Dinner was delayed, but I have an excuse Tornado!!!

The warnings came and this time they were not a false alarm. I was upstairs using the computer when I looked out the window and saw our huge old maples trees being whipped around. We grabbed the weather radio and the dogs and ran for the basement. It was all over in a matter of minutes and I never heard a sound, even when a huge limb fell.

Going outside and checking showed that there was not damage to animals or buildings, only trees and bushes suffered. Not sure if you remember but over the last couple of years I had been working on building a wattle type fence along the drive way to help with the snow. We had cut down many volunteer trees several inches around. I thought they would work as posts for my fence. The other smaller trees I wove in and out of the posts and secured with rope, I then planted vines and hedge plants along it. This last winter showed that it was working, now it lies in pieces all over the yard. The force of the wind was such that it snapped the posts, not just tearing the fence apart. You can see some of the limbs in the grove are twisted.

The spool this large branch is resting on is about 6 ft tall when on it's side, it is the kind used for large cable. I cannot reach all the way around the limb, under it is my clothes line. There is a path from the south/south west showing the direction the storm came. In the corn field the corn stalks are snapped off and crushed in random spots as if the storm skipped across the field. It is a good thing the animal fence is of the string type as the branches from one of the huge cottonwoods hit and uprooted it. Even the heavy metal gate was blown open.
These are heavy feeders that were tossed around as were some of the other large wooden spools.

My arbor was also hit by a branch and bent and it is made of metal, Jim says it can't be straightened. I was so pleased that the rose I planted two years ago was doing well climbing it. Guess I will move it around back and let the wisteria grow up it. In the back ground is my garden cart I pull behind the mower, it is over turned but not damaged. The debris go all across the property and on down the road, again we are just so lucky.
The last picture is of the wreath I made this spring, not a flower was disturbed. I am pleased with this as it uses living plants and so far is thriving.

God is good and so are my friends, Barbara

Rain and other things

We have had rain for days, we really need it for the water table but as far as the crops go we have had enough. We are lucky in that we are not having all the horrible floods like some parts of the country. So sad all the campers who lost their lives, out to have fun with friends and family and such a tragic end.

The wet weather is wrecking havoc with my strawberries as they are getting moldy before they can ripen. We did pick about 5 pounds which I will make into jam so all is not lost. The rain is also slowing down my working in the gardens and yard, our soil has a lot of clay in it and when wet is like glue. You try to dig and your shovel is coated with dirt as are your shoes and gloves. I still have many pumpkins to put in so they will be ready by October and Halloween. Our temperatures have also been very low only in the 60's which also hinders growth. We were actually warmer in May. My good friend Ellen is cleaning out her greenhouse and I have been the recipient of her bounty. I help her as much as I can and she pays me in plants which works wonderfully for me, especially now when finances are strained to the maximum. Now I have about 50 or so more vegetable plants to find homes for, so really need to be able to dig.

The upside of all this is that my roses are all blooming, as you walk around the yard you catch the fragrance of them. I only lost one rose bush this year which is a big plus, just have to make sure to do all the extra work in the fall. The first picture are a couple of the shrub roses the first to grow and bloom. The one in the back is so fragrant, the pink one looks like porcelain. This next on is called Maria Stern and is so striking in the garden. It reminds me of one I lost called Tahitian Sunset, Sunrise?, one of those,lol. The final picture is of one of the peonies which also has a wonderful fragrance, this one was given to me over 10 years ago as a pup from an 80 year old bush. I have dug it up and carted it with us for several moves.

I am not sure what is up with blogger or is it me, it keeps underlining things like it was a web address, strange. It also keeps changing my type face, never a dull moment.

We are moving closer and closer to oldest son's wedding and I am starting to stress. I tend to do that as I want everything to be perfect. I have started putting things in the motor home to make sure I do not forget anything. I have double checked to make sure I have enough boxes for all 300 cupcakes. I need to take out the stand and make sure all parts are present and accounted for and to decorate the edges. I am going to trim the edges with red ribbon as the wedding is Badger colors of red and white. I will also check with Ellen to make sure she can get me the flowers for decorating the stand. I do not want to let them down so please keep your fingers crossed, lately few of my plans have worked.

