3 of them!

Sandy FINALLY had her kids. And she had triplets  And she had ALL GIRLS!!!!!! Girls! 3 girls!!! I keep checking them, just to make sure I'm not dreaming. Because she's ever only had like 3 girls in her 7 years of having kids. This is the 2nd goat that's had triplets here too. The other happened so long ago. And she had 2 boys and 1 girl.

So here they are. A small, medium and large kid, all in order here in this picture. The small one looks like Sandy. The medium dark one has toggles on both sides of her neck. And the biggest white one looks more like a Boer. They are SO cute and adorable. And I love them already.

Sandy is the best mother. She came out of the barn this morning and jumped up on the fence with the other goats for bread. Then she went back out to the barn. I did some things around the yard and later heard a baby in the barn. Ella and ira were outside so I knew something was going on in there.

When I went in, there were 3 kids, all dry and standing up, all full of colostrum. That's how good that goat is. Never ever had a problem with her kidding. She's all fine one minute, then here comes the kids and she's got them all cleaned off and dry and nursing within a few minutes.

Just a little pile of babies, all clean and dry and full. Ready for a nap. That white doe is LOUD. I guess that's the Nubian in her. The dad is Arlo Guthrie, the Boer buck I sold a few months ago. Now I wish I had kept him. Penelope had twin does back in Feb. both his too. So he had 5 doe kids. Should have kept him.

I am so glad that's over and she's ok and all the kids are alive and fine. I was getting a little worried since she kept going on and on. But all is well. And they are ALL GIRLS!

Monday May 13th...

And I still have my down comforter on my bed. It's COLD! And it's MAY! It is blackberry winter here right now. And the temps at night are in the 40's. My garden is a mess. It just can't figure out what to do. It's been cold, wet, rainy, overcast, then dry, hot and humid. Just crazy. I'm going to have to replant okra and kale because it got washed away. I had to replant tomatoes because they were yellow and wilted from all the rain. My kale and collards I planted way back in March are just sitting there, doing nothing. They don't get enough sun where I put them this year. I'll need to replant over on the other side. The cabbage I planted in March has not grown much at all. And radishes, they should have been harvested a month ago. I also planted Provider bush beans from Johnney,s and filed peas and Blue Lake bush beans all on the same day 3 weeks ago. I have seen 3 Provider and about 6 BL beans. And maybe 3 cucumbers. No squash or zucchini at all yet. It's really discouraging too, to see maybe 15 potato plants where I have 8 rows that were planted March 17th. VERY discouraging. But I guess it's like this all over the country right now. And this week, with lows at night in the 40's, the days will be in the 80's. I know that some seeds will be popping up with the sun shining and warmer days. I sure hope so anyway.

I do remember when my daughter Abby was born in '81, getting up at night to feed her, it was so cold. I remember shivering and covering up with her nursing. So maybe it's not so strange.

At least the dandelions are growing really good! I have been making jelly and taking that to market along with the greens and flowers to sell. And there is a  lot more growing out there. I'm going to dick the whole plant, roots and all, and dry them. Then chop up to make a loose tea to sell too. And there are so many more wild plants out there to harvest.

I am also going to start making soap this week. Trying to think up some good combinations to scent them with. I know I'm going to make a Patchouli soap. And some more with bees wax. I am also going to be able to make bees wax candles to sell too.

And I have got to check on the bees again. I had to put sugar water out there for them since it's been so cold. They are all confused too. Poor bees. But they look good and are very active once the sun comes out and warms up a bit.

Sandy still has not had kids yet. I did look on my calendar again and saw another date for May 17th. And that's it. If she doesn't have kids by then, I'll have to call the vet to see what she's swallowed! She can hardly walk right now. Or even get up on the stanchion to eat. Which she isn't really doing much of. She lays around most of the time. But every morning, there she is, sticking her head out the barn door. With no kids.

What's it like at your house these days? Same as mine?

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you ALL have a very wonderful day, all you mothers out there! You all deserve to be spoiled.

This is for all the wonderful ladies in my life.

This is my mother, Iris. She is THE best mother ever! I love her so much. She is always there when I need her, no matter what. She is the hardest worker too. She just did retire on her 81st birthday. She and my step dad moved up here a few years ago to be closer to us and to doctors and hospitals. Gary, my step dad, had prostate cancer and needed to be nearer to the place where he would be getting radiation. So they found a house that was close. And they love it here. They have the cutest house right in town. And mom has her pretty yard she has filled with flowers and rose bushes and azaleas and so much more. All herself. She mows the yard with a push mower and weed eats too. Rakes leaves. She loves it though. All while looking beautiful! She is always getting compliments on how gorgeous she looks. She's one of those shoppers that can find things that fit ON SALE. And has the perfect shoe size too. She is just amazing. Happy Mother's day, mom! I love you!

