Life goes on...

This has been the longest week. With 2 birthdays, my oldest grand daughter Chloe turned 14 Monday and my husband turned 65 Tuesday. And then my step dad Gary passed away early Tuesday morning. Normally, people are taken to a funeral home, then a viewing, then service, then burial. But with cremation, there is none of that, unless there's a memorial service.We're having that the last of June for family to be able to come from Colorado and S. Ga. So it's been a little strange, just being at Mom's for the past several days.  But the neighbors and friends and family here have been great. Mom's neighbor Gary has mowed her lawn. His wife Windy came over a few nights ago and talked with mom. And brought a cake. My SIL Jason mowed the yard last week. And he and Abby finished up the deck and got it all set up again. And Heather has been with her a few days helping her as well. Mom's friends Allison and Pearl, from where she worked,  brought over some chicken casserole, pasta salad, deviled eggs and a cake. It was SO good! Thank you all so much. I know it means so much to my mom. People have called and come by. We miss Gary so much. It's just empty without him there. I always feel like something's not right, then realize he's not here any more.

And other things are going on around here too. I got home Sunday after being at the hospital, and Annabelle had a little ewe lamb. She so cute. Mostly Finn. Annabelle's mother, Lucinda, was full Fin and the ram is mostly Finn. So I had to dock her little tail a few days ago. I decided to name her Buttercup, since she was born in the pasture full of them. Annabelle did great and is such a good mother. Her 1st lamb too. And Abraham is a good daddy.

                                                             Annabelle, the new mom.

Last night, I went out and put another box on top of the hive. The bees were all hanging out at the entrance a few days ago. I asked the guy I got them from about it and he said they were probably getting crowded and to put on the other box. So I did. They looked happy today.

A friend who lives up on the mountain past us called my husband today and said he'd heard that bears had gotten into some hives up the road from me and tore them all up. These hives are about 5 miles from here. That's pretty scary. I hope they don't come down here for my one little hive.

And these pigs! We moved them last week up to the creek bed. (That's a whole other blog post! You just can't make a pig do what a pig does not want to do!) I am hoping they will do some damage control here. This is where the river starts that washes down to my garden when it rains a lot. I hope the pigs will be able to damn it up or something. Make a pond? They've got one started. I had their water in a bucket in that tire back there. And every time I'd go back out, there the bucket would be, outside the tire and empty. So I took this rubber trough out there today. I hope this will work. Aren't they growing bigger? But not big enough yet.

Here's Sandy and her triplets. They are getting bigger every day. And so cute! I love them.

Also Monday, my husband went to Home Depot and found this big ole mower. I hated it at first. But now I kind of like it. I bush hogged the pasture next door. Yesterday at noon. With shorts on. And no sunscreen on my legs. Like a big dummy. It's hurts! But it did great. And will save us a lot of money by not having to find someone else to do it. I can do it when I need to now. See how Abby's legs are all out front? And this was her test drive. Almost ran over her dad! See him trying to get out of the way? It was too funny!

 And here's the birthday girl, Chloe. 14 years old now! I am an OLD lady, y'all. OLD! I remember when she was born. 5 weeks early. Had to be in the hospital 9 days. Then on a heart monitor the 1st 6 months of her life. And she just graduated from middle school today! She's now officially a 9th grader going to high school! WHAT?

Here is her sister, Coryn, graduating from 5th grade. Can't hardly see her. She's getting her certificate in the white shirt. My zoom doesn't work any more. So she's now officially a 6th grader going to middle school! WHAT? I am SO old now. I really feel old. How does this happen?

So life goes on some how, despite a death of a loved one. New life happens all over. People graduate. Pigs grow. People have birthdays. That's how it should be. And to know that one day soon, we will see our loved ones again! That makes it better.

Hello

I know it's been awhile since I last posted. It's been a pretty busy 3 weeks here. I really would like to say thank you so much to all of you who have sent good wishes and prayers for my step dad, Gary, and my mother. I am so thankful for all of you.

Gary has had a very rough 3 weeks. In the ICU for a long time. Up one day, back down the next. He was put in a private room last Monday. Stayed there 4 days. Then back in ICU again. Yesterday, the doctors were optimistic about his recovery. They were saying all they needed to do then was to get him to eating and moving again. Even mom went home early last night at 5. She's not ever done that. She called at 8:30 to check on him. The nurse said he was doing good.

Then at 1:00 AM a nurse called and said mom should get there as fast as possible. They only live a few blocks away. But she didn't make it in time. He passed away about 1:15 this morning. I went and stayed with her last night and have been there all day.

We had to go to the funeral home to finalize the arrangements. (Thank goodness, they had bought funeral insurance and had all the paperwork. We had just gone to a funeral home here last Thursday to give them all the paperwork.) He will be cremated and we'll have a memorial service sometime the end of June. My brother will be here from Colorado Saturday for a week. I'm so glad. Mom will be so happy to see him. He said he'll be helping her with everything that needs to be done there.   Then my sister and her 3 daughters will be here the end of June with my brother.

