Burrrrr!!

What a shame we had temperatures in the 70s and 80s in the month of February, tempting spring to arrive early...

Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed those warm beautiful days...

even the butterflies were out and about and birds busy building nests.

So, we all got too relaxed and what happened? Winter came back! Freezing temps last night and a freeze warning again tonight. Covering everything is simply too overwhelming. We might as well say goodbye to the tiny figs and pears once again.

Anyhow, Sunday morning we had sleet and snow flurries...

Looks pretty dreary, doesn't it? I mean, if it's going to be winter and snow, couldn't we at least have enough to play in?Before all this dreariness arrived Sunday morning, I was simply amazed at the sunrise...

Look closer. I actually thought the woods were on fire...

I should have opened the back door instead of taking the picture through the screen wire.

Once upon a time I did a blog post on this big dog house that sits in our front yard.  My brother Randall, who passed away in 2004 built this dog house and gave it to us many many years ago...

The last time the house was used was when our little red hen named "Jewel" hid a nest of eggs inside and sat quietly, and patiently hatched eight baby chicks. What a surprise that was! We thought a fox had caught her.

Anyhow, Sunday morning while I was at the grocery store, Poppy sold the doghouse to a nice young man who wanted it for a small hen house. Seems his young daughters had a few chicks they were raising. So coming home from the grocery store I stopped for a red light and there turning right in front of me was a big truck and trailer and loaded there on the trailer was the doghouse. Like it was meant to be...so I could say goodbye to Randall's doghouse. Kind of hurt my heart. But at least the house will be put to good use. 

and since the snow didn't amount to anything here, Eli and Ellie played in the leaves down near the pond...

Guess that's about it for now. I'm far behind once again visiting and reading but friends, I'll be there soon. Thank you for your visit.

Love, Henny

Catching up, once again!

Poor little plum tree, all dressed up in blossoms thinking spring has arrived...

and who could blame her? Warm sunny days, temperatures reaching 80 degrees! Of course today is cloudy and cold...

with a hard freeze warning for Saturday and Sunday nights. North Carolina I love you but your weather can be so unpredictable!

Several years ago a friend gave me two plum tree sprouts and I planted them near the garden. First year ever the one has blooms. I promise you one thing, it will be covered before Saturday night gets here. :)

Hey friends, 

Back at the computer and feeling some better. The MRI showed arthritis in my neck, bulging disc, pinched nerve, and bone spur. The doctor said, in two weeks, after more physical therapy, if pain and numbness is still in my arm and hand, we will talk about an injection in my spine to reduce swelling...surgery as a last resort.

I've been working awfully hard at physical therapy and doing the exercises at home and honestly can finally feel  a difference. So thankful!

The wild blueberry. Are things budding out where you live? Oh gosh! I need a warm blanket that will cover five acres. Wonder if Amazon has one, they have everything else. :)

Have I shown you our sweetie pies lately? Well here's big Eli...

and a half way decent picture of our sweet Ellie...

Ellie is the hardest dog ever! to get a good picture of, unless of course...

it's early morning before I get the bed made. This girl is rarely still!

We have lots of moss growing in the yard, lots more moss than grass, I'm sorry to say. On my way to the little greenhouse this morning I noticed these patches of moss...

Not my favorite colors but certainly different. Gosh, I need sunshine and warm days, don't you?

Guess I've rambled on about nothing long enough so here's where I will say goodbye for now...if you're still here.  Oh, couple more things...

Cousin Patty gave me a chair. You know how she is always sending me something. Well, I like this little chair...

It sits nicely here by the bed in my teeny tiny sewing room. Thank you Pat.

and speaking of the teeny tiny sewing room...I've simply got to get back to sewing. Simply got to!!! I miss being in the sewing room at night. 

Oh, and I meant to show you these hen saddles, or aprons...

Trouble is, they didn't work. These protect the hen's back. Realized after getting  one on the hen's back, it's the little red hen's wings that need doctoring. Duh.  We bought some blue salve that prevents other hens from pecking her wounds. 

Okay, I'll hush now.

