Jumping the Gun

I know I am jumping the gun a bit, because August isn't over yet, and it is still summer, but I feel like it is fall so I am going to jump anyway. :) I do love fall and the promise of cooler weather, and blue skies, and the smells of baking pies and being cozy and safe in the house.

I have been thinking about having a thankful heart lately. I am sure if I started right now, my list would go on for pages and pages. Today though, I am thankful that I get to stay home and teach my kids. I am thankful the older two are not ruined and can do college just fine and the oldest two have wonderful families and babies and both girls get to stay home too. Yes, today, my heart is full of gratitude for all of the ways, God has shown His mercy to us.

Before and After

Here is our before picture, I am ashamed to say that it got away from me with all of the canning I did and the heat.


Here is the other side of the garden before we started.


This is the finished product. We ran out of trash cans so we have to wait until another day to take out the corn. Now we just have to listen to the wind blowing through the corn and when you are out there by yourself, it sounds like someone walking through the corn. Sometimes it is down right spooky.
Here is our after picture! I am so glad we have a tractor!

The Last Saturday of August

Fall is upon us. I can't wait for the first breath of fall. I feel like in my mind I have been in September for a week or so, I am always so surprised when I look up and still see the August calendar. I hope to work this morning in the garden, before it gets too hot. We need to get our canvas ready for a new sort of painting.
Have a great Saturday!

Job's Tears

These flowers are called Job's Tears. I have seen them at Lowe's when I look at flowers but on the seed packet had no idea what they were. I planted them and they have been a nice long lasting flower. I keep waiting for seed pods but as of yet I haven't seen any. The seeds it says on the packet says have been used in jewelery making. When I planted them the seed was the size of a pearl. I was thinking that this year I have had the most luck with seeds. When you think about it, seeds are like magic, all different and each one holds within it a surprise. Better than Cracker Jacks.
Happy Friday!!

Thankful Thursday

I love these flowers because if a person could be a flower, this would be me. I love the way they just brighten up the day just by blooming. I am thankful for today because it is so cool this morning. I can open my doors and I know that summer is waning.

I loved this quote this morning:

We cannot remove the conditions under which our work is to be done, but we can transform them. They are the elements out of which we must build the temples wherein we serve.
Brooke Foss Westcott---

So no matter where you serve, as Elisabeth Elliot said, " It can be a gateway to joy."

Morning Glories

I love how the Morning Glories turned out, just like a waterfall. Every morning when I go outside to walk Sasha I stand and stare at these flowers and they make me so happy, even if I am feeling blue. I was standing yesterday and looking at them when I saw a honey bee go deep into the center of a flower. It must be very sweet in there because I watched it wash its face with its front feet, then as it got its face clean it flew off to another flower to repeat the whole thing again. I loved watching the bee crawl deep into the flower to get the nectar. One thing that I love is that the leaves are shaped like hearts. I need to press some so I can have heart leaves.
Have a lovely Wednesday!

Flowers in the Garden

This is a picture of flowers in the garden. I have no clue what they are, I have looked in books with pictures but I have never found a name. They are some kind of a herb and they multiply like crazy. In fact once they got started in my flower bed I will never be free from them. R. even sprays them with Round-up and like the" cat they still come back, the very next day."
They look pretty and the bees love them so I guess I will put up with them.

First Day School

This is what I felt like this morning. Trying to juggle everyone's schedule and making lunches and watching my household go out the door.
As I waved good-bye to my 4th bird to leave the nest, I thanked God that He moved upon me to keep having babies. I then thought about how life is made up of "Firsts" First baby, first tooth, first time your 16 year old takes the car out of the driveway.
The one first, I am the most happy about that I have taught the kids most of their lives so that the first day of school somewhere other than upstairs they are 18 years old and I think better equipped to handle the pressure of the world. I have often thought, I am unable at 51 to withstand peer pressure, why do we ever think our children will when we send them to school at five.
Yes, I am thankful to this life God has given me.

