This is How...

...we know it's officially Spring...

1.  My lilacs are blooming!  I picked them yesterday and brought some inside.  My house now smells glorious.  And not glorious like a nice candle, glorious like a fresh flowers.  Incidentally, if they're cut from your yard, they are actually do smell even better!

2.  You've cleaned thought about cleaning your windows, and birds constantly fly into them, leaving  guts (sometimes) and/or feathers.  Then, they lay on the ground until either a cat gets them, your kids try to rescue them, or they get lucky and fly away.  The Girls tried to rescue this bird on Sunday night.  Got it a box and everything, put it in the garage.  After they had gone to bed, Auntie Frieda checked on the poor thing.  It was a goner.  So, we put it in the burn barrel (of course), where all the birds and/or chickens go to get cremated....

 3.  The chicken mansion is almost done!  We worked like dogs this weekend, and were able to move the chicks and turkeys in, but it's still not totally complete.  A bit trim needs to be put on outside, and some chicken wire and nesting boxes need to be put inside.  But soon.... At least the birds can go in their now, so they're not quite so crowded!  I'll be sure to put some pictures up once it's complete!

4.  You get a wicked tan line from wearing your bikini while gardening.  Don't worry - I won't post pictures of that! :-)   Did you ever see the Seinfeld where he talked about "Good naked and bad naked"?  Well, there's good bikini wearing and bad bikini wearing.  And the bad is me wearing mine, dripping in sweat while I pull out dandelions (HATE those things!!)  However, desperate times means desperate measures, and I must get some sun on this lily white northern skin of mine.  Thankfully, we live in the country!  And here's my fair warning.... if you stop by unannounced, you may be traumatized by such a site!  However, be brave, my friends....as soon as I see someone coming down the driveway, I will make a mad dash to garb myself!  And besides, we must have sweet tea together...

Just Another Day in Paradise

I did manage to drag my sorry butt outta bed this morning to go for a walk....and man, was I ever glad I did!  It was a beautiful morning!  The birds were singing, the sun was shining....you get the picture...

Once again, I was reminded how thankful I am for country living!  This is at a house a few miles from us.  It was beautiful to see the reflection on the pond early in the morning.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Weekend Project

This weekend, I made my life a little bit easier....I hope!  We decided to do a square foot garden this year instead of our traditional garden.  And let me tell you, I've jumped in with both feet!

For the last few years, my garden, although I love the fruits (or veggies!) of my labor, has been just that...labor!  The soil needs some help, I've got loads of thistle, and I just plain detest weeding!  Last year, a friend of mine did a square foot garden, and just raved about it.  So, we made the plunge.  Art sprayed our garden, and this week (if it ever stops raining!), I'm going to get a load of top soil delivered, spread it out and will plant grass over it.  Gasp!  It's true... I'm gonna do it!  But only because this weekend, I made these bad boys....

2 square foot gardens!  We all know I say me, but really, Art built them.  And then I stained them and mixed all the dirt and shoveled it all in....yes, me!

...and planted them!  I used the markers that the Girls made us for Christmas.  So now, it's raining...a lot (hopefully not to much for those little seeds), and we'll wait to see how this garden grows.  Yippee for less weeding....I hope!

Sweet Tea

Because I'm a wanna-be Southerner, I've always loved the idea of drinking sweet tea.  The reality, however, not so much.  Well, I've realized it's because I was making it wrong....and I have Paula Deen to thank!

I checked out her website, and got basic instructions on how to make it, with several variations, and I think I've struck a winner!  The only problem is that I may become addicted....

My love of the idea of sweet tea usually comes on every summer, but it started out (again) because I was coveting a very cute mason jar drink dispenser at Pottery Barn. I know, I know, coveting is a sin....but it was oh, so fun, and oh, so expensive!!  Then, when we were in Fairmont, we stopped in at the Home Hardware (I love Home Hardware, especially in small towns....you never know what you're gonna find there.  Case in point!), and in looking around the kitchen section, look what was beckoning me.  The exact same drink dispenser as they have at Pottery Barn.  Only for a 1/3 of the price.  Yippee for me!  So, I brought that bad boy home, made some sweet tea, and never looked back.

If you're in the neighborhood this summer, stop on by, and we can sit and have a chat and drink sweet tea together.  I'm pretty sure I'll always have some ready!



I Never Thought....

I never thought the day would come when we could all go for a bike ride together.  Every one riding their own two wheel bike.  No training wheels.  No falling.  No crying.  No walking beside the bike.  Well, the day arrived.  Finally!  It's only been 12 years....

This morning, we biked over to our neighbors house for the morning.... the Girls rode in front of me, and I almost cried!  It was an activity that has felt like forever coming, but it's here.  Yippee!!

