Frozen Grapes, YaDa,YaDa

We were fortunate to get a bit more snow, for it offered a hidden gift of more moisture for our gardens, forests and streams.
Yesterday, we woke to snow, thus frozen grapes., Grape Hyacinth, that is., and

snow-covered Daffodils, that will survive.  In fact, by this morning, they were standing tall, as if they did not know it had snowed.  After all, it is only April in Wisconsin. 

The Sumac I had rescued from a blackberry gnarled shore sat on the deck awaiting a place to be transplanted.  It too, was snowbound, only to thaw and perk right up again.

 I'm sorry little fella, but the picnic has been cancelled.  I will leave you and your Junco family some seeds to help keep you warm until the snow and rain stops.

 "Oh dear, she spotted me, even tho I crossed the woods road quickly.  I'll pose., but just for a minute."

 I am in awe at the extend of growth and survival of all of the succulents and semps planted last summer.  Most all of them have at least doubled, tripled, quadrupled.

 The Creeping Thyme is tiny-leaved, smells like mint and does not mind at all that I walk on it, in fact, it's delighted.

 I cannot recall the names of each without looking them up, but I do remember this beauty being the Red Lion.  The center Rosette was the only one when first planted last July.  I love all the babies she has had.  Five of them have already been shared before I took this photo.  I do love this wonderful Hen and Chicks, named for the baby-growth each spring.

 Click on each of these for a much closer view, keeping in mind that each of the varieties was the size of one rosette less than just a year ago.  I do love the ease of caring for these.  Plant and enjoy.  That's my kind of gardening. 

Of course, you will love these so much that you will want to divide and expand the second year, like I'm working on.  Oh the joy of it all. 

 I heard a thump on my window this afternoon, and there sat a male Purple Finch, a bit stunned from a bump on the head when he hit my patio door.  He sat on the mat about half an hour, then  took flight safely to the treetop.  I'm just glad he survived.

 While outside after the morning rains, the wonderful garden rains, I decided to fill a hypertufa with a few succulents that were traveling where they shouldn't.  By late June, this dish will be full of reds and greens of tiny plants.  

Though the day started out raining and very wet, by afternoon, the sun was shining, the plants were easy to transplant for the loose soil, and the sun was showing off as she set in the western sky.    We are predicted to get a couple of more days of rain.  That's OK.  If it lets up a bit each day, I will transplant more of my perennials that think they should be lawn.  They are too pretty to mow over, so they will be moved, besides, Bill said he would help me put plants in the ground.  I can't pass up that offer.    

Speaking of planting, our contact from the WA. state seed company called today to inform us that he will be sending a crew of equipment our way in a few weeks, if we were still interesting in his offer.  Of course, we are, so let the fun begin.

Have a wonderful 2nd half of the week and

BlessYourHeart

Whi-te Not

The white of May Flowers

White Cheeks of the Sandhill Crane

White Birch Bark

Whitest of White of the Bloodroot Flower

Dried White of the Fungus on dead fallen oak

the white of the ends of the Quills of the Porcupine

the very damaging porcupine killing yet another tree of our forest!

White teeth smiling through a hole in a concrete cellar  roof

The most true white of the Bridal Wreath of June in April

White hope of Strawberries Sweetest of Sweet, Soon~

Jellied False Corral so White

Mica Rock sparkling like glaze

Whitest of white trees, the White Birch we cherish 

The cleanest scent of the White Roses of my garden

A White Admiral to bring hope of a Warm,
Colorful Summer

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by and listen to a few random thoughts.
Have a wonderful week.  and

BlessYourHeart

Dead End

So, off we go again, getting off track of the original plan.
We do like to get off track.
We passed plenty of navigable, fish ready waters, trout, I'd say, will be waiting for someone to wet a line once season opens.

 We traveled a rather rough road to get to where we did not yet know where we were headed.

 We drooled over the large passes of wild leek beds around every corner.

 Virgin timbers of pine, oak and American Hornbeam were scattered throughout the hills and hollows...

 some towering a 70-80 ft. salute to the heavens above.

 We counted a half dozen old foundations that lay barren for generations upon generations.  But wait, what is this?  What is this place underground?

Of course, we entered to see more, hoping there were no bats, bear, or bugs.

What is it?  What could this 7x9 ft. room, with 7 ft. height have been used for over 100 yrs. ago? 

 The entire structure is concrete, including the ornately striated and convex ceiling.

 There is even a stovepipe, or is it a vent of sort?

