Honeycomb

Once upon a time, I had a beehive. Back then, a lot of my friends did. We'd get together and have honey gathering parties. We'd go from house to house with the extractor and work every one's bees. I have some pictures somewhere. One day I'll have to scan them in and post them.

Honeycomb has always fascinated me. The design. The texture. And of course, the honey. How I miss those days~

I just posted a necklace in my shop with vintage beads that look like honeycomb to me. Guess that's what got me thinking about the past and taking that walk down Memory Lane.

Until next time.....

$ummer $ale

When we woke up this morning and looked at the outside thermometer, it read 58 degrees! 58 degrees, as compared to say.......the 78 degrees from last week. We opened the windows and let the cool air in. The curtains are blowing. The sprinkler is on in the garden because we never got the rain that was predicted. There is zero humidity. The perfect summer day!

There's a Summer Sale going on in my jewelry shop. All the earrings are marked down to $10.00 a pair. Expiration date unknown. Click on the sprinkler to get there.

Enjoy the summer. It passes all too quickly. It's already the end of June. Me, I'm heading back outside to weed ~ close to the sprinkler.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Althea, doing what she does best.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week~

Until next time.....

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Things are moving along quite nicely. The tomatoes, although late this year, look fab! They are loaded with green tomatoes. I may have to fry some up.

The cucumber vines are starting to climb, blossom and produce tiny cukes. Soon I'll be eating cucumber sandwiches. I tend to eat at one a day when they're in season.

The Lima beans are starting to run. I never knew that I liked Lima beans until my husband insisted upon growing them. He said that fresh beans tasted nothing like the dried ones that they sell in grocery stores. He was right. Picked green, shelled (by John while he watches football), blanched, frozen and stored in freezer containers. Love 'em!

Now, we're waiting on the rain that is predicted for tomorrow. If that doesn't happen, we'll turn on the soaker hoses. A little sunshine. A little rain. A lot of happiness.

So, how does your garden grow?

Until next time.....

Cause there ain't no cure.....

.....for the summertime blues. Unless it's green. Two of my favorite colors. If you saw my bead stash, you'd agree.

I'm settling into my summer work schedule, which means that I'm indoors most days, when I'm not working elsewhere, during the hottest part of the afternoon.

I finally have some new pieces to add to my shop. And I have so many more ideas to work out that have been floating around in my head.

Have a great weekend.

Until next time.....

Thirsty Thursday

Today's recipe isn't actually a drink, but I guess you could add some milk and blend to make a milkshake~

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt:

2 cups fat free plain yogurt

1/2 cup fat free milk

2/3 cup sugar ~ or less to taste

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix and churn in ice cream freezer. I have a Donvier. The canister is stored in the freezer until we're ready to use it. So, so easy! Our White Mountain hand crank machine has been retired ever since the day we brought the Donvier home.

The frozen yogurt looks grainy in the pictures, but it was actually smooth and creamy. And oh so good~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Produce Inspector

Every gardener needs one! Althea got the first stage of her summer cut last weekend. Next weekend we take it down a notch. She loves it. Honest.

Have a great weekend~

Until next time.....

Thirsty Thursday

Orange Julius:
This is a big girl version of the orange julius drinks that I had when I was a kid. They taste like a Creamsicle shake. You can use any kind of milk- cow, goat, soy, rice or yogurt. Same with the sweetener - use what you like - as much as you like. I have a Vita Mix, so I just throw everything in whole and voila~

1 orange or 1/3 cup juice
1 tablespoon honey or raw sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup ice cubes
Blend til smooth~

The images chosen for this post come from two Etsy shops found when searching for the word "creamsicle". Click on the photo to take you to their shops.

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Bring On The Rain

Yeah, yeah, I know. How can I be wishing for rain after so many days of it this past Spring? Tis the nature of gardening though. But after this weekend, my garden is ready for a light dose of it.

We got the garden weeded, fed and mulched. Now all it needs is some moisture. And according to the local stations, we're supposed to get rain later today. Insert eye roll here. (They're rarely correct).

Here's what happy tomatoes look like after being staked, tied and mulched with leaves.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Onion shading itself.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week!

Until next time.....

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The memory of the Spring garden, or lack there of, is behind me now. All that rain, which still continues, is making for a beautimous Summer garden. Here's a peak around the place~
Yellow squash:

Yellow squash and zucchin row:

Pole Lima beans (protected from the rabbits):

Lavender:

How does your garden grow?

Until next time.....

Thirsty Thursday

Iced Tea and Lemonade:

This beverage is a combo of two summer favs: tea and lemonade. I use Lipton's tea, specially brewed for iced tea for this one. This is the only time that I've ever used tea bags to make tea and have to say that I'm quite smitten with them. Makes 1/2 gallon.

The images chosen for this post come from two shops that are participating in the Yart Sale on Etsy. Click on the image to take you to their shops. After you check out their shops, type yart in the drop down search menu. So many great sales going on now!

