Storms and dogs

What's going on with all these terrible storms coming across the U.S.??  Are the news media trying to scare us to death??  One in five people could be affected by the storms today, seriously!!!  

Storms really really scare me; the lightening, the thunder, the wind!!!  This great fear of storms I inherited from my Mother...bless her heart.  The storms are supposed to be here around 4:00 this afternoon.  Poppy works late today...til 8:00.  So, I'm on my own!!!

I have eaten some of EVERYTHING today!!!  Oh that reminds me...My sugar free diet...I've been meaning to tell you.  Four days...I made it four days, TOTALLY sugar free!!  By late afternoon of day four, I had zero energy.  No kidding!!  Not enough energy to cook supper.  I don't know why I can't just eat healthy and lite, but NO, for me it's all or nothing!!! :)  So, that's my try at leaving off sugar.  Failure!!!

I said "no more pictures of big boy", but look, he knows what he's doing...He saw Jewel in the dog house so he goes in and Jewel flies out!!

This dog house is empty now.  It once belonged to Nikki, a 125 pound, half wolf, half Lab.. The most special dog ever!!!  Poppy and I keep the house, hoping to one day find another dog like Nikki.  This is Nikki..

Nikki in the snow in 2000

Nikki and Susie in the snow...

 
Poppy (several years ago) with Cocoa, Splash, Susie, Nikki, Bear, and Jack...Where do the years go???

Once upon a time, Poppy and I had a house full of big dogs...and loved them all.  We miss them all!!  Do we favor?  This is  Sweet Cocoa and guess who!!!

I can not believe I started this post over 5 days ago while listening to warnings about the terrible storm that was headed our way.  When the warnings got near our county, I drove about 5 miles to the local hospital, walked into the waiting room and took a seat.  When the storm passed, I came home.   The power was out and trees down across the county!!  Whew!  I was afraid!!

Forgive me for such a post.  I hope you will come back, after this.  It's been a little crazy here with stuff going on...company, scary storms and rain, the yard a mess with the trees...I will do better!! :)

Love,
Henny Penny 

"Working"...runs in the family

I post a lot about keeping busy and Poppy never catching me sitting down...well it runs in the family.  Mama's oldest sister, Ella Vastie, worked hard her whole life.  She was 98 when she died,  but all those years working on their farm, well nobody could outdo her or keep up with her.  Aunt Bass, as we all called her, loved to fish, and she let others fish in her pond.  However, if she had her arms full and was headed to the barn as fast as she could walk, don't stop her and ask if you can go fishing!!  One man did and Aunt Bass slowed down, glared at him and said, "NO, YOU'RE NOT A GONNA FISH!!  I DON'T HAVE TIME TO FISH, AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA FISH EITHER!!  The man thanked her and left.  That's Aunt Bass on the front row, far right...

My sister, Shelby, and I don't see each other as often as we should, or want to.  Shelby is about three years older than me (let me mention that right up front)!!  :)  I post about being busy and crossing things off my list of "things to do"...well Shelby is busier!!!  She doesn't have time to make a list in the first place!!!  While I play here on our hobby farm, Shelby and her husband Jimmy have a "real" farm!!!  I took this picture from their back deck.

The funny thing is...Shelby and Jimmy, both had careers and worked until retirement age, then became farmers!!!.   They both retired at the same time.  They did quite a bit of traveling before their farming venture.  While a lot people their ages are relaxing in their recliners, Shelby and Jimmy are busy feeding cows, hogs, and chickens.  They sell fresh eggs, and their home grown produce at the farmer's market, and they have recently gotten in to bee keeping.  Shelby sells jams, jellies, relishes, and baked goods at the market.  She always has a pot or two with some kind of fruit and sugar bubbling on the stove.  If you want to talk with her, you get put on speaker phone!!!

Their high tunnel is new, completed just this past spring.