Love,

Henny

Mostly about Heidi (update to post, pictures added)

More black and white photos from another dull dreary wet rainy snowy day...oh, and icy. 

and here's looking out the little kitchen window, Thursday morning...

and looking out the little pantry window, also Thursday morning...

very little of this melted throughout the day on Friday but on Saturday the roads were clear enough for me and Poppy to strike out to the grocery store. 

You know how we Carolina folks are...a few snow flakes and some of us go crazy; stocking up on groceries and water and such. :)

One more picture. The wispy little tree right behind the old dog house was covered in dots of snow that looked almost like white flower buds. Doesn't show up so good here, but something about the picture I liked; could it be the touch of color?

Oh friends, I feel like the most awful mama. Let me tell you a bit about Heidi goat...

You know, I thought all along that I was taking good care of Heidi and Rosie. They get plenty of feed; goat pellets, minerals, hay, and we worm them, occasionally.

I keep their little barn swept clean and always keep two buckets of fresh cold water in their lot. Oh, and I couldn't love them any more than I do...but all that was not enough.

Heidi is completely down and doesn't have the strength to stand. Friday, Poppy helped me get her loaded in the large pet carrier and into the back of the truck. 

It took the vet only minutes to determine that Heidi has three types of internal worms and also external blood sucking parasites. I read online that goats are so sensitive to blood loss that even the amount of blood that parasites ingest, whether internal or external, can lead to amnesia and even death. 

The vet treated her for both the internal and external parasites and also sent medication home for Rosie. He told us to add alfalfa nuggets and black oil sunflower seeds to their diet.

It may take weeks or even months for Heidi to recover...if she does recover. We are very hopeful, and I plan to do everything I can possibly do to help her...which includes reading and learning more about caring for goats.

  

Speaking of animal feed, have I ever shown you the opposite side of our little pantry/laundry room? :) Well, it's the feed bucket side...

There's four on bottom, four on top.

had to pour some half buckets together to make room for the new alfalfa pellets and additional sunflower seeds. I do hope little Heidi pulls through. She's just got to.

Through my blog, I've met a new friend whose name is Gwen. Meeting her could not have happened at a better time...for me anyhow. Gwen and her husband have a small farm and lucky for me, they raise goats. Gwen has been such a help, giving me lots of good information and advice she learned first hand, tending her goats.  Thank you Gwen.

Didn't quite finish this post last night...how quickly Monday has arrived! 

Just got to share this bit of good news...when I got to the goat barn with a bucket of feed this morning, Heidi was standing! Her back legs were straight and she was walking on her front knees. That is a BIG improvement! 

We are keeping Heidi inside the enclosed part of the little barn. I've moved the benches and added lots of hay to make her comfortable. Besides, she needed a little space of her own because of Noisy Rosie. Rosie thinks it's cute to push Heidi around.

Okay, I will end this here. Thank you for visiting, and thank you for all the nice comments regarding little Heidi. Will keep you posted.

Love,

Henny

Oh, what lucky goats, to live here on Gwen's farm...

I had asked Gwen for a few pictures of her farm and goats and look what arrived! Such pretty healthy looking animals, and look at that green grass, and blue skies, and happy grandchildren. Thank you Gwen! 

Thank you, dearest friends! I appreciate you all so much!

UPS AND DOWNS

Hey dearest blogging friends,

Here we are once again in desperate need of a little sunshine...

Rain, rain, and more rain! Lately around here it's like looking at old black and white pictures. Yesterday, four doves sat waiting for their morning cup of birdseed.

Today, skies are even more gray with wind and blowing rain. Glad I noticed my old Crocs were full of rain water before slipping my feet into them. Nothing worse than cold wet socks. 

On a brighter note...last Friday the 22nd. was Poppy's birthday. I was in Walmart and happened upon a big box of unusual masks. Couldn't resist this one...

Why, I've always said, Poppy and Eli kinda favor each other, see what I mean...

