Found it, Hauled it, Painted it...

Well it took some muscle and a lot of persuading but Here it is.. My vision of a great entry to Blue sky Farm from the road.
I found it in the field next door covered with wire, weeds & a ton of dirt. I begged yeah , begged my fabulous husband to just "Please come take a look~see  and to visualize it at the entrance to the property with the flowers tumbling out of the old bathtub ( we already had placed there.) He finally gave in and we drug the monster out of the field, up our road . Man it was H e a v y....It was really ugly & a  rusty red but with a couple cans of Flat black spray paint It looks  just as I pictured..It is 10 feet long with plenty more room to hang more baskets, old tins,  flowers, and more.. I can picture it with Lights  strung at Christmas and a Scarecrow for the fall can you? It made my day....

Who's minding the nest?

It appears Mr. Mallard swimming, eating &  taking it easy, while Mrs. Mallard sits on the eggs doing the mom bit right?

... But wait.. here's the nest with nobody home sitting for these "egg- lets"... seems mama decided to take a bath, eat and exercise a bit too... I had to go take aother peek..I wondered  how the eggs would stay warm & safe, and found  

The nest was totally covered with feathers.. Mama did a great  job of conceiling these eggs,.,. I carefully removed the top layer of feathers and there they were.. I counted 7 maybe 8 covered the nest after taking the photo and returned to the pond where I found both ducks happy taking a break.. I think this is going to be a nice family.... soon..and Daddy is hanging around waiting for the big day..... He's got babysitting to do when they hatch....or does she not get a break then too?

Rainy day surprises

Okay.. Its either sit home & watch the rain fall or get in the car and take a day trip to the mountains  in the rain..  You can guess what I did.. We packed our lunch stuff and off we drove. Headed south towards Medicine Lake in Calif. We  almost made it in to the lake but that white cold stuff stopped us frrom getting through  about 5 miles from the Lake entrance.

Taking another road we came to this clearing.. well sort of a clearing.. clouds & mountains in the background and the rain started pouring. Still a pretty drive.  I snapped that  photo and happened to look down and saw this beautiful Morrell Mushroom peeking through the fauna. I picked a few for breakfast.

We will return in a month to enjoy the fishing on the lake but that will be another day.  Once we got home  Another surprise waited me. 

You see a few days ago I was walking in the field and up on grassy hill where Buster had come upon the nest of the female  mallard that has been swimming in the pond. I was sure he had scared her off. I saw her nest was there hidden with at a dozen eggs left unattended. Fearful  and fretting  now for two days that he had scared her away for good. I slowly walked back up there (with my camera  just in case) to check when I saw the Drake fly to the pond...I was delighted  to see right back there doing her mom  to be thing..sitting quietly. Now I can't wait to see how many babies hatch.. Oh yes.. Many surprises today... Plus the deer had not touched the flowers inthe tub....

Rub a Dub Dub...

Yes, those are Petunias planted in the old bath tub. . See their pretty red, purple, yellow & white faces. When they get settled into their new home some with grow tall and reach for the sun while the rest will grow to overflowing and  cascade down over the sides.. Well, that is what I hope they do... They will look pretty no matter where they decide to flow from the bathtub at the top of our property driveway..don't ya think? The rain was starting to sprink just as I finished planting.. so they will get an extra drink of water today & possible tonight to help make them happy  there..Now lets hope the deer will continue to ignore them.. so far so good, as some of the lower plants have been there all week....just waiting for these beauties to show up. I really do love Petunias! Now I need some marigolds to plant in the back garden. I bought tomato plants today  too & will set them out  maybe Sunday..as the weather is to warm up and dry out a bit next week... we shall see....

Taking it off slowly

Two week weigh in today and I must toot my own horn. I have lost 7 pounds and  2 inches off my waist..
The cleansing diet  has been worth it! Now, I get to add a few carbs back  into my menu.. I never thought a small potato  could taste so good. It is said that a goal written down is more achieveable and shared with others is very beneficial..So I have laid it out my friends.. I am Ready, willing and doing it!
I have more to lose and I am aware it will take perserverance  and determination, but with the recipes I have at my fingertips now and added fruits & vegetables my goal will be within reach. Anyone trying to lose a few pounds can relate.
Now with more fruits & nuts I will be in heaven.. cherries, melons, berries, apricots, plums apples, pears, peaches .. Yum, and  all the vegetables I want..cooked, steamed, roasted.. no peas, carrots or corn .. yet however...but  These fruits  and vegetables will be fresh in season  soon in my garden and at the  Saturday Market place. I will be posting a few new recipes for dressings, crock pot meals & more over in the kitchen where "this hens a cookin". Drop by,  Pull up a chair and celebrate with me as I continue drinking those 8 glasses of water.. Gee, It feels  Good to get into those "too tight jeans.."

The Project begins at last!

