Short update

 Remember this? 

The wall of logs, branches and stumps?

The fire department came out Friday and we lit it. They said for green wood - being just cut even though several of the trees were dead - it burned much faster than they expected.

We need to figure a way to get that big stump into the burn pit. When the tree people came Wednesday and Thursday the pit was already full. No good weather to burn. They did the best they could, but this stump is on the edge of the burn pit. It would be too big for our little tractor, even if out tractor hadn't decided to break last week.

Friday night it poured, and we discovered a leak in the little RV. Right over our bed, of course, haha.

So I pulled the bedspread off and threw on a dry bedspread and a mattress protector to keep us dry so we could finish sleeping.  

No flea market because of that. Got the boys out to see if they could fix the skylight.

The burn pile looked like this Saturday.

Yup. Still smoldering. There was still a good fire inside, but I didn't get a picture of it. That's the magic of a burn pit, I guess you call it. It burns a lot hotter and it's hard to put out.

But the fire department said once it's contained below ground, so to speak, it's usually not a problem any more.

And tonight, a thunderstorm and more rain. Will be interesting to see if the burn pit is still burning when we go out tomorrow. 

You all be safe and God bless.  :)

Another post about our truck

Just because, haha. :)

This is hubby's chair in the back of our truck. Sorry about the foggy pictures. Not sure if it was humidity, sun (another nice day today), or pollen.

Some pics of the inside. The pic immediately below shows the little stepladder stowed.

This is the ladder from the side window.

Now we just need a clear calendar for a trip!

You all be safe and God bless.

The rain finally stopped long enough to mow.

I know what you're thinking. Isn't rain good for all those pecan trees? Well, yes it is. And no, it isn't. The summer rain is especially good. But from what I have read, this years rain goes to next year's pecans. If it comes in October or November, then it is bad, because the pecans can get a fungus that ruins the crop.
But it also means last years rain...

I don't really understand; but here's hoping, God willing.

I thought the neighbors had planted beans, but hubby is pretty sure they planted cotton.

Just a few more pictures.

Going out of town this weekend for our once a month trip to the V.Watts Flea Market. Supposed to rain, but we are down to 50% from 80%, so that sounds like a "go" to me. :-)

You all be safe and God bless.

For you, Mom ^___^

Saw this on the porch the other day as we were heading out.

The wild morning glories grow like crazy around here. Much better than anything we actually plant flower or food wise, haha.

The spider lilies are blooming, but we are keeping up too well with our mowing, because of pecan season nearing. Pecans seem to be iffy so far this year. And some are already dropping. Just have to wait and see what God will provide this year.

And we have started replacing windows in the house. 13 so far, if I remember right. Maybe 14. Still have 15 to go, haha.

They are double pane, insulated windows. Hopefully when we are done, it will help with heating and air conditioning.

October tomorrow and stores already have Christmas stuff out.

Hope you all have a safe, blessed weekend!

Not a real post

Been too hot to do much and I don't take pictures of antique stores masquerading as flea markets.
But this picture in the Ag Newsletter was too cute not to share. I got a chuckle out of it.

The caption read "I really wonder what they're looking at."

But they misspelled they're, so I cut that off. I really do wonder though. I doubt it's the dishwasher there by the window. ^_^

Stay cool, be safe, and you all have a blessed week. ♥

No Chickens Yet

But I planted some borage. I kept reading that it was good as a companion plant and that chickens liked it.
It reseeds itself.
Bees like it.
It's other name is starflower.

Just let it grow where it likes. It puts trace nutrients in the soil.
If you don't like where it grows, just pull it and toss it in the chicken run - unless they free range, then they can eat it at their leisure. It supposedly tastes faintly of cucumber and has a lot of 'medicinal' uses.

I'm here to tell you, nowhere in what I read, did it warn me that the older leaves are FULL OF LITTLE STICKERS!

Wear gloves if you want to pull established plants.

It completely outgrew the pansies planted with it. the TWO plants I planted in the tires survived all the other plants I put other places.

It does have pretty flowers.

Hope you are all doing well. God bless. ♥

Something I can relate to

From the local Ag daily newsletter.

Almost the weekend! Hope you all have a safe one.

Those of you who are mothers, have a blessed Mother's Day. We will be having a crawfish boil!

It really frustrates me

That America is so far gone that Toyota thinks that bank robbers escaping from the police is a good way to sell their cars.

On to less frustrating things.

Only white narcissus, or daffodils?, came up this year.

Hubby said he saw a snake poke its head out of this hole the other day, but either 57 was too cool for it to investigate me, or it has moved on..

Sparrows or wrens are checking out this old nest. I couldn't get close enough for a good picture. You might be able to see a bird just below and left of the nest.

We made a planting box and I set out some broccoli transplants. It's a new variety from Burpee called Royal Tenderette Hybrid. The grow small florets on long, thin stems. It was fortuitous that the new catalog had these in it; because hubby has decided, out of the blue, he prefers broccoli stems to the heads. This week has been in the 70s with nights in the mid to upper 50s. I went out to check them this morning. They seem to be doing fine.
While out there, I saw this bug. Thought it was a female mosquito at first; but no antennae. Saw one up by the house a bit later. Weird.

Can't believe it's already 2016 and almost tax time and I have not started anything. Ugh.
Hope you all have a blessed weekend and a blessed 2016.

Love it!

Just a few of the pictures from the daily Ag Report.

Thank you, all of you who farm; and thank you, all of you who share your homesteading knowledge and stories. Have a wonderful, safe, blessed day. ♥

May be out of touch for the next few days...

But I want to thank any and all farmers who read this!

Be safe! ♥

What we found today

While clearing a tree from the 'pig pen'.
There's tons of junk out in that area. We've taken several thousand pounds to the recycle.
But these are unusual keepers.