 Ok, call me crazy as a loon, but I'm going out on a limb here with my let-loose imagination and guessing that this tiny, underground space was not a playhouse., but a dandy place to hide your moonshine.  Ha!  Wait, there's more! 

 Take a look at this old car!  Now, look closer below the window.  Yes, those are bullet holes.  Now look where it's parked....

 It's still parked in it's ' once upon a time ' garage.

Under that log is a solid concrete wall., thus , underground garage.  A perfect get-away for the get-away car from the prohibition days., wouldn't you agree.   I do wonder if any of those bad boys passed through this neck of the woods?

Perfect location too...next to a flowing water source for making all of that illegal liquor.  Sounds feasible to me.

 We even found the remnants of a porcelain battery cover.  Upon close inspection, you can see the positive and negative marks on the cover.

 I guess it's time to put my wonderings to bed next to this bed of Leeks.  They will sure make fine creamy soup when they are ready...not quite today.

All kidding aside, it was time to back our way out of this ' dead end ' situation and road. 

Have a great weekend.

Find yourself a dead end road and see where it takes your imagination.

BlessYourHeart

Just One of Spring's Beauties

I'm thrilled while waiting to see the Cinnamon Fern unfurl from it's tight, hairy orbs to it's Fiddleheads, sweet enough to eat like fresh garden peas.  Until, finally, they emerge into the most fabulous, 4-5 ft. tall circles of brilliant green ferns, tall with Cinnamon scented fronds by fall.

Spring, such a captivating time of year, bringing new life whichever direction we gaze.  Bring on the springtime.
Follow along throughout our 4 seasons, and I will do my best to fill your sense of smell, taste, vision, even peak your imagination from time to time.  Join us in our gardens, be it vegetable, plant or animal.  and
BlessYourHeart

This n' That Weekend

It was a beauty of a weekend for we northerners.

It did not snow,

It did not rain, well maybe a little,

The sun Did shine and the

Wind did blow.

But we dared not complain.

Bill walked his new rototiller to the gardens to give it a try.

He is well pleased.

My outdoorsman planted our new apple tree, a Sweet Sixteen.

We once had one many years back. In fact, we planted the first one when

our daughter turned 16. Sixteen years later, it died due to an infestation of Army Worms.

Finally, it has been replaced to supply us with lots of applesauce and pies.

After a morning trail ride through our woods with a few of the kids,

and a little wood cutting and hauling,

we ended the day with a cookout and a campfire.

There is nothing like good food and company over a grill and a hot fire.

Cribbage anyone?

Perfect.

The moon was full to near waning, as I captured

the budding branches and trees through it's glory.

Most amazing was the haze created by the brightness of the moon

over the shadows of the bluebird house late at night.

Easter was filled with church, music,

laughter of Mom's many GreatGrandLoves as they

searched the large yard for 60-some hidden plastic eggs

filled with candies or coins. Fun was had in spite of the bitter wind.

Our bellies were filled with a buffet like no other.

There was no excuse to go home hungry from the feast of hot dishes,

ham, rolls, appetizers,

desserts galore, even one large cinnamon roll the size of a serving plate and

salted nut rolls so sweet, they hurt your teeth.

Eat, afterall, this celebration only happens once a year.

Easter at the Farm.

It's a very good thing.

I hope your Easter weekend was as relaxing.

Thanks for stopping in and

BlessYourHeart

Easter Blessings

Peace be with you all as you remember

The sacrifice of the Son of God,

To save us lowly sinners from ourselves.

We are so blessed.

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday!!

and

BlessYourHeart

Still Runnin'

Full is the moon once again.

I'm guilty.

Guilty of not being a better blogger, of late.

Guilty of not responding to your comments.

Guilty of simply being so busy that there was no time to breathe.

My dear and patient followers,

The Retirement Party was wonderful., a great success.

I promise to fill you in more, a bit later, I'm afraid.

Our week since, has been on the road again.

Thurs., we lost a dear, dear lady friend to the dreaded cancer.

Fri. we spent with her loved ones and finished the cooking and baking for Sat.'s party.

Sat, we actually were well enough prepared for the day that we rested.

We visited for hours with many friends and family, co-workers.

It was a perfect day and Bill was so surprised to have so many show up to help him celebrate his milestone. After clearing the last bits, and I mean bits, of food away, we collapsed.

Retirement, so far, has been good.

Sun. we slept in until 8...very unusual for us early-risers of 5 a.m.

