Farmhouse style: The lanterns

It's time to bring out the summer furniture and accessories! This week I got to dig through storage and unearth some of my favorites. I brought these lanterns out for the back patio. My mother-in-law gave them to me last summer. They have such a beautiful classic style, and the etched blue glass is just lovely with candlelight coming through. They look old yet the warning tags on the bottoms tell a more modern story. They look right at home on the back porch overlooking the coops and woods.

I do need to wipe the dust off them a bit. I'm taking a break from planting flowers in the rock garden since it started pouring on me (as you can see!) and thought I would give this phone app posting thing a try. I'm hoping to find citronella candles for them this year.....of maybe I should try making my own? Hmmmm.....

~L

How to protect Grapevines from a late frost

I'm fairly new to grape growing. There were a grapevine here when we bought the place and thus started my grape growing adventure. At the time it was fairly obvious even to a beginner like me, that the previous owners hadn't had much luck with these grapes. 

There was 1 nice sized vine, but 2 very obvious spots where vines had failed to grow. Of course the first thing I do is try to replace them. 1 grew, 1 died off. The next year I replaced that grapevine also and now have the 3 growing well. 

Though I tried to learn how to prune the grapevines correctly via google info, my vines didn't need much care at all. I watered them when I watered the garden and dumped some compost around the base of the vines. They produced a lot of grapes for me every year so I must have been doing something right. Right?

Related reading: How to make and can Grape Jam.

This went on for another year or so until last year when the grape vines didn't produce at all. This seemed weird to me because I remember seeing the little baby grape clusters in the spring. They're so darn cute I always stop to look at them. So why didn't any of them develop into grapes? 

Why are there chemicals in fresh chicken?

Did it ever occur to you that there might be chemicals added to fresh chicken? no? Me neither! I don't always pay attention to ingredients lists in the grocery store. Especially in things that really shouldn't have much on the list. Like chicken. 

After work one day and in a hurry to get home, I stopped at the store and grabbed a few things. One of those things was chicken. For whatever reason I didn't cook it that night and 2 days later I pull it out of the refrigerator. I'm absolutely sure it's on it's last day so I look at the label and this is what I see:

7 days left! How is that even possible???? (Store and manufacturer blocked out to protect those who are only in it for the $$)  So of course I look a little closer and read this:

Easy, soft cake mix cookies

Updated for 2024

About 12 years ago a friend brought a plate of the softest chocolate chip cookies to a party and wow, were they good! I just had to ask for the recipe. Turns out it wasn't a real recipe, but rather a boxed cake mix hack! They literally tasted like cake batter and chocolate chips and I guess it's because that is exactly what they are!

She made them with yellow cake mix and chocolate chips but since hubby and the kids are sprinkles fanatics, the first time I made them I had to make them with the confetti style cake mix. 

They were amazing! Here they are in all their 'taste like cake batter' goodness:

8 Recycled seed starter containers from single use plastic

It's almost time to put the seedlings in the garden, and if you're like me you started some of them weeks ago. I'm very frugal when it comes to a lot of things and seed starting is no different. Now, I know I'm not the first one to use old plastic containers to start seeds in. Not only is it a common idea, but it's so very practical. Especially with single use plastic!

Our lives are so full of plastic that designed to be used exactly once, that it just makes sense to reuse it in any way we can. Now I know my seed starting area is not perfectly lined up with same size plant cells and trays, but I save money and maybe help save the planet a little too. Win-win!

Besides, have you ever seen the prices on seed starting trays? They can go from $1 for a small 6 cell tray to up to $15 each for a larger one! That's just crazy if you ask me, especially since we throw away so many perfectly usable plastic containers all the time. 

So today I want to share with you a few of my favorite recycled seed starting containers.

The melted chapstick car mess fix

My husband uses Chapstick. I use Chapstick too, or lipgloss or lipstick but he hates my flavored ones. Even the awesome green apple Chapstick! He says "what posses a 41 year old woman to still use this stuff?" I think he means it as an insult, but I don't care. I like it. I mean c'mon, do I really have to act like a grownup in every single aspect of my life?

Anyway, he keeps a plain Chapstick in his car and another in my truck. Yesterday I got in the car and the picture above is what greeted me.

Favorite flower picture

It's here!!!! The wait is finally over!!! Ever notice that when you are waiting for something time seems to just D-R-A-G? Well, it feels like months since Living The Country Life magazine contacted me asking to use one of my pictures in their magazine. In reality it's only been a few weeks, but boy the time has dragged. Yesterday I received a package in the mail from them and the magazine was inside!

