The little Parsley plant

Last March when I started a few seeds in the teeny tiny greenhouse, I put a parsley seed in a bit of potting soil. It sprouted and grew to about the size of a toothpick.

After the garden was planted, not wanting to leave the tiny little parsley plant to die, I dug a hole at the end of a row and planted it there, then forgot about it. 

Cleaning up the garden lately this big green healthy plant growing under the edge of a  bunch of zinias caught my eye. Could that be Parsley! Is that the tiny spindly litte sprout I stuck in the garden and forgot.  

It's Parsley alright. So big and pretty! The weatherman was calling for a hard freeze Friday night. With a shovel I scooped up the whole plant, roots and all and put it in a big bucket, watered it good and put it in the greenhouse. 

The little greenhouse is not heated except for a heat lamp, the kind used for baby chicks, with a red 250w bulb. Anyhow, it worked. That was two days ago and the parsley is still pretty. I've dried five trays of parsley in the dehydrator...enough to fill one spice jar. Yay!

Oh my gosh! The leaves, the leaves, the leaves...here they had just begun to fall...

Hard to tell where the driveway ends and the path begins...it's that time of the year!!

and there have been some really pretty colors around the pond this fall...

I love the gold in this big old hickory nut tree that grows just outside Rosie's lot...Sorry I have no picture of Rosie. She is so fat! Rosie tries to eat every leaf that falls in her pasture,  and so far has done a pretty good job of keeping up.  :)

I apologize for all the pictures. I've taken so many and just need to share them with folks I love. Thank you for looking. :) Oh, and I have a few "hello" pictures from the animals, plus a little Randall Rabbit video...

another one of the pond with miss ducky...

Isn't it hard to believe that our Eli is ten years old!  He loves being out in the sun these cool days. Sunshine makes his sweet face even sweeter...

and of course our baby Ellie. Ellie is doing well on her medications. She goes in once a month for bloodwork...so far,  so good...

and now here's Randall Rabbit. What a big sweet bunny this boy has become...

Have I mentioned that I want another bunny?? Well, I do. Not just for me, but for Randall. There are some for sell in Wake Forest for only $20.00...not as big as Randall but are considered large rabbits. The problem is finding a way to get her spayed. My gosh! Why is it so expensive!

I've heard there are places that will help with the expense of spaying and neutering pets, so I am checking around. I have a Christmas craft show coming up November 18th. Hopefully, it will be a good one. Haven't mentioned all this to Poppy yet. So don't tell anybody. :)

and now the Randall Rabbit video... (especially for you Rian) Hope I remember how to load one...

Not the best post I've ever done. Thank you friends for stopping by. Our computer is dying...of course, it's about time for a new one. The screen is jumping up and down as I try to type. It's like trying to type while riding on a four-wheeler! :)

Love, Henny

Not just Ellie,

But Poppy and I too, felt better after reading all your "get well" wishes. Thank you very much...

Ellie is doing great and almost back to her old self. She just may eat us out of house and home before the doctors get her medications adjusted. She is on Prednisone and Fludrocort. It's the Prednisone! Dr. Davidson said Yes, Ellie has one goal right now and that is to find food. We think she has gained back the weight she lost and maybe a little extra. She goes back for more bloodwork on Monday. 

Ellie was showered with attention last week at the vet's office. It was her first visit back for bloodwork after being hospitalized. Most of the staff came out to greet her with hugs and kisses and were pleased to see Ellie looking much better. 

I hate to say anything but it's that time of the year again..."the snowball bush"!! When all the green blooms first came out Poppy said, Mel you've got to take a picture...

So many snowballs, the limbs will never support them, said Poppy.

So now they're turning white, but still not fully opened and no broken limbs, yet...

Seems the warmer weather is finally here to stay and it feels wonderful. 

Miss Ducky hasn't been back on her nest since losing her two precious eggs but enjoys swimming on the pond these warm days...

and our early morning walk down Henny Penny Lane one day last week. The sky and clouds were just so pretty, to me anyhow...I could feel spring...

even looking out across the old cutover was pretty...

some mornings everything just feels beautiful, doesn't it?

Guess that about it for now. Mostly just wanted to say, "thank you friends"! 

Love, Henny

Been a little stressful around here...

stuff happening, you know, those everyday problems that can drive you crazy, problems I kept thinking I would post about...but then when our sweet little Ellie became deathly ill, well none of those other things seemed important.

Here's Ellie, saying hello from her hospital bed. 

This nightmare began March 16th when we carried Ellie to our regular vet for x-rays. She had been limping and having trouble getting up. But what a surprise, the x-rays showed nothing. Ellie's hips and legs looked fine...But, Ellie came home a changed dog.

