Sassy & Sweet Notes

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yup, it's true... not only Mother's Day, but today is Mom's birthday as well!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Wish we could be there with you today to celebrate ... hope you had some cake for us, too!!

Hugs and KISSES,
Alan & Anna

What's Growin' on the Farm (Video)

Took some video clips this evening showing the progress of some of the garden veggies, the wildflowers in the pastures, and COWS!

If you're not able to view the video here on my blog, you will find it here on YouTube.

Enjoy!

On the Farm 2012 Calendar

First of all, thank you for all your support to those who purchased the On the Farm 2011 calendar last year. We had a great response to last year's calendar, and have decided to offer On the farm 2012.

A small portion of all purchases comes back to the farm, and all proceeds recieved go towards the care and feeding of the animals here on the farm. The calendars make fantastic gifts, and are ideal for personal use. The calendar is available in 3 sizes. All of the photos in the calendar were taken by me; I hope you choose to spend 2012 enjoying photos from our farm.

Order your own copy of On the farm 2012 today! Some of your favorite farm critters are featured in the pages of our calendar! Even Baaaaad Boxcar Betty makes an appearance!

HOT SALE! Today through November 20th, cards are 50% off, and calendars are 20% off when you use coupon code CARDSCAL2011 at order checkout. In addition to the 2012 calendar, you will also find all kind of lovely cards in my Zazzle shop as well!

 

Zazzle Coupon Details:
Enter code: CARDSCAL2011 at checkout in the "Zazzle Coupons/Gift Certificates" box 50% of the greeting card, invitation, photo card and postcard net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased. 20% of the calendar net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying calendars are purchased. The coupon code CARDSCAL2011 must be applied at checkout to apply these discount offers. Offer is valid until November 20, 2011 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Wool Felt Flower Hair Clips

I did a little non-paper crafting earlier this month and made some sweet wool felt flower hair clips. The felt for these flowers was all hand cut, the flowers assembled, and finally hand stitched to a barrett. I added pearls to the centers, and gave them all a quick dusting of fine silver glitter.

Similar rolled felt flowers can be made using paper crafting tools you may have on hand ... like circle, scallop, or even flower dies (like the Spellbinders Blossom and Peony dies). Or you can buy dies made specifically for making rolled flowers. I chose to hand cut the felt for these. The flowers are so fun to make that I guarantee I will be making a variety of others!

You can find lots of inspiration online if you search for felt flower hair accessories, and look at the images results.

Packaged up, they'll make a fun gift to give, and hopefully receive!

Sorrowful Sunflowers

To those of you still enjoying and sharing photos of your gardens full of beautiful, cheery flowers...

*Phttththththtth!* I say to you.

Ours burnt up in the Texas summer sun.

The grasshoppers still find them romantic, at least.

I'll get my turn next spring when we've got flowers blooming and birds singing and you're still elbow deep in snow. *giggle*

A Cheery Birthday Card

I know lots of people with September birthdays, so I thought I should get on the stick about making some birthday cards! Here's one I put together this evening. Cheery, don't you think?

I drew the image and then colored it with markers and colored pencils. I added lots of ultra fine glitter using a quickie glue pen for sparkle and shine. The sentiment is from my Simply Bloom cling set. I wanted a light and airy sentiment for the banner. I also stamped the background text image from All Things With Love on the base of the card.

Oh, and just may be a sneak peek at a new Whipper Snapper stamp...

Maybe.

*grin*

August ... hot.

It's still blazing hot here on the farm. 107 as I write this. Looks like another 107 day tomorrow. Followed by 105, and then day after day of more miserable heat. We *might* get below 100 on August 26th. Forecast for that day is 99. I'd better get out the scarves and mittens!

Last year in August I had beautiful zinnias and sunflowers blooming in the garden, and loads of cucumbers and zucchini to pick.

This August is quite different. No butterflies in the garden, and certainly no beautiful zinnias or sunflowers!

How dreadful.

 

Sneak Peek!

How about another sneak peek of one of my new images for Whipper Snapper's Fall/Winter release! Inspiration for this image was from a pretty antique blue Ball jar of wildflowers I had in my kitchen window this spring. Here's hoping we get LOTS of rain this winter to give next spring's wildflowers lots of reason to grow!

Happy Sunday!

Photo from the Archives: Ranunculus

Because we all need a little SUNSHINE in our life, here's a sunny Ranunculus for you.

Happy Thursday!

Photo from the Archives: Poppies

The weather outside is DREADFUL, so how about some pretty poppies (a photo from my archives) to cheer us all up a bit!

The weatherman says "sunny & 100" for as long as we can see. Dreadful.

Hope you enjoy the fun 4th of July holiday weekend! I've got some gardening to do... and will be sure to take a few dips in the pool, too!

A Stroll through the Garden (Video)

I usually do my garden updates w/ still photos, but thought I would capture this garden update on video. Enjoy!

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog, you can check it out here on You Tube.

Photo from the Archives: Sunflowers

Occasionally farmers in the area will grow sunflowers, and let me tell you, they are my FAVORITE of all the local crops grown. These photos are from 2009, taken in a LARGE field of blooms.

Gorgeous, don't you think!?

Welcome to June... welcome to Summer?

Today's forecast is promising a high of 99*. Tomorrow's forecast is promising a high of 99*, too. Jeepers... Time to get the frozen water bottles in the chicken waterers. I'd best gather eggs early in the day, too! Don't want those chickens brewing up any deviled eggs when I'm not lookin'!

The purple pole beans are putting on blooms, but no beans just yet. I think they're so pretty as they grow up the wire trellis.

We've got a wild mama cat who has 5 kittens under our shed. They stay out of the heat, and lay in the shade. Oddly enough, the girl kittens are the friendliest of the bunch. Usually the boys are. When they're old enough they'll go to the vet for a little snippity snip! Alan thinks he might be able to catch the wild mama next week now that the kittens are old enough to eat kitty food and spend the night away from their mama while she's at the vet's office for snipping! This little gal is a cutie, isn't she! I think I'll tell Alan her name is Tangerine. Unless you want to ADOPT her, and then you can name her anything you'd like! *grin*

There's a sweet little torty-grey female, too. She has the cutest nose and broken stripes.

But don't let these sweet faces fool you ...

ROAR!!

ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!

