Sometimes, the cutest things just happen outdoors. I took this picture yesterday while I was talking on the phone. Life is full of precious moments.
Why Won’t You Look at Me?
farmhouse garden
October’s Treasures
I try to find beauty in the ordinary, the day’s in and outs. A walk to the mailbox across the road while an everyday task is ever changing. I think it amazing and beautiful that a simple daily short walk is never the same when I care to look. God’s presence is in the little details that surrounds us, and the more I care to look, the more grateful and in awe I am. Here are some October’s treasures I found the other day.
I am sure that there were more treasures to be found, but I was just in and out, picking up some mail. God is good.
A Few Culprits
There have been a few rainy days, two good soakers, and cool weather seems to be settling down. It seems that the veggie garden is done, not a good year; most plants died or did not produce. While collecting the last of the veggies, I spotted a few caterpillars that have made the garden their home. We cut the stems and relocated them to another part of the property, not wanting to harm them.
And as one season ends another starts, and for me, the end of a dry spell. The other day, while sitting, I had an urge to write, almost as an urgent call, so I grabbed pen and paper and was able to write an entire chapter; it has been quite a long time, but the dry spell is broken.
Maybe Next Year
It is almost September, and by now, I should have collected several baskets of veggies, but not this year. The dry and hot weather in my area has made growing food challenging – no tomatoes yet, no giant sunflowers, and no signs of the beginnings of a pumpkin or even a cantaloupe – Where have all the veggies gone? Some of the plants died, even when we were watering once a day every other day or two. I only collected this so far, and even the lettuce, the easiest thing to grow, did not do so abundantly.
And that is it! Tomorrow it will be the first day of September, and I hope I can get at least a couple tomatoes before cold weather hits. The plants are not looking too promising, but I hope there is still a bit of time, although I think it will be slim pickings, and I will be grateful for it.
Unrelated but lovely.
They have their food, they pollinate, and we will have ours as well; not so unrelated now.
Ladies in the Garden
I have been in awe over the last couple of days admiring these ladies (and gentlemen) in my garden. I had been telling my husband that this year I have not seen as many butterflies as other years past. It must be that everything has been so dry from the lack of rain, only a few showers here and there, but no significant amount. Other areas close by have enjoyed more showers. The flowers have withered, some that were ready to bloom as well, and the veggies are growing slow – no tomatoes yet; only four cucumbers made it to the table along with a few leaves of lettuce. If anything, we will have a late harvest. We have been watering every other day, but it does not seem to be enough. Just when my gardening enthusiasm was fading a bit, we were blessed with a couple of short heavy showers overnight, and also the butterflies have been visiting the only source of nectar that has been doing good around here during the season.
I am grateful that I can enjoy watching them, their beauty, and share it with you here. I hope you enjoy this post.
Around the Garden – My Favorites
A few of my favorite glances this year.
Search for beauty wherever you can find it; it appeases the soul.
Farmhouse Project – The Pumpkin Area
We had plenty of rain over the past two days, so in the interim, we were able to tackle one of the projects from the immediate list – opening up an area in the back part of the property for pumpkins or other veggies . Last year, we tested a small patch of grass where we were able to grow a few pumpkins and cantaloupe, not many. We realized we had to move the planting a bit to the front, where there is a bit more sun, so we finally settled on the area. We took advantage of the very wet and soft ground after the rain, and we finished the job quickly. The seeds are planted. Only a few rows, just for a second test to see how it goes. This year we planted a few seeds – pumpkins, cantaloupe, sunflowers, and a bit of corn. Not too much because we are still testing. Here are a few pictures of the project.
After testing this area, if it works out it will be expanded a bit to be able to plant more, and added to over time. I am sure that we will find more interesting things buried in the soil. I hope you enjoyed this project; I surely did.
Fixing an Old Farmhouse – Future Projects
We had a pretty heavy three-day ice storm, and I am so grateful that we did not lose power, and also grateful that we did not have any trees damaging our home. I also feel for the people that are without heat in this type of cold weather. We are expecting another storm by tomorrow, and that will add to the damage we had, which was nothing compared to other people. The amount of ice was so heavy on the trees that I could hear the tump tump tump every time one fell. Many of our trees lost a considerable amount of heavy branches, including the one near the house, my beloved old cedar tree, which is as old as the farmhouse is, or older. This storm put into perspective the need to remove two more trees that are too close for comfort, although I truly hate to see them go. This of course will be expensive because they are old giants. One of them lost most of its branches, a few of them hitting the porch at the corner but thankfully, only leaving a slight dent on the old roof, which is over 100 years.
(Photo by M.A.D.)
The list of chores keeps growing around here. For now, the way to tackle these coming up projects will be one at a time, little by little, and all in due time. I will share some of them here. Hope you enjoyed this post.
Everyday Thanks
Thanksgiving will certainly be very different this year across the country. So much has changed for all of us. For me, it will be just my husband and I, and the cats, of course. Just a simple meal, and we plan to enjoy the day while relaxing and thinking about so many things we are grateful for. However, there are so many little things to be grateful for every single day. All we have to do is observe with intention, and we see miracles everywhere. I truly believe that, and moreover, I choose to believe that in this crazy time we are living. Yes, 2020 has been though for everybody, but it also has its blessings.
This morning was cold; it was 30 degrees outside. However, I spotted two beautiful miracles.
Even in the midst of worldwide sadness, a pandemic, unrest, and other less than perfect situations, we can still be grateful for the glimpses of blessings we have, no matter how simple or small we may think they are; but are they? May you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving day, and for the rest of you who live in other countries where this day is not celebrated, may you find much to be thankful for every day of your lives.
A Day of Farmhouse Chores
My latest post was about The Christmas Tree Project which we did last Saturday. While we were waiting for the moment it lighted up we had many autumn chores to do, and it translated on time going so fast that we hardly noticed the long wait until sunset. Around here, autumn means tons of cleaning up before winter or the first snow, prepping certain areas, and getting ready for future chores during early spring, so I figured I would share some of those.
Cutting the grass and blowing out leaves usually takes my husband the whole day. Once he is done, he sees another thin layer of fresh leaves that has just fallen. It is the never ending autumn story, but they look gorgeous when the entire grass is covered and one sees the many colors of the leaves on the ground, like a multicolor carpet.
By the time we had our lunch break, and finally, we were both done with our chores, it had become dark and our reward was awaiting to be enjoyed.