And this is my first born, Heather. She has 3 daughters, Chloe, who will be 14 the end of May, Coryn, who is 11 and Kansas, who just turned 10. She is a very hard working woman. Always doing something around here. And is very sensitive and helpful. And she's a great mother. I am proud of her. And I love her very much. Happy Mother's day, Heather! I love you!

This is Abby, my youngest. She and Jason have been married 2 1/2 years now. No kids yet but some day. Right now, they have Daisy. She's so much like a kid. They dress her up for Halloween. She's so spoiled. They have family pictures made with her. She is the best behaved dog out there. And loves everyone she meets. She's my little grand dog. I am so proud of Abby. She works so much and doesn't have much free time, but when something needs to be done, there she is. She is very kind hearted and so sweet. I just love her so much. So I wish her a happy Mother's day too. I love you!

And here is Mrs. T. She is so like a mother to me. She's an amazing lady. 95 years old. She's always saying she's nearly 100 years old. She'll be 96 in July. I was sitting there one day with my camera while she was looking through her memoirs she wrote, snapping pictures of her. This is a picture of her when she was younger. She's a beautiful lady. A real Southern lady in all her ways. She was a teacher for 10 years and an artist and potter. She made some beautiful pottery. I have a lot of her work. She taught my kids art when I home schooled them. I still have some of the things they made. She's a little unsteady now and gets tired and forgetful. But she still keeps us all on our toes for sure! She said yesterday that she's old and not much fun anymore. I had to tell her she is far from dull. She is so funny and me and the other 2 ladies that take care of her have some stories we could tell! I am always going on about something she said or did. She's an amazing lady, Mrs. T. And I love her so much. I wish her a very happy Mother's day. She deserves the best.

Abby

This is my youngest, Abby. It was her birthday yesterday. And I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. My parents had come up the week before to help with our first child, Heather. Abby was due the 2nd of May. So we waited and waited and waited. And waited some more. All week we waited on that baby to come. But she didn't want to. She was apparently quite happy where she was.

So we went about doing every day things. We loved to go to yard sales and flea markets back then. So that's what we mostly did. Then on Saturday, May 9th, the day before my parents had to leave to go back home,  Abby decided to show herself. And that she did. Very quickly!

We were going to yard sales that morning. I felt a little different. Then things started happening. And fast! We called the doctor. He was at the hospital. He said to come on in, they were having a big baby party. So we went on over. I mean, there were ladies all over that maternity ward, screaming and hollering like crazy! You'd think it hurt or something. When I had Heather, I didn't want any drugs at all. All natural. And she was born after just 12 hours labor. So when I heard all that screaming, I thought it was kind of funny. They took me back in and didn't even have time to do the enema. Right into the delivery room. I remember some of those women glaring at me.

She was born after just a 6 hour very easy labor. And she was just perfect! When Heather was born, she had all this black hair all over her body. Like a little monkey. But Abby was the total opposite. All light and no hair at all. She was a Sherrill all the way. And so beautiful.

All the nurses and doctors were amazed that I got up right away.  Abby had some jaundice, so she had to stay a few extra days. And back then, they let the mother stay too. So I got a lot of rest while there. And this hospital had the best food ever. So it was all good. Daddy was taking care of Heather. I wish I could get some of their baby pictures on here. Because when they took Abby's pictures at the hospital, she was making a peace sign with her right hand. So cute. And it was Mother's Day. So she was my Mother's Day gift. Heather was born the day before my birthday, so she was my birthday gift.

Anyway, happy birthday, Abby! I am SO proud of you and who you have become. I love you so much!

Sourdough starter

Yesterday I got a sourdough starter from a friend. It's a really well established starter. I got home after market and fed it. I wanted to feed it in the morning so fed it again this morning. It was bubbling away already. And really smells like sourdough. I can't wait to make some now. She also gave me a loaf of bread she had made. We swapped goat milk for the bread and starter.

In this picture, you can see how it was already bubbling this morning before I fed it again. And tonight, it's really looking good. I so hope I can keep this going.

