Eggs

I have bird eggs in different vignettes (along with nests) and thought I'd show a few of them. In the first pic the largest is an ostrich egg, then an emu, a goose egg, a hen egg, a bantam egg, quail egg and then an immature egg, a speckled egg and a tiny one. The immature egg, that's my term for it, is usually the first egg a hen lays. For some reason, the first ones come out small. Some come out soft with a long straw-like tube attached; I don't think I want to know why that is, only I think it is diet/calcium related. Eggs are weird come to think of it. When I was young, I never would eat one unless those white cord thingys were taken off of the yolk. Nowadays, I can't hardly choke one of my own chicken eggs down. They are all pets and uh, I guess I know what little precious peeps come out.... Now, I've grossed myself out. Oh, well, what started as an informational blog has now become - I'm at a loss for words. Ick.

That gray sculpted hand is mine and of course, I dropped and broke it before I finished it.

Spring Whispered In Her Ear

"Spring whispered in her ear," is a partial lyric from an old Laura Nyro song titled Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp. It is a song from one of her earlier albums. Laura was a genius and as well, a singer/songwriter/musician. Well, today spring did whisper in my ear. It's Here! Hurrah!

These little jonquils are the naturalizing kind that spread their little bulbettes around and come back every year more plentiful. I picked up one lying on the tiny grave of an indian child in an old indian cemetery. I brought the bulb home and stuck it in a flower bed and it has spread throughout the area. You can see whole fields of them around here and the little beauties are the first harbingers of spring. I think they are jonquils as the dictionary said the daffodils are bigger. Nevertheless, both are from the narcissus family.

I cracked open an egg and placed them in it. I have also used cracked egg halves to start seedlings in the original egg carton. Just put in some peat moss and seeds, keep them watered in a sunny window and plant outside later. I crunch the eggshells up and sprinkle them around the seedling. It is a very cute and green way to garden in the SPRING!

Southern Dish

Here is a concoction that definitely has southern roots. Everyone knows that in the southeastern United States, black-eyed peas, rice and fried okra are mainstays of southern cuisine. It's the time of year where I start digging in the freezer, pantry and refrigerators to see what needs to be eaten before the coming summer crops come in. This dish came from the need to whittle down the stores of vegetables and the like. It is a version of a popular dish called Hoppin' John. First, I boiled the peas and some Lundberg's brown rice. The peas are much better frozen, but I guess you could use canned. I then cut up some fresh Roma tomatoes into a small dice and also sliced up some scallions - about a cup of each. Next came battering and frying the okra. Then all I did was put down a bed of rice and topped it with the black-eyed peas and a little of the juice, then a layer of tomatoes, onions then the okra. That's it. A meatless lunch or dinner that is a complete protein. And, don't forget to season it with whatever spices or herbs your family enjoys.

I wanted to show you this still life under a cloche. I am always finding things on the farm. I found the little screech owl in the attic over the garage. I guess it got up there then couldn't find its way out. The smaller skull is from some kind of tern that I found by the pond in some grasses. The hummingbird flew into one of the windows on my house. I have saved many birds when they do this but this little guy didn't make it. The nest is a hummer nest; they use their spittle to attach tiny lichens to it. Did you know that birds reuse their nests several times during the spring and summer? The fungi, lichens and mosses are from the woods and when dried, they remain as they are for years to come.

I have this grouping hanging on an old upright wooden closet. It is an old store tie display. The little pink plaid dress is from around the turn of the century and when I bought it, there were several with the same style, just varying sizes from teeny to around 8 years old. I guess the mom bought one bolt of fabric and made all the girls in the family the same dress. Also, the little hat still has the original label on it called Peggy, my first dolls name. If you click on the first pic, you can see the orange plastic birds on either end of the tie rack. Those are clothes pins. I have never seen any like them and got them recently at the flea market. Their tails pinch in.

