Dirt to curtains & everything in between... The joys & sometimes trials of a simple country life.
I have been hinting at a give-away since January...and even purchased the fabric back then...It was not until today however I have had time to make a start on it....Can anyone guess what this is going to be...(and no a correct guess does not mean you automatically win it)
Boot's Goat Mommy and Friends...She is the bottom black and white goat.
2 Great Pyrenees "puppies"...These guys are just 4months old...So sweet.
The older Does and in the center is the solid black buck (Boot's father.)
Today hubby will pickup the "Goat Kennel" on his way home from work today and I hope by tonight (tomorrow) we will have a safe and fully secure yard for our little man...I am still on the hunt to find him a playmate of the Dwarf Goat persuasion in the meantime he seems glued to my heals...Even as I type he is under my chair...He does love to play with Sara and tried to bond with Nardia the dog but she is old and not interested in anything remotely like running or jumping....The cats spend all their time stalking this new creature and I am sure I am going to end up with mice since they do nothing else...Today I am going to try and get caught up around the house before hubby is home so I can help him put up the new pen.
His bottle mommy Merry was so sweet and though he is actually fully weened had a bottle made up and waiting so Sara and "Buddy" could bond....She also sent home some goats milk, wormer and other medicine he needs with him and the promise to answer any questions we have in the future...
Anyway no surprise he came home with us...Look at how happy this made Sara...Now how to break the news to them both that he really is not an inside pet...Never mind the fact he is currently in the front room watching Dora the Explore with Sara and Daddy...Which brings up the point of his name..."Buddy" has now been renamed "Boots"
Boots exploring the backyard for the first time...
Photo courtesy of http://www.freespiritent.com/
The pink boots are holding up to the weather well, only a few flaky bits...I am not sure what it is growing in the left boot, it is some kind of succulent with a little cup part that catches the water when it rains...Sadly the heat this week got to it and it is a little burnt...I will need to move them to a more sheltered spot...in the right boot the thyme is growing back again...yay
I am so in love with my pink Knock-out rose...even after all the pounding from the rain this week the blooms are holding in there...
The sweet potato vines seem to be liking their new home and the basil that I harvested a couple of weeks back has new shoots on it also...my marigolds have been flowering non-stop since March...
Here is the sweet potato vine I snitched for my hanging basket...it is doing well, even had new growth and leaves on it already..
First Black Eye Susan opened this week
The white Wisteria is doing super well...I need to make up my mind which porch post I want to train it up SOON..
The volunteer Vinca are doing great and have filled the bed in front of the porch with a lovely splash of pretty colors.
Alas 2 of my butterfly bushes got blown over during yesterdays storm...Tomorrow morning I will have to trim them back and rebury their roots...
Also thanx to yesterdays storm is this small branch from the pecan tree (there were a few large branches down too)...but it proves we are going to have pecans this yr...I am so excited to have our very own pecans on the sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving...maybe even our own sweet potatoes too...Actually I am hoping most of the veggies this year will be from our own garden...Are you planting any veggies for your Thanksgiving meal this year?
The china cabinet was gifted to my by my MIL and one day I will decide what color I want to paint it (it will receive new hardware at that point)
On the top shelve I display part of my Homer Laughlin set of dishes...And the lovely china cats that belonged to my Grandmother whom passed when I was 11yrs old...My Grandfather knowing how much I love her cat collection saved these and presented them to me for my 21st Birthday, he inscribed the bottom of the cats from both himself and my grandmother...
Middle shelf starting on the left...
How gorgeous is this rabbit, hubby found him at yet another local antiques mall (we have lots of AM's around here)...he has no markings underneath...He sits on a riser of old books...the bottom 3 books are from yet another antique shop, but the top one is a English/Dutch translation of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, printed in 1931 and belonged to my father as a little boy attending school in Holland...My sugar tongs because they are pretty.... The white bell marked Joy that was a gift from my eldest daughter...Another silver tray to brighten the background.
On the right side of the middle shelf is "Sara's Teaset"...It had belonged to her daddy's Granny and has been entrusted to my care until Sara is old enough to care for it herself....The Tiara was worn by my eldest daughter to her Prom...and again the silver tray bringing in some much needed light.
