Black sky

Lots of wind, black sky but NO rain. We need it pretty badly around here!  The plants are starting to get yellow leaves which is not a good sign.

We lost 5 chickens to the heat yesterday! Heat index was 105 degrees.

Psalm 37:7 be still before the Lord & wait patiently for Him.

It is sooooo hard to be still!!!!

It is sooooooo hard to wait patiently! I am trying my hardest!

New Project!

Here is my latest project. Some of you may remember when we did the pantry I found hard wood floors underneath the carpet! Well today I am starting to take some of it up. Here is the before shot!

Awful 70's orange carpet!

Carpet left foam stuck to the floor! Taking it up all by hand! No power tools here!

This is what it looks like when the carpet & foam are gone!

I have one more small corner to do under the dresser-I need help moving it!!

I can't wait to start on the kitchen!!

Hot One Today!

These are my beans! They are growing but not much because they need rain! We are supposed to get close to 100 degrees today with no rain in sight! I am afraid the garden is going to be toasted soon!

Staying inside today due to the heat. I have the house all closed up & it is cool in here now. We do not have the air on as of yet! We will see what this afternoon brings!! Usually we don't have to use the air til August because it stays cool in here with all the shade trees. But once the humidity hits then it doesn't stay so cool!

Going to work on some decluttering today! I have some catch up to do for the month of June! usually I go throught & get rid of 50 things a month & so far only have 5 in the box! Better get busy!!

Prairie Flower Farm: My New "Sweet Tomato Pin Keep" Needs A Home.....Pa...

Prairie Flower Farm: My New "Sweet Tomato Pin Keep" Needs A Home.....Pa...: Good morning sweet ladies, All day yesterday I ran from the garden watered 4 tomatoes.....ran back to the house.......worked on the new ...

Isn't this the cutest thing you have seen lately!?!?

This Is How We Do It!

This is how we put up hay for our goats. We mow it & rake it. Then we pick it up by hand. We keep it in an old enclosed corn crib so it stays dry. It is labor intensive but we enjoy it! We are hoping for more rains so the hay will grow-we need to put some more up.

My husband has a collection of old tractors that we use. We don't have any fancy new equipment. We like doing the farm the old fashioned way!

Psalm 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

We Got Some!

We got some lovely rain last night! Everything is so nice & green this morning! I made the rounds in the garden & picked some lettuce for supper but had to stay out of most of the rows due to the wonderful mud!!

The asparagus is doing great even though it has been dry. The male plants are putting out seed pods. I collect these after they are dried & red to plant for next year! I have had great luck starting it from seed. I don't cut anything off them for a couple of years but am enlarging my bed every year!

Here is a picture of them green. They will turn bright red when they are ready to harvest.

Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Despite the Heat

The garden is growing despite the heat! I have been watering it to keep it alive! Here is some pics from this mornings garden!

The tomatoes & peppers are continuing despite the heat!!

My chickens love when I weed in the garden as they get a salad!! HAHA!

We are still praying for rain here!

Psalm 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.



Hot!

It is going to  be a hot one today! I got my gardening done early this morning so that I would not be out in this heat! I am trying to decide if I need to mow or not?!? It is so hot & I don't want the grass to dry up & die!

It is a good day to stay in & do inside work. I have laundry in & have listed some new items at my Etsy store. Now I have a couple of crafts to get done before this week ends sale at Coal Miners Days in Melcher-Dallas!

Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need.

Father God-we need rain for the garden & crops. Praise you for all your great works!

Good afternoon!

It has been a busy day! We had vacation Bible School today at church & kids had a lot of fun! They also learned a lot! We are always looking for fun crafts & such to do with the kids-if anyone has any great ideas let me know!

Still waiting on some rain! We got a little Saturday night but not much! Up in the 90's today!

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Wait

As dry as it has been the flowers have been beautiful this year! They just don't seem to last very long!
Still waiting on rain here!

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Why does it seem so hard for us to wait? Why can't we trust Him when He tells us to wait?

Egyptian Walking Onions

The Egyptian Walking Onions are doing very well this year! I think I am going to be able to sell some finally this year! If anyone is interested in some let me know!They are a perennial onion. I have had my beds for 4-5 years already! They have survived a flood & drought so they are very tolerate  to weather changes.

Jeremiah 17:10 I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.

Search me & know me Father-let there be no evil thing found in me!

Garden

The beans are up but not by much! As you can see they are not growing very fast! We desperately need rain. It is cloudy right now but there is not any rain forcasted. I am hoping that maybe there will be a scattered one hit us sometime today!  I was so hoping to be able to share my garden this year with some of the elderly in our church! Most of them don't garden anymore because they don't want the worry about falling! Yet they are a generation that depended on their gardens! Everyone loves a fresh garden tomato, right?!?

Oh about the war! We won last nights skirmish! We screwed the doors shut & no chickens were lost! Yeah!!

Psalm 135:5-7 I know the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightening with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses.

We Have War!