Wall Shelf

What is this? I know my friend Josephine will know. I bought it several years ago at the Tulsa Flea Market from an English lady. She said she got it out of an English kitchen. It has bent hooks on it and I wonder if it is for hanging game upon though it seems too pretty a piece for that. Or, possibly it was for teacups and tankards. I collect old wooden buckets and did hang a few and also old horse creamers. One still has the label from Woolworth's for 25 cents (wish that I could have purchased it for that). The whatever it is used to have a finial on top so I replaced it with a piece of majolica. That and a wee child's chair. There is also a little railroad lantern with clear and red lights that I got from my friend Maggie. I just love this wall piece; it's one of my favorites.

Catbird Seat

Here's Teddy in the catbird seat or bird feeder I should say. He is the sweetest cat. Very vocal. Yesterday, I caught him with a chickadee in his mouth and chased him down. I got him by the scruff of his neck and he let go of the chickadee and it flew up in a nearby tree and fussed and fussed. Whew! If I can catch the cats just after they catch the birds then the birds can sing for another day. But, if I'm not around... Did I mention they bring in field rats through the doggy door? One day last week they brought in three in one day. Teddy, Boo, Midge and MeanMom are the barn cats that have moved up to the house. Teddy fights his brother Boo: Midge is young and plays with both of the boys while her mother MeanMom lurks around outside hissing and spitting and chasing or jumping my little weiner dogs. How mean is she? She's so mean, we are at the stage of clawing and grabbing my hand, pulling it to her, then biting it and licking it. A big improvement. I'm trying to tame her so I can take her to get fixed. I have become one of those people I revile; the ones who don't take care of their animals and/or have them spayed or neutered. Let me explain. My farm/barn has become a cat farm; I never knew they had so many babies. I have spayed and neutered 9 cats so far, but I can't afford to do all of them (and they usually leave after I do that). So, all I can do is continue to feed them. I love them all, even MeanMom. They are so sweet (except MM). My husband wants to shoot them but I won't let him. Teddy, Boo and Midge all got to the house because they were hurt or sick. More vet bills. And no, there are no rescues etc. in this area. By the way, MeanMom looks a little fatter, hmmmm. She thinks the garage is her house and goes into the loft where she has her litters. We've tried the havahart cage and she's too smart for that. Let me know if anyone has any ideas. In 23 years, we never had this problem.

UPDATE: Today after I wrote this the dogs and I went out for a walk in the field. I looked back and here came Teddy, Boo, Midge and MeanMom. Meanmom came up to me and rubbed my leg, a first, then let me rub down her back a couple of times then clawed my hand and bit it. We did this several times while out walking and she got better at letting me rub her. Major event for MeanMom. She doesn't bite hard; the claw she catches my hand with is a little more bothersome, but I think soon she will let me pet and rub her without biting. She's finally starting to trust me; it has only taken a year. Hurrah! I've finally made headway with MeanMom.

Fly Away

I found this drowsy butterfly lying on the ground before the first cold front arrived this past fall. I picked it up and placed it on the boxwood hedge before the cats found it. The monarch butterflies fly south ahead of the first real cold front each year. I hope this one fluttered off in time too.

Hurry Spring and Summer

It was a gray day and didn't get as warm as they said it would. So, I thought I'd post a spring picture. I love geraniums. I have grown many different colors, but I think this is my favorite one. It seems to bloom more than the other colors. You get such a bang for your buck and anyone can grow them. I made many cutting from my geraniums using rooting hormone powder and had a 100% success rate. Also, I have begun overwintering them in the barn. I cut them back and water them sparingly throughout the winter then bring them out in spring and they all come back.

Animal Love

This is a little corner in my house that is all things dogs and cats. I am an animal lover to put it mildly. All kinds of animals; doesn't matter what kind. I think I must have been an animal in a previous life. My kids call me the animal whisperer. I just seem to know somehow what they are feeling and thinking. No kidding. I'm not afraid of anything, except maybe monster waves and large sharks. But animals I have no fear of. Maybe they sense that. I've noticed I smile the most around animals. Does this make me a misanthrope? I don't know. I just know that animals make me happy.

Olden Days

This old Mercury Flyer is from the 20's. It has a little box in the back to stack coal or a dolly. The tike sits astride the engine and steers from the handlbars on top as he scoots around the house. My grand daughter loves it.