I thought I would share this first glimpse of fall. Even if we can't feel it, I see it going on all around me. One of the first things I noticed is the temperature of the swimming pool. I always think that the swimming pool water gets its warmth from the sun, but it really is the temperature of the ground. When the ground starts cooling, say because fall is coming the pool starts dropping by degrees. I have also noticed that when I water the garden the water does not evaporate as it did during the summer. The bunny has his winter coat even though it is still so hot.
So there you go no scientific reason other than "these times they are a changin."

Sleeping Cats

There are times I wish I could sleep like this. It doesn't matter what is going on all around them they just sleep. This is Bobbi and Claw and they are enemy's, not mortal just not friends. I guess you could say that Bobbi is a cat who walks alone. Claw, on the other hand loves everyone. Before this picture was taken Bobbi slapped and slapped at Claw and then finally gave up. This is a very rare picture of them sleeping in the same chair. I think today would be a perfect day to sleep in a chair with it being cloudy outside, then you open the door and remember it is still August.

Chickens in my Front Yard

I tried to get close to this chicken in my front yard this morning, but as Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice they will not follow another," the same goes for chickens, it is not my chicken so it wanders around but if I get to close it runs away. One of the things I have loved about living here is having chickens in the front yard, or road runners standing out in the front or early now in the morning I can hear a bob- white. This is enough country for me. It is another Friday and I am so glad, the fence will get finished this weekend and then Monday school starts. Farm Girl becomes Teacher Mom.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I want to be thankful for all of the blessings the Lord has given, this looks like a path in the dirt, but to me it is magic, it really is the place for me that dreams are made. Today I read though, " The heart that is reluctant to receive joyfully all of God's good gifts is also reluctant to part with any of them." (Discipline: The Glad Surrender.) "Freely you have received, freely give."
Matthew 10:8

I admit to being a hoarder, my prayer today is, Help me Lord, to give back to you all that you have given and to be thankful for the gifts to send today. Amen.

New Crop of Sunflowers

I took this picture just so when it is cold this winter I can look at it and remember blue skies, and green leaves, and yellow flowers. This patch of sunflowers was just a experiment. We just took some seeds left over from a head that grew during the winter. They really had not even dried that much. We planted them and we got a patch of sunflowers even bigger that the ones we grew from packets of seeds we bought.

This is how it looks looking down the row. As I was standing out with the camera, I was aware of the buzzing in the flowers, then I saw that the flowers were full of bees. I don't know if it just because summer is on the wane or if the bees like this kind of flower. It was just so nice to stand there and watch the bees and listen to the sound of the buzzing.
Part of me wants to just sit in the middle of the flowers and spend the day in a fort.
Happy Wednesday!

New pictures of the chicks

This is a picture of how much the chicks have grown. I don't think they will ever be very big. They are all turning into little chickens. Watching them I have learned so much, like even though the Moms are so small too, they will attack anything that goes near the babies. They would give their lives for the chicks. They always give the best when they find food to the chicks. They eat last. I sit and watch them and think about how many ways we can learn a lot about life from chickens.

A Wheel Barrow filled with squash

Well, this is a experiment that I don't think we will try again. I mean a little spaghetti squash goes a long, long way. Next year, maybe just one plant. I think that squash is a really nice thing to grow in a garden, kind of like radishes. You get more than you bargained for and people start running away when you come in the door with your just picked produce.
It is Monday, my last week before school starts for us. It will be nice to get to go back to the routine.

All My Men

I loved this picture of all of the men in my life painting the fence. They were laughing and talking and it was so fun to see them all together. One of the things that I continue to marvel at is how someone like me can be so very blessed. Then I remember how being evil, I can give good gifts to my children, how much more will my Father in heaven give us.
Happy Sunday!

