Summer Time Dreaming

Darting
Shimmering
Living Jewel
Hummingbird

Hard Times

Horrific storms and tornadoes hit counties just south of us yesterday. Lives were lost and there is much property damage. Lives are changed forever. Praying for all concerned.

A Good Day and a Chicken Roundup

February 2nd was Mom's 74th birthday and Daddy's followup appt. for another procedure. We received the great news that Daddy is still cancer free. Big PTL!

Angela and I took the folks to The Olive Garden for a celebratory late lunch. Most of us enjoyed our meal but Olive Garden is not Daddy's favorite ... as he let us know. {smile}

When I arrived home the sun was shining and it was relatively warm for a early February day. It was such a pretty afternoon I decided to set my self up with a chair, soda and my knitting while the hens free ranged in the barnyard (also know as my backyard). The girls love eating grass and scratching around the edges of the compost pile.

The Little Black Hen, no name as yet, is a cat chaser. Mostly she has it in for Indy. If she spots poor Indy first she gives her the stink-eye then takes out after her, head down, wings spread, and get the cat her aim. Indy is beginning to be a lil paranoid about TLBH. Always looking over her should to keep tabs on her nemesis. Lennie and Seal, the kittens from this fall, aren't fools they stay under the porch out TLBH's way.

Frack would graze for a while then come over to me to visit a bit. She is very social and liked to keep track of my knitting and nibble on the ends of my wooden needles. She is a sweetheart!

Everything was fine for about a hour then the girls began drifting into the neighbor's lawn. Not a good idea. The wind had also picked up causing it to be colder so it was time for the girls to go home to their run. Frack was easily scooped up, placed under my arm and placed in the run. Frick .. no problem. Rosemary is such a good girl. Just tuck her under my arm and pop her into the run. Then I picked up Tansy. Oh.My.Goodness. She squawked and carried on as though she had never seen me before in her life. Screamed like a big ol' girl. Napoleon comes racing over and began trying to spur me to rescue Tansy. So I'm trying to hold on to Tansy, who is easily ten pounds and not cooperating and push back Napoleon with my foot. He ended getting popped in the chest with my size nines six or eight times before I was able to dump Miss Tansy into the run. Napoleon has all the instincts of a good rooster. He was doing his best to protect the girls but I am so over him. He has to get a new home asap. I'm just not coordinated enough to do that routine on a regular basis. If I fall it will be ugly!

Library is ready to close so I had better stop for today.
Have a blessed week! Penny

Catching Up and Moving Along

Apologies all around. I haven't gone this long with out posting for ages.

Christmas was a blessing. Most of our family was able to be together to celebrate and open gifts on Christmas Eve. Miss Jaidyn was a hoot. Being a four year old is a pretty wondrous thing at Christmas time. A sinus infection took me down on Christmas Day so I spent it in bed with fluids, throat drops and tissues ... not much fun. After a few weeks of yuck I'm much better.

I have a Kindle Touch and am using the Amazon gift cards I have acquired through Swag Bucks to build my library. If you haven't tried Swag Bucks I highly recommend them. It takes 450 points to purchase a $5.00 Amazon card. If you do any searching at all those points will build up quickly. I have a link on the left side bar if you would like to investigate SB. The first title I purchased was "Barnheart" by Jenna Woginrich. While I am really liking the Kindle it is doubtful it will ever beat holding a book in my hand.

January held two birthdays for my family. My niece Hillary turned 25 on the fourth and Angela gained another year on the thirteenth. Yep her birthday was once more on Friday the Thirteenth. We call it her lucky day. =)

Seeds will be started for tomatoes and peppers in two more weeks. I purchased a second greenhouse shelving unit at the Tractor Supply a few weeks ago. It will go inside my "greenhouse-in-a-box" for extra protection when I plant some cold hardy seeds for plants such as lettuces and other greens. I think the double covers will help hold in heat to give a little added protection for germinating seeds and developing plants.