This has got to be the oldest skateboard in existence. You should see the wheels - all metal. I don't know when the earliest skate board came into existence, but I think this must be from around 1960. It says Roller Derby on top.

Aren't these the cutest old skis? They couldn't be more than 14" long. Can't you just see the little child skiing in these? I can't imagine how they could do more than stand up let alone go down a little hill without tumbling. The little buckles and straps are all that would hold the skis on. Kind of like the old key roller skates we used to wear - not very dependable. The black skis in front are child-sized too and only have small leather straps and buckles.

Polly Want A Cracker?

Like a firecracker perhaps? I have always been a lover of birds; have feeders all over the place; summer and winter ( I even left the house during the ice storm to go to town to get more bird seed). I'm also ready when the hummingbirds return the first week of April with various vitamin and mineral potions. And then there is Birdie, the meanest red lored amazon around. I have always had pet parakeets and Bubba, the sweetest Love Bird in the entire world, but I also wanted a big bird: had envisioned one who could talk, snuggle, do tricks and just be a loving friend. Boy, was I wrong about this bird. Birdie would rather bite your nose off or have a knuckle or two while still attached to your hand. She can bite clear through. The first thing the books tell you is to teach them a command to step up onto your hand. Birdie's eyes just flash (look at picture number one) and she opens her mouth to dare you to try this on her. She squawks so loud your eardrums sound fuzzy for a while, like a bad speaker. I can't tell you how many times and places I've been bitten. And, to make matters worse, I couldn't do more for this bird. She has a huge expensive cage with costly toys aplenty. I even bought her her own goldfish once in a tiny little goldfish bowl, but she was afraid of it. How can a bird be afraid of a tiny goldfish and want to fight with a human? She'll fly in and come sit on the back of my chair when I am at the computer. In the second picture above, she's having popcorn (which she loves)while watching me compute. Birdie has also begun to bark like my dogs, as loud as she can, which again is ear splitting. But what galls me the most is when my son comes home and she puffs up like a teddy bear and just preens and calls to him over and over and does this little head bopping dance trying to regurgitate food to feed him. She loves him and he can't stand her. She'll scream out his name many times over; endlessly calls him from the crack of dawn until he gets up. "Why don't you get rid of her," he barks back at her. I could never do that. I'll just have to love the little meany that I got and know that she loves me in her own mean way.

As a postscript, Birdie saw her pics on this post and is talking to them and quite enamored of the pics. Should have named her Narcissus.

Scones

I had this Garvey's scone mix that I picked up from Williams Sonoma. So instead of a recipe, I'll give a product review. I added some lemon zest and blueberries to the mix. They were pretty tasty. I used a small biscuit cutter so they are dainty. I thought they would rise more than they did, but that could have been the way I rolled them out. So, I'd give them a B. I like my scones round with lots of soft center instead of triangular and crusty. I have a Scottish Oat Scones recipe I'll share another time that is to die for. The little basket container with the blue checkered paper contains a knob of butter. I bought it at the Dragonmoon Tea Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Isn't it the cutest?

Antiques and Collectibles

This is one of my best peep's antique and collectibles booth at Rivercity Trading Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She always has the best stuff; I love literally everything in her booth. Last week, I bought an old child's parasol with dogs on it. I thought it was for a doll at first but found out it was for the wee ones. I am going to take a picture of my little granddaughter with it, though I fear she will just slam it to the ground. Little devil! She still has three more in her booth (different designs). I think I am her best customer. Hurry over to see all the treasures. You can also check out her etsy store at sleepingporchstudio.etsy.com. Make sure and click on pics to see all the goodies.

Looking For Signs Of Spring

I walked around today looking for signs of spring. The 60-70 degree days we've had, then a forty degree drop the next has the flora all mixed up around here. Nevertheless, the buds are swelling on the trees, the bulbs are peeking up from the ground (the deer haven't seen them yet) and the groundhog hasn't a clue. They say the same thing every year. So, I just know it is coming soon. The pic is of a Contorted Filbert aka Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. This one is only about 3 years old and started out just a slip so it has grown nicely.

