Some Days! Some Years! Some Times! Sheesh!

Greetings Earthings:

Do you ever feel like you just can't catch a break some days?  That was me, yesterday.  Everything I touched seemed to explode in my hands.  Or I'd get started doing something and something else would take my attention away.  Even my Sunday Morning "Prairie Points Quilters Studio" Facebook Video was mysteriously missing.  The heading was there.  The attached video was not.  After several messages and three attempts to upload the video, it finally went - three times, into three different places!  Sheesh, already!  I still got a lot done, but it was through sheer will alone, that got me through it all.  By the time we sat down and put our feet up later that evening, I was glad to see the backside of the day.  Today is definitely going much better.

Is it just me, or does this Summer actually feel like fall already?  We noticed the other night that it was only 10 degrees Celsius.  Only 10 Degrees C and a heavy Dew.  It felt like a fall night.  It is July 6th, for Pete's sake.  I shouldn't be sleeping under a sheet, a cotton throw and a quilt at this time of the year, let alone in my flannel jammies.  I am almost contemplating putting the flannel sheets back onto the bed!

Even the orchard trees and the perennials aren't doing very well this year.  My lily of the Valley is usually up in May, or early June, at the latest.  This year it didn't show until late June.  I was happy to finally see them as they always remind me of my favorite cologne from my childhood.  

My beautiful and highly scented Lily of the Valley.
I remember my favorite cologne from my childhood was Lily of the Valley, by Coty.

Many of our fruit trees have either not leafed out yet, or if they have, they are sparse, at best.  And those that have leafed out, may or may not have flowered.  Go figure?  We had given up on several of them, only to spy a single leaf finally sprouting, two months late!  Some of our biggest producers last year, barely look alive this year.  It will be interesting to see what fruit does come.

This Evans Sour Cherry Tree was one of our biggest producers last year. 
This year, it has only half leafed out and no cherry blossoms. 
We'll leave it to see if it recovers to its former self. 

The Lilacs were late as well this year.  And some were actually not at all.  We have 4 lilac bushes by our back deck.  It is always a treat when they flower all around the same time.  This year it was a treat that they even flowered at all.  Normally the bushes are covered in blossoms.  This year, only 2 really bloomed, but quite lightly.  The third bush had 3 or 4 blooms in total and the fourth bush didn't bloom at all.  I was thankful for what we did get as I did manage to get a few stems steeping in grape seed oil, which I hope to use in a batch or two of soap later this year.  This is only an experiment as I understand that the lilac scent is difficult to capture.  Fingers crossed.

The lilacs were rather lack lustre this year.  Only 2 of our 4 bushes barely bloomed.
A third one had three or 4 blooms and the fourth one didn't bloom at all.

The last of my lilacs made my only bouquet this year.

The evenings it hasn't been raining have found us taking our supper out on the front deck.  With the new peony garden in place and the stone work replaced, it is a beautiful sanctuary to over look.  The sound of the waterfall and stream are lovely.  We have a couple of hummingbirds who are always surprised when we interrupt their supper though, as our table is between the two front yard hummingbird feeders.  They come in and immediately stop, give us a look, then take off again, with what I swear is a "harrumph".  Apparently they don't enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs!  The mosquitoes, on the other hand, haven't minded our presence at all!  They are something else this year, for sure.

Home made salsa and guacamole on homemade nachos with our own
Raspberry wine, on the front deck.

The Greenhouse has been doing wonderfully, though.  I doubt that we would get much in the way of peppers, tomatoes or cucumbers, if they were all field grown this year.  The extras of these plants that are out in the garden, are dismal looking at best.  If we don't get some heat this growing season, we'll probably be in for a repeat performance of last year's above ground veggies.  Nadda.  It can be quite disheartening for sure.  We are always thankful that we do have the greenhouse since it always gives us much of the produce we will consume for the coming year. 

Purple Peppers in the greenhouse.

Alicia Craig tomatoes in the greenhouse this year.

The Greenhouse shares its bounty with us every day!

I have become very much a Scrap Quilter in the past few years.  This Stars and Nines pattern was featured in a Fons and Porter Scrap quilting magazine from 2014.  As a shop owner, we often get Sample sheets with 2 1/2"- 3" fabric squares of different lines on them.  These give us an opportunity to see and feel the fabric before ordering a line.    

