De-fencing and de-seeding...

Finally, something to do outside besides shoveling.  We talked with our neighbor and decided to add to the alfalfa field on the prairie property.  To do that we needed to take out about 200 yards of fencing.  

 Talk about memories.  As a teenager, I spent one summer rolling up barbed wire on a farm Dad leased.  I remember showing up for the job the first day in shorts and a tank top.  In an hour, I went back to the house for jeans and boots.  You learn quickly barbed wire and shorts don't mix.  I had the radio blaring and would cajole that old rusty wire into a roll under the hot sun. There was an aged dump truck that I had to throw the wire in.  That project was probably only about a week, but seemed to last all summer.

I was able to use my earned expertise and after several hours we had four nice rolls of wire and a pile of steel posts for other projects.  Those tall weeds next to the wire is actually wild asparagus.  I'm very excited about that.  The whole time geese were flying over.  It made for a wonderful day.   There is still too much snow at our house to do much of anything.  It was nice to get out and work in the sunshine.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the river after the project was over.  Then it was back to our snow filled world.

 The weather is so nice we were able to start our Sunday walk tradition.  We were amazed to find our favorite Whitewood Creek road melted off.  I was also excited to see some bittersweet vines growing in the canyon.  A few falls ago my father pointed them out around the prairie.   Here they are growing in the hills.  

 After our walk, I started the process of cleaning the seeds I gathered last fall from the various annuals.  It was great sitting out on the picnic table with a hot cup of coffee.  It is a job best done outside in the sunshine, as it is a messy process. 


To the right are wild sunflowers and below are lemon sunflower seeds.

 My favorite are AJ's Black Eyed Susans.  They were given to me by a neighbor and I always gather about half of them in the fall to give to friends.  They are a pain to remove, but worth the effort.

I ended up with plenty of seeds to sow this spring.  Just 2 more months:)  What seeds do you save?

Spring?

I'm afraid there hasn't been much to write about.  Things are pretty slow here in the hills.  I have been doing quite a bit of housekeeping, hiking, and a lot of sitting around waiting for spring.  It was quite warm Saturday and my husband and I took the opportunity to look for sheds out on our prairie property.  There were several geese on the river.   Everything was melted off and we enjoyed sitting on the river bank watching the fish.  Next time we will bring poles.

 The goldfinches have been a mainstay at my feeders.  I would enjoy their company more if I didn't know that as soon as they turn golden they will disappear.  

The sunrises and sunsets have been incredible.  Very vivid and crisp.  We still have lots of snow here in the hills.  Ella and I go for a hike every weekend.  The snow is finally hard enough that I don't need snowshoes.  March is around the corner.  Perhaps spring is in the air.

It is kind of like snowshoeing...

I do a lot of snowshoeing during the winter.  My quilt is moving from the dance phase to the snowshoeing phase.  I just keep trudging along.  I finished the blocks (I enjoy sewing blocks), put everything together for the top, then had to piece the borders together.  

This is the backing below.  It doesn't show the true color.  It is a beautiful blue.  Now that the borders are done it is the next thing I have to trudge through.  Cutting, basting, then (finally) the quilting.  

Just like snowshoeing, my progress is slow.  It is a nice way to wish away the winter.   I was able to go in and change the block that was backwards.  Once I get the backing and batting basted, It should be smooth sailing.  I'm sure I will regret that statement.  I know it is hard to see, but please observe that my geese in the border are all flying in the right direction.  A first for this project.

 There isn't much else going on.  We have lots of snow.  I was sick the past two weekends.  It is good to be healthy again.  I dug my way into the greenhouse.  It was nice to just stand there and smell the soil, while it snowed like crazy outside.  I hope everyone else is staying productive. Is there a project that you have a love/hate relationship with?  

Five years later I'm still here...

January 22, 2011 I started my blogging journey.  I worried that I would run out of material.  Would anyone care what happens in my little corner of the world?  Is it possible to do a garden blog when I really only have 3-4 months of gardening weather?