Nettles, market and a big fat goat

I was out in the yard yesterday and came across this. I think it's stinging nettle but not really sure because I have never seen it actually growing. It's on the side of the driveway. I hope it is. I would love my own patch of nettles growing right here. I am seeing lots of elderberry bushes popping up all over here too. I just need to invest in bird netting so maybe I can get some of the berries this year. But any thoughts from you foraging folks would be great.

And this is my poor little booth space at the  Main St. farmer's market yesterday. It was a bit breezy which was fine because it was also quite warm there. It's on a busy growing street on the South side of Chattanooga. So lots of business. I sold out of dandelion jelly so am making more today. Also sold a lot of soap which I need to start making more of. My booth smells so good. I get a lot of people because of that. Last week I was on the opposite side where people coming in got to see my booth first. This week I was on the street side and so very different . But made the very same amount of money as last week.

And here is poor big fat waddling Sandy. I just don't know about this girl. The 7th was 155 days according to my calendar so I don't know what is up with her. Tuesday I saw some goo so put her in the stall for the night. Next morning, nothing. So let her out. Yesterday, nothing. This morning, nothing. I have given up worrying and checking on her. If she has kids, that's great. But I am doubting her now. I think she's just a fat pig.

What do y'all think?

Sheep tails and sunrise

BLUE!!!!

Look at this. BLUE skies all around me! We have not had blue skies in SO long here. It's beautiful!


These are some of the Locust trees out back. The bees are all over them. There are also some Princess trees out back farther that are so pretty. All purple. I love them. Wonder if the bees do.

I sure hope it stays this way for a long time. We need this mud pit dried up. We are 12" over normal for this time of year, which is fantastic. My garden and so many others are, have been under water for too long too. Some farmers have lost most of their crops, not to mention all the time and money they've lost as well. I had planted okra and more kale last week and most of it has been washed away. Sure would be nice if other parts of the country could get some of this now. I know God knows what He's doing though.

Enjoy your day. I know I will!

Painted tire flower garden. Done!

I finally got my tires painted and the flowers planted in my little tire flower garden. I bought all the flowers a few weeks ago and they kept calling out to me that they needed to be planted soon. So Thursday, while the sun was out for a little while, I got all the tires painted. Then went out back and got 2 wagon loads of that good soil back there. Filled up the 4 bottom tires. Then had to find something for the top tire. My husband had an old oil pan that fit just perfectly in the tire. I had to punch holes for drainage after all the rain we had. Forgot about that. But all is well now. And the flowers are all happy. It should look much different in a month.

I'd like to find some little lawn mower tires for in between the big tires. That would be pretty. We do have 4 of them that are dry rotted. Husband needs to take the rims off though.

Checking the bee hive this morning

It's been the craziest weather lately. Cold one day and hot the next. Dry a few days then a monsoon for 3 days. Yesterday I went to the farmer's market and got sopping wet and came home and turned the heat on. It's just whacky crazy here.

So I was worried about my bees. I hadn't seen a lot of activity the past few days. I got my hat, long sleeve shirt and gloves on. Filled a mason jar with organic sugar water and got the water thingy that goes on the front of the hive.

When I first went out, there were no bees out. Just some dead ones in the front. That's why I decided to check on them. I put the sugar water on the front. Then took the top off. That's when I see bees. They did this in the front, all at the bottom.

I lifted the top lid and then I saw a lot more bees. All happy and healthy looking and working away in the top box. I had put the queen excluder in between the 2 top hives last week. And I was just a bit nervous and not really knowing what I was doing. So didn't even think to look for the queen. Then I worried about her being in that top box this whole time. She may be, I don't know yet. But the bees look good here. I did see what looked like little brown roaches in the top when I took the lid off. I smooshed them. Are they hive beetles? Or roaches? Yuck anyway.

This is after I was done. They didn't llok all clustered up at the entrance then.

Right now, the locust trees are blooming. And the Princess trees are too. They are so pretty all purple. With all the rain, some of the blooms are being knocked off the trees. I was reading a bee blog from Atlanta and she was saying how with all the rain they've had, that the Tulip Poplar flowers are all falling off. Not a good thing. I hope all will be ok when this rain stops. It's supposed to rain some more today, then clear a few days. It's just been crazy! But I am happy to see the bees are ok.

All you bee experts out there, do they look good to you? Am I doing this right?

Another market day and the amazing dandelion

Saturday, from 10-12, I'll be at the Brainerd Farmer's market. I'll be taking some dandelion jelly and peppermint jelly. Also more dandelion greens. I was just looking up the health benefits of the dandelion. It's amazing. And more healthy than spinach. Full of Vitamin A and all the B's and potassium,  magnesium, iron, manganese, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, Vitamin E and C. The list goes on and on. And people kill this herb all day long. Makes me sad. It's also good for diabetics. It's great fiber. Helps in liver disease and kidney function. Just an amazing "weed". But people were buying the greens and happy to do it.

