MaryJane’s Farm post…

A quick note to let you know that the June post at MaryJane’s Farm is up - swing by if you find the time…just click the link below! 

Rural Farmgirl

when it rains, it pours…

The last few weeks have been higgledy-piggledy, topsy-turvy, willy-nilly, and all over the place. 

The weather has been sublime - sunny, cool, breezy, absolutely perfect. And that’s from a gal who doesn’t like to see a day over 70 degrees. 

The strawberries are delicious, 

the flowers are blooming,

and Sunday evening drives found us discovering some striking farm scenes.

We celebrated my son’s wonderful college graduation - yay, with honors!

And I planted a little tea “garden” by the back door in an old urn…lavender, chamomile, and mint: black currant and berries & cream.

Heavy rains have kept the garden patch so wet I couldn’t till until this past weekend - I’m running behind, but hoping to get everything planted this week. 

So this all sounds good; right?  All I have to say is bad luck better not come in 3’s!  Settle in friends, this is a chatty post.

#1 - a couple of weeks ago my son came rushing downstairs and said; “I think a pipe burst!”

I’d like to be able to tell you cooler heads prevailed - but nope. I thought I’d find a leaking pipe under the upstairs bathroom sink. But oh no - I came into the foyer and found water POURING from the ceiling light fixture:

Trust me, the photo doesn’t capture the reality of it. I barked out instructions to grab towels and trash cans while I ran to turn off the electricity and the water line.  The mess was cleaned up, the electrical circuit to that area is off, and I’ve been letting things dry out before calling an electrician to check the wiring. A plumber solved the problem easily - evidently, there was an out of sight  leaking pipe under the sink. He said when water goes under a floor it flows to the lowest spot which would’ve been that ceiling fixture below. I’m just incredibly grateful he didn’t have to tear up the bathroom floor. I’m saving for a new bathroom. This one is hideous - pink fixtures anyone?? But I would’ve been very upset for someone to tell me they had to put in a new floor in a ghastly bathroom. 

#2 - storms came rolling through Saturday. That’s not unusual this time of year, so the prep work was done. However, the storm came in fast and furious. It went from ominous skies,

to a thunderstorm with 60 mile-an-hour winds blowing horizontally, and then the power went out  

After the rain had stopped, I found a large tree limb had fallen in the road. I ran out and put orange cones on each side of it so drivers would know ahead of time, and then I came back inside and started making calls. There were power lines and trees down all over town - no one could come right away. And after all, it was a Saturday - I get it. 

Then out of the blue I hear a chainsaw - and bless his heart it was our 84-year old neighbor from down the road! He’s cutting limbs and I’m moving debris as cars are turning around to avoid the mess. And yes I’m grumbling inside my mind - if only a few more souls would stop to lend a hand this would be done quickly…grrr. 

Then a truck stopped, and then another, and soon the 4 of us had it cleared and the road opened - yay! Not long afterward a township trustee came by to shift a limb that was too big to cut and said they’d be back in a few days to clear it up and cut everything into firewood. Happy dance! So grateful to those who took the time to help out - truly, old-fashioned community spirit.  

The generator was started and we picked up pizza for dinner. In about 20 hours the power came back on.  

And so it goes - I need to remember that limb could have fallen the other direction and taken out my “hideodious” bathroom - as well as a few other rooms.  As Scarlett O’Hara said, “Tomorrow is another day.” After all, hummingbirds are visiting, we just saw a stunning blue moon, and tonight I glimpsed the first firefly of the season. Absolutely magical.

Hmmm, best for me to remember:

(Courtesy of southernliving.com)

A quick hello!

There are not enough hours in the day. There, I’ve said it, and I firmly stand behind it.  I have a love-hate relationship with spring. 

I love the perennials that are returning with a burst of color:

I love the simple little pops of wildflowers along the roadside:

I’m amazed that in what seems like no time at all we can go from this, 

to this. 

The hate? Well it begins with the relentless fight against ferocious, tenacious, vigorous weeds holding hands with poison ivy. 

It moves on to fallen limbs from winter storms that are tossed where the veggie garden will be - the safest place to burn said limbs. And moves from there to the rain, rain, rain which keeps the wood too wet to burn, but gives the weeds a reason to do a happy dance around the limbs.

Which are now surrounded by a beautiful patch of cornflowers. Where they came from I have no idea and now I’ll wrestle with the guilt of tearing them out of the VEGGIE garden. Ugh - maybe I’ll just plant around them. That could look nice, right? 

And there friends, is my rant for the day. I’m off for a bite of chocolate-the eternal cure all!  Tonight I’ll catch up on your posts after enjoying a movie with my daughter-a happy way to end the week. 

Oh and one more thing, for those of you who may remember this gal - I’m at my wit’s end…

Courtesy of Google

Grand Jeté in reverse...

Ahhh yes, sometimes, just sometimes, accidents happen. No rhyme, no reason, simply a random act of the universe.

This is the latest, trendy look my daughter is sporting this Spring season:

A highly fashionable, yet often uncomfortable, boot to aid the healing of "a Weber B non-displaced, spiral fracture to the fibula."

I don't allow anyone to tell me ballet isn't a sport...at least not without a dirty look and a strongly worded response. 

She was incredibly fortunate to avoid surgery, and now the recovery begins. After three weeks, she's quite the pro at using crutches! The estimate is perhaps a year until she's fully recovered. Sadly, she was anxiously looking forward to a summer with The Boston Ballet as an RA, so this comes as a huge disappointment. And so we'll be doing our best to fill the weeks with as many mother/daughter "ankle safe activities" as possible to chase off cabin fever. 

