Watering the garden and plums....

      Hello! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial weekend! The weather is still hot and humid here. And there's been no rain! Everything is getting so dry! I have the hose going in the garden as I write. The only good thing is, the grass won't need to be mowed. It's turning brown! There is some chance of rain today, but I don't think it will, by the looks of the sky.


      We had a house full Sunday and we cooked hamburger, brats, and beans on the Primo. Everything turned out so nice! We even made homemade ice cream! My brother was here from Mobile and hopefully he'll be moved to this area, soon! My great-nieces surprised us, too! We weren't expecting them until next weekend when Yasmine turns three. It's hard to believe how quickly children go from being infants, to little girls and boys! Speaking of infants, we visited baby Kassie's family yesterday, and although she's still so small, I saw changes in her from a week ago! It's going to be fun watching her grow up like her big sister. They all seemed to have adjusted well to the changes and Mom is doing real good! I forgot my camera, so there are no photos of them, sorry!


      I finally got to the plums! Really, this was the right time because any earlier, and they would not have been ripe enough. It was amazing to see the color go from a cream-like color, to a beautiful red! I have some juice straining now, and hope to get at least five and a half cups of juice. That was from almost two bags full. Did I tell you the man brought us two more bags? Yes!!!! I will cook that juice later today or tomorrow. I'm just doing one at a time to see how it turns out. Once I get the juice strained, I can put it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to make the jelly. Have you ever made plum jelly? This will be my first time but I'm following the instructions on the Sure-Jell package. Stay cool! Hope to talk to ya later this week! Blessings from Bama!

Barbecue chicken pizza with leftover chicken and veggies from the grill. Like my hand tossed crust?

Hubs cooking on the Primo.

Winterlynn was so pretty in her dress!

My brother.

She loved playing in the sprinkler!

I

Close up of a rat snake. Glad it's not a chicken snake! The dog got right up at it and the snake lunged at the dog! That was before I got my camera. It is laying in the flower bed next to the front porch.

She discovered my rollers. Do you like the See Rock City birdhouse? Almost everywhere you go on the interstate toward Chattanooga, you'll see a sign like this.

I could barely wait to get to the house and photo these and wash them so I could eat them! I usually don't wait that long but I wanted ya'll to see the first blackberries.

The butterfly bush has gotten so big!

This one isn't quite as big. The snake was to the left of it.

I like to photo these a lot because they won't bloom forever!

The bees are doing so well multiplying and all that we got to add the super. Our honey will be harvested from this.

A closer view. Either the hive is leaning or I was when taking the photo!

I think the sunflower will hit the ground. I had one to do this last year.

Plums before.

Plums after. I did get my five and a half cups! You can see the reflection of the camera in this!

Lord have mercy, I feel the temperature rising!

      I don't mean that in a sacrilegious way, either! It's just so hot here now! We don't usually get these kind of temperatures until much later in the summer! It is 92 degrees in the afternoon, as I write this! We haven't had a good rain, in I don't know when! Some parts are getting too much rain! Wish we had some of that! The sunflowers are starting to lean sideways, so I hope watering them this evening will help.

      I want so badly to be outside, but with that heat, I can't take it for very long! I need to walk, weed, water, and the list goes on. Are ya'll experiencing unusually warm temperatures like this? I hope not!


      I've been cooking on my small table top grill lately and last night my son gave me the sweetest compliment! He kept saying 'ummm' as he was eating and that "I sure did know how to cook on the grill!" That made my day! I just grilled peppers, onions, and zucchini and then I grilled some boneless, skinless chicken breast that I flattened out a little. I used the Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce and I think that is what makes the chicken taste so good! Tonight, I will use the leftover chicken and veggies on a pizza.


      I hope ya'll have a safe Memorial Day weekend and try not to eat too many hot dogs! We're cooking out here this weekend and making ice cream and all the goodies to go along with a cookout! Stay safe! Blessings from Bama!

Using the Vitamix again!

I used beets, small tomatoes, spinach, beet greens, carrots, and blueberries in this juice. Beets are good for liver detox.

Zucchini bread and a glass of juice. Did I eat all that bread?

Maddie was here today. She took out her hair holder and messed up her hair as I was taking this photo.

My little orange grill. Hubs in under cover.

You can kind of tell they are leaning in this photo. The weight of the flowers make them droop, I think.

Finally, some ripe figs! 

I pulled these two and ate one. They are not quite ripe enough for me yet.

A man was banging on my door this morning and this is what he gave me! Aren't these beautiful plums?

When they get a little riper, I hope to make jelly.

A new baby, more flowers, and some dirt....

      Can you believe it's already Tuesday! Night? I let time get away from me too quickly! But I love staying busy! This is my son's last week of school and that too, is hard to believe! He had his first practice game this past Saturday. He was so handsome in his uniform. He didn't get to play, but I think he will during the season. He's going to be working with his dad some in between football workouts during June, then the rest of the summer will be two-a-days. (practice and workout in the same day) I'm not looking forward to the football season because it will get into my comfort zone, but yet I will enjoy supporting our son and his team.


