Saturday Hodge Podge

It's been an interesting week......leaving me dragging!





But...........hope has risen! I'm headed for my Smokies this week for a MUCH NEEDED vacation!
I'm so pepped... I'm thinking I'll make the hike up to The Walker Sisters Cabin while I'm there!


This is the view from our Townsend cabin taken by my daughter a few weeks ago....


I'm hoping it has or will change to this while I'm there!!!!



And when I return to the farm, maybe this view..............


Will look like this..............



Spinach ............this went in the freezer



I put up Turnip Greens too this week! I was going to go the freezer route but decided they'd be worth the extra trouble and canned them!


The Prison Chicks are doing great! We have eggs out to you know what! We started with 9 hens and 1 rooster. We now have 16 hens and 2 roosters! That's Queen Vicki keeping her distance and posing! She lays an egg big enough to be a double yolk!



Oscar Wilde is head warden and keeps a tight rope with his 4 inch spurs! He has yet to jump the young one named Bragg ( named after Rick Bragg) but I'm watching for it!




Can you believe we have been running 10 degrees cooler than the mountains this week!
33 night before last and 37 last night! They caught up today! Foggy Mornings too!


Took this pic of a "volunteer" yellow Squash plant in the pastures edge the other day.
It had blooms but I bet the cold got em!


My faithful Rosemary bush!



My Butterfly Weed keeps on keeping on! Waiting on the Monarchs?


This is a Double Bloom Hardy Hibiscus! It doesn't bloom till fall..........


Ahhhhhhhhh the Roses! This is the front bed.........


One of the back beds..........


And some I gathered this morning....I froze my patooty off too!




HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND YA"LL.......XOXO

" ONE A DAY "

I know you all are sick of hearing about my Chickens! So I'm just gonna tell you Miss Trixie GoLay is laying ONE A DAY somewhere between 10 and 11 a.m. I'm saving them up till I get a dozen, then will start eating them!



I'm pulling the pepper plants up, one every other day, to give to the Chickens. This is what I got off the last 2 Anaheim's. I hate to throw anything away and the chickens won't eat the peppers but they strip the plant clean of leaves.........so more pepper sauce!

These are the bounty from the Book Mobile( post lady) this week! I think this Secrets of The Gnomes is fantastic! The 2 in the middle are from a New Orleans writer I just discovered , Patty Friedmann. Secondhand Smoke was one of the 30 Underrated Southern Books listed by the Oxford American Magazine's new issue. I also ordered 2 more by her, Eleanor Rushing and the one you see here A Little Bit Ruined which is the sequel to it. I also got the Pulitzer Prize winner A Confederacy of Dunces, The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book and the only Helen Hoover I didn't have, The Long Shadowed Forest . I'm getting prepped for Winter when I hope to have more reading time! :)

We had some interesting clouds yesterday.............

There really is something magical about clouds...........

We watched 2 helicopters fly over and even though it looked like they would disappear into the clouds because the clouds looked so low, they never got close!

I sat out in the yard with the dogs and just stared at them............

This was our Sunrise over the pond this morning.........

A beautiful start to the day! We are expecting a rainy weekend..........

Which means no yard work, so I hope to visit with all of you and see what's happening in your world!!

" YES SIR...That's My Babies "

I will be driving to Memphis, 300 miles, tomorrow to meet my daughter and pick up my gran babies Kohl and Molly who are coming to spend the week with Nana!We will spend the night in Memphis and return here on Monday. This is a hanging plaque they made me last Christmas.



These are the three books I plan to read to them while their here! One of the many pleasures of being a Nana! I also plan to take them to the beach for a picnic.

I caught my baby Jake napping on the dog couch today, as usual, flat of his back!

When the flash went off he turned and gave me a what for look! What for do you wake me up he says?

Like father like sons! They definitely get this from Jake. Sadie never sleeps on her back.

We took the babies outside today for a play time!

They had a ball! They can move fast in the grass!

Hubby calls Hoss and he came running!

We had as much fun watching as they did playing!

In fact they whined when I took them back in!

Yes Sir, that's my baby boy! We are still trying to figure out a new name for him. Hubby doesn't want to call him Hoss. I may give Kohl and Molly a go at picking one.

I'm still strolling the yard camera in hand, looking at Sunsets and clouds! Today's Sunset!

Since I'll be gone till Monday, Hubby's going fishing on the coast tomorrow with his BIL ! He's ready to role out at daylight!

I got the last of the Tomatoes put up today. I was going to put them in the freezer but decided to do jars. I got 1 qt of juice, 3 qts. of tomatoes and made 2 qts of Spaghetti Sauce with fresh herbs from my herb garden. I put Sweet Basil, Oregano,Thyme and Rosemary in it. This is the first time I've done Spaghetti Sauce so we'll see how it turns out.

The peppers however don't want to quit, so I will continue to deal with them till they give it up!

So I 'll be on the road again tomorrow listening to an audio book going to get my babies !!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!!!!!

" Preparation "

This morning as we drank our coffee on the screen porch, we had a chilly 62 degrees and a mystical misty view over the pond to enjoy. The garden is winding down and I can't say I'm sorry as I'm getting tired of canning but preparing for Winter will be worth it down the road.




There was pepper running out our ears over the weekend. Hubby strung this cayenne.

I made Green Tomato Relish.........

Got 6 pint jars in the end...

This cabinet.....

Is nearly full. Maybe room for a few Pickled Okra left. My step-mom Tena would be proud!

Pepper Anyone? See, I wasn't kidding about the "out our ears"

We seeded and cut all of it in strips for the freezer to be used in recipes this winter! I also canned 5 jars of pepper sauce! Half of the pepper sauce will be given away.

Today I will be preparing for a movie! Tomorrow I will get the dreaded "upstairs/downstairs"

treatment at the GI doctor! I'll be on the "run" later today! HA! I am way past the due date for this, it can no longer be avoided! It's just routine, no problems. I still have not heard from my MRI but I'm going with the " no news is good news " theory ! I'm sure I hear today.

And let's not forget the "fat boys"They are fabulous! They now recognize our voices and respond by moving and wagging their tales!

They are holding theirs heads up and sitting up some.

They have also started to play and nip at each other a little.......Hoss will be staying here and Duke will be going to my Aunt.

Thanks for all your comments, I read them and smile in between doing all I have to do in getting prepared for the coming days. I will be going to Tennessee this coming weekend to pick up Melanie's children to come and stay for a week before they head back to school!