Moving Beds

A week or so ago, Benny came into the store where I was shopping to tell me about a beautiful bed that had been discarded. It had been out in the rain for awhile, was really a heavy piece of furniture, it was all there, so I decided I would go ask if they had really thrown out that lovely piece of furniture. The lady assured me she had, I have known her for several years, stated it had come apart and she was not able to fix it, had another one instead, to take it if I wanted it. So Benny and I loaded up the pieces on his truck, really was heavy, too, and brought it home. He checked it out And decided he could repair it. He worked all week on the rails, took them off the wood, then reattached them all the way down with bolts to secure them in place. He decided today wAs the day to put it up and it would be HIS new bed. Okay....since he hAd pulled the other bed all apart, what did he want me to say ?..It took awhile to put it together, washed it all off with Clorox before I let him bring it in.....his bed was A full size, this one was QUEEN size, so he decided to pull my queen size guest bed apart and use the mattresses on his new bed..Oh what fun we had, trying to drag mattresses from room to room...do we put down slats or not....will it fit or not....we finally got his new bed together, got it made, then began to move out the queen frame and headboard...we moved his old bed in the guest bedroom...got it set up...then started on my old bed. Now my bed had pulled apart from the frame, and he had wired it together with bAling wire..are you getting this picture ? LOL....guess who really needed a new bed ? ME ! Luckily, years ago I had bartered for an old iron bedstead, they don't make them like this one Anymore...and since my renter had moved out, I went and got it As I had let her borrow it for her son to use. It is really a distressed old bed, but it is all put together now ANd I have my own newer bed to sleep in tonight. The old one fell Apart just trying to take it outside. So now we have finished playing move the beds, and hopefully we can enjoy A good night's sleep tonight....

December 2011 at Itsy Bitsy Farm

It is hard to belive this year is almost gone. I find time going by so fast, and my time is getting shorter. I really do not know where all the years went, but I loved all of them.
We had our sorrows this year as we buried my favorite goat, Cocoa Bunny. And then we lost old Suzi Pig. You tend to lose chickens, roosters and quail, doves, but they don't get as close to you as those who lick your shoes, untie your shoelaces, Baa every time they see you, and love you with all your warts and bumps unconditionally.
We have new puppies this year, hopefully we can find homes for them...very upset that the local vet could never call and make us an appointment, we called three months in a row trying to set up an appointment to have Button spayed. We were told he would not work on small animals, but we tend to try to keep our funds here in our own community....live and learn. Still have to get her spayed, which means driving to another town as soon as the puppies are weaned.
I am looking forward to a new garden this year. The drought really took a toll on us. No fruit except for some dehydrated grapes, but they tried, no pecans, the grasshoppers ate my tomatoes and peppers, but we don't give up....




The native pecans are few this year, but they have such a wonderful flavor....




We spent Thanksgiving at Marty's, and I picked up beautiful Burr Acorns. These just fascinate me, they are soooooooo big. I love them for decorating for the Holidays, putting them in a big bowl with tinsel and shiny bulbs...




The new puppies are so cute, every color, part weiner dog, part small shepherd, too cute for words..




The fire is cozy and the house is warm.....blessings...

And I love gargage sales, look at these beauties...how many hours were spent crocheting these ?




And the spider plant is thriving...may make it to be put out on the patio again this summer...

September Doodles

Here it is September..have been dehydrating food again...been doing bananas this week,




and strawberries..

and Israel melon.....


I also made Cowboy Candy, candied jalapeno peppers....they are so good when they are ice cold from the fridg..decided to dehydrate some....and I SCREAMED FOR ICE WATER...LOL..I like hot peppers, but those really are HOT !


The kitten is doing pretty good, we don't need one, have dozens, but Benny is tender hearted as well. For years, I have used the excuse that God made us the caretakers and that worked fairly well....






Benny brought me this "gift", a birdhouse made mostly from Hombre the Longhorn's hair. I think it is really neat....


And here is the picture of the Polish Rooster I chased all day long...he is now safe and in a cage...someone dumped some out...hate that !!!



The temperatures are cooling down..Praise the Lord.....we need rain so badly...


and kisses from Jimmy....

Bird Nests

I read in a magazine this week that it is illegal to keep bird nests...Of course, they eliminate the grackles and sparrows...I am glad or I would be in jail...LOL...I love to find them laying on the ground after a wind storm. The Grackles have finally moved on from our huge pine tree in the front yard...the wind kept blowing down their nests.
I have them neatly lined up on the porch where I can see them every day.





I think they look better with birds in them....






The bullfrog is still alive...he stays in the water most of the time. I have been feeding him some dry dog food, drop a few in the water at night....


My flowers live as long as I remember to pour on the water. They dry out so quickly in the heat. I love flowers......

White and Pink Caladiums




Kolanche




Fern



Dapper and Shasta Daisy


Still busy canning and dehydrating....apricot jam for winter time, dehydrated apricots for oatmeal and snacks....


