Another dream satisfied...

I love raising bees, but have been looking for a vintage hive...
however, the other day at Sisters',
I was strolling the grounds looking for pictures...and there it was...
in all it's glory...
my hive...

Isn't it just the cutest!!!
That's what I thought...
so now the business of cleaning and repairing in under way.
I can't decide whether to paint white or to use a waterseal
to retain the weathered patina...

All of the frames have been scraped,
a new bottom has been installed...

Now for the caulking...and the bees...
However, it may be too late in the season for me to order my queen and her slaves,
but if so, there is always next year,
and I will continue to plant flowers and trees for food source
when my lil' critters do arrive.
Can you feel my thrill...?

Next, the chickens...heehee...

Shadow Shot Sunday...The Devil's Collar...

What strange shadows lurk
mysteriously shining
through this window's eye

Well, it's just Scratchy's Halloween collar,
you know,
the one that makes her look cool...

and tough too, right...

most of the time, 'cept
when I'm relaxing from work
fear me not pilgrim

with a mug like this, what's not to love...

no profound words of feelings and life this Shadow Shot Sunday...
only the love of a dog and her pack leader...
unconditional in every sense of the word,
my constant companion
the source of my smiles
and the terrorist of the hood
(yeah right)
Scratchy...the mouse whisperer...
my hero, my wolf, my best'es bud!

The Junk Asylum...

Had to deliver soaps to The Asylum the other day, so I wanted to show some of the new dealers in Lorie's shop...over 75 now...she's on her way, as the shop is filled with busy dealers and buyers, all running around playing with the toys...ok, I was one of them too.
There were tons of things I could've walked out of there with...BUT...
Well, you know the rest of the story.

Enjoy the pseudo-shopping...I'm going back!!!

Let's hear it...awwww...or ewwww...

Well, I love this lil' critter paddling his canoe and like it or not, raccoon are a problem and will always be trapped or shot for raiding the hen house and garbage bins, at least with taxidermy, there is some semblance of usefulness to the loss of the poor creature's life, if only a trophy.
I know, I know, but it is what it is...

Don't even go there...this is one of the booths at The Junk Asylum, she has the best stuff!
I'll post on Friday some of the other dealers...however, I did find something for moi...

I've been Jonesin' for this wicker clothes hamper and today it was on sale big time...MINE...and this portrait, at $18.00, I just couldn't pass up either, together they really give my bathroom an uplift.

Aren't the handles just too cool on this piece and the muted colors...I love my job...but for now these sweet pieces are mine and my other hamper will just have to go to the shop...
it's the way of it you know!

Back to the sweat shop...

Well, UPS just arrived with my work for the week...soap product...
200 pounds of base...whew...
I have several orders to do, plus batches for Sisters' and The Junk Asylum.
If I play this right, the soap biz will take off and I'll never have to leave my shack again...
'cept for a road trip to feed my addictions...right!
Don't you just wish you could sit at home and make soap all day, taking a break while the soap cures...maybe to the swing to watch and listen to Nature...
or maybe to putz in the garden for a few.
I was reading in my new Organic Gardening about raising chickens and the benefits to the bug problems in your yard...

I have got to get my 'Chicken Shack' designed and built...
then I gotta think of a classy name for it...
and do you think I should paint it pink???
Help me out here oh crazy ones...

The fruits of my labor...
and NO that's not a picture of me...
not yet anyway...

Y'all have a wonderful day
gotta get back to the cauldron...

My buds...

Told ya I was homesick for Florida...well this lil' reminder is in a new herb bed I planted last summer. My sandy soil is perfect for herbs, so more lavender is on the menu this year, you can never have enough of it...right!

My poor apricot tree, every year is loaded with buds, but few fruits...I need a mate...

FOR THE TREE!!!

Since the local nursery closed, it's been a struggle to find one close...and reasonable.
Not many honey bees around yet, last year I finally had bunches of them, I think they must've recovered, somewhat from the blight...but when you live this close to aerial spraying in the fields all around me, it's a wonder any bugs survive!
Good ol' Monsanto, thank you very much!!!

My lowly lil' lilac bush, every homestead had one...and birdhouses on every tree.

To me, not playing by the rules and mowing my grass like everyone else, has really doubled my bird population. Some mornings it's so loud, you wanna turn the volume control down, instead, I grab a cup o Joe and head for the swing, binoculars in tow, I scan for new friends...
can't wait for the meadow lark's return, he serenades from the treetops
telling all...
summer has arrived!


Sigh....

Weather...and chores...