Mom and Gary were married 34 years. That's a long time. She's a strong woman but this will take a long time. One day at a time is the way we'll take it.

Please continue to pray for my mother. She will need prayer and strength to get through this time.

And I also wanted to say, that no matter how much a person irritates you or says something or does something that either hurts or makes you mad, just get over it and make amends. You just never know when something like this will happen. Then they're gone. Just like that. Gone. So please, go hug you mom or dad, sister or brother. And your children. Love one another. And be there for your family.

Thank you all again.

Dogs:3 Possums:0

 Bubba and Stella, the hunters. A possum in my milk room! Not any more. And all my little meat chicks in the yard behind them, free ranging.

Stella looks like she is proud of her self. Not many creatures leave this farm the way they came in, thanks to Bubba and Stella. They take care of their farm. They aren't afraid of anything. Good dogs!

Stella Bella Luna STINKS!

I do not know what this stinkin' dog got into this morning, but it was pure nastiness. She stunk! Bad! When I went to put her in her crate before I left to go back to the hospital, I noticed a nasty smell coming from her direction. She must have rolled in something out on the driveway. It really was nasty.

So when I got home, Kansas helped me give Stella, the stinky, a bath. It's nice to have help. Stella was really good and stood still the whole time. Kansas scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more.

Then poured more water on her.

Then scrubbed some more. Til she was finally clean again!

Jim and Bob had to see what all the fun was about. They are nosy pigs, these 2 boys. And they love water and were probably wondering why they didn't get a bath too. I did put the water hose on them later. They are happy pigs!

And the chicks had to come check out all the commotion too. I had let them all out of their little pen this morning. They finally ventured out a little later. Then followed me right back in to eat their dinner. Happy chickies!

And here's Kansas, drying off the clean doggie. She'll be clean for about 2 hours and 26 minutes. The dog doesn't like being clean. But we are all happy people! Oh, the life of a farm dog.

The cats at Outback Farm

There are 6 cats here at Outback Farm. All live outside, either in the barn or out back, hunting. I've had these cats for years and years. I know the oldest one has to be about 12. And 4 of them my daughter Abby gave us. Her husband is allergic to cats, so she can't have any. So they are all out here.



This is Sybil. I got her from some friends, along with her brother. Abby's friend was wanting a white male cat, so he went to her house. Her ears are all curled up from being outside in the sun. I don't think she can hear. But she's a great cat. She's about 8 years old.

And this is Gilbert. My grand daughter named her. She was brought here by Abby. She found her at her apartment complex when she was a little kitten and couldn't keep her there. I think Gilbert had 2 litters of kittens, then she was spayed. I kept one of her kittens but she just left one day. She about 8 years old too. She loves to hunt and brings home lots of goodies.

This is how these 4 eat. In the cat room up on this old chest freezer. And always in this order too. Gilbert, Andy Oakley, Cosmos and her son Alex. All these here were from Abby. Cosmos is the oldest, around 12 years old. Her son Alex was actually given to my grand daughter Chloe on her 4th birthday. And she will be 14 the 27th of May. So he's 10 years old. And Andy is probably the youngest, around 6 or 7. He is probably the best hunter of the bunch. Nothing is safe around here. Birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, lizards. They are good cats.

I do have another cat I got from a friend. Her name is Soshe. She's grey and not looking very good right now so didn't take her picture. She has a skin problem I am trying to treat but she hates to have anything put on her. I really don't know how old she is. Maybe close to Cosmos' age.

I really don't like cats. But they are good to help keep the mouse and rat population down. I hate that the birds aren't safe here. I have never fed birds because the cats will kill them. The birds that do make nests here are on their own. There is an old tree out front that I call the bird condo. Holes all up the branches and trunk full of bird's nests. Those are pretty safe up there. And I have 3 blue bird houses in the sheep yard. But generally, cats are not my favorite animals. I tolerate these guys those. Since I've had them all for so long.

Just a little cuteness

Here's Mariah, Whitney and Diana at a week old. I still cannot believe they are all 3 girls. But they are!

News

Well, I sure wish I had not posted about my garden now. After just now watching the evening news, it's so much worse all over this country right now. Goodness, there's flooding, tornadoes, people who's homes have washed away. It's a mess out there. Just a wet mess all over. So I have nothing like I have just seen on tv. I so hope everyone is ok and not flooded where you are. And I am so sorry I am such a whiney butt.

Again

Well, after replanting most of my garden Friday, it's all washed away. Again. It has done nothing but pour here all morning. Even the pond we get when it rains went way over to the middle of the pasture. This is only half the garden. To the left was the Blue Lake green beans. The next was the squash, zucchini and cucumbers. I did rescue some of the zucchini and squash that was washed down to the end. And the heirloom sweet corn and field peas all probably gone. I didn't take a picture of the okra rows but there was a river going down that too. And not only seeds and plants but the soil too. It's so depressing and sad to see this. This is the 2nd time to replant. I have never had to do this before. I just don't get it.

