Big Red..........

well we have a new arrival on the farm... she joins Randy the backhoe, Oily the delimber, Lulu the pressure washing truck ... Big Red..... she's a beautiful buxom babe with flashing red lights and a horn that would drive a fireman to his hoses.... poor Big Red was sitting out in some farmer's field waiting for just the right owner..... my son in law... she was cheap and he's got some pretty good ideas what to do with her after he does a few major fixes... apparently she was left outside with water in her pump, it froze... well u can imagine the rest!!!  he's a heavy duty mechanic and figures that it shouldn't cost too much and for the price was well worth the purchase.... so Big Red... welcome!!!   everyone was having a great deal of fun on her, especially the 'boys' big and little.. varoomm varoom... woo woo.... you name the noises and they were made by the boys umm men that is... a little boy's dream.. having a REAL firetruck some day..... ahhhhhhh for childhood!!! my youngest daughter is planning on taking an airbrake course... hmmmmm

they even gave me a ride in the back... from their house to mine!!!

Ommmmmmm.......

is a bit what i feel when i'm in my greenhouse... it's now getting fuller and fuller with tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, zucchini, okra and a few other things which at the moment i can't remember what they are!! such bliss transplanting wee tomatoes and cilantros, tucking their little roots in warm home mixed potting soil.... the only thing wrong with this picture is my greenhouse is already too small!!! ahhhh next year perhaps an addition is required ;)   .... i just looked at the date of my last posting, i'm a slow poke... it's not that i'm not doing anything, or much to busy to post... it's just well... i think i'm boring!   i've done no quilting lately but was asked to take some photos of my friend's quilts, she's entering a local quilt show and needed photos for the entries... we discussed the fact that hand quilting is a dying art... more and more quilters are doing wall quilts, like i do, which i suppose is my reluctance to do more of them.. just not 'feeling it' ya know... how many wall arts can you produce and shove in a closet or chest.... but to be snuggled under a warm, soft cuddly quilt is just the best!  All her quilts are made with soft batting, no spray glue or any other foreign objects, just cotton and softness... ahhhh zzzzzzzzz....

yesterday i had grandbaby here... and of course she was off bug hunting... observing 'scientifically' the mosquito, ants and woodbugs.. seems to be her favorites lately....
the mosquito was under the microscope (figuratively speaking) and i was been thrown all sorts of questions about the life cycle of mosquitoes... i answered as many questions as i knew and later Googled 'what do mosquito larvae eat' and found this very cool Youtube video...   i believe it's going to be a bumper year for insects... mild damp winter, mild damp spring... mmmm the stuff of giant mosquitoes!!!  if you watched the video and have children who might be interested in other insects there is a Backyardbugs 'channel' on youtube.. its very good, simple, great photograpy and perfect for kids!
yesterday we did a bit of foraging in the garden and she was quite delighted that brussel sprout greens and flowers are yummy... and Sampson is so not 'doggish' since he was enjoying them as much as we were... we checked out the garden variety of asparagus which is now almost a foot tall.. it's amazing... i looked a few days ago, didn't see any up, in the same bed arestrawberries which are just beginning to flower... i'm sure she'll be keeping an eye out for those fresh ripened strawberries... if i don't eat them first!!!

Once upon a time.....

i had a greenhouse.... for about 3 months....then we moved..... sigh!!!!  that was about 30 yrs ago.... i'd always wanted a greenhouse, finally got it, then poof, we moved about a 1000 miles away... so for another 30 yrs ago i wanted a greenhouse..... and finally......

i can't tell you how excited i am!!! the total cost of the project was about $350.00 for the materials.. and $600.00 for the labour.... the windows were my Freecycle score... i have to thank my neighbour/handydude for building it for me... now i have to get the materials for the shelving... ahhhhhh a trip to Home Depot and the Restore store.... that will be later today... can't wait!!!  
somewhere inbetween the new greenhouse and the building of the deck, i decided i wasn't getting any younger, veggies aren't getting any cheaper and materials aren't getting any cheaper either!! sooooo bite the bullet, cough up the dough and tada..... a new greenhouse is sitting next to my house.... when i get more of a cash flow, the 6mm plastic will be replaced by a twin wall polycarbonate sheeting... not looking forward to that bill!!!

my little seedlings are doing well, but need to be transfered as soon as possible... as soon as i have some sort of shelving in there, maybe later today, if i get cracking!!!

i had planned on posting this yesterday, but we had a wicked storm, a lot of rain, high winds and a 12 hr power outage... what a reminder of how attached we are to power.... my daughter and son in law have a generator, so they had heat for their lizards, power for the coffee maker and microwave and even a heater!!  such luxuries!!! as for me... i had a very quiet day, watching the trees whipping around in the wind, the rain beating on my windows and me snuggled under a blanket, sitting on my chaise lounge, with 2 dogs sitting on my feet... a good book and a thermos of tea... was very pleasant.... even had an afternoon nap... now we're talking luxuries :D  

Rata-tat-tat......spring vibrations...

on my roof, on several trees..... the flicker aka 'mini jackhammer' is busy busy letting the world know he's available!!! i love the sounds of spring.. the chirping robins who've arrived in hoards... the toehee that's looking for goodies on my deck, to the chickadees and nuthatches that are zipping back and forth from feeders to trees...

i was kind of sad today, i had to bury a wee robin who'd hit one of my windows... i was amazed that sampson my 'bird' dog was interested but only in passing and seemed to understand that i was feeling sad about the bird... since having feeders up he's getting much better about not chasing them and i even managed to have 2 mallards come for 2 days and borrow my 'winter' pond... 'winter' because it dries up in about june...

