Winter Season Is Here!

Of winter’s lifeless world each tree

Now seems a perfect part;

Yet each one holds summer’s secret

Deep down within its heart.

Charles G. Stater

With this year quickly coming to an end

I find myself filled with  " hope" of what I can accomplish

in the new coming year. I always use the previous year as

a reference to what I did right..........or not so right.....

in just about every area of my life...........

especially when it comes to gardening and raising flowers.......or............

trying to tame a wild and ever growing area.

Some things I have learned to grow in the most uncommon places........

this large bed of zinnia flourished underneath and alongside

the crooked and bent mesquite trees that take over this land

Other areas I have cleared and enjoyed.......but am 

always struggling in just a few weeks to clear it all again........

it is very persistent in staying wild and un-manicured......

yet, I wear myself out trying to keep it the way I want

this area is a little into the mesquite woods........if it is clear where I can see where I am walking, 

I love to come out to this spot to just sit for a while

When we first moved out here so many years ago..........I was over joyed

with all of the acreage that I was going to cast flower seed on and let grow..........

I have learned that many things here.......although the ground is good for growing.......

fall victim to predators that dig up roots and eat the plants.......

and get destroyed by every kind of bug and flying insect there is........or get blown away by the wind

I have learned to make raised beds

blocked off from the wind.............and  I invest a small fortune for a lot of wire and fencing to 

keep these pests out. 

Some bulbs like daffodils, I can plant into the ground

and they come up each spring.......but other bulbs,

such as tulips, anemones, and freesias .........

I plant in raised beds or containers.

This fall I have planted over a 100 bulbs of the above mentioned

some in my flowerbed in front of my greenhouse

some in deep pots in an arrangement on the patio.

I am hoping that they all sprout and bloom at the same time......

but am pretty sure that they will sprout in their own separate time. 

My biggest project I am working for this coming spring........

is my new flower garden.  If you see the arrow in the photo........

that is where the antique archway was setting...........I placed it out there a couple of years ago.

But the lesson I learned.......I could not enjoy seeing it unless I was way out there.

Now I have dragged it up to a corner in the back yard (in the middle of the photo) where I can see it and walk through it

as I work in the country flower garden I am planning for it.

My Christmas present from my husband this year is a roll of antique fencing and the posts to place it 

around this new garden site.  I am still thinking on what kind of flowers to grow and where they will be placed.

 One more thing I am starting to work on.......are handmade items for my home.........

for every room.........but that is another story on my embroidery blog

if you would like to read it.......click onto this link

Yesteryear Embroideries

So tell me..........what have you learned in the years past???

What are your plans for the new year??

The weather .........these past few days......seems that it cant make up it's mind

it blew hard winds

making homes disappear in the dirt from the cotton fields. 

On the same night..........the wind, itself disappeared ........

leaving a cold and crisp night to enjoy the Christmas lights in a 

neighboring city.

The next day was calm, sunny, but chilly........

with birds sunning on the iron horse fence poles

slightly puffed in the slight breeze..........

and the few lingering butterflies finding a sunny spot to rest

even Sophie was panting from the heat after one of our walks

and she and Homer found a warm spot to take a nap........

this morning we awoke to the season's first light snow..........

leaving the woods quiet .....as the birds huddled in shelter from the brisk cold

Taboo could not resist the comforting warmth of the fire as it crackled 

and the glow of a candle made the coffee table a perfect place for rest.

So........tell me.........are you under a blanket of snow...........

or are you still enjoying sunny days?

I would love to hear!

The days have still been pleasant enough to take long walks

and to see many creatures enjoying the 

warm sunshine.....

this spider is amazingly large.....

and to me..........looks like it stepped out of  a

Tim Burton movie.......don't you think? 

This is a Golden Orb Weaver and is not harmful. 

The last of my flowers........one is the ..Butterfly Weed........

is certainly living up to it's name

it is attracting many butterflies

as is the morning glory     

and Chrysanthemum 

and it is still warm enough to bring out what I am not fond of

these past few weeks rattlesnakes have been everywhere .......

on the patio, on the front porch, in my flower beds......at my shop steps

and a den was in our storage shed.  They certainly make me nervous.

Yet they have their own beauty.

Now......let me introduce you to my newest hobby adventure...........

Gus and Tex

(GUS)

I have been wanting to raise miniature chickens for a while. As you read in my last post

my old rooster died.  I have 3 regular size hens left .......

and now I have found these wonderful tiny roosters..........they are only 10 inches tall

They are Wheaten Old English Bantams 

(TEX)

I love they way they sound when they crow........almost like a squeak toy.

I bought these at a flea market........they are a year old.  The lady who was selling them did not have any hens left.............so she is supposed to have hens for me next month. 

Now Thanksgiving is upon us.  

Here's wishing you many wonderful things to be thankful for on your Thanksgiving day .......

and every day beyond that!

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This old lunch belonged to my husband's grandfather

back in the 60's..........I am not sure how long he, himself used it..........

but I can tell you that it has been used every working day.......by my husband 

for the last 25 years. He has been offered new , larger, zip up type of lunch boxes......

but no........he has enjoyed this one

My husband loves the way I cook..........and he loves the left overs from the dinner's I make.

Those left overs would go into his lunch box for his next day's lunch at work.

I tried getting him to like "hot pockets" and frozen burritos..........but no

he wanted what he had the night before..........

and there would always be a buffet .........stuffed into this box

fried chicken, chicken fried steak, enchiladas, and so on..........

with all of the sides to each  main dish to go with it................plus dessert......such as pie and cake.

