A Day at the Farm
After seeing the photos I took of my nieces & nephew for their Christmas card, my sister’s friend asked if I’d come take some photos of her kids. I spent an hour at their farm on Tuesday, which happened to be a beautiful day! The boys are true farm boys, they wanted to wear their John Deere hats and carry around their tractors and show me the goats and the calves.
The youngest one was in a bad mood and didn’t want to have his photo taken but the older one was loving all the attention.
Taking photos of unfamiliar people is a good way to hone your skills. I’m much more comfortable taking photos of plants and veggies (they don’t move & squirm). But I like to do things out of my comfort zone every now and then. I won’t be branching out into portraits any time soon, but I appreciate learning from these kinds of experiences.
You just can’t get any better than a sunny day on the farm for some good photos, hopefully a few of these will grace their Christmas card!
Do you ever do things on purpose that are out of your comfort zone?
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Planting by the Moon
I’ve always found the idea of planting by the moon fascinating, yet kind of confusing as well. I haven’t read about it in depth, so I don’t know much about it. I hear the phases of the moon have an affect on the moisture in the soil, how seeds sprout and it leaf and root growth.
When I saw this full moon on Tuesday night it reminded me that I want to spend some time this winter reading about this topic. I’ll have to look up a few books about it and add them to my winter reading list (which is already getting quite long).
Anyone have experience planting by the moon? Any good book recommendations for those of us new to the subject?
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Christmas Greens
It’s that time of the year to put up Christmas, at least outdoors. I like fresh mixed greens and big white lights gracing my little cottage. There’s just something so welcoming about them.
I like big colored lights as well and I think about using them every so often, but when it comes time to decorate I just can’t use anything but white.
I bought my garland last Tuesday, and I soaked in in a garbage can of water (from my rain barrels) for 5 days. I took them out Sunday to dry, but then it rained, so I’m hoping it will be dry enough to put it up today or tomorrow. Oddly enough it was December 3 last year when I put up my garland (I have these great photos of Dexter, helping me, before he was officially ours).
I need to gather everything I’m going to need to get our holiday cheer going. I have grapevine stars and pine cones to go along with the garland and lights. I love the natural look! I don’t have tons of time this year, but I’ll make time to put decorations up outside. I may not get any up inside, but I don’t think I could go without a little outdoor Christmas cheer.
Do you put up lights outside for Christmas?
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Way to Go Mr Chiots!
Mr Chiots is off hunting this week with my dad. I spent Friday & Sunday cooking up all kinds of manly food for him to eat on all week. I made venison chili with corn bread, oat groats with raisins & walnuts for breakfast. I also made him some of these carrot oatmeal cookies, they’re kind of like little granola bars. I figured they’d be perfect quick treats when he gets hungry sitting in his deer stand.
He went down the family hunting cabin Sunday evening and he was up bright at early to be in his deer stand. He called me yesterday at 10:30 am and said he’d gotten his first deer at 9 that morning. Not to shabby, getting a deer within a few hours of your first time hunting!
Too bad it wasn’t one of these deer that eat all of my hydrangeas, blueberry bushes, fruit trees, strawberries and peas. Oh well, it looks as though our freezer will be stocked with venison for the next year. Hopefully he gets another one or two and we can share with friends & family! If he remembers to take some photos, I’ll share them next week when he gets home.
Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods?
UPDATE: Later on Monday DeWayne (who is one of my dad’s friends from IN that comes over to hunt, got a small 6 point buck). Mr Chiots just called me tonight (Tues) and my dad got a HUGE 10 point buck today (they did remember to take a photo). I wonder what the deer count will be by the end of the week, we should have full freezers for all the family members!
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Native Witch Hazel
The native witch hazel has been blooming for a while. It blooms much earlier and is less showy than it’s cultivated cousins. These photos were taken about a month ago.
Witch hazel is an understory tree, so it thrives in the woods or along the edges of the woods. It prefers the cool shady areas and with too much sun it will produce fewer blooms. These trees are located in the woods to side of our gardens. What a great plant it is since it blooms at this weird time. When the rest of the natural world is preparing for winter it bursts forth in radiant blooms, which will last into December.
Hamamelis virginiana was one of the first New World plants to be adopted for ornamental use by European horticulturists. As early as the mid-17th century, the plant was growing in private botanical collections in London. And it’s been a perennial favorite ever since. Witch-hazel has a rich history of use outside the garden setting. Traditionally, branches of H. virginiana were used as “divining rods” to locate underground sources of water. Also, extracts from the leaves, twigs, and bark were used to reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and check secretions of the mucous membranes.
Since witch hazel usually blooms after most of the pollinators are gone, it doesn’t often produce seed. I think with the warm weather we’ve had this year, I may be able to find some seeds next year to plant along the edges of our woods.
What native shrubs or trees do you love?