What was so neat the other day, several people who stopped at my booth said they remember going out with their grandmothers and picking the greens and flowers. It brought back happy memories for lots of people. That made my day.


So y'all go out and pick some dandelion greens this weekend. You'll be amazed too. And pick the flowers to make tea. It's a great spring tonic. Add some local honey.

Today

 Today was very busy for me. Trying to beat the rain coming. So started tilling some beds for tomatoes and peppers. Then the post office called. Said my chicks were there and the mail man was going to deliver them. How nice. I have the sweetest mail man, Joey. I called him and he said he had 2 special deliveries for me and would meet me half way. I had to go to town anyway. So got my chicks and my birth certificate! I can get my license now.

On the way back home, stopped at my friends at the Pocket Farm to pick up my Rutger tomato plants. I was going to get peppers too, but she needs to sort them all out. I got basil, rosemary and chives too.


Here they are all ready to go in the ground.

I love this side of the garden. It's like night and day over there. Isn't that strange how there is so much diversity in one area? This was like loamy sandy soil. I had beans over here last year. So decided to put the tomatoes here this year.

So got all them planted with the basil. Got them all mulched and staked too. My husband is home til Sunday. He came out and actually asked if I needed help. So I gave him the hammer and let him finish the staking. Such a sweet guy. He also got new latches for 2 of the chain link gates in the goat yard. And fixed the goat fence going into the milk room. He doesn't get a break when he's home! Yes he does. Just kidding.

Here are the CC meat chicks I got today. All nice and toasty in their brooder box. I got the pine pellets this time. I think I like them. These chicks came from a hatchery in Iowa. They sent 52. There are about 4 of them with black marks on them. Wonder if they are roosters? I ordered straight run. They are SO cute. I also requested they not be medicated. I give them vitamins in their water. And I deed non-medicated chick starter. I'll be feeding these guys the fermented grains at about 4 weeks. I also bought 10 CC chicks from the feed store Wed. They are 3 weeks old.

I hope when the Freedom Ranger chicks come May 15th, these guys will be outside.

Look at these bunny girls. They are growing so fast. We moved their tractor over to the chicken yard. There's lots more grass for them.  The other tire fell off when we were moving it. There was a hole I didn't see. And the dogs were over in the yard a lot while I was working in the yard. Stella was doing the Border Collie stare on them. And later, when I was going over next door to make jelly, one of them was gone. I found her under the little house porch. Had to get Kansas out of bed to help me catch her. We did. And I got the hole plugged up. And she's ok, thank goodness.

My Clematis vine in full bloom. I love this plant. And it seems like every time my husband starts to weed eat, he gets it. This is grown back I don't know how many times. Just gets prettier every time.

I made 10 more jars of dandelion jelly. And 10 jars of peppermint jelly. I'll take them to the Brainerd market Sat. I sold about a dozen jars of dandelion jelly at yesterday's market. And lots of dandelion greens and some flowers for tea. And lots of soap.

I hope you all had a great day.

1st day at market

It was a nice day. A light breeze blowing. But the market is on a busy street downtown Chattanooga. It was quite warm with all that pavement. Not used to that. But the people are great. I had a really good time. met new farmers. And non farmers. Saw people from the other market there.

My garden is really slow and not anything out there yet to take. So I had to get creative. I have tons of dandelions all over. I made dandelion jelly. I also picked the greens. Washed them up and got them all bagged. Put them in the fridge til I was ready to go. Also picked the flowers for tea. Got 6 cups. And I had all my soap.

It was really busy. So busy, I didn't get to take pictures. Completely forgot. There were people at my booth the whole 2 hours. Even the market manager said every time she looked down there at my booth, there were people. I sold 8 jars of jelly, 7 bags of greens, 1 bag of flowers and lots of soap. It was so fun. I just love this market. So my first day at this new market (to me) was a success. And I am tired! So much preparation.

And tomorrow, I have got to get out in the garden. A friend of mine has Rutger tomato plants and pepper plants I have to go get in the morning. And I need to plant some eggplants. And flowers. And herbs. There is rain supposed to start Friday all the way through Tuesday. Good grief! If I don't get out there tomorrow, I'll not be able to for another month. And I can't sell soap at the Brainerd market on Saturdays.

