Spring Table

My goodness it has been a busy Spring!!!

I’m sad to say this seems to be our new pace of life.  The last time I posted on this blog was December! And here it is May! So, I am going to try to do a little catching up in the next few posts. With school coming to an end for the year, hopefully things will slow down a little. I would really like to get back to testing and blogging about new recipes and such. Fingers crossed!

To be honest, January and February are a bit of a blur. With a child in college and a child in high school they returned to school after Christmas break at different times. My timeline got a little skewed! I know we had ONE day of snow.

In March (Notice I skipped February! Who knows what happened then?!) we were honored to host a sweet missionary family and our pastor and his family for dinner. I didn’t get any pictures of the people that night-ugh. I am really out of practice doing this blog thing! Plus, we were just having too much fun! I did think to take a couple of shots of the pretty Spring Table decorations while I was in the midst of setting the table. I borrowed a few things from my Mom, and a few on-sale spring flowers finished off the look.

Unfortunately, one of the cats thought my little birdie was real! I used it anyway.

This bank was from forever ago! Not sure if it was mine or my sisters.

Here are a few decorations from around the dining room/den and the porch.

I jazzed up a wreath by using twine to tie on a few flower pots. More sale plants filled some pots, others stayed empty.

I have been waiting for just the right occasion to use this garden themed ribbon.

I made two crockpots full of Pork Chops with Field Peas! Using the crockpot is the way to go when company comes! This is a crowd pleasing recipe!

Individual Banana Pudding cups were also a hit at dessert time.

I hope you have been enjoying your Spring, too!

 

Hazards of Spring

This Spring has been quite busy!!!

I’m afraid that is a bit of an understatement.

We had snow in early March! That almost never happens here in central Arkansas!

Things warmed up and were pretty nice for Spring Break-well, for a couple of days anyway.

It was in those couple of days that things took a turn for the worse. We had just returned from Tulsa, OK where my chorus participated in the annual regional competition. Since the weather was nice when we returned home, Chip and I decided to work in the yard a bit.

The ground was very soft from all the snow and rain we had in the month of March–perfect for pulling up all those little saplings the birds planted in my flowerbeds.

I really am not much of a gardener. I enjoy pretending to be one, however, saplings continue to grow in my flowerbeds-sigh.

We made great progress, despite uncovering a nest of baby copperhead snakes!!!

A couple of days later, my arms started to itch.

You guessed it…poison ivy.

Apparently, poison ivy is not my friend. Thank goodness I was at least wearing gloves!

I do know what poison ivy looks like. “Leaves of 3–let them be!”

However, in early Spring, apparently the leaves were not yet visible. Either that or there were just old vines which had the oil on them.

Oh, I had dug and pulled and yanked all day! There were big piles of weeds to carry to the edge of the yard.

Later that week the itching got worse–so much so that my husband took me to the little walk-in clinic here in town on Sunday afternoon.

The diagnosis was indeed poison ivy. They gave me a steroid shot and a prescription for oral steroids and sent me on my way.

So, that night I did not sleep at all thanks to the steroids and the itching.

Things seemed to get worse, so back to the clinic I went. My arms red, swollen and itchy. Another round of steroids plus an antibiotic this time.

The swelling and redness was so severe that the nurse drew on my arms with a Sharpie to be able to watch for spreading of the infection. Here are some pictures about half-way through the whole ordeal. Trust me this looks GOOD! They nice folks at the clinic told me it was probably cellulitis.

The itching from the cellulitis was so intense! I think it was worse than the poison ivy. Of course, taking all those pills was no picnic either.

That Friday was Good Friday. As I lay awake, unable to sleep, trying not to scratch, I was convicted about my “suffering”. There it was Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ suffered a horrible death on a cross for my sins! This changed how things looked to me for the duration of the itching.

I am extremely grateful to have had so many friends and family praying for me during the ordeal. It was very humbling, and I felt very loved.

Be careful out there in your gardens!

 

Scenes from a walk 3-25-15

The weather has been gorgeous for the past few days! Nice weather makes for a very nice Spring Break-sunny and high of about 75°F.

We didn’t have a big Spring Break trip planned, so we are enjoying being at home. We have done a little yard work and a little housework.

This morning Megan and I took a walk. It is always nice to have a walking buddy!

I love the Miller’s Easter flag!

Mrs. Carla’s daffodils are so pretty every year!

Here is another variety we saw in a pot in town.

The pear trees that line Front Street are so pretty–but stinky!

A camera could not do justice to these glowing forsythia bushes.

I don’t know what these little wild flowers are called. My sister and I always just called them Easter flowers. Seems like our yard was covered with these every Easter.

Spring has definitely sprung here in Central Arkansas! I’m glad I could get out and enjoy it before the pollen gets too bad!

 

The Lazy Gardener

I love fall. I love that fall appeals to all my senses–beautiful trees, cooler temperatures, rustling leaves, burning fields, apple and pumpkin treats!

Ahhhh!

I enjoy getting out my fall decorations, too.

We usually go to a pumpkin patch for our pumpkins. The summer rains were not friendly to the pumpkin farmers. This year we ended up getting our pumpkins at the Open Arms Pumpkin Fun Run fundraiser.

Typically, I grab some mums at Walmart or Lowe’s to set around with the pumpkins.

After the blooms have died and the cold sets in, I dump the pots in the trash. Yes, I know you can plant them. I never seem to have the time.

Well, last year, the pots never even made it to the curb! Shame!

They have sprouted lovely weeds courtesy of the wind and the birds.

There is another pot, however, that is different.

It decided to root itself through the bottom of the pot!

I have mums and I didn’t even have to leave home to get them!

They aren’t the perfectly shaped kind from the store–that’s okay.