Give her 24 to 48 hours we were told because she had been sedated. Those 48 hours turned into six days of not eating or drinking. She lost 8 pounds and spent two of those days in the vet's office getting fluids and bloodwork done. Bloodwork showed a serious bladder infection that had spread to her kidneys. 

We left the vet's office on Thursday the 23rd and drove Ellie to an emergency hospital in Raleigh. She stayed there three nights and underwent extensive bloodwork. The doctors all suspected "Addison's Disease". Ellie was hooked up to IV fluids and put on 2 different antiobiotics, 2 different steroids, a feeding tube, and 2 meds that would hopefully give her appetite back. Ellie began to show a little improvement and on Sunday we brought her home.

Tuesday we got a call from the hospital confirming that Ellie has Addison's Disease. There is no cure for Addison's disease and Ellie's quality of life will depend on lifelong treatment. We came awfully close to losing our sweet Ellie girl. Gosh!

So, I will just have to come back with all the other day to day happenings around here...

One thing for sure, while away on all the trips to and from the vet's office and emergency hospital Smokey had our place under control...told us not to worry, he would keep watch...

Thank you friends.

Love, Henny

Thank you friends!!

for all the nice comments on my last post. I appreciate you all so much...I really do!

Oh my! Is it hot and humid where you are? 

You know, last winter I waited and hoped and wished for spring and summer...telling myself, "I will not gripe and complain about the heat, not this summer". I craved the feel of warm sunshine on my bare arms and the healing powers of the sun for my aching body. 

Have to admit, I have complained just a wee bit this month of July.  It's so hot and humid!!

The sweet little canary yellow bird cage hangs empty at the playhouse...

Poppy did the painting and that's about as far as we got...

I am too ashamed to show you the teeny tiny garden. We have had thunderstorms, lots of rain, and high winds which can wreak havoc on garden plants. However...

tomatoes are plentiful and some are kind of big...

and these Pablano peppers...

Back when the garden was just starting, our soon to be new neighbors, Steve and Loye stopped by and gave us four Pablano pepper plants. 

I've Gooled and found a simple recipe for Rajas; Pablano peppers sauteed with onions and garlic, that looks good. 

Well, we have been walking the dogs a little earlier these days because of the heat. Our boy Eli was sick yesterday...

Poppy asking him if he felt up to a walk this morning...can you believe our sweet Eli is almost eight years old now?

Eli did want to go. We had planned to be at the vet's office at eight this morning but whatever it was that made Eli sick, seemed to be gone. Obviously, he had eaten something that didn't agree with that big tummy of his. Vet told us to watch him today and bring him in if he gets sick again. 

Always ready for a walk...

Ellie says she has been ready!

looks like Smokey had a busy night...said he would just soon stay home and catch a nap...

Guess that's about it for now. Thank you for visiting. Be back soon, I hope!

Love, Henny

My dearest dearest friends,

I simply can not get over all the nice comments and well wishes you left on my last post. That alone is enough to make anybody feel like a million dollars. Thank you!

Just a quick update and then no more about my ailments. Last Friday the doctor gave me another injection in each shoulder for pain and swelling. In six weeks if the pain is back we'll do a MRI to check for a tear in the rotator cuff of my right shoulder, which is most painful. Physical therapy helped the pinched nerve in my left shoulder and arm.

And, for the last few nights, I have been able to sleep. Sweet sweet sleep!

Eli and Ellie...

wanted to say "thank you" too.  Look a little closer ...

at miss Ellie's silly face. What a silly girl. Pardon Eli's dirty chin. They were in the back yard in the leaves.

We have color down Henny Penny Lane again...

and up at the teeny tiny garden and greenhouse...

We do have pollen, everything has a dusty look Oh, but the ground is dotted with violets...

even the weeds are pretty in early spring...

So very thankful to be feeling better...just can't go crazy and overdo it in the yard and garden, no matter how far behind I am. 

All my big major "to do" lists have been put away, out of my sight! I've simply got to learn to do a little at the time.

I will leave you with a picture of Smokey resting in the sun on the steps of Poppy's shop. We could change his name to Dusty...

I do appreciate you all so much.

Love,

Henny

 

Catching up, once again!

Poor little plum tree, all dressed up in blossoms thinking spring has arrived...

and who could blame her? Warm sunny days, temperatures reaching 80 degrees! Of course today is cloudy and cold...

with a hard freeze warning for Saturday and Sunday nights. North Carolina I love you but your weather can be so unpredictable!