I used all sorts of containers and bags.............and carefully stacked and squeezed until 

the lunch box would almost not close.......

there would also be a container of tea, a plastic drinking cup, paper plate, napkins, and fork and knife.

Now.......the lunch box has not been used since the last of September.........

it is on a shelf........in retirement...........

my husband's workplace closed it's doors..........and now my husband

has a new life.........of early retirement.........

with no more lunches to carry to work.

For him at this moment...........it is odd to not be prepared to start

the day fast and hard to get work done

Lord knows........he has plenty to do here at home .........

and he is starting to enjoy the slower pace of life

for me...........it is a whole new chapter of our life together.

I have been used to living my life ...........alone......much of the time.........

and now..........it is like starting all over again......

getting to enjoy my husband's company at any time of the day!

I enjoy looking forward to each day of what we will do together.

A lot of home projects.........maybe some travel........

mostly......just enjoying.........

together.

There are two reasons I named a feral cat Houdini

One, because I tried to trap him............because he was fighting

my other outside cat, Homer. 

(I had plans to take him to the local humane society. )

When I actually trapped  this wild grey striped tabby,

he broke my trap and escaped.........

earning the name Houdini.

Reason two,  I have never been able to get

a photo of Houdini, 

every time I aim my camera at him,

he hurries away, disappearing.

But as the months  rolled by, I slightly earned his trust by feeding him, 

and he stopped being so aggressive to Homer.

Still not trusting me enough to pet him.

These past few days, however, he has not shown up for his meals.

I found him yesterday,,,,, dead in my flower garden.

It made me so sad. This cat has had such a hard life to be dumped out 

into the predator filled woods and then to live out in the elements.

How I wish everyone would think twice before dropping off

 a cat or dog, hoping someone would give it a good home.

Also this week, my old rooster Norman died........

He had taken care of his hens very well.......even losing one eye in a rooster fight for them.

Over the past year, he acted a little wobbly now and then,

and in a few days be running with his hens.......

and a few weeks later, be wobbly again.

Now.......although I still have a handful of hens,

the grounds are quite and absent of the sound

 of a rooster crowing.

I knew I would miss that sound ...........

and I do

Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom.........

 They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful. 

Jim Carrey

The morning-glories on the wall

Fling out their purple trumpets to the wind,—

~Elizabeth Chase Akers Allen (1832–1911)

"October," c.1866

It was just like a family reunion.............

when I finally pulled out my cookbook collection

that has been stored away in the hall closet.........

for too long

for years, I have collected vintage cookbooks from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s...

I love to read them..........I can read a cookbook.......just like anyone else can  read a romance novel......

and I also like to try the recipes from them

but I also love to collect books that have stories that go along with the recipes........

my favorite cookbook author is Jane Watson Hopping.......

she tells of her life growing up with all of the old family recipes and 

of her life with her husband on her farm and of those recipes........

the reason my cookbooks have been stored away is because I moved them and the shelving they

were on .........to make room for this old cabinet.........it is a wonderful addition to my kitchen.

However, it left me with no place for my cookbook collection...

so for months they have been stored away 

I finally fixed shelving and found a perfect corner with a perfect chair to read them.

when I started re-shelving them..........each one was like a dear friend or family member that

I have missed and was delighted to see and hold again!

and yes.........there is one compartment in the vintage cabinet 

for the cookbooks I use frequently in cooking...........

how about you?

Do you collect cookbooks? If so, what kind and how old?

I would love to hear

I'm not rushing Summer out the door...................

I'm welcoming Autumn in!...............

I have been gathering my small harvest 

of fairy tale pumpkins

and decorative gourds

of all shapes, sizes, and colors

and placing them everywhere on the porches

my potted marigolds are still young at the moment but I hope 

they will soon grow and fill out the pot  more.

How about you?  What is the weather like in your

corner of the world?

Are you soggy with rain?..........hot and dry?

or are the days feeling more like Autumn?

I would love to hear!

Damaged Meadow Update

Many of you have asked about how the situation over the damaged land

that I once called " my meadow" has been .......

I posted about this January 31st of this year (see link for the whole story)

" Blog Readers Beware"    

 For the first few months........I got upset every time I went to look at the land.....

so I have not posted about it

It has been months of different occurring issues 

that has stalled the final negotiations and settlement 

but the company that has caused the damaged has stepped up

and patiently worked on resolving and repairing......as best they can. 

At last......the land is healing itself.

The company sowed the natural grass seeds early on.....

we had a lot of rain.........

but nothing sprouted.........

however.....a large patch of sunflowers found their way onto  

this barren land

who can complain about sunflowers?

if you look closer to the ground.......there are still bare

and barren places and traces of tire tracks.......

the company also placed a sturdy and long fence all the 

way down on our property.....

to prevent any more treading upon the grounds

and there is that one lone tree.....with a few more small ones around

I have hopes that this mesquite tree will grow and stand out on this land

as time goes by. I have been gathering all kinds of the wild flower seeds 

here on the grounds......and in late fall....I will scatter them ......

here.......reclaiming........

my meadow

looking out across from our land, the farmer's fields 

are tall and green in cotton

The issues have now been resolved......the negotiations agreed upon

and  once again........I take long walks with Sophie......and Homer

and I can resume  my usual cheery, butterflies floating.......

flowers blooming.......wild critters drinking..... posting...........

also.......you have asked about my spider bite..........

it is healing..........still slightly painful........

but healing.

Thank you , dear readers.........for always asking.......and 

always caring.

Here's wishing well for all of you

wherever your " meadows" lie