Peppers from the Garden

I picked these red and yellow peppers this morning. My favorite kind of pepper is the red bell pepper, I like the way it looks in dishes I prepare as well as eating as a snack with dip. I have found that it stores very well. Last week when I went to the grocery store red bell peppers were 1.69 each, so I am glad I don't have to buy them for awhile. Now should I open a fruit stand...um... Fence building day so I am off to buy food and drink for the hard workers.

Things I Love

I thought today would be a nice day to share about what I love besides gardening. The first thing I love that makes my life possible, is Gods Word. Without it I am like a ship adrift in a ocean of change. It keeps me grounded and keeps me sane. I love reading letters daily, from someone who loved me so much He died for me.

The next thing I love, is of course, books. Not to mention I love to home school and I love my classroom and I can't wait until school starts.


I love old canning jars, because to me they remind me of a simpler life, they speak to me of a
generation gone by and of women who loved the job they had been given and they used these jars as ways to provide for those they loved. The statue is of a grandmother holding a grandchild.
I love being a grandmother, the tin can is a old lard pail that was once used for school lunches. It always reminds me of my Dad and going to school with lunch in a lard can.

I love my porches. I love how the sun shines through the leaves and the dappled sunlight hits the white on the rails. I love how it speaks to me of rest and peace.

I love purple! This is the potato bush I did not kill. I love seeing it come back from the dead and each bloom makes me so happy. No matter how scraggly it looks it is not getting trimmed.

So these are some of the things I love. Not to mention, I really love Fridays!

Sasha Helping

I just had to post, Sasha helping take out the garden. She always has to be in the same space as
we are trying to help do the same things. I have always thought I would never have any dog but a Sheltie, but after having Sasha, I think it will always be Border Collies. Yesterday, my rooster wanted to attack my grandson, Sasha made sure she kept her body between the boy and the rooster. She is only six months old herself, but to watch her around my grandsons is quite remarkable. I have never thought of myself as a dog person. Because I have always loved cats, but now I do love this dog.

Leaves in my Yard

I looked outside today and my yard was littered with leaves. I told the kids about it as they looked out the window, and one of them remarked, " that is the best tree, it always mourns for us because school is getting ready to start. As I thought about that, when you live in a place you grew up, as Robert Lewis Stevenson put in his book.

From Child's Garden of Verses

As from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you.  He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.
He does not hear, he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.

So as I stand and stare at the tree, I see all of the children who have clung to its
branches in the last days of August, knowing that summer was almost over.

Giant Pumpkins

This is my favorite giant pumpkin. I love how mottled with orange and white it is, R. thought that it must weight around 80 pounds. When we brought them in from the pumpkin patch we could only get two at a time in the wheel barrow.



This is how big they are compared to a regular sized pumpkin. Just think of the pumpkin pies that I could make with just one.
I just hope they last until Halloween.

Monday Morning

This is the bunch of jack-be-little's we picked on Saturday. The amount is so much because most of the summer they were hidden in the vines. I never dreamed there was that amount out there.


This is a better close up. I kept thinking that I hope when the next group of my family decides to get married it will be in the fall. Oh the things I could do for a fall wedding.
My days of being a farm girl are coming to a close. Today, I am window washer woman. It makes me pause though, ash is falling from the sky this morning. Oh, August.

Pumpkins

This is what we grew and what we picked! I admit to never having enough pumpkins in the fall.
I think this year I have just enough. :) I love all of the shapes and all of the colors and I even have a deep fondness for the stems. I mean what is a good pumpkin if it doesn't have a good stem.

These are how they look on the porch after a bath. I have always wanted my wheel barrow filled with pumpkins in the fall. I think it looks so pretty. Now I can't wait to make pumpkin pies.
I will post tomorrow all of the Jack-be-Little's. Not to mention pics of the jumbo ones.

Preparing for Fall

These are the cucumbers we picked this morning. The weather got so hot and we were so sick of
cucumbers they grew to be giants. For some weird reason, they always remind me of great white sharks. Maybe its the creepy light green color.

