Ruby-throated.....

When I opened the big front door to the barn, this afternoon, a hummingbird flew into the barn.  They do it all the time so I didn't think much of it.  I thought it would fly out after awhile.  It does take awhile some times because they won't fly low enough to go below where the door is on it's tracks.   I came to the house and then walked over to talk to the BNOE.  Chuck came over after awhile and told me that the hummingbird had been in the barn for a long time and he was getting weak.  He flew down to where Chuck could catch him and he brought him up to the house to show me ( he didn't know I walked over to the BNOE)  He let him go and he flew towards the TT.  A little while later, Chuck noticed him on the ground so he picked him up and brought him to the house.  We took him out onto the deck and I got some hummingbird food to fill the little feeder.  He would drink if I put his beak into the feeder.  Chuck put him down on the table and I kept feeding him.  He didn't try to move but would turn is head from side to side.  After about 15 minutes, I took my finger to move him over on the table because he was sitting in a puddle of food and to my surprise.....he flew away...up to the top of the highest pine tree at the end of the deck.  What a good feeling I had, knowing that we revived a little tiny creature that needed our help.  Chuck says he was probably just weak because of their high rate of metabolism, they need a constant source of high energy food.  It was so neat to hold him in our hands and see his little tiny tongue and the littlest feet I've ever seen.  What a nice way to end an afternoon. 

Georgie Porgie

He's not suppose to be on the table...even if it is on the porch.



Where else would an outdoor kitty sleep on a rainy day?

I have to say....I have never had a cat like Georgie Porgie Pudden and Pie Boy and I've had cats my whole life.   He has taken to following me EVERYWHERE!  He's like a little kid.  I have to find ways to sneak off without him seeing me or he comes with me where ever I'm going.  I don't mind him going down to the chickens with me but I really don't like it when he follows me to the garden.  He goes exploring into the woods and I'm afraid he's going to go down by the road or come across some kind of animal he's not suppose too.  So, when he's down there with me, I put him inside the fence with me and he walks up and down all the rows, crying until he lays down under the sunflowers.  IF, I don't have a basket of veggies to carry back with me, I usually carry George.  He likes it when I carry him.  He purrs and kitties my arm with his front feet.  When I go out on the front porch he comes running no matter where he is.  If I walk down to the end of the porch to sit on the swing, he usually beats me to the swing and jumps up on it.  When I sit down...he crawls in my lap and will stay there as long as I want to hold him.  Some times I put him next to me on the swing and he falls asleep.  Once I stand up though, he's off the swing and ready to go where ever I'm going. He has also taken to jumping into Chuck's lap when he sits in the rocking chairs.   He pretty much lives on the front porch or under it.  We're already talking about Chuck building him a warm house for this winter.  After all, he's not " homeless" any more so he shouldn't have to sleep in a card board box, like he did last winter.  I wish everyone could have a kitty like George....it warms your heart and it tries your patience...lol.

Little Hummers

Mr Hook Sitter

 The hummingbirds came in April, around the time they do every Spring.  Several of them were coming to our three feeders.  Then, I happen to notice that they were gone all of a sudden and it was about a week before all the tornadoes hit Northern Alabama.  I wonder if they knew something that we didn't?  It took about three weeks after the tornadoes for them to show up again.  We have had times where they weren't coming to the feeders as much.  Chuck thought it was because they were going to all the Honeysuckle that was blooming all over the land.  But....they are back again and almost  at any time you look out at one of the feeders, there will be at least one hummer at it.  We have this one little male that likes to sit on top of the hook of the feeder by our living room window.  He guards the feeder and if another one comes to eat....he runs it off...lol.  They are so funny to watch.  I'm so happy that they make Northern Alabama their summer home.  I do miss them all winter long.  I wonder if the people who live " up north" say that when all the " snow birds" leave to make the population in Florida triple in the winter...lol. 

Garden Wealth

Bread and butter pickles and more cukes.



The pile from the garden grows every day.



My over 50 year old pickle.

 The garden is doing great right now.  I think this is the best part of summer up here.  We have cucumbers coming out our ears....well, that would look pretty silly, I know, but you know what I mean. I do have a pickle in a 1950's Listerine Bottle that my Grandfather grew for me when I was little....just think...it's an antique pickle....it's over 50 years old!  I decided to dig out a couple of my " canning cook books" and see what I could do with all of the cucumbers.  I thought making " bread and butter pickles" would be the best.  Sooooo, down to the basement I went and got into my canning cabinet .  ( it's so nice to have it all organized and in one place to where I don't have to dig for stuff)  I brought up seven pint jars, the hot water bath pot, lids, rings and my pickling salt.  I set out, cutting half of the cucumbers that I had picked.  By the end of the day, I had seven pints of the best bread and butter pickles you'd ever want.  Mom would be so proud of me. :-)  Since then, I've been to the garden to pick again and had just as many cukes that I had before I made the pickles.  They just appear over night, I tell ya.  So, I am in the middle of making another batch of pickles.  I'll finish them off later this afternoon because you have to let them sit with the salt on them for at least three hours.  Christina ( my German Mom) sent me an article from the St. Pete Times about how awful the tomatoes are that are grown in Florida.  I thought the ones that we used to go pick were pretty good but after reading about all the chemicals that they put on them, it makes me shudder to think of how many I've eaten over my life time.  All I know is, I'm glad that I can grow my own now and they taste ten times better.  Having a garden is only one of the perks that you get when you live where there are four seasons.  I still haven't decided which season is my favorite.  I think it's the one that just happens to be at the time I'm thinking about it. 

