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| The weathervane I got Matt for Christmas is now up! |
Knowing that the sun and I don't mix without someone getting burned (me), I've been trying to be a good girl about my skin. I think the fantasy of me being a super tan blonde bombshell in summer has finally, once and for all, withered up and died. Missing pretty much all of the attributes needed to ever be that again at this point- I have given up the dream. Though looking back, I did do a pretty knockout job for like a minute when I was a teenager. Of course, since teenagers are their own worst enemies, I didn't even enjoy my success during that minute, because I was too busy being critical of myself. But the truth of the matter is, I'd much rather have it that way then the other way around. No one likes a bombshell who knows she's a bombshell. :-)
Anyway- back to the skin.
I've been trying to stay out of the sun between 12-3ish, the hottest part of the days...which puts my garden chores to be worked first thing in the morning and in the evenings and keeps me out of the sun during the "burning hours".
Besides it being just downright smart (who wants to work under the blazing hot sun in the heat of the afternoon?)... it has also been more pleasant than I had ever hoped.
First things first, I always do a walk around in the fairy flower circle to see what's in bloom. This week it is peonies! Some of my most favorites. (Notice I didn't actually pinpoint a favorite- SOME of my favoriteS. Can't pin me down with just one flower or another- but peonies, they do rank up there.) There, among the busy bees buzzing from flower to flower and the birdsong overhead and the strung pearls of dew cooling my toes and glittering in the new sun, I find the day. Who needs coffee? Give me a flower circle any day of the week.
Then it is off to plunk seeds into dirt and hoe in the silence of children still sleeping. So tranquil.
Then the littles and biggles wake up, one by one, and trek downstairs and it becomes less tranquil very fast. :-)
The garden is getting done little by desperate little. I had hoped to have it completely finished by last week but the rain every day thwarted those plans and now I am even further behind than before. But it is NEARLY there. Until tomorrow, that is, when a kind neighbor is coming over to till up a new spot for a new pumpkin patch since the old pumpkin patch is now a potato patch. My plan is lots of pumpkins, in all colors, shapes and sizes with sunflowers scattered throughout.. I may try and sell some (flowers AND pumpkins) at the local Amish auctions, if all goes well. I need another garden "patch" like I need a hole in the head but the pumpkin seed packets with little white pumpkins and cinderella pumpkins and gnomekin warted pumpkins were too tempting for this girl.
Thanks to the rain last week also, I am trying to get caught up on laundry which has been at a stand still thanks to our dryer breaking. I don't normally use it spring-summer-fall anyway, but when it rains for days and days I might throw in a load to get us through until the next sunny spell. There was no "getting us through" all last week so it is laundry, garden, laundry, garden, meal, meal, meal for me and my days.
Oh yes- and this weekend is my Mom's yard sale which I always contribute to. I have a ton of things set aside to sell (thanks to Granary organizing) but not one bit of it is priced. Or even easily accessible.
My hope is:
Tuesday- get completely caught up on laundry (until tomorrow) and work in garden
Wednesday- get the last of the garden things IN THE GROUND, including the spankin' new pumpkin patch. (Walkways to be finished later.)
Thursday- start tackling the yard sale stuff.
I think maybe next weekend will be less busy but then again- Penny (the cow) is due any day now so pretty soon there will be milk chores and butter/cheese/ICE CREAM making to do.
Matt got his milking machine yesterday. Today I am ordering loads of rennet and a new ice cream maker because sadly, my ice cream maker broke in the midst of my weekly homemade "Ice Cream Sundays" challenge last summer. I loved that challenge. Oh boy, did I love that challenge.
13 comments:
Beautiful! Your photos are always spectacular! I look forward to finally living in a house(with land) to do garden chores and such. What a blessing.
Your hard work sure shows! Your land is absolutely beautiful! What a gift!
Beautiful blessings rebecca!
Christina
Ok. I can't handle it anymore. I've tried to oogle your photography from afar and suppress the Big Green Monster, but I've got to know... what lens are you using to get all of those luscious macro photos??!
BEAUTIFUL!!
As always, Rebecca, simply beautiful photography of your simply beautiful life! Your hard work is paying off big time--what a lovely homestead (Hopestead) you're creating for your family. The memories they will have when they are older will be priceless.
Hi Rebecca
AS usual, your photos are truly gorgeous! How you capture them, I don't know, but I wish I had a quarter of the talent you do!
What kind of milking machine did you end up getting? Machines are SOOO....much easier (says someone who's tried both ways)!
You have a few days after she delivers before you have to start with the milky experiments due to colostrum, but then it's fun, fun, fun!
I love your ideas of growing pumpkins & sunflowers to sell. If only I could get anything to grow in our heat of summer here (at least the past two years). I have always secretly dreamed about selling excess produce. Praise God for winter gardening otherwise I would wither into a garden-less heap! I don't have enough produce to sell, but it does me good having green things growing!
