THE DAY AT THE FARM

You ever use up all your energy and just hit the wall and can't do anymore?  That happened today.  I DID have to mow once I got out there....could have let it go a week but just to be on the safe side, I figured it was best to go ahead and mow so that next weekend wouldn't be more work.  

Of course the temp was in the upper 90's (we almost made it to 100 today).  After a couple hours on the mower, I was reaching that point.  After mowing I had to do some work with the bees and working with the hives (more on that in an upcoming post) and that was a good hour and a half of the day (and hot, had to wear the bee suit).  I also unloaded about 30 of those large rocks I'm bringing from in town and then I had to unload some bags of mulch.  

I was going to break out the weedeater, but as you can see from this flower bed I didn't get to that.  Side note, photo taken to show we have some color!  They are only marigolds but hey, it's some color other than green.  Anyway, see the tall grass around the landscape timbers?  It's like that all around the house and garden fence and barns and trees...sigh.  

I just hit the wall and couldn't do anymore.  I had to put everything up and call it a day.  I stopped off at 2nd Family on the way out and dropped off a loaf of freshly baked bread that 2nd Man made early this morning.

They surprised us with THREE DOZEN fresh eggs from their girls.  Woo hoo!  I sense another frittata in our meal planning this week, and maybe some homemade pasta.  I headed back into town about 5pm and when I got home...

...2nd Man had one of my favorite meals ready...pan seared pork chop, mashed potatoes (forgot to get the picture with gravy) and of course southern style green beans with tomatoes and bacon, RECIPE HERE.

Oh and a glass (or two) of wine...

I might have been worn out but it was a good day.

CITY OF COLORS

A very dear friend of ours, who is vacationing in Mexico this week, sent this picture to us and I thought it was so pretty, I wanted to share it with others who might not know about this beautiful Colonial city in the mountains.

Guanajuato, Mexico

The city is Guanajuato...click HERE for the Wiki entry about it.  Being up in the mountains, she said the mornings are in the low 50's and afternoons are in the 70's.  Sigh.  Beautiful, perfect weather...

Anyway, enjoy this little bit of another country!

And speaking of country (ha), it's off to the farm today for me.  2nd Man has to work so he'll be in town.  Boo!  Tomorrow we have a 4 year old's birthday party to attend so that means today is my only day out there.  2nd Family said that since there hasn't been any rain, the grass has barely grown.  I think I'll focus on other things if it looks like it doesn't need it.  I have a plan for the fruit trees that will require weed eating, rocks and mulch, ha.  

Updates as I can.  Enjoy your weekend!

BLACK WOOLY BEAR CATERPILLAR

These are all over the farm.  

Not sure what they grow up to be when the cycle is complete, but it's always fun watching nature do its thing.

I do believe though that if you touch these, they cause a severe rash with raised welts.  I seem to recall a childhood incident with one, but not sure if it was this. 

Black Wooly Caterpillar 

I'm NOT going to take a chance and find out.  I just left them alone, they weren't on any important plants, just on the weeds and grasses around the property.

Caterpillar 

They are kind of pretty to see and imagining the transformation that they will soon be going through is fascinating.  

Nature truly is amazing...

WHITE BENCH UNDER TREE, INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Outdoor bench area, image courtesy of Southernliving.com

Recently, I posted about clearing an area in the bee yard to have a bench.  I've been looking online for photos and this is something I actually found a few years back, before we even had bees.  I looked at it and thought this would be a nice way of setting up something.  We'd definitely need a wooden bench like this because anything with metal is just 'dangerously' hot in the Summer here.  We love the white pots of flowers and white accessories.  Something like this would match the beehives too, and that would be way cool.  

Now we just need to find a bench.  We actually have some vintage white metal plant stands that we could use to accessorize so that's a good first step.  The all white theme just looks so clean and inviting, I think that might be what we go with, at least in that area.

Be inspired!

LOST A FIG TREE

Dang it....noticed this weekend that we lost one of the two fig trees we have.  