The rattlesnake pole beans have almost all sprouted around the tee-pee trellis, and I can't wait to see them start vining up the poles! I took this photo two days ago, and already the plants look noticably different, now that they're starting to get more leaves. It's amazing how quickly things change.

Here was the garden on May 1...

And here is the garden as of June 1!  BIG difference! (Click image for a larger view...)

Remember our little house chick, Dolly? Well, seems that Dolly thinks SHE is a HE, and is practicing crowing. Yes, yes it's true. Just little squeaks, but that's CROW enough for me! Dolly lives outside now, in a fancy new brooder with two chick-sized friends. Happy as can BE, wild frizzled feathers, and all!

Dolly, looking down into the brooder at his friends, who are cheeping wildly, apparently lost without him.

So, speaking of summer ... did you see this image predicting how summer weather is going to progress? UNCLE!!!

I think that calls for daily dips in the pool. Bottom's Up!
Whipper Snapper Designs: Poolside Chicken - #CT954

Rustic Tee-Pee Pole Bean Trellis

Photo from Gurneys.com

I ordered some heirloom rattlesnake pole bean seeds (they're supposed to be quite heat resistant), and wanted to get them planted. I decided to build a "rustic" tee-pee-style trellis and plant the pole beans on their own garden structure.

We had a very large hackberry tree blow over during a winter storm, and some of the branches looked like they might work nicely for bean poles. I took the saw out to the fallen tree and chose some limbs for my project.

Then the task of digging began. About halfway through the hole digging process, I was wishing for a small stick of dynamite. When our ground is dry, it's "bullet proof" as Dad would say. Dynamite would have finished the job in no time at all! But with no dynamite on hand, I continued to dig. And dig. And dig. Adding a bit of water helped ease things along.

The hole I dug is about 4 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. Once I had all the grass removed and the soil worked, it was time to enlist Alan's help. He had the good idea of setting a standard t-post in the center of the bed and using it to help support the branches. I found an old rusty one (better than bright green, don't you think!), and Alan set it in place. Once we had the branches in place, we used wire to hold the structure to the t-post, and to join anywhere two pieces of branch touch. It really is quite stable!

The tee-pee isn't quite 9 feet tall, and has (I'm hoping) enough strength to support the pole beans as they grow. I planted bean seeds at the base of each branch, and at the center near the t-post, then wrapped the lower portion of the structure with deer netting to keep the critters out.

The pink arrow shows the location of the tee-pee, in this photo taken on Sunday. The next garden photo will include it. I'm excited to see our TOWER of BEANS!

And speaking of exciting, look what I've got in the garden this morning! Yahoo!!! The small zinnias are starting to bloom!! This little thing isn't much larger than a .50cent piece, but it sure is a welcomed sight to see! The giant zinnias are still growing... they've got a bit more growing to do before they start blooming.

PS: If you're wondering why we mow the yard "weird", leaving patches of tall grass... we like to let some of the grass go to seed, and we like the wildflowers to grow too, so we mow "paths" for us to walk. Walking through tall grass isn't fun (spiders, spiders, SPIDERS!) The wacky paths work for us. *grin* I will be mowing around the trellis area -- don't need that grass going to seed in my newly cleared soil!

This and That...

Remember my setup for making homemade yogurt? Well, how about making gift cards to go along with the homemade yogurt theme! I made this 3.5" square gift card using images from my recently released Whipper Snapper cling set called Garden Fresh. And speaking of yogurt, I'm all out! Time to pull out the ol' canning kettle and heat pad! Mmmm, good!

A peek at the garden reveals that things are slowing coming along. But I have to tell you, I'm battling insects like you wouldn't believe. Cucumber beetles are in numbers like never before, squash bugs have been spotted (and removed) from zucchini plants, and a couple pepper plants have been victim to caterpillars. I'm vigilant at night and do my best bug patrol in the dark, wearing a headlamp and gloves. Squishing cucumber beetles and cutting various plant eating/sucking caterpillars in half isn't my calling, but I do it. ...or maybe it is?

The pole beans (center row) are hinting about climbing the trellis. The bush beans (outer rows) look healthy! I still can't get over how crinkly the first plants look! Something got to them early on, and they still look so strange! We did have the big hail storms and crazy wind that gave them a good beating. The newer plants look "normal" at least!

The flowerbed along the chicken yard is filling in nicely. I noticed a couple volunteer tomato plants, and some volunteer been plants have come up along with lots of seeds I planted for sunflowers, zinnia, and gourds. Should be pretty when it's in bloom! The little tin flower in the photo used to be a rain gauge... but the rain gauge vessel broke. So now it's just a cute tin flower in the garden.

In other news, this coming Friday is my Mom's birthday and I'll be flying up north to spend a long weekend with her and Dad. I'm looking forward to it, for sure! Alan will be staying home on the farm, taking care of all the critters and the garden. It's a lot of work for one person, and he'll have earned BIG HUGS when I get back!

Smiling Daisies

Hopefully you've been able to check out the samples the featured designers have shared for this release so far. Wonderful ideas, all of them! The best part of being an illustrator is seeing what other stampers do with my art. So fun!

I was able to get several cards made using the smiling flowers and garden sentiment from Garden of Friendship.

I made stamping extra easy by mounting the two images together on the acrylic block. Having them mounted like this made for quick and EASY stamping! Ink, stamp, ink, stamp, ink, stamp... Placing images and sentiments like this on a single block means there's no need to line up the sentiment each time. Get it in the right spot once, and you're ready to stamp again and again and again!

I think these flowers make very cheery cards, and who doesn't like happy, smiling flowers!?

Here's another card I made, using the exact same image/sentiment combination and placement. On this card, I added glitter to the petals of the daisies. Happy, smiling, SPARKLY daisies! Ooooh la la!!

Lazy Sunday

We had a lazy Sunday on the farm last week, and I think we'll have another lazy one today. Yup, I think we shall! I've been crafting this weekend, making cards with lots of my recently released Whipper Snapper stamps. This one (called Three Flower Friend) is a personal favorite, and just screams "spring" to me. I can't wait for the garden shops to line their tables with rows and rows of beautiful flowers! I have a few in mind this year for the garden.

So while some of you are still experiencing winter weather conditions, we can delight in the knowledge that spring is on its way, and it won't be long before we're able to enjoy the cheery faces of our favorite flowers for another season!