1 tea bag steeped in 1 quart of water

2 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1 quart water

Mix, pour over ice and enjoy~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

2nd Annual Yart Sale

Get ready for the 2nd annual Yart Sale sponsored by my pals on ESST. Last year's sale was a blast. I participated in both of my shops and plan to do the same this year. I did a lot of shopping too! I'll be setting up shop today, so I'll be ready to go when the sale starts tomorrow. Check back to see what's on sale and what secret sales may be popping up.

To learn more about the Yart Sale, read this Storque article. Hope to see you there~

Until next time.....

The Tale of the Littlest Dude

When it comes to nature, I rarely get involved. But I made an exception this past weekend. Do you remember the post with the pictures of the killdeer eggs? The bird built the nest a few feet from where our new water lines were going through. I roped the area off with survey stakes and orange tape. On the day that the dozier came through, I went out and spoke to the big, burly, bearded guy about the nest. I asked him if I needed to move the eggs while he worked. He assured me that he would have no problem navigating that beast around the nest. Word must have spread because every piece of machinery that entered our driveway carefully stayed away from the killdeer nest. I never doubted these guys. I've worked in construction for years. But some of y'all questioned whether or not they would be careful around the nest. Now, you know.

So, days go by and according to my records, it's time for the eggs to hatch. One hatches and a couple of days go by and the other three eggs are just sitting there. The damn mama takes off; figuring her work is done. Ha! On Saturday, while I'm out mowing the lawn, I notice that one of the eggs is cracked open. I immediately shut the mower off and look around. Sure enough, there's the littlest dude. Freshly hatched and wobbly as can be. I can not just leave him there; after all we've been through together. His mom is long gone and he's so tiny and all alone. Killdeer are precocial birds, like chicks and ducklings. They hatch fully formed and ready to roll. Our killdeer chicks in the past hatch out and are gone by the second day, but the mama is around long enough to teach them the ropes.

What to do? What to do? I got a basket and lined it with rags and put the littlest dude in it to try and keep him warm. He felt so cold. I even got out one of our fleece socks and wrapped him in it. I put a light on the basket for added warmth and hit the Internet. There are times when I really love the computer. This was one of them. I found out how to take care of an orphaned killdeer chick and started cooking. First I tried hard boiled egg yolk. The littlest dude didn't seem to really like it, but I did get him to nibble on some. Lights went out and the dude went to bed.

The next morning, I drove into town to get meal worms at Pet Smart. Wasted trip. The littlest dude didn't want anything to do with them. I mixed up a small batch of sugar water and fed him with a syringe. When the sun came up enough and it was warm out, I put the basket outside, turned on it's side. I watched from the deck; so tempted to go and pick up the chick, but knew that he needed to do this on his own. He looked strong and healthy. He started hopping around. I went about my day, but kept checking on him. By the end of the day, the littlest dude was gone. I can't hear his peeping anywhere. He's off on his own, doing what he was born to do. Part of me was sad to see that he was gone, but I knew that this was for the best. I helped him through his rough patch and now he was ready to begin the rest of his life. I hope he (or she) returns next year to start a family of his own.

Long may you run my sweet baby bird~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

My favorite garden clippers. They belonged to John's grandmother.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Until next time.....

Thirsty Thursday

Cranberry Lemonade:
1/2 cup cranberry juice concentrate (can be gotten at any health food store)
3 lemons ~ juiced
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste) you can also use honey or the sweetener of your choice.
1 1/2 quarts water
Mix, chill and enjoy!
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

FYI: this tastes really good with vodka. One year we made them at the beach. We named them Pink Legs. Long story short ~ my SIL got way too much sun. Drink enough of these and you won't feel the sunburn anymore.

I don't have a photo of the lemonade, but while searching Etsy, I found this. Click on the photo to get to the shop:

What a cool, eco-friendly shop! Give 'em a look~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Crystal Lake in May

I heard on the news last month that the bugs were going to be bad this year. I believe it now! We went up to Crystal Lake this past weekend and the mosquitos were awful! They have never been this bad.

We kept a tiny campfire going; enough to make a bit of smoke. The smoke keeps them away.

I also had my bug oil that I made last year. It works like a charm. It's a recipe that I got from a book written by Juliette de Bairacli Levy; one of my fav herbalists. Wormwood, rue and rosemary are steeped in olive oil. I add some rosemary essential oil to the finished oil. It's great for your skin. I even put it on my face. I love it. The bugs hate it.

I was saddened to hear that Juliette passed away last Thursday, the 28th of May. She was 95 years old. Her herb books were some of the first ones that I read. I brought one of my books with me to read and reflect on everything that I learned from her. What an awesome woman!

We did a bit more work on the driveway. I think pretty soon, my Bambi Airstream will be able to wind it's way down the drive. No, I don't own one yet. Soon come~

Until next time.....