I love your lists of what you want to achieve & hope you get everything done! Oh & I hope you reopen you Ice Cream Sunday idea (or at least share your successful recipes ~ pretty please).
Ironically, my ice cream maker also broke just before we butchered Bessy's calf & we now have at least 10L of cream heavy Jersey milk every day. So we have been ice cream-less (well...except for the rubbish that passes for it at the shops ~ I would die if I was totally ice cream-less!) I should get another one soon (I'm sure I can find some excuse to squeeze it into the budget...)
OK I should stop rambling & head to bed soon! Lovely to read your update!
Blessings
Renata:)
Rebecca,
I feel your pain on the skin issue. I` have a very advanced at impossible to get rid of case of Rosacea. My face is always flaming red! And the sun does me no favors. You are NOT alone!
~Amy
Kimberly- come on over any time and I'll let you do chores here! ;-)
Christina~ thank you! I agree!
Quinn~ it's the 50mm Canon compact macro lens. I hated it at first because you have to get SUPER close to the subject (which can be pretty impossible with butterflies, hummingbirds, etc.) but I have since adapted. Still no hummingbirds and very few butterflies- but flowers~ oh, I can give you flowers! ;-) They don't fly away when I approach!
Renata~ we got the surge portable milker. And even though it will probably be heavier than sin and a pain to wash- it will be best for us since I am *ahem* allergic to cows and this will allow me less direct contact. Thanks for the chatty post! I enjoyed reading it and learning more about you! And yes, I will absolutely post my ice cream successes. Don't you worry about that.
Amy- I have Rosacea too. My daughter used to ask me why I usually put makeup on before I go places to which I replied "So that nobody comments about my red skin." After that, she started to hear all the comments people made when I don't wear makeup and gives me a knowing and sympathetic glance. It's funny. On the other hand, Andrew piped up "What wrong with it? You look like a ROSE and roses are beautiful!" So, Amy, embrace that skin because not many people can say they look like roses! :-)
So beautiful! And what a sweetie Andrew is! I miss mornings in the garden, but since Z. sees absolutely no reason in the world why we should be parted, ever, for any reason (including sleep, showers and the bathroom. oye) I don't get out there. It's semi underwater at the moment anyway.
Sniff those peonies for me please! (but don't inhale any bugs while doing so.)
Hmmm.. off to google if there is a nikon counterpart! But first- you said you're allergic to cows- is that like a for real allergy? Or - I don't want to use the word sarcastic but the word I want isn't coming to me- you know what I mean though. Bill would seem to have an allergy to Dexter saliva. The one year his whole face like scabbed over with a painful itching eczema, but mostly it's his hands that get it. Goes away when the cows are dry. It's been better this year with the calf being Jersey/shorthorn, but Maby licked his hand a couple months ago and there was a spot a couple days later. It's definitely a Dexter cow spit allergy, it's just I've never hear anyone else say they were allergic to cows and was curious... Have yourself a lovely one!
Quinn~ it's for real. Of course, I would marry a cowman. I can't determine for sure if the allergies began with pregnancy or if I just hadn't been exposed to farm animals, etc before I was married to Matt. But it is real and it STINKS.
When we first went to pick up Penny from the people who gave her to us, it was a particularly windy day and I made the mistake of petting her with one finger. ONE FINGER. Well, a hair blew in my face and I wiped it away...by the end of our visit my eye was almost glued shut and I was a dripping, oozing mess. My friends were SERIOUSLY concerned that they just gave me their cow! I have noticed though- that it has gotten a little bit better since having her. I can pet her sporatically without too much problem if I immediately go and scrub my arms down and avoid touching my face for the rest of the night. I get hives occasionally, my throat gets itchy and I begin to sneeze but not nearly at the level in the beginning. I am hoping that Matt will be entirely in charge of the cow when he is here and that when he is out of town, the bucket system will help me out. Now you know how much I want an abundance of fresh, raw milk- to be crazy enough to get hives for it shows my utter devotion. Or...udder devotion. har har
Sorry to hear about your cow allergy Rebecca. It must be frustrating. On the bright side- at least you aren't allergic to dairy products! I was so scared there for a while that my food/ tummy issues were an allergy to dairy. Thankfully it was just gluten because there are so many options to supplement. I love to drink milk numerous times each day so dairy would have been devastating. Your children are almost old enough that it won't be long until they can handle the milking themselves when your hubby is away. Your son sounds like he is enthusiastic about helping with the cow which is great! You won't even have to worry about being near the cow then!
Have fun and looking forward to hearing when your Penny drops!
Renata:)
Oh my goodness. Your photos. The dew drops. *swoon*
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