Blossoms and Buds

Two more of my clematis are in full bloom now. I just love these plants. They're so easy to grow, they make a great screen and they come in some of my fav flower colors. The bell shaped one is my newest one and this is it's first year blooming.

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Morning

Our new blueberry bushes have really loved all this rain that we've had this spring. I planted them a few weeks ago and they are already loaded with berries. Blueberries make great landscaping plants. Besides giving you all those wonderful berries, they grow into a living privacy screen.

I know that the mockingbirds at the Blueberry Farm in our area love the berries. They can be seen and heard throughout the field; feeding their babies. (sits here wondering how things will go around here with our birds). I'll let you know.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

This weekend brings the official kickoff to summer fun for many of us. For me, that means a lot of camping, gardening and swimming. Oh, and working at my summer work bench, pictured here; an inflatable pool with a floating serving tray. Bring on the heat!

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Until next time.....

Eco- friendly Wedding Jewelry

It's a nice day for a white wedding.



You can find more here.
Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Morning

Fact: I'm a Survivor fan.

Fact: I'm a very happy Survivor fan this morning.

Congrats to JT! He deserves every last dollar of the prize money. Way to go dude~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

The Dude.
For more shadowy goodness, go here:


Happy 1 year anniversary Shadow Shot Sunday! And thanks to HeyHarriet for bringing us all together~
Until next time.....

Wish I Was There

It's been raining every weekend for a month now, so we've been unable to go up to Crystal Lake. I'm homesick! I know that the wild blueberries are in full bloom. So are the mountain laurels. One good thing does come out of all this rain. The lake is full to the brim. Our fish and frogs and snakes are happy. And for that, I'm happy. Now if we could all be Happy Together~

Until next time.....

DIY ~ Grow Your Own Herbs

Herbs are so easy to grow and like everything else from the garden, tastes so much better than store bought. You don't need a lot of space to grow herbs. Many of them do just fine in pots.

I grow many of our cooking and tea herbs and put them in our freezer; either fresh or dried.

For fresh herbs, I chop them and pack them into freezer containers. For dried ones, I hang them indoors in bunches until dried, then strip them off the stalks and pack them in freezer containers. I take out as much as I need when I'm cooking. Remember to label the containers with the contents.

The photos are chamomile from our garden. It reseeds itself and pops up in the strangest of places. I dry them in bunches and pack them in containers to use in tea and herbal preparations.

Until next time.....

Monday Morning

It's rained every day so far this month. Not so good for the plants that are waiting to be transplanted to the garden, but a wonderful month for the established plants. Most of them are loving this weather.

Have a great week~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Killdeer eggs.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Until next time.....

Spring Earring Sale

Going on now in my jewelry shop. All earrings in this section are $15.00.

Until next time.....

FOUR!

There are now four eggs in the killdeer nest; same as last time.

Until next time.....

They're Back

Two years ago, a pair of killdeer made their nest in our driveway. They toss aside the gravel and voila ~ they've got a nest. You can read about it here:

http://blackstarjewelry.blogspot.com/2007/06/with-their-running-shoes-on.html

Well, they're back. In the same place. The only problem is that the county is running new water lines out here. The line is going through our right of way, about six feet from the nest. I put up two stakes with orange landscape tape in hopes that the dozier, gravel trucks and construction boots will tread lightly. Time will tell.

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

There's No Place Like Home

The other night I had the local news on, waiting to see the weather and what familiar orange logo do I see flash across the screen? Yep, it was Etsy on Nashville TV. That's always a nice surprise, seeing Etsy when you least expect it.

I've been a seller on Etsy since January '06 and have seen the site grow and change like crazy. I come and go as I please. My shop seems to take care of itself, with the help of Althea, of course. The perfect fit for my lifestyle.

I was browsing the site, looking for some photos to add to this post and found these. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bumper stickers.

I ♥ Vintage. I ♥ Supplies. I ♥ Etsy.

Until next time.....

A Visit From the Possum

I know that I've mentioned a time or two, for one reason or another, that George Jones doesn't live far from me. For anyone that knows him, he also goes by the name 'Possum'.

So, the other morning I looked out the window and who do I see? The Possum himself, cruisin' through the yard, singing 'Truckin'. :)

Happy Monday y'all. Have a great week~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

For more shadowy shots, go here:

Until next time.....

Planting an Eco-Seed

Long ago, my mom planted an eco seed in my head; long before either one of us ever heard of the term ‘green’. My mom was a no frills kind of girl. What you saw was what you got. She didn’t wear makeup and she wasn’t a shopper. She passed our used or unwanted things on to others.

Ma was a DIYer. When we were young, she stayed home and took care of everything around the house. She did all of the interior painting and would end up painting our bedrooms the wild colors that we chose without complaining.
My first gardening experience was in our small backyard garden in New Jersey. Every summer she would work a small patch of earth and harvest the best tomatoes that I’ve ever eaten, even to this day. Jersey tomatoes are known for their flavor. I’d give anything, except moving back north, to be able to grow tomatoes like that.

I see a lot of my mother in myself and it makes me smile. My eco-friendly lifestyle, a lot more extreme that what she would have ever imagined, is in most part due to growing up around such an amazing woman.
Neither one of us realized back then how her lifestyle would affect my future. I guess that means that children ARE listening and watching what we do, even when we think they’re off on another planet.

The first picture is one of my tomatoes. The second one is an old picture that shows my ma's tomatoes.

Until next time.....