A Garden of love and friends...

The best thing about my flower gardens

is when I look over them and be reminded of all  

people who gave me the plants and flowers.

It makes me so happy to think some of the plants traveled

from Tampa, Irma, French Island,

Washington Island, and Sparta.

I'm usually not a annual flowers type of person.

I tend to get the no fuss perennials

to keep down extra work that could be given to my vegetables.

But how can you resist two pairs of eyes looking up at you,

"Please mom, can we plant some pretty flowers?"

"Of course" was the answer.

But I think the girls were right.

And there is a smile every time we look at them.

Because I'm frugal,

I decided to pot my own hanging basket.

It turned out great and I only spent $5 on the flowers.

 

The kids were loving the pollinating that they got to see up close.

Here is a picture of the some of my flowers that are up...

daffodils (from Irma) and tulips.

My wonderful sister-in-law brought me a present yesterday. 

Becky brought me four rhubarb plants! 

The special part of this for me is she was the first one to 

get me started planting rhubarb...she bought me 2 rhubarb roots for my birthday

a couple of years ago. 

 Besides two more plants that I got at a farmers market, 

this whole rhubarb patch is from her:)

Just above the rhubarb is some asparagus that I just started this year.

And above that is my strawberry patch,

which I am hoping gets filled in with the new strawberry roots I just planted.

We will see if they grow,

I've planted strawberry roots before, but to no avail.

Strawberry roots are touchy when it comes to the

exact right height the crown needs to be in reference to soil level. 

Plus, it's on a hill so level is kind of tricky anyway:)

 

Here are my chicks and hens that I am excited came back this year.

My goal over my lifetime is to fill in all the spaces of my retaining wall

with chicks and hens.  Thanks to Becky's Aunt Sharon,

I think this goal my be a reality before die:)

 

 

All in a Monday...

 Zach had work to do from home on Monday so

we all got to enjoy a little fishing break during the day.

 



This big girl kept asking "When can we go fishing Dad?"

Well, needless to say we were here within the hour...

how could you say no to this sweet girl?

 

Zach being the expert fisherman was determined to get

one on the line for

my Big Girl. 

Well, he did catch a nice bass,

but unfortunately it was a little too big to hand the pole over so

he had another go at catching one that wouldn't pull her in:)

 

She got to check it out though

and was very excited.

 

Finally he nabbed a little one for her to pull in...

and the smile says it all.

 

As we were walking back to the car,

we noticed this cute little turtle sitting on a log.

And then I looked over and saw these four turtles trying to share the same log.

My eldest read a story to us that night about what animals do in spring,

turtles sit on logs and soak up the sun.

It's officially spring!

 

Meet the newest addition to our family, "Betty".

That's what the family decided to call my new car. 

I had mixed emotions over turning in my truck keys for a car.

A truck has been my vehicle for nearly 10 years,

but I LOVE my Subaru.

Especially when I go to fill up my gas tank and buy milk,

butter, bananas, and orange juice and the total is $50.

Doesn't this look like the back of my vehicle?

Plants/flowers and fishing poles...what else do you need?

 

 

Warm Weather....

brought this family outside this weekend.

We decided to start a project that we have been wanting to do

since we moved in...clean up the woods. 

At first, I was a little hesitant.  Once we started

and I realized how much more space we had, I rolled up my sleeves.

Woods are just like thinning vegetables when gardening.

As much as you hate to pull those sprouts that aren't at the 2in mark,

when you do, you get bigger vegetables from the ones you leave to grow.

Same principle here.

We were able to go through and see which trees to keep and

which trees to cut down depending on variety and location.

Zach trimmed all the trees that we are keeping

so that you don't need to bend over to walk under them.

Yes, the ax was used, but of course power chainsaws are fun too.

This is a quick shot of what things looked like before the clean up.

Branches and logs were hauled to brush piles to be burned at a later date.

I can honestly say, I was wore out after a day and a half of hauling.

 

Can you find my cat in this picture?

The kids helped in the beginning as usual and then got hot.

My oldest decided to take off his shirt.

Then I hear a noise of giggles and screams and when I turn around...

I see the girls decided to do the same thing. 

At this point, I laughed and was thankful we didn't live in town.

 

Here is a finished shot of part of the area that we cleared. 

I thought this project would last this whole summer,

but after this weekend and at this pace, maybe only a couple more weekends.

 

 

"Spring, spring, spring, spring"

The words being chanted by my big girl,

inside the house and out.

Maybe if we keep on chanting,

Mother Nature will take a hint?!?

 My little one finished coloring her pin wheel

and wanted to put it in moms' flower bed straight away.

So that's just what we did.

 

After we arranged the pin wheel,

my big girl needed to play in the mud

so I busied myself in my garden shed getting prepped for the season.

I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!

When the laundry hamper is full...

keep on sewing!

Well, I have been trying to keep up on laundry,

but it seems this is a daily battle that I will never likely win.

So my theory, accomplish other projects that I can get done.

Flawed plan you say...well, maybe, but more fun:)

 

This is a block I did up for my Bikin' Chicks Group that I'm a part of.

It's a block of the month club with 11 other ladies.

Everyone is assigned a month to pick four of your favorite fabrics

and everyone makes a 12.5'' block with the fabrics you picked by the end of that month.

Basically everyone walks away at the end of the year with 12 different blocks

that you can make into a quilt, wall hanging, table runners, place mats, or

 whatever you can think of.

I'm really enjoying it and am planning on doing it next year.



 I'm hoping my soon to be sister-in-law doesn't read my blog because

this is her bridal shower gift I just finished for her.

 

It turned out cute and am hoping she likes it.

My master plan is to make three other seasonal table runners for

the wedding gift.

Can anyone guess what this is?

Hint: She really loves coffee.

That's right a cup cozy with 'Mrs.' on the front.

It's so cute I may make one for myself.

Off to switch loads and turn my sewing machine back on;)

Happy sewing.