To market. to market...

Tomorrow will be my first day at the Main St. Farmer's Market in Chattanooga! I have been working fast and furious the past few days, finishing up things here. I made 19 (would have been 20, but one spilled) jars of dandelion jelly. Just picked dandelion greens this afternoon, washed them and bagged them and they're all in the fridge in the garage, ready to go. If there are dandelion flowers in the morning, I will pick those and take them for tea. I love dandelion tea, warm with honey. It's a great spring tonic.

I will also have my home made soaps, which would make great gifts for all those special mothers out there. I'd like to do gift baskets. I'll take all my things just in case. While at the feed store today, I saw an old painted side table that would look great as a display for my soaps. So I bought it. It's so pretty. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

I think I am ready. I have all my things from last season. I had to buy weights for my canopy, since they are required now. $30 at Academy.

I also bought 10 3 week old Cornish Cross chicks at the feed store today. They are already outside in a little round fence. I put a sheep over them. I hope they'll be ok. They're pretty big already. My 50 CC chicks will be here either Thur. or Fri. Then the 25 Freedom Rangers will be here May 15th. SO I'll soon have 85 meat birds soon.

I'll be going to the Brainerd Market Sat. from 10-12. I watered all the greens and cabbages tonight with fish emulsion. I have got to get these plants growing. They seem to be just sitting there. My potatoes are all popping up all over. So I hope to have veggies soon to sell.

My first time all suited up and out with the bees.

I stopped by a friend's place who has lots of hives. His mentor was there too. I lucked out on that trip. They showed me all the hives near his garden. It looked like 2 of the hives were getting ready to swarm. They weren't too thrilled about that. But I learned a lot just in the few minutes I was there. We have a bee association that meets every 2nd Tuesday at the AG center. I will be going.

I also learned that pollen can be different colors. Had no idea. It can be red, green, blue, orange. Just like us, they like a variety of foods, so everything has different pollen colors. I always just thought it was yellow.

I told him I had just gotten a hive of probably 6.000 bees. He said that's about as much as a package of bees would be. I said I was going to put that extra frame box on the top in a few days. He said with that few bees, that I needed to check the frames already there first and see what's going on. And that I should not add the 3rd box yet.

So, when I got home, I suited up and got ready to check my hive. I felt like an astronaut in this thing. And it's HOT in there! I got Heather, my daughter, to take pictures. And Kansas to hand me things over the fence.
I am taking the staples off here.

It was SO smokey, I could hardly see! And the bees were so good. They got a little upset when I'd smoke the hive. But nothing major happened at all. I'm taking the top off here, then the piece under the top.

Taking out a frame to check it. It was just black. There were bees up there. But the frame was black. What does that mean, all you beekeepers?

So I got Kansas to hand me the queen excluder and put that on in between the 2 frame boxes.

Then put the other box back on. And that was it. All done. Now I sure hope the queen wasn't in that top box.

This was really fun. And my very first time doing that. I have seen people do all this. But to do it myself was so cool. And I was calm and the bees were so good. I don't know if I'll get any honey at all this year. The way it looked, probably not. I need to know what the black frames mean now. And I did just look at one of them. I didn't take the 2nd box off to look at it. I should have. Maybe in a few days, I'll go back out and check that one. But for now, I am done.

Beautiful day. And dandelion jelly.

It's sunny and blue skies today!!! And SO green out there. But can't get in the garden to work. Too muddy. Can't plant the bushes I bought the other day. Too muddy. Can't mow the front yard. Too wet.

SO, I am on my way to get liquid pectin, which I should have bought the other day when I saw it, to make some dandelion jelly to sell at market. I picked all the flowers in the front yard Saturday and my middle grand, Coryn, helped cut off the flowers. I have the juice in the fridge waiting. I have enough for 2 batches. And enough jars right now. I'll have to buy more little half pints before I can make more. And there are more dandelion flowers popping up now.

My problem now is my stove. It's really old. And I am down to just 2 eyes on the left side. How is a person to do any canning with just 2 eyes? I need to get this stove fixed soon. But the guy that came to look at it said he wouldn't put $300 into fixing it. He'd just buy a new one for not much more. But I hate the new stoves. I love my old stove. My husband said if I love that stove so much, just get it fixed. So I think I will. And soon.

Enjoying the day

I had a nice day Saturday. I had to go do some running around and look for a birthday present for one of my grand daughters. I had all day.

