It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood

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The air is fresh, and the sun has come out giving the world that special glow that only comes with a good scrubbing of a prolonged and gentle rain.   Even the grasses have revived and are rising to the occasion!

Don’t you love days like these?

Well, maybe the neighbors dogwood will take a bit longer… 😦

But don’t you just love that brand new tree house!  I makes me wish to be a child again, how about you?  😉

~ Herbs in the garden ~

 

Umbels of Bronze Fennel

The cooling blue of Borage

~ Vegetables ~

 

Asparagus refreshed by the rain arises to catch the sun and store it away deep down underground,  keeping it there in its roots for next spring.

This morning I see that the runner beans, having been stunted and scorched in the drought, now race to catch up.

~ Flowers ~

 

We approach the new gate leading into the goose yard, and beyond are the herb and vegetable gardens.  There stands Miss Becky, a weather tough form of Rudbeckia, who grew to a mammoth six feet tall!  (I suspect her roots grew equally deep into the earth to sustain her.)

Miss Becky!

Turning to go another direction I pass the blackberry vines and discover…

a surprise pair of naked ladies where there were none before!  I suspect they were kicked closer to the surface when Bob rototilled this section of the garden in early spring.   I await their grand opening.

~ The Geese ~

 

My little gaggle will be the first to tell you, that the newest grass shoots are the most tender and fine.  😉  Foreground L to R:  Little Dorrit, Miss Hissster, Polly, Background:  Georgie and Frellnick.

My how those boys have grown!

~ Till next time then! ~

 

Behind the barn with Lil’ Bit.

~ * ~

Saturday Snapshots: little miss muffet ~ revised

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This would have been Photo Friday, but other pressing matters came first.  Thank you for your patience with me as we return to our regularly scheduled programming…

~*~

Little Miss Muffet

The Lady of Farmlet

(with apologies to Mother Goose)

The Lady of Farmlet

began her chores,

of feeding her chicken and geese.

When along came a spider,

that stopped there beside her,

resting and looking at peace.

The lady of Farmlet

not wishing to harm it,

leaned closer and heard it say:

“Dear Lady of Farmlet

I mean you no harm,

I’m tired and have lost my way.”

So the lady reached down,

picked up that three-inch spider,

and rehomed it straight away!

The End

~*~

NOTICE:  When this rather large spider showed up beneath the water spout in back of the house I guess it thought it was auditioning for the part of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”   I broke it to the behemoth gently. 😉  I did not touch that Fishing Spider with my bare hands!  I coaxed it into a large can with a stick and then transported it to the back fence where, when last I saw it, it was resting comfortably in a patch of wild violets.

Want to know more about the Dolomedes tenebrosus, or Fishing Spider?  Look HERE

Out With It: my phobia has a name

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I came to the computer ready to tell you something else, and then because of  blog posts from several friends, this week alone, I find the courage to discuss my problem in public…

Symptoms:

living my life within the walls of home.

inability to leave home without my husband or a friend in tow.

able to watch simply gorgeous days go by my window and never step foot outside to enjoy it.

going to a party down the street, bursting into tears and nearly fainting dead on the floor… the consequence of which left me feeling like an ass.

trying to go to the post office, or into the city for much-needed dr appointments, not being able to find a parking space, completely loosing it in the parking structure, having to go all the way back home to reschedule, and then never making the second appointment.

OR

going the dr and finding the parking space only to find out that the ticket machine wants exact change, the change machine is broken, the lady in the coffee shop won’t give you change even with a purchase,  your fingers have become too cold to work the automatic teller machine in the hospital across the street, you are coming unglued in public and everyone is staring at the old lady who is crying and can’t speak coherently to ask for help.  going back to the lady in said drs office, she finally acquiesces saying, “…even though I’m not supposed to!” and gives me a token so I can make my escape from the parking prison downstairs.

~~~ agoraphobia ~~~

The problem is taking its toll.  I start to do something fun and get excited about working on a project and just as quickly as I begin I suddenly loose steam and find myself unable to do the work. It is a physical lethargy that actually causes me to crumple and I can’t go on…

~~~ perfectionism ~~~

I recently told a blogger friend that:

“I find that my perfectionism desire is so strong that it causes me not to try, or I try and then set it aside and dream of making it perfect. My other sickness is not allowing myself to do the fun stuff because “I really should be doing something important around here.” Like housework, and laundry. Hence, the battle in my head rages and nothing gets done.

I feel like I am in a whirlpool and lack the strength to fight my way to the surface sometimes.”

My husband even does all the shopping.  He is very patient and I don’t know what I would do without him.

I tried to start up with a quilting guild and made it a few times because I knew I had a friend there from church… this lasted a total of about 3 visits and I couldn’t break inertia to go back.

For those of you who might wonder…  here are two things not to worry about:

  1. My animals get tended to and fed everyday.  I derive so much joy from them and love them too much to deny them care.
  2. I am not feeling so bad that I will hurt myself  (I know what you’re thinking, don’t go there, I’m not.)

~~~

Well, that was totally out of left field, but this has been going on for far too long.  So, if you are reading this and you are still with me, it means I pushed the post button and hope that my confession does not send you looking elsewhere for your reading enjoyment.

I promise not to post this here on the Farmlet again.

 

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It’s All About YOU: odd food combinations challenge

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Image is “Ice Cream Ramen” courtesy of… 

Al Dente:  weird food cravings

Today in a comment conversation with my friend Claire about Tomato sandwiches we compared a few notes on, shall we say, unusual food pairings.   Suddenly I realized that many of us have grown up eating interesting and unusual foods, and food combinations.  Some of which might have made a friend or work partner wrinkle their nose now and again.  What is yours?

My father’s favorite was a breakfast stack containing pancakes, bacon, eggs sunny-side-up, and all dripping with maple syrup. Which reminds me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird when she protests loudly on seeing her little supper guest pour syrup over his whole meal.

Although it wasn’t her favorite… my grandmother was heard to say that as a younger woman she actually sampled fried grasshoppers once.  She claimed that, “They weren’t that bad.”

So here are a couple of mine…

One recent:  Toasted bread with apple butter and sharp cheddar cheese.

And, one from high school  :  French Fries dipped in a chocolate shake.   

I have since heard a few others say that they have tried this one.

~*~

So OK, out with it!

What is your closet food pairing/combination?

I think this will be fun, so don’t be shy.  Who knows?  You may have a few friends out there who do the same thing…

You never know!

~*~

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