After five years, I'm not worried anymore.  There always seems to be something going on.  I have enjoyed learning about what is happening at other ends of country and people seem to enjoy seeing the world from my porch.

I want to thank you all for your contributions to my life.  I look forward to your comments and suggestions.  I am lucky to have met such wonderful people.  My life is enriched.

I plan to continue my journey and am anxious to see where the next five years takes us.  Thank you again for our chats on the porch.   I am adding some of my favorite photos over the years and links to my top ten favorite posts.

Me Garden?

Sisters...

New Traditions...

I Promised You a Rose Garden...

A Danish Garden...

A Rose by Any Other Name...

Blooms...

The Cranes are on the Move and so am I...

Service Berries...

A Day in the Life...

Are there any posts that you liked best?

A little of this and a dab of that...

 Well, I have been doing a little of this and a dab of that.  I finally made it to town (I hate leaving the cabin) and found supplies to turn my bear claws into jewelry.  I have never made jewelry before, but thankfully there are many tutorials on the internet.

I am very pleased with the finished product.  It is a feeling of accomplishment to create things from my harvest.  Most of the bear has now been used for something.  I have a cape on the back of my chair.  The front is at the taxidermist.  The meat is in roasts, summer sausage, and jerky. The lard, unfortunately, I'm almost out of my bear lard.  It makes the best pie crusts and bread.  Ella got some bones and the skulls are being prepared for European mounts.  

I haven't been completely stuck inside.  The weather has warmed up some and Ella and I got to spend some time on the porch.  Both of us enjoyed a morning on the porch immensely.  

 On the garden front, I need to find some potting soil and pots.  When I used the worm compost in my houseplants, there seems to have been a few stowaway tomato seeds. They showed up in the Rosemary and are really starting to get big.  I guess I had better repot them and see what happens.  It is going to be difficult keeping them in check until May.  

I am still dancing with my quilt.  I thought I was finished with the border, then realized I was two inches short. Backwards I go again.  I did get the rest of the supplies and once I get the border on, will be ready for basting and quilting.  I am determined to keep at it.  With it's numerous issues (or should I say, my numerous issues),  I would like to set it aside and walk away for awhile, but I will do a little every weekend.   

That is it on the cabin front.  Just trying to keep busy until spring.  Not an easy tasks as winters are long up here.  What projects are you working on?  Anyone ever have tomatoes started in December?  

One step forward and two back...

I'm trying to keep content this winter by working on a quilt for my parents.  A nice soothing project to make time go by.  Unfortunately, for every step I take forward, I take two back.  Soothing is not the word I would use to describe this quilt.

I hate picking out the material and patterns.  I just enjoy the repetitiveness of the sewing. This time was different.  I found the perfect material that reminded me of my parents ranch.  There was a quilt on the wall that provided the perfect platform to showcase the panels.  It looked like a simple pattern.   From there it was easy to find material that included barbed wire, flying geese, leaves, and grass.   My father collects barbed wire and one of my fondest memories of home is the geese flying from the river to the fields.  Everything just fell into place.  Little did I know that the part that is normally the easiest for me (piecing the pattern together) would end up being the hardest.

The nice lady at the fabric store warned me that the flying geese material would be my bane and to be super careful when I cut it out.  I thought I was, but when I completed the flying geese blocks with the flying geese material I realized too late that something was wrong.  My husband figured it out.  The pattern now had to be completely reversed.  This was not as easy as it sounds.  

The pattern is very complicated.  It looks repetitive, but isn't.  The panels make piecing difficult.  I laid the quilt out on the bed downstairs, but somehow by the time I take a portion upstairs things get switched around.  Those darn light colored triangle blocks kept getting turned around.  I bet I had to re-do about 5 of them.

Many ripped seams later it was done.

At least that is what I thought.  My husband took a photo of me holding the 'finished' top. That is when I saw it.  Can you see the mistake in the pattern?  Again with the ripping.  I fixed the wayward block and thought I was down the home stretch.  Just add the border, batting, and backing.  Any dummy can do that.  Then I would finally get to my favorite part: quilting. Drat, no such luck.  I am short of border material and didn't allow enough material for the mitered corners.  More ripping.  I'm getting quite good at it.

