wanted their two old highback rocking chairs. She said Fred was carrying them to the dump, that I might want them to sit up at the garden...how cute that would be...

Well, it sounded good to me so I said yes! The old chairs never made it to the garden...

Oh, old and worn and comfortable. That's just what this old back porch needs...One of the chairs was blue so I've painted it brown.

The old green rocking chairs that we've used for 30 years, I moved to the other end of the porch...where they fit in pretty good...

Oops! almost forgot to show you the old chair I painted brown...

Looks like a terrible paint job, but there were spots of blue where glue had been used and the brown paint would not cover it. That's okay. The chairs sit good.

While on the subject of porches...again! We finished working on the front porch and got the little half screen door painted. Got to show you...

Remember back when we had the new french doors put up and  bought paint, the color "sweet tea", to paint the doors?? Well, I am so thankful we decided to leave the doors white. The little screen door is painted in "sweet tea" and it would have looked awful on those french doors. It still almost clashes with the red logs...but not quite. There's something I really like about the colors. 

Almost forgot, but here's a "before" picture of the little door...

It is an unusual color. Sometimes it looks almost pink. So glad we didn't use it on the new french doors!!

Our Ellie girl is growing, isn't she? and always keeping an eye on me...

Sure appreciate your visiting. Hope to be back soon.

Love,

Henny

Explaining why!

Dear friends,

I'm feeling very sad this morning. Got to thinking about and missing the bunnies, especially...

 "Chief, Son of Bun". Never told you this Bonnie, but turns out "Chief" is a girl, so I called my little Indian girl "Poco", short for Pocahontas. The name "Chief, Son of Bun" always made me smile. All my bunnies were dearly loved but this one had really attached herself to my heart. 

Anyhow, you all probably wonder why I let my beloved bunnies go. Well, several reasons; there was lots of lifting and cleaning, and not only was I feeding bunnies, but mice too. Oh I recently lifted the top on one of the bunny huts and found a stash of feed and enough fur to make another bunny.  Also had the worry of my bad back, osteoporosis, and arthritis. 

and something else! It was discouraging to constantly hear, "those d... rabbits. We can't go anywhere because you have all these animals". 

and most of all, the heartbreak and sadness of animals getting sick or being injured or killed or wounded by a predator. Oh, the number of sick or hurt animals I have cared for over the years! Chickens, ducks, guineas, kittens (thrown out), birds, wild rabbits, squirrels, and even a baby opossum, once upon a time. After Weetie's horrible accident, well, sometimes I feel like my heart can't handle much more.  Even now I am caring for a sick hen, and our old duck was near death when Poppy pulled her from the pond a couple weeks ago, waterlogged and half paralyzed. 

We wondered if she was bitten by a snake. Guess we'll never know. After a few days care, we filled a big No.2 tub with water and put her in to make sure she could use her legs. She is back on the pond, back to normal, splashing and swimming like crazy??

One thing for sure; Mr. Murphy has the means to care for the bunnies. He loves animals, and he asked us for the bunnies. We didn't ask him to take them. I just wish I had kept Poco. But is she happier there with her family?

Okay, bet all of you signed off long ago...but if you're still here, thank you for listening. Blogging friends are extra special, aren't they?

Love,

Henny

A little building, a little cleaning, a little sad

We walked Eli and Ellie up the path to the paved road. I picked a few spindly wildflowers...

 Our latest project has been putting up new wire on our teeny tiny front porch.

Way back, seven years ago when Eli was just a puppy, I had the bright idea of tacking garden fencing around the little porch. That way I could work outside and watch Eli too...

We enjoyed the little fenced-in porch so much that now, seven years later, Poppy decided it was time to give it a little more of a professional look. We cut and nailed 2 x 4s along the edge, painted them brown, and installed the nice new fencing.  Tomorrow I plan to paint the little half screen door and also get the porch floor painted soon.

So, while in the cleaning mood, I polished the old cupboard then washed all the old pots and pans and rearranged it all...

I absolutely love this old cupboard and will always be grateful to cousin Pat and her husband Mike for putting it in my care. 

Have I ever shown you both ends of the teeny tiny front porch? Why it's so small I can't back far enough away to get a full picture of the old cupboard. But here's each end of the porch...

Oops, pardon the dirty old boots. I've put many a mile on that pair parked in the back.

I suppose this little porch is just right for Poppy and me and the dogs. 

Got a bit of news I've been meaning to share with you. Just hated to mention it, you see, it makes me a bit sad...

All our sweet bunny rabbits have gone to live on a big hay farm just a few miles from here.

So strange how it all worked out. For some time now I've been trying to find homes for a few of the rabbits. Anyhow, Poppy was out at Mr. Murphy's Hay Farm buying feed and casually commented that I needed to get rid of some rabbits. Mr. Murphy spoke up and asked, "what kind of rabbits does she have? I'll take them all!" Said he used to have rabbits and still had a big lot with a rabbit house for them to go in. 

I spoke with Mr. Murphy on the phone and he assured me these rabbits would have a good home. Just recently he told us that his granddaughter loves the rabbits and when she visits says, "Grandpa, give me some food. I need to go feed the bunnies". 

I do know that Mr. Murphy loves animals. He used to have sheep and now has cows. He also has kitty cats and a big friendly dog that greets all the customers, and...he had a sweet little donkey that hung around near the store. Oh, wait! You may remember my post several years ago about Mr. Murphy's bull...

He was shy at first and wouldn't come out to see us...yeah right!

and this is Mr. Murphy's store where you drive thru to pick up hay or feed...

I sure miss my bunnies, every one of them. Glad to know they are all together and have a good home. 

Guess that's about it for now. Looking at Smokey makes me sleepy...

I just may go curl up with him. This has been a busy week. Appreciate your stopping by...and always appreciate seeing a new follower. Thank you! 

Love,

Henny

Ellie Mae

Polka Dotted Bird Feather...and other things

Guess what! It's raining! It really is! and we really need it! Funny how we've just come through the wettest winter on record and now going through the driest spring on record...heard this on the news recently.

Have you seen the playhouse lately?

Been moving stuff around again. Stole the green rocking chair off the back porch. One day I just might sit here and watch a car go up the dirt path. A sweet little bird has claimed the long-legged tower and every night, roosts way up high over the old straight back chair.  I'm afraid the pink flamingo cushions will now have to go in the trash. 

and the teeny tiny garden lies just behind us...Here...

The bean vines (half-runners) are beginning to climb the wattle fence...

A wattle fence! Who knew something as simple as a wattle fence could make me so happy? :) 

These pictures were taken this morning before we got a shower of rain. The soil is so dry.

have a neat litle row of kale growing...but look at the dry soil!

Well, enough of the teeny tiny garden. Got a few really strange looking pictures to show you. 

Yep, it was that evening sun going down again, making strange shadows on the little red chicken house...

Pretty but kind of eerie too, don't you think?

I raced in for the camera, knowing how fast this look would change.

Guess I should have saved these for my Halloween post in October. There's just something in these darker pictures that frighten me. 

Okay, now a sweet little picture...

This teeny tiny polka dotted feather...only three inches long was lying in the grass in our front yard. I've never seen anything like it. Poppy went searching in our bird books and found that it is a feather from a woodpecker. It's just so pretty!

and speaking of pretty and sweet and all that...

I'll leave you with a picture of our Ellie girl. She got the last of her puppy shots today. The vet said she weighs 62 pounds now. That's pretty hefty for a five month old. 

I do appreciate your stopping by. Hope to be back soon.

Love,

Henny