Winter Wonderland 

Today's "S" word is SNOW! Snow, snow and more snow!  Thankfully, it doesn't seem to slow down the activity at the bird feeders! That's a good thing seeing how we're expecting more of that white stuff throughout the day and night! I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise seeing we're living in Wisconsin! And really, we can't complain as we've had a very mild winter so far. Okay, maybe we dealt with a few windchill factors of minus 40 or colder and wind itself of 52 mph gusts, but it's winter after all! 

Another "S" word comes to mind. Snuggling! Yes, it's snuggling weather! See y'all later! 

 I'm like a little child who becomes easily distracted. In this case, distracted since Aug 16, 2021, my last blog posting. Really?!  Where did that time go? 

A lot of that time has been spent in dreamland. Dreaming of the perfect gardens, flowers and vegetables. Dreaming of crafting, I have the supplies and the time, but I'm lacking motivation. But give a girl some credit, I did get the craft room cleaned up and back in running order. Dreaming of a hobby farm when I can't even follow through on a single project. 

Is it my age? Where did my get up and go get up and wonder off to? How could I possibly take care of chickens, or a cute little miniature donkey (now I'm cross dreaming into my son's ideas) or a pair of miniature highland cows if I can't shake this lack of motivation? 

Wish me luck as I attempt to get back into posting. Stick with me, it might get interesting.  Like life itself, you never know what comes up next. 

 UPDATE TIME! 

Wow, it's been a while since popping in to update my blog. Since my last posting from October of 2019 a lot has happened.  I guess time flies while listing a house for sale, showing it, selling it packing up and moving. And oh what a move it was. Once the house sold it was full speed ahead and dang near killed us. We never would have made it without the help of several people, but especially my son and grandson who made several trips helping load, unload, reload and unload over and over again. Driving 3 hours one direction with each trip. Fourteen trailer loads full. Long story short, moving from a semi-remote area and not having time to hire a moving company made for some craziness at times. But we survived and have settled in nicely.  

We moved into a new to us 20 year old house located closer to family. We are no longer on the edge of town but once again country bumpkins and absolutely loving it. We start almost every day sitting on the covered porch having coffee, watching the bunnies and listening to the birds. We end almost every day the same way. Sometimes at night the owls serenade us to sleep. Who wouldn't love that?! 

 Its interesting getting to know your new surroundings. We moved from living on sand and having a dry lawn to a constant green lawn. Loving it! I've discovered several plants like lilies, hostas, ferns and daffodils in the strangest places like an old abandoned garden and in the edge of the woods itself. Luckily we found rhubarb and hopefully it will do well next year. The plants have been transplanted into more suitable places. 

We had a rock pile on the end of the lawn with weeds all over it where the rain gutter comes off the edge of the house and then was buried to spill out to the rocks. It was a mess. That has been transformed into a little pond with some of the plants placed around it. It's a project in the making but already has improved the scenery. 

Time will tell how this will all end and I won't overwhelm you with more at this time but do stay tuned as I get back into blogging! 

 

One Foggy Sunday Morning

We took a little foggy Sunday morning ride up north for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants. 

They are  known for their cinnamon rolls that weigh over a pound a piece. Of course we had to bring a couple home!  I know we don't "need" it but dang, it's fun having a treat that lasts a week and then another one in the freezer for when the snow flies.  When sliced and made into French toast ~ oh baby that's good eating! 

With all the wind and rain lately I was a bit surprised at just how much color was still hanging on some of the trees. And of course looking out across Lake Superior is always a great view. 

Then we popped into the casino in Baraga for a few spins. Happy to say it was worth it.  We both walked out winners! 

On our way home we stopped by our friends restaurant the Sawblade in Amasa, where she (or her Mom in this case) makes the most delicious pizza (along with everything they cook!) So it's pizza for supper tonight! I love these kind of days! 

Let the Baking Begin!

