SUMMER GARDEN STARTED

 Up to greet all the grandkids today. Hubbie took g-son to school and the girls and I snuggled under blankets to watch TV today as this bright sunshine rising up in the sky is very  misleading with the low 50's temperatures and high winds .

When hubbie returned I went out to get chores done on what feels like a late winter morning instead of a mid spring morning. The weather this year sure has been not very normal . But I you have to have highs and lows to come up with an average so I'm sure this isn't the first time for cooler temps this time of year.

After breakfast I made a cake delivery and then came home to disappoint the girls because the wind was now coupled with some showery clouds and they were wanting to go to the walking trail today.  We settled in to play inside until lunchtime.  We all had a good lunch then CA fell asleep in her high chair nixing any hope the older girls had of going to the trail this afternoon. I took RL and IR outside to play with Rosie and do whatever they wanted to do to make up for having to stay home today.  We were still outside and CA was just waking up from her nap when daughter and d-in-love arrived .  After they all left hubbie and I decided to work in the garden this evening since it was certainly cool and tomorrow we will have help with moving more of the logs from the driveway as both sons are planning on coming over to help.  Hubbie went up to start tilling and working what we already have planted and I sorted all my seeds .

We side dressed and hoed the potatoes which have all come up and are looking good so far.

I also hoed the onions and my brassica plants and put this climbing fabric up for my snap peas which are really looking good this year. Something ate all my pea plants to the ground last year and I had no peas so hoping this year will be better.

We also got green beans, dried beans, cucumbers, yellow squash and zuchinni squash planted tonight before it got too dark and cold.  It felt funny planting the garden in jackets but it was better than sweating under a hot sun as we usually do while planting. I didn't want to set out my plants tonight because the temperature is supposed to drop into the low 40's tonight and I have a feeling I will certainly be glad I didn't put out any plants because at 10:30 it is already 45 degrees tonight.  Everything that is growing right now should be fine with temps into the 30's if it gets there like it looks like it might.

We came inside and had a late snack supper then relaxed for the evening. 

Thankful for all the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

PLANT SALE, ERRAND DAY AND TRACK MEET

 Up to greet IR and CA this morning as hubbie went to pick up g-son and take him to school. After he returned I got chores done and then grabbed a breakfast bar and coffee and headed out the door to meet up with daughter out at the school to check out the annual green house sale from the FFA.  As always we found plenty and had the back of my Honda Pilot full. I unloaded all of the plants under our covered patio when I got home and then we got right in hubbie's truck with the girls and headed out to get our weekly errands done.  We made stops at the PO, the dump / recycle center, the bank, Sav Mor grocery, the Curb market to turn in my ballot about the parking kiosk that some of the board members want to put in the parking lot , my vote was a resounding "no". I think that would be a death sentence to the market which is struggling right now to attract customers, a parking kiosk is definitely not going to help attract customers!   Any was we also met a cake customer there for a cake delivery and then went on to Johnson's produce stand for some fresh strawberries and other vegetables. We picked up the girls a cheese burger and fries on the way home.  We made it home for a late lunch. I went up to the raised beds and gathered lettuce and radishes to add to some of the fresh vegetables I bought. I love the garden season and walking up to the garden for fresh vegetables.

After lunch the girls wanted to get out the riding toys and the new (to them) jeep that we bought a battery for.  IR took right to driving the jeep with only one mishap that landed her in the bushes.

She just said "oops" and got right back in it and backed it out.

CA tired of riding with her sister quickly and got her own ride.

We all went to g-son's track meet this afternoon at East Henderson High school and g-son did triple, long and high jumps. He has a nasty shin splint that was really hurting him today but he pushed through and placed in all the jumps. 

We all came home and hubbie and I got out to get chores done. I found more hatched chicks this afternoon as this second mama has several new hatchlings plus the third setting Silkie has hatched all three of her eggs. It was pretty cool this evening so I didn't disturb them for pics except this precious little curious peeper .

At least these second and third hatches were better than the single chick that hatched from the first batch of eggs.

Hubbie bush hogged the upper pasture today instead of doing more work on the logs which I was glad of because I am still pretty sore from yesterday's work. 

I iced a cake tonight then relaxed for the evening.

Thankful for the blessings of the day and praying that g-son's leg gets better quickly.

God Bless and Good Night

HOT SUNNY BUSY DAY

 Up to a busy day with all the grandkids here early this morning. Hubbie took g-son to school then I got chores done and had breakfast with the girls. After we ate hubbie took the girls to the playroom while I iced some caramel and chocolate cakes for an order I am delivering this afternoon.  I haven't iced this many cakes in quiet awhile and my back was surely letting me know that it wasn't used to this.  I finished just in time for us to have lunch with the girls.  RL and IR are very excited to get to go to a gymnastics class together this evening.  After lunch we all went outside to get some vitamin D but it was too hot at 84 degrees and sunny to stay out long.  I made the cake delivery and got back just ahead of daughter and d-in-love coming in to pick the girls up. I took a couple more cake orders today so maybe my business is going to pick up a little.  After the girls all left hubbie and I went to work on getting some of the logs of the trees we had cut down moved out of the drive way and up to hubbie's wood yard spot.  We got surprisingly more done before we wore out than I thought we would. We got chores done then I made another cake before tackling the weekly paperwork and paying bills.  This took longer than I expected and it was bedtime by the time I finished so this is a short and boring post .