The bottom shelf right now just contains random pieces I have not yet worked out where to keep or display them...Yellow Jug from Dollar General...Flea-market cake tier, target sugar bowl and creamer jug....
The fish platter was my newest find...I took in some baby clothes to the consignment store and there it was sitting waiting for me...I already had a store credit, so walked out with the fish for no money out of my pocket...The Target bowl and jug again...White Corelle Teapot from Lowes Foods...Martha Steward sugar bowl and milk jug also from target...to the right of these is a candy dish and a candle holder...Like I said this shelf needs some thought, but not until we (I) decided on what color to paint the cabinet it's self.
With it being so hot here at the moment, it is only natural I would be thinking about the Old Suwannee River...and just maybe sometime soon we might go enjoy one of the many springs for a refreshing dip...
In the meantime here are some photos I took back in the spring at the Fort Fanning Park in Fanning Springs Florida...How blessed are we to live less than 10 miles from this park.
The day we were visiting the tide was super low, allowing us to walk down the old stone stairs onto the beach below the park look-out.
This "beach" during high tide can be more than 6 or 8 ft under water...
You can see the high tide mark on the bridge if you look carefully...
This is the last bridge to span the Suwannee River before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles down river.
Looking up river you can see how magnificent it is even at low tide...
I hope looking at all this lovely water helped to cool you down some...
I want to create her a space that she can entertain her dollies and care for her babies, take naps and generally just get her toys out of my living room...(yer I'll be honest, this project is really all about me *wink*)
So my challenge was to blend in a white melamine toy box with all the lovely country looking painted furniture...Well obviously painting it was not the answer since a box is a box is a box...and I really did not want to make it bulkier by adding trim detail...And since she needed some seating...
I created her a pillow top using one of her old crib comforters and some pink check cotton fabric from Walmart...Added giant buttons and VOILA...now she has a cute little bench.
I made it like a giant pillow case so I can remove the inch foam padding and wash the cover...Notice the ribbons...they are holding the buttons in place...again so the cover can be removed easily....I also used Velcro strips (the kind you sew one side to the fabric and the other glues to the hard surface)...this will keep it from slipping when she opens and closes the toy box.
You may remember these flowers I got on clearance for 28cents each...
Now not only does she have a place to store her toys that blends in nicely with the rest of the room, but a great place to host a tea party with some of her favorite friends...
Peanuts that is...Still on the small side, but not long now...I can almost taste the salty deliciousness...MMMmmmmm...Can hardly wait.
When I first shared photos of the peanuts I planted, they were just little bitty shoots coming out of the ground with but 4 or 5 leaves...Now they are a big rambling mess and look like weeds...But I resist the urge to yank them out because I know just how yummy they will be when they are finally harvested and boiled.
The peanuts themselves are found at the end of these red shoots...they grow off the stems and then the tip buries itself in the ground...then they start to develop the nut...cool huh.
More yummy for you eyes...Look at all the delish homemade compost...I just know it is going to make my Sweet Potatoes grow like crazy...NO toxic cow manure in my compost Thank You very much.
Talking of Sweet Potatoes...After a week plus waiting around in a bucket of water, they finally got their roots in the ground yesterday....I also snitched one and put it into a hanging basket because I think they so pretty...
web address http://www.deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/
Jump in, let me (or rather hubby) take you on a quick ride around the front yard...
The hibiscus are FINALLY blooming...they seem to be taking forever to do anything this year...This is only our 3rd or 4th bloom..But the little bushes are loaded with buds..
COSTUME CHANGE:
Nice view from the pool of sexy gardening man hubby watering the sagging peppers in the front raised combo (flowers,herbs and veggies) bed...
It's that suitcase again...The Knock-out rose is doing great in it..Look at all that new growth..
Two blooms at once...yay
And many more on the way...I counted a total of 18 buds on this little bush...
Next to the front step in the wire teacup planter we have something a little special to share...Can you see it?
This is the second bloom like it...The first one got destroyed by the rain before I could get a photo...how funky is that?
Over to the side garden now and this ummm whatcha-ma-callit from my MIL is about to bloom...So excited since we thought we had lost the plant when the chickens ate it down to nothing mere weeks after it was planted...
At the other end the Black-eye Susans are sooooo close to opening...Also from my MIL...I can't wait to see them in all there lovely glory...
The view from the top of the driveway...Looking North...
Looking South...
