the simple life

Farmhouse Project Update

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Finally, the stump of the old tree that was taken down is being honored. I felt so sad when I had to get rid of the very old tree. It was a liability and dangerously close to the house; besides, it was showing signs of disease. But the tree refused to go down; it came to life again. I thought of a way in which to make us both happy.

I trimmed its new branches. My husband built a replica of the farmhouse, and we placed it atop the trunk. He decided to paint the window trim blue as well. Our window trim is white, but we thought it would look better that way. The inside painted in yellow suggests that the lights are on. We added a few woodland critters, a welcome sign, a mailbox, and sitting arrangement on the porch. I recycled those miniatures from the faerie garden. I think he did a great job and I love it. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Side view. All materials, with the exception of the gray paint and clear coat, are recycled. We want to build or paint a faerie door on the trunk. (Photo by M.A.D.)
We added a color changing spotlight. I took this picture from indoors through the window glass at night (too many night crawlers around). The rosebush gives a nice touch to it. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Same view during the day. (Photo by M.A.D.)

This is a project that we had scheduled for some time this year. The original plan was to add faerie lights and a Clematis plant or a type of vine to the trunk; however, we thought that a spotlight would be better, and the tree branches that grew again took the place of the Clematis plant. Hope you enjoy reading about this project.

UPDATE

My husband finished the faerie door. All materials used are recycled. I think he did an awesome job. Love it!

Faerie door using recycled materials. Photo by M.A.D.

The Life that We Dream

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“I’m standing here in summer sun, where rabbits hide, and small quail run… I listen to the prairie’s song in every breeze that comes along.” – Betty Lou Hebert, “Prairie Gentian.”

In our youth, we imagine life turning out a certain way; we are full of dreams and less experienced. We set out to conquer the world. As we mature, experiences, good and bad, have placed some weight on us, influenced our desires and dreams, and our footsteps hold firmly to the ground. Steps become steadier and more careful, less rushed, and bit more planned. Some of us find ourselves living the life we dreamed, while some of us might not, and others might be half-way there. For many of us, the life that we dreamed once might not be the life that we want to live now. Whatever the case might be, dreams remain. The adage, “When you stop dreaming you stop living,” might have a bit of truth.

From small dreams to larger dreams, it all seems to propel us forward in life, whether we want a fancy life or a simpler life. There are setbacks, new dreams, and things don’t always turn out the way we dreamed or planned for, but this doesn’t diminish the preciousness of life, and each day presents a new opportunity to dream again; each day, an opportunity to do a bit better than we did yesterday. After all, and on the way to a dream, we become our own judges, that is, in relation to our dreams in life.

What does a 90-year-old person dreams of? Maybe what we all seem to take for granted – to enjoy another day. What does a person with a terminal illness dreams of? Maybe for one more day amongst friends and loved ones. A person contemplating suicide? Perhaps for a better day, each day. In the end, no matter what one’s dreams were about or how these turned out, we seem to ask for one more day. In perspective, that is all we have, one day at a time.

Photo by M.A.D.

Around the Garden

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The beauty that a garden gives in a few pictures.

Isn’t he gorgeous? (Photo by M.A.D.)
This year mushrooms grew everywhere, especially in the faerie garden. These are huge. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Size comparison. Unfortunately, these mushrooms decompose very fast, and they smell like a rotten corpse. Bees, flies, and ants are attracted to it. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Two decomposing stinky mushrooms. They will melt and disappear. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Pretty colorful ones too. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Mama Turkey and her adorable babies stopped by. Could not get a clear picture as they moved fast. (Photo by M.A.D.)
The blessing of early Mums. (Photo by M.A.D.)

All little things that make me stop and smile. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Love and Light.

A Single Flower

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Photo by M.A.D.

In as much as a single flower, exists a whole world, a world of color, patterns, texture, lines, dimension, shape and form, of beauty and awe, when you stop to carefully and mindfully observe it. It can only speak of the magnificence and magnitude of its creator.

Garden Friends

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It is always lovely to spot a few friends in the garden.

I have not seen these birds before, but they are adorable. The tail’s color is my favorite shade of blue.

The deer are always visiting.

“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11 NIV

Some Things are Meant to Be

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Some things are meant to be, simplicity, findings, and awe, with all the blessings of God.

