*berries galore!

OOPS.. I forgot to give these beautiful blooms the show they deserve in my last post.   These pink blooms on the raspberry bushes are simply beautiful.  The green growth you see here is the new canes on our raspberry bushes and as I understand it.. we will likely not get fruit this year but will be abounding next year.  I will keep you posted on that front.  We do have one bush that has berries on it, but clearly the canes are from last year and not this years new growth. 

Having our own berries growing here on the farm will be a huge money saver for our family! Raspberries are one of our favorites, followed by blue berries and black berries which can all be found growing here and there at Erilyn. 

*early in the morning

WE ARE HOME!!  Husband, wife and son all under one roof - permanently!  (thanks so much to each of you for praying us through)

No.. he is not hunting Easter eggs.  Hiding eggs here and having a hunt would truly be a lot of fun though.  The basket was brought along for the collection of dewberries.

A few crazy days before Henry and I left to travel to North Carolina to say "good bye" to Fayetteville, we walked our property with basket in hand to check on the berries that grow rampantly.   Had we known that we had so many dewberries which are a form of blackberries we likely would not have purchased and planted black berry bushes. I suppose this will only lengthen the window of our black berry harvest.  Dewberries come ready for picking late April or early May while the blackberries are harvested later in the season.  It is said that in the early morning that while the dew is on the berries, you an see the reflection of the sky on the berry.  I will be out there tomorrow morning checking this out! 

Yesterday I picked 3 pounds of the delicious dewberries and many, many red ones were left for another day.  We will likely have to walk the area again tomorrow and pick again.  Having planted raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, we couldn't be happier!  It fits right into all of our plans, or perhaps we are fitting into all of HIS plans.

I was completely amazed at the growth in the garden when we drove back on Monday evening.  I last looked at the gardens on Thursday night after watering time and then I laid my eyes on some incredible growth over just a few days.  Peas, beans and squash are all blooming, the tomatoe plants are starting to load up with fruit as well as the squash plants.  I was both surprised and thrilled to find this....

Beautiful summer squash in full bloom and production!  YUM!  I cannot wait (hardly) to have some squash casserole, fried squash, stewed squash... what else?  

*speechless

Last Saturday I was here in our home in Florida with the windows up, and the screens on the storm doors pulled up so the breeze could come inside the house while I cleaned and organized.  Then it happened that I got a phone call from my hubby who was spending his last week in North Carolina, this call was not our normal phone call to each other during this time of living in two separate places.  He called me only minutes after a tornado ripped across our neighborhood and went on from there severely hitting several large neighborhoods in our city.  Our home and several in our neighborhood did sustain some damage.  Many trees were pulled out of the ground, tops snapped out or lost limbs on our street, but no one in our neighborhood lost their home.

I have friends in each of the neighborhoods that was hit HARD, one of them lost their roof.  Yes, the roof was literally sucked - lifted - snatched off. Several areas in the city are inaccessible and some areas requiring a pass to gain entrance. Looting is a problem - what is wrong with people? These severely damaged areas that are still without power are being supported by public servants.   I have seen many pictures of the devastation, heard several peoples heart felt stories and soon I will see some of  it for myself as Henry and I fly to North Carolina.

Our house remains on the market, we had hoped that we would have an offer on our home by this date, so now we will leave the house on the market as we all leave NC  to our home in Florida together -finally!  The insurance adjuster came out rather timely, but now we will wait for the shingles to be replaced and the privacy fence repaired.  Eric kept the chain saw rather busy the last few days getting the downed trees cut and cleared.

Eric sent this picture today and the caption he added was this: "Taming the wild". 

Please take time to visit Purpose Driven Family's Blogspot
She has done a great job writing about a friend we have in common. Trina and her family live in one of the neighborhoods that was hit severely. 

*simple woman's daybook

For today April 12, 2011


Outside my window... I see the many Jasmine vines in full bloom with dancing bees in and out of the delightful smelling blossoms.

I am thinking... of the richness of friendships that I have and  how grateful I am that God chose each one specifically for me.

I am thankful for...the deep well that is on our property which waters our gardens and the animals each day. 



From the kitchen...this weekend I had my oldest son and his girlfriend over for dinner & dessert.  I made the most delicious pan of lasagna completely from "scratch" right down to the sauce.  It was the best I have ever made! I can hardly wait to get my beloved here so I can cook it for him too.

I am wearing...a simple summer dress, it was easy to slide on early this morning!

I am creating...some mixed flower beds. Finally after getting the garden in fully (well, almost) I am giving some of my time to arranging plants on the property into specific flower beds and planting a few seeds too.

I am going...to bake several loaves of bread today made with fresh milled wheat. It has been a while since I have done this, I am excited.

I am reading...a wonderful magazine called Mother Earth News.  Someone very special in my life, gave my hubby and I a set of the chronicaled Mother Earth News Magazines for our house warming gift a few months ago.  These have been a great foundation to what we are building here at Erilyn. I love them. I am also reading "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats".

I am hoping...that we will get some rain today! The garden needs watering...  Rain was in the forcast, but I have yet to see it.

I am hearing...all the lovely birds this cool spring morning.

Around the house...is where I find myself mostly these days!   Which I am totally fine with!

