It Looks Like Spring.

 

I have to admit that winter is pretty much over. Spring is winning. This morning I went to let my hens out of their house. It was still dark. The sun was coming up but it wasn't over the mountains. I checked the chickies. They were awake and ready for breakfast. I went out and took a lap around the pasture and I knew that spring is here. I have started my spring weeding.

On Saturday, Ron and I worked out in the boysenberries.  We took out the thorny ones and moved plants around. I think we made it just in time as this week with it being warmer they are starting to bud. Berries are just the best for jam. When I made jam at Christmas it was like having distilled sunshine in the kitchen.

Can you see that giant artichoke plant? Its already huge. I think there are really three there.
It has a smaller baby coming up to the right of it. I think we really should just grow artichokes out
here because artichokes are so forgiving to the heat and drought.

I have spent two days working in my flowerbeds. I finished the back one this afternoon. It was filled end to end with grass. I fed lots of it to my chickens then when they had enough I decided not to save it.

My rhubarb is growing so fast. We moved it here last year and kept it in those plastic containers. It really is too warm in Bako  so we have moved it all over. Since it survived here so well we are going to go ahead and plant it here in the flowerbed. When I was weeding I found so many earthworms. It made me so happy. This place was a cattle pasture for years and years and then we built the house here. There were no worms. So to see them now is so nice. I even have a new leaf on my Comfrey. I do love my herbs. I need to get more mint this year.

I started my front flowerbed that has my hydrangeas. They are really starting to bud out. You can see I am not showing you the other side of the porch. Lets just say that this next flowerbed cleaning is going to be done with a shovel. It is so overgrown. It feels nice to have a few beds cleaned.

 

Because its spring, I had to make a wreath. I have had this wreath pinned on Pinterest for years. I always remember it in the summer and tell myself, next year I am going to make it. Yesterday I sat down and made it. It makes me happy. Its kind of gaudy but I think spring flowers are in a way.

So that is a little bit of things I have done this week. You are asking yourself about now, " Can she move?"
I think this evening is going to be tough as I haven't reached my 10,000 steps yet. For some reason my fit bit doesn't know about gardening. I need to fix that.

I hope you have a wonderful evening, its time for me to go fix something for dinner.

Thank you so much for stopping by,
~Kim~

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Pictures from a Zelda Photo Shoot

 

Our daughter-in-law, Makenzie is a photographer. I think she of course is one of the most talented photographers I have ever met. She is also very creative. I love that I am surrounded by such creative, and talented people. Makenzie had this idea to do a photo shoot with Nik and Emilie. She wanted to do a photo shoot with the new release of the video game Zelda. Emilie has always played each game since she was a kid. Makenzie put all of this together and I thought you might like to see these wonderful photographs.

 

Emilie said it was so cold, that there was ice on the ground. It looks other worldly to me. The flowers are from the place that Emilie worked. The bouquet is stunning.

 

 Mr. Nik. I loved this picture so much! We told them they could be models. I loved that the boutonniere was so pretty. Notice the tie and the cuff links? Makenzie thought of everything.

 

 I will have to have this one on my wall. I think it is just so pretty. I just love the woods. The setting is gorgeous.

 

Isn't this table just incredible? I loved that Makenzie thought of using moss as the table runner. I told Makenze there wasn't anything this pretty in Lord of the Rings or in Twilight. Looking at the pictures I expect to see fauns and fairies peeking through the trees.

 

The bridal shop provided the dress and the cape. Poor Emilie said she was so cold that she was afraid that that she was shaking so hard that it would show up in the photographs.

I love the lighting and the trees and that little stream. It reminds me so much of Rivendale from Lord of the Rings. So did the dress. I just thought I would share these with you. I have loved seeing them and I thought you might like them too.

It makes me wish I played video games.

~Kim~

“Happily ever after is not a fairy tale. It’s a choice.” (Fawn Weaver)

Chicks---Life is Good!

 

Tuesday this week I went to Meg's for Muchie's fifth (eeek!!) birthday. I think grand children grow up faster than our children did. When I walked in the garage, Megan had her 10 chicks. You know how chicks work right? Even though there were 14 in the box, when you have chicks, numbers are just guidelines, because you can never have too many chickens. It started on my drive home. Bad!! I could feel myself coming down with it. Its called chick fever. I told myself for three days, No chicks you do not need chicks yet!!! Yesterday it was a perfect spring day. It was warm. The air balmy. I told Ron to talk me out of it. He didn't. I decided I would just go look at them at Tractor Supply. Then I came home with 10 which is really 12.

