farmhouse garden

Fixing an Old Farmhouse – Future Projects

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

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.

With most of its branches gone, at least the weight of this old cedar has shifted away from the farmhouse. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Many of its branches are still hanging ready to fall. For now, we will avoid walking underneath. Another reason why we have decided to add it to the list of trees that unfortunately will have to go. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Another old giant that have been added to the list is this tree, about the same height.
(Photo by M.A.D.)
This smaller branches missed the tin can. Although smaller compared to the other branches, these are still heavy. I saw pieces of broken branches that fell with force buried into the ground about three inches or so. Imagine if that hits one’s head. One of nature’s teachings. (Photo by M.A.D.)
This is one of my favorite trees. Not sure if eventually, it will have to go; I hope not. Time will tell. For now, it is healthy, and it is a very young tree. It was half its size when we bought the farmhouse. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Our friend came around when the ice started to melt on Sunday. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Other little ones came out as well. (Photo by M.A.D.)
It amazes me how these little ones can handle the ice. (Photo by M.A.D.)
It was a beautiful sight. (Photo by M.A.D.)
When the ice started melting, it sounded like waterfalls, like heavy rain, and every time a chunk of ice slid and hit the metal roof, it was like thunder and lightning. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Sometimes, beauty is found in the least expected places. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Even on a frozen flag (Photo by M.A.D.)
Colors become more vibrant. (Photo by M.A.D.)
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap, or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Mathew 6:26 (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

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

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.

The “rose bush that could” has a few more roses. This was a little rose bush we rescued. It was covered in weeds, but it made it and grew to be beautiful. I see those last roses in a 30 degree morning as a thank you offering.
I even spotted a few buds ready to open.
This little forsythia bush (another rescue) keeps blooming. I noticed more flowers this morning, and more are ready to open. Another tiny miracle of nature.
Yesterday, I observed one of my favorite autumn moments that I look forward to every year. When most of the leaves have fallen, the sunrays filter through and it looks as if light is dancing through the woods, and parts of it become orange-red. It only lasts a few minutes, not much longer, but it truly is a magical moment.
During that brief time the tops of some trees are set on light-fire.
It is truly a beautiful sight that doesn’t last long and can only be appreciated during this time of the year.
And when the sun sets, and that brief moment of magic is gone for the day, I am thankful that tomorrow, I might get to see it again.

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

/ inkspeare

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.

Blowing out leaves and cutting the grass for the last time before winter takes priority. This is the fifth time for leaf blowing.
While Eddie took care of the grass and leaves, I took care of cleaning up the veggie garden, and collecting pine needles. I do this after I pick the last of the veggies and before the first snow.
Leaves are picked up, broken things go in the garbage, pots are emptied, collected and stacked in one area, large containers are cleaned up by removing dead and dried up plants, stakes are collected and placed in one area, and the remainder thin layer of mulch gets a refresher by using the collected pine needles. It prevents the cover underneath from breaking off. Overall, it gets a good cleaning.
After everything is done it looks like this.
After the veggie garden is done, the remainder of the pine needles is used as mulch for some trees. It protects them in the winter, and also looks neat. We are lucky to have cinnamon color pine needles from two pine trees in the property. They do put out a ton of them. Also it saves us money as we don’t have to buy too many bags of mulch. Bagged cinnamon pine needles are expensive, so I am very grateful to have them available here. A box of pine needles that might cover 240 sf will cost about $135 dollars.
While cleaning up the rest of the garden and removing a few weeds, I find expected seasonal gifts, such as the changing of the leaves on this shrub and the beautiful berries it puts out every year. This is one of the trees we uncovered and saved when we first started bringing life back into this garden. It will become an orange-red color. During the spring, it turns back to green and instead of berries it puts out cluster of sprigs with tiny flowers.
While cleaning up the garden, I also found the unseasonably unexpected – new flowers on the forsythia bush and a few buds. Is this a sign of a mild winter ahead? Last year, we had a mild winter and this bush flourished very early.

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.

Dracula’s Teeth – What Are The Odds?