One of my favorite things...is spending time in the warm sun on spring days.

A few plans for the rest of the week: getting my Florida drivers license (finally!), pulling weeds in garden, hoeing, pulling weeds in garden, mulching, pulling weeds in gardens.. you get the picture!

Picture thought:

Join along in posting your Simple Woman's Daybook and read more at:  http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

*scenes from a rodeo

Howdy Ya'll.  Henry and I took in our first rodeo this past weekend, and loved it.  I knew from the beginning, which opened in one of the most free and heart felt prayers I have ever witnessed in a public recreational outing, that the evening was pretty much going to be a winner.  When the MC is telling the Lord that it is "our" desire to give all the Glory to God for the outcome of each event, well, enough said.

Cowboy hats, cowgirl hats, boots, plaid shirts, big belt buckles - these were all in abundance at the Pro-Rodeo there in Baker.  There were cute couples in cute plaid shirts with the sleeves cut off, with their hats and boots; some were young and in love and some were a bit older and then there were babies!

Of course, there were stands outside the arena that were stocked with hats, t-shirts, boots and all things cowboy.   Not to mention the food concessions - really... funnel cakes? Why is it that funnel cakes always look like a plate full of divinity? All the while you are eating it, you are enjoying it like nobody's business. Then out of nowhere you feel sick from eating this delicacy.  Finally you swear you will never eat another one, but that never holds does it?  (Just for the record.. I did not eat a funnel cake at this event)

This image and the next are of two different cowgirls racing back out of the arena after barrel racing. Since they are timed for the competition speed and safety of their beloved horses are of utmost importance. 

A cowboy. WOW. Perhaps I have been away from my beloved too long, just sayin.  I am a God-fearing  woman, so don't get me wrong here. Seeing them all dressed in their attire, as well as the cowgirls, made me feel young again.  Is that weird?  (giddy laughter).  I think I want to be a cowboy.  OK. So enough of that. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect at this rodeo and the show was nicely done, the MC was a gentleman and before you know it, it was time to rush to our truck and be a part of the crazy crowd leaving the arena.

Can't wait 'til the next rodeo, this time with my cowboy by side!

*dreams do come true

No matter your age, surely you have dreamed of certain things happening in such a way that is favorable to you no matter the surrounding circumstances.  When you are a child you dream in childish ways right?  Sometimes when you grow up you still dream in childish ways, but surely you have more mature goals set that you wish to attain as well - right?

Kierstyn laying in one of the vegetable gardens while momma and I worked at pulling weeds in the afternoon one day.

 
Kierstyn, our niece came to stay with us during her spring break.  Kierstyn is a very girly girl kind of  gal! She is a curiously smart young girl who will keep you on your toes.  One day while Kierstyn was here, I was reading Pioneer Woman's blog, Kierstyn noticed this:

This is Pioneer Woman's cookbook that published a year or so ago.  Notice the line that says, "Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl".  This is what caught Kierstyn's attention. She pondered this and then asked me if she was a country girl.   Sometimes not knowing how to answer a question, I am careful not to just spit out the first thing that comes to my mind. Instead of simply saying, "Oh no, honey you are a city girl!  You know,  high heels, jewels, make up, fancy dresses etc..", I asked her if she wanted to be a country girl.  Her answer was a bit surprising to me.  She answered with a resounding YES!  Feeling safe to answer at this point, I said, "Well of course you are a country girl!"  She seemed quite happy with this answer.  She lived out her country girl dreams while she was her at Erilyn, helping feed the chickens, cats, rabbits and dog every morning and evening.

Kierstyn enjoying her chew on a hot afternoon. She said it quenched her thirst!

A few post ago I wrote about childhood memories of chewing on this weed with my sisters and how I was going to "teach" Kierstyn to chew on them too.   I introduced this strange phenomenon to her one day early in her visit. She was fine with it and a day or so before she left to go back home she found some growing out in the field and ran to bring me some while we were working in the garden.  

It seems that Kierstyn had been dreaming about Subway sandwiches since the last one she had while on vacation in Tennessee.  After much talk of how she LOVES Subway, Momma, Kierstyn and I had Subway for dinner one night and decided to eat in the car on the way home. I wish I had a video of this moment.  She was literally moaning as she ate the sandwich. I am not sure if the sandwich was that tasty or if she was reminiscing about her vacation adventure where she last had this Chicken Teriyaki Sub.  No matter, momma and I were thoroughly entertained. (disclaimer: all of these pics were taken with my phone, so the quality is pretty poor- sorry)

*wordless Wednesday

*rain bops

Beehive Rain Bops were calling to me today while we were in this little shop getting Henry's hair cut.  Aren't these adorable?  The shop had them priced at $20 per pair, much cheaper that where I found them here.  I am not sure I want rain boots with heels, but I thought these were adorable. 

*martha stewart?

Martha Stewart works at our local Tractor Supply Store. Not really, but she sure favors the tycoon.  I, of course, had to ask her if people comment on how much she looks like Martha.  I was not the first to notice the uncanny resemblance.  She laughed and said how awesome it would be to have the money that Martha Stewart has, she certainly would not be working at Tractor Supply Store. 

She and I are practically best friends, I see her all the time (at the store) because it seems I am there frequently enough to develop a friendship!