I am still working on the chair, the flowers I want on it are giving me fits but I am determined to get them done to my satisfaction. If worse comes to worse I will sand them off and start over. I already have the next chair planned so need to get this one done, as it was our prototype it has taken forever. Now that we know how it works the next ones should be a breeze.

I am still trying to find some sort of employment to help out, Jim's unemployment just does not stretch far enough. He did have one good interview and we are waiting to see if he will advance to the next level. I thought I had a summer job through Manpower, but turned out they had enough people so I am back looking. Trying again with Arise to see if there is any work from home jobs that just might be in this area. In the past all the jobs were around us, but none in our state, just so annoying.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day, week, month!!
Barbara

Enjoy Memorial Day

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day holiday. I also hope that each and everyone of us is remembering why it is that we have this day to celebrate. I think that we tend to take our freedoms and opportunities too much for granted. If we look around the world and see how citizens are treated in other parts of the world it might open a few eyes. We need to carefully guard our freedoms and not allow them to be taken away or watered down. Many hundreds of people have died so that we might have opportunities and freedoms. So honor the ones who have died and been injured so that you and I might be able to enjoy our lives.

On another note, for the last two posts I have obsessed about weeds and spraying, with that in mind a present pictures to give you a better prespective on the problem. This is what I refer to as the side yard, any areas you see that are not green are dying weeds, Yea!! I have other pictures which blogger is not letting me access my pictures so will have to post later. I am feeling very good about the yard. With Jim here to help so much more is being done, I am so proud of all he has accomplished.

I may add more later but for the moment that is all folks!!

Enjoy you day, Barbara

Sunny, Windy pretty day!!

Things are starting to bloom which is wonderful, I think I am about my happiest when I am out working in my flowers. With all the beauty there is the ugly as in thistles, an over abundance of dandelions , creeping charlie and some sort of new creeping, sticky, green stuff. We have finally given in and started spraying to knock down all the bad things including burdock. I really am not a fan of poisons but there is a point where you need to throw in the towel. Please bear in mind that the "yard" I am dealing with is several acres. The plan is to eliminate the weeds this year and hope that they will be manageable next year.

I really like these Iris, they were given to me several years ago and I have dragged them with me each time we have moved. They have the most lovely fragrance, you can smell it all over the yard. In my plans for the yard are several areas that will be only iris and maybe day-lilies. The colors now available are just breathtaking. In the lily department more and more of them are every blooming.

Jim has been hard at work, he finished the wall for my garden shed and I now have a window which allows more light and some air circulation. He also built one door for the machine shed/shop/male playroom. Well, at least the frame for the door he still needs to buy the metal skin to cover it. He has the frame mounted on the rail so it rolls and when finished will really be nice and look super.

The latest project are the Adirondack chairs, the prototype is nearly finished and I am so proud of him. It took a bit but once he got going he is doing a really professional looking job of it. As soon as he has it finished I will paint and decorate it. I have several ideas as I want them to look different, not run of the mill. They are such a popular item and I am hoping that with my embellishments they will sell well. Jim's job hunt still has not produced any solid leads, the headhunters show up with jobs in CA, NY, WI. We just do not want to move again, we finally have all our possessions in one place and just want to settle here. I have leads on several big craft and art shows coming up so hope to have enough finished to be able to take them. If we are able to create a market for the chairs it will give us a bit more income. With this as a side line and my shop then he can aim a little lower on the job chain. The pay scale here is stuck in the 60's, we keep hoping that a job will show up in MN. Let me clarify that, in MN within daily driving distance.