Some habits are hard to break...I love the sunrise and Bill loves that first cup of coffee watching it with me.

Back to Sun. By 9:30 company started rolling in to see if they could wake us and start the clean up. We informed them the kids were taking care of it for us. That was a white lie. We just did not want our guests to feel they had to help us clean up our party. The kids did help and we had everything done by noon.

Mon. was our day of rest and thoughts and prayers for our dear friend, Betty or Ms. Betty, as our GrandLoves caller her. Her funeral was 5 hours from here. She knew our hearts were with her as we took care of her little Ginger dog, so Teddy could go to the funeral, having left on Fri. to spend time with her family in MN.

I will miss her so much. We had coffee every morning together. Before she became so ill after fighting cancer and going into remission 3 times, her tiny body just could not take it any longer. I will miss her constant humor, her smile, her laughter, her tears. I will taking long walks with her on sunny afternoons and cool evenings. I will miss her sneaking up on me in my garden and scaring the begeebers out of me. I loved that lil' gal. She was one of a kind and kind she was. She will not be forgotten, our lil' Betty Boop.

On with Tues. I had a doctors appt. a two hours drive south. It was for my dead hand. A couple of dreaded cortisone injections to hopefully find some answers, and another two hours to home. Time will tell us whether or not I will need extensive repair done on my wrist and thumb. It sounds like a rebuilt thumb, at the least.

That brings us to yesterday.

Wed. was a real roadtrippin' day with Mel and Slim. Slimmer had some furs to sell, and we all had friends to see.

First stop was in Rudolph, WI. at the Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company where we loaded a cooler half full with many varieties of cheeses and fresh butter.

Did you know that it takes 10 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese? It also takes 21/2 pounds of whole milk to make 1 pound of yellow butter and 12 pounds of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. No wonder the average cow needs to eat 90 pounds of feed, and drink a bathtub full of water to produce 5-6 gallons of milk a day. That's enough milk for 80 people to enjoy one-8 ounce glass of milk each day!

Thank You cows.

Next, was to Jacks in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. to sell the furs. While Slim was busy doing that, the rest of us walked around and picked out apple trees to plant. Jack has many side jobs. He's a fur buyer-seller, he loves gardening so he buys and sells fruit trees and shrubs of all kinds for our growing zones, and later the berries and roses. We each came home with another apple tree. Mel got a Wolf River Apple tree and we got a Sweet Sixteen. Now, to find a place to plant them.

Next stop was at the Sportsman's Bar and Grill to meet our friends for another fine visit over burgers and beer. Mine was a Bluecheese Burger and OMG, it was fantastic. The best food and company is always a slam-dunk combination. We were also so happy to see Tom and Sandi at Bill's party. That's a long way to come for a gathering and we loved that they did. On the road again.

This time we took another detour starting home.

We stopped at a hardware store in Redgranite, WI which has discount everything. Slim had orders for fishing baits and tackle. While he filled up on those, Mel and I filled our baskets with everything from paper plates to condiments, a Remington hat and Bone Scull shirt for unbelievable cheap...even socks.

By this time, it's getting on late and hungry.

But not yet. Now to Wausau, WI to Walmart for Aleve. I have a doosy of a headache, backache and my hand feels like a heavy club. Mel's legs are swollen and she can hardly move but we are still having fun with recall of many other trips we've taken together so many years ago.

Finally, FOOD., SUSTENANCE!

Around the curve to Al Mexicali or something like that. They are packed.

Back up out of the crowded parking lot. Around the block, oops we passed the turn to Hong Kong Buffet. Finally, TEXAS ROADHOUSE, we will wait in line if we have to.

We all had the best cuts of Ribeye Steaks and Primed Beef. Have you ever had the Skinny Lime Margarita? Awesome......What a great way to end a great trip with my sister and brother-in-law. It was fun getting together with them again. It's been way too long.

One thing tho, next time we stop at Aldi's and maybe a roadside sale or three....hint. That's what Mel and I love to do....maybe, I will drive next time.

Today, I have another funeral of an old neighbor and friend to attend.

Bill will be attending from the apple orchard. He has a tree to plant and a rototiller to buy. Finally, after all of these years, we are getting a tiller bigger and more sufficient than my little Mantis. I love that thing, but it is Bill's turn, don't you think. After all, he has two gardens and I only have one.

Thanks folks, for listening and taking time out of your busy day to read this jibberish. Have a glorious day.

and

BlessYourHeart