Enjoy your day!

2011 On the Farm Calendar

Today thru Friday, December 17th, calendars at Zazzle are 40% off when you use coupon code 40CLNDRS2011. Order your own copy of On the Farm, a 2011 calendar, today! Some of your favorite farm critters are featured in the pages of the 2011 custom calendar!

I will receive approximately $4.00 per calendar purchased; money that will be put towards keeping the critters on the farm happy, and healthy!

Coupon Details:
40% of the calendar net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying calendar items are purchased and the coupon code 40CLNDRS2011 is applied at checkout. Offer is valid from November 12, 2010 through December 17, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

 

Quick Garden Update...

Today I spent a bit of time doing a little work in the garden, though I barely put a dent in the work that needs to be done out there. This cute little crow garden decoration stands in a pot of zinnias, which are in a sorry looking end-of-season state. But they keep blooming, and I don't have the heart to pull them yet. The grass has grown up around the baskets of flowers, and the patty pan squash from the neighboring squash pit is filling in the vertical space around the flowers.

Speaking of the squash pit, here it is in all it's glory. The cabbage loopers really did a number on the leaves. Amazingly enough, the plants are still putting on new squash, and new leaves are coming in too! The sunflowers that once stood tall with sunny yellow faces now lean in various directions, preparing their seeds for fall. Soon I'll snip their long stems and set their seeds out for the birds.

This is the zucchini plant that I was able to best "save" when the cabbage looper outbreak occured. You can see damage to the leaves near the top of the photo, but for the most part this plant pulled through nicely. And, as you can see by the big yellow zucchini at the center of the photo, it's still putting on fruit!

I pulled a few plants that were really struggling and planted some new seeds in their place. In two containers I planted peas, some yellow wax beans in another, and slicing cucumbers in another. I pulled all the corn stalks today, and turned the soil. I need to add some compost to the area, and eventually I'll plant some onions. And maybe more peas. *grin*

It was pretty hot here today -- upper 90s -- and I just couldn't do as much as I would have liked, due to the heat and humidity. But thankfully we're supposed to get some rain and cooler temps this week (gotta love it when huricanes make it to central Texas!), so in the evenings I can get a few more things done in the garden. I've got some spent cucumber plants to pull, and some way-past-prime tomato plants that need to come out, too!

108. Seriously.

Today's high was suposed to be 104. But it didn't stop there. 108 is the current temperature on our back porch. *ugh!* It was 100 degrees at 10:30am when I stepped out to check on the chickens. And I'm guessing it will be 100 degrees at 10:30pm tonight, as well. It just doesn't cool off here. We are currently under a heat advisory. No kidding!

We've got hoses strung out around the farm so that we can water down all the shaded areas of the critter pens in hopes of giving them a cool (cool being a relative term) place to rest. Thankfully, they seem to enjoy our efforts. Lollie the rabbit got dipped in a bucket of luke warm water (the water never actually gets "cold" out of the hose, or out of our indoor faucets in the summer) and he really seemed to love it. I have filled the chicken water containers three times today. It's hot.

However, we're hoping that tomorrow is the last of the triple digit temps for us. Tomorrow's high is listed as 100 (I have no doublt it will reach a few degrees more than that), but the rest of the week looks to be in the low to mid 90s. What do you know... a cold front! Cross your fingers and toes for us!

In happier news, I took some photos today! This pretty butterfly (one of several) was busy drinking nectar from the zinnias when I went out to check on the chickens.

It flitted from flower to flower, looking for nectar.

There are quite a few zinnias blooming in the garden, so it had lots of flowers to choose from.

Such a pretty butterfly!

I'm still feeling sickly, but seem to be getting a bit better. I'm not coughing as much, and I have a bit more energy than I've had for at least a week. Thanks for all of your get well wishes ... seems they might have done the trick!

It's a Jungle Out There!

 
We've had a couple of cloudy days, and that means slightly cooler temps -- of course, saying that it's been "cooler" is being generous. It was 90-95 instead of 100-105. But still, cooler just the same. That's all about to change, so I thought I'd better document the garden before it shrivels up from the blazing HOT sunshine we're about to endure in August.

 
Here's a rough sketch to give you an idea of what's where. If you click on this image, it will display much larger for you, and hopefully you can read my chicken scratch handwriting.

 
I had to put up a last minute make-shift trellis for the cucumbers that have overtaken the place. I planted them along the fence thinking they would trellis up the fence. But nooooooo, 90% of them decided to grow out into the grass, making it difficult to find the cucumbers. So, before they got too out of control, I put up a string trellis and started them growing UP! I purposely left the string of the trellis rather loose, so I could still reach through and get to the plants closer to the fence. Believe it or not, there are pole beans growing up the fence (as well as up a handful of mammoth sunflowers), and I'll need to be able to reach through to pick the beans.

 
These two cucumbers thought they were hiding from me.... not likely! They're about to be made into pickles!

 
Here you can see how far the trellis is from the fence. So far I haven't had trouble getting to the farthest back branches -- we'll see if I continue to have good luck with it. If it starts to get challenging, I can always reach my hands through the fence from inside the chicken yard. See those sunflowers in the background? They're nearly taller than the coop! The tallest is about 10' tall!

 
Here's another cucumber that decided to grow inside the chicken yard. Brave little cucumber, brave.

 
On the other side of the coop, things are just as out of control.

 
The squash has completely out grown the boundaries of the raised bed it's planted in. You can see where the corners of the raised bed are -- they're marked with the stakes. So much for having 3' walkways between the beds! Behind the squash pit is a raised bed of beans and more sunflowers, and then of course the corn bed.

 
The other side of the squash pit is just as crazy. And the plants are putting on blooms like you wouldn't believe! I think we're going to be in squash heaven soon... I can't wait for all the sunflowers to open up as well! I planted them in the center of the squash pit, knowing they'd be able to grow up from the center without disturbing the squash plants.

 
There are also a few cucumber plants in the squash pit, too. Cucumbers everywhere, I tell you! Even in the corn!

 
The corn bloomed and covered everything in the area with corn pollen. If you look closely, you can see that we even have some ears of corn on the stalks! Very exciting! They've got pretty red tassels. We had a big gust of wind come through yesterday , and it really put a lean on the corn. I strung a wire between two corner posts on the raised bed, and that helped keep the corn from being blown over completely. Today it's standing up nice, straight and tall again.

