WOW! it's been awhile!

blogger...i've missed you! been busy around the farm and honestly have not been inside much!

amanda and i tried our hands at wild violet jelly! beautiful, sweet, delicious and a great mother/daughter project ta-boot! we cannot wait to try it out on our morning toast! the recipe can be found on my friend maggie howe's 'prairieland herb' blog...link to the right! this week we will be trying the dandelion jelly also! finally a good use for those little guys!

the chickens are officially in the coop! after much decision and talking with friends we decided it was time. and the girls are so much happier....and that makes me happier! they are growing and changing into their adolecent stage ~ gauky!

we also welcomed a new baby onto the farm. a red-white face calf! named him 'ralphie'. i had a red-white calf as a young girl...i loved ralph so much. i'll never forget the day we had to sell him. but in my heart he still lives in a beautiful green pasture with his bib-overall'ed master! so ralphie jr. holds a special spot in my heart. and at 40 'somethin' i will probably cry the day we sell him too! isn't it crazy how we attach ourselves to animals...even those birds of mine that live in 'hen haven' are wonderful to me.

i have 2 shows to prepare for this coming weekend. perhaps i will see you at the living room coffeehouse on saturday the 24th or prairieland herbs on sunday the 25th? i'm praying for rain to keep me indoors to sew at the machine! we'll see....

homemade paper for 'recycks'

OK - i love this picture! i have been saving shredded junk mail to make homemade paper with! and decided it was too windy outside this afternoon so came in and 'played'! i have been offered the honor by 'prairieland herbs' to teach a class in the fall on making homemade paper! so thought i had better start working on freshening up my skills! or lack of!!! i had so much fun i think i may add some items to my 'recycks' line with paper! it is incrediably cool....

i have so many little found objects to add to the paper for embellishments including flower seeds. what a great concept...plant your note! then when the flowers bloom you will once again remember that special someone who took the time to send you a handwritten note...remember those??? :) watch for the announcement for the class...then say a little prayer for me! a new adventure...but with friends so nervous i am NOT!

springtime on the farm...

it was a wonderful day on the farm today! i got amanda early from school and we went to the local feed supply store and came home with 9 totally adorable baby chicks! hopefully all pullets! so hen haven is offically occupied by actual chickens...not just the ceramic one that sits on the work bench! honestly, amanda was holding one and i looked at her and said, "mom is so happy i think she could cry!" i have waited and longed for chickens for so long now i am still in shock we actually own them now!

life is great!

then brad phones....

"i'm at the sale barn.....i just bought 2 baby calves....each one week old, their mama's would/could not feed them....are you up for bottle calves? well, i guess so! bring it on! we actually had been talking about this for quite some time. each of our daughters used some of their savings money, each bought a calf and are hoping to earn some college funds! hey, it gets them out of bed in the morning to do chores if they actually own them!!! well, we have a boy and a girl...both so darn sweet...125 pounds of total cuteness! they already follow melanie and amanda around and LOVE their bottles!

so life on the farm is wonderful...

the promise of spring has arrived...

the chicken house is not vacant...

the hard work of fencing is worth it for the calves...

new friendships are made...

and once again brad and i are so proud that our girls have such a strong sense of animal appreciation!

a good days work i think!

fresh black dirt

i have a problem...

you see the gentleman who does my tilling came today! now this lovely vegetable garden of warm black iowa dirt is calling to my bare feet! it is probably the one thing i love most about spring!!! and there is some stiff competition out there! sink my toes into a freshly tilled piece of earth!

my problem??? i need to be sewing!!! i am doing 2 shows next week - the living room coffeehouse on april 10th and prairieland herbs on april 11th! oh, i have quite a good inventory but i have some new ideas i would like to get finished before i go! ya know, new excitements to show off! but rain is coming...so maybe i should take one more day - sink the toes and rejuvinate myself to get the work done that pays for the seeds that grows the garden!!!

had myself talked into it...

then i found this little yellow joy growing so happily along the south side of one of the front gardens....

i buy johnney jump-ups in the spring because they just make me happy...i plant them...and now i have them growing everywhere! their little seeds scatter and come up along edgings, in the cracks of the sidewalk, along trees...wherever! such a pleasant surprise!

now....sewing!!!

'hen haven' progress...

whewww...we (mostly my brother, mike) have been working dilegently on 'hen haven'....up to myself & brad to finish it up! i can't wait! maybe next week little peeps can be ordered!!! :)we now have: a new "old" door, new windows that OPEN!!!, a recycled latch off of the origional chicken house, a partial wall inside waiting for that roll of chicken wire!, a new 'old' screen door inside and posts set for the run. still need to: wire the run, wire the inside room, mix up some new cement for the girls and MOVE IN! will keep you updated!!!

...hen haven...

for almost 2 years now i have begged and pleaded with brad to help me get this little building out by our barn converted to house 10 hens....i promised him he would love the fresh eggs! and for 2 years now he has put me off....

until now....
we are finally working on the building! and i am beyond excited! see even the kitties love the new windows! the view is supurb.....won't these be happy girls???

it is taking some work,but fortunately i have an extremely talented brother who is assisting with the carpentry work...what would i do without mike??? i really do not know.


i see the potential in this little abode...new windows, a new door, some work inside and a run for them to get some fresh air and we are set!!!






the bulk of the hard work should be finished tomorrow...i will post you new pictures! perhaps by the end of the week we will be the proud adoptive parents to about 10 little pullets...those pictures will follow also! there is nothing more satisfying than growing our own vegetables in our back garden...i think fresh eggs will be the same feeling. plus we get the added bonus of 10 new friends & a great learning experiece for our daughters, melanie & amanda.

alot happen'!

wowzers! it has been busy around here lately!

the weather is wonderful - mid 50s and sunny! just what we need to get us to work after a long winter of hybernation! the machine shed is organized and the sewing room is clean! so both brad and angie are ready to get to work! as the bright green little plants (& weeds) begin to show through the mulch of last years fallen leaves it is increasing hard to make myself 'work'

i want to play OUTSIDE! but....

akcollections was recently accepted into the juried D.Moines market day! and i am excited! sounds like a terrifically fun time with other creative souls...

i was also accepted to attend an 'art in the park' event in dallas center (close to DM). i look forward to a nice warm saturday afternoon in june with live music!

also, finally, a show in cherokee, iowa - the little sioux summer festival - on july 3rd! that one is turning into a *girls over-night* event!!! whoo hoo....

that along with visiting my friends at prairieland herbs on their sample sundays & vending at the living room in valley junction & keeping 2 other coffee houses up in inventory

I MUST KEEP SEWING!!!!!!!

so when i am not out soaking up the sunshine i will keep a watchful eye on it from my sewing room window... and hey, when it warms up a bit more i can move the machine out onto the patio and really get those creative juices flowin'!

this is our patio from summer '2009'....looks like a wonderful studio for summer '2010'!!