My blog has received The Lemonade Award from a fellow blogger, Theresa at Garden_Antqs vintage (http://www.gardenantqs.blogspot.com/). She is a dear, sharing and caring person and I thank her for this nomination. Since I am so new to blogging, I barely have time to blog, much less the luxury of reading many blogs. I have to nominate at least 8 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude. So, this will be hard to choose for me. I do enjoy reading some, so here goes. The rules of the award are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post. 2. Nominate at least 8 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude. 3. Link to your nominees within you post. 4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. 5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

A few of the blogs I read fairly regularly that make me smile and/or entertain me (I hope that encompasses attitude/gratitude) that I would like to nominate are: A Brit In Tennessee (http://www.abritintn.blogspot.com/), Okie Sister(http://www.okiesister.com/), The Pioneer Woman(http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/), Cote de Texas(http://www.cotedetexas.blogspot.com/), Marie Xi (http://www.casazoo.blogspot.com/) Cedric (http://www.parisdeuxieme.com/)Chezlouloufrance.blogspot.com, and Elaine at http://www.okietravel.blogspot.com/.

Toile In A Days Work

The walls in this dining room had a very thick Japanese toile paper on it. The colors and design were terrible and it had glitter embedded in the paper. It also had a plastic feel to it. Really, it was a mess, probably circa 1960. I wasn't about to try and remove it so I painted over it with cream colored latex paint which worked swimmingly - much like a blank canvas. I then decided to paint my own toile mural with acrylic paints. I soon forgot about patterns and instead had fields, mountains, valleys, houses, a church and volcanoes. Ha! The volcano was for my son who thinks the Yellowstone super volcano is going to erupt any day now.

This is a built-in corner cabinet where I keep blue and white pottery and china. You can see it better if you click on it.


Of course, I got paint on the moulding so now, I have to repaint all of that, floor to ceiling. That will just have to wait until I finish painting three more wall murals. I think it would have been easier to buy a few rolls of wallpaper, don't you?

The Iceman Cometh

Looks like the geese are stuck in the center of the pond. They have kept a circle of water clear of ice, but would not walk on the ice to come for food. The wild ducks walked around on the icy surface of the pond without fear, but my geese are really chickens.


I counted 31 deer this morning, waiting for me to feed them corn. They wait for me in the morning and evening. I cannot fail them. The little yearlings just stare. My son says I am mother nature, but I am much kinder; I think I have to try and save the world. Up on our rooftop, it sounds like the deer are jumping around with all the ice melting and falling off.

Looks like fun? Not for me and the other states that are suffering from an ice storm. This is one of our Aristocrat Pear trees. Luckily, we received about 3/4 of an inch of ice and thankfully, did not lose our electricity. Last ice storm, it was out for 8 days. No heat, no TV or internet, the list is too long to write here. It is a nightmare, not to mention the millions of trees and branches that were down. To all those suffering with outages, I feel your pain.

Crows, Crowing, Crowed

I have a thing about crows.

Why, I do not know.

Crow, crowing, crowed.

A little nonsensical haiku for you. It is late, AND, a big ice storm cometh. I need to sleep and rest up for the days ahead as an impending ice storm makes me ill. We have had two major (they said 200 year) ice storms. One in 2001 and again in 2007. Anyone with the misfortune of living through these terrible acts of nature will know why I ramble on about this. I would rather have tornadoes around my house than ice storms. Now, the indians (I think the Cherokee), think of crows as a bad omen. I just like them. I have them all over the house in various forms; collect them for some reason and also paint them or sculpt them. Maybe I used to be a crow. The first pic is of a large oil painting I painted, The Crow's Picnic. Click on the pic to see them closer up. The second pic is a crow decoy; who would think of hunting crows? I have many decoys and was shocked that someone would hunt a crow. The third pic is a baby crow sitting on a yearling horse's mane, holding on for dear life. The horse is bucking to try and get it off its back. It is one of my life-sized paper sculptures I told you about. I'll show pics of the pony later. The fourth pic is a wool wall hanging by an artist named Earlene from Coweta, OK. Crows are very smart, except for one. Years ago, I saw a crow bothering an owl in a tree out in front of my house. Would not leave that owl alone. Next morning, the crow was on the ground, deader than a doornail. Another bad thing happened to a few more crows. The old meany that lives down the road (the original old crow) shoots them and hangs them around in her trees upside down. Guess it is supposed to scare more crows away. Oh, I guess enough said about crows. Love you guys. And I'm so happy to have you virtually in my life.