 
Directly behind the bean and corn beds is a watermelon plant, followed by a row of pepper plants. The peppers looked really sorry for a long while, and are just now starting to look like they might actually produce some peppers. A few of the plants have little peppers on them, and others are just starting to put on blooms. Like everything, they got a little late start, but that's ok... better late than never!

 
Behind the row of peppers is a row of tomato plants that have yet to be found by the hornworms. Cross your fingers that they stay hidden from those buggers! Oh, and see that squash plant that LOOKS like it's in the same row as the tomatoes? Well, it's not. But it is taking over... it has grown so far away from it's own row that it is now at the end of the tomatoes, and moving it's way towards the end of the pepper row! I wonder, will it ever stop!? There is a pumpkin vine, and watermelon vine, working their way past those rows, too. They're on the move.

 
Behind the tomatoes are two rows of yellow squash, and then the pumpkins and watermelon plants! They are really growing! They have sent long runners up about half the length of the garden. I had to mow an area next to the garden so I could direct the pumpkin runners to the open area, instead of letting them take over the tomato, squash, and pepper rows. Every day looks different in the garden. Things are growing so fast, considering these plants weren't even started until June!

 
I've got big melons! *Hahahaa* Ok -- seriously, the cantaloupes are growing!

 
I am very excited about the sunflowers, too. I've never really had good luck growing sunflowers, and this year it seems like they're doing great! I love the cheery spots of color they add.

 
I love that they stand tall along the chicken yard fence, and provide a natural shade for the ducks and chickens to enjoy. And the Wheelie bugs like them, too!

 
Oh, and this pretty flower is blooming in the garden too... anyone know what it is? I only planted Four o'Clocks and nasturtiums in the garden, and this is neither. I wonder if it was a misplaced seed in one of the packets. Everything about this plant is somewhat sticky. The flowers are pretty large ... not quite 2" wide. UPDATE: Thanks to a WONDERFUL blog reader, Carol Dee, for identifying this flower as a WEED! Hahaa! Just my luck! Seems it's a Martynia, often called Devil's Claw or Unicorn Plant, from the Pedaliaceae family. Thanks so much Carol! How interesting!

 
Finally, here's a photo especially for my friend Jennifer..... *giggle* Here's lookin' at you!

More Wheelie Bug Friends

 
Some of my sunflower leaves look like this. Caterpillars and grasshoppers are my best guess as to who would do such a thing...

 
I knew there were at least 5 wheel bugs living on one large sunflower plant near the pool, so yesterday evening I relocated two of those wheel bugs to the sunflowers growing near the chicken coop and garden.

 
The sunflowers near the garden are about 8-10 feet tall now, and look like they're going to get a bit taller before they open into full bloom. These wheel bugs have their work cut out... eat those caterpillars!!

 
This one decided that I didn't put him in the right spot...

 
...so up, and over to the next pant he went.

 
Perfect. Now go find a snack!

 
More zinnias opened up, and they're bright gorgeous colors! I love the orange ones...

 
...and the pink ones, too!

 
I have a red velvet sunflower full of blooms, too! In fact, this flower is blooming on the same plant that the first wheelie bug lives on. He's doing a good job of keeping it pest free!

one HOT day and i quacked up

 

This evening I took my camera out to snap some photos. My first stop was to see what the ducks were up to. It was about 97 degrees, and just as I expected they were lounging in their pool in the shade. Can't say I blame them ... it was H-O-T!

 
When I'm in the yard with the birds, I get attention. They are always looking for handouts and it is not uncommon for me to leave their yard with muddy duck bill prints on my toes, knees, and pant legs, or if I kneel down to get eye level with them while I take photos, I get duck bill prints on my bum, pant pockets, elbows, etc.

 
Today I interrupted nap time and it took them a little longer to snap into snack-searching mode. But they didn't disappoint.

 
Normally when I take photos of the animals I use a zoom lens and don't have to get as close to them to get photos as I did today. I'm usually 5 or 10 feet from them. But today I had my macro lens on the camera (which does not zoom in or out), so I had to get pretty close to the birds in order to fill the frame of the photo like I prefer to do. I was about as close to the ducks as it actually appears in the photos.

 
Actually, I should say that they are as close to the CAMERA as they appear...

 
...and this is why I use clear filters on my lenses when photographing animals -- to protect the high dollar glass of my Canon lenses. Slime can occur. They are particularly fond of the camera strap around my neck. It gets lots of nibbling while I'm trying to take photos.

 
And not just from the ducks ... the chickens get in on the excitement, too.

 
After leaving the chicken yard, I stopped at the sunflower to see if I could find my Wheel Bug friend. A couple times a week since I relocated it to the red velvet sunflower I check the plant over to see if I can find the bug. Surprisingly enough, nearly every time I look I spot him!

 
I put this critter on this particular sunflower on July 2nd when we met for the first time. I am really surprised that it's still taking up residence on the sunflower, and that I can find it! They're a very shy bug, so I'm always surprised to see it.

 
More and more zinnias are blooming. This pretty orange blossom opened within the last couple of days. I think it's lovely!

 
And the echinacea is blooming nicely, so I took a photo of it's amazing flower center. These things are so poky!

 
See ya next time, Wheelie!

 
Say cheese and quackers!

Time to get out of the heat!

too good to be true?

 
It is July, right? I'm looking at the 10-day forecast, and am so EXCITED!! Not a 100 degree day to be SEEN! And look at the chance of precipitation numbers! This Pacific Northwest girl thinks it's time to do the dance of joy! But I won't get too excited... I don't want to jinx things. That's just my luck. *grin*

We didn't get rain the entire day, just sprinkles now and then, but the cooler temps were nice. At about 6:30pm I was out doing chores. A bit of sun peeked through the clouds just before the big storm for the night moved into the area. I took some time to snap some random photos just to document the day.

The ducks LOVE the rain. It's QUACK QUACK QUACK all day long, while they splash around in the puddles, and chomp at the rain drops. The chickens don't really like getting wet, but I think they're enjoying the much cooler temperatures we're having. They don't tolerate heat well, and neither do I!