The day has come.... with a tiny bit of rain... The project is underway.

We have worked with a local landscape & Nursery to beautify our homesite. 25 trees, bark &  evergreen shrubs going in.. a drip water system and some flowering shrubs and I probably won't remember the names of everything ..some will not bloom until next spring but the folage will be green for summer & turn fall colors in the Autum. I will post more as they continue....

Potatoes, Peas & Beets

 Well the day has ended and this farmgirl is "pooped".  Clay & I went ahead and planted the potatoes, peas & beets just before dinner... Will  get tomato and Pepper plant starts next week... It sure feels good but I am exhausted.. Soaked in the tub  while dinner was cooking . Thanks to my wonderful husband for  grilling the meat & veggies tonihgt...now Dishes done and a movie awaits... Sure wish I could have some popcorn... Nah.. I feel fine with fruit...Baked  Apple anyone?
Then nightie night for me.....Until tomorrow...

Gated garden ~ Finally ready to plant

The girls were unhappy I had chased them out of the garden area today. We finished fencing  & put a gate at the entrance by my potting  bench and thats the end where their studio also is, and easy access to give them garden clippings as the vegetables begin to grow. We  have to keep them out now that we are ready to plant potatoes, beets, peppers, peas.  They will get plenty of the garden goodies as I weed and

they have plenty of area to roam & snatch up those yummy bugs & grubs chickens love. The earthworms in the garden are mine for now. As you can see 3 left and headed out to the field next door and these three hung around just incase mama left the gate open.. Sorry chickies "It's just Not  happening".

Want to come along?

 The weather looks nice  a "blue sky  sunny  today"...Let's

Take a walk into the forest. It is still chilly but the sights are heart warming if you love the outdoors. Bring along a light jacket,  it could get breezy & there may be snow still on the ground....

I hope you brought your camera.. I am sure glad I did...

It looks like nobody is home... or maybe they are.

Careful there are small branches, don't trip. Did you bring a walking stick?

These blooming bushes are so pretty. I don't know their Botanical name do you?

Turn around and get a look at that view of Mt Theilsen.. A sight worth too many words.. I hope you enjoyed  our day in the forest. I  will be searching for more sights to capture..Will you be coming along? We should bring a picnic lunch next time...

Celebrate Girl Time It's Healthy

A thought to share for all my girlfriends.. Sent to me by my sister in law...

.. I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more seratonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings?--rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to shmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health.

Mia Simmons, EFT Cert-1, ADV

Certified Practitioner

My new Rainy days project

Since the weather is so nasty wet and too cool to do my garden outside, I have started another  inside project. I have always love the look of Red & White embroidery on pillow cases & towels. I am going to give it a try and make a small pillow top for my guestroom bed.  I think it will be fun to do some others too.

Did you know Redwork is believed to have originated in Europe in the 19th century and traveled to America prior to the War Between the States. Redwork was extremely popular among people who were not a part of the fussy Victorian culture of "collect and embellish." Redwork found a niche among peasants, immigrants and the middle class, especially in America. Much of its popularity was due to its economy, sublime simplicity and widespread availability. In America, dry goods stores sold 6 inch muslin squares marked with a variety of designs for a penny each. These "penny squares" are often seen incorporated into old Redwork bedspreads and linens. Not only were the materials relatively inexpensive, but the basic outline stitches meant less thread was required than in Blackwork or Whitework and they were easy to master. Penny squares were often given to youngsters to occupy their time, as well as improve their embroidery skill. Even children in orphanages were taught to sew and embroider, because it would be invaluable to them in finding employment as a maid. It was an essential part of raising all young women, they might very well be expected to furnish their own linens as part of a trousseau. In fact, it was girls from the Kensington School in England helped popularize Redwork. The school's name continues to be intimately associated with this style of embroidery, as is evidenced by the fact that the split stitch is also called the Kensington Stitch. * Information taken  from the Redwork Embroidery Primer*

Time for me...

Today is a Self Care day for me...it's day #6 on the Cleansing Diet and I feel pretty good. I am going to have a manicure, pedicure (a Mother's Day gift) and a  hair cut.  Do a bit of grocery shopping and buy a nice vanilla candle. I think I need it today.. The weather is Cloudy and I see no sign of a Blue Sky in there.. So I will pamper myself a bit and make it a great"sunshine day".  I am linking my daughter Nancy's Self Care Girl Site to invite you all to check it out...http://myselfcareblog.blogspot.com/if  you haven't already.
She is back from her holiday in Hawaii and is offering a nice Giveaway. You can find her also on Facebook.  Make your day a special one too... You deserve it!

Seeds Planted.....

