Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Joys of Spring
Spring has sprung, all right. Although this weekend, it seems as if we went straight from winter to summer, with temperatures in the upper 80's, near 90.
The horses are shedding all over the place, the grass is growing in the hayfields, the trees are leafing out beautifully, and I am in full gardening mode.
Last weekend, my sister in law and I planted 'taters and onions in a field. I had never planted potatoes or onions, and simply took a couple hoes and the boxes of sprouting roots and attacked the job. Ten minutes in, I was disgusted, covered in dirt up to my ears, and wondering if it wouldn't just be easier to buy them instead. Two hours later I was worn out and annoyed. I mean, isn't this what we have tractors for, after all? Apparently, we have plenty of tractors and hay equipment, but not one attachment to make a row for gardening.
We have also been constructing flower beds around the house using free rocks from the fields and toppled over chimneys; brick walkways using old bricks from the chimneys; and dirt from everywhere.
I have been discovering all kinds of flowers that have lived here for years that didn't come up last year due to the disturbance of the bulldozer used to clear the land when Kevin first moved in. Hydrangeas, peonies, several varieties of daffodil, iris, sweet pea, lilac, day lilies, phlox, climbing rose bushes, and perrywinkle; and I have planted azaleas, lavender, and other herbs.
We put in our tomatoes, three different peppers, lettuce, squash, zucchini, raddish, carrots, and beets, with plans for more to come. (I like to can and freeze.)
This week Kevin surprised me with and "insta-lawn" - he works for a big seed company/sod farm, and brought home two pallets of sod to place around our new flower beds, where the grass was killed and the ground disturbed. It was fun to watch a lawn unroll under my feet.
He also went to an auction and bought a attachment for the tractor to make rows in the garden - whew!! Less hoing for me. While things are growing outside, inside we are incubating 40 or so chicken eggs, so in roughly 20 days, we will be chicken farmers.
I set out my hummingbird feeders, and have enjoyed watching the friendly little buggers in the evenings, sipping a glass of lemonade, watching my husband grill on the grill, and laughing at our young cat trying to figure out a way to catch the hummingbirds- while the old cat watches her in disgust.
Another one of the joys of warm weather are the yard sales. My mom and I went yard saleing a few weekends ago, and satisfied our need for bargains, goodies, steals, and highway robbery. (I feel like a highway robber, when I stop alongside a steeet, or road, and get something really swell for pennies. I feel like I should drive away fast and hide my stuff.) I spent maybe $20 and had a backseat full of what I like to call "junque."
This weekend, I decided to hold my own yard sale, and it all came to nothing. Not one person stopped to look at my junk, so I packed it up and went home. (I had set it up in my mom's neighborhood, hoping for more traffic.) I took a load of stuff to our dumpster, and there was a woman in her pickup truck with all kinds of goodies she was throwing away! So I came home loaded with great free junque.
Ahhhhh......... the many joys of warm weather.
The horses are shedding all over the place, the grass is growing in the hayfields, the trees are leafing out beautifully, and I am in full gardening mode.
Last weekend, my sister in law and I planted 'taters and onions in a field. I had never planted potatoes or onions, and simply took a couple hoes and the boxes of sprouting roots and attacked the job. Ten minutes in, I was disgusted, covered in dirt up to my ears, and wondering if it wouldn't just be easier to buy them instead. Two hours later I was worn out and annoyed. I mean, isn't this what we have tractors for, after all? Apparently, we have plenty of tractors and hay equipment, but not one attachment to make a row for gardening.
We have also been constructing flower beds around the house using free rocks from the fields and toppled over chimneys; brick walkways using old bricks from the chimneys; and dirt from everywhere.
I have been discovering all kinds of flowers that have lived here for years that didn't come up last year due to the disturbance of the bulldozer used to clear the land when Kevin first moved in. Hydrangeas, peonies, several varieties of daffodil, iris, sweet pea, lilac, day lilies, phlox, climbing rose bushes, and perrywinkle; and I have planted azaleas, lavender, and other herbs.
We put in our tomatoes, three different peppers, lettuce, squash, zucchini, raddish, carrots, and beets, with plans for more to come. (I like to can and freeze.)
This week Kevin surprised me with and "insta-lawn" - he works for a big seed company/sod farm, and brought home two pallets of sod to place around our new flower beds, where the grass was killed and the ground disturbed. It was fun to watch a lawn unroll under my feet.
He also went to an auction and bought a attachment for the tractor to make rows in the garden - whew!! Less hoing for me. While things are growing outside, inside we are incubating 40 or so chicken eggs, so in roughly 20 days, we will be chicken farmers.
I set out my hummingbird feeders, and have enjoyed watching the friendly little buggers in the evenings, sipping a glass of lemonade, watching my husband grill on the grill, and laughing at our young cat trying to figure out a way to catch the hummingbirds- while the old cat watches her in disgust.
Another one of the joys of warm weather are the yard sales. My mom and I went yard saleing a few weekends ago, and satisfied our need for bargains, goodies, steals, and highway robbery. (I feel like a highway robber, when I stop alongside a steeet, or road, and get something really swell for pennies. I feel like I should drive away fast and hide my stuff.) I spent maybe $20 and had a backseat full of what I like to call "junque."
This weekend, I decided to hold my own yard sale, and it all came to nothing. Not one person stopped to look at my junk, so I packed it up and went home. (I had set it up in my mom's neighborhood, hoping for more traffic.) I took a load of stuff to our dumpster, and there was a woman in her pickup truck with all kinds of goodies she was throwing away! So I came home loaded with great free junque.
Ahhhhh......... the many joys of warm weather.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Welcome! And Now, For My First Post.....
Welcome to "Happily Ever After"....... In fairytales, after the Knights in Shining Armor and Damsels get their issues worked out and finally are together, all you hear is about how they lived "happily ever after." Well, that is just a little vague for me; so I decided this blog would be dedicated to exactly what defines "happily ever after" for myself.
I have been married one year, one week, and one day as of this post, and I can tell you that our happily ever after has been the adventure of a lifetime!!
So I hope you stop in to visit often, because you never know what will happen..........I will be updating this blog with photos, etc.
And to kick things off to a great thought provoking start, on this rainy spring day I leave you with this: an early Celtic (4th century Irish, attributed to St. Patrick) "breastplate prayer", or "lorica", honoring mine, and my husband's Irish roots.
This is also in a great song format by the Irish band "Iona". I often say this aloud, or sing it........
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead
His eye to watch, His might to stay
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide,
His shield to ward
The Word of God to give me speech
His Heavenly Host to be my guide
I have been married one year, one week, and one day as of this post, and I can tell you that our happily ever after has been the adventure of a lifetime!!
So I hope you stop in to visit often, because you never know what will happen..........I will be updating this blog with photos, etc.
And to kick things off to a great thought provoking start, on this rainy spring day I leave you with this: an early Celtic (4th century Irish, attributed to St. Patrick) "breastplate prayer", or "lorica", honoring mine, and my husband's Irish roots.
This is also in a great song format by the Irish band "Iona". I often say this aloud, or sing it........
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead
His eye to watch, His might to stay
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide,
His shield to ward
The Word of God to give me speech
His Heavenly Host to be my guide