When I got up to chore this morning I found both doors to the birds ripped off & 2 dead chickens! Grrrr! This means war! We have had to screw the doors shut to keep out the raccoons before so I guess we will have to go back to this for a bit!  Needless to say there won't be pictures of this today!

All the rain we got has dried up & I am back to watering everyday. I am worried we won't get much from the garden this year at this rate!

Psalm 89:11 The heavens are Yours, and Yours also the earth; You founded the world and all that is in it.

Rain!

We got some rain last night! Yeah! I don't know how much but everything is green & soaked. You can see in the picture just what a little rain will do! It makes the weeds just pop out!

These were pretty small yesterday but the rain last night they have more than doubled in size!! Whoa! Guess what I will be doing in the next couple of days!

We lost another goose last night! We have a critter who is coming & helping themselves to our birds! Grrrr! We fight this battle all the time! One year we lost 21 chickens in a weeks time to a raccoon. Grrrr! This one carries the entire bird off so it is not a coon. We are thinking a fox but not sure.  So frustrating!

Psalm 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!

Beauty or Weed?

Imagine finding this flower ! Just look at the coloring & the beauty of it! I think it is very pretty! But it is a weed & I must pull them so they don't take over! It reminds me of the story Jesus told of the seed that was cast & choked out by the thorns.

I so wanted to let this pretty flower grow but I know that if I do then more will follow & my crop will be ruined. So I pull & pull. If we let "weeds of life" (sin) grow up in our life it will choke out our walk with Christ. We must pull & get rid of these things!

Luke 8:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up with it & choked the plants.

Knee High by 4th of July!

I think the corn is already hip high & it is only mid-June! Now for more rain & it will go crazy!

After the one rain that we received it shot up & turned green almost instantly! It was amazing to watch!

I have been moving mulch again today in the yard. It has been a great day for it with a slight breeze to cool me off as I work!

Next I want to paint the LP tank but may have to wait for fall now. It looks pretty rough right now.

I picked lettuce again this morning for lunches. My husband likes to take a big salad for lunch every day to work! I try to vary them-Taco salad, BLT salad, egg salad, etc. This way it is not the same old salad every day! I have been enjoying a salad also!


2 Corinthians 4:18 What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.

Waiting

It is another day on the farm! We are waiting & praying for rain. The clouds have been there but nothing has dropped for us! Therefore if I want anything from the garden I must water. It is a good thing we are on well water or the cost of a garden would be too prohibitive.

As you can see it all is pretty dry. I love using cattle panels for my tomatoes! They usually grow over 6 ft. tall & they are great support. I run one down each side of the row to cage them in.

The beans are finally popping up. Yeah! Now to keep them alive! The summer squash have also peaked their little heads out!

I did not mow yesterday has the lawn thankfully has not grown much either! It seemed odd for it to be Tuesday & I did not mow! We are creatures of habit aren't we?

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

Irises & Spinach

The irises were just beautiful despite the lack of rain!

Here is one of mine!

It is a really pale yellow!

I love to plant flowers that come up every year! It gives me something to look forward to when spring arrives!  Every year I add more & hope to eventually just sit back (haha) & watch the color show!

I am experimenting with spinach today. I have picked a large bowlful & know we won't get it all eaten today so I am going to attempt to freeze it! I know that it can be done because you can buy it that way at the store. I have consulted my Rodale's Putting Food By book & it says to blanch it for 2 minutes then cool quickly & freeze. I hope it works because we both like spinach!

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

Gardens

The potatoes are growing like crazy. We tried something new this year-we planted them in tires. We are hoping to see more potatoes by doing this. I will keep you posted.

Th rain we got on Thursday was great but we are ready for more. I will have to water the garden if I expect to get anything out of it this year. It only adds to more early morning chores.

Psalm 121:1-2  I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Beautiful Day!

Finally a great day here! Working in the garden is a pleasure when the breeze is cool & the sun is shining. Going to have to pick more lettuce & spinach as it is growing like gang busters!



Dan & I went to pick up some tractor tires this am in Webster City-2 hour drive at 7am! It was great! We love to take drives & look at the countryside!

I took an order from my Etsy site into the post office & of course had to make a detour to go to the Teen Challenge Garage Sale! I love to go garage saling!!

Hope you have a great week end!

Colossians 4:2 Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God.

Summer?

It is June 1st. But when I went out to chore this morning the thermometer said 40 DEGREES! THAT IS 8 DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING! How crazy is that?!? The sun is out so maybe it will warm up a bit.

This week end needs to find me out in the garden weeding! I am sure this rain & sun are going to make the weeds spring up like crazy! We are having a wonderful garden salad for lunch today! It is so nice to be able to grow your own food! Makes you feel a bit self reliant!

Yesterdays rainy day left me getting plenty done-laundry, knitting, pictures, roast in oven-YUMMY! Having the oven on warmed the house nicely! Oh the smell! Love the smell of a roast cooking!

Acts 20:32 Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all thoses who are sanctified.