I went to the farmer's market first to pick up some bushes a friend was holding for me. An oak leaf hydrangea, 2 old fashioned lilacs and a flowering quince. He also had a pot of peppermint. I am trying to get bushes and flowers and herbs all over the yard and gardens for the honey bees. I also bought a pot of thyme and some home made apple cider vinegar from another vendor. And 2 red hollyhocks from another. Then I spotted a booth with egg cartons. The sign said $3.50 a dozen. I ran over there and got one. Can't beat that price. While I was there, I got to meet and talk to several of the farmers. This is the market I'll be going back to in a few weeks. There are also some of them that will be joining me at the Main St. market as new vendors.

Then went to a thrift store right up from the market and found a bunch of baskets for my soaps. I thought I'd try to make gift baskets for Mother's day gifts at the MSM when I start going. And they were all 20% off!

I decided to go to Toys-R-Us and look around to see if I could find something there for Kansas. I used to work there when my first grand daughter was a baby. I worked there for her basically. I really hated working there though. I was always SO noisy and crowded. Screaming kids all day. So I was not really looking forward to going. But I went. And I walked the whole store. Slowly. And found a few things for her. It was really not so bad.

I then went to Whole Foods for some things there. And walked all over the whole store and really looked at everything. Every time I go there, I am always in a hurry so I rush through and just get what I went for. This time, I walked slowly and sampled every single cheese that was out. They were all so good. I got some too. And even sampled some gelato. I got the cucumber melon. It was wonderful.

Went back to Ace Hardware to take a can of spray paint back to exchange. And wandered around the flower garden section. Got some good ideas for my deck. Look at this display. I love it. It's pallets.  I have got to get some and use them as rails all around and at the back like this.  It is just too cool. This is my friend Beth who works there part time. I always get my flowers there because there are people who just work in the flowers. Helping people, watering all the time. The plants looks so good because of these ladies.

I really had a good time out and about. It seems like I am always in a hurry any more. I can't do this or that because I have to be here or there. Like right now. I am always driving way too fast. So it was nice to just slow down and enjoy my day.

Around the farm. Sunday morning.

 This is the garden this morning, after a monsoon. And it's still raining. This is the 3 beds I planted Wed. Now under water. I hope all the seeds didn't get washed down to the end.

                                                        This is the front sheep pasture.

Here is my pond, Sandra. It's not near as big as yours, and it drains in a few days. I need to get a few dump truck loads of top soil some day. Look at that fog at the foot of Pigeon Mt.

               And here is the pond in the other pasture. And a creek. And the horses across the road.

Standing in a bog puddle of water in the garden. I so need to trench so all this water will go down the rows and not over them.

 We're having a birthday party for my grand daughter, Kansas. She'll be 10 Tuesday. We got her and the other 2 grands, Chloe and Coryn, a Wii for all their birthdays. And Christmas. For a few years. They are having so much fun with it already.

Ihope y'all have a great Sunday!

Full moon and sunrise

Last night, the moon was HUGE! And it was still up this morning. So pretty. And Sandy still has not had her kids yet. I'm glad though, because it's been cold at night lately. But she usually has hers during the day anyway. We are supposed to be rainy all weekend, with possible storms. She'll have them then.




                                                    Can you see the scary sheep eyes?

I am loving this wisteria vine on the little piece of old fence with this pole for it to climb up. And with the sunrise behind it, even prettier.

The 3 bluebird houses in the sheep yard. Although there has never been any bluebirds nesting in them because they always get run off by sparrows. I have a lot of bluebirds around here, so they are nesting somewhere. One of the old maple trees I call the birds condo. There are holes in the big limbs where lots of different birds make nests.

I sure need a good camera to capture the beauty of these sunrises here. It really was amazing this morning.

Yesterday, while out running errands, I stopped at my Ace Hardware store. They always have the most beautiful plants and flowers and veggies. They have several people who only work in that area  so they are watering and tending  and helping people all day. I always get my flowers there. And last time, I saw this  and thought about getting it but didn't. So this time I did. There was also a butterfly one but I like the dragonflies. And it really spins too.  I love it. I also got a flat of the most beautiful flowers for the bees. Also went and got some old tires from a friend. I saw the coolest picture of a flower garden made with old tires they had painted all different colors and stacked up real cute and put dirt in them and planted flowers. SO COOL! So I have 5 tires now and I'd like to get some more to make it really stacked up. I'll get spray paint today for them. Then I'll post pictures of it. I can hardly wait to get started now.

I hope you all have a great weekend! And thank you all so much for coming to my blog. It makes me happy to know that someone is interested in my farm and what I do here.