Shelby insisted I take home a bag of mixed greens that she said were about to get too big.  You never leave Shelby's empty handed.  While I'm saying to her, "I can't take all this", she is loading stuff in the back seat of the car...half a crusty cream cheese pound cake, a new jar of jalapeno peach preserves, and bags of whatever they happen to be getting out of the garden at the time!!  Shelby will probably fuss at me, (as we say around here), for posting this picture of her in these big boots.  It was muddy that day and we both traded our shoes for a pair of boots that were parked on the deck.  I kept my big feet out of the picture!! :)

Shelby and I share funny stories.  Especially stories about the crazy things we do.  Things that are fairly common when you get our age!!!  She was telling me just the other day about being home alone, which is rare.  She was going out to the chicken house to gather eggs, and thought she might ought to carry the pistol.  Shelby asked me, "do you know how to open a pistol and look in the chamber to see if it's loaded?"  I said, "no"!!   Well, she said she had always looked at the barrel end of the gun and into the chamber to see if it was loaded, but her son Greg, insisted she NEVER do that again!!!  Not knowing what to do, she walked into the bathroom, pointed the gun at the mirror, and looked into the chamber!!!  Yep, it was loaded alright!!!  I think that was pretty smart, don't you?

It was hot and sticky working outside yesterday but I did get a lot of limbs cut off and hauled away.  I was sounding pretty smug in my post about using my chain saw!!!  Well, truth is, I lost my nerve.  It didn't even get turned on!!!   The little hand saw worked just fine!!!  When Poppy got home he showed me again the right way to hold the chain saw. :) 

All the bull frogs were croaking yesterday!!!   Actually, the males croak to attract females and warn away other males.  I love listening to them.  Mama used to say, "do you know what that old bull frog is saying?"   It's saying, "under the root, under the root, under the root"!  Then another bull frog will say, "wha daya chew, wha daya chew, tobacco, tobacco, tobacco" !  If you really listen, you can hear those old frogs saying that.  

A plastic owl keeps watch in the front yard.  This plastic frog keeps watch over the pond... :)

Need to get busy.  Thank you for looking at my blog.  Hope to be back soon!!!

Love,
Henny Penny

Trees

We had quite a scare last night just as we were about to sit down to supper!!!  A tornado warning with a funnel cloud spotted less than a mile from our house...traveling in our direction!!!  As it turns out, we just had wind and heavy rain, thankfully!!  Looks like our yard is washing away, with another 2 inches of rain in the gauge.  I actually pictured our little house washing down the hill and into the pond!!!

Here is the back yard with another 9 trees cut.  All the trees are still on the ground so there is big mess to be cleared away.  Anyway, couldn't wait to show you.

First "before"...

For years, I've worried that lightening would hit this tall pine...

 And "after"...

Looks like now we will have to clean and paint the wood trim around the back.  The shade and moisture has caused green mold, and discoloration.  Wouldn't that give the house a fresh new look??

Well, I won't keep on about this and bore you....There is so much work to be done in the yard, I hardly know where to begin.  I'm thinking I will run the drop cord and plug in my very own chain saw...my birthday present from Poppy last year!! :)  I can get the limbs cut off and pulled away, which will be a start!!!

I know...I'll be careful.  Are you picturing me tangled in the cord down in this ditch??  No doubt, Lynn and Andee are!!:)
 

Thank you for looking in....Will be back soon.

Love,
Henny Penny

Sewing and the market

The local feed and seed store in town, which is also the license plate agency, is also where I display and sell a few bonnets and aprons.  Lately, I cannot make myself sit down at the sewing machine.  I usually sew at night after supper is done, the kitchen cleaned, and the chickens are safely locked in the chicken house for the night.  Here's the problem...It stays light outside until 8:30 pm.  The chickens are later flying up on the roost!!  By the time I've finished everything, and dipped Poppy his nightly bowl of "Turkey Hill" ice cream, (notice that I am no longer included in the nightly ice cream), it feels like bedtime!!!  That reminds me of this "oh so true" quote...