Yesterday and today were the hottest days of the month, also very windy. I did manage to get a fair amount of mowing done, but still have down back and the large area the other side of drive way. So those will account for 3 or 4 more hours of mowing. It is nice to have all the windows open, little hot but bearable. I dare not complain about the heat as I just spent the last 7 months complaining about the cold!! When I was out mowing I looked over at the goats and had a good laugh. We have a large water tank for them, I had dumped it over to empty out the old water.
They now think it is a wonderful place to play king of the mountain or take a snooze on. This time when I looked one of the girls was on the top all nice and comfy and inside it was another girl. Kinda like bunk beds. The new chickens are almost as large as the big ones , so now able to hold their own. We have started letting them out during the day, well we try to let them out. They are still not quite sure how to navigate the door, so funny watching half out and half in squawking at each other. Then at night some make it in and the others make a pile in a corner so we have to herd them in. We are currently getting 10 eggs per day and end of July first of August the other 22 will start laying. I have a few regular customers for the eggs so more will be good, at this point they are paying for their feed.

The rest of the family are fine, everyone is getting along much better. Gretel has put on 20 pounds and nary a rib to be felt. I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying their lives.

Best to you, Barbara

Another windy day, we are not talking breeze here but wind and lots of it. The sun is shining and looking out the window things look so pretty. Step outside and the picture changes, the temperatures are in the 50's so the wind makes it very cool. I have been trying to mow and have broken down and decided to do some spraying but the wind is making both impossible.
The dandelions have taken over large chunks of the yard and while I think they look cheerful they are hard to mow. I am not one of those people who demand a flawless lawn, more important things out there. I do however believe in getting rid of things like creeping Charlie which in our case is running Charlie. This stuff is like a wave washing over lawn and flower beds and choking out what ever is in it's path. When I was out in the yard earlier in the week I had to admit that the yellow of the dandelion and the purple of the Charlie was pretty, but that was a fleeting thought. We also wage a war with "Quack" grass and burdock and other unknown weeds. I have tried smothering them and digging them and pulling them but they are winning so now will spray. Hopefully by killing them off en-mass I will be able to control them in the future with more natural means.

Violet Lady asked where I was going, well the answer is "no where". I feel like a broken record here, all hyped about going to Chicago for master classes at Wilton and then saying no not now. This time it was a financial emergency that put the kabosh on things, Jim is still out of work and things just got too tight. The upside is that the motor home has new tires and Jim and done lots of little things. There was also a leak which he has managed to finally find and fix. I found a new spread for the bed at the thrift shop, brand new!! The people at Wilton have been so wonderful and helpful and understanding, I really appreciate it. I will make it out there, maybe in shorter increments but one way or another it is going to happen!!!

I may have found another silver lining, while doing a Google search for some type of class closer I found a work from home site. So I am checking into that and will let you know later on the details if all works out. This morning I received an email from the Women for Hire site, this is the one from Torry Johnson who appears on Good Morning America. This may be another opportunity , a work from home answering phones for a large clothing company. I loved my job at Lands' End and this seems as if it might be very similar, so keep your fingers crossed for me. At 25 hours a week it will be very doable and I can pretty much set my own hours.

I have started planting some things in the garden, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach so far. I also found the garlic I planted last year, apparently you plant it one year and harvest the next,lol. The strawberries are looking good, I have onions also coming up from last year as well as oregano and chives. In the basement I have pumpkins, jalapenos, Hungarian hot wax peppers, Ancho and several other types of peppers. I have planted Lemon Grass and Basil and am going to put dill and others outside. If I have a good enough crop I will be able to take some of the things up to the local farmer's market.

Jim is at work on my garden/craft shop, he replaced the screen on the door so wildlife will not longer be able to just stroll in. The raccoons? would go in and scatter pots and supplies every which way and in general make a huge mess. Now he is in the process of replacing bad boards on the side and going to put a window in. It has two windows high up in the ends which do not open. Eventually I want those replaced also with windows that can be opened.
This is a place for me to keep my garden supplies, pots and tools as well as work on projects like planters and bird baths. I love it and there is electric so is a great place to work, later we will insulate it and put some sort of paneling on the walls so I can use it also in the winter.

