Trenching 2010

We've lived here for 7 years now. And all that time, there has been no landscaping done at all. Other things have taken a front seat, I understand that. I am NOT a person to go outside and garden...outside creeps me out...I can't explain it. And my family knows that I don't do outside. So things like landscaping and outdoor decorations have needed to wait till more important things, like fencing and haying and cows, chickens, turkeys, and pigs were all situated and well-established. This past weekend was the time! My front 'yard' is finally in the beginning stages.

First up - trenching for drainage. This first picture shows how John marked for where the drainage lines are going. This is the ONLY one that didn't get done in the time he had left on the rental trencher....not bad!


Next we have the front trench going out toward the south pasture. That's the main trench that all the other ones will drain toward. And the next picture shows John and John, our neighbor, who spent all day in the blistering heat and humidty digging the trenches.



Here's a closeup of one of the trenches.

Now for some statistics for all you out there who like that kind of stuff:

143 linear feet dug, 2 feet deep and 6 inches wide. The last trench that didn't get dug is 23 feet long and John plans on digging that by hand - but not today. He's doing some cleanup of the trenches today, and maybe watch a John Wayne movie as a reward for all his hard work!

Next time, The Great Chicken Massacre!

Thanks for stopping by.

Wedding Anniversary

This is really late....John and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary last week. I absolutely can not believe it's been 37 years. We've both got a lot of miles on us and, hopefully, a lot more to come. John took me out to dinner the day after our special day - he helped a friend with some haying on "the day" -- golly, it's been a long time since we've been out for a nice dinner. We dined at the Gallery Bistro in downtown Springfield - all I can say is that the food was yummy and the service was beyond wonderful! Well worth the large money it cost.

I love you, John...you have made my life very full - full of love, full of adventure, full of memories.

Hey, thanks for stopping by folks!

County Fair and other Stuff

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so our daughter-in-law, Jill ought to be seriously flattered! She made these really cool plant stakes for their garden in Utah and I saw them when I visited in April and June...decided I needed to make them for Mr. Wonderful's garden. Here they are. He just needs to attach the stakes to them and they are ready for the Pieceful Harbor Garden .


Our County Fair is held in July each year. The middle week, in fact. And I try to enter something each year. This year, I entered 2 knitted items and one quilted item. Here you have "Charlotte Visits Giraffic Park". I began this quilt when Charlotte was born - 5 years ago. It seems only fitting that I should finish it right about the time she starts school. This little lovely took 2nd place in its division.

Next we have the knee socks with celtic designs along each outside calf. I started them when I was in Utah - for a competition - and asked Jill if she'd like to have them when I got them done. She said she would. It's hard to see the celtic design but, believe me, it's there!

And I entered my very first piece of lace - a scarf - rather proud of that one, too. You will note that both the socks and the scarf took 1st place ribbons.

I'm trying to decide what to enter next year....will have to work on several other quilts to get them finished in time for next year's Fair - thank goodness I've got a whole year to get them done.

In chicken news, I will probably be posting some of the pictures taken during the Great Chicken Massacre next time. We ended up with 22 chickens - sold 15 of them and gave away 4 of them. Truthfully, haven't even cooked one yet..maybe this next weekend. We have 28 more chickens in the chicken tractor. They are 3 weeks old so another 5 weeks and they begin the killing spree again. Sounds gruesome, doesn't it? I honestly couldn't tell you cause I stayed away from the Killing Field the entire weekend it happened.

The topic for Ten on Tuesday is supposed to be 10 Things To Take Camping. Hah! Not gonna happen, friends. Those of you who know me know that camping is a 4 letter word to me. So I'm skipping the Ten on Tuesday subject this week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Summer

It surely is summer in the Ozarks - hot and humid! Today is no different from any other day - sunny, with clouds moving in during the day, very hot and quite drippy with humidty. Rain is expected sometime tomorrow...it won't cool it down any, believe me.