I just don't have enough Bantams in my life so I got six. Its a game I will be playing called guess the breed of the bantam. I asked the girl what kind of bantams were in the horse trough, and she said, " Bantams." I said, "I know what kind are they?" She spoke more slowly like I was having a hard time hearing." B-A-N-T-A-M-S!!" I said, " No that is the variety, there are different breeds. " So I explained about bantams and she said, " Oh, okay now I understand, she said it just says straight run bantams so I guess you will just have to wait. I think I have a few Coachins because they have feathered feet.  The big hens I bought are 3 sexlinks and a kind I am not sure but I think they will end up being Red Stars. I am like a Scarlett in Gone with The Wind, " When I have a new hat, I can't think of a thing!" Only I wasn't wearing a hat, and chicks make everything go out of my mind.

For Christmas Ron bought for me a game camera. We have moved it around the place and have taken some interesting pictures. This week we got some really good ones so I thought you might to see what we got the other night.

The first is our cat, catching what I think is a mouse. Socks is 18 years old and you would never know it. She still hunts and when I walk she walks like a little dog with me. She prefers Ron though and when he is out working she will be someplace close to him.

The next is the skunk invader. I thought for a game cam it took really clear photos. Every time we upload pictures there is always something interesting.

Here is the skunk.

 

You can see by the time stamp what time it is in the morning. Here is another one.

 

Hopefully we will get some more pictures. We have something that goes around out there and I have looked through every online and book I have of animal tracks and I have never found it. Its been here since we moved here and I would really like to see what kind of animal it is so hopefully we will get a picture of that. It comes around in the summer.

 

Today is Emilie's birthday.  Twenty-six years ago, I was sitting on the front porch watching the sun come up. I knew that I had given birth to the other three in the house, but for the life of me I knew I couldn't do it one more time. We had been in a 10 year drought then and it started raining as I was in labor, and Ron and I walked in the rain. We lived on a street, with lots of girls my age and I remember walking down the street in the rain and doors would open and women would stick their heads out and say, " Kim are you in labor?" Then they would shut the door against the rain that was coming down. It was a lovely day. It rained for 30 days straight then the drought was over. I thought that there is nothing better than new babies in the spring, or new chicks. It makes life just all the sweeter.

It is Saturday and I am the ranch hand and Ron is changing blades on the mower so I need to get out there and do my ranch hand stuff. His list of things he wants to get done today is longer than daylight we have.

Have a lovely day,
~Kim~

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
—Margaret Atwood

Happy March!!

 

Happy March! It looks like March will be coming in like a lamb today. Its chilly, but I know by the afternoon it will be a perfect day. Sunshine and no clouds. The birds have lost their minds. Twitterpated I believe is the word. We had frost last night so I won't be doing much seed planting yet. I am going to buy so many zinnia seeds this year. The chick fever is heavy on me. I went to Megan's house yesterday and watched her chicks. There is nothing that says spring like chicks. Megan has started a You Tube channel called Hollar Homestead.  Ben has made some very nice gardening beds and it is just a fun place to visit.

 

The almond tree is already getting leaves. I was driving yesterday and I couldn't believe how many trees already have leaves.

Would you like to see my His Eye is on the Sparrow? I sort of got overwhelmed by the amount I have left to do so I put it down to do something I could finish.

His Eye is on The Sparrow.

Pattern by Heartstring Samplery Design by Beth Twist.

I am on the fifth page finally. I really do love the whimsical animals. With spring though, I always exchange my needle and thread for a hula hoe.

Here is a little sampler I found in my stash. It is full of stitches I have never done before and I wanted to challenge myself.

A pattern by Blackbird designs---A sew along.

I never finished this when we were supposed to in a sew along. I decided I would finish it now. See those eyelet stitches? I am so glad I learned to do them.

 

I ended up really loving them. Just don't make a mistake because they are a bear to rip out. I made a few mistakes.💙

Here is a rug that I have on my standing frame Ron made for me. Its my own pattern I have done so many times but it is hooking and I love hooking and it is just background. I can hook and still talk to people. I hope to finish it up this week.

I changed the words on it from Feed My Sheep to The Lord is My Shepherd. I just love sheep.

After it warms up today, I am going to work getting my berries all weeded. Its so nice to be out in the sun and the fresh air and feeling the warming soil beneath my hands.

Have a lovely March First.

~Kim~

"The wind, the wild brave wind, has carried off the last of the ice and snow. How wonderful the ground looks! The sharp sunlight falls like a blade on the meadow grasses, on the brown lawn, on the huckleberry bushes in the swamp. All the browns are distinct and beautiful, and why are they different from the browns of autumn? Perhaps the new life under the bark, under the root, makes them more glowing. Perhaps it is the quality of March light, keen as an etching tool."  March---The Book of Stillmeadow, by Gladys Taber.