April Showers Bring May Flowers

There is a time and purpose for everything

under Heaven

During difficult times some folks reach out for help and some struggle and drown.

Lipstick Salvia

In the past I have called friends or acquaintances up to bitch or bash. and they would come running to join in the feeding frenzy armed with bottles of wine and a load of mud to sling. Luckily for me these days when I am struggling during a stressful time, instead of fighting and resisting the situation and adding to the chaos I choose to respond differently.

I call up an old friends and say... " I am having a really ruff time. I need you! Will you come help me dig in my yard?" And how BLESSED am I? I have a girlfriend who will get in her car and drive 7 plus hours to come do exactly that. Not judge me, not "fix me", not peddle unsolicited advise and not have any expectations and not add to my plate. Just see a need and then literally roll up her selves and get down and dirty.

And then when it is all said and done and time to leave she actually Thanks ... Me????

Wow...

I absolutely am the richest gal in the land. My treasures are abundant!

Ruellia

Thank you Bill for putting my Nags Head Hammock back up in it's new home. I plan to get much enjoyment from her again this year. You gotta LOVE those $5 finds at the thrift store!

Lantana

Clematis and Sundial

Entering the Veggie Garden





Squash & Zucchini Bed








Midnight Salvia

Salsa Mix

Pasta Mix

Problem... ? What Problem?

A new pump to the rescue... aaaaahhhh... joy

I am truly humbled when I take the time and count the MANY blessings that have been freely given to me.

THANK YOU

I love the smell of compost in the morning!

I almost completely cleaned out my compost bin yesterday, getting my veggie beds & gourd areas ready for transplants. Thankfully it doesn't take us too long to replenish that black gold once the weather starts heating up.

Since Live Oak trees shed their leaves in the spring, we have a plentiful supply of organic matter to start a new batch of compost, along with a wonderful kick start to heat things up. There are some other great benefits to having these furry & feathered friends besides the endless enjoyment we receive from their quirky behavior and yummy eggs.

Mo Peeps

Hello Ladies

Some folks don't like keeping chickens because of the lovely little gifts they leave for us anywhere and everywhere. Me personally, it is one of the many reasons I LOVE keeping chickens. Their manure is one of the BEST fertilizers around. But, watch out it is some potent stuff. I like to make a tea with it. Hold on... no worries, not for me but for my plants.

Ellarina

Nope, I didn't name this little one. That would be my daughter's doing. Ellarina is wondering "where are my favorite blueberry treats?". She loves seeing me... I bring her all kinds of yummy goodies. And in return, she give them back! Rabbit manure is another wonderful fertilizer.

Yippie, more gourds

Almost done drying

I am so excited, I just ordered myself a brand new cordless Dremel with some fun attachments. I hope Bill and I won't be fighting to much over it. A Dremel was the very first gift I ever gave him when we were dating. I am going to have a lot of fun when it gets here. I also indulged and bought myself 2 new CD's for my collection :"Lifeline" by Iris DeMent & "Dirt Farmer" by Levon Helm. Woo Hoo... gotta listen to something while I am scrubbing mold off gourds!

It's Springtime in the South

Azaleas are not my all time favorites but they sure know how to wake up a yard. Ellarina gets to enjoy these guys in her front yard.

Clematis

I am finding it very difficult to force myself to do my "inside work". I suppose that, it is not such a terrible thing though. It sure does make me feel good and keep me inspired and motivated. I will get back to my studio/office/sewing room /dumping ground ... soon enough. It has gotta rain sometime :}

TGIF

It is FRIDAY and I am happy to be home to enjoy the weekend with my family.

I have decided to take the advise of a stewardess and give myself some oxygen before trying to give anyone else oxygen. In other words... I am taking the time to do some things for myself that I need... instead of "shoulding" on myself....



When I got home again, from another trip to UNC... I started on something that has been in the works for some time. I started painting my bedroom. I picked this paint up about 2 years ago. It is sad to say but, our bedroom has been the one room that has been neglected over the years. Every room in our home... not excluding the outdoor rooms have been given several face lifts EXCEPT the bedroom. This long overdue make-over is closer to becoming finished, now.

Fennel & Spring Fawn

I love this faint green on the walls.

Humming Birds

I also hung a new bamboo blind and this beautiful stain glass whirl that my good friend Sue made for me. It has been hanging in the living room up until now. I will enjoy waking up in the morning and seeing the sun shining through this.

Tulips

Now, this was an awesome welcome home present. A good friend had stopped by to check on me after my recent road trip and while we were standing on the porch catching up. She looked down and asked, "Are those tulips?" I thought ... "I can't believe she doesn't know the difference between tulips and lilies." Because she was looking down into my lily bed. I was knocked over with surprise when I leaned over and saw what she was looking at. I couldn't begin to tell you where this pot came from or when I got it. Who knows how long that has been there.

Seedlings

I planted these seeds just before my brother's surgery in the beginning of April. When I got home from Chapel Hill the first time I was happy to see that they had begun emerging from the soil. It is time to thin and transplant into small pots.

Broccoli

Yumm, Yumm... I can't wait to fill my freezer!

Marigolds

Not my favorite flower in the world, however they sure do keep some unwelcome guests away.

Nasturtium

Now, not only are these flowers beautiful, but they are also tasty to add to a salad.

Burro's Tail

This poor fellow was happy to see the bedroom make-over & spring. My house plants welcome spring probably more than I do. They get to spend the summer outdoors recovering from the harsh winters indoors grateful for me NOT killing them.