So let the baking begin! Nope, not the Christmas baking but a bit of baking for an upcoming benefit being held at the end of the month for a dear friend. 
However; I usually start off the Christmas baking when the first snowflakes fly, so according to the meteorologist that could happen this weekend. Time will tell. I bake a batch of cookies that never seem to make it even remotely close to the holidays!  They just mysteriously disappear but it does start my thoughts heading into the baking mode for the season! But for now, a few loaves of banana bread that just came out of the oven are smelling quite tempting! 
It may not be snowing (yet) but baking was a good way to spend this oh so "gray" dreary, wet day! 

Partial Harvest 2019

I have to laugh when I recall what my Grandson said when I told him I was going to give up on gardening when we sell our house and move. I told him I would probably just plant a few things in pots and he looked me straight in the eye and said I would have pots all over the yard and Grandpa would have to mow around them. Then he laughed and said,  "just dig up the ground and plant your seeds, you're always going to be a gardener Grandma!" 

I think he's right.  

When harvest time comes around there is nothing better than "home grown!" 

Take roasted tomatoes with your own fresh herbs for example,

The peppers were amazing this year! I haven't kept count but I know we picked several times and each picking was at least a half dozen.  Tomorrow night we're having stuffed peppers and I plan to make extra for freezing. 

Supper tonight is BLT's.  I never get tired of them and we've had quite a few meals of them already in this fashion. 

And then there's  a half gallon of copper pennies made with our fresh dug carrots!  

And our friendly little neighbor has a great apple tree that she said to help ourselves to. So yesterday I made a couple of pies! One for us and one delivered to her for sharing. 

And this was all in the past two days! I guess my Grandson might be right, I'm a gardener and it might be hard to give up for a few pots on a patio.  

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse

No! I didn’t fall off the face of the Earth.  

However; speaking of our universe, 

I did a bit of moon gazing tonight!

Mid-Summer Snowball Effect

 The snowball effect in mid-summer! You know how it goes – you start with twenty pounds of blueberries that need freezing … that leads to cleaning the freezer to see how many are left from last year to find only one little bag. But in the process you come across some frozen “stuff” that really should be used soon, as in now! So you pull out a big bag of broccoli and you make a creamy broccoli soup. Then you move onto some packages of turkey gizzards that are miraculously placed into pickling brine and turkey broth cooked off. Oh wait – that was no miracle -I did that. Fish are thawing in the fridge for tomorrow’s supper. Oh and let’s not forget a couple of bags of rhubarb that were made into bars. Yup, that’s just one example of the snowball effect in mid-summer! And how was your day? 

The Garden Gate Pics

I can’t believe how much our garden has changed in a single month.  If you stop right here and look at my last posting, you will see for yourself what I’m talking about.

Although some things are very slow, there still is a significant difference. The peas on the trellis are 10 feet tall and producing wonderfully. The globe zucchini is new to our garden this year and we've been enjoying them. The regular zukes are getting there ~ slow but sure. The strawberries have been productive and the bee balm is in full bloom. And this is just part of the garden ... more pics later.

 

Outdoor Projects

Wow, it’s been a while since I posted anything on here. 

But … we’ve been kind of busy.

When good weather comes, we always have a lot of outdoor stuff to do like re-building rock gardens, putting up a windmill, extending our garden – which meant building new raised beds and extending wiring. That also meant taking down the old gate to move it which lead to repainting it … the list goes on. Not to mention the regular yard work like mowing and trimming.
On rainy days we play catch up in the house with cleaning, cooking, laundry etc. Now toss in a few doctor appointments, grocery shopping and social events and there goes the time!  

So we went from this ~

 To this ~ See how we grew!

House Hunting

Searching for the perfect home! 

I already checked the one over there 

I knew you'd love this one Dear! 

 Tree Swallows 

Bedsprings and Wine Bottles

Bedsprings and Wine Bottles 

One thing leads to another! 

YES - We got snow!

YES – we got snow!

NO – I don’t want to talk about it!

YES - the calendar says Spring!

NO - it doesn't look like it!

YES - I'm thinking of gardening!

NO - the garden isn't ready! 

YES - I said I didn't want to talk about it!

NO - I didn't keep my word!