Photo by M.A.D.
Mama Bird has been teaching her four babies how to forage for food and eat on their own. Sometimes, they want her to feed them, and she keeps on walking with them until they start pecking at whatever they find on the ground. There is a little one that has been a slow learner, and follows her until sometimes, she gives in and feeds him something. Photo by M.A.D.
From the garden. Blessings come in all sizes and colors. Photo by M.A.D.

Love and Light.

A Late Start

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This year, I started the veggie garden a bit later due to changes in weather. Too late for seeds now, and all my germinated seeds died, so I had to buy a few plants at the garden center. The prices were astronomically high at $3.95 for one tiny tomato plant. There are a few squash seeds coming out in the back area. We just threw them on the ground, and they took well. This year, the veggie garden will be very simple and with little variety. We planted tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant, potatoes, and onions. We also have a blueberry bush and planted two strawberry roots. The grape vine will produce fruit this year; right now, it is covered in tiny grapes. The lettuce came back from last year, and also a few tomato plants grew from fallen seeds. The Brussel sprouts did not produce last year but I left it alone for seeds; let’s see how that goes. Little birds have been eating them. Once it is done seeding, I will remove the old plants because these will not produce anymore.

We are planning to add a raspberry and blackberry bush, and maybe peach, pear, and apple trees in the future. The idea is to develop this garden over time, so we don’t overwhelm ourselves with maintenance; instead, ease into it slowly, and by stages. It is what we have been doing with the rest of the garden, overall. We also have to do some rearranging of the boxes and eliminate some containers that seem to be too small and not performing well enough, so we can make a better use of the space by configurating it better.

This veggie garden was built from recycled pallets. It has hold well over the years.
This is the area of the veggie garden before, when we bought the place.
The same area during cleanup, from another angle. Most of the overgrown bushes and weeds are gone; only the large cedar and ornamental grass on the picture remain today.
Now that the weather is pleasant, my husband gets lost tinkering outdoors, so I insisted on installing a dinner bell on the porch so I can ring the bell when he doesn’t hear my call. Practical, loud, and charming.

There are many other projects on the list for this year. Let’s see how many we can tackle before Autumn arrives. I will share some here. The labor of love will continue.

A Beloved House, a Beloved Woman

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If you have followed, or stop from time to time to read this blog, first, I thank you, and I hope that you have received something from it, whether inspiration, and idea … When I set out on the journey of writing this blog, many years ago, I decided that I wanted to share some of my passions, as well as my journey as an independent author, but also to include another journey, that is, moving from the beloved Jersey shore to the Idyllic Virginia countryside, and the quest of fixing up a dilapidated farmhouse, which would become our home.

Throughout the years, I have met many people who have visited this home and shared stories of the previous owner, Ms. Lula Jane, and how fond they were of her and this house when she lived here. Some of these people have been part of the neighborhood since they were kids and visited her often. One of them described the place as the hub, the place to be, and were everybody ended up. She has been described as a very kind person who loved her home, a very tall woman who enjoyed walking through her beautiful garden. On many occasions I asked if anyone had any pictures of her or the home because my intention was to recreate what this home used to look like in the past. Unfortunately, throughout the years, renters, squatters, and abandonment had taken a toll, and the old farmhouse had seriously deteriorated to the point of becoming not suitable for living. You can see pictures of the previous condition and restoration under the topic “fixing an old farmhouse.” But mostly, I wanted to know more about Ms. Lula Jane, the woman who truly loved her house.

About a week or so ago, I had that opportunity. I received a surprise visit from one of her granddaughters, Ms. Saunders. She happened to be visiting the area on her way to Maryland, and asked if she could see the home where she grew up. It was a real pleasure to meet her. She seemed to have fond memories of her grandmother and of the home. I gave her a tour of the place, explaining what we had done with it. One of her remarks got my attention. She said, “Oh, it looks almost the same.” I was puzzled because we had changed everything and gutted the house, which was in very bad condition when we bought it. Later on, when we sat to converse, I asked her about it and she said that the home still felt familiar and almost as she remembered, even that the furnishings and overall decor were different. Indeed, we had not changed any of its layout. Her visit was not as extended as I wished it would have been; I wanted to know much more. She was kind enough to share some memories of childhood, and of her grandmother, whom she seemed to have adored. I found a connection with Ms. Lula Jane through her stories.