"A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done".

Anyway...I must get back to my sewing.  Jimmy, the seed store owner said last night that a lady was in the store wanting to buy a bonnet and apron...guess I missed a sale. :(  I should be sewing now instead of visiting with you all.  Visiting with you is such fun, and I'm just crazy about you all...my new friends!!! 

Sets like these sell best at the store and I am totally sold out!!!  The pink set..I hated the nylon lace, yuk!!  That lace was replaced with a ruffle.  Cotton eyelet and ruffles work best on country aprons.

This was taken at the farmer's market on a cold Saturday morning.  Not many vendors or customers turned out.  Sometimes I miss the market and may decide at some point to go back.  It truly was a fun job!!

The most fun was when Lynn and I both were selling at the market.  This was another cold day.  Lynn was setting up the beautiful brooches, dolls, and tags that she makes....

 It is dark, very wet, and cloudy this morning.  There is 5 inches of rain in the gauge.  Too wet to work outside!  Yep, I could be sewing...

Between downpours of rain yesterday, (as mama would say, "it was simply pouring"), I ran up to the garden.  The pole beans are growing and there are actually a few peppers to pick...Still nothing to brag about...

A zucchini plant, before the squash bugs set in...

Well, enough is enough!!!  No more garden pictures.  There is housework to be done.  

I'll be back soon.

Love,
Henny Penny

Sugar and Lemon Balm

I have taken on a major overhaul here, with, of all things, my diet!!!  After reading and hearing so much about the magic effects of totally leaving off sugar, I decided to give it a try!!   I did not know that sugar was added to just about everything until I started reading the ingredients listed on packaged foods!!!  This is day three of sugar-free for me!  I want to see if all the stories are true.  This is taking a lot of thought...being used to coming inside hot and thirsty and grabbing a glass of lemonade or sweet ice tea, my favorites!!!  And, I don't like artificial sweeteners!!!  This is truly going to be a challenge.  I will keep you posted as to how long I can do this, and also as to how fabulous I am beginning to look!! :)  Ten to fifteen pounds should magically drop from my mid section!!  Yeah right!! 

Seriously, I would love to lose 10 pounds.  I am not a fat person, but have ALWAYS wanted to be able to tuck my blouse into my skirt and look comfortable, and slim...not look like a pillow with a rope tied around the middle!!!  Sorry I don't have a picture to post for this one!!!  Was it the Duchess of Windsor who said, "A woman can't be too rich or too thin"?

About the Lemon Balm...this is Lemon Balm...

 And this...

And this...

All this Lemon Balm came from one tiny pot that I bought at a gardening center a couple of years ago.  It is all over the yard.  It smells really good when I mow it down.  Problem is...Lemon Balm is coming up in the vegetable garden.  I pull every tiny sprig I find.   The garden is a good distance from where I planted the first lemon balm.   I believe lemon balm is in the mint family??   Just a gardening tip, (learned the hard way), like mint, lemon balm should probably be planted in a container and then put in the ground.

I don't know how I got this tiny print!!!  Me and computers!!!  At this point, the tiny print will have to stay!!!.
It is raining SO HARD!!!!  There is 4 inches in the rain gauge since last night!

Sorry for such a post.  Thank you kindly for stopping by.

Love,
Henny Penny

Gardening and old furniture

This garden!!!...is far from being the best looking one I've ever seen, but I think it is beginning to grow!!!  Even the wattle fence, as mama used to say, "such as it is"...has a few pole beans climbing on it!!  I took pictures..not because it looks good, but because it looks a little better than it did...

Next spring I want to try building a better wattle fence.  This was my first try.  I want to take more time in gathering maple saplings.  The vertical pieces stuck into the ground are weak and wobbly.  It is the weaving that makes the wattle fence strong.  It was fun playing with this small one.