Tomorrow I will sit down with paper, pencil and calendar to plan the rest of the planting schedule. Angela and I want to do some canning this summer so I want to have a plan for succession planting to keep us in produce, plus have some to sell. The plan will also tell me how many more raised beds I need to add. I found some end of the season deals on large flower pots last fall and will use them and a couple of flower boxes in addition to the beds. The pots and boxes can be tucked in here and there to add more growing space. Vertical growing is also something I want to add this year. Homesteading on a small city lot requires you to be creative.

Our temperatures in south central Indiana have fluctuated so much I am concerned about my Peach and Fig trees breaking bud. It has been nothing to have 30 degree changes from day to day. Crazy! I need to research dormant oil sprays for the Peach tree and see if they do anything for the Figs too.

Chick Update:
Tansy ended up raising three pullets and one rooster. They are now four months old and it is past time for the rooster to go! I call him Napoleon. If he was able tuck a wing into his waistcoat while puffing out his chest he would. My co-worker Roni is suppose to take him and I hope it is tomorrow. My lil town has a no roosters allowed ordinance and I'm afraid all the crazy crowing, beginning at 3:30 in the a.m., is going to get us in big trouble. He is a pretty thing but ... I. Am. Over. Him.

Next month Angela and I are vending at a two day show in Kokomo, Indiana. It is the Winter Woolin Workshop. This is a first time show for us so please wish us well and pray for traveling mercies as it is a bit of a drive.

Better get a wiggle on as there are farm chores that need tending to. Have a Blessed Week!

P.S. Napoleon still needs a good home. Roni decided against taking him as she hopes to be moving in the near future.

Happy 4th Birthday Jaidy!

Today is my grand-niece Jaidyn's fourth birthday. She is our delight and joy!

Happy Birthday Jaidy Lu with love from Aunt Penny!

Our Month of Happy Birthday's

December is a birthday month for my family. Today is my birthday followed by our Miss Jaidyn's fourth birthday on the 12th, and of course on the 25th we celebrate Jesus' birthday. Lots of festivities, food and family time going on this month.

Have a great week!

Getting Ready for Old Man Winter

Our Market season finished the last Saturday of October and while I will miss seeing our customers and vendor friends I have to admit to being tired and ready for an occasional Saturday lie-in. Since Market ended we have done two shows and had a Retreat with our Back Porch Friends ladies so I just got that lie-in this Saturday morning.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, warm and mostly sunny, so I winterized the chicken run. If I wrap the run in heavy plastic about 2 1/2 ft. high it blocks a lot of wind off the girls. I also cleaned their lil coop and added fresh straw bedding.

Next will be the bunnies turn. Skirting the bottom section of the hutch with that same plastic keeps the wind from blowing under them it and makes a huge difference in their comfort. Later when it begins to stay consistently cold I will put plastic over the wire portion of the hutch for added protection leaving the door uncovered for fresh air.

My little cottage will be getting her windows covered in plastic and new blinds. I eventually plan to make window quilts ... but I doubt that happens this year. Half my windows are original to the house and are not the most efficient so I definitely want them covered.

I found a great deal on the bamboo blinds that I love. Some will be topped with long lace valances and others with battenburg style cafe curtains. It will be a funky look but I think I will like it. My living room has had vertical blinds for the last several years and I have never liked them.

When I moved here from the country it bothered me that my house sat so close to the street and that my neighbors were also so close. I still do not want anyone looking in but I've loosened up enough to not want to live in a cave. The blinds are made of matchstick bamboo so they will let in filtered light and can be rolled up if I want to let in even more light.

A kerosene heater is on my list for this year and I have been doing some price comparison. So far the Tractor Supply is the least expensive. I would prefer a small wood stove but to do it right is price prohibitive this winter.

One more oil lamp and lamp oil is on next week's purchase list. I would love to find more beeswax candles too.

The Library is closing in a bit so I had better get a wiggle on. Have a blessed week!