All posts by ruthsoaper

Wordless Wednesday -A Memorial Day Tribute

I forgot to take pictures this week for my wordless Wednesday post so I decided to be a little wordy. 🙂

Monday was Memorial Day here in the U.S.A.. It’s the Day we remember those military Men and Women who lost their lives serving our country. Today I want to pay tribute to what the U.S. Department of Defense refers to as Four-Legged-Fighters. “Dogs didn’t have an official role in the U.S. military until the creation of the Army K-9 Corps in 1942. But they’ve joined American troops in battle since the nation’s earliest days, and many are still remembered today for their acts of canine courage.” (Click the above link to learn more about our military working dogs.)

Click here to learn more about the Memorial Working Dog Teams Monument located at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland in Texas.

Thanks for visiting.

Monthly Inspiration

Earlier than I expected, the trilliums are blossoming.

Hello and Welcome! For our monthly inspiration I have chosen some simple words of wisdom from Mother Teresa.

Do you want to be great? Pick up a broom and sweep the floor. ~ Mother Teresa

We will never know how much just a simple smile will do. ~ Mother Teresa

My secret is simple — I pray. ~ Mother Teresa

Thanks for visiting.

Spring Bouquet

I think it was our first fall at the farm when I planted a bunch of tulip bulbs in the area that has since become our prayer garden. I remember arriving at the farm one morning the following spring and being delighted that several of the tulips were blossoming. They were so pretty. Later that day when we returned for our afternoon walk all of the pretty blossoms were missing and all that remained were the stems and the leaves. I wanted to cry. Thus began our love-hate relationship with deer.

Our First Tulips

After fencing the farm two years ago and then fencing in the prayer garden last year, we thought it might just be safe to plant tulips. We planted 4.

The first one to open was red. I thought this fitting since the red tulip is a symbol for Parkinsons Disease awareness and April is Parkinsons Awareness month.

The yellow one opened one day later.

And a second red one opened today. I expect the last one will open tomorrow. It looks like it will be another red one.

White hyacinth with mini daffodils.

Peach Tree

We planted a peach tree last year and it was doing well this spring

Peach Tree

so, we decided to plant a second one. Both are blossoming. It would be nice to pick a few peaches in August.

Forsythia

Lots of Daffodils
Sweet Cherry Tree

We planted three sweet cherry trees last year.

Sweet Cherry Tree

The above two have nice blossoms. I would be thrilled to pick a handful of sweet cherries this year.

A honeybee enjoying the dandelions. We lost our bees over the winter and decided not to start a new hive this year so it’s nice to know there are still bees in the area.

A wildflower that popped up and I am still trying to identify. If you know what it is, please tell me in the comments section.

My husband found the killdeer sitting on her nest. There are four eggs in the nest. She is very camouflaged. Can you see her? (Look in the foreground.) He marked the area with the yellow flag so we remember to stay away from it.

Thanks for visiting! What’s blossoming in your area?

Planting Potatoes and Happy Chickens

We planted potatoes on Tuesday. It was a beautiful spring day.

The chickens love the freshly worked soil. Lots of bugs, grubs and worms. Yum!

My husband tilled the area then measured, marked and dug the furrows. Then I placed the potatoes in the rows. He came back later and covered the potatoes with soil. Before leaving we fenced in the area so the chickens couldn’t scratch up the seedlings. There are plenty of other things around to keep the chickens happy. We planted about 160 row feet of potatoes.

Chickens don’t spend all of their time scratching and pecking. They also like to dust bathe as these girls were doing. Dust baths are actually how chickens clean themselves. It sounds counterproductive but it works for them.

Rex is our only rooster – I think that makes him happy.

Chickens, chickens everywhere!

Made From Scratch 🙂

Happy chickens give the best eggs. We are getting about 15 -17 eggs a day right now – that makes me happy.

Thanks for visiting.