Indoor Planting

Well, I can't plant anything outside so I decided to plant some edibles inside. At least I can get something growing as the garden catalogs just don't seem to be exciting enough for me. Lowe's has the microgreen seeds and little planters with peat pellets. I think the packages contain radish, beet, broccoli, oh I don't know exactly. Anyway, they will be tasty atop salad soon. It is supposed to only take 10 days before they are ready to eat. Successive plantings will keep the greens coming. Okay! And only 70 more days until I can start planting outside. Maybe.

Garden House

This little house is made from old windows on all sides. You can prop them open in the summer or close them in the winter. The floor is flat rocks. One winter I had geranium plants and root cuttings from them and they were doing great until the propane tank ran out of propane. Lost them all. So, either build your little greenhouse close to an electrical outlet for a space heater or rig up a solar heating system to overwinter plants and don't forget to have water nearby. Learn from my mistakes. My little garden house is now filled with all my garden implements; tools, tiller, pots etc. It sits right behind my garden so it is handy. Jenny wrens also love to nest inside the boxes and pots that are stored inside. It's a way to recycle that is useful; a giant birdhouse.

PS - this doesn't really look as bad as it photographs. It actually looks pretty when you can see through all the windows and I guess when the crabapples are blooming and the garden is bountiful...

Butter Love

Just a tip for those of you not watching their cholesterol -

Run don't walk to your nearest Whole Foods Market and pick up a block of Meyenberg's Goat Butter. I know. At first I thought GOAT BUTTER! Almost sounds like camel butter or something like that. Not very appetizing was my first reaction. Then, I thought what the heck and bought it. It was love at first bite. Let me tell you, if you like real butter, you will never have any better. It ruined every other butter I have ever tasted for me. I haven't used margarine or the like in centuries and only cook with butter. Alas, this butter is too expensive for me to bake with. I heard Martha Stewart say on one of her shows that they only use goat butter for baking now so I guess she tasted Meyenberg's too. Anyway, it is wonderful to savor on a cracker or toast points. It's like, butta.

Sprouting Window Boxes

This is a picture of a window box on the north side of my house. I have tried impatiens, ivy and many other shade loving plants but to no avail and so, I have many many birdhouses, antique and new, clustered up telephone poles, hanging in trees, on fence posts.... Anyway, the two window boxes on this side of the house now sprout birdhouses and a few of my bird garden antiques too and the best thing is, I don't have to water them. Can you tell I just cannot stop thinking or wishing for spring and summer and I'll even water too! And as icing on the cake, little Jenny wrens go into these little cubbies to sleep at night. So cute.

Garden Ornament

Here is a piece of yard art at the side of the house by my goldfish pond. He has been watching over the place for 15 years now. Got him as an anniversary gift. He's made out of an old Ford truck and is so scary that birds roost on him and have even made nests in his lower jaw. The deer come right past him to feast on my bulbs and pansies.

Summer Dreams and Gumbo

Today, in my neck of the woods, it was 73 degrees. Tomorrow, the high will be in the 30s. It just about kills me. I know some people love the cold and snow; I'm not one of them. Oh, I do like to see it snowing, but that's about it. Give me the snowy mountains or beach side in Barbados and I'll choose the beach every time. So, I'll just have to be content thinking about summer - gardening, warmth and the like.

This is my bay laurel tree. I've tended it since it was a 6" slip. It is now over 8' tall and still growing. I repotted it this past summer into the largest pot I could find and it seems to be happy. It is now residing in my barn until late April or the first of May.

I have a recipe for Gumbo that a friend from New Orleans gave me years ago that uses bay leaves. It is very very good and freezes well.