I have not bought any fancy mums from the store yet.  I may let my “survivor mum” have a chance in the spotlight this year!

I have, however,  added a few decorations to the porch. I’ll get around to the inside of the house eventually.

Don’t you love that you get to use your fall decorations for a long time?!

Now, go make some fall cookies or something. Here is an idea–Applesauce Cookies.

 

Moss Mountain Farm Part 7-Vegetable Garden

After hanging out on the porch for a while at Moss Mountain Farm, it was time to go home.

Our soggy tour had been a blast, even if we didn’t get to go to the vegetable garden.

But wait….

as we headed toward the car, we realized the vegetable garden was “just right there”. We decided to take a speedy look before anyone realized it was past 3:00!

I’m so glad we did. I think the vegetable garden was my favorite!

I love the “salad garden” planted in wheelbarrows.

Even the gardening sheds were neat to see.

There was an extra second or two for us to see the stone-fruit orchard–

and more chickens!

I hope you have enjoyed your virtual tour of Moss Mountain Farm. Trust me, it is even better in person! If you go, I want to hear all about it.

 

 

Moss Mountain Part 6–Rose Garden

With only about 30 minutes left in our self-guided tour window, Mom and I made a mad dash for the Rose Garden. We felt like we had to make a decision between the Rose Garden and the Vegetable Garden. Roses won!

I so wished for my great aunt to be in the rose garden with us. She had the most beautiful roses in her backyard in Atlanta! She always sends gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and such wrapped in rose paper. The same rose paper! She must have a ton of it.

I’m sure Auntie could tell you the names of all these different roses. I just know them by color.

They were so sweet-smelling.

Raindrop on roses–now one of my favorite things!

The color and fullness of these double peach roses was incredible!

After the roses, we peeked over a fence to see the back-side of the vegetable garden. We still had the Summer Kitchen and Art House to see!

I failed to take any pictures of the art house. Wouldn’t you love to have a private little get-away place to go create?!

Wouldn’t you love to have a second kitchen?!

You may see a little reflection on these photos. I was shooting through the window!

Time was just about up on our Moss Mountain tour.

One last look at the roses on the side of the house. These are the same roses you saw from the upstairs bedroom here.

I guess the only thing we saw on the tour that we didn’t like was this…

Yikes!

Move along!

Mom and I took some selfies on the front porch-which all turned out horrible! So, here is a picture of just Mom on the porch.

I love the coral benches. I would have never thought to use that color.

Allen and Laura were busy heading to Allen’s next engagement. Mom snapped this picture of Allen taking a picture of peonies under the big tree out front.

Later I saw where he posted the picture that we saw him taking on Facebook. Kinda cool!

See it here.

As we headed toward the car, we stopped at the barn to take a picture of the carriage.

More cool lighting…

We enjoyed our tour so much. We were sad it was time to leave–

–or was it?

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

Moss Mountain Farm Part 4-Gardens

The gardens on the back side of Moss Mountain Garden Home are just lovely. They called the area we toured next something specific like the South garden or something like that. For the life of me I can’t remember that name. Whatever it was differentiated this garden from the vegetable garden and the rose garden. I’ll share those with you soon.

Here is a view of the back of the house. I love the two-story screened porch.

In this photo we are standing on a path between the Summer Kitchen and the Art House. (I failed to take a picture of these.) These facilities were not part of our tour, but we were allowed to peek in the windows.

Here is one of the water features on the property. If you squint at the middle of the picture you can see the Arkansas River. Remember, it was overcast the day we went.

The plants and flowers were lovely. I really enjoy touring gardens. I think I like it because I have a bit of a brown thumb. Seeing someone else succeed in that area is inspiring.

A couple of years ago my friend, Cathy, gave me some herbs to plant. I actually had success! I even planted more this year. There is hope for me yet!

Being the “green” gardener that I am, I am not 100% sure of all the names of the plants. I tried to look them up on the internet. You know, if it’s on the internet it must be true! wink wink

I believe this is called Allium. I really like the height and shape of these. The looked great in the kitchen.

Lamb’s Ear always remind me of when my oldest was little. We would often stroll around the neighborhood after dinner trying to wear her out for bedtime. One of our neighbors had Lamb’s Ear around the mailbox.  Megan would always have to stop and pet the fuzzy leaves.

The pink roses with the purple “whatevers” layered in front was stunning.

This is Mrs. Big Fig, the huge fig tree in the middle of the path.

 

I never knew this is what asparagus looked like in the garden!

The lilies in my yard are no where near this tall.

There was a large variety of irises. I love the smell of irises. For some reason the smell reminds me of the taste of those marshmallow candy eggs we used to have at Easter when I was a kid. You know, the ones no one but Dad liked? Maybe the association has something to do with hunting Easter eggs while irises bloomed in the yard and I chowed down on candy! Dad wasn’t actually the only one who liked those things. The yellow ones were my favorite.

More irises around another water feature.

Some of the plants were ones I had never heard of or seen before…

…like Nicotiana. What a unique looking flower. I almost looks like a sea urchin.

Smoke Bush was a new one to me, too. I understand the textural difference in the landscape. However, I found myself wanting to bring this one into sharper focus for some reason.

I don’t know the name of this flower. It was just so tiny and cute, I had to include it.

Our guide showed us the way to the Rose Garden and Vegetable Garden, so we could tour on our own after lunch.

On our way to lunch, we visited the swans, Fred and Ethel. I saw on the P. Allen Smith Facebook page the other day that Fred and Ethel will be proud parents soon.

You can click on the gallery below to see these pictures better.

 

On to lunch–thank goodness!

How about you? Do you have a green thumb or a brown thumb?

Are you a Master Gardener or a novice gardener?