September MJF post is up!

 

and it’s all about preserving the harvest..

just click here to catch up with all the farmgirl bloggers! 

a break in the weather!

Happy Wednesday, and yay, a break in the heat, humidity, and endless string of rainless days!

We've had sunrises that are lovely,

beautiful sunsets that signaled an end to a scorching day,

and thankful twilight time...when there was finally some relief from the heat.

During the days we've seen the change of seasons
around us...

field corn is just about dry,

neighbors are harvesting,

and friends have stacked firewood.

Kittens are growing (and always hungry!)

and every outing means a visit to say "hi" to friendly cows who can be found grazing happily at a nearby farm.

A quick trip to town last night and I spied the prettiest silhouettes of a windmill,

and barn.

And on the way home, the skies became dark & cloudy, and finally we received much-needed rain!

Next time I'll share photos of the living history farm we visited (had a little trouble uploading photos this morning) and a new picture of Bailey.

Yes, she has the all-clear and is heartworm free! While they'll retest in a few months, for now all looks good and she's LOVING her freedom to run, jump, and play again! 

It's been a long 4 months of "house arrest" as we called it, and while lounging around in a darkened room watching relaxing, anti-anxiety videos for dogs (so glad there even is such a thing) was nice I'm sure, I know she's so happy to be back to her regular routine.

Thanks so much to all of you who sent her good wishes and asked how she was doing...it means a lot.

Enjoy the day friends, I'm off to continue to deep clean the basement (doesn't that sound FUN?)

a note to say hi!

As I write, it's 87 degrees at 5 pm...too hot for me, and too hot for mid September! We've been teased with a few cooler days and nights, but Mother Nature always bounces back to that summertime heat. 

I am ready for it to be over! Ready for cozy sweatshirts and bonfires, crackling fires and bowls of chili, chocolaty cocoa and quilts. Secretly wishing for a long, brisk autumn and a cold, snowy winter that lasts until March!

Today I'm sharing a few snapshots of what the typical days have been like lately...the little happenings in my corner of the world and the days as I see them.

beautiful sunsets,

that brought forecasts of upper 30's overnight...

never, ever have I covered veggies in the garden! 

but I couldn't let the huge, volunteer pumpkins 

and watermelons freeze, 

or the Swiss Chard (I gave up on lettuce a couple of years ago, so tired of it bolting before I could get to it. While lots of people cook Swiss Chard, for me, it's the perfect lettuce replacement. It grows 2 feet tall and never bolts.

flowers are cheery alongside the coop,

and the kittens are growing!

this is TOO hot, 

and of course, it falls on canning day!

I bought this a couple of years ago, I just didn't want my 1950 Hotpoint stove cooking all day long...didn't think it would be good for her. I can't say enough, it's a great little canner. Then out came the pressure canner...why yes, the kitchen did look like a cyclone came blowing through.

pizza sauce, pasta sauce, tomato juice, salsa...first wave.

harvest happening all around

I tagged along as my daughter went to a concert a bit north of us, afterward, we spent the night at an Airbnb...pizza, episdoes of Dr. Who, and face masks, all with our feet up...a fun girls overnight getaway! Before coming home, we visited a living history farm, LOVED it, could move right into any of the buildings, I found lots of inspiration for decorating this old house,

and for trying new skills on my wish list

I'll give you a little tour next post, just in case there are a few kindred spirits out there...old-fashioned souls like me. 

The farm had terrific ideas for me to bring home...buildings were filled with antiques, a wool spinner who was kind enough to let me take a turn at her great wheel (huzzah!), heritage sheep, happy hens, flower gardens, and such wonderful history. 

Well, that's it for now...I try to keep Sunday a quiet day, so I'm going to make a few brownies and start a new book. 

Bailey has her heartworm check-up tomorrow morning...wish us luck. She looks good, seems to feel really good, and I can tell she's anxious to get outside again to run, jump, and play! 

She gets lots of TLC, and I can highly recommend the stuffed pig from IKEA as the perfect snuggle toy!

(and my son’s toes peeking out from under the blanket - not Bailey’s 😂 thanks Robin - still laughing!)

Have a good week, friends.

 

August MJF* post is up!

 

 

Just click here: ➡️  Rural Farmgirl

(*MaryJanesFarm)

short & sweet...

I'm two days late for National Dog Day...but with the most recent post rant still on my mind, I had to share this:

souce:Google

I'll get a jump on World Animal Day, October 4

and National Cat Day, October 29th.

Lastly, 

National Animal Rescue Day was May 20th and
World Stray Animal Day, April 4th

fill in the blank with any critter!

A quote worth remembering...be worthy of their devotion.

 

what’s 4 more?

Good Monday morning! Time for a quick catch-up and yes, a rant. 

The weather lately has been such a relief. Cool days and even cooler nights certainly make the days spent outdoors much more pleasant. 

Today the weather turns back to typical August with several days predicted to be in the mid-90”s. And so it goes - what is that old saying?  Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!

Bailey has had her last her injection for heartworm and will be retested in a month - she’s doing well, looking well, and can brag about two stylish shaving spots on her back.

Each morning Nelly comes running to greet her and they walk side-by-side  This warms my heart, Bailey and Azzie were always snuggled together, I’m hoping that she will find in Nelly another friend to curl up with. 

Daisy- you had asked to see pictures of the gals putting together their own shop after the antique Mercantile closed in town. I just took a couple, but it was filled with terrific things!  It’s in a little building next to one of their homes, and I’m hoping they do well. 

