A little rain.....and a rare sighting

>> Sunday, September 26, 2010








When's the last time I saw one of these guys? Well, I can tell you it's been a while. The last turtle we had in the compound escaped at least a couple of years ago, so I would guess that would be when. Every now and then Trevor will mention seeing one down the hill in the backyard. You'd think living in the country that we would cross paths more often than we do.

But today, seeing this girl, it reminded me of the days of:

Walking in the rain, jumping in mudpuddles, carrying umbrellas and keeping an eye out for a hidden turtle in the leaves.

Rescuing misguided turtles from sure road death.

Finding turtles at auctions.

Naming turtles after the ever so famous Ninja turtles. Remember Raphael, Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Donatello?

Naming turtles girl names like Madeline or Samantha.

Being brought turtles by concerned neigbhors who knew of our turtle compound.

Watching newly hatched turtles, with their shells so soft, head toward the small pool.

Yep, with light drizzle falling, it's not surprising to see her out an about. After all we were always more successful of finding them after a rain.

Enjoy the memory!

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Beautiful Blooms

>> Saturday, August 7, 2010

These are the last of the Zinnias and they're going out in style! So vibrant and as much as I have enjoyed the different colors this year, they have been high maintenance plants requiring lots of water. Maybe because they are in a raised bed? Or maybe not. The flower package said that once established they were drought tolerant. At any rate they will not be going back in the raised bed next year. Some have gone to seed and I think I'll scatter them on the ground and see what happens next year.




On the other hand, my impatiens have done wonderful and have mounded quite nicely. I haven't experienced any wilting that they are prone to in really hot weather. They look great on either side of the steps and I have hardly watered them at all. However they do get a nice drenching from the porch eaves when it rains. I especially like the hosta in the corner.

So that's what's blooming here on the ranch, hope it made you homesick.

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Funny Thing

>> Sunday, July 25, 2010

My youngest never ceases to amaze.

Yesterday while out in the garage cleaning, he pops up and says "These 3 acres are going to be my farm. My place to raise 13 children".

OMG, really? 13 children? He said it jokingly.

He loves this house. This property. How close we are to the river.

Then we talked about him maybe going to Haywood County Community College for a fisheries degree. I told him "You go to the mountains and you won't be back".

Trout fishing, hunting, woods. Hmmm. He's thinking on it.

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We're empty nesters!

>> Thursday, July 22, 2010

Our little bluebird has left the nest.

Perhaps he/she will make a visit to the birdbath in a couple of days.

It's possible the parents could lay a third clutch this summer, lots of time left.

But do they have the energy?

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Lantana

>> Sunday, July 18, 2010




This year the largest of my lantana varieties has flowered with beautiful tri-colored blooms.

At a distance some of the blooms appear salmon in color.

The plant is covered in yellow and orange blooms, yellow and pink blooms and then those that have all 3 colors.

Pretty neat!

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One is the Loneliest Number

>> Saturday, July 10, 2010

Bluebird update.

Our pair ended up laying 4 beautiful little eggs.

1 little baby chick hatched on Tues.

The remaining 3 eggs were not fertilized. We candled them and no developed embryo was seen inside.

Parents are breathing a sigh of relief. Only 1 mouth to feed. lol

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Bluebirds ...Round 2

>> Sunday, June 20, 2010

Can't believe it, but we have a newly constructed bluebird nest with 1 egg. We had suspected they were going to nest again after they began building a nest in the "white" house. They then abandoned it and began building one in the "cedar" house last week.

We think it's the same pair because they have young immature birds hanging out with them. As it turns out, young juvenile birds will sometimes stay with the parents and help raise a 2nd brood.

Very exciting! The watch and wait continues! And something else funny when I think of it...with the last nesting, the first eggs began hatching on Mother's Day and here we go this time with the 1st egg being laid on Father's Day. What's the chance of that happening?

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Zinnia's

>> Monday, June 14, 2010



The front bed of Zinnia's has started to bloom quite nicely. Lots of different colors and the green "Envy" ones are especially pretty.

Here's a little arrangement I whipped up this afternoon along with a couple of sunflowers.

I'm trying a flower preservative recipe that's supposed to keep them fresh for a week, so stay tuned. If it works, I'll share it with you.

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Man of the Ranch

>> Sunday, June 6, 2010


Let's see Pioneer Woman has "Marlboro man".


Farm Girl has "Farm Guy".


And I have the "Man of the Ranch".

So, what do you think? Does it fit him?

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Here Chickie...chickie

>> Friday, May 28, 2010


As you can see, happy bug eating chickens.


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Starting to Grow

>> Thursday, May 27, 2010

Chives and peppers starting to take off.


Tomatoes starting to flower and getting big enough for the trellis.



Cute little acorn squash.
 

Cukes getting bigger.



Pumpkins suffering from the heat today, but they perk right up afterwards

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Happiness is.........