When I closed the shop, I removed all the samples from the cardboard sheets, trimmed the fabric to 2 1/2" squares, then put them in a box for a future project.  When I saw this pattern, I knew I had a great use for these pieces.  I pieced the quilt a couple of winters ago, then put it in the To Be Quilted Bin.  It's turn came up this year.  

After loading it onto the long arm, I had to contemplate how I was going to quilt it.  I can't do pantographs for love nor money.  Believe me, I have tried time and again without success.  Since I don't have a computer on my Long Arm, it has to be All Me.  I didn't want to an all over meander, so I hauled out my rulers and tried to formulate a plan.  With three different rulers, I was able to get an the all over effect I was looking for.  I am happy with how it turned out.    

I had made this top out of batik scraps a few years ago and decided
it needed it's turn on the long arm.  Quilted entirely with rulers.
I love how it turned out.  A different project for me.

Close up view of my ruler quilting.

Every year we get three young steers to graze down our pastures.  We also supplement them with a grain and mineral feed, as we do also fatten them for a fall harvest.  We grow one animal to share with our immediate family and sell the other 2, as 4 halves, to long term customers.  

We have grown several different breeds over the years, but have decided that we love the temperament and finished product that the Hereford breed gives us.  And every spring, we ask someone to name them.  We have had lots of great names over the years:  Sir Loin, Brisket Brothers, Spider Cow, Super Moo, Larry, Darryl and Darryl, The Three Amigos (Dusty Bottoms, et al) and so on.  This year, our Boys of Summer 2020 have been named Quar, Ann, Tine.  Too Funny!  

In what shouldn't surprise us "2020, you have got to be kidding me, form", we could not get these boys to take to their feed. They wouldn't even look at it.  We have been doing this for over a decade and this was a first for us.  We even contacted an animal nutritionist and she had never heard of this problem either.  Their feed is to them, what a sweet dessert to us - but obviously, way better for them.  They simply preferred the pasture and were not interested in what Papa put in their trough.  After taking them off the pasture and confining them to the corral, they finally had to eat it and figured out that they do actually like it.  Honestly?!  They are finally enjoying their daily ration and come running when Papa calls them for supper. 

2020's Boys of Summer hanging out in the corral:
Quar, Ann, Tine

I am already harvesting herbs from the garden.  I have done a Basil Pesto and have dehydrated chives, as well as made chive infused vinegars.  This time of the year, there is usually one or two things to be done every few days, so it is quite manageable and very enjoyable.  It's nice to replenish what we have used up over the previous year. 

When I make my Pesto, I use a medium sized scoop and freeze it on parchment paper, to be bagged once frozen.  I add it to our Tomato Basil Soup, Pasta sauce or just to eat with bread.  It tastes like spring in the colder months.  I use walnuts or almonds in mine instead of the traditional pine nuts. 

Pesto scooped and ready to freeze.

Pesto Recipe

Chives harvested, washed, chopped and ready for the dehydrator.
The blossoms with be infused into rice and wine vinegars.

Even with all the rain and the cool nights, the garden still seems to be doing okay.  I don't think it is going to set any harvest records this year, but what is finally growing, does seem to be doing all right.  Even our potatoes are patchy this year.  We suspect the soil was still too cold when we planted the seed potatoes in late May.  Many haven't come up, so we suspect that they just rotted in the cold soil.  Thank goodness we planted about twice what we normally do, because it is looking like it will be just an average yield year.  It has been a funny year for the garden, all the way around!

Even with the cold and we weather we are having, the garden is doing okay.

One upside of it being cool and damp is I have finally finished all the cement castings for my Faerie Garden.  I had purchased the different components several years ago, but never really had much of a chance to get them painted and sealed.  This year was the year it finally happened.  Whenever it rained, I would spend the afternoon painting another piece.  I was actually quite surprised when I got them all done.  We put them out in the gazebo one evening and put a sealant on them, then Papa moved them down to the area where I wanted the garden.  Now, if it warms up and our little ones come visit, they can explore and discover this new hidden away area. 

I am finally finishing painting my cement Faerie Garden pieces.

Faerie Garden pieces drying after being sealed.

Faerie Garden pieces ready to be installed.

And that about does it for this installation.  We are forecasted for more rain for this evening so we'll probably have supper inside tonight.  At least it was warmer today than it has been. 

I hope this finds you well and not having "One of Those Days" yourself.  I can do with not having another one for quite a while now.

And if you like, you can check out my new No Regrets Ranch Facebook page.

Until next time,

Gremlynn