      We spent a lot of time this past weekend at the hospital visiting the new baby Kassie and family. She is so pretty! Her big sister, who is two, loves to give her kisses. They went home on Monday and are trying to get into a new routine with the baby. Hopefully, she'll be a good night sleeper!


      We're getting closer to installing the above ground pool! We had dirt brought in today and another load will be brought in tomorrow. Then, we'll need the tractor brought back to level it all. Wow! Seems like every project we take on takes F..O..R..E..V..E..R.. to complete! I guess that's all part of being diy homesteaders!


      Oh, I harvested the mystery plant today! It looks sort of like a straight neck squash, but I could see faint lines in it. I think it might be a mixture of gourd and cucumber because that's what grew in that area at one time. I cut it up and sauteed it in butter with onion, but it didn't really have much flavor. I'm still baffled as to what it really is!


      It's also hard to believe that we are coming upon the end of the month with a holiday! I'm looking forward to this weekend since my brother is coming in from Mobile to interview for a job. We really want him to move back! Pray that he will have favor and that God's will be done in his life! Thank you so much for praying and thank you for reading this blog! Blessings from Bama!

Mommie and Kassie.

Beautiful baby Kassie!

Look at that tiny bow!

Daddy, big sister, and baby.

Checking on the bees.

Not much smoke is coming out of the smoker.

The bees are so gentle they don't seem to be bothered.

They have multiplied so quickly!

Guess who's number 64?

They are devouring a watermelon rind.

More sunflowers open everyday.

Roses, day lilies, and irises.

Such a beautiful rose!

We have several of these plants in bloom.

Me and hubs at Carrabba's.

Another butterfly bush in bloom.

Me and another friend's baby boy. I don't know whose arm that is!

The hubs and baby's daddy put this up last night.

Mystery plant veggie. Looks like a squash.

It seemed almost tough.

Sauteed in butter and onions. It tasted o.k. but not really like squash.

Fill dirt. Another one will be brought in tomorrow.

Adding on to the garden.

      The hubs finally had a chance to til another area so we can plant corn and purple-hull peas. We ran out of room inside the fenced garden, so he tilled up an area below the chicken yard. The dirt is somewhat 'chirty' so I don't know how it will grow. I added some manure this morning and hope to plant the seeds when the sun goes behind the trees. We are in summer now and experiencing temps in the eighties everyday. There is no rain in the forecast until Wednesday of next week! That's a long time to go without rain for a garden! (Of course, the weather could change, since showers are common this time of year.) That could explain why some of the plants are looking pale. I had to come in out of the heat (humidity!) so I hope to water this evening. I would like to have another area or two so we could plant melons in one patch, and pumpkins in another. Maybe next year!


      It's hard to believe that school is almost out for the summer! Just when I get used to one season, another one begins! Oh well, life would be very boring without change! How do ya'll like my new header? It took me awhile using Picasa, but I finally got it! 


      I just had to run outside and make an after photo and it was sprinkling rain! Maybe we'll get one of those showers today! Also, our friend's wife just gave birth to their second baby girl, 6 pounds, 15 and a half ounces! Welcome baby Cassie! Have a great weekend! Blessings from Bama!

A new recipe: Chicken Dip. It tastes delicious!

Small, wild plums I foraged from a neighbor who lives down the road.

I love sunflowers!

This day lily is actually a little pinker that the one after this photo.

Oh yes, it shows up in the photo.

That is a different type of sunflower next to this one. They will both be lovely when in bloom at the same time!

Pretty as a picture!

I decided to do a before photo. How embarrassing that I have something looking like this in my garden! Doesn't take long to get like that though!

I got to visit with Yasmine a couple of days this week.

She loves to swing!

Just look at the cute baby, not the porch!

These sisters love to run and play at aunt FeFe's!

Layla with her baby.

There is a bird nest in the top of this stroller! She's saying: "Eeewww!"

A Cardinal in a nest in the butterfly bush!

I don't know what kind of bird built this nest.

The tree  is slowly getting cleaned up. Got a nice pile of firewood cut for the winter, if we have one this year! The new tilled area is just below that fence, under the tree.

The pile of manure I'm working with.

Close up.

I lost count how many times I took these buckets to the new garden.

The newly tilled area.

I'm skipping some spots that had ants or were too rocky.

Look at all of these blackberries! They'll be turning soon!

I have a lot of picking to do.

A lot of 'trash' to reach through to get to the berries!

I'm standing next to the berries looking back at the newly tilled area. I walked the buckets from that little shed, which is the hen house, all the way down here.

I just love the color of these day lilies!

Isn't she lovely?

A few small irises blooming.

The after shot that I almost forgot. Looks so much better now!

I couldn't resist taking another shot of the bees! I need to pull that weed!