Dying fig tree

We think what happened to this one is that when the guys were clearing the backyard, they backed over it.  It looked like it was just bent and so it was propped up and staked.  For a few weeks, it seemed to be recovering but it must have had more damage than we could see.  The other one planted nearby is doing fine.  

Time to find another fig tree!  I guess there could be worse things than having to go fruit tree shopping.  Of course, we can't plant now, it's far too hot, but I can baby it along until the Fall.  And if I happened to "stumble across" a few more fruit trees, well, who knows what I'll have to buy.  

BEE UPDATE

I know many of you have asked.  Yes, the bees are doing well, yay!  

There isn't much to show, they are building comb and honey stores, thought a bit behind schedule because of the rains.  We're abiding by the the 'don't interfere with them too much' method and so far, they are humming and buzzing along...so that's good.  

English Garden Beehives 

We watch and they are coming in loaded up with pollen and more are leaving to get more so all is good there.  When I mow and edge around them, I come in and do it fast and leave.  I let mother nature blow the clippings away after using the trimmer, not going to hang around with a rake, ha.  

Bee Yard

Above is an angle I haven't shown much before.  This is the rear of the hives and looks out into what we call the bee yard...in the future, with expansion of more hives (hope to have six in total), they will be scattered around in this area.  One thing I've been doing is clearing closer and closer to that large group of trees.  I've created a curved space under the trees that's shaded and will be a great spot for a bench to sit and watch the ladies do their thing.  Cool in the shade and far enough away that I'm not in their flight path.

We still have to decide where the next two hives are going.  At least next time, it won't be fear of the unknown, we'll know exactly what we are doing, well, theoretically, ha!  I'll have some pretty pics of the ladies in an upcoming post.  They were buzzing all over the farm on Saturday.

MUSIC BOX SONG

Can you help identify this music box song?

Click the orange play button below:

This is an old music box that's been in my family for years.  
Not even sure of its history but my Mom loved it and it was always around the house somewhere.  

It's brass around the outside, very detailed, and top has an insert of lace and embroidered flowers.

When you open it, it's lined with purple velvet (mom had some of her favorite mementos inside, I left them in there of course).  

The bottom is wood, so I'm pretty sure this is very old.  We just can't recognize the musical tune.

Any thoughts on the box and/or tune?

RED CAR WHITE CAR

Well, since my car (below) is in the shop I had to get a loaner car...

Red Fiat

Which was good because after all the rains this Spring, the county is redoing all the roads around the farm...

Road Grading

 They have stripped away all the asphalt and have graded the roads and put down some sort of gravel.  It's a mess to drive in but later this week they are supposed to finish repaving everything, so that will be nice.  Our tax dollars at work, always good to see!

White Fiat

And here is my rental...no, the rain didn't wash the red off my car, they offered another Fiat.  I find it's easier to just drive something you are familiar with.  I have to admit, though I've not always been a fan of white, I like the white Fiat.  And hey, it matches the beehives in the background!

Hope you had a great weekend, updates during the week in regular posts.  It was good, got a lot done, the weather was nice but HOT, very hot.  Did stuff inside and outside (including mowing, notice the circles around the car, ha).

FLOWER AND A SAINT

Off to the farm today.  It's hot, upper 90's.  Going to mow, no rain since last weekend so there may not be much to mow.  No edging I'm sure.  So I hope to do some of the other yard things that need to be done, pruning some mesquite trees, deadheading the vitex along the driveway, etc.

Here are a couple of photos I took:

Canna in bloom

We have another flower at the farm!  These are some canna's that I planted a few weeks back.  I planted several things, including some sent by some kind friends of the blog but so far this is the only thing blooming (the others are still growing).  There is one on the other side that's about to bloom as well.

St. Francis statue

And recognize this guy?  It's St. Francis.  I'm not Catholic, but I always liked the story behind St. Francis and when I saw this statue at a garden center, I couldn't resist.  I figure the farm animals need someone watching over them. 

BEAUTIFUL COURTYARD FOR DINNER

After the car drama of the last couple of days, we decided to grab dinner at a local restaurant that has this amazing courtyard.  They have a wonderful pond with a fountain and a few fish...that seemed to be in hiding in this photo.