We started tearing out the garden, so this is the before picture. It isn't really the before, before picture because we forgot to grab the camera.

This is the after picture. Now we have a nice clean canvas to dream on again. That is the magic of our field of dreams, with just a little sweat and a little work we can make it into anything we want.

There is Always Something to Be Thankful For

Today I have lots to be thankful for, like flowers that bloom in the morning. Like September weather in August. Like God's hand on our life. Last night about 9:00 pm a young man called and said he was at Wal Mart and he had found one of our checks in the parking lot, could he bring it to us? We said yes, and it seems on Monday someone had stolen our house payment out of our mailbox.
The young man brought us the check and as we stood out in the drive way, my DH asked the young man could he give him a reward. The young man said, " No, this has happened to my Mom, God bless you." I knew as soon as he got out of his car he was a Christ One.
I don't know what the out come will be yet, but I know that all that I have is Gods and I can rest in the fact, that we wouldn't have even known about this until our check was "late." But God knew and He still took care of us.
There is always something to be thankful for.

The Magic of Pollination.

If you look closely, you can see a wasp in this flower. I tried to get as close as I dared. I wanted to get pictures this morning of all of the orchard bees that are in the garden. I couldn't find any today.
This year, I have watched bees and wasps. I have watched bees, that I have never saw before. I saw some that were red that are big like a wasp but are some kind of bee. I love bumble bees so I have been happy to see so many this year. Without the bees and wasps we have no fruit or vegetables. I have been so happy to see our bees working alongside the wild bees.
I am looking forward to opening the hive and seeing how much they have been working this summer. One thing I have noticed that solitary bees and wasps are victims of other bees, but the ones that live in the hive are protected by the others. It has been a good lesson in why we need other people in our lives.

Teddy Bears

These sunflowers are called Teddy Bears. They grow on a much smaller bush than some of the sunflowers that have reached 10 feet. The birds seem to like these best. I will have to fight the birds for seeds.
We finally have a break in the weather and the weatherman has said we will have cooler than normal temps, even dropping 20 degrees. I am so glad even if it is only for a day. I am getting excited because that means, beautiful fall is on its way.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Blue Berry Jam

I had bought, sad to say, not grew, the nicest blueberries on Sunday. I went back and forth in my mind, should I freeze them or make jam. Well, you see what won out. I am officially out of jelly jars. That was one of my goals is to exhaust my storage cupboards of its canning jars. I have almost accomplished my goal. I just have a few quart jars left.
This is what my pantry looks like now. So if I was writing a paper entitled " What I did for my summer vacation," this is it.
It will remind us of summer, when the days are cold.

Gourds

One of the things I would rather grow than things to eat is Gourds. I love the odd shapes and the textures. I like that each has possibilities. I guess you could say, just like people. All it takes is a bit of imagination and you have something amazing to look at. I have plans and ideas for these gourds, so I had to pick them a bit early so they can start drying. I hope next year to grow different varieties. I have seeds I have saved from some that grow giant gourds. I need next year to have just a huge patch to grow just gourds and pumpkins.
Now I have blueberries wanting to be made into jam in the kitchen. So off I go.

Building a Swimming Pool Fence

The fence began with metal bars, our son cut long pieces of metal into pieces like this.


Then he welded them together.


This is the first part of the fence.


This is the other part of the fence and soon it will be complete.
It will be white and will look very nice.

These are my Black-eyed Susan. The only other flower that I might love more than sunflowers.
I planted them from seed and I really didn't expect them to get flowers until next summer. I was so surprised that out in the garden they grew, and bloomed so fast. There really must be something to the dirt out in the pasture that is different from what is in my flower bed. Not much going on the garden today, we are in building fence around the pool this Saturday. Our Son is a great welder and has been working on that for us. It looks so nice as it is coming together. I will post pictures tomorrow.