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

RAINY TUESDAY

 Up to greet IR and CA while hubbie picked up g-son and took him to school. I got chores done and came back inside to have breakfast with the girls. It is a sunny morning but the weather folks are saying rain will be back around noon.  I need to pick up my new glasses, make an egg delivery and pick up our Sam's curbside order so we headed out early to get all this done before the rain returns. I got my glasses and they seem to be okay so far, we made the egg delivery and then headed to Sam's Club. Daughter had put in an order also so we waited a few extra minutes there for them to pull her small order so she wouldn't have to come out here after school. While we waited IR decided she was really hungry for a McDonalds cheeseburger so after we left Sam's we stopped by there to get her and CA lunch. By the time we arrived home lightening and thunder was pretty close so we grabbed the cold stuff out of the orders and headed inside with the girls to wait for the storm to pass. Thankfully it passed to the south of our area and we just got some heavy rain.  We had lunch while the rain was falling and then ventured out to unload the groceries from the Honda.  The rain continued but much lighter. They canceled g-son's track meet for this afternoon because there is the possibility of more thunder storms about the time they were supposed to start.  IR and I took a rainy day nap in the recliner while hubbie and CA took naps in the playroom. I know I will regret the nap tonight but it surely felt good this afternoon when there wasn't anything else to do but watch rain fall out the window. After daughter picked the girls up hubbie and I watched the early news then got chores done before the rain set in again. There was another inch of rain in the gauge this afternoon.  We came inside and hubbie made some hamburger /noodle stir fry for supper from an extra pound of ground beef that we didn't use Sunday. We ate and then he cut his own hair once again while I worked on some paperwork and finished our taxes for the year. 

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

CHICK UPDATE

 Up to get this rainy day started. I didn't sleep well last night for some reason and I heard rain each time I woke up throughout the early morning hours. All the grand kids are here this morning. Hubbie took g-son to school while the girls and I watched TV. I got on my rain gear and headed out to get chores done when hubbie got back. It poured on and off the entire time I was outside and my raincoat has a leak under my left arm so I got soaked.  I need to move the chicks out of the brooder box on the front porch but I decided not to try it in this pouring rain. It was 100 degrees in the box this morning without the front cover and only a 40 watt light bulb in there. They are plenty feathered out to go into a bigger box with no heat.  I came back inside and had breakfast with the girls then delivered a couple cakes and got soaked again.  It rained all day and the girls didn't like staying inside since they have gotten to play outside each day for a while now. This little girls may be on her way to potty training since she used it today. We have out fingers crossed that she will get interested and get trained before the new baby gets here.

After their mom's picked them up I finished the 4 loads of laundry I have been working on all day and I also got the downstairs woodstove cleaned up hopefully for the last time this season.                                I went outside and moved the chicks into a bigger brooder box up at the feed shed and they acted like they really enjoyed the extra space. They are about 3.5 weeks old . I will put a solar light in the box tonight since they have always had a light on them.

I looked in on the first sitting Silkie and she only hatched the one little grey chick. That was very disappointing hatch and most of the eggs were not fertile.

Now today this second white silkie has hatched out one little silkie chick and I am surely hoping for better hatch results for her.

After chores I relaxed for the evening planning on getting an early bedtime to catch up on the lost sleep of last night. I emptied 1.5 inches of rain from the gauge this evening.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

                         

RESTFUL SUNDAY

 Got some extra zzz's this morning as Sundays are my favorite because they are our day of rest.  I got chores done and then had a breakfast bar since we are having spaghetti lunch which I am looking forward to.  We got the spaghetti and cheese toast ready and I cooked  a spaghetti squash for me and I used the rest of the apples we have been keeping for our last apple crisp of stored apples.  We sat down and listened to Spartanburg First Baptist church while things cooked.  We really like listening to Don Wilton their pastor.

Everyone made it to lunch today and the spaghetti was a hit with everyone.  Aa's family ate and ran to get up a field of hay they have down before the promised rain begins.  The other kids hung around and let the girls play.

CA has got an attitude all of a sudden every time you point a camera her way and this is the look she gives you.

After they all left we relaxed for the rest of the day and rested up for another busy week coming up. We have our fingers crossed that the promised rain will come because we are so very dry right now.  

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

HELLO MAY !!!

 A beautiful Saturday morning to welcome a new month. Daughter picked up hubbie at 8:30 to ride with her and the girls to take her dogs to the groomers. While he was gone I got chores done and had breakfast. He got back in time to take eggs to the mailbox for a pick up and then he went to work cutting up a random limb that fell out of another tree into our yard in the winds yesterday.  When he finished that he got on the lawn mower. I don't know how I grass grew so much without any rain but we have a jungle. I started cleaning house, as much as I would like to be outside this is the start of a new month and the kids have been telling me for a couple weeks that my Easter decor needs to be gone !!!  I put all that away today as well as the Edenpure heater in the sunroom. Fingers crossed that I won't have to get it back out !!!

I also sat all the vegetable plants outside in the sun to start the "hardening off" process. I was planning on leaving them out for 2 hours but the sun is so hot today after a little over an hour I saw some of them starting to wilt so I watered them and brought them back inside. It will take about a week to get them used to the sun all day but it will be worth it to not loose any of my plants.                                                 Hubbie finished the mowing and weed eating about the time I had put some late lunch together so we both ate and then we tackled the next thing on our todays' to do list which was putting the fence back up around the younger hen's lot. Daughter and the girls arrived just in time to help, well IR helped and CA napped while they were here. IR hunted and carried rocks to put around the post hubbie was putting in the corners of the lot. We worked in the hot sun until we got that finished and daughter and the girls went home. Hubbie and I took a well deserved rest until it was chore time sitting out in the covered patio.    We grilled some pork chops and baked some potatoes for an early supper to re-energize and then got the chores done.  D-in-love and RL came up to help move the younger hens back into their newly fenced lot.   They will be happier in the morning with more space to roam around for sure.            Hubbie and I relaxed for the evening and had an early bedtime.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night