 
I sure get a lot of attention when I bring the camera into the chicken yard. I'm pretty sure they all think it's a container full of treats for them to snack on. Keeping the duck bills away from my lens is sometimes a challenge. Keeping the duck bills away from my pants and pockets ... impossible.

 
The little feeder dish hanging in the garden collected rain water. I'll leave it for the dragonflies.

 
The echinacea blooms are pretty, and the butterflies sure like them! Today I watched the FATTEST bumblebee enjoying the flowers on one of the cucumber plants. Yay for bees!

 
The squash pit is growing like mad! I never got around to thinning the plants -- maybe I'll have time this weekend to snip out some of the stragglers. If I can find any stragglers.

 
I really do love zinnias...

 
This one just opened in the past day or so.

 
It's a good thing I strung some twine for the pole beans. They're climbing like crazy!

 
They move up the twine several inches each day. Maybe even more!

 
The cucumber plants (I found extra seeds in my pocket) I tucked into the corn patch have really taken off. ...and it's evident that I haven't thinned the corn yet, either.

 
The frizzle chicks are growing... we've got three boys, and this CUTE little pullet (female). I love her crazy little topknot and her big, dark eyes.

 
Dandy (our only male duck, thankfully!) doesn't have time for baby chickens. He is growing into such a handsome fella. And I noticed he's finally getting his little drake tail curl (no photos yet). He's off to find a puddle.

the garden does grow.

 
I continue to be amazed at how well some of the things in the garden are doing, considering the heat we're experiencing. While most of the country seems to be getting rain, rain, and MORE rain, we continue to be hot and dry. Did I mention hot?! Yes, hot. And dry. Hot and dry. We do have a 30% chance of rain for the next two days, but 30% isn't too favorable for our area. We don't get too excited unless we see 60% chance or greater. But, cross your fingers for us. We sure could use the rain. My zinnias are finally blooming!

 
Just a few right now, but more to come!

 
I'm finding it an ongoing challenge with the veggies. Some are fighting to survive the heat, and others seem to be enjoying it. The two pickling cucumber plants I have are doing really well, so I planted a few more.

 
Not sure what happened with this little fella...

 
There are fruits of all sizes on the plants, and it's nice to see them thriving!

 
The new beans I planted are coming in nicely. A row of bush, and a row of pole beans. I also planted some Cow Peas, which I've never grown before. Grow beans, grow! We've got room in the freezer for you!

 
This is the area of beans and cucumbers that I planted most recently, and it's the area I'm having issues with the armadillo. Every night the armadillo turns over 6-12" of soil (thankfully, always in about the same location), and every morning I put the soil back in place. So far, he's only turned over two small plants, but a few others haven't come up ... I'm wondering if he swiped the seed!

 
I've never grown cantaloupe before, and I'm happy to see it doing well. There are actually a few little itty bitty melons on the vine!

 
I planted several kinds of pumpkins. So far, the mini pumpkins and the Big Max plants are doing the best. The others are up and growing, just not as quickly as the Big Max. The tomatoes aren't putting on a lot of fruit, and I think it's due to the heat. They flower, but only a few tomatoes form. The fruit we are getting is good, but there's just not much of it. I think I'm going to have to start hand pollinating a few of the zucchini plants. There don't seem to be many pollinators around, and either fruits are showing signs of poor pollination, or aren't forming at all. The plants have a huge canopy of leaves, so I cut back some of the oldest, largest leaves tonight hoping that if the few pollinators that are around can SEE the flowers blooming, they'll be more likely to VISIT them! If I still don't see results within the next week, I'll be out there with a Q-tip tickling the flowers.

 
Back near the pumpkin mounds I also put in a few more zucchini plants. Yellow, and Crooknecks. They were slow to get settled, but are now growing nicely.

 
Not everything is doing as well, though. The peppers are sad, and I'm struggling with one of my cucumber plants. The new growth on the plant is good, but the lower leaves on the plant are yellowing, a sign of too much water... so, now I water it less. But it wilts in the heat. So, I moved it to a location that gets a bit more shade. It's still looking a bit sorry, but hopefully it picks up a bit. Maybe it needs more nitrogen... hmm.

 
The oodles of grasshoppers hanging out in the garden are doing a large amount of damage to the plants. Over the past few days, I've been "hand picking" the little buggers from the sunflowers, zinnias, and tomato plants and feeding them to the chickens. Not the most enjoyable thing to do, but it's the best way I know to lighten the swarm without using chemicals. And the chickens LOVE grasshoppers!

 
Of course, I took some photos first. *grin*

EXPLICIT PHOTO WARNING

 
I even saw some hanky-panky in the bean patch! Ack! We don't need any more grasshoppers!

 
Here chicken, chicken... I've got a snack for you!

Alan knows I LOVE sunflowers...

Late last week, Alan had to make a trip to a neighboring town on a road we seldom travel. As soon as he saw "IT", he knew I'd want to make a trip out there, and soon! He passed a HUGE field of beautiful blooming sunflowers! As far as you could see, SUNFLOWERS!

He was right -- I DID want to go! We would have gone out last night, but it was cloudy in the evening, and I wanted evening sunshine. Tonight, we had evening sunshine! Guess where we went!!

 
The field was amazing, and the light was just right!

 
Alan waited by the car while I happily shot photos of the field.

 
If we farmed our land like this, you can bet I'd want sunflowers year after year!

 
Yeah, sure, I know about crop rotation and soil rejuvenation between years of crops, but it just doesn't get any prettier than this.

 
Perhaps we would just have to figure out what other flowers we could grow in the "off-sunflower" years. Down here, they tend to rotate between corn, cotton, and milo. And I guess, sunflowers, but we rarely see fields like this. Corn and milo fields are pretty too, but nothing like sunflowers! And the cotton -- well, it's kind of blah... at least it's green, though!

 
The sound of the wind in a field like this is wonderful! A constant rustle of their giant leaves against one another.

 
I had to get close-up shots, too! I love the pattern of the seeds as they grow.

 
Even the backsides are pretty. I think it's really amazing how full of pattern they are, and are so organic in their shapes and movement.

 
Just how many seeds do you imagine one sunflower produces?

 
Imagine how many seeds a field like this produces!

 
It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday evening.

 
Alan and I have the best "dates". *grin*

Last year at the end of May, we stumbled upon another field like this, and went to take photos the following weekend. When we went to take more photos later in the month, the field had been harvested. I just about cried...