I certainly hope the sunflowers grow.. I love the way they look standing so tall in the garden. I planted 12 started plants and some smaller variety. I will by trying to keep the birds & my lovely chickens away from those delecate sprouts. (At least until they mature to hold their own..) I had a chat with the "girls" told them I will harvest the big heads in the fall for them.But they gotta let themgrow... Do you think they understand? Not, but I can hope... We also planted ( scatter planted) over 50,000 seeds of wild flowers again hoping some will make it and we will be surprised to see their pretty faces in a couple months.... Hurry up sunshine, Rain showers in the forcast all week..but that can mean little rain here actually.. just as long as the nights stay above freezing.. The back veggie garden is not even close to planting and my potato seeds are bursting through the box they are stored in... Hope we can get them in the ground sometime next week... Somebody please chat with Mother Nature...I need some help here...

I- 2- 3 go~! Day 4

I really had a burst of energy this morning, Completely cleaned out the hen house , refilled their water supply and moved their feeder higher  (cuz the darn Mice like the food too*, did laundry, watered all my outside plants. I guess the weigh plan is working. I even  made a trip to the grocery store .No Headache and Ready for Life....
I hope to feel as good tomorrow...
Pork with Chili Sauce for dinner.. recipe Onthe kitchen blogsite.. see ya over there...

What are these cold white flakes?

Can you believe it? May 22nd and Snow? Klamath Falls is 54 miles from Crater Lake, It was  only a snow shower here so We decided to take a drive to Crater Lake today even though our temperature was only 36 degrees. This is snow piled up on the open side of the Lake. The entire loop will be open by July 1. So this isn't a surprise, except with so many reports of drought in our area we question the truth of that... As we approached the lake the flakes started falling again and my view of the Lake was  very limited and quite cloudy.

We drove around to the Visitors Center to see that the main enterance was blocked with Snow but the other side of the building has a snow tunnel to enter. The Lodge is higher up the road by 4 miles and is open. There were many snowshoers and hikers about. You can see how much snow there is up close to the enterance. I have posted pictures previously of the views of Crater Lake inthe summer.. I must say  The winter scenery was gorgeous even without the sunshine. We'd like to take the cruise to Wizard Island maybe this summer. It is a very pretty 2 hour cruise offered by the National Park there in the summer months..  The Lodge is  very nice and has a very nice restaraunt open in the summer.. During off season the coffee shop cafe is open year round along with the gift shop.

This may Inspire You....

Today I will be posting a blog Everyone should read. My blogger friend June posted it today and I wanted to pass the link on.... http://decortoadore.blogspot.com/2010/05/ultimate-diymay-you-be-inspired.html  What Inspiration! A very strong woman.  Thank You Laura Ingalls Gunn.

Bird watching in the rain

 Today was a rainy day, a stay in kind of a day. You know we have these down days to recoup for upcoming busy dry days, right? I was reading and looked outside at the bird feeder to see this "Spotted Towhee and shortly after a "Yellow headed Black bir" came for a few seeds. It is amazing how all these birds gather to eat from our feeders. Sparrows of several breeds, Flickers, Doves, & Quail and I saw a yellow belly sap sucker the other day, but couldn't get a snapshot of him fast enough. We have also the Red wing blackbirds and tri colored Black birds.. that hang out around the pond in the cat tails.. Fun to watch especially on a rainy day. I keep my eyes open for the baby quail hoping they show up soon.

Here's what's happening at Blue Sky

"This way Dad, Mom wants this mound of dirt gone.. I like climbing on it but she said it has to go" because She wants a better view of the pond...

Our neighbor was so kind to lend a hand and big  equipment to move this dirt. Lucky for us he "likes to play in the dirt"Job completed, now we get to landscape. I think this can get abit expensive, so we save a lot of money having the neighbor Rick volunteer to tackle the job.

Now on to the back yard for my garden area...I can't wait to get started but the dirt is a bit clumpy right now until it dries out a bit more, Then Rick will come back in a few days to go over it again so I can plant the veggies.Wow, thats a great big garden spot don't ya think? and Buster agrees that we do need a fence to keep out the "golden girls & black beauties so a fence will be added so Mom can plant the seeds.. Dad and I will help mom get the fence up in a couple weeks. There sure were a lot of earth worms in that dirt and the chickens will love finding them.  Thank You Rick!

Birds of a feather...

It was a beautiful morning, near 70 degrees today, so Clay & I took the boat out on the lake. We are so lucky to have the lake so close. We half heartedly  fished for awhile but  none were interested in our bait..It was so pretty on the water &  I was more interested in these pelicans nesting in the rushes. As we approached, turned off the motor & drifted closer they decided we were clcose enough and one by one slipped into the water & swam in line away, Don't they look like boats in a harbor?

As we turned the boat around and headed in the other direction we came upon this Egret. Standing statue like in the rushes.

Thouroughly enjoyed our day,  we returned home with some sun- dried faces but well worth the adventure..I forgot the sunscreen... but I think We have finally received Mother Natures Gift of Spring...