Picken...again!



Look at the size of those blackberries!!!!!





vines growing around this tree

As I was walking down to the garden the other morning and went past our blueberry bushes, it reminded me that we should go and pick blueberries and blackberries at Spradlins one more time.  Since the kids were coming in a week, I knew we wouldn't have time for picking before they got here, unless we went that morning.  Afterwards, would be too late.  Soooo, when Chuck walked down to the garden, I asked him if he wanted to go pick......and we walked to the house, grabbed our hats and the bug spray and off we went.  It was a perfect time to pick....the vines and bushes were loaded!  We picked four gallons of berries in two hours.  We only brought one gallon of each home with us since we got money off of ours for picking some for the produce stand.  Of course I had to have a dish of homemade ice cream after all that picking.  :-)  Since " Sweet Annie's" is on the way home, we stopped to see France again.  I found a pretty little blue vase and an antique thread box that said " Lily threads" on the front of it.  Had to have them both.  When we got home, I washed and put the berries in the freezer, leaving out a bowl of each for us to eat fresh.  I think I have enough berries in the freezer now to last us until next summer.  Isn't summer great!!!!!!!!!

The Girls of Summer

" The girls" are loving summer with all the treats from the garden and the fruits of summer.  Every time I walk down to see them to gather the eggs, they think I'm bringing them a treat.  Their favorites are blackberries and grapes.  They love it when I mow on " little red" around their house.  You would think they would be afraid of the noise but they aren't.  They go crazy over all the grass that gets blown into their yard, as I pass by on the mower.  Who ever made up the phrase...." the lazy days of summer" must not have had a garden and chickens....ha

Miss Hollyhock

When I was a little girl and we would go to my Auntie Barbara's house in Illinois during the summer, she always had hollyhocks growing in her backyard flower bed.  I thought they were so special because we couldn't grow them in Florida.  One day she taught me how to make a doll out of the buds and flowers and from that time on, every time I was up there in the summer, I would make the pretty dolls and would play with them.  I planted some hollyhock seeds by the green house, last summer and they actually came up.  It takes a year before they will bloom though.  I was so excited to see the buds on them about a month ago and then they started to bloom.  I couldn't wait to make my first Alabama Miss Hollyhock.  What to my surprise when there were two different colored flowers that looked like  on one bush, but I'm sure they are two different plants...just planted close to each other.  It made me smile and think of my Auntie Barbara when I put Miss Hollyhock on the mantel.  Auntie has been gone for over 25 years and I still miss her very much but I have so many wonderful memories with her which live on each day.

Cats of the porch

A couple of months ago, we went to our favorite antique/junk store not far from our house and found this funny " cat table".  It was painted blue.  I knew just were I was going to put it....the back porch so it had to be painted Casper White.  When I sanded it to rough up the blue paint....the paint started peeling off and under the blue , the cat was painted bright colors with poke a dots on him.  He looked like he might have been born in Mexico.  It took Chuck and I both to get him all sanded before I painted him white.  He is perfect for a side table to put your drink on, next to the chase.  I'm sure he feels right at home with Annabelle and Marmalade spending so much time on the porch.   Annabelle thinks the bed we put out there is hers.  Marmalade lays by the door, in hoping it will open and he will be an " outdoor kitty" again.   We have a kitty that lives on the front porch and the back porch has two kitties and a kitty table.   ..." no dogs aloud!" 

Chalk Board

Remember the ugly picture in the pretty frame that we got last week?  Well, Chuck spray painted the frame for me and then I painted over the picture with the chalk board paint.  It turned out awesome!  It fit perfect over the sewing machine table on the front porch where I wanted to put it. I'm in love with that chalk board paint.  I just want to keep making them.  I'm thinking...where can I put another one now?  ...maybe the laundry room?  Maybe the TT needs one too.  Like I don't have 95 other things that need to be painted.  ( not with chalk board paint)  If the kids were still little, I'd probably paint one whole wall in their rooms with it.  I saw in a magazine where they painted the back splash in the kitchen with it and then drew pictures of pots with steam coming out of them....behind the stove.  How fun is that!  Until I find another pretty frame or a neat idea to use the chalk board paint....it's in the barn...waiting. 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Will be picking my cabbage soon.



Best Tomato Ever!