Ms. Lula Jane had traveled from England to the USA with the family she worked for; they took her with them when they moved to the United States. Her granddaughter said that she was free, and not under slavery in England. In England, slavery was abolished much earlier than in the USA. Later on, her grandfather, Mr. John Henry Robertson, built the home. This piece of information seemed to be in conflict with the information I had been given by someone else, but it wasn’t. It was all reconciled when I asked, and she explained that there had been an interracial marriage at some point. Now I had a more complete picture of the history of ownership of this old farmhouse, and I felt closer to the previous owner, both of us having some likes in common.

Ms. Saunders promised to share pictures of her grandmother and of the house if she came across any. We exchanged numbers, and I texted her a link to this blog so she could follow the restoration so far. She was able to clarify and answer some of my questions, according to what she knew, and I am grateful for that. In her excitement, she mentioned that she remembered how good the well water tasted, to what I offered to fill up a bottle for her to take home, which I did. The next day, I received a text from her. Attached, I found a picture of her grandparents. Finally, I was able to see the image of a beautiful tall lady, referred to and appreciated by many people, a cornerstone of this neighborhood. Thank you, Ms. Saunders.

This Old Garden

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This time of the year is perfect for working outdoors because it is not too cold and not warm yet. It is when we try to do as much as we can before the warm weather and bugs arrive. The weather has been good enough, even during winter. This gave us enough time to tackle some chores that needed to be done. We enjoy this type of work, so when it is done during cool weather, we like it even more. Most of it was repainting all the areas that needed to be redone, such as light posts, porch posts, veggie garden, old planting pots that needed some love, garden tables, and the wood around the house. We are sticking with the color Barn Red by Minwax, a semi stain, and we love it. One coat is just enough. We replaced the wood on the work bench and repainted it, spruced up the side door, and weeded out some broken things. We also introduced a new area in the garden, which will need some further development. Tired flags were changed, grass was cut, and leaves were collected once more after the very windy days we had. Overall, most of the heavy work is done by now, but we still have some things to tackle before the summer. We are also planning other projects before the end of this year, some of which I will share here.

New garden area that needs more work. This year we introduced three new areas in the garden.

We have come a long way.

In the beginning … there was chaos everywhere.
You can view the renovation of the old farmhouse and garden under Restoring an Old Farmhouse posts.
I see you.

Preparing the Garden for Spring

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It turned out to be a mostly mild winter after all, with a few very cold days and nights in between. We even hit six degrees at night once. This week will be random temperatures of all kinds, with some 20s at night. But that is March around here in Virginia; it is the unpredictable month. Winter temperatures started early, and I thought that we would have a very cold winter; not so. The birds have been arriving again, in February, a sign of an early spring, I thought; not so. We had a bit of snow last week, just when we were expecting rain, and so far, the only time it snowed around here. March is hard to predict as far as gardening projects.

Thanks to the mild weather in December through February, we were able to tackle many projects around the home. Most of them were cleaning up, setting up areas, clearing brush, and overall getting things ready for the planting and gardening season. Most of the dead trees were chopped, and all the wood that was put out for people to take and use for heating is gone. Most people prepare a season ahead, so wood is always in demand. Most of the wood was oak and maple, with other species in between. All of it appreciated for sure. I am glad that the large tree near the kitchen entrance was able to keep on giving, and that it lived beyond in many ways: as wood for heating people’s homes, as garden decor here at the farmhouse, and as mulch for new gardening areas. I loved that tree and hated to have to cut it, but it was a liability at this point. I am happy that the tree lived beyond and nothing of it got wasted. We left the enormous stump and have decorative plans for it. Here are a few pictures of the work we did during this mild season.

  • Debris and more debris on top of debris … all cleaned up, but still more to come. It has been very windy.
  • An attempt to start seeds early.
  • The tree that kept on giving. We cut round slices to use for the garden to elevate some pots at the front area.
  • Mulch from the same tree.

  • Two new areas in the garden were started with plants that survived the winter.

Round slices of the tree being used in the garden.
The small trails were cleared of the leaves that covered them. We use the larger logs that have fallen to delineate the pathways. We are not finished making the trails because it is a large project and time consuming.
Every time I find a small cedar growing in an area where it should not, I place it in a pot and grow it until it reaches at least one foot, and then, I plant it in the perimeter of the wooded area. Eventually, these cedars will grow, and it will look lovely. This particular one was about an inch when I found it.
The bit of snow we got this winter, so far.
Find the bird.

There are many other chores to do around here, weather permitting that is. All due in time. Hope you enjoy this post.