This is a first

It's funny how inanimate objects can mean so much to us sometimes. 

It might be a pair of cozy slippers that are broken in and molded to our feet. And we can't bare to throw them out even when our toes are starting to sneak out the front.

Or a little memento from a special date or vacation that brings back memories. And well, it doesn't take up that much space on our dresser.

Or moms, how about that adorable outfit you brought your firstborn home in?

I think the most special things are the ones with good memories attached.

This one is near and dear to my heart.

I know it's only a stainless steel bowl, you say. But it's more to me then that.

When this bowl came out it meant my mom was whipping up one of her incredible, flaky crusted, mouth watering (are you getting the picture?) apple pies.

Or dad was preparing his yummy b-b-q sauce for some special dinner. (Sorry, my vegetarian friends, but I did grow up eating meat;)

Memories, good memories is what this bowl is about.

Oh, and see that little ring on the side? When mom would open the cupboard to get that bowl out, you'd hear that thing "clang-clanging" against the side of the bowl.

So on my last trip home, guess what I snagged out of the kitchen? Yep, that bowl was my top priority! (Sorry dad, you'll have to use something else.) 

And now it has a special spot in my kitchen cupboard. And puts a smile on my face when I pull the shelf out and hear that ring doing it's thing. :D

And today, well I'm pretty sure it was a first for that old bowl. Pretty sure it's never been used before to make communion bread!

"Clang, clang"

A shortened walk

I don't walk every day, but I do try to walk on a regular basis. Now that vacation is over and everyone is back to their work/school routine I decided to get back into my routine.

So Moriah and I headed out this morning.  I was going to head down to the road to extend my walk time and distance until I noticed an "extra" with us. 

Silly Thor. He's more like a dog than a cat sometimes. Maybe that's why he's my favorite. 

So we shortened our walk and stayed away from the road since Thor decided he would join us for the whole walk

Well, it was a nice walk even though it was shorter. I had good company.

The gift

Most of you know I've been having predator problems, which resulted in the loss of some of my chickens. And my beautiful rooster. 

Before the rooster was killed, one of my "girls" was setting on a nest of eggs. So I was hoping and praying she would hatch out some new babies for me.

A friend of mine heard about the situation and sent me a message offering to "gift" me some of her fertile eggs. And to top it off she even delivered them!

I slipped them under the hen that night with her other eggs and marked my calendar. And waited.

This morning was the 21st day. After finishing my chores I made my way to the far corner of the barn to see what I might find. 

During this whole process another "thief" had stolen some of the eggs. (But that's a story for another day.)

I carefully lifted momma hen up and was pleasantly surprised to see all five of her remaining eggs had hatched!

Is there anything much cuter then newly hatched chicks?!

And I have these five new babies because of a generous, thoughtful gift from a friend. You never know what a "seemingly" small gift can mean to a person. It can become a great treasure. Thank you friend!

Spring strawberry salad

Does anyone want to try something yummy? 

I've made this salad twice in the last four days and am really enjoying it!

I just tear up lots of fresh, tender lettuce from the garden (baby spinach would be good too). Then add some sliced strawberries, some candied walnuts and a strawberry dressing. Toss, and enjoy!

Yum, yum.

I found the dressing on the internet and modified it to the ingredients I had. 

3 strawberries

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sugar

I used my hand held emulsion blender to whiz that all together. Then kept it in a pint jar and shook it a bit before adding it to the salad.

Happy, healthy eating!

The first time

A couple weeks ago I got to do another "first". First time driving the tractor!

We don't own a tractor, so when we need to do some tractor type work we are fortunate to be able to use my father-in-law's.

So hubby got the ol' tractor going and starting scraping the horse "pasture" and piling up the manure to move to the garden. I really wanted to learn how to drive it and not always be on the ground with the shovel in my hand. So when he said, "You want to drive it?" I eagerly took the driver seat.

It was a bit nerve wracking trying to remember all the pedals, levers and such, but with my "coach" walking me through the process all went well.

Now we're getting something done! Dumping a load.

This is kind of fun! Heading back for another load.

The hubby doing the shoveling. 

We do "team work" really well together.

The morning harvest

I had a rewarding morning in the garden. I'm still harvesting lettuce that reseeded itself in the compost pile and other places in the garden. I was able to fill two big bowls full! 

Time to wash it!

I enjoy all the different textures and colors. Yum!

Next, it was time to pick the strawberries. The other day I picked a small bowl full but today supplied me with a small bucket full!

Thankful for the Lord's bounties!

From start to finish

This time of year my Excaliber dehydrator is put to good use. I want to use what I grow. And depending on the food, sometimes the best way to preserve it, is to dry it. Who doesn't like to eat the own food?!

Which is what I'm doing today; dehydrating oregano.

I have some raised beds in the garden and one has yummy, pungent oregano flourishing. 

So I picked a big bowlful; washed it and dryed it.

Now for the time consuming part, picking it off the stems. I suppose I could throw stems and all into the dehydrator, but this is how I do it.

Next I put the leaves on my mesh trays, spread it out a bit, and slid it in the ol' Excaliber!

Now we let the dehydrator do it's work!

The end product looks like this. 

You just can't beat fresh picked, home grown and dried, herbs for cooking!

Look what I found!

I knew the strawberry plants were starting to load up with little green berries, but I hadn't looked at them in a few days.

This morning I went out to weed the garden and look what I found! Little bits of sweet sunshine wrapped in itty bitty red coats!

I noticed Mr. Robin nearby admiring my treasures and was determined to harvest them before he absconded with them.

A bowl of sweet delights for breakfast!

The cat came too.

I went for a walk with the dog. When I stopped partway down the hill to photograph some flowers I heard a noise behind me. It was the cat. Apparently he wanted to go for a walk too.

So we walked.

But when we got to the bottom of the hill and rounded the corner, he followed for a bit more but then stopped and started meowing. I guess he didn't want to go any farther. 

I called him. That didn't work. I tried to shoo him back towards home. That didn't work. I really didn't want to leave him there and have some predator get him for dinner, so I picked the big lug up and carried him; for the rest of the walk!

Of all our three cats it had to be the heaviest one too! Next time you're staying home, Zeus!

Country compost diving

Have you all heard of dumpster diving? You know, where people dig "good" stuff out of garbage bins in the city. 

Well, here in the country I'd like to term it "country compost diving. When there's "good" stuff growing out of the compost pile, I say, "use it!" 

Look at all that yummy lettuce!

And then I had more that reseeded itself in the raised beds.

Guess what we're having for lunch?

We went anyway

It was starting to sprinkle as we left the house, but we went anyway. 

We hadn't been to the river yet this year. And it was a good time to get out of the house for some fresh air and a Sabbath afternoon walk.

I didn't think we'd stay to long. It looked like rain on the way and it was windy and not real warm.

Love the layers.

Austin thought ahead and brought our kite! This kite has some history. A special friend of ours use to fly it with Travis and Tyler when they were young. The three of them would head to his car after church and fly it in the parking lot. When we moved away almost sixteen years ago he gave it to the boys.

Right after this, the wind started whipping the kite around visciously until the string snapped. Duane had to make a run for it as the kite blew and tumbled down toward the river. Fortunately he was able to rescue our precious keepsake.

I love looking at all the rocks; the various shapes, sizes and colors are fascinating.

Man's best friend. Actually you'll see evidence in a moment that this dog happens to be "woman's" best friend;)

Ahhhh.....dog hug!

Let me.......

.....go!

And she's off! Gotta go see "mom"! Silly girl.

One more. I like it, they're both smiling.

Time to head home. It was windy and chilly, but I'm glad we went anyway.