Cattle Call

I was out working in the early morning hours, when I heard yelling and loud calling over in the ranch land across from our property. The cowboys were out gathering their cattle. Yes.....that's right.... we have.....real cowboys... who ride their horses and get their cattle in our area. I have seen them riding their horses and walking their cattle along the road to our house. I would have loved to have gotten a picture, but they were way off in the mesquite covered land....also, I am extremely shy and don't like to approach people.

Look at how disappointed Sophie is with me. She knows that where there are cowboys, there are also cowdogs, handsome cowdogs and nice fat cows to chase. Would it hurt so much to just go and say hi and sniff around a little? She asks, as her nose lifts to the air and her ears perk toward the calls. No, Sophie, you just stay with me.
My brother-in-law sent this wonderful old milk container my way. I just love these old things, don't you?


I think it needs potted flowers to surround the base of it as well. I might put a vine- like potted plant on top so that the vines will drape off of it.

Here is a smaller one I have had for many years. Do any of you remember getting milk delivered in these? I have not done enough research to see how these containers were used for the milk. Do any of you know about them? I would love to hear.

My plants have gotten impatient with me and are blooming and already putting on their bounty in the shed. If you look closely you can see the small bell pepper forming.

The squash are blooming and threatening to take over the shed....so I'm off to the great outdoors to plant. Have any of you started planting yet? What are you most successful with? I would love to hear.

Together

We were young when we started out....together.... We spent the days learning about each other and fell in love.
We knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives....together. There was still so much for us to learn.

You learned how to fix things.......

I learned how to cook.

Then we knew we just had to raise children.....together. We still had so much to learn.

You learned to be a good father.

I learned to be a good mother.

We didn't always agree, but we learned to accept our differences and to be happy....together...

Together......we watched over our little family,

and made sweet memories......together.

Then we had to learn the hardest lesson to learn yet..... to let go....together.

Together.....through sickness, happy times, heartbreak, and hard times,

we have learned to work together and build each other up.

Together, we reflect on the happy life we formed

and ....together....we look down the road at what is to come.

After 26 years....together....

you're still the one.

Happy Anniversary!

April 26

There's A Change Coming

You may have noticed I have changed my blog title.....just a little. For the past year or more, I have been posting my hand embroidery(my true passion) on my other blog, Yesteryear Embroideries....http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com/ However, I sometimes run out of ideas to post about on both blogs and doing both can be very time consuming. So I am going to combine my country living posts and my embroidery posts on this blog. Sometimes you might read about the dirt, the flowers and the critters, and sometimes you might read about my latest stitching efforts. I am going to keep my embroidery blog for tutorials, links to stitching and hand made interests and such. If there is something new I think you might be interested in, I will post it on my "side link" to my other blogs. I still have my cooking blog.....http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com/ and I am also working on my "Embroidery Shop" blog where I can offer my stitching services to everyone, but I might just combine this with the existing embroidery blog. I want to thank all of you who stop by all of my blogs to say hi and to let me know what you are thinking. That is what makes blogging so fun. It is always interesting to hear from everyone in every corner of the world. All of you blogging friend's blogs will be linked here on my side bar. Once again, thank you for your blogging friendship!

The Potting Shed

This is a large size shed that sits in our back yard. It was once used as an office by the previous owners. It has been used for so much more since we have moved in. My first thought when I saw it was .....at last!.... an embroidery and antique shop in the making! I still have that plan later on down the road but for now,

it has been a "catch all" for everything that I have not wanted to get rid of, but don't use all of the time. Much like an attic where old things are stored.
I have various antique bottles, and vases stored on the shelves.

Some of the baby things of our life as a family, from our children's old crib to their high chairs. Also there is a closet full of the children's favorite toys they used to play with as well as our Christmas tree and ornaments. I have also used the shed as a shelter for my rabbit, Hercules, in the cold winter months,....... many baby chicks and ducklings have grown strong in here, and many mama cats have had their litters of kittens here as well. To say the least, this shed has been well used.

