Some of my blogging friends do “Wordless Wednesday” posts (just pictures) and today I decided to join them. I hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any questions about them just leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to answer.
Thanks for visiting.
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.
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.
We planted a peach tree last year and it was doing well this spring
so, we decided to plant a second one. Both are blossoming. It would be nice to pick a few peaches in August.
We planted three sweet cherry trees last year.
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?
Hello and welcome! Spring has been very gradual in getting here this year. It seems like we go two steps forward then one step back. No quick warm up this year. I suppose the slow warm up is good in some ways – it means that trees and plants are slow to bud thus reducing the chances of fruit trees being hit by late season frost/freeze. We have had some rain as well but so far nothing extreme. There have been a few outdoors chores that I have been able to get done, but while I’m waiting for gardening and grass cutting season to arrive, I have had spring cleaning (indoors) and some other projects to keep me busy.
A few weeks ago, my sister told me that her husband wanted to go back to using natural soap. She asked if I would make them a batch. Of course I was happy to do it. When I asked what kind of soap she wanted, she asked for “the shaving soap” or aloe soap which makes a really nice soap for shaving. So, on April 1st I made a double batch of aloe soap. I want some to keep for us.
The above picture is the soap in the molds after several hours. The outer edges are hardening but the center is still a thick liquid. It was in the mold for about 30 hours before it was hard enough to remove. It will be a couple more weeks before this soap is ready to use but I am looking forward to it. I haven’t made this soap in a few years.
Below is my recipe for any soap makers who might be reading.
Aloe Soap Recipe
This recipe is a large batch – 32 bars of soap. It could be halved or quartered to make smaller a batch.
40 oz. Coconut Oil
70 oz. Sunflower Oil
8 oz. Olive Oil
16.95 oz. Lye (NaOH)
45 oz. Water
about 1/4 cup – Aloe Juice (Scrape out inside of aloe leaves and blend in small blender) added at trace.
For soap making instructions see my Soap Making Page.
When I realized we only had one jar of strawberry jar left in the pantry I decided it was time make some more since strawberry is both my favorite and my husband’s favorite. Fortunately, I still had three packages of strawberries in the freezer.
We should now have more than enough jam to last until this year’s strawberries are ready. My husband has worked hard on the strawberry patch, so we are hoping and praying for a great crop this year.
In a previous post I mentioned that I was making an afghan to donate to the humane society for a raffle.
I completed that project. It’s difficult to see in the photo but the puppy paws print run through the burgundy stripes as well.
I then began a new project.
This is a cat pattern that I have not made before. Can you see the cats? I began making this using some partial skeins of yarn that I have. I really just wanted to learn the pattern. I’m not sure yet if it will be a small blanket or a pillow.
At last, the daffodils are blooming.
Forsythia just beginning to bloom.
I finally got a picture of a killdeer. Rarely have I seen one stand still long enough to get a photo. This one was unusual because it was all alone. Usually there are a pair in the area. I did a little research and learned that migratory killdeer will generally mate for a season and males usually return to the same area each year. They may mate with the same female as the previous year. Non-migratory killdeer may mate for life. So, I wonder, since I didn’t see it’s mate in the area, if it is yet to find a mate for this season.
Our hens like to roost in the lower branches of the spruce trees. I thought it was a picture worth sharing. 🙂
The weather is supposed to be warmer this week, and my husband plans to get potatoes planted. As for me I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself cutting grass for the first time this year.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Over Easter weekend we had beautiful spring weather and throughout the week, that has followed, it seems that the weather has just gotten nicer each day.
On Easter Sunday, when we went out to the farm, I wore jeans and a jacket over my long-sleeved shirt, each day I have found it necessary to wear lighter clothing until yesterday, and again today, I have broken out my summer wardrobe and am wearing shorts with a tank top and enjoying soaking up that long-awaited sunshine.
Let’s take a look at what’s been happening at the farm this week.
For about the past three weeks my husband has been working on fencing in the entire farm. It’s a huge undertaking as the 7.6-acre farm measures 1000 ft (304.8 m) by 330 ft (100.5 m). When it is all done he will have pounded in more than 260 fence posts and strung more than 2600 feet (792.48 m) of fence.
The small fence posts in the above picture line the east side of our back field. He has the entire back field fenced at this point and is working diligently on completing the front of the property.
In the above picture the fence lines the front of our property on the west side. When this project is complete we will no longer have to worry about Ranger and Ruby and even the chickens wandering onto neighboring property or into the road. It will take a large load off our minds.
There seems to be an abundance of robins this spring. Some of them have even sat still for pictures.
The fence in the above picture which had enclosed the main garden area is also being removed.
The pond level is up from last fall but it has yet to overflow like it does most years in the spring.
Ruby did not hesitate to get her feet wet as she enjoyed a cool drink from the pond.