The geraniums I stored in the basement over winter are blooming and ready to enjoy some sunshine! But not just yet...I'm still waiting for the first "safe" period to plant flowers. And while we generally would be good to do so next week, there are temperatures still estimated to be in the 30's at night. 

And so, the days are filled with the chores of Spring...pruning, weeding, raking, tossing fallen limbs on a burn pile, and looking at a long list of things that need tending to. 

However; this weekend is my son’s university graduation! Oh my, where did 4 years go? It's an outdoor ceremony, and the prediction is possible rain...packing raincoats and umbrellas just in case. Because photos afterward may find us looking a little bit bedraggled, I will share this one with you...Mother's Day last year. 

They make my heart happy and make me laugh. I couldn't ask for more.

Time to wrap up here, the to-do list is calling!  If you find time to swing by, the May post for MaryJane's Farm just went up last night. 

Here's a quick link:

Rural Farmgirl Post-MaryJane's Farm

Have a wonderful weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all!

a bit of color…new MJF post

 

There’s finally a bit of color in the Midwest!

Bleeding hearts, 

Violets, 

Dandelions, 

And Poppy’s eyes - no filter!

She’s a constant companion when I’m outside. But then, they all are - the 4 kittens someone discarded by the side of the road, the 1 we bottle-fed when he was abandoned, the 2 we already had, and 1 who comes & goes. Yep that’s 8 barn cats - oh well, what else are farms and barns for? Everyone needs a home! 

(Photo by my daughter)

 

Storms are still brewing here - we unknowingly drove through a tornado warning Tuesday - no alerts, no alarms. Home safe and all was well. 

And with that weather report, I’m sharing a link to my latest MaryJanesFarm post - it’s all about how we prep for these spring and summer storms - so far, they’ve been unbelievable! 

Rural Farmgirl

a catch-up…

I’ve been spending this afternoon reading how everyone has been enjoying these early days of spring…and while I don’t have blossoms to show (there are, however, oodles of dandelions!) I thought I’d share a little catch up on what’s been happening here. 

I’m a firm believer that we’re never too old for an Easter basket.

We had all of the traditional foods, and have been enjoying leftovers throughout the week - yay!

This candle always comes out for Valentine’s Day and Easter - would you believe it’s from my daughter’s first birthday celebration? She’s 25 now! It’s an amazing candle that burns very slowly, but I also don’t let it burn endlessly, I want to keep it special. 

We’ve taken springtime drives to enjoy farms along the back roads (a little side eye from this fella)

and met a new friend along the way. 

While I have definitely put the tatting project off to the side, I thought I’d share some more squares from the large cross-stitch piece that I purchased years ago: May, June, July, and August:

I wish I could say I did these myself; however, I absolutely don’t have the patience. My lot in life is to admire and appreciate the patience and artistry that others have for stitching/hooking/sewing.

The stained embroidery pieces that I found in the barn are now soaking…hopefully some of the stains will lighten (thanks for your suggestions!) If not, I will simply fold them creatively so I can still appreciate their beauty.

As the saying goes, that’s all from my neck of the woods. I’m curled up with Bailey and my favorite gardening books looking for inspiration and wondering what I will put in place of my now flat-as-a-pancake door arbor :(

Enjoy your week friends!

time flies..

How can it be almost April? It never ceases to amaze me that before I know it, it’s already the weekend.

This past week was a week of simple pleasures - doing my best to enjoy (as Gandalf/Tolkien would say) “…the time that is given us”

A birthday for me,

and remembering just how fun it is skipping rocks with my daughter at the lake - she was the champion!

Cold and breezy, we were wearing our winter coats, but it was such a fun morning…accidentally captured our shadows while taking pictures! 

Then, when the temperatures swing from 19 to 77 in March, it’s never a good sign. One day, it was a blinding snowstorm, the next, windows were open to let in the warm breezes. And sure enough, that drastic temperature change means:

And so off to the basement we went - pillows, blankets, important papers, and of course Bailey, who was not budging and quite literally had to be carried downstairs. We were only tucked in about an hour, and while all is well, we laughed sitting there, looking around wondering just how safe a 162 year-old basement actually is in a house supported by tree trunks! 

Yesterday there was time for a little Easter decorating,

lighting a lilac candle - my favorite fragrance, 

and thinking of Spring.

Then, after a little evening drive, we saw this:

 Amazing.

So that’s a peek at our week - and here we go again, a fresh new start is at our doorsteps just waiting for us - time to make “every day” days special, and special days nothing short of extraordinary! 

Friday folly …

Four completely random questions that crossed my mind this morning…

1 - Do hockey fans know that Script Ohio can be achieved on ice? (Yes, yes proud mom here).

It can (cleats are a must) and it’s amazing! Today the OSU band is off to perform at The NCAA Frozen Four…good luck!

(Photo: OSU Athletic Band Facebook Page)

2 - Is there any reason this must be categorized as “GRAY hair?”  I just renewed my drivers license.

Grrrrr -  I know, it’s silly, but why is “salt & pepper” not an option?! (as well as silver or white.)

3- Why is this fabulous old house abandoned??? 

Oh my goodness I could live there and be oh-so happy! Amazing porch, perfect color, but sadly, on a busy street surrounded by businesses.

And lastly…

4 - Am I the only one who thinks having this store open to the public is a bad idea?

My daughter and I popped into a large home improvement store, only to discover the power was out. We were told, “No problem, take a look around; just avoid the chandelier area.”

We didn’t stay long - the doors were propped open for light and there was a storm blowing in. I don’t know about you, but to me this looks like it has the makings of a horror movie.

And there they are, four absolutely unimportant questions for your Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!