Still have a few tomatoes...so good crushed up in salad.


And check out this darling find at a craft show...got a hammer ? Got a file ?

The Baby Bird

We had terrible winds a couple weeks ago. When we came home from church, several bird nests were blown out of the big Pine tree in the fron of the house, and only one little grackle survived. We tried to put it in a bird house, but the birds would have nothing to do with it......Finally, Benny came up with the idea to put up a flower container in the tree to see if that would work....and it did ! Momma bird took care of baby, and now they have all moved away to Grackleville....LOL





I don't know how I end up with all these little creatures to worry about, am so glad they have gone somewhere else......

Dapper, The Frog Dog

June was a scortchingly hot month...now we have the next two hot months to try to make it through. The drought and fires have charred so much of Texas. The garden is gone, cooked completely. The grasshoppers are eating all the blossoms off my jalapeno peppers........but we do have some tomatoes ! I have dehydrated some, so we will have good stews this winter. The onion crop is finished, but we are thankful for what we do have....




The dogs kept barking and barking...I went outside and tried to find what was the problem.....Dapper had uncovered a huge bullfrog when he was digging a hole to lie down in....

We were on our way to a family reunion, so I took the big frog and put him in one of my flower pots, covered him with dirt, and poured water in it for moisture. When we came home, the frog was back in the hole in the dog pen and did not want to share with Dapper. In desperation, I put him in a dog crate with water and food. The next day, as I started to feed him, he jumped out, hopped away from me, and I could NOT FIND HIM....another crisis...he would dry up without any water. After missing for two days, Benny left Dapper out of the pen, and he tracked him down. Benny caught him, so now he is back in the dog crate and being fed and watered.
I asked Benny, "What do we call him ?"...."Ribbet ?"....to which he laughed at me and told me I knew nothing about frogs...so meet the new member.....


Jump and Run !! LOL

What a Month....

I am batting ZERO today...have tried several times to do this blog and keep ending up with ZILCH ! So, this is the third attempt, third time is charm, I am told.
My poor old truck remains in the shop.....cannot find parts anymore to repair it, and so I had to make another choice. My darling son-in-law wanted to sell his truck, he has another one, so I bought it. It is a 2005 Ford 150 XLT with all the bells and whistles, but I am so old, and so dumb, I am having to imprint the book on my hands to drive it...LOL....
Daughter Karen driving it into my driveway....


Darling son-in-law Manny pulling in as well in his truck....


Benny and Manny having fun looking at the new-to-us truck.....

And .....here comes TEXAS...LOL....darling daughter Karen to my rescue....


So I had dinner all ready for them, and we ate till we could not eat any more...BBQ Brisket, potato salad, cantalope, etc....


I am stil trying to learn to cook with all the quail eggs....I have turned into a pickled egg myself, ones with beet juice to make them pink, ones with pickle spices...
Also, nothing better than a batter for fried zucchini with beat up quail eggs, a little milk, rolled in seasoned bread crumbs and pan fried...see what I mean ?


My lettuce is still growing in the pot....Benny keeps asking, "What weeds are we eating tonight ? "...LOL

Or we are eating some radish sprouts in the salad or in burritos....


Made some Mint Jelly this week as well....

Dapper and Button are doing fine at the new place...they have a big run, love to chase the birds at the feeders, they are really growing...


I bought a new plant this week...a shrimp plant...have never had one before...pretty little plant, but the shrimp are yellow...LOL

Manny's Mother sent me a beautiful house warming gift...we just love it...now everybody rings the bell.....


And I will close this with another beautiful Texas day going down.....I love Texas, it has been so good to me....

The Barn is Completed

We had asked about the completion of the barn several times, but the workers were very busy on other projects. To our delight, they showed up this week and within two days, the poles were up, roof attached, and it was done. Now the Donkey will have a place to stand under when it rains hard. Jimmy the donkey is doing great. He has such a loud voice. Benny will tell me..."Your Canary is singing" and laugh when Jimmy begins to Heeeee Haw.....love that silly donkey.

Four and Twenty

There are so many Blackbirds at the new house. They live in the top of a tall pine tree in the front yard. We have had some high winds, and when you go outside, you will find their nests fallen down to the ground. There is one Grackle in particular..every time I see her, she is pulling grass and weeds, she is the nest builder. She will pick around, pile them up, put them in her beak, and off she goes to build another nest. I had to laugh one day as I looked up at the tree...pieces of shredded white long plastic were blowing in the wind like a wind directional. She is quite a character. She dares the dogs to try to stop her from bathing in their dog bowl. She is out in the yard every day.
I love this picture of dark thirty....if you look really,really hard, you can barely make out the black images of the birds in the very tip top of the tree.....


After a hard rain, you can find all the low spots.. and the birds love to bathe in the puddled rain.....