Things are beginning to green up. I’m sure the thunderstorms we had last week helped.
Tuesday the weather really warmed up so we were able to move the chicks to the farm.
My husband set up their chicken wire enclosure. He designed it so they have access to the coop through the small door with hopes that they will learn to go in the coop at night.
He also put up a divider inside to coop so they do not have access to the big door.
I bet you’re not surprised to see Ranger watching the babies.
Like robins, we have an abundance of red winged blackbirds.
Some of them posed for pictures as well.
I also got a rare picture of a kildeer that was hanging around near the beach before Ruby chased it off.
The garlic that we planted last fall is coming up nicely.
As I looked up to see if the maple trees were getting leaves yet I noticed what appears to be a Baltimore oriole nest. It seems too early to be a nest build this year, so I am assuming it was from last year or maybe even the year before.
I only say “the year before” because I noticed a second one in the same tree. I don’t know how likely it is that two pair of orioles would nest in the same tree.
Some of the chickens had wandered into the field next door. This won’t be a problem once the fence is complete and it really isn’t a problem now because that neighbor doesn’t mind.
But Ruby thought it was a problem
and took it upon herself to bring them all back home.
She really does have amazing herding instincts and skills. If you have ever tried herding chickens you understand how difficult it can be. It took her less than two minutes to round up eight hens and bring them back over to our farm.
The chicks are doing well at the farm, feathering out nicely, learning to forage
and maybe even learning to get back into the coop.
It was a great day to be in the pond, at least the dogs thought so.
Ruby discovered the (bullfrog) tadpoles and has now become obsessed with watching for them and trying to catch them. I suspect she will spend a lot of time there this summer.
Ranger just wanted to go for a swim to cool off.
When deciding to put up the fence my husband and I discussed the likelihood that the wildlife presence on our farm would be altered. Not necessarily a bad thing. While deer, fox, racoons and other animals can get over the fence it’s hard to say whether they will or not. I suppose it depends on what there is to motivate them to do so.
However, I never considered that the fence might be a problem for a pheasant. Pheasants can fly and could easily sail right over the fence.
This male ringed-neck pheasant was very confused and spent several hours trying to find an opening in the fence.
Eventually Ruby spotted him. I’m not sure if he flew or ran when she chased him but I think she did him a favor as he did clear out of the area. Hopefully he found a different route home.
I’ll leave you with a slide show of flowers that are blossoming at the farm. Among them are daffodils, forsythia (beginning to open), and primrose.
Thanks for visiting.
It’s an early spring here in Michigan. This week my husband noticed asparagus shoots popping up. I didn’t get any photos of it but I wanted to give a heads up to anyone living in our area who grows asparagus or hunts wild asparagus to watch for it. As I looked back over previous posts I noticed that in the past few years our asparagus has started coming around the last week of April or the first week in May so it’s two to three weeks early this year. I didn’t want anyone to miss out.
I did, however, get lots of photos of daffodils and some others things that are blossoming.
There is so much to love about daffodils.
They are a reliable, low maintenance, perennial.
They will grow in full sun
or wooded, wet, shady areas.
An early bloomer, they come in a variety of shades that say “Welcome to Spring”.
They also vary in size.
They continue to multiply each year so eventually they may need to be thinned by digging some up. The best time to dig the bulbs is in the fall. They can then be transplanted or given to friends.
They grow in harmony with other plants so keeping the area weed free is not really necessary.
We didn’t wait until fall to transplant these. Instead we dug them with a good size root ball (keeping the soil surrounding the roots/bulbs intact). We then dug a hole large enough for the entire root ball, placed the plant in the soil and filled in around it. You can see they brought some of their companions (mayapples) along with them.
Last but not least they top the list of being deer and rabbit resistant.
It’s kind of hidden amongst other plants but my primrose has more blossoms this year than it has since I first planted it. I am so happy with it that yesterday I picked up two more of these plants (one with purple blossoms and one with yellow) to keep this one company. (I should not be trusted in a store that sells garden plants. LOL!)
The forsythia have been in full boom for over a week now. It seems they are much earlier than last year because when I looked back through my photos my album from April 20, 2020 has photos of them beginning to blossom.
They create an impressive array as the backdrop for the pond. From a distance neighbors and passers-by enjoy the blast of color amidst the greens and browns that monopolize the landscape this time of year.
But walking along the berm surrounded by these brilliant yellow blossoms is an experience to behold. It felt like a natural high with my husband using the term uplifting to describe it while I found it breathtaking.
The cherry tree next to our deck began blossoming the week and while it’s delightful to see it is way too early. With snow and freezing temperatures in the forecast for next week we can expect a less than optimal cherry crop this year. I’m not ready to write it off completely though. I will hold out hope for a least one homemade cherry pie or crisp. 🙂
Thanks for visiting. What’s blooming in your area?
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 