Then of course, there are the beautiful, colorful, blooming flowers all along the edges...oh and the food is pretty good too!  For those local, or just curious, it is called Baba Yega Cafe, named after a Slavic witch.

It was a very nice mental getaway and way to refocus on the fun and beauty of plants and flowers month the tranquil sound of water.  So, if yesterday was not very inspiring, this turned that around.  

Can't wait to get to the farm this weekend!

Hope you are having a good week!

Happy Friday!

NOT VERY INSPIRING

So....this is what I am dealing with today.  Yesterday at work, a lady in the building came into our office and said "does anyone here drive the little red Fiat?"

Those are never words you want to hear when the car description is yours.  I said yes, what's wrong?  She said "someone smashed out your window".

Middle of the day, busy parking lot, car next to the building!

I rushed downstairs and discovered that someone smashed out the drivers side window.  Shattered glass everywhere inside the car.  Thankfully, the alarm went off and we think that is what scared the person away.  Nothing was missing so whoever it was didn't even make it much past the window.  There was nothing of value inside and nothing visible that even "looked" like it might be valuable.  

Of course they left behind a mess, the tinted glass slid down the door as it shattered and scratched the paint...the door doesn't open easily now and they cracked the windshield by hitting as they hit the driver's window.  So, now there is unexpected expense for us, rental car hassle, having to take time off work...sigh...it's truly sad what people will do to someone they don't know and cause them all sorts of inconvenience...






UPDATE:  $1428 damage...windshield, side window, tinting, and scratch and paint repair.  Should be done by this coming Friday...

FRITTATA WITH TOMATOES SAUSAGE AND ASPARAGUS RECIPE

Here is one of our favorite quick meals and a great way to use up farm fresh eggs and veggies.  It's a frittata.  Think "quiche" without the crust.  Eggs, cheese, meat and veggies.  

For this one, we began by cooking and browning and draining one pound of ground Italian sausage along with some chopped up asparagus pieces in a large, ovenproof skillet.

We had reserved the asparagus tips for later use and also sliced up some tomatoes to put on the top.  

Whisk together 10 large eggs, 2 TBSP cream, salt, pepper, and some minced chives.  This is the point you could add any spice/herb you like.

With the skillet over medium heat, pour in the egg mixture.  Let it start to cook around the edges.

Lay the veggies on top, in this case the tomato slices we put on first... 

...then we put the asparagus tips around the top of those.  You can be as ornate or generic as you'd like.  Leave it on the stove top just until it starts to set but still has some liquidity in the middle.

Pop it in the oven, 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs are almost fully cooked.

Remove from oven and top with 2 cups shredded cheese.  Here we used an Italian blend.  Pop back in the oven.

Cook for about 10 more minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Remove from oven.  We slide it out of the pan and onto a cutting board, using a pizza cutter to cut into slices.

Sausage Tomato and Asparagus Frittata 

Serve and enjoy.  This is a great dish to use up any veggies, herbs, meat, cheese, leftovers that you have on hand.  It's wonderful hot and cheesy gooey but it also makes a great grab and go breakfast when it's cold from the fridge (i.e. next day leftovers).

To put a list of ingredients would be difficult because it's really just whatever you want to put in.  The main ingredients are eggs, 8 to 10 are about average, depending on the size of your pan.  The cream makes a bit softer texture, you can use milk as well.  Then of course you just need a pound or so of meat plus assorted veggies, herbs, and seasonings.  Lastly, 2 cups of shredded cheese for the top, whatever flavor you like best.

Enjoy!

THE CARDINALS

We did a bit of bird watching while at the farm and it didn't take long to find out that our property is home to a LOT of cardinals.  

They were everywhere. 

Red Cardinal

 In fact, I missed what would have been an awesome picture, there were about five sitting on different branches of one tree and when I went to get the camera, they scattered.  Of course.  They weren't ready for their closeup I suppose.  