Several years ago a friend gave me two plum tree sprouts and I planted them near the garden. First year ever the one has blooms. I promise you one thing, it will be covered before Saturday night gets here. :)

Hey friends, 

Back at the computer and feeling some better. The MRI showed arthritis in my neck, bulging disc, pinched nerve, and bone spur. The doctor said, in two weeks, after more physical therapy, if pain and numbness is still in my arm and hand, we will talk about an injection in my spine to reduce swelling...surgery as a last resort.

I've been working awfully hard at physical therapy and doing the exercises at home and honestly can finally feel  a difference. So thankful!

The wild blueberry. Are things budding out where you live? Oh gosh! I need a warm blanket that will cover five acres. Wonder if Amazon has one, they have everything else. :)

Have I shown you our sweetie pies lately? Well here's big Eli...

and a half way decent picture of our sweet Ellie...

Ellie is the hardest dog ever! to get a good picture of, unless of course...

it's early morning before I get the bed made. This girl is rarely still!

We have lots of moss growing in the yard, lots more moss than grass, I'm sorry to say. On my way to the little greenhouse this morning I noticed these patches of moss...

Not my favorite colors but certainly different. Gosh, I need sunshine and warm days, don't you?

Guess I've rambled on about nothing long enough so here's where I will say goodbye for now...if you're still here.  Oh, couple more things...

Cousin Patty gave me a chair. You know how she is always sending me something. Well, I like this little chair...

It sits nicely here by the bed in my teeny tiny sewing room. Thank you Pat.

and speaking of the teeny tiny sewing room...I've simply got to get back to sewing. Simply got to!!! I miss being in the sewing room at night. 

Oh, and I meant to show you these hen saddles, or aprons...

Trouble is, they didn't work. These protect the hen's back. Realized after getting  one on the hen's back, it's the little red hen's wings that need doctoring. Duh.  We bought some blue salve that prevents other hens from pecking her wounds. 

Okay, I'll hush now.

Love,

Henny

UPDATE, FROM HENNY PENNY LANE

Hey friends,

Thought I would check in and say, I am still blogging. Gosh, have you ever felt like someone pulled the plug on your life as you've always known it and plugged you into some strange other life?

Well, I need to find my way out of this strangeness! This shoulder pain, pinched nerve, neck pain, needs to go! 

So I think this pinched nerve has become nerve damage. During the night, of course, when shoulder pain is worse, my left arm aches from my shoulder down through my fingernails and I cannot close my hand.  Is this serious? Should I worry?  I see another doctor today at 1:30. 

What a difference a few new panels made in the teeny tiny greenhouse...

Wednesday was a nice day with sun and warmer temperatures so we finished. Work on anything is slow going these days. Thankfully, Poppy is helping me with the yard work...leaves that haven't been raked since fall of 2021. :( Will I ever get well and catch up???

Anyhow, look at this...

I LOVE IT!!! We have light again in the teeny tiny greenhouse. 

It feels brand new. My playhouse may not have a roof but the little greenhouse does and it is cozy inside.

Oh gosh, let me tell you a funny story, well, it could have turned out different and not been funny at all. For heat in the greenhouse I hung the old heat lamp with the red bulb, the one we used raising baby chicks and guineas.  Poppy said he didn't see any harm as long as I had it clipped securely and it wouldn't fall. I did!

About a week ago Poppy left for work before daylight. He called me and said, Mel, when it gets light you need to go check on the lamp in the greenhouse. Looks like it has fallen and is on the floor. The greenhouse floor is made of small white rocks, so probably no harm done.

When it was light outside I walked to the greenhouse and immediately could smell an awful burning smell. Panic swept over me! There, resting inside my largest green plastic flower pot which contained potting soil and a plastic scoop was the burning red heat lamp. There was a hole the size of a soccer ball, burned in the side of the pot and the plastic scoop had melted down to a nub.

I unplugged the lamp and pulled all the hot mess outside to cool off. Poppy has since installed a metal hook which holds the lamp secure!!  :)

In my last post I showed a picture of a bush near the driveway with three or four pretty red Cardinals. Well friends, a few evenings ago I carried a cup of birdseed out and spread it. 

When I walked past the kitchen window I was shocked at the number of Cardinals...

of course, some flew when I held the camera to the window, but still! Not a very good picture. I was afraid Smokey would wander up and frighten them away. 

Anyhow...

Eli says he loves new friend Ellie, but there's just nothing like his big old sweet Teddy Bear...

We made Eli and Ellie a cozy little place to sleep behind the swing on the front porch...

Some days I feel like snuggling up with them back there in the corner. 

Better get busy and find something to wear. Nothing fits anymore and besides that, nothing in my closet is in style anymore. I have nothing to wear!  Just kidding, sort of. :)

Thank you friends. I sure needed to talk to you this morning. Hope to be back soon. 

Love,

Henny