Well...here it is, our first tornado watch of the spring season...
Isn't this the most beautiful rumbling sky...I just have the best views since I cut down some of the troublesome trees that freaked me out every storm season.
Chinese Elm trees...huge trees 3 feet in diameter swayed with the winds just feet away from my kitchen and living room, now I can rest in peace knowing the giants are gone and...
I can see the sky!

I have a project that I have been working on for years at the chateau aka shack...
tree rows...
My six acres is filled with cedar trees and as you can see, the new 4-lane they built is maybe 100 feet from my back door...YUCK!!!
It was great for biz when we had the shop in the house, but now, it's a rumbling, smelly eyesore to this country girls eye...sooooo...
The chore begins...tree rows...
Planting the cedar wind/sound barrier is a matter of walking to the field and digging the seedlings and transporting back to site.
The plan is to hide me away, tucked in solitude in my own lil' nature preserve, where I can work and rest knowing the meanies are just on the other side of my secluson.
First thing yesterday morning I took some garbage bags out to the highway and started picking up the refuse the meanies leave behind...
OMG...
Three crammed bags later, I just want to sit next to the road and throw all of it back to the wretches driving by. The biggest share of the heap was plastic water/tea bottles...
are you kidding me...I couldn't walk 10 feet without finding one.
Beer bottles, pop cans, Styrofoam, cardboard, clothes, walmart bags...
What is it with people...THE MEANIES!!!

A spring morn over the strawberry patch out to my six acres of scrub and walnut trees...
aka paradise...

More tree rows in the making, as me and my shadow gaze out the front door at the greening of Spring...

Do you think a moat is too big of a project...

Shadow Shot Sunday...Her Blue Moon...

rusty old relic
pushed from the hand
to the heart
duos of life
dawn to dusk
Winter to Spring
they sing in harmony
an adagio to the sweet pea
a pastoral to the rain
in a symphony of
dancing droplets
I see a reflection
in these pools of solitude
the songs of stormy nights
and the silent wings
of the day light
illuminating
bits of earth
and promise
in my secret storm
a rusty old bucket
worthy still
rambles on
dutifully
celebrating
life and singularity
once in a blue moon



s.wilson

I just love that term, it has such a mystic voice to it...once in a blue moon...conjures up all kinds of mystic moods, huh...
Anyway, our waiting is over here in the Midwest, the blossoms are budding, gardens are being groomed, grass is about to be mowed and tornado season is upon us...it's always something isn't it, nobody said it would be easy, so let's just enjoy it why we have it...6 long, glorious months of warm weather...oh what shall we do...

Well for one, we can head on down under to Australia where hopefully Tracie is back online and able to join us in HER MEME...we miss you girl!!!

Still pretty bleak...BUT!!!

The buds on my trumpet vine are still in hiding and the birds are slowly taking residence...but...

...my sandy, loamy river-bottom soils are ready for the working...leaves and trash raked and piled on the compost...I wait with the tools of my trade, no fancy tiller for me...
I'm a glutton for punishment, but the workout is needed after a long dormant winter...
another 80 degree day in the works.

My lil' rhubarb heads are peeking through, as I extend my garden by 10 feet this year, my strawberries have taken over, it's a great patch, but I need more room for the veggies.
The prairie sod is a force to be reckoned with, but oh the rewards!
My peas are planted, as well as the broccoli and cabbage...these will tolerate late frosts and snows...like Granny always said...get them peas in the ground early so they get the last of the snow...they were soaked overnight and inoculant added, so they are good to go and this evenings rains are well timed.

It's hard to get in the mood to paint and make soaps, but getting the gardens ready for the dried herbs to be used in the product...it's a trade-off that I'll gladly take...been a long time comin'...

YEAh, that's what I'm talkin' about..............................

OMG...I slept with the bedroom windows open last night...I could hear the frogs in the ditches...I could smell spring in the air...
Well, this isn't my house, but I spied it yesterday on my deliveries and couldn't resist a shot...look at that window in the peak, how cool is that and the corbels...sigh...
The old abandoned home was filled with boxes in every window...can you imagine having so much stuff that you have to fill a vacant house...hmmmm...

The Amish kids were on their way home from school, wish I could've gotten a closeup of big sister driving a buggy full of siblings home...but Scratchy went BALLISTIC as we drove by, so I was too busy being a pack leader...DOWN HEATHEN!!!

AND YES....I'm barefooted...and I will be the rest of the season...ahhhhh...

SPRING...

PS...I heard from TOT yesterday and she said the Texas show has been fabulous so far...just like the good ol' days!!!
Could that mean a trip to Iowa is in the making...YIPPEE!!!