Cast iron sash weights.

Two 8 pound and one 6 pound weight.

Not sure why the pictures are upside down. I flipped them, but they're still upside down. Curious, isn't it?

Have a blessed week! ♥

The Lord answered me today.

I was worried about the upcoming retirement. Yesterday we thought there was a problem.
As soon as I left it in God's hands, he provided the answer. We are both very thankful for that.

We have a crazy short trip coming up this weekend, so I will most likely be out of touch until we get back.
Leaving Thursday afternoon. Driving to Louisiana. Getting a car his brother owned (yes, the Ford in the yard); sleeping overnight Friday and coming back on Saturday -- putting us here again sometime Sunday.

Then we finish packing the utility/cargo trailer for our (one week) trip the end of the month.

And of course, I always manage to be gone when my lilies are going to be blooming...

Hope you all have a blessed Wednesday. And those of you needing rain, I pray you get some. ♥

Two Months

To retirement...
Will try to keep up with everyone, but I may fall behind as we pack and clean and such.

Our middle son has been accident prone all his life.
All our boys were diagnosed ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) when they were little, but grew out of it for the most part.

Being military, we moved around a lot. Our oldest boy was born in Alaska. Our middle son in Nebraska, and our youngest in Okinawa, Japan.
I used to wonder where they got it. But I'm pretty sure I know. The ADHD came from hubby. He can't sit through a show (but he can sit through a movie) without flipping channels. He doesn't like commercials. He has missed parts of shows we were watching, because of flipping channels and picking up the middle of something else.

And he can't relax for more than an hour (except at the movies) without needing to get up and do something. Or at least be doing something while he is sitting.

The accident prone? That comes from me, haha.
We put a new trailer hitch on the back of my car, which I of course promptly walked in to.
Getting in or out of the car, I often bump my head or my shins because the running board is bigger than I'm used to. And my legs are to short to step past it.
I tend to trip on shadows, or my own feet.

More than once I have felt my guardian angel with me.

Today I was painting the trailer. I had just painted the railing and was leaning down to paint a low spot. So what did I do? I laid my arm on the wet paint.
Not once, not twice, but three different times.

Got a busy couple of weeks ahead. Granddaughter's birthday, packing. medical appointments of various kinds. Movers coming to give estimates.

A quick trip to the farm to pick up a car we left there last trip.
A chimney sweep coming to clean our chimney...

It has taken me all day to finish this post!

I want to post some flower pictures. Sorry for the quality. My phone camera has a scratch on the lens. Don't ask me how because I don't know.
This is a bush on our fence. Hubby says it smells like honeysuckle, but doesn't look like it.
All I know is our yard smells wonderful right now. :o)

Hope you all have a blessed week! ♥

Don't you think these make good curtains?

I don't like pink, but when I hung these in the kitchen our last trip, I thought wow, I like these. So the first time I get to think of having time for homemaker type stuff. I am going to try my hand at making them into curtains. :o)

I got them at Wal Mart. They're twin bed sheets. They were $4 a package.
Haven't been saying a lot about our last trip.
We also found out they took a small battery charger.

We always weave some of these (I call them snake locks because of the 'head')

And pair them with some of these:

through our equipment. The tractor, attachments, and such that we store in the garage.
We run a chain, roughly half inch links, through the spare propane tanks for the trailer, and padlock that. We're glad we do, now.
We did call the sheriff and report the thefts. And between Wally World and Lowes, hubby was able to make a new power cord for the trailer.

And I realize I'm rambling so I think I'm going to get dressed and plant some seeds.
These.

Hope you are all having a wonderful day. ♥

Friday Farm post

We got to the farm Saturday afternoon. This is what we found.

The Johnson Grass wasn't too bad yet.

We also found this.

Now let's see if I can get this to work...



Sorry about the fingers. Don't watch if you get dizzy easily. It was my first try at a video and I am obviously clueless, haha!

There will be more to follow on this topic.

Hope you all have a wonderful, blessed weekend! :o)

March Farm trip

So we left on the 30th of March after hubby got off work. He decided he had vapors and came home a little after noon. ;o)
We packed the rest of the bags that don't go in the truck until we are ready to leave.
I forgot to check my list. :o| And forgot to pack the camera.
We had to come home before we had gone three blocks, to get the controller for our winch.
And I still didn't notice the camera sitting on the couch.
*sigh*
So all the pictures were taken with my phone. I've noticed a couple of things about that.
1. They tend to be washed out or blurry. (Several of the photos in my new header were taken with my phone and prove this point.
2. My fingers like to get in the way.


Anyway, we got back on the road. Had a very light lunch so that we could stop in Fayetteville for Popeye's Chicken!
I forget where we stopped for fuel, but hubby realized that the trailer (our blue one that I call a cargo trailer) had a hub over heating. Probably a bearing going bad.

So we stopped in Florence South Carolina, at the Agri Supply there. We love this store. I wish they had more of them. We like them better than Tractor Supply for sure!

We got there about an hour before they were due to close. A couple guys mentioned that we did not want to stay there overnight because it's a very bad area for crime. So we kept the truck locked and my hubby's gun ready while we worked. Just in case.

Anyway, Agri Supply had what we needed to do a temporary fix for the trailer.

Including the ramps. :o)

The tools are ours though. We always travel with a toolbox. Or 2, if you count the one on the bed of the truck.

After we got the bearing and wheel back on, we got back on the road. Hubby added grease to the bearing whenever we stopped for anything.
We drove all night, as we often do. Drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of Sunflower seeds. ;o)

We also stopped at Lea's for lunch before we got to the farm. We pretty much always eat at least one meal there every trip.
It's a small place with plain food, but we like it. :o)

We got to the farm about 2 PM and I'll save that for another post.
Hope you're all having a wonderful day!