Bloomin' Rudbeckia

Here are some photos of the Rudbeckia flowers blooming around the farm right now...

 
Yellow centered...

 
Smooshed into one.

 
Brown centered...

 
Just starting to look like a flower...

 
Amazing transformation...

 
Barely room for four...

 
Flowers in the sunshine... and do I see a cabbage moth?!

 
Behind some tired lavender...

 
Sitting pretty by the zucchini...

 
The Over-Achiever.

 
Profile...

 
The perfect bloom.

A Farm Update in Photos

We had a bit of rain last night, which always puts me in a happy mood. I love rain! Weather like we had to day reminds me so much of the pacific northwest. It just feels "right". I pulled out my camera and Alan and I walked around the farm to see what we could see. Here are a few photos for you.

 
This bush is blooming near the house. I think it's some sort of hollyhock, but I'm not sure.

 
The goats were enjoying fresh green grass.

 
And then Alan rattled the treat bag...the race was on.

 
It's nearly impossible to photograph BAD Boxcar Betty. I always get "action" shots (aka: blurrrrr).

 
Callio-Pea always brings up the rear.

 
CallioPea's wattles are really swingin'!

 
Lucy and Darcy were munching grass.

 
The other cows were munching grass, too. Notice all the wildflowers! Pretty!

 
The blue bonnets are really fragrant.

 
There are all kinds of flowers blooming, and so many that haven't started blooming yet!

 
The Indian Paint Brush are so neon! I think they are so pretty!

 
The neighbors have lots of Indian Paint Brush this year!

 
...look at that storm north of us!

 
Unfortunately, the poison ivy is growing like crazy, too... this particular plant (and it wasn't the only one like this) has wound it's way up to the top of a fence post, and will soon be more like a tree than a bush! YUCK!

 
Another horrible pest here are fire ants. Here is a small nest that has pushed up between two patio stones since the evening rain. Fire ants are terrible creatures! Be careful where you walk!

 
The hens are doing well, enjoying the cooler temperatures. They were busy in the chicken yard.

 
Weezie is always on a mission, squawking all the while.

 
Dot, a guinea hen, was watching wild birds flit around in the treetops.

 
Brown Manetta (a turken hen), looking lovely, as always...

 
Here is one of the Cuckoo Marans girls, watching me very closely, just in case I have treats in hiding!

 
Just-a-Minute was napping on this bale of hay. Shortly after this photo, he ran off.

 
The baby ducks are GROWING so FAST! Still without names (I know, I know...), these two are fascinated by the grass growing at the base of the chicken coop.

 
I might call this duck Nellie. I'm HOPING it's a girl. I've read that the girls are the most chatty/vocal, and this one is just that. But she's also a little Nervous Nellie... so, Nellie fits.

 
Mmmmm, water!

 
It's hard to believe that the two bigger buff colored ducks are only 4 weeks old! We brought them home on March 20th. The white crested duck and the khaki duck are now 3 weeks old. Growing like weeds! Remember when I brought them home, how LITTLE they were! They are the happiest little creatures!

 
Action shot! Nibble nibble nibble nibble...

 
"We love life on the farm!"

Hope you enjoyed your visit to the farm today!

I {heart} Spring

Where has time gone!? Where have I been!? .... Well, I've been here, and I guess I've been BUSY! Thanks to those of you who've sent emails asking if things are OK. I love that you check in with me if I've been quiet on the blog for a couple of days or more. 

The wildflowers have started blooming so I need to get out and start taking some photos. They're pretty patchy right now, but soon they'll be covering the fields with color. It looks like we'll have a bumper crop of Bluebonnets this year, which is fun!

I went shopping yesterday, so I was away from the house all day. Larger stores (like Costco, Sprouts, SuperTarget, Joann's, Hobby Lobby, etc) are about an hour from us, and I don't get up there very often. When I do go, it's a day-long event. I had to pick up some essentials at Costco, and was thrilled when I saw they had delicious packs of fresh strawberries again!

I also picked up some (non)essentials at a few other shops. Like some cute yardage that I whipped up into an apron for myself last night! I do have a couple other projects to share with you as well, but need to get photos taken first.

Hope you have an enjoyable day!

Sunflowers

Alan and I stumbled upon a gem of a field last week, wouldn't you agree? I'll be headed back in a couple of days to see if the field is blooming even more! What a treat...

 

...and we didn't even get a COOKIE!

The pasture is loaded with bluebonnets this year! Thank goodness! We only had a handful of flowers last spring, and it was just dismal. We had a few HOT days last week, so I knew I needed to get out and take some photos before the flowers were gone.

Miss Daisy was LESS than thrilled, as you can see.

Then something across the pasture caught her interest...

Mister Farley thought the entire scene was just too boring, but he did an OK job of listening to me -- he just wouldn't LOOK at me.

 
But he did think the flowers smelled nice!

Texas Bluebonnet

The wildflower display around here this year is fairly dismal. Nothing like it was last year.

Ah well... what few flowers we do have are pretty, regardless of the limited number of them.

This pretty little (and I stress LITTLE) bluebonnet is growing near our garage. The afternoon sun was shining on it, making it ever so blue. We need a bit of rain, and maybe the wildflower crop will get better.

In other news, today I am the featured blog on the Typepad blog! They wrote a nice little blurb about my site. Thanks Typepad!

Insight... (and a sneak peek?)

The Ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers, with all of it's delicate petals unfolding from a tight little knot. They are available in so many colors too! This is a photo I took of a yellow Ranunculus when I lived in Oregon. In the very early spring, I used to visit the local greenhouses and catch the blooms at their best. (But don't tell anyone...this is a secret!)

A few years ago I did some international travel for the company I work for. I was able to do a bit of poking around Dublin, London, Paris, Taipei, and Sydney during off-hours, mainly on Saturday mornings. One of the things I think about when I think of these cities is flowers. They all had unique displays and variety.

I'm glad I have photographs of places I've been and things I've seen to inspire my illustrations. It was in Dublin that I took this photo of a street vendor selling flowers during Saturday market. I really like seeing all of the blooms tucked into buckets, just waiting. I have been asked many times about what inspires me and where I get ideas for my illustrations. It's true when I say life's experiences - they are what inspire me.