This is the side yard where the rabbits and Cornish Cross meat chicks are. If you look past the grill on the right you can see the wooden shelter where the chicks are. They are ok. The rabbits are way over to the left. They are ok but I moved them up to higher ground. And behind me is the goat pasture. It had a raging river running through it and this is where all this water is coming from. And then the garden is beyond this and where all this water is headed.

Right now, it's stopped raining. But it is coming again. And it's really hot out there too. I just don't know what to do right now. Crying doesn't really help. That's just more water and I really don't want to see more water.

Gary

This is my mom and Gary, just this past Christmas at their house. They met right after my husband and I got married in Oct. 1978. They were married in April '79. And have been together ever since. And I do mean together. They do everything together. They've only been apart when either mom or Gary have had surgery. And once Gary worked 3rd shift. Other than that, together all the time. They moved up here to Ft. Oglethorpe to be closer to me and my family. My brother and sister and all their kids are in Colorado.

Gary has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. In ICU the whole time. He is a very sick man right now. He has had a few good days and they get their hopes up. Then the next day he's back down again. Yesterday mom called and said I needed to get to the hospital fast. It took just a few minutes to change from my dirty farm clothes, jump in the car, turn on the flashers and drove as fast as I possibly could the 25 miles to the hospital. God cleared the road of most cars. And I had to go trough only one red light. But made it in about 30 minutes.

He was hooked up to an oxygen mask, head slightly down, breathing really fast. The nurses were doing all they could for him. They took off the mask so he could cough. He was so congested. He did pull through this, but barely. We just don't know what's going to happen. The doctors have said that when he is able to leave ICU that he'll have to be put in a rahab center. He'll have a very long road ahead of him.

He looks nothing like this right now. The last thing he ate actually was  a meatloaf I made at his request for his birthday the 5th. Nothing since then. And no, it was not the meatloaf that did this. He has a lot of problems mostly due to pneumonia right now. And very low blood pressure, very fast heart rate. It just goes on and on.

They just live a few blocks from this hospital in a really nice neighborhood. Everyone watches out for each other. Their closest neighbors have mowed their yard a few times before. Last week mom mowed the front yard and wouldn't let me do the back. I shouldn't have said anything about it and just done it. But she went home the other night and the back was mowed. Her neighbor Gary had done it. Really nice people.

I worry more about my mom right now. There's been way too many downs than ups. She gets her hopes up one minute to have them thrown to the ground the next. She is able to go home at night. But she's just worn out, sitting or standing most of the day. I have been there too but not like her. She called last night to tell me she was home for the night. She said she was so tired that she had her keys out to open the elevator door! I so hope he gets over this for her. She needs him so much. He does so much for her. And I don't know what she'll do without him.

I love Gary. Although we have had some rough times, I do love him. They have reservations to go out to Colorado in August to see the rest of the family out there. We keep telling him he has to get better so he can drive mom out there. They still have so many things they want to do still. Please say a prayer for Gary. And for my mom. I don't want her to get sick over all this. So far, she's doing really good. She's a very healthy lady. And I love her so much.

Daisy, the city dog

This is my grand dog Daisy. My daughter came out yesterday and brought her. She really loves it out here. There's so much for her to get into here. Cats to chase. Stella to play with. Chickens to chase. Sheep and goats, now that's fun! But the rabbits. Those are her very favorite things to pick on. And she will not leave them alone. She is all around their cage, barking and running. Abby got her out of there once. But back out she went.

                                                 Trying to sneak up on the poor bunnies.

                                     Daisy will never make it in the country on a farm. Not Daisy.

She was plum worn out after all that chasing. She has fun out here. But she loves being back in town. She's a sweetie and my very favorite grand dog.

The 3 little "Divas"

 Here are the little "divas".  I think I will name them after some of the biggest divas, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross.  These little girls are so sweet. And very special too. I love them.

And Kansas does too. I found this dog cage on CL last week. I went to get it Friday night. It's just perfect for the little divas to go outside with Sandy but be safe from big fat hungry pigs. It would be way too easy for the babies to get into the pig pen which is connected to the goat barn. And it has cattle panels, which a cute little baby goat would fit right through. And I would really hate that to happen. So til they are bigger, or I can, by some miracle, get the pigs moved to the front where I want them to til for me, the babies can stay in this. And Sandy can jump over to get to them. It's only 2' high. And has a little door. And Kansas can protect them too.

So tonight, I noticed the kids are only nursing on one side.  I took Sandy to the milk room and milked out the other side. I strained and put it in a bottle. Went out and fed the littlest diva baby. And she drank over half of it. I guess I'll bottle feed  her a few times a day. She's so small.

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.