Today is the day of the Great Chicken Massacre at Pieceful Harbor! John and our neighbor are killing chickens - 54 of them to be exact. Those chicks are now 8+ weeks old and ready to become freezer fodder. No, I'm not posting any pictures so don't even look for them. Not happenin', folks.

I haven't anything else of any interest to anyone to post so I'm going to close this and hope I have something interesting to tell you soon. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by.

Ten on Tuesday - a List

I recently joined a group that sends each member a reminder on Sunday to do a blog posting on Tuesday entitled "Ten on Tuesday". They give us a topic and we post on our own blogs. Today's topic is "10 Books on My Summer Reading List". I only have 7 on my list so I guess that's all you're gonna get from me this week.

1. The Search by Nora Roberts. DONE
2. Sizzlin' Sixteen by Janet Evanovich - I'm reading this one now! DONE
3. Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber - This will be a re-read for me since I read it back when it came out in the late 80's! DONE
4. A Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodress - a local author whose book has recently come out as a movie. I want to read the book before we go see it at the theatre. DONE
5. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks - I haven't read this one yet and summertime seems as good as any time to read it.
6. This Time Together by Carol Burnett - I just love that lady. DONE
7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I started it while I was in Utah and need to finish it.DONE

There you are - my 10 on Tuesday is really 7 on Tuesday Afternoon. I'll try to do better next week.

John came in last night and said that something had killed one of the baby turkeys overnight. He said it might be a cat or a possum...but that the bird was only dead, not mutilated. There were a couple of tooth marks on the neck but nothing else. He worked really hard to get the pen secure from another attack on the 3 remaining babies. This morning, he went out to check on them and found that 2 more were dead. He looked around and found the culprit - a 4 foot long black snake! When he got home this evening he went out there and killed that snake! Smacked it upside the head several times to stun it and then whacked it several more times with a shovel to chop off its head. He picked up 30 more baby chickens and 6 more baby turkeys this afternoon so he needs to make sure they are all secure. He is out in the barn as I write this, making sure the babies are safe. My hero!

I realized that I totally forgot to show you all a picture of John's chicken tractor. Here it is, just before he put the babies in it.

The chickens go inside the enclosure and, using a furniture trolley, John can move the tractor each morning and afternoon to a new space on the lawn. The chickens eat all the bugs within that 'square' and, of course, fertilize it, and then they are moved to a new space to do it all over again. Next year, the areas that were fertilized by the baby chicks this summer will be green and healthy - all organic and NO SMELL!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Rainbows and Turkeys

We had a terrifically short rainstorm late yesterday afternoon. Thunder, lightning, wind, and rain for about 20 minutes. Then the sun broke thru from the west and, while the rain was still beating down, this is what we saw out the southeast side of our property. It stayed for about 20 minutes. The colours were so intense...just inspiring!

I promised you turkeys and here they are. John went out to the barn yesterday, before the rain, and got these two clear pictures.

I'm working on a quilt for a dear girl in Utah...yes, Beansie, I'm working on it! Not sure it will be done by your birthday, but it's coming along!

Thanks for stopping by.

From top to bottom they are: Blue Slate, Royal Palm, Bourbon Red, and Black Spanish. John got one of each to see which he prefers. They are now about a month old and still only the size of your hand. They make the slightist peeping noise..you almost have to be on top of them to hear it.

I'm working on a project for a special girl in Utah....no, I'm not telling till it's done. It's coming along and I hope to have it posted by the end of July (?????).

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm Baaaaack!

I just returned from Utah where I went to meet our newest grandson, Hewston. What a wonderful baby and what a wonderful family he has come into! I spent far too much time holding him and didn't get any pictures...thanks goodness John III took some when he was in the hospital!






I have Big John out taking pictures of our newest arrivals at Pieceful Harbor - baby turkeys...more later!



Thanks for stopping by and thanks for continuing to follow my blog - such as it is!