It's the profile! :)  Hopefully, Poppy won't mind my posting his picture in the Eli mask. He had just come home from work and was looking a little tired. 

and on a sad note...

my precious little Heidi goat is not doing well. Heidi came to live with us in April of 2018. We have an appointment with the vet tomorrow at 2:00. Will let you know what we find out.

Oh, Poppy and I got our Covid vaccine last Thursday. We sure did! Around 8:30 am we turned off Hwy 401 South onto the Franklin County Airport Road and immediately found ourselves behind a good mile of cars; folks in line, waiting their turn...bumper to bumper we inched along...

at 10:30 am we pulled our car up between to two waiting nurses, each wielding a syringe fitted with a needle; one on Poppy's side, one on my side :(  It was over in an instant and we were then instructed to pull the car into the block of cars to wait our 15 minute safety period...to see if there would be any adverse reaction to the shot. 

precisely at the 15 minute mark we were directed back onto the airport road; but in the opposite direction from whence we had come and given directions to get back to Hwy 401 going North.  However!!! Hwy 401 was backed up for miles and miles; traffic heading north from Raleigh, mixed with traffic from the airport.  We were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for 3 hours! A traffic jam that made the local evening news. A total of 5 hours we sat in the car!

Here it is Wednesday morning...another wet, foggy morning. I was deep into my story about the vaccine last night when Poppy announced that he was ready for bed...that, "we have to get up at 4:00 tomorrow morning". So, I shut everything down. :) 

Thank you for visiting...if you're still here. 

I'll leave you with Weetie in her little hiding place...

where she eats her treats.

Love,

Henny

Several things here

It may look a little like fall here now, but it feels like we have jumped smack dab into the middle of January! 

Seriously! 85 degrees on October 31st, and 28 degrees on November 9th...and next week is supposed to be even colder. Don't we need a bit more time for our bodies to adjust?

Our sweet little flock of seven guineas...

is now six. We lost one to a Great Horned Owl just before daylight one morning early last week. I have grieved right along with this sad little group.

We raised these guineas from babies and they have been so tame and so fun to have. They actually tag along behind me when walking Eli...it would be a funny sight, I'm sure...me and big Eli followed by Weetie and Smokey, followed by the row of guineas. 

Not much "pink" left in the yard now except...

this camellia at the back steps. Have you ever seen a more pitiful bird house as that one in the picture? Actually, there is a little Wren's nest inside. We have another bird house with a tin roof that will go there.

and speaking of little Wrens...

This old fruit basket was hanging from a nail under the shed. Look what was inside. Such a cozy nest for baby birds. 

Burrr!! Let's go back inside to the sewing room where it's warm...

 I've been busy sewing again. It's about time too! 

 got a couple of girl's aprons made from the sweet Hollie Hobby fabric from cousin Pat...

I tried cutting out a doll from the fabric and stuffed it to fit in the pocket. 

I think little girls might like these, do you?

Shelby and I have a big new craft event..."Santa's Christmas Bazaar" in Franklinton, coming up November 23rd. It's supposed to be big, and a good one.

and, using some of the fabrics from a special friend Diane in Kentucky...

made this "Beehives and tiny bees" bonnet and apron set, and also the pink rosy doll dress and the bonnets. 

Well, I've covered about everything here, oh wait, better run and let Eli in. He's at the door with his bear...

Hope to be back soon. Thank you to another new follower...who actually followed after the silly inchworm post. :) I do appreciate my blogging friends. Best friends I have ever had.

Love,
Henny

Just a little more weather

It was a cold windy walk around the pond with Eli and Weetie late this afternoon...

Cold for Poppy and me but Eli couldn't have been happier.

Weather like this seems sad and lonely to me. I long for warm days and sunshine and a rake or hoe in my hand.

Last week before this dreary weather set in, I started cleaning the little path from the back porch to the tool shed... 

The leaves were deep and heavy.

And this is why I love working outside! The work is tiring, but it's such a good tired.

raked here too, just left of the path.

One of these days I'll remember to take pictures of all the stock piles of leaves hauled from the yard.

Poppy needs the computer, so this will have to be my post. Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

Oh, and we are now at 161 hours straight of below freezing temperatures. Did I say that right?