i also have noted the amazing number of scurrying red/black ants... i managed to save a rather large caterpiller who was vallantly attempting to 'outrun' them.. poor creature was covered with the ants so i scooped him up with a big leaf and managed to get all the ants off him... placed him over by my compost pile, where no red ants are.. and left him to defend himself again, all the while hoping that he won't just eat all my comfry or other herb that is planted in that section!!!

it's been a bit since i last posted... my kitchen has a small addition of a microwave stand and i'm in need of discovering some sort of 'treasure' to put my spices in.... i've painted my hall, put up some 'sally ann' specials and now am in the midst of having my much wanted red front door...i know it's supposed to bring good luck, but i just feel that is brings in good energy.. and a hint of the person living inside.. (or not)!!

sally ann special #1

sally ann special #2

at first look i thought they were bathing but no.. they are fishermen and
women

sally ann special #3

all for $15.00 each and they've been sitting in my closet for several years..

i've gotten my little seedlings going, yesterday started my tomato seedlings, their a wee bit late but lots of time before may, when i'll have my little hot house ready for them....

i've attempted further organization of my big shed and in the process of all the painting and fixing.. my little shed is back to being in an upheaval... ah well... life in the 'fast' lane huh!!!

Recycling at it's best.......

in my  world!!!  Some time ago i'd thrift store purchased what looked  to be two china cabinet tops, painted and used previously as bookshelves... and i was just waiting for something to put them on... my 'plan' came to fruition when some friends came to visit and brought a lower cabinet set which consists of 2 lower cabinet units and one countertop.... TADA!!!!!

my kitchen is very tiny but now functions much better.. i'll be doing a few more changes to make it more functional but hey... i'm LOVING it!!! i now have a storage space for my pressure canner and accessories, my other big 'not always in use' pots and other things which always were being shuffled around...

in the garden world... my 'recycled bakers rack has been helping in the food dept.....

arugula on the left half and basil on the right half... YAY!!!

this morning i went to let my dogs out when i went out on the deck... they were very much preoccupied with something on the ground... i went to see what it was... sadly it was a wee little nuthatch looking much like being on the verge of death... i'm suspecting it banged into the front window .... i picked it up and remembered what my son-in-law says... 'if keep the bird in an upright position, it has a much better chance of surviving'  ....  sooooooo ... i recycled an old nest which i'd found a couple of weeks ago... put it in a shallow container, my gloves and the nest on top... placed the poor little bird in the nest... and hoping for the best!!

update.... just checked on the nest... empty and the birds are all back feeding...
life is good.....

Wrapping it up......

so to speak... i simply couldn't stand it anymore.. all this beautiful weather, seeds to be planted, decks to be sat on, tea to be sipped on in the afternoon sun... ahhhh pre-spring... so back to the 'wrapping it up', i have the greatest little gadget which i got a few years ago and i LOVE it... didn't cost much, easy to use, no mechanical or technical devices.. just my cuppa tea!!

tada!!!! all ready for some potting soil... no trip to the feedstore for peat pots just recycling newspaper and recycling those plastic flats from way back when... gotta love it!!!

yesterday i splurged and bought myself 2 heat mats.....

today i planted up cilantro/coriander, lettuce, dill, some very old seeds which are some sort of greens... i figure if they grow, they grow, if they don't... i still have plenty of time to replant with something else..

i found a baker's rack at the salvation army that i've  converted into my seedling stand(mini greenhouse)...

i also recycled the stupid styrefoam packing container that a heater came in.. it's just the bottom piece but i think it's going to work just fine...

all got wrapped up in more 'recycled' plastic... thanks Home Depot!!!

it's located under the covered portion of my deck, i'm monitoring it with a thermometer and later tonight will put a blanket over  the rack... should be warm enough for the seeds that i planted... all are semi cold season crops so have my fingers crossed and said a prayer, grow babies grow!!!!     if necessary, in the event of a cold snap or spring snow, i can move all of it into big shed, where it's not heated but warmer than my deck...

Mr. H.. thanks for the great link to BugGuide , i had been there, many moons ago, and had forgotten about it... in my own quest for good sites, i've found these sites too... the MOST INCREDIBLE photos about bees from THE BEE PHOTOGRAPHER .. if you've not been to his site, please go check it out, snoop around, the photos are absolutely amazing...a very complimentary site to The Bee Photographer and where i read about Eric Tourneret's site is Pencil and Leaf  an interesting blog by a very talented artist with a passion for bees....  another pretty awesome site is An Inordinate Fondness which is dedicated to Beetles....

A Sad day.......

for us doggie folk, who were fans of Daddy, Cesar Millan's pitbull who passed away at 16... 16 is a very very old age for a larger dog... Daddy was an ambassador for Bully Breeds may he rest in peace....

i confess, i'm a pittie lover.. i do love all dogs, but i especially love bully breeds, i love big stocky short haired dogs..... my previous love was Pit/Shepard cross... i knew his 'daddy' and 'mommy'... he was also an ambassador for the 'bully breeds' in my local circle... he loved life, loved people, most dogs, unless the other dog was aggressive, then he was assertive, but not agressive... my Shadow was just short of 14 when he passed away with cancer...  

my dogs that i have now are 'rescues'... Sampson removed from a previous 'home', with a previously broken leg and slated for amputation, and Dora who was 'fostered' from the SPCA, when she was feverish after surgery...

Sampson on the left (with 4 legs), Dora on the right... thanks to The Dog Whisperer show we've come a long ways... has been difficult sometimes to train 2 puppies at once, especially after my leg injury last year.. but we're getting there!! i know there is a lot of controversy over Cesar Millan's methods, but for me, i've utilized some of his pyschology technics and had great success... they both need more training, it will be a constant work in progress...and i assure you, this is a rare photo of Dora, she's most camera shy!!!