August means back to school here, even for college students – so a couple of weeks were spent sorting, packing, and getting ready for university studies. After their sophomore year, students are no longer permitted to live on campus, so my son is sharing a house close to campus with friends. That brings changes - parents could be found moving in furniture, appliances, silverware, dishes, food, and other odds and ends to make them comfortable. We tried to squeeze in fun as well – before loading up the car, we had our traditional first day of school breakfast - McGriddles from McDonald’s!  

We’ve been doing this since elementary school-some things never change. And I’m glad. 

Got him settled in, hugged goodbye, fought back the tears (at least until I drove away) and then made a necessary trip here for a Pink Drink. 

So now it’s back to getting caught up-today I’m making pizza sauce to can and there’s still trips to Goodwill to make from the basement cleaning. 

Now about that rant-

Believe me when I say i know there are a multitude of reasons that people have in their minds - 

Life changes, financial, allergies, impulse buying, escalating cost of care - I get it, but for the life of me, I will never understand why people dump animals alongside the road.

In the many years that we’ve been on the farm, there have been 4 dogs and too many cats to count that have found their way into our lives. My philosophy has always been they are more than welcome to stay: spay and neuter, provide food, shelter and love. For years, the joke has been, “What’s  one more?!”

Sometimes I wonder how they find us, have they been wandering, or did someone leave them here intentionally knowing what my philosophy is. And that’s OK too - although I certainly wish someone would secretly drop off a jersey cow, mini horse or donkey! 

And so my point is-look at this face - 

My daughter and I were on our way into town, when we saw a little black “something” in the road – at first I thought it was a black squirrel - but slowing down, we found that it was a black kitten. We pulled over picked it up walked to the nearest house to make sure someone hadn’t lost it. No one claimed him, then, walking back to the car, three more popped out of the soybean field! We checked a couple of more houses, and then scooped them up and brought them home. Maybe 5 or 6 weeks old – I doubt they would’ve survived long on their own. 

What’s 4 more?!

So now we hear the happy chatter of kittens always ready for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and being quite vocal about it, but also the cutest little bundles of fur! When they’re old enough, they will be spayed and neutered and join Kipper, Nelly, Tinker Bell, and Barnum as part of the gaggle of barn cats that call this home. 

Here’s the thing, and certainly only my personal opinion:

Dumping an animal is absolutely heartbreaking, cruel, and unnecessary. I will never understand what kind of a heartless person thinks that is OK to do. To leave an animal by the side of the road, unprotected, scared, alone, and then to drive off, not giving them a second thought. Pets are not meant to be tossed away when they have lost their cuteness or when they need a little extra care as they age.

There are so many ways to rehome a pet: ask friends and neighbors, stop in and speak to someone at a vet clinic, ask at a humane, no euthanize shelter, put an ad in the paper, advertise on a neighborhood app, check with people at work. 

And so that is my rant for the day – shaking my head, I will never, ever understand. 

Rant concluded. If you’re still reading, thanks for letting me vent. 

Now it’s time for me to start making that pizza sauce and there are Fuji apples that need picking!

 

this & that…

After days of sweltering, yes I’d even call it miserable, August weather, (but remember, I’m not a summer gal) today there was a welcome change. It was practically perfect - a cool northerly breeze, low humidity, 70 degrees - Huzzah!

Source: Google

I took advantage of this break in the weather and  spent the morning outside, and for the first time in weeks I didn’t feel like I was moving in slow motion. I even tested bread recipes, so happy it wasn’t too hot to have the oven on!

And so here’s a little Tuesday chit-chat about this and that…

After a very late start thanks to tiller troubles, the garden is finally coming along…

Flowers are in bloom…

(I forgot about this geranium
I’d overwintered in the basement -
 just discovered it - wow - are they tenacious or what?!)

The skies have been striking…I had to pull over to the side of the road and capture this:

With the promise of rain,

finally! 

Gotta love a volunteer tomato plant! I’m thrilled because I loved this Black Cherry plant last summer, but couldn’t find any starts this year. I’ll be keeping seeds this time!

A favorite antique/vintage shop sadly closed - the owner of the building was driving the rent up too high for vendors to stay in business. It’s been in a nearby little town for probably 30 years…such a shame.

I stopped in to say goodbye to the ladies who ran the store, and I picked up some graniteware pie pans I’d had my eyes on. I also took one more look at the dough bowl/trencher I’ve been wishing would go on sale for a couple of years. No one knew its history, and while it had a very old looking metal patch, in this clever world with so many excellent reproductions, I couldn’t be sure if it was even old. 

Well, since they were packing up it was now or never, so I decided to ask. The price was dropped 70% - one less thing to move I was told. So I decided it was coming with me. 

Janice - you’ll be the expert - no one knew its  backstory - did I get an antique? It looked and felt so dry that I gave it a coating of hemp oil - food safe, but with a matte finish. I didn’t want it to look shiny and new. 

I want to be able to safely use it and keep it from drying out. Any old yellowware bowl, butter churn, oil lamp, even my reflector oven/tin kitchen gets used (oh, some of the best roast turkey!) I’m gentle with them, but I want to keep their history alive. 

Here’s the before:

A close up of the patch:

And of some markings on the side:

Here it is after I oiled it:

Old? New?  No worries - either way you’ll find me living out my Laura Ingalls dreams while making bread. It’ll be great for those recipes that make multiple loaves…quick, where’s my apron?!