Picking Strawberries every day




Carrots




Bush Beans




Peppers




Cukes




Blueberries



The garden is almost in full swing.  You can usually pick something every day when you go down there.  I'm so happy with my tomatoes this year.  Last year they weren't very good and had bottom rot and worms.  Not this year!  They are as pretty as you can get.  I had one for lunch the day that I picked the first two and it was the best tomato ever!!!  Even better than the ones we used to pick in Fla and I thought those were good. I fixed a big batch of green beans for dinner last night and they were such a pretty color green without any flaws and tasted wonderful.  Our corn is starting to tassel which means we should have corn by the end of summer.  We are getting some much needed rain right now so I won't have to water for a couple of days.  I know after this big drink of water, everything will be twice as big as it was the last time I was down there. I feel so lucky to have such a big garden.  It's a lot of work but all well worth every hour of tilling, planting, weeding and watering.  Come next Spring, I'll be collecting my seeds again....that's half the fun too.

Mountain of Mulch

Charlotte helping with the mountain



Thank goodness for the tractor!

After a year...yep it's been over a year since they came and knocked down all the trees, ran over them to grind them into mulch and then pushed it all into a mountain on the end of the house site.  It's so hard to move the mulch by hand....you can only use the pitch fork and then half of it falls through that.  Chuck found a way to go through the woods and get the tractor over to mulch mountain and was able to drag a lot of it into the woods.  You can only do so much with the tractor and no room without driving on our grass.  It's back to working on it by hand.  Chuck took five wheel barrow loads to the front corner flower bed for me to spread.  Then, he took tons of it to the median of trees in our back drive way.  Charlotte came over at 6:00, yesterday morning ( before it got really hot) and got a load in her cart.  She has been back two more times and says she will be back for more.  It will be nice to have the mountain gone and we will be able to extend our side yard and see into the woods.  The little chipmunks that live in the mountain will just have to find a new home.  I know this time next year, I'll be wishing for some free mulch...ha. 

BIG Blackberries!



Big picture, picture of the children, ricktey chair, wooden purse, Amish cook book, herbs, tomatoes, spoons and blackberries

 We left the house around 8:00 this morning to go see if we could " pick on the halves" at our favorite produce stand about 30 miles down the road.  Remember me telling ya how they let us pick a bucket of fruit for them and then we get our bucket for free?  Well, since it's so early in the season, we couldn't pick on the halves but she gave us $5 off the cost of our bucket....which made a gallon of giant blackberries $7.   The bushes had just been picked yesterday but there were still lots of big black ones  for us to pick.  It took us about an hour to pick two gallons of berries.  The field next to the berries, had a big patch of sunflowers.  When I got closer, to take pictures of them, there was cabbage planted all between the flowers...lol.  Along with our blackberries, we bought a basket of tomatoes and we each had a cup of homemade ice cream.....me, peach and Chuck had blueberry.  After talking to Mrs. Spradlin for awhile, we left for home but stopped at the Bakery to get some fresh herbs.  Well, we ended up getting more than herbs.  I got an Amish Cook book and Chuck got some dried Papaya.  Since we were just down the road from " Sweet Annie's" we decided to stop in and see Frances.  We hadn't been there in awhile.  Low and behold, I hit the jackpot in finding "stuff" today.  I got a huge, beautiful picture frame ( don't like the picture) that I'm going to paint white and then paint over the picture with chalk board paint and " ta da", I have a really neat chalk board for the porch.  Remember when everyone was making purses out of cigar boxes a few years back?  Well, I found one that looked like that but it's made out of wood.  It already had the handles on it and the inside is lined.  Got it for $6. I'm going to paint the outside and will probably paint my blackberries on it.  THEN, every time we stop there, I look at this picture she had in the back room.   I showed it to Chuck and he said if I wanted it, to go ahead and get it.  It's a picture of 7 children, playing in a field of daisies.  ....so I didn't think twice and she even came down in the price for me. It's perfect, hanging over my tall dresser in my bedroom.   Chuck found a couple of spoons to use on garden markers that he's going to make in his spare time...ha.  Then....as we were standing out under the front porch of the shop, talking,  I saw a rickety old chair with the seat half gone and she let me have it for $5.  I know! you're thinking that I'm crazy....BUT wait until you see what I end up doing with it.  Soooooo, we started out after blackberries and ended up with an explorer full of neat things.  That happens alot up here with us.....I love it!

THEY'RE DONE!



Look close....who's looking in the window...lol



After months of wishing and working on the valances in my bedroom and the dining room.....they are DONE!  ...a big sigh!  Shell drew the pattern for the dining room ones, Chuck made the wood part and I sewed and covered them.  They are covered with blue/white toile.  They are much prettier in person.  My bedroom ones are covered with green/lavender plaid with a small lavender ruffle at the top and bottom. The beautiful lace curtains were given to me by Lady Melanie.  I'm going to have my little wing chair recovered in the same plaid fabric.   Right now, I don't have any plans for making any more valances for the rest of the windows, but ya never know.  I just don't want to do them right now.  I'm just so happy to have these two rooms done.