Just popping in before I return outdoors to the Summer Oven. This may be our last day of heat for a few days. That, in itself, is cause for celebration.
A pair of Mourning Doves camping out on our rooftop internet antenna – last night before dusk. Sliver of moon below them
A cooling fan…
Blackberries ~ starting to ripen!
And finally, I picked the first tomato of the season this morning.
Enjoy the weekend ~ wherever you may be.
Mr. W has been busy since Tuesday with the start of hay season. The mowing began Tuesday, then those 3 fields dried out on Wednesday… and 3 more fields were mowed. Today he raked and baled the 3 fields that were mowed Tuesday. The whole process begins again tomorrow until all the fields are baled up.
Shown below is the 1962 John Deere ~ newest tractor on the farm! Complete with our New Holland late 70’s model baler. This was taken in the field that is just south of our house.
Mmmm, love the smell of fresh hay.
So far, we haven’t had any rain on our new hay. But, wow, temps here have been in the 90’s consistently for several days now. The heat indices have gone all the way up to 110 degrees F at times. Whew! Big straw hats, long sleeves for sun protection, SPF 50 sunscreen, and mucho H2O – all are very important during this extreme heat. We use this hay exclusively for our cattle. This will feed them during the winter months, of course.
I also captured a few coneflowers and other blooms before everything wilts in the heat. They may not last long!
If anyone could spare some cooler temps (Cheryl, friend and neighbor up north??)… please send them our way. It would be very much appreciated!
I hope everyone, especially all the Dads, had a wonderful Fathers’ Day! We had a double celebration here at the farm. Today is also my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. What a milestone! They made my sister and I promise not to have a big ‘to-do’, so we had a small family celebration here. An interesting fact is that their wedding day was also on Father’s Day back in 1959.
Here are my parents ~ 50 years ago on this day, a very very hot day in Perry, Missouri in 1959. And the guys in the wedding party all wore wool suits. Wow!
Today, we had some simple floral decorations (compliments of the perennial garden), ice cream and a wonderful cake, lots and lots of family and ‘couple’ photos, some gifts, and much fun reminiscing and viewing old family pictures. We also celebrated the Dads, of course!
Happy Father’s Day, Dads!
Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom & Dad!
We love you!
The weather has turned a bit crazy again. Right now we’re getting strong winds and some rain. A few minutes ago I captured this double rainbow. Or at least I think it was a double rainbow?
Right before the rainbow, Gracie & Ruby and I were up close and personal with a beautiful doe. She wasn’t the least bit afraid and came right up to their pen. Oh, so pretty. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have the camera next time.
We are keeping busy here. After some sickness the first few days of the week, it’s catch-up time. At least it makes one appreciate feeling good again!
“The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird.” source: Wikipedia
We send you the Bluebird of Happiness for this Sunday, and this week… hope it’s a good one!
The Blacksmith and Fiddler accomplished a lot today on the Barn/Cottage! We now have a fully functional, flushing toilet. Additionally, bead board panels now surround the entire bathroom, and a door was installed thus making the privy area pretty much private now.
Here is a view of the manifold, which is where all the water originates for the Barn/Cottage.
There are many more details yet to finish for the bathroom area – a door knob, water heater, ceiling, install sink & vanity, hook up water to the tub/shower, install trim, a permanent light fixture – just to name a few items. But a lot was accomplished!
Additionally, the Fiddler, almost singlehandedly framed up this wall that separates the Cottage from the Barn. This was his first framing lesson ~ well done! We have a French door that will be installed in this wall.
I spent the day catching up on laundry and other neverending chores. I also started painting the metal chairs for the porch. This morning I “churned” butter and baked whole wheat beer bread. I got this fabulous butter recipe from Evening Shade Morning Latte. You may view the recipe here, and be sure to check out her other great recipes. Here are a few glimpses of my butter-making process. Yes, I cheated and used the KitchenAid mixer. It was SO easy! Here you can see it turning to butter, and separating from the buttermilk.
After about 13 minutes on medium-high, here is what I had.. draining the buttermilk here.
And into the crock it went.