Gumbo

Make a roux with bacon grease and flour. Add 2 lbs. of sliced okra. Cook down about 20 minutes. Add 2 cups of chopped onions and also a bunch of green onions chopped. Next, add 1 cup of fresh chopped parsley, 1/2 cup of chopped green pepper and 1 TB. of minced garlic. Cook about 10 minutes more. Next, add 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes. Add 1 lb. of smoked sausage and mix thoroughly. Now, add 2 quarts of cold water and 1 cooked chicken that has been pulled from the bones and the following seasonings: 3 whole bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, 5 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. cayenne, 4 tsp. lemon juice, 10 whole allspice, 1 tsp. mace and 8 whole cloves. Raise heat slightly and bring mixture to a boil., then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir from time to time and scrape across the bottom of pan to prevent scorching. While still simmering, add 1/2 quart of water and stir. Remove pot from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving.
This recipe will turn out perfectly delicious. I must add here that I rarely measure anything, meaning, don't be afraid to put your own spin on this dish. Oh yes, and you can add shrimp toward the very end of cooking; crab too. I serve it in a bowl over jasmine or brown rice. I guarantee you are going to love this soup.

Collecting Stuff

I began collecting chintz many years ago. It wasn't cheap when I started. Nevertheless, I loved it, so I was willing to spend what I could afford. I'm told that when it first came out, it could be found at Woolsworths and in cartons of laundry soap. Very cheap in its time. It comes in many patterns and colors and well as varieties of flowers. I have some with black backgrounds, deep blue backgrounds and russet colored backgrounds. I think I am partial to the pastel backgrounds with my favorite piece being a Shelley cup and saucer. The saucer is the palest pink as is the outside of the cup. The inside of the cup is a stunning full floral pattern. It is visible in the second pic; the cup behind the little ram on the bridge and the saucer on the shelf above it. I think they show up if you click on the pic. The mint green pottery at the bottom of the cabinet is a California pottery (Weilware) that my mother had when I was young. After she died, my father used it and broke it, so I found pieces on ebay and started my own collection. I only use it for special holidays, etc. When I started collecting chintz, I looked at majolica, but thought it very ugly. Then I started seeing it in a different light and thought it rather endearing. It has usually been much more expensive than chintz, thus I have fewer pieces, but I keep looking anyway. I saw a pitcher once with a rooster protecting a hen and her chicks from a hawk flying overhead which I have seen many times on my farm. I think it was only $175. so I didn't get it which I now regret. I must also mention Japanese chintz which is very affordable and I am not above collecting it when I see a piece I like. I'm not a real girly girl; I don't like to put on makeup and usually just pull my hair on top of my head in a clip rather than spend the time styling it (I'd die if I had to spend the time on my hair and makeup that my sister does). I also don't wear much jewelry, which is funny because I make it. Nonetheless, I think my chintz collection is the closest to the feminine I'll get. Besides, the animals at my Peaceable Hill Farm don't care how I look anyway, except oddly, they notice the difference when I have a hat on.

Picasso Redux

Here are some pics of one of my paper art sculptures titled Picasso Redux. It is stored in a back room of my barn and being a big girl (she's over 8 feet tall), I couldn't photograph her in one shot without hauling her out of the barn which I wasn't going to do. Anyway, here are a few views of her. These sculptures start with a roll of chicken wire and sometimes a tomato cage. Also, I use newsprint, Elmer's glue, roofing paper, paper towels, foil, styrofoam, wooden dowels, paper clay and acrylic paint with a satin varnish to finish it. Other times, I am at the plumbing section of Lowe's, gesturing and trying to explain to the help that I need a little thingy that goes into another little thingy... Believe it or not, these large sculptures take longer to make than clay sculptures. I really do like Picasso, though historically I have been into realism. She was fun to make and after trying to photograph her, I am thinking I might chop her up and add some more angles, a new base, maybe use a pallet knife to load on some more paint for texture...It never ends.

To see some other paper sculptures of mine, hit the arts and crafts index to the right. I hope this post doesn't put me in the naughty category or anything like that.