April Photo Stories

It's been awhile... 

During Lent .... I just felt the need to go quiet.  

I did write in my Lent journal and kept up 

with photos of moments I wanted to keep.

Looking through my  phone I thought I'd share some of

life around here. 

This photo is an old trough that Blake n I planted during Lent.  

She helped bury a terracotta pot and found a round rock to cover the tomb.  

Then together we made stick crosses and she planted the grass.  

On Easter the stone was rolled away for this photo.  

It felt so meaningful to me... and I wondered what she really thought of it all? 

This week her Mom sent this photo to me.  

I guess it stayed with her too.  

(Thank you Jesus)

   One of the last times I wrote was about Spirit and how 

lonely he was.  Mike talked to a guy we both used to work for and 

he started looking for a Jenny for us.  

This is our new girl and Spirit is so happy to have a friend of his own kind.  

It took us awhile to get to know each other before I named her. 

She is:  Flora Jane.  

-Such a sweet girl and already I love her.  

She is so thin. 

A rack of bones really but hopefully she'll put on some weight now 

that she has lots of groceries.  Her feet need trimmed really bad too- 

Our farrier has us on his list so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.  

Garden season is so welcomed to my heart. 

While I do  love snow and cold weather- I've turned into a pansy.

These bones welcome Spring.  

This raised bed is all planted now-- the strawberries on the right  have 

taken over badly and I just let them have their way.  Some for the mockingbirds,

some for the slugs, and some for me.  Not long ago I pulled the garden sage out 

of this bed because I read cucumbers and sage don't get along.  I like to plant cukes

across the back to go vertical but last year they didnt' do that great.  After reading 

sage and cukes are not compatible I started thinking there's something to that.  

We don't even eat the sage so moving it elsewhere didn't hurt my feelings.  

My other larger raised beds are flowers, peas,  and tomatoes.  

Lots of flowers.  

It's been too wet to do anything else right in the ground yet.  

I don't think I've ever planted so late as we are this year. 

We will need a little zucchini and summer squash. 

And since I've used up my space where I usually add a couple hills of those;

I'll need to plant them up at the big garden.- You know where  I always say

I'm not going to coz it's just too much?  

Yeah; that again. 

Speaking of  there

. 

The bluebird eggs in my Mommas nest box started hatching yesterday.

I hope the other two eggs have now hatched... I'll check maybe tomorrow.  

We have less cats on the place now and that has made bird watching 

so much more fun. 

 

Quill here will stalk the bird feeder once in awhile

but if I feed her warm milk she's lazier.  

The porch swing is her favorite place to be. 

Mine too can ya tell?  

There is always something to weed tho. 

Always.  

But there is joy found even in that.  

Especially when you finish and step back and see 

progress.  

I planted another chair a few days ago. 

It's been quite some time since I've made one.  

This chair has been sitting on the back porch and I really loved it 

but truth is she wasn't too sturdy and had wobbly knees.  

Sometimes there's a lesson in simple things to remind us that circumstances 

change and we have to along with them somehow and 

there is beauty in all of it really.  We just have to be brave and 

do the next thing and make the very most of it.

This loaves pan also found a new thing.  

She now blooms more colorful  than ever.  

This is where I usually plant yellow squash and zucchini.  

We found this iron bed at one of my favorite Tiques n Fleas.

She is planted full of zinnias this year.  

I first discovered zinnias through my Grandmother Ruby. 

I will think of my Grammy everytime I see them.   

I've found several pots and planters this season.  

This beautiful headvase is one of my favorites.  

She has nothing in her at all.  

An empty vessel waiting to be filled.  

The other planters I'll share another day.  

This statue stands in front of the greenhouse. 

She is one of the four seasons. Autumn.  

I loved the wheat she holds... and I think of Bethlehem-

House of Bread.

Blakelea too has planted some things in her little garden 

next to her mud kitchen.  

She scattered seeds all over and now we wait to 

see what happens.  It's so exciting and she is anxious to grow 

flowers to cook with.  

We did a really fun thing one of the last times she came to stay. 

I had bought a bunch of little fairies and gnomes at Dollar General and a new 

garden shovel.  Then I buried them all over the place on our farm and in the woods.

Made a map and hid clues all over.  She had to follow the map and dig for her 

treasures.  She wound up with a whole bunch of new little things for her fairy garden.  

She had a ball and so did I actually!

Let's see; what else?

Been fishing some.

One day recently when my fishin buddy was here I caught a nice size catfish.

As much as I love fishing I didn't like trying to get a catfish off  my line

and I'll be honest I'd always ask someone else to get it off for me.  

I admitted that to Trent and told him my fear.  

I was always scared I'd get stabbed.  They have three pokers. 

Catfish are also soooo slimy compared to others and if I was alone

I'd have to use my boot to hold the thing down.  

So my baby boy taught me how to hold them the right way 

without getting stabbed. 

May seem like a silly fear to face but it was real to me.  

And now it's no longer a giant.

Once I got a handle on that I was even able to find beauty 

in even a slimy old catfish.  

Look at those gorgeous polkee dots! 

Not as pretty as a rainbow trout but still...

beautiful!

Trent had taken that photo of us and messaged it to me.  

I wrote on it in edit and sent it back to him and I thought ... I'm savin that!

Man I love that kid!  And I just love fishing with him.

This month we added more fish to our little pond.

100 red ear, 100 hybrid bluegill, 100 black crappie, and

two pounds of minnows. 

We need a lot more minnows.  

Acclimating them went really well.  I only found one dead one.  

Then it rained. 

Poured. 

You know ... gullywasher? 

Pond runnoff was definitely runnin over.  It goes down into back pasture 

and into our creek.  

I saw some yesterday in the creek. 

Hopefully they were just baby bass.   

Oh well; you do what you can do right? 

Fish have gotten really expensive.  

Been dippin a worm alot  lately.  

The bull gnats are thick though and no amount of 

bug spray will keep them at bay. 

They try to go up your nose, in your mouth and are constantly smacking 

into your forehead.  grrrrrrrr.... they make me so dadgum mad.  lol   

Life at the Pond can be very seen right now though... 

New plant life, turtles, snakes, fish, blackberry blossoms, flutterflies... 

peepers-  it's teeming beautiful.  

My walks also take  me in the creek. 

Yes: in.  

crawdads, newts, tadpoles... and even baby fish.  

I just hope they're not the bluegill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

So this is some of my April.  

I hope to share scripture picture soon as the peonies are 

beginning to bloom and irises too. 

Roses won't be long.

 

Until then...

Make a wish. 

Thanks for visiting me once again

at the olde Shed.  

<*))))><