Even though I have a greenhouse and the plants are doing well, the weather is getting warmer, making the greenhouse too hot for young sprouts.

The shed has a large table, perfect for potting, and nice large windows, perfect for just enough light for sprouting. It is also warm enough at night and cool enough in the day to keeps plants healthy.

So I moved some of my greenhouse shelves into this shed and will see if I will be successful at sprouting things in here.

Of course, no shed or shop is complete without a kitty cat. This is Zelda, the shed's permanent resident. She does not get along with the other cats and is content to spend her life as a hermit in the shed. She has been here 6 years and will only allow me to pet and hold her. Now my question to you.......what do you have stored that you just can't seem to get rid of? Do you use an attic, an extra room... a large closet perhaps? I would love to hear!

Blooming Time

Every morning for the past week, Sophie and I have enjoyed our walks. The air is full of the sweet fragrance of blossoming flowers and color of every hue stretches as far as the eye can see.

I always bring home a handful for a nice bouquet on our table.
There are so many clusters and colors.....

Yellow daisies of every kind,

the purple prairie Aster,

the vibrant Indian Blanket,

and so many different types that it would take all day to look and read about them. This Easter morning, Sweetie and Sophie brought home a large bouquet of fresh picked blooms.

Enough to set a bouquet, at every one's plate. After each holiday meal, it is tradition for my husband(sweetie) and I, Sophie and a cat or two to go for a long walk.

The day was beautiful, dressed in it's best floral dress.

With more bouquets to bring home.

We have a lot of "sage brush" and bushes that grow on our land and at this time the dull drab stems sprout the most amazing petals in the cheeriest colors

and berries. Such a reward to take a walk like this!

When I see bouquets of wildflowers, it brings back a memory of a time when my husband and I were first dating and then into early marriage. Whenever we drove somewhere, he constantly would pull over without explaining and go pull some wildflowers to hand to me. On our wedding day, his best man knocked on my dressing room door, handing fresh picked wildflowers that Sweetie stopped to pick...in his tuxedo.. on the way to the wedding. How I wish I had a photo of that! I carried those flowers in my wedding bouquet and I still have them pressed in our wedding album. Now....... how about you? Is there a particular flower you can't resist to pick or place in a bouquet on your table? Do you have special flowers from way back pressed in a book somewhere? I would love to hear.

Drifting Along With The Tumbling Tumbleweed

Remember that song? {: I grew up listening to the Pioneers sing that Tumbleweed song and to Marty Robbins singing Dusty winds. Whoever wrote those songs must have passed through Texas at one time and got inspired! Even though spring has come to the farm and the

tough old mesquite trees are showing their best, the winds have blown up to 50 mph, whipping the dirt up from the fields to where you can't see 10 feet in front of you. Along with the stinging sand and howling wind,
come the stickery tumbleweeds. They grow big and green in the summer in some of the driest land one would ever know. Even when they are green, they are prickly to touch. They then dry to a strong wood like form and the prickles turn into stickers along the stems. Some tumbleweeds can grow to 3 feet wide.

The harsh wind breaks them free and they all tumble along like a stampede of blind cattle. They tumble across miles of pasture and pile up against fences and houses.

One needs to wear gloves to remove them or they will get a hand full of dry stickers.

If you ever drive through Texas on a dusty windy day and you see the car in front of you swerving this way and that on the road......no, they haven't had too much to drink, they are dodging the tumbleweeds that run into their vehicle in all directions.

Seems like Texas is full of stickers and thorns. Even the horned toads have spikes all over and let's not forget the stinging scorpion and the rattlesnake.

You can't wear sandals if you take a walk around here.

As you can see the mesquite tree thorns grow quite long as well. However, there is still much beauty in this dry thorned land. One only has to look to find it.

Now you know why Salem is in such a deep sleep. He has been dodging tumbleweeds and thorns all day as the wind pushes him along. So now.......what kind of troublesome plant do you have in your surroundings? I would love to hear! Everyone have a blessed Easter holiday!