>> Sunday, May 23, 2010


Zinnia's growing ever so tall........




Cukes doubling in size.......



Little baby bluebirds soon to fledge and fly away........



Sweet little sunflowers peeking out........



With more on the way........



Bright colored salmon impatiens .......



Sunny and slightly overcast today but still  nice enough to just sit out on the porch and enjoy the farmette.

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

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Skronsk Graduates!

>> Tuesday, May 18, 2010


Can't believe I didn't realize how dark this photo was and I was in full sun! And it's the only one I took!




The mountains were beautiful and so was my first born son. Brought tears to my eyes as people gathered in the Quad to see the 2010 graduating class of UNCA.

Such pride and overwhelming love for Skronsk as his name was called and I was so proud of my boy!

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Free giveaway!

>> Monday, May 17, 2010

Need a chicken laying box?

Click here for your chance to win one.

Looks like a really nice design...my chickens would be soo eggcited to lay an egg in there I'm sure!

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Pillowcase Dresses....Hey Anna

>> Sunday, May 16, 2010

Today's paper has an interesting article regarding making sundresses from pillowcases. Very cool idea since most of the time you can find pillowcases at Goodwill for a little over a dollar or maybe fifty cents. They can also be made from a yd of quilters cotton fabric.

But anyway, the one featured today was a floral print, modeled by a young girl 3-4yr old. It looks really simple and from what they say only takes 30-40 minutes to make one.

Here's the pattern you can download it and give it whirl!

This pdf file has step by step instructions...actually like this one best.

Here's a link that shows some really cute fabric ones:

Holy Toledo...check this one.
And yes, I'd love to see some pictures!!

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Pretty and Pink

>> Thursday, May 13, 2010




Spirea that is.


Lots of varying shades of pink on wavy green leafed stems.


One of my favorite summertime bloomers!


Enjoy!

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They're Here!

>> Monday, May 10, 2010

Four little fragile and featherless chicks all snuggled down in the cup of their nest.


They must have begun to hatch last evening with the last one this morning. More updates to come....

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Mother's Day

>> Sunday, May 9, 2010

After checking multiple times today, our bluebird nest of eggs remain unhatched. A lot of activity in and out today with the male at times perching on the outside looking in, but sadly no chicks yet.


So to all you Mom's out there that already have their little "chickees", hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day!

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Bluebird update!

>> Sunday, May 2, 2010

The saga continues. The bluebirds won out on the cedar house and ended up running the chickadees out. Not sure what happened to their eggs, they were just gone and the only trace was a broken shell at the base of the pole. I removed the chickadee nest, which was pretty neat with the moss and dog hair lining the cup.

The bluebirds then began in earnest to build their nest, completing it last week. The female started to immediately lay eggs and as last Monday, she had 4 little eggs ready for sitting. So, since then, the little woman has been busy tending and defending her nest. Occasionally the chickadee flys down to the house only to send her and the male into a tizzy in which they chase the chickadee into the neighboring yard.

Currently, we are now on day 8 and should have babies somewhere at the 12-14 day mark. So we are anxiouly expecting!

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Rainbow!

>> Tuesday, April 27, 2010




Tonight's little storm produced the most perfect and vivid rainbow I have ever seen. My camera and the pictures I took don't do it justice but it was spectacular. I've seen double rainbows before, however what made this one different was the lower one's colors were so clear.

What a treat! I wonder if that means I'll find a pot of gold?

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It's Alive!

>> Sunday, April 18, 2010

You know it's good to be wrong occasionally and wrong I was in the case of my lantana. Seems it just needed a little more time(and maybe some really warm temperatures) to awaken from it's dormant period. So far, all but 2 hills have started to show signs of life, so all isn't lost! Made my day yesterday when I discovered I will have some color in the front yard after all.



How about this color? The darn thing is just beautiful right now and is my favorite color of all the azaleas.

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Lantana "less"

>> Sunday, April 11, 2010

Well, the prolonged cold snap we had during winter took it's toll on my lantana plants save one spot. All my plants in the front yard - gone! The only place I have a few sprigs coming up is under the dogwood tree on the side of the house. There it was sheltered and insulated most likely by the surrounding azalea's. Such a shame, as they were all transplants from our old home place. However, on a happier note, what I have left is the purple variety which is quite difficult to find, so I'll nurse it along and hopefully be able to transplant it back to the front.

Here's a picture I took of it in November, right before I cut it back. This particular variety looks it best in late summer and early fall. The yellow/orange variety in the background was quite showy as well but had less blooms by Nov.


The yellow/orange variety grew to be 5 x 5 ft. and was loved by the hummingbirds and butterflies. I'll replace it but it'll be a while before it gets big as in this picture.


This was taken in the summer and you can see how bushy it gets.


Transplanting hosta today, as you can see I have a few pots....

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