Saturday at My Place

Last week gave us 4 new chicks.  Mom and the chickies are doing great.  She's teaching them how to scratch for food.  She's very protective of them and when she and the little ones are in the coop, no one dares enter.  That makes for 15 other hungry chickens.  So we've been letting them out of the coop so everyone can have a bite.

I've been saving my feed bags or rather retrieving them from the trash.  Doug thinks I'm a real hick to keep them.  Well I've made one tote bag (tutorial) so far.  I even used it at the grocery yesterday and it held up.  I have a few more to make.

It's not fantastic, but I like it.  I did notice while the clerk was bagging yesterday that I did put my handles on wrong.  Not a big enough mistake for me to fix.  I'll just remember on my next bag.

Flowers: rather Hydrangeas.  One of my all time favorites.  My daughter got me a Hydrangea potted plant one year for Mother's Day.  I fell in love.

Since then, I put them in every garden I have.  Take a look

I love the colors!

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Barn Hop

A Few Flowers for the Birds and Us

We got some of these iris from Doug's sister and some from a friend of mine from work.  We planted them against the fence to choke out the weeds from the farmer's field.  They are really doing well.

I planted the "Red Hot Pokers" for Doug the first year we moved here.  He said that the birds really love them.  They're hardy and hardly any maintenance.  This is one of the varieties that I got.  When I planted them they took forever to break the surface.  Doug, not liking any weeds, sprayed the area until I told him that there were flowers there.  I didn't hurt them too much.  We moved some and now the Orioles, Hummingbirds and  cedar waxwings love the nectar.  The smaller birds like the foliage for cover.  It's a win-win situation.

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Here's the red variety.  When they are mature, the bottom turns yellow and the top stays red.

Spring in my Backyard

Pictures to feed your souls.  I took these weeks ago and never posted them.  I wanted to share with everyone.

Enjoy!

 I've had the Rosemary for years and it never bloomed.  I didn't know they bloomed.  Since we've moved to the country and I bought a very large planter, it's been flowering like gangbusters.  I love it, the hummers love it, the bees love it.  

I Can't Believe It!

I've been silent for over a month. I read the blogs daily but think that I don't really have a lot to say that anyone would be interested in.

We're getting ready for a surprise birthday weekend for my DBs sister. She turns 60 this weekend. Her daughter and oldest sister are planning a get together on Sunday and we're having the primer on Saturday. Food, family, horseshoes, music, whatever. I'm just thankful that the weather will be great. Our lawn is still a little soggy but that won't stop the horseshoe competition.

I've been cooking. The BBQ beans are in the oven, the potato salad is made and in the fridge soaking up all the flavors. I've made brownies for desert. I still have my coleslaw to make. That needs a trip to the store for the cabbage and whatever else we need.

Since I didn't take any pictures of the food prep, here are some pics I have taken this last month.

Here's one grosbeak. We have several male and females.

The goldfinches are in abundance. I'm going to put some thistle out for this weekend. Our family loves all the birds we have here.

Wonderful Saturday

This is a beautiful day. I couldn't ask for a better one. I refilled the hummingbird feeders. They go through about 2 cups of juice a day. They are great entertainment. I planted some Alyssum, pink and purple next to our birdbath. The smell is wonderful. And because my clothesline looked so lonely, I hung up some wash. I love clotheslines. I grew up with them.

The irises are really starting to bloom. We should be getting some purple ones soon.

Just some fun pictures of a couple of my flowers:

I haven't had a chance to sew lately. I got my rush gifts done and in the mail for my Mother for Mother's Day. I need to clean the wheels on my HQ16 before I can do anything in there. On top of all that we are getting ready for a yard sale next weekend. Man I hate getting ready for those.