Sedum

I found this under some leaves in an old 3" pot. It was hanging over the sides looking for a new home. so I transplanted it into a hanging basket. I love these little volunteers.

Scotch Broom Explosion


This is just a small part of this plant. It is breath-taking!



Finally, Gourds!

Yeah! My gourds are just starting to poke their necks out. These guys are very slow to start. The apple gourds are the only one so far that dare to poke out. It shouldn't be long before the rest decide to join the rest of the seedlings.

Lady Banks Roses

These roses are going NUTS. I need to cut them back and reign them back in. They have gone WILD!

I have been doing a lot of traveling lately, so it is nice to see that things still go on without me.

Home again home again, jiggity jog!

Good morning!!!!

I have just gotten back from the BEAUTIFUL town of Chapel Hill, NC. I am not much of a city gal... but as cities go, Chapel Hill is a pretty nice one. Kudos to UNC.

Sanity on a Skein

This is how I kept busy while at the hospital

Now, I am anxious to get busy OUTSIDE. It is so hard to be indoors when it is so beautiful outdoors. Ya know what I mean???

I started the morning getting the "boss" ready for the first day back to school after Easter Break. It went surprisingly well. After seeing her off, I began my walk-about. I was happy to see that some of the seeds I planted last week were popping their heads up... Yippie!

Sky or Water?

Need a hint?

Lotus Pod

This is from last year

Eucalyptus & Pond

This eucalyptus is another survivor of Hurricane Isabel. She was lying in the pond after the storm. We tied some rope to the base of the trunk and attached them to posts we drove into the ground near the road. It took weeks of tightening the ropes and watering the tree. But she eventually began to reach for the sky. Isn't she a beauty? Adversity has it's advantages.

More Peeps

New peeps... the Ameracunus hen that took over the nest has been very diligent. She has continued to set... and the day Bill was going to take the eggs from her, to force her out of the hen house... out she comes with 4 peeps (that was Saturday).

This morning when I went to check on her she was out of the hen house with her peeps. But she was crouched in her guard position... but the peeps were all scattered. As I watched I noticed there were 2 new little peeps under her. WOW!

As I watched the peeps spread out and all join in on the food search, one of the new chicks began to struggle. It was having difficulty keeping up with everyone else. It would become separated from everyone and Momma would come to it's rescue. After several times of this, the next time this baby peep became separated Momma ran quickly to it's side. However, this time Momma did not squat down to provide warmth and security. She began to attack it.

I know I probably should have allowed Nature to do her thing... but I just couldn't.

I stepped in and snatched that little peep up.

I made it a little shoebox bed with water and snacks...

that poor little peep has got one heck of a "PEEP" that I couldn't leave it in the shoebox. So this what keeps her quiet for now.

Chick-a-Roo

Ok, no laughing. This was just a quick fix. I will come up with something else a little later. But, for now this seems to keep her happy (let's hope it's a "she").

How Lucky am I?

Today is my husband and my anniversary. It started with a kiss and a "Happy Anniversary" from my sweety. He then rolled over and went back to sleep. I however, decided to get up, pour a cup of jo, let the chickens out and head to the beach for a little morning meditation.

I couldn't even give this one a title. What a wonderful way to start the day

Rise and Shine

Ok, "Buddy" I'm awake!

Yeah, right... as if that were why he really was crowing!

Bill's Bike

We rescued this bike several years ago. Someone had put it out on the road for a bulk pick-up. We couldn't help ourselves. Bill, LOVES this bike and still rides it. And I love him!

Happy Anniversary!

That was Fast

It was only a few days ago when I was just looking for a glimpse of spring life. Wow, look at it now! And let me tell you this wisteria is simply intoxicating.

Scotch Broom

I have this scotch broom by my Koi pond and it is getting ready to EXPLODE!

Renewed life in the Pond

My water plants are starting to poke their heads out also. This Horsetail has found a new home in our waterfall, along with some Water Celery & Creeping Ginny. If you look closely, you will also see one of the Koi coming to say "Hello".

Veggie Garden

I am soo happy that we have a VERY long growing season. I am getting a late start on my garden this year.

Yikes...

but am am NOT afraid. Because when I took a closer look, I found a lone strawberry plant that my chickens didn't consume, fennel, a variety of herbs, some volunteer gourds, sunflowers, my fig tree and much more.

Fig Tree

I was so excited to see leaves on this tree. But to find fruit already developing I was elated. I wasn't sure if we would have any fruit this year. It started budding early this year and then we had SNOW. Can ya believe it, snow on the Outer Banks... granted it wasn't much but it was enough to make the buds on this tree wither and die. But, this tree has seen many seasons. It was almost killed after Hurricane Isabel and didn't produce fruit for three years. But here she is again... and I am happy to say that I got enough fruit off this tree last summer to make fig preserves.

Gourds, Gourds & More Gourds

I usually plant my gourd seeds directly in the ground. But my seed supply is a little low this year and I would like to save as many as I can from the chickens. Hopefully they will not mind the transplant too much. I will still plant some of the smaller gourds directly in the ground.

Daily Bread













I have to tell you, I got the best bread recipe from Mother Earth News (my absolute favorite magazine). It is so simple that my 10 year old daughter can make it all by her self. And she usually does. It became a weekly thing over the winter. It is awesome... she can make a large batch, put it in the fridge and then pull from the dough as needed. Let it rise for about 45 min. and then bake for 30. We LOVE this dough. We even use it for pizza crust.

I feel like the most blessed person on the planet to have such a PHENOMINAL family! Thank you Lord, and thank you Bill for allowing me to live such a full and rich life!

I LOVE YOU!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!