Bustin my Deer

This is what a deer can do to a t-post. They bent two of these running into my garden fences. 

Our herd is quite used to me doing my farm chores around them

waiting for me to go back into the house

 

Greenith Goeth Gailey

My tiny 6 for greenhouse is full again with seedlings I got going in April

Roma tomatoes

Kale makes me happy

Oh so many basils

 

Nottaway and Crawfish

My husband and I joined the fun down south to a family reunion. They had good food all over the place and crawfish.

Strawberries grown in old igloo coolers so when it floods they float.

Our wonderful host with the most.

After that we stayed in an historic plantation with very old oak trees.

The cemetery was in bad shape after several tornadoes and hurricanes in the area.

This one is in good shape.

Nottaway plantation. It used to be a great well run place but it has changes hands and the family no longer tends it and the old gardens are not take care of like it use to. A corporation bought it as B&B but they are not running things well. Nice staff but way short staffed and the cottages, buildings and grounds are in bad shape. The historic cemetery on the grounds is in severe bad shape, a big faux pas in Louisiana. Time to fix the headstones and the tombs and show a little respect.

One nice thing, since the gardens have gone wild, there are blackberries, honeysuckle, kumquats and more all over the place in the late month of April. Great for snacking outside with the squirrels.

 

Easter 2022 Banner

I was inspired to make this for Easter. With heavy rains, travel, raising ducks in my house, spring farming I was a bit crunched for time. But the week before I got busy and had some late nights. I was finished the morning before mass. My sewing room a disaster but this was done.

It was a combination of several applique techniques, painting, stump work, embroidery and sewing. No pattern except the drawings on freezer paper I used.  I love the ombre cotton fabric as the background.

Now I have to make one for ordinary time.

 

Going Green

Walking onions and irises grow happy together.

The deer eating everything in my flowerbeds including my lavender!

My overpacked with seedlings greenhouse. Love my bought before the pandemic hose real. I had it and never installed it because I was too busy. This year my husband installed it and I am sooooo happy. I have about 100 feet of hose that is out of my way.

Time to plants the seedlings.

 

Dragon me around

I saw this on eBay and it was way overpriced for a tourist trinket.

But I loved the embellishments.

The gold chaining and the beads are so cool looking and feeling.

I have always liked the dragon from illustrator Gyo Fujikawa and I want to remake it in this style.

Orange and gold dragon would be so cool!

 

Lent Banner 2022

I finished this banner for our church just in time for the second week in Lent. It is purple satin with burlap applique cross and hanging violet drape. The backing is vintage brown satin. Satin is hard to work with but I love how the colors dance. The crown is yellow felt I cut out and used a paint marker to seal/define the edges of the thorns, also machine appliqued that. Our church does not have any banners for outside the sanctuary. So I decided to make a few to brighten up the space. I am working on an Easter one. 

I have offered to make some for the sanctuary but that has not been updated in 40 years and they like it that way. Also, it is very hard to make church art unless you stick to the Church laws for artist, materials, committee choices and theme. I prefer the freedom of just making this for now.

 

They grow so fast

Here are my Muscovy 2nd generation. These guys hatched in early February and had been in my house for 4 weeks. The weather warmed up and I put them in the coop with a heat lamp for two more weeks with food and water daily to teach them the coop is home. I removed their food and water from the coop and set it outside the coop. After a day the ducklings figured out how to go in and out of the coop.

They stick together all the time and stay close to the coop for now. Once bugs appear they will begin                    to expand their territory.

They love their green bath tub. They swim in it all the time.

They take turns and I refill it often with clean water.

They still have baby fuzz and not fully feathered yet. But thankfully the night temperatures are above freezing. I have a mother setting on her eggs this month as well. I will catch her and put her eggs in the coop to hatch with the mama this time. I am not house raising ducklings when a mama duck can do all the work for me.

At night I have this young possum with half a tail eating all the chicken food it can get. I have to trap it and move it away from the coop. It will eat my chickens and eggs if I left it stay.

 Life on the farm never ends. 

 

Bearily there

I have been sewing again, a lot.

This is a bear for a friend whos husband  passed away from the virus and also dementia. These last few years were hard as he had to be in a nursing home and she could not visit. She did not have any of his clothes. So I dug into my stash and pulled colors she liked. I got it done and mailed before her birthday.

I make memorial pillows and bears as needed for friends and sometimes clients.

It is an easy Simplicity pattern. Unless you have never sewn before, it can be tricky. I have adapted this pattern to my needs over the years.

This pair is a special one. A friend had pancreatic cancer and it took her very fast less than 6 months. She was a good friend, mother and wife who really enjoyed doing things in life that she enjoyed. She was about my age when the cancer took her. I hardly recognized her when I was sent the photo. But I am glad for a small moment she had a bit of happiness. Her adult daughter can have something to hold on to in her memory. These were very special to make and send.

Sickness, dying and funerals are hard but are a part of life. When you are involved with a church your experiences with death double with your church family and friends. Here in the Ozarks we have lost all ages from driving wrecks, no seatbelts, virus, farming accidents, cancer, hunting accidents, heart disease and dementia just to name a few. I try to bring a bit of happiness one stitch at a time.

 

Duckling Snuggles

One single duckling hatched in the coop under a poor Harlequin first time mama during the ice storm. I saw it left on the nest and ignored and cold. So I brought it in to warm up and set up the brooder box. Meanwhile my husband and our eldest cat babysat while I put the brooder together.

He was alone for a week before my Muscovy hatched 16 ducklings. All were brought inside without their mother in the second snow storm. In total 13 survived the first 24 hours indoors in the brooder. The others 2 died outside in the coop from the cold. I thought mama duck could keep her 3 remaining ducklings alive outside but she could not, so I brought the last one indoors. And my daily chore is washing out the brooder box while the ducklings swim in the bathtub. I put in clean bedding, food and water and cedar shavings. And watch them grow up. They have to stay inside until it stays above 50 degrees in the coop.

 

Death comes to a small town

Our tiny town of 500 people has been hosting death since Dec of 2021. In Jan of the new year we have lost about 4 people a week thanks to Covid. I knew it would happen after the holidays and people traveling again. And it is not just old ones but babies, children and mid life ages. They say it is flu, car crash anything but what it really is, Covid. I think we are the only ones who got vaccinated in our town.

Also, many new families have arrived buying up land from out of state. But the 4 a week death average has not slowed down. And the local funeral homes have been very busy.

I think every single family in our town has had a death in the new year.

Also, empty shelves at the local supermarkets is a first for us. It is mostly processed foods that are missing like pizza, frozen foods, prepared meals but also butter, bread, drinks, sandwich meats are all lacking. Animal feed and seed prices have tripled in price this February.

I am looking forward to planting green beans, tomatoes and other veggies in March. Luckily meat prices are locked is as we buy locally raised beef. Will be interesting to see how our country does as the seasons warm up and people get back to travel and living after a pandemic.

 

Puppet Me and duck diapers

Someone made this old woman doll and I think it is me when I get old or if I get old. Going back to nature.

Meanwhile, I had to make some duckling diapers for hatchlings who happened during the ice storm. Thankfully there are a ton of ideas on the web. But practically, I put all 13 in a big tub with a heat lamp. They are indoor ducks until the weather warms above 50's.

Open door sunlight time

Plastic tub time with the TV to learn how to be a duck