Did you find the mistake?  On the right side two of the flying geese blocks are facing the same way instead of alternating.

I am very happy with the way the top turned out.  It is by far one of the most complicated quilts I have ever done.  Because of that, I have a feeling it will take the full two years to complete.  I am not off to the best start that is for sure.  I will keep you updated on my steps forward and the steps back.  Until then, the sun sets on another winter day.

Have you ever worked on a project where you went backwards faster than forwards?  

2016 here I come...

I have come to the conclusion that New Year's is my favorite holiday.  I enjoy setting goals for the upcoming year and reviewing my progress from last year.  2015 treated us very well.  I can't wait to see what 2016 has to offer.
My aspirations for the upcoming year are:
~As always, the goal is to make time for family and friends.  Last year we were extremely busy on the weekends and wasn't able to host guests.  Now that we have most of the big projects out of the way, I am hoping we can slow down and share our little piece of heaven with others.  
~Get a strawberry bed this year and focus on my fruits and berries.  An early frost caused almost no production last year.  About the only thing that produced was the apples, crabapple, and raspberries.  I have an orchard here and one out on the prairie, so I will have plenty to keep me busy.  

~Finish a quilt that I'm currently in the middle of.  Here is a teaser of the materials. 
~Do more fishing with my husband.  I really enjoyed our bear hunt/fishing trip last year and now we have our own fishing hole out on the prairie.


~On the flower front, make a few more perennial beds and get control of my slug problem.  I was also pretty successful with annual flowers I started in the greenhouse last year, so I would like to expand my use of annuals.  
~Always try to be creative.  Pinterest, other blogs, family, and my husband are always giving me new ideas of things to try.   
~Slow down.  I'm always in a hurry or too busy to do things I enjoy.  More picnics, more yoga, more exercise, more reading, more quilting, more time on the porch. These are all things that keep me balanced and when I don't make time for them I become stressed.   Life is too short to be unhappy.

That is about it for the new year.  How did I do last year.  Not too bad really.  I accomplished eight out of my nine goals.  Last year was a wonderful year filled with good memories.  
~Go on a bear hunt with my husband. ~Done!  We both got very nice bears.  The meat is delicious.  The fat is great for baking.  The fur is amazing and I'm trying to create jewelry from the claws.


~Be a good host as I anticipate many guests at the cabin this year.  ~We didn't have a lot of visitors, but I spent a week spoiling my nieces and that was a great time.   
~Go on Jeep adventures like we did when "we were kids" (That is code for when my husband and I were first married). ~We had a lot of projects going this year, especially on the property we bought, so we weren't able to relive our youth.
~Redoing the front flower beds.  I don't mean plants I mean the actual beds. ~We got one of the two done.  It was a lot of work, but it looks amazing.

~The veggie focus will be sweet corn and tomatoes from seed.  After last years poor showing, I will never buy tomato plants.  My challenge will be to grow an egg plant and a giant pumpkin.  ~My vegetable garden was amazing this year.  I had tons of tomatoes.  I grew egg plants and a loofa.  I didn't grow a giant pumpkin, but one did magically appeared in my pumpkin patch.  I never did find where it came from.

~Relax on the porch with family and friends. ~The porch is the best part of our cabin and was well used this year.  Especially, after we built a picnic table and we could enjoy meals outside.

~Expand my blogging community.  Become inquisitive again and visit new blogs.~I did get out and find several wonderful blogs which I am now following.  
~Stay on top of my wine making.  Which means keeping notes, labeling, and keeping on track.  You forget to take some notes and don't label a few things and chaos ensues. ~I was much better this year about keeping up.  Despite a poor year for berries, I was still able to make a batch of wine every month.  
~I haven't given up on the orchard fence.~It got a major makeover this year and that seems to have kept the deer out.  It isn't exactly what I planned, but then what ever goes exactly as planned.

Check things off the old list and start with the new.  I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!  I can't wait to read about your adventures and keep you apprised of mine.