It's so exciting seeing my pictures in print! I have to say I spent a lot of time as a photographer trying to do what others were doing. I wanted to shoot stunning models like Mark, or heart wrenching editorial images like Uncle Dan....but when it came down to it the best advice came from a blog (of course) which simply said to 'shoot what you love'. Since my love lies here on the farm with my family, critters and gardens....that's what I have been shooting all along. Once my focus shifted closer to home, I've found that my photography has improved. I'm especially proud of photos of the things I've grown or raised. They're my babies after all!

The Dahlias in the picture are some of my favorite flowers. I love the two tone ones. This year I also bought Dinner Plate Dahlias, they are supposed to be HUGE! I can't wait to see how they grow. I just need to find a spot for them....hmmm. Maybe this will be the year I learn to dig and save Dahlia tubers at the end of the season. Who knows?

~L

The best camera.....

.....is the one you have with you! Yup, that is completely true. Here's a small confession: I am a photographer. A wedding photographer no less. You know, that annoying creature that stands between you and the bride and groom during their once in a lifetime event. The person that makes sure you miss a great view of the cake cutting and kiss by being right there front-and-center, camera in hand. If you've ever been to a wedding you probably got a better view of the photographers back then the actual action. Sorry about that...just doing my job. As somebody that is a diehard Nikon user and has the low bank balance to prove it, I am telling you....sometimes that crappy phone camera is the best camera! Let's face it, it's better than not getting a picture at all, now isn't it?

Chickens don't wait for you to be ready to take a picture. Clouds don't stop floating across the sky just so I can run in the house and grab a camera. There are plenty of times I'm not home and see something I want a picture of. When the ducks are playing with the dog toy I only have a few minutes to snap a picture before they get bored and waddle away. Funny things happen every day (especially when you have livestock) that I wouldn't have had a picture of if not for my phone camera. It's sad but true. 

Even as the owner of a couple of those big bulky pro cameras, sometimes I just don't feel like hassling with them. Or have the time. Especially when I finally catch that little rooster harassing the cat. AHA! I knew there was a reason she avoids him! lol

Caprese sandwich...a taste of summer

I found some lovely stem tomatoes in the grocery store this week. Nothing taste like summer like a fresh tomato. Unfortunately it's not tomato season so the closest I've been able to come is the occasional stem tomato imported from somewhere warmer. *sigh* While they can't quite stand up on their own, they can really make a Caprese sandwich. I still have fresh Basil growing on my windowsill so I only needed a few more ingredients for my sandwich.....extra virgin Olive oil, some crusty wheat rolls and fresh mozzarella.

The bear is back

We truly do live in the middle of nowhere....we have bears! Our first evidence of bear activity was this photo taken with our trail cam. Hubby likes to set out feed blocks for the deer in the summer and often puts the trail cam on them. After months of viewing deer, raccoons, opossums and the occasional skunk we felt like we hit the jackpot when we got pictures of the bear. 

Unfortunately, that turned to feeling like I'm being held captive by said bear.

Garlic progress

Today was such a perfect warm, sunny day! I got soooo much done outside! I finally found another guinea nest. I got the D'Uccle pen's fence moved to exclude the pond. The D'Uccle babies hatched and mama decided that 4 was enough so she ditched the rest of her eggs.*sigh* She took the babies out to play, so I took the rest if the eggs and stuck them in the incubator. I candled all the Silkie eggs in the nest boxes and tossed the duds. 

I moved the last of the Tiger Lilly's to the front yard so the chickens will stop eating the flower buds. Maybe I'll finally get some flowers this year! I picked a bucket of rocks out if the garden and checked on the garlic's progress. I think it's coming along nicely this year. Finally, I helped the guys cut and stack firewood for next winter. Whew! What a day! Thankfully it was a beautiful day to work outside. I didn't get a thing done at home yesterday since I worked a double shift. :-( What did you get done this weekend?

~L

Easy Suncatchers from Beads

My husband is a little weird, lets just get that straight right away. He has this image in his head of decorating the woods, or more specifically...the trails in the woods. Right now we have fish plaques hanging on trees, ornate garden stakes, duck hunter and gone fishing signs hanging on trees. 

He would be most happy if I could find old bird baths, maybe a claw foot tub to plant flowers in and a few large garden statues. Gnomes? Giant dolphins? Maybe a windmill or 2? He thinks, YES! It's going to look more like a Goofy Golf course then a wooded trail in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of which....if you happen to know a mini golf course selling off their props, we might be interested! lol