Every time I walk up on the front steps, I admire the antique kitchen furniture.  My cousin Pat gave us these beautiful old pieces.   I've mentioned Pat in a couple of previous posts.  Pat is my first and second cousin...Her mom and my mom are sisters.  Her dad and my dad are first cousins.   Pat and her husband bought a very large, old home in the country when their three children were small, many years ago.  Pat and I are the same age...Anyway, this old cupboard, table and chairs were in this old home.  The cupboard was built by a doctor during the time of the Civil War...

I love love love these old pieces and worry because we have it all on our small covered front porch.  Keeps me busy dusting and polishing.  I've just bought a can of Johnson's paste wax.  This might give the wood more protection.  My dream is to enclose the front porch half way up with old wide boards and install old windows around the top half.  Then add an old timey pot-bellied wood stove on one end.  Can't you just imagine having breakfast out there on a cold winter's morning...Poppy's response to my idea...alright, you come up with the money and we'll do it!! :)

I would love to bring this furniture inside but don't have enough room...I'm telling you...we need that front porch enclosed!!! :)  Poppy is always saying..."Mel, WHEN are we going to stop changing things and just maintain what we have??"  That sounds so boring!!  Don't you think??

This is our small dining area, which is just a corner of the open kitchen, living room area.  The entire house is under 1200 sq. ft., including both porches.  I like small...it's like a playhouse! :)  Sometimes I wonder about myself!!!

Time surely does fly when you're having fun!!!  I've got to leave this computer and do some work!!  Poppy never catches me sitting down...what horror!!!  That comes from mama too.  Mama used to say, "your daddy's coming in, you children get  up and get busy doing something!!"

Love,
Henny Penny 

Accomplished today!!

Everyday I add new "jobs" to my list of "things to do".  Once in a while I remember to glance at the list before walking out the door!!!  More often than not, I will start on some totally new idea that pops into my head.  At the end of the day I won't be able to mark anything off my list!!! :(  Not to be outdone...I add what I've worked on all day to the bottom of my list and then cross it off!!!  It does my heart good!!  Here's what I accomplished today, that was not on my list...

This rose bush planted under a willow oak tree...I don't know how it even bloomed this year.  The tree saps all the nutrients and moisture from the soil.  The ground around the rose was dry, grey, and hard packed, like the driveway.  Watering the rose was useless.  The water ran off and down the hill.  I went to my supply of stuff I save, in case I ever need it, and dug out these metal fence pieces.  After fitting the fence around the bed, I lined the inside with old pieces of logs.  Logs rot and stick to the ground and keeps the water from running off.  I then added a couple of scoops of compost from the compost bin.  Then I went to the edge of the woods where I dump leaves and raked up 2 wheelbarrow loads of rotted leaves and mulch and added to the bed, then watered it good to pack it all down...

This mulch is about 4 inches thick.  The reason for the fence...THE CHICKENS!!!  This mulch would last about 5 minutes without the fence!!!  I was just finishing up when the first chicken walked up.  She went right through the fence and started to scratch!!!  I went to the sewing room and got all the dark colored cord I could find.  I wove the cord in and out around the fence to make the openings smaller .  It hardly shows and works great!!  Can't you just imagine how good this rose feels.  It's thirsty roots soaking up water and nutrients!!! 

Next I went to another small bed where the soil looked like cement.  There has been a clematis vine trying to grow here for 2 years.  I cut pieces of poultry netting to fit around the box.  Again I added compost and mulch.  This may eventually turn out to be pretty...There is a red bird feeder and hanging basket also on this post...

Note:  Clematis do best growing in the sun but with their roots shaded...

Anyway, my two good deeds for the day!!!  The hen trying to figure out why she can't get to the mulch.  No matter where I'm working in the yard, the animals hang around with me...I enjoy it though!!  The Guineas...

By the way...This is the big willow oak the rose is planted under...to the right...

You all have seen enough of this big boy, I'm sure!!!  He is such sweetie pie and likes the camera.  I told him I would post one more picture!!! :)