/ inkspeare

The ground around this property seems to change constantly. One day there is a small dip on the ground, and a few weeks later is either larger or it disappears; I don’t know why this is. The only thing I could think of is moles; there seem to be plenty around here. We are always finding things that come up from the ground, especially after heavy rain. The latest is so timely and fun that it made us laugh.

Over the weekend, my husband was blowing out the leaves and cleaning up around the house when he came across something unexpected near the well. Unexpected because this is an area we walk around all the time. He called me so I could see it. He said, “What are the odds?” I laughed so hard that I cried. Here is what came out of the ground, and mind you, soon it will be Halloween. Perfect timing. And of course, it was the perfect opportunity for a picture.

I can tell that these are the vintage type because they look better made and of better quality than the ones you find today at the stores. The type of plastic is also different.
Another view.

We are puzzled because we mow that area all the time and we never saw it. It also lets me know that I am not crazy when I see a slope or dip on the ground that wasn’t there before, because that must have been buried completely at one point and it just surfaced. So what are the odds?

This gave me an idea; to start collecting every little oddity that comes out of the ground and save the items in a box, and share it here from time to time. I have found plastic soldiers, broken china, vintage bottles, odd metal things, marbles, a tiny birdhouse figurine, Tiny colorful beads, and other things. Some of them we placed in the garbage and some ended up in the faerie garden. Other items ended up as part of my décor. Here are a few examples.

Vintage bottle. This is one of over 100 bottles we found.
Pieces of broken china. Love that blue.
Marbles, beads, tiny cup?
My husband found this half-buried where the pumpkin patch will be located. I placed it in the faerie garden.
Mysterious spikes that look like arrows and odd hardware. These came out of the ground in a row and almost damaged the lawn tractor. My husband dug out four of them. He was going to trash them, and I told him I wanted them. He questioned my use of these, but now he likes the way they look together. The other one ended up in the garden. We still don’t know what they are. Maybe some old fencing parts?
Every time I find an old piece of hardware, I display it on top of the mysterious arrows. My husband laughs because I like this stuff.
These I found at different times on my way to the mailbox. They just popped out of the ground one day, and I spotted them.

Some call it junk, some call it treasures, I call it history. Hope you enjoy this post. Happy Autumn!

Beauty Within

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

I have been waiting for this event for so long. The blooming of the first sunflower. I planted these seeds in May,  and could not wait for them to bloom. They were given to me by someone who was caring for my neighbor, and she told me these would grow very tall, and not to plant them near the house. I had the perfect spot for them, next to the circle of flowers. Well, today I woke up, and decided to collect some tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, what now seems to have become a daily endeavor, especially after the heavy rains and storms we have been experiencing. I looked at the circle of flowers to see how it was doing, and was so happy to see the large yellow flower next to it. What a joyful moment. Now, I can’t wait to see the rest.

Garden Blessings.

 

The magnificent first (large) sunflower. It seems that the closer I focused the camera, the more beautiful it became. Isn’t that something? Sometimes the closer you look at something the more lovely it becomes, letting you discover its intricate beauty.

 

Side by side comparison between the large sunflower and the dwarf sunflower. The dwarf sunflowers do not last that long, they dry up fast. They are both gorgeous.

The circle of flowers is doing very well, although the dwarf sunflowers are mostly done by now. Back in April it was just a circle of stones.

IMG_4562

Photo by M.A.D.

It is lovely now.

 

 

 

These mushrooms have been growing all over the place. They are quite interesting. I hope to see a faerie circle at least once in my lifetime – mushrooms growing in a perfect circle. Have not seen one yet, but there is hope. I think mushrooms are so beautiful and interesting.

 

I have been trying to take a close picture of a cardinal for quite some time, and for some reason, I was not fast enough; it flew away or kept moving to another spot. The other day I was able to capture one that stood around long enough. Cardinals are as difficult to photograph as little blue birds; they move too fast and fly away.

 

And who knew that a potato plant was so beautiful? I didn’t.

IMG_5137

Photo by M.A.D.

Not a mushroom, not cheese. The moon a few nights ago.

IMG_5123

Photo by M.A.D.

Love is purpose in itself. It can be found all around you. You just have to look.

IMG_5147

Photo by M.A.D.

Hope that you enjoy this post.