Posted in Nature Essays on June 22, 2007 | 1 Comment »
The Mouse House
I was in my garage cleaning out an old hutch when I found this little treasure of a mouse house. I’m sure the softly padded nest was woven by the tiny paws of some expectant mother with gray fur and a long tail. I imagine that Beatrix Potter would have loved to illustrate the escapades [...]
Posted in Art on The Farm on June 22, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Two New Kids
The wee little goats have adjusted to life in the cold barn. Cherry gave birth to two boy goats last Thursday afternoon around 5 p.m. They’re adorable, waggly tails and all…
Two years ago I looked for a home for the overflow of chickens that we had from the Lake [...]
Posted in Nature Essays on June 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Hidden Treasure
The first flower to emerge out of last year’s curled and decayed leaves was a snowdrop. A single bud blossomed on the first day of spring and lingered for a couple of weeks like a miniature ambassador heralding the long-awaited season of rebirth and growth.
As winter storms subsided and the sun [...]
Posted in Nature Essays on June 22, 2007 | 1 Comment »
(I had to use an abbreviated version of the Salix discolor, because blog did not like the common name).
When the p.willows bloom in the Spring I think of my mother. I’m very fond of them, and I know it’s because she had many good memories associated with them from her childhood. After reading about her family’s summer home on [...]
Posted in Nature Essays on June 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I took a photo of this beautiful Mourning Cloak butterfly when we were talking with our neighbor Mrs. Kraft. I just happened to have my camera with me at the time when Elizabeth said, “Hey mom, look! There’s a butterfly.” It was about 20 feet above the ground in the large maple tree that we were [...]
Posted in Nature Essays on June 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
An apple tree bloomed near the hedgerow last week. “Mom, you have to go up and see the apple tree!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “It’s all full of blossoms.” This same tree didn’t produce apples last year (a late frost nipped the life out of it), but this year the dark pink buds grew pale and [...]
Posted in My Garden Journal on June 22, 2007 | 2 Comments »
With the children’s help I was able to map out the garden this year. We measured three large plots, pounded stakes into the ground, and roped off each section with garden twine. The joy of laying straight rows in newly tilled soil was sharply contrasted with last year’s haphazard “throw them tomaters anywhere you can” kind [...]
Posted in My Garden Journal on June 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in My Garden Journal on June 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
There’s about five weeks of summer left, and I’m doing all I can to make it last. After a long string of hot days, I’m spending mornings up in the garden again, sipping coffee and reading my Bible under the shade of a walnut tree that’s next to my husband’s “Cucumber Haus.” [...]
Posted in My Garden Journal on June 22, 2007 | 1 Comment »
A cold front swept through Northern Illinois last week, prompting me to gather in the herbs. Even though fall nudges summer to step aside, her smells and textures linger in the flower beds around the house. Perhaps the fragrant thyme will plead for a reprieve or the globe basil a stayed sentence as trembling bees [...]
 | Hope Voskamp on Sketch of a Chicken |
| Gardening » Bl… on A Garden of Delight | |
 | Paul Strohm on Sweet Memories |
 | Luna on A Harvest Full of Herbs |
 | Loretta Hayward on Two New Kids |