After some reading, I found out that they love black sunflower seeds.  I'm going this week to buy some and take with me this coming weekend.  I'd like to find a bird feeder to keep the seeds in instead of just scattering them around.

Cardinal

The thing we love about them is that with all the green, they just stand out like ornaments in a Christmas tree.

Anyone have any cardinal suggestions?

FENCELINE CLEARING

It was, finally, a good weekend.  The rain came in small showers, very widely scattered and it never lasted very long, so that was good.  I was able to mow almost everything I needed to and I edged everything as well.  I feel like the mowing is finally back to "normal", it wasn't high, it was easy to mow, and I didn't leave behind piles of grass clippings.  Zen machine time was truly 'zen'.

So here is the big accomplishment...this is the fence that encloses 2nd Family's back two acre pasture.  One side of it borders the length of our driveway and the other side borders our front yard so we kind of share responsibility.  However, neither of us has been too keen to do it so far this season, first with the rain and now with the heat.  In the end though, it got done.  

This is the driveway side...it's clean and open, we like it...I took this picture after we had edged and cleared, but before I had mowed.  Such an accomplishment that we needed.  That fence line is several hundred feet long.  It's a looong walk with a heavy weed eater, ha.

This is standing in the same spot as above but looking toward the other part of the fence line.  It's all clear now too.  So how bad was it?  See next photo...

Above is the before picture of that same corner...

...and this is after!

This whole spot is clean and neat and tidy.  "R" from 2nd Family also helped us trim Ginger, the mesquite tree on the corner.  It's so nice to look at now, even though it was hotter than hell (heat index was 103).  

I think I lost 5 lbs while doing it.

I don't know about you, but when I see tree and bush "clutter" like that, it drives me crazy, it just seems too "busy".  Now it's much more relaxing...sort of like when you clean out that cluttered garage or closet after staring at it for months.  It seems overwhelming at first but it's such a relief when it's done.

Side note, I spent two hours last night trying to figure out why I couldn't reply to comments.  I finally found that Google was having a glitch on some accounts, mind included.  Keep commenting, I'll catch up as soon as I can. 

SHARK WEEK 2015 IS HERE

WOO HOO!

It's time again for our favorite TV viewing of the Summer, Discovery Channel's annual tradition, "Shark Week".

Of course, we aren't near the ocean (though Galveston is not far away from us in town) and we aren't even ocean fans (we like mountains and forest kinds of trips), but we are however, fascinated with sharks and always enjoy when they air this week of shark related programming. 

We have had mostly clear skies this weekend.  There were a few showers here and there but I was finally able to get a lot done outside.  It was hot and there is still a lot to do, but we did have to relax and spend some time just doing nothing, so that's a good thing.  Photos and more in the coming days!

And I'll catch up on comments!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

We're off to the farm and wish everyone here in the United States a wonderfully happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

A BEE AND A FLOWER

Hope you are having a good week.  We are blessed with a three day weekend so it's off to the farm for, hopefully, a rain-free day or two or three.  If I can get things edged and maybe mow again, I'll feel ahead of the game.  

In the meantime, thought I'd share this.

We can only assume that this is one of our ladies, since this flower is about fifty feet from the beehives.  I was very happy to capture this picture. 

The flower doesn't dream of the bee, 

it blossoms and the bee comes...

                                                   - Mark Nepo

BIRD CAGES OVER TABLE, INSPIRATION THURSDAY

You know we've been in love with the idea of outdoor dining (though so far this season, that would have been impossible, ha).  Anyway, I think what drew us to this image were, believe it or not, the birdcages hanging from the tree.  We could easily do something like this in "Barnabas".  Spray painted in various colors, it would be a nice accent, one that could be left hanging year round.  We've even thought that perhaps they could be used as a hanging holder for large candles of some sort.  

Funny thing, about two months ago, I was in a thrift store and someone had dropped off 5 or 6 wire birdcages just like these.  I remember thinking "I wonder what those could be used for?" but didn't get them.  D'oh!  

Sometimes we just need a jump start on inspiration...which is why I post these every Thursday, ha. 

Be inspired!