I have to confess I tried this butter recipe the other day and I ended up with salty whipped cream. It never quite made it to the butter stage – guess I hurried it up a little too much! Homemade butter calls for homemade bread so I used one of my favorite quick recipes - Farmgirl Susan's Almost Too Easy Whole Wheat Beer Bread. My bread never turns out as pretty as Susan’s, but this recipe is always tasty.
All in all, a tasty duo, and a good treat for my carpenters and me! (Yikes, and another reason to start that diet Monday!)
Hope you’re enjoying the weekend!
This is what I see every morning when I turn the donkeys out from their stall, and into their grazing pen.
Ruby & Gracie’s bovine friends come up for a chat…
Awwww…. sweet baby.
A meeting of the minds…
I always enjoy this part of the day. I also have a little preview of some progress made in the Barn/Cottage. In spite of many interruptions the past few weeks, there has been a fair amount of progress. We’ve had a lot of other things going on, including many visitors, a few road trips, fence-fixing, readying equipment for hay season, attempts at catching a wayward cat, and numerous projects.
The electrical wiring is complete, except for miscellaneous switches/outlets that will be installed later. This is what we have so far in the bathroom area… walls framed in, wiring, tub/shower shimmed and set, and a few other miscellaneous preps. Hopefully, there will be a toilet by the weekend. That would be nice, huh? And also it would be nice if the walls were covered before then :)
Off to search for boxes of nails for the nail gun. Where oh where can they be?
Yesterday we left bright and early for Jacob’s Cave, which is located between Versailles and Gravois Mills, Missouri. It was about 100 mile drive for us. The main objective of this trip was to attend the Jacob's Cave Swapping Days in search of a Brown Chinese gander for my dear sweet Brown Chinese goose, Greta. Her mate, Charlie, died about two years ago. I have tried since then to find another Brown Chinese gander, to no avail. Jacob’s Cave Swap is one of the largest in our state, so it was my next best hope. Our Wild Goose Chase was again unproductive, however. We did see one pair of the B.C.’s and we literally chased down the ATV carrying them. They had just been purchased, and were apparently the last two B.C.’s at the swap! Darn! Mr. W did find a Stanley plow plane in perfect shape at a not-bad price, which he has been in search of for many years. So, at least one of us was happy with the swap meet.
On our return trip, we stopped by the home and shop of Osage Bluff Blacksmith and Quilter for a visit. Mr. W did some blacksmithing with BT, Terry and Joe. They made numerous items from railroad spikes. Friend Phyllis was also at the T’s home, and the three of us ladies had a nice visit. I also toured their beautiful (!) post and beam home. Of course, the Quilter had numerous absolutely gorgeous quilts displayed, as well as some of the most interesting collections that I’ve ever seen. Later in the afternoon, I was treated to a fabulous shopping trip to TJ Maxx with savvy shopper Patti. Fun, fun, fun! My new favorite place to shop. (Thanks again, Patti!) Upon return, Mr. W and I said our goodbyes and headed back toward home. But first! There was a stop by Menards for just a few more plumbing supplies and miscellaneous items. It seems we cannot pass that store by lately. We have been there every weekend for the past umpteen weeks. The workers actually know and remember us now! (I don’t know if that’s good or bad.) I also bought two large area rugs (total $20) to cover up our kitchen floor (it has many issues), and Endless Summer Hydrangeas were on sale. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower, so after careful consideration, I grabbed one up.
Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the camera along on our wild goose chase. I do have some pictures I took a couple of days ago in my perennial gardens, which I will share.
Clockwise from upper left: Veronica, Tickseed Coreopsis, Miniature Rose, Moth on Primrose, Evening Primrose, Missouri Primrose, Butterfly on Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), Foxglove
Please check back in for a long-overdue update on the Barn/Cottage sometime this week!
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Roxy, our Fox Terrier (11 years old), came through surgery for her mammary tumor with flying colors. Mr. W picked her up from the Vet’s today, complete with an Elizabethan (E) collar. This will prevent her from chewing and licking her incision on her lower belly. After I returned home from work, she didn’t get two inches away from me all evening. In fact, it was really hard to take a picture. Here she is in her E-collar, which she hates, but it’s a necessary evil for a few days.
The cat is afraid of her in this contraption, wondering what this strange alien-looking creature is! Hopefully Roxy will have a full, easy recovery. She is such a little trooper, and the best patient ever!