Today you're getting a sneak peek of what some of that inspiration brought me! Why? Because I have the toughest time keeping secrets like this, and because I was given permission! So Sneak Peek away!

The image is on shimmery white paper and colored with Copic markers. I bet you can't guess what this image is for! Or can you?!

Hope you have a lovely Tuesday.
Isn't it Friday YET!?

Another Sunflower!

I thought it was fitting after my Sunflower Garden card to have a sunflower photo for my Photo a Day image! How lucky that we have some sunflowers blooming in the yard and I could actually get a photo!

I took this photo earlier this evening. The cows and donkeys all thought I was out there to feed them, so they ALL came running up to the fence. Silly animals -- they need to eat GRASS!

Sunflowers...

We are having the best year for wildflowers this year! It's really been amazing to see the variety of the flowers. Most of the Mexican Hats and Indian Blankets have gone to seed, although there are a couple of really nice looking plants still blooming in the backyard.

Now it's the sunflowers that are scattered around, showing their sunny faces. They're growing in some of the farming fields, along the roadways, and along fence lines. This one is growing in our backyard, near the fence where we keep the round bales for the cows. The seeds must have been in the hay. There are a few more sunflower plants growing near this one, but they haven't started to bloom yet. Soon!!

We had a "spontaneous storm" yesterday (I think that's what they call it when they get the weather forecast wrong), and we got about 1/2 an inch of rain in about 15 minutes. It POURED. I took this photo of the flower a couple of hours after the storm. I am amazed the flower survived so well!

Shaving Brush (Star Thistle, Basket Flower)

Alan and I went out into the far pasture this evening so I could take photos of some of the purple wildflowers I saw out there earlier today. It was really HOT and muggy, so we weren't out there for very long. But I did manage to get some fun shots of the flowers, and even a butterfly!

This flower is called a Shaving Brush (or Star Thistle or Basket Flower). We have a BUNCH of these in the pasture! Gobs and gobs! I thought this photo turned out pretty cool -- reminds me of an exploding firework. The flower bloom is about 2 inches across (some were larger, some smaller).

You can see more of the photos I took today in my Flower Gallery. The first 8 shots in the gallery are from today. Enjoy!

Wildflowers = Happy

Today was a beautiful day here. It was sunny, but not too hot. I spent about 15 minutes outside with my camera and got a few fun shots of the Mexican Hat flowers we have blooming in the back yard.

They're so pretty. I love their bright yellow color, and the textures of their centers.

When I lived in Oregon, the Black-eyed Susan was one of the flowers I loved to grow. They're pretty in the garden, and pretty in bouquets. What could be better?!

One of the new Whipper Snapper stamps coming out in July is fashioned after these whimsical flowers. Here's a sneak peek at a *portion* of the stamp image being released.

Wildflowers make me happy.

Texas Paintbrush

The wildflowers are blooming outta control right now, so if you start to feel like I'm inundating you with photos of flowers -- oops! They're all just so pretty, I can't help myself! =)

This is the Texas Paintbrush. They're so vividly colored, they're almost hard to look at! They're so much brighter than everything in their surroundings.

I thought this pair of paintbrushes was really quite amazing. They grew side by side, one almost an exact replica of the other. How cool is that!

An interesting thing about the Paintbrush flower -- the red area of the plant isn't actually the flower. The flower is the smaller creamy and light pink colored flute that's surrounded by the red and green leaves.

Indian Blankets

Today we had a severe storm come through, right in the middle of the day. At the time of the storm nothing out of the ordinary showed on the weather.com radar map for our area. So for us to have a storm so big, LOUD, and full of rain and hail without warning was a bit odd. So much for mowing the lawn this afternoon. Ha! Maybe I'll get to it this weekend.

This evening after the storm the sun came out a bit, so I popped outside to get some photos of the Indian Blanket wildflowers blooming right now. They're so PRETTY! They're taller than the bluebonnets - more like daisies. They create a sea of red and yellow where they grow.

I liked how the sun was shining through the petals on these flowers. It really shows the veins of the petals off! The flowers are a bit tattered from the storm and from bugs, I'm sure. But they're wild. And I still think they're lovely. There are more wild flowers blooming right now that I want to photograph, so I'll go out again maybe this weekend, and get some more shots.

Today I ordered a *bunch* of sunflower seeds, zinnias and cosmos from Henry Fields to plant around the farm. I'm sure I'm LATE getting them in the ground ... so, our sunflowers will be late bloomers. Hope they grow big! Last year there was a field near by that was solid sunflowers (a small-blossom variety - not the jumbo kind)... I can't wait to see if the farmer plants them again this year!

Photos in the Bluebonnets

This afternoon we took Daisy and Farley out to the pasture behind the house so I could get some photos of them in the Bluebonnets.

They chased each other round and round and round until they were both totally worn out -- and of course, all this BEFORE we took photos. Before we could do photos I had to clean up lots of slobber, and I got a LOT of shots with big tongues! Oh well... at least they had a good time!

Between the two storms we had on Thursday and Friday, we got over 9 inches of rain here on the farm. Sheesh! Talk about soggy!

And the weather has taken another crazy turn... it was 80+ today, and supposed to be about 84-85 through Tuesday before it cools down again later in the week. I can't wait to see how the fields of wildflowers thrive with all the rain and now the warmth! Should be extra beautiful!

The flowers are so pretty, and really smell good too! They're kind of sweet smelling. They seem to have kind of like an artificial grape scent. We don't have many Indian Paint Brush flowers on the farm, but there are some up the road a bit, so at some point this week I'll try and get out to get some photos. Maybe I can find a few other types of flowers as well.

I look at these photos and I can't believe how gray Daisy and Farley are getting. They'll both be seven this year. Farley on April 8th (SOON!), and Daisy in September. What a couple of happy pups.

I haven't been able to do much crafting this weekend. We've been pretty busy with out-of-the-ordinary things.

Alan and I spent the better part of yesterday in North Dallas. We had to take Twinkle Toes up to a bird clinic to have an egg removed. She layed four eggs this week, and we think it made her so tired she wasn't able to lay the fifth. Poor little thing!

