" Headed for the Highlands"

Today I'm as antsy as a caged Monkey looking at a banana tree! Come daylight tomorrow, I'm headed to The Highlands of North Carolina!


I'll be spending 10 days in Foscoe ( which is between Boone and Banner Elk) seeing the sites with my friend NC mountain author Peggy Poe Stern!

We are going to Blowing Rock................
Plan to visit all the shops!
We are going to Valle Crucis to the Mast General Store.............
and to see St. Johns Church...........
Can't wait to get to the Blue Ridge Mountains!!!!
Before I go, I want you to see my latest blooms...... Yellow Angel Trumpets
Pink Angel Trumpets
Tropicana Rose............
Holly Hocks..........
Holly Hocks......
Glory Bower.......
I'll be back September 2nd with LOTS of pictures............XOXOXO

" May Flowers "

As you know ~~~ April showers bring May flowers! We had lots of rain in April and the flowers are wonderful ......
This Rose is bowing from all it's blooms ~~~~~




This bed just takes my breath away!

I'm always amazed by the different colored roses a Joseph's Coat turns out !!

The Pond House Amaryllis are just beautiful ~~~~~

WOW !!

I forgot to show this in the last post, we had also planted a Pomegranate Tree

I think that may be fruit bursting out of this bloom ~~~~~~~~~~~

Max is on guard watching the girls free range ...................

Yesterday, my dear friend author Carolyn Haines, picked up her "Harper Lee Award" at a luncheon during "The Harper Lee Festival " in Monroeville, Alabama! This award recognizes Alabama's Distinguished Writer of the Year ~~~~~~~~~

She also was presented a signed copy of " To Kill A Mockingbird " !!

OMG !! I would just be stepping high over that !!!!!!

That's OK Carolyn ~~~ You can live MY dream!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

" BLESSED SPRING "

Aren't we blessed that after this long, cold, dreary Winter we have been blessed at last with Spring? We worked hard yesterday getting all the trees, bushes, garden and flowers fertilized in anticipation of a good rain last night and were blessed with 2 inches!!










As you know from my previous posts, I was hit with a wicked respiratory virus a few weeks ago that really laid me low. After taking antibiotics among other things, for ten days I could not get over it and just couldn't get my breath. I was full of congestion both in my lungs and sinus and the more I used the Neti Pot, the more mucus my body seemed to make. On Monday the 29th I went to my ENT doctor. He told me that I have developed severe adult Asthma brought on by this virus! I have since learned of 2 more people, 1 in Louisiana and 1 in Tennessee who have had the same diagnosis. He put me on 15 days of Prednisone steroids, Advair inhaler and Nasacourt spray. I am SO much better, I have my strength and energy back and THANK GOD I can breathe deep again! I go back on Monday and we will talk Asthma control......................

Needless to say, when you're down, you get time to read at least. I finished the 3 book Sarah Prine series and loved it. I'm now reading these 2 series of books. I'm real interested in knowing how to keep my health and doing it as naturally as possible so I'm reading about cleansing the body. The 2nd series is a Christian fiction series by Gary E. Parker set in the NC Highlands and I'm 1/2 through the 1st one and it is AWESOME !!!

This is a pic of the full moon coming up over the pond on March 30th...................

In the deep south, Good Friday is garden planting day....................it started out very foggy but cleared fast into a gorgeous day to plant!

Hubby had worked the day before getting the big garden ready.............

He put lots of barn manure in the soil.............

Then built two raised beds..............

We got Tomatoes planted in this one.................

The upper part of this one has several varieties of pepper plants. I put 6 tiny yellow squash at the end to get started, when they get bigger I will transplant to hills.................

This long row starts with onion sets, then red potatoes, then white potatoes...........
The open row to the left will be planted in okra later today.........

Just to the right of the 2nd raised bed there is a short row of english peas...

Spring has busted out big time around the farm....

The Pines are full of new pine cone buds...

The Spirea is showing out!

this Rose bed is JUMPING................

I think I counted 7 buds on my Joseph's Coat yesterday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Empress Tree has been really pretty this year.............

The bumble bees love the blooms..................

These blooms will fall and HUGE leaves will take their place..................

Today will be spent cleaning out more beds, planting sweet potatoes and okra. Tomorrow we'll be getting ready for a family and friends gathering here on Saturday for a Fish Fry. We'll have fried Catfish and Blue Gill Bream caught out of our pond, coleslaw, FF and hush puppies. I have to figure out what to make for a desert and get that made tomorrow. I hope ALL of you have a wonderful weekend and are celebrating our blessed Spring..........................

Thanks for stopping by THE PORCH ......................

" Battles At Swiftwater "

This is Madame Willow.............who has decided that she wants to raise some little Willows. She is one tuff chick! She won this battle! However I win the afternoon battle to gather eggs! All be it I have to have a pair of long arm leather gloves!! She hisses and growls like a rabid varmint but I manage to get my 7 eggs a day!!









She gets to keep these 4 marked eggs to set on......................

We have really been enjoying the free range antics of Oscar and his girls.........

Max however has won the battle of "who's " the farm boss! Head em up, move em out Max....

He watches them all day. He won't allow them to wander off in the woods or go into the front.

He keeps them out around the back and herds em up at roost time! The only thing he can't do it shut the door and lock it!

Spring has won the battle against Winter it seems............

Both the Forsythia and Bradford Pear are a mix of leaves and blooms......

The Amaryllis are popping up.............

I have one lone cluster of Daffodils..........I need to plant some more of these!

The Wisteria is popping out clusters to admire...........

They just don't last long enough to suit me............

The Tulip Tree has been a beauty this year............

Peach Tree blooms.............

The Empress Tree is just loaded with lavender bells...............

One Iris has bloomed so far...............

The Weigela is gorgeous................

I'm willing to bet the Joseph's Coat is gonna show out big time before I know it.........

We may even get May haw's this year from the looks of these blooms..........

I put the new Hummingbird feeder up Thursday evening and look who showed up Friday morning!

Everything thing around here is battling to win. I have been in the fight of my life against this wicked Respiratory Virus. It's been 12 days and I'm still fighting for breath and my head and chest are full of gunk! After 10 days of strong antibiotics with no real relief, I took matters into my own hands yesterday and reverted to a thousand year old proven method. A Neti Pot for Sinus cleansing! I don't know why I didn't go this route to start with as it used to be all I ever did for cold and sinus problems years ago. I got major relief last night and will continue it daily from here on out. I'm gonna win this battle !!!!!!!!!!!!

I also read an article in my MJ Farm magazine yesterday about taking 1 teaspoon of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon mixed to relieve any sinus or chest congestion problems so I am doing this too !!

At present I'm almost finished reading the 2nd book in Nancy Turner's Sarah Prine series, "Sarah's Quilt". It is a real good read though not as good as " These Is My Words " and written quite different. I'm hoping the 3rd one, "The Star Garden" is more like the first...........

Lately I'm also having the most vivid crazy dreams! I normally don't remember the details of my dreams but the last few nights I can remember every detail. A few nights ago I dreamed a friend had a baby boy. It was so real I can still see the little fellow plain as day! Since she is long past having babies, there is no way this would come true unless it's a grandson! HA!

Last night I helped save antiques from another friends Victorian home which was on fire!

Any of you know what dreams mean??????????

It's Sunny today and should get to 75 so I'm hoping to get out later and get some dirt under my nails working at cleaning out some beds................

Tomorrow I plan to spend the day visiting you guys whom I've neglected horribly!!

Have A Great Weekend Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!