Friday, December 25, 2020
The Road
Monday, November 30, 2020
Fall 2020
I never think to post to this blog, or the pictures need to be edited... or I can't find them... But I am going to write several and at least post something monthly. Mostly pictures, because I have taken so many that I have not shared since moving to rural Kentucky.
As usual, I have focused on the neighborhood, which is pretty much, all nature and well I haven't gone anywhere in a year.
There are fields and forests and little open areas, a creek, a dirt road, some dilapidated buildings old tractors, lots of interest if you care to look!
I'm going to kick this off with fall color. When we moved out here and I saw the field across the road, I knew there would be some great fall color... just not last year. Between the drought, the fall rains, and then the cold, the leaves pretty much just fell off the trees.
The only color in 2019 and most of the leaves are gone |
This year's better weather conditions gave us some great Kentucky fall color.
A little volunteer Bradford Pear, with great color this year. |
This little Bradford Pear was strangling under a heavy layer of vining Honeysuckle. We cut some of the honeysuckle vines off and gave it a little taste of Roundup and we got a nice bit of color from the Bradford Pear this year. I can see that there is another smaller one down the dam hill a bit further too.
So, that was fall this year in color. I love all of the seasons. Fall is not my favorite all the time, just right now.
Sunday, August 9, 2020
A little Blogger help...
Blogger has insisted that we all upgrade, if not now then by September for sure. I have seen where several are confused or having problems with uploading and moving photos and then unable to write under once the pictures are loaded. So I am going to see what is what... and try and help some out. This is down and dirty... and not a full tutorial, just some tips to show you that it can be done... just a little differently than you may have done it before. To help... blog text is small, tips/hints are large and in gray. BTW- I am not an expert, this is just what worked or has worked for me.
To start a new post click the +New Post button at the very top of the menu on the left. The new interface is clean, without a bunch of distractions...
The farm this summer has kept us busy. The rain has come in droves, so things are growing madly. The month of July we had more than 11 inches of rain. Most of it came in 3 separate, but heavy rain cycles, with a few worthless showers between. Fortunately, some friends offered us a drip irrigation system, which we had in place, to spread some water a bit more evenly between drenchings.
The first 2 pictures I loaded. Use the picture icon in the menu when creating a post, to find and add the pictures. After the photos loaded to the page, I clicked to the right of the 1st photo to put the cursor at the right, (it shows as a long blinking black line when you do this), it is not visible here. Click enter and the cursor moves down below the picture. Begin typing, then use the menu at the top to align text how you would like it to appear. In my case, the photos are centered, so the text was too. I used the top menu to align left, and kept the photo centered.
The garden in early spring too. You can see some of the tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and cucumbers, so far. We added lots more plants as they became available.
Monday, May 25, 2020
New Residents at the Farm
So, speaking of farm... we need a name for the farm... we've tried out a few things, but nothing sticks. Any suggestions??? We're listening.
Visiting Guests |
We have some guests here. Our neighbors have 3 goats. They were in a temporary pen, that as goats do, they figured out how to escape. Not just one, but all 3. Our little pasture is securely fenced so we offered it for a temporary safe place for them to stay. We had an ulterior motive, in that we were hoping they would chew the pasture down and we wouldn't have to mow it. They have been here for about 6 weeks and are doing a poor job of it and we have had to mow once and may have to mow again. In their defense, they are rather small and it is a big pasture!
Manicured Pasture |
We have added new residents! We have 2 of the three new residents in place. They arrived on Tuesday, May 12th, and were estimated to weigh about 25 pounds +/-.
Piggie Ann |
Yes, they have names. I named them after people that do NOT hold a special place in my heart, and it just worked out. Actually, the names came to me while we were waiting for the house to become ours. The female is "Piggie Ann" and the male is "Iggy Piggy". The names are pretty close to their human names so they fit and roll off the tongue easily. If you prefer they have second names too. Pork Chop and Boston Butt!!!
Good Friends and security |
Taste Test |
In the coming-soon department: we have another resident due here in a week or so. We've met him and he's got a name too! I'm going to keep that quiet... for a few more days... it'll give me something to talk about later.
More Later! Beth
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Wildflowers
Got a bit off track... Not enough time to get everything done... and then how much longer it takes to get anything done... But enough complaining.
Spring in the country and in a woodland forest is fabulously different than in a peopled area. So, far not so much the critters as it is the flora. Every time I take a walk in the woods here, I find a new to me flower- or one I am happy to know grows here.
The Spring Beauty |
The Spring Beauty has flowers smaller than a dime at fully open and has been blooming since late March in many locations in the woods
Cutleaf Toothwart |
Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) |
Rue Anenome |
Pear Tree Blossoms |
Woodland Ferns |
Wild Blue Phlox |
One of the scenes I love is this view up the road toward home on the way back from a walk to the end of the road.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Springtime Neighbors
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Meet the Clucks
The drive took me west and down some narrow one-lane roads, that for some reason were all paved!!! I did hear a bit of music while driving that sounded a little like the soundtrack from the movie Deliverance! Several times I questioned the GPS but eventually, I arrived at the destination.
The lady has a big spread all fenced in with free-range goats, sheep, chickens- several varieties, turkey 2 varieties, a bunch of dogs and cats... and maybe more critters that I didn't see. We exchanged the money for chickens, put them in the empty box, and I left for home.
The look on the DH's face when I opened the box and 6 half-grown chickens popped out. He was expecting chickens that fit in your hand. We locked up the pen and left them to explore their habitat.
The next day we explored more of what chickens need and set about acquiring the supplies. Finding chickens was so difficult that we were not prepared for immediate occupancy, but quickly caught up.
Its been about 8 months and the chickens love free-ranging around the yard. When we open the gate every morning to let them out 4 head immediately for the pond and a drink. Nevermind that they do that at the watering bucket first thing out of their coop too. Only 3 of the chickens actually have names. Loooucy and Ethel are the 2 that are least worried about people and Chicken Little. The name is obvious if you know the story. That chicken is afraid of her own shadow.
When I was growing up my dad used to call them "cackleberries", but we call them 'squakberries'. These girls are supplying us with 1-2 dozen every week, (even during the cold winter), so we are eating lots of eggs and giving some away as well. The girls lay eggs ranging in colors of pale mint green to a bright pale blue and they have large bright creamy yolks. The egg on the bottom is a store-bought egg for reference. Although now, most of the eggs are all a big Medium!
Its time to start recording some information about living here, the weather, rain amounts, additions or subtractions and the work or improvements we are making... on the farm. So far the weather this spring has been up and down temperature-wise, from the upper 20's at night to the highs in the daytime as high as 80 degrees. Many days that have been sunny have been tempered with a frigid wind from the north/northwest. The warmest just last week with a taste of the humidity that will soon be here. Typical for the power shift of the north versus the south for control of where the storms come from. This week we have had weather suitable for shorts and yesterday long pants and jackets. High winds are predicted from most of the day, up to 50 mph. An inch of rain fell on Sunday 4/13/2020 and 3/4 of an inch before sunrise on Monday.
As Always More Later! Beth
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Its Been a While
The new place came with some extras. The previous owner had some cats, but she left us all the kittens. Seven ranging in age from about 3 months to 6 months. At first we weren't sure where they belonged... and they were very afraid of humans. But after 2 days I bought some food, and we claimed all 7.
All 7 cats |