Best to you my friends and thank you for your visit,

Barbara

Tis the season of dirty fingernails

We have had a few spells of warm weather and rain and now things are really popping out of the ground, especially the weeds.
I can never seem to resist trying to pull them all up, and never seem to have my gloves handy. I am very pleased to see that most of my roses are coming back. Especially pleased about the 3 heirloom ones I bought in the fall, buying late and them being zone 5's it was a gamble. Seems that all my winterizing worked and they all are covered with leaves, yea!!

A few short weeks and I will be off on my journey, I am thinking all positive thoughts that nothing will go wrong. I really want this to happen for so many different reasons, my own satisfaction and knowledge and the old monetary reasons also. I already have people who want me to teach them so am thinking that might not be a bad thing. Mostly, am excited about all the new things I will learn and sharpening up the skills I already have.

The newest dog is settling in and getting along well with the other two. She is beautiful and apparently not well treated in her previous home. If you raise you hand she hits the floor, raise your voice, same thing. The newest chickens are growing fast and I am looking forward to being able to allow them out. I want them to be pretty good size as I have cats in the barn and do not want a catastrophe.

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know I am still around and thinking of you. My special thoughts go out to our beloved Violet Lady and her husband on the loss of their much loved Beau. He was so special to them, a valiant little poodle. Good luck wishes go Edie Marie's Attic and hope their move is going smoothly and that their new home is just perfect for them.

My oldest son Erick is getting married in July, seems like yesterday he was a little curly headed imp. Oh, well time marches on as they say and we all get older and hopefully wiser.
Jim still has had no luck in finding a job, going on 5 months now. I am sure something will turn up, but sure makes things tight. Glad we will have our garden to help and of course not having to use as much electric or gas for heat. Our older chickens are giving us 10 eggs a day so that is a good thing.

Best to you all,
Barbara

Monday, I think

The day started off sunny but is now overcast with chance of rain tonight. As it is fairly calm I have made several forays out into the yard. The grass is getting green, especially in the flower beds bummer. If anyone has a surefire cure for creeping charlie please let me know, I hate that stuff and it is every where. Easter Sunday brought something nice, some of my Daffydills are blooming. The moles had made their presence known in the middle of the bed so I was concerned that I would not have any flowers this year. Now I am on the lookout for tulips. My shrub roses are coming to life putting out leaves, will have to wait to see how the other bushes fared.

Jim had a productive couple of days, he moved the fence for the goats, now they have more room in the woods. They will eat underbrush and low lying branches and as they walk around they will help breakdown the fallen trees and limbs. He was able to make a path using the bucket on the tractor so it is easier to get around at least part of the woods. Little by little we make some progress. Moving the fence also allowed him to get the tractor further out in the field so he could work on digging out a piece of equipment. After using the chain saw to cut through a big root that had grown through one of the wheels he was able to free it. Other then the bent wheel it is all in one piece. Jim thinks he will be able to straighten it out and then we will have a plow, or at least I think that is what it is.

Our new dog is fitting in pretty well, at some point in her life she was trained which is wonderful. Unlike Charlie I will not have to spend months working with her, she just needs some refreshing.
We took everyone to the vets for their shots and he thinks as do I that she is about 2/3 years old. She has filled out some from when she first showed up, the bones and ribs are less predominate, her heavy coat hides just how thin she is. The tips of her ears have been frost bitten so there is no telling how long she was on her own. Upon weighing them , well except for Molly, Charlie tipped the scales at 80 pounds of muscle and Gretel only weighs 55 pounds. The trip was very traumatic for Molly, she does not like riding in the car, going strange places or meeting strange people,lol. I am able to take Molly and Gretel out at the same time which is nice, they both mind very well so all I have to do is call and they come right back. Charlie, well Charlie is the rocket he is getting better but at this point I do not trust all 3 out and loose.

I had a conversation via instant message with an old friend last night and she gave me some very bad news. I had know she was having breathing issues and was on oxygen, but the latest news was that she is diagnosed with lung cancer . She started off as my boss but became a dear friend so I am asking for prayers for her to help beat this. With all the wonderful people out there, if we join our prayers we can help her. Thank you so much. Best to you all, Barbara