not enough hours in the day!

How can it be the middle of June? As the saying goes, “Back the truck up!” Let’s reverse the calendar a little bit shall we? The days are flying by.

I just finished getting the garden in (a month later than usual-we’ve had so much rain). I’m cleaning out the milkhouse for summer cottage food sales, wrangling weeds, and staring down a long to-do list.  

Just like all of your days, don't we seem to find they're filled from beginning to end? But I'm reminded of this quote by one of my favorite authors/artists, Susan Branch:

"Sometimes I think we get caught up in the hectic happenings of the weeks and months and we forget to take time out to relax."

She's spot on...sure, there are important things that need doing, but it's also so important to slow down. We need to take time to unwind, relax, and enjoy these days.

And with that said, here's a look at some of the things I've spied with my little eyes as I tried to take time to slow down…

Tinkerbell finding the herb garden is quite comfy. 

Fuji apples are plentiful this year - yay!

Russian Sage in my little (and I do mean little)
Weavers Garden,

along with some Yarrow. 

Spotted this clever Lightning McQueen car while I was out and about
- wow! Well done!

I took a weaving class at a nearby historical village…
ta-da - my finished rug! 

  The Master Weaver was wonderful!  I was her only student for the day,
so it was perfect for me as a beginner - I’ll definitely be doing this again. 

So pretty, a balloon festival in a town not far away. 

Mama raccoon at the cat feeder...
she visits every spring and is always so polite. 

Peonies are blooming,

along with this finicky rose. Some years it’s covered in blooms,
then other years absolutely nothing. Can anyone tell me what variety it
might be and any tips for growing?

Iris greeting the birds as they settle in for a sip
or a little spruce-up at the birdbath. 

A friend shared her fresh milk with me,
and I tried my hand at making yogurt!

.

And this crock caught my eye - I never see one with a lid.  
I wonder if it needs a new home?! (It didn’t have a price tag,
so I’m guessing it's out of my price range,
but I'll check next time I'm there.)

Well, that’s it for today. My son will be here tonight as he’s off this week from his college job - perfect timing because my daughter leaves Saturday for 6 weeks as an RA at a ballet company. I’m thinking maybe we squeeze in a day trip and lots of home cooking! 

Have a wonderful week friends...let's take time to enjoy the simple things.

(Image courtesy of Google)

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?)

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?!

snapshots of June...

"I wonder what it would be like
to live in a world where it is always June."

-LM Montgomery 

June brings us sunny days, fragrant blossoms, and juicy strawberries. The days are long, fireflies twinkle, and there seems to be magic in the air as the summer solstice approaches. 

winter wheat is about ready to harvest

the prettiest cloudy skies

                                                    

Tinker Bell, posing, as always!

decorating for summer

the Goodyear Blimp passing overhead

And let me introduce you to Kipper!

A neighbor found this little guy who was in need of a family to bottle feed him.
Of course we said yes...everyone needs a home!

The vet said he was about 2 weeks old...born the same time that we lost Azzie.

Coincidence?  

Maybe.

Maybe not.

                                                                                       

And this is Cornelia - Nelly for short. 

Living in the country, it's not uncommon for cats & dogs to find their way here - or possibly be dropped off. She wasn't on the the local lost & found lists, and the vet didn't find a microchip in her.  A very friendly little lady...she's now a part of the barn cat family!

Bailey loves snuggling her stuffed pig!

In other news, our sweet Bailey was recently diagnosed with heartworm...she's on medication, as well as what we jokingly refer to as "house arrest" because she can't be outside for any extended amount of time. (It's a good thing she's a laid back sort of gal!)

The process to rid her of them is long...next month she will have an injection and stay at the vet clinic for observation. Once she's home we have strict rules...we can't let her do anything that will raise her heart-rate. No running, jumping, or getting excited...she stays inside, quietly, with only 3 or 4, 5-minute outdoor breaks each day, leashed so she doesn't move quickly. At this point we watch her closer than ever...she can't be left alone.

She'll get two more injections in August, and then it's still complete quiet for 8 more weeks. 

Trust me, she'll be spoiled rotten!

That's the latest from my corner of the world...enjoy the week friends, and if you're in the middle of the heat wave as we are, keep as cool as possible!