 While at our neighbors, she put the sprinkler under the trampoline.  The Girls thought that was the funnest thing ever!  They loved it (except Ellie Mae), and all got soaked!  It definitely helped to cool them off!

I remember doing the same thing as a child, except the trampoline's we jumped on were orange giant pieces of rubber.  We'd also put dish soap on them....that made them slippery suckers!  I can't believe we didn't break any bones!  Anyhow, it was a great morning... and with the beautiful sunshine, it finally feels like summer!  Hooray for homeschooling!  Hooray that we're done!

Another New Project

Spring is the time for projects.  The weather is good, the bugs aren`t bad, and after a winter of being cooped up, we are ready to work!  Last year, one of our major projects was getting chickens.  They survived the winter, however, their laying has slowed down, so we thought we should think about replacing our layers.  Last week, we headed out to  the hatchery to pick up these wee babes!

We decided to make our flock a bit bigger this time, so we got 20 laying birds.  We also thought we`d try our hand at raising some broilers, so we got 20 of those as well.  Lastly, I really, really, really wanted to try to raise a few turkeys.  We bought 2 to try them out...

Here they are.  We named them Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We`ll see how that goes... But they are awfully cute!

After making it through the winter, and expanding our flock, we also realized that it would be great to have a bigger chicken house.  Hence, our next new project...

A chicken mansion!  We had friends that got chickens for the first time, so the guys got together, and worked their butts off all weekend and built not one, but 2 of these bad boys!  They got them framed, the walls on, and the roof done.  They worked really hard, and got lots accomplished!  On Sunday, Art was just finishing up the roof...well, Art and I.  I did help, you know.  Really!  I cut shingles for them, all afternoon.  I should be a roofer`s assistant....not!  Anyhow, Art stopped for a little break and we went up on the roof to have a drink with him.  It was a pretty nice view from up there.  And no one even fell off (not then....Art did fall off the roof flat on his back earlier in the  weekend....thank goodness he was not injured!) 

There`s still lots to do, but at least the really hard manually work is done... the rest we can do together.  I am looking forward to seeing the chicken mansion completed....hopefully soon!  The chickens are outgrowing their box!

Morning Walks

Last Spring, I got into the habit of early morning walks.  It was new for me, and I came to really love the time alone, walking, in the early morning.  It's quiet.  I have no little ladies asking me for anything.  Just me.  And God.  Hanging Out.  And working on toning my butt... :-)

Well, I started out my morning walks again in the last few weeks, and it's been wonderful! I've tried to take a few pictures here and there, but it never seems to do it justice, to capture the quiet.  The dew.  The morning sun.  Now, things are (finally!) starting to green up here, so I grabbed a few photos on my way this morning....

 

I love the green hue of the trees at this time of the year!

Art mowed the lawn for the first time of the season...the yard work has begun!

Lulu

Meet Lulu

Lulu is a cow/horse (gives a whole new meaning to a cow horse, don't ya think?).  Lulu the horse is great with kids....

Very quiet....

And loves to play!

She only occasionally bucks them off!

Lulu the cow is also very quiet.... she just stands while the Girls try to rope her!

...and with lots of practice, they're getting pretty good!

Lulu has become a well loved part of our family.  She gets introduced to everyone who comes over, and most kids will even ride her.  We love Lulu!

Good Golly, Miss Molly!

It's been a week of birthdays at our house.  On Monday, it was my birthday.  I had a great day of some alone time, some time with family and friends, and it ended off with Art and I heading out to the barn for a ride...a pretty near perfect day!

Today, it's Miss Molly's birthday.  She turns 7.  Oh my!  I always say she is my mini-me.  She reminds me so much of myself, in some ways.  Heaven help us all!  She loves to laugh and joke around, is always smiling, loves her sleep, loves to help me do anything, and is my little cuddle bug.  She loves playing with her Schlieck animals, Polly pockets, reading...anything, really.  She also loves little kids.  If we have friends over with little(r) ones, she will often be found, walking around with them and talking to them.  She loves going to the barn and playing with the animals here at home.  She's becoming quite the little cowgirl, and just this week, started loping during her horse back riding lesson, with a HUGE smile on her face!  Happy Birthday, Miss Molly! 

Signs of Life

We were working outside this weekend, and I took a quick walk through my garden to see if anything was springing it's head yet.  Along with many weeds, I did find some signs of life, springing up from the ground!

This time of year almost feels like Christmas...you never know what you're going to find when you take a walk outside.  What plant will makes it's spring appearance today?

I also noticed that my tulips had started to poke their heads....ahhh, Spring!  It's God's gift to us for making it through another cold winter in the great, white North!