She was looking really sickly and tired Friday night, and I was so worried about her. But we had an appointment with the vet bright and early Saturday morning, and the vet was able to collapse the egg and get it out of Twinkle Toes. She's going to be on antibiotics and serious vitamins for the next couple of months while her body heals. She's feeling MUCH better, but still not 100%. She can't be in the same room as Huey now, since it seems that his swooning could put her right back in egg-laying mode which would be very devastating to her little body. Who knew Huey could be so convincing!

Thanks to all of you for the good thoughts and kind notes you sent while we had the big storms. I've learned a lot about Texas weather in the past week. I know we're not the only area to have wicked weather this past week, so here's hoping you're all safe where you live as well!

A Good Memory...

I've been working on a little project for myself lately that requires me to go through my photo archives. I've had some really wonderful memories brought back just by seeing a face, or place, or emotion I've captured with my camera.

Tonight I came across this photo I've titled Harvesting Tulips. Not long ago I posted a photo of a single tulip blooming in a bed of unopened tulip buds. {see it here if you missed it}

I took this photo of the field worker the same day while I was visiting the tulip farm. It was taken as the moment happened (in other words, it wasn't staged or posed). I really love the lighting, the composition, and the story the photo tells. I've got to wonder how many beautiful people enjoyed those very tulips for Easter, or birthdays, or just because.

I've entered this photo in competitions, and while it always scored well it has never been a prize winner. Comments from judges were always about the desire to see the workers face. But to me, this image isn't about seeing his face -- it's about the tulips and the harvest. And although I've brought this photo home several times without prizes, it still remains one of my favorites.

Hope you like it too...

Fitz in the Bluebonnets

While Alan and I were out in the pastures today taking photos of wildflowers, the donkeys decided to come "help" us. I'm THRILLED I was able to capture this photo of Fitz as he walked through an area of Bluebonnets.

Even though I'm the photographer, I think I'm still allowed to say that THIS is the CUTEST donkey photo! Fitz is deceivingly adorable here. In reality, he's is a wild animal full of spunk!

Maybe I can find a magazine to take this photo as a cover -- I think it'd be perfect! =)

Texas Wildflowers

Texas wildflowers have started to bloom, and I'm going to capture what I can while they're out this year and share photos of them here on my blog. So, Alan and I went out to the pastures today and I took a few shots of the Texas Bluebonnets (the Texas state flower) which have started to fill the fields and ditches along roadways.

In other places in the US, this flower is called Lupin. Lupin grows wild in northeastern Washington too, which is where I was raised, and has always been one of my favorite wildflowers. There are very large domestic varieties of Lupin too, available in all kinds of colors.

Here in Texas, Bluebonnets can be seen as single plants scattered here and there, or grow in huge thickets large enough to cover fields. Regardless of how many you see at once, they really are quite beautiful! They grow in our pastures and oddly enough, the cows and donkeys don't bother to eat them.

Alan and I also found this little yellow daisy plant in the pasture surrounded by Bluebonnets. The blooms on this plant are about the size of a penny.

I like how they grow in a small cluster of blooms, making them seem much larger than they really are. It isn't a very large plant in general. These blooms were only about ten inches from the ground, and sat at the very tip top of the stems.

I'm looking forward to the other wildflowers that will bloom here on the farm as well -- Mexican Hats, Indian Blankets, and Indian Paintbrush are just a few of my favorites that will bloom soon. Can't wait!

Changing Seasons...

I love photographing flowers. When I lived in Oregon one of my favorite things to do was spend early spring afternoons going from field to field taking photos.

I was fortunate as a photographer to have access to some of the large commercial growing greenhouses in the Willamette Valley. It allowed me to get a jump on my floral photography before fields were in bloom. Some of my favorite flower photos were taken in greenhouses, long before flowers could be seen in the fields -- and while the flowers were still protected from insects and weather. Greenhouses provide the ideal lighting for photography as well. Filtered sunlight makes for eye-poppin' colors!

This photograph is only a small portion of a HUGE flat of tulips that was grown in a greenhouse north of Eugene, Oregon. The day I took this photo, workers were harvesting the budding flowers to be sold in local shops. One tulip, the Early Bloomer in this photo, looked so out of place on the flat of buds - but looked so perfectly placed at the same time.

Photographing in greenhouses before flowers were seen in the fields always made me feel like I had a sneak peak on spring. If it doesn't feel quite like spring yet where you live, enjoy this sneak peek of spring from me, to you.

A Little Sunshine...

We're having a sunny day here today, which made me wish for flowers. BIG, sunny yellow flowers!

So, I poked around in some of my photo files and found this photo of a sunflower I took on a farm near Hood River, Oregon a couple of summers ago while on a day-trip with my friend Sharon.

Rasmussen Farms raises fresh produce, fruit, flowers, and pumpkins!! Towards the end of the summer every year they have Van Gogh Days, which celebrates the many varieties of sunflowers grown on the farm.

People can walk through the giant sunflower fields and hand-pick flowers, and enjoy the view of Mt Hood and surrounding valleys. They welcome painters, and photo groups too.

Sharon and I had a great time. If you're in the area, I recommend visiting their farm. There are nice vineyards in the area too, if wine is your thing. In fact, I think there's even a dinner/wine train that circles the valley -- worth looking into, I'm sure!

I'm going to have to plant some sunflowers here on the farm this year... seeing lovely flowers every day - what a treat!

One of 24

I took this photo this morning of one of the roses Alan gave me for Valentine's Day. A little bit of morning light was coming through the kitchen window, and made just the edges of the rose petals glow. I thought it looked very pretty, and worthy of a photo!

For those of you who like knowing the technical info behind photos:
Canon Mark II; Canon 100mm Macro lens; 2.8; ISO1600;  handheld at 1/90; Exposure Comp -.5; low natural light.

idle time.

As I sit here waiting and wishing and  w.a.i.t.i.n.g  some more for my Stampin' Up! catalogs I thought I would take a peek through some of my photographs that I haven't taken time to publish yet. I also came across some that I've been meaning to have printed as greeting cards. This is one of those images.

Every year an Oregon farm that's located just off the eastern side of Mt Hood holds a Sunflower Festival. Last summer my friend Sharon and I drove the three hours it takes to get to the farm to see the blooms and experience the farm.

While the farm and field display was not exactly what I was expecting, what was there was nothing short of beautiful!

I took this photograph that day on the farm while Sharon helped keep the tall plants from swaying in the wind.

A beautiful day. Now I just need to get busy and publish some cards!