Taming our own little piece of the earth.

Garden

Posted on May 24, 2013 by tara32

This week and last, rows were furrowed out of the ground and holes were dug. Seeds were sown, and plants were settled. Willing hands, knees, and backs set to work making our garden come to fruition.

God’s perfect combination of rain and sunshine came along.

“Gardens are not made by singing ‘O how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.”

Rudyard Kipling

And then there were sprouts!

Tomatos, Corn, Black-eyed and Crowder Peas, Green beans, Bell peppers, Cantaloupe, Cukes, Squash, and Zucchini!

May God bless the fruits of our labors and may the no good varmints keep out! Amen.

Puppy Love

Posted on May 7, 2013 by tara32

Meet London.

She’s our rescue puppy!

London is the name she came with so we’ll keep it for now, until I can think of something more fitting. She’s a good girl so far! She sleeps in her crate all night and doesn’t make a peep. Or a poop. Yay!

They told us she was a collie mix. Border collie, maybe? Any other guesses?

Also, as I mentioned in my last post, we finally have a garden spot tilled up.

I’m looking forward to gettin’ my hands dirty and hopefully it will pay off with some fruit and veggies and maybe some flowers too!

More updates later.

Bluebirds, Flowers, and a Garden Spot

Posted on April 22, 2013 by tara32

We have bluebirds!

Ok, let me back up. Some friends gave us this gorgeous birdhouse when we moved in. Just a week ago Cory fastened it to the top of one of our gate posts.

And we already have occupants! Bluebirds! How lovely is that?

What’s so interesting is that I was REALLY, REALLY hoping that bluebirds would be the first to claim it. I think God delights to surprise us with little things that we have only just had thoughts of.

Welcome little blue bird.:)

And to the “taming the land” part of this blog. There is always something to do out here. Grass cutting, landscaping, garden planning, chicken coop talking, etc.

Well, we had this spot near the garage that JUST wouldn’t grow grass. Every time it rained it a large puddle would form. So, Cory took care of that problem this weekend!

I should say Cory and Cody, actually. Cody will work right along side his daddy all day long. He loves to work and gets it honest.

Next project will probably be the garden.

That big green spot right there to the left that hasn’t been mowed is where the garden will be. Next up: A farmer friend and a tractor to till it up!

Happy Gardening!

Where the green grass grows

Posted on April 22, 2013 by tara32

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gifts

Posted on April 17, 2013 by tara32

I sit here this morning, coffee cup empty, looking out my bedroom window.

I am thankful.

I remember a book that I read last year. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I start noticing the simple things.

The simple things that I so often forget to thank God for. And I start to count them. And the list grows.

I need to get back to doing that. It’s amazing what an early morning (and some coffee) and being thankful can do for your soul.

The sound of birds. Tweets, chirps, trills, and other glorious sounds announcing the start of a brand new day.
The green that has exploded with splashes of white dogwood blooms along the edge of the woods.
Children who sleep.
Children who sleep in because of a long day and late night visiting family.
Hot coffee to accompany my reading.
Dark morning clouds breaking away to reveal a bright blue sky.
Spring. How I love spring.

Whatever the rest of this day holds may we find many ways to be thankful!

Fly, little butterflies, fly!

Posted on April 15, 2013 by tara32

Friday afternoon we released our butterflies. What a fascinating process to watch! From small caterpillar that ate itself to what seemed like triple its size, to chrysalis, and then to butterfly. It really is amazing how God created them to do that!

As a side note, the grass in these pictures was just cut the weekend before and that’s how fast it grew! It’s been cut again but seriously what are those big clumps of weeds? They look like salad greens.

Anyways, back to the butterflies! We had 5 and as each one discovered it’s freedom they were never seen again. They flew straight up and then they were gone. They moved so fast that I couldn’t even get a picture. Can butterflies have feelings? I don’t know but they certainly seemed to be excited to be free.

This was such an interesting and fun science project.! The kids thought it was great and want me to order some more caterpillars sometime.

This was the last butterfly to fly away. I had to pull the flower out of the net and place it on the ground. As you can see, he was busy drinking up the sugar water.

Here is the link to the website for ordering the caterpillars and a net. Educational AND fun!

Glorious Spring

Posted on April 12, 2013 by tara32

This is pretty close to how I feel about it too. Warm weather, green grass, sunshine, flowers, and children playing outside where they belong….I’m soaking it up!

Because we moved into our new home at the beginning of February (so NOT a winter person by the way) this will obviously be the first time we will be able to watch everything blossom and green up. The leaves have really exploded this week!

The creatures are out in full force as well. We saw deer several weeks ago and I’ve noticed tracks behind the house where the grass was bare. Add to the list a copperhead that met an untimely death thanks to Pop P. who was out walking with the boys one night while Cory and I were on a date. There were also two bats in the garage, one of which also met an untimely death because he just wouldn’t vacate the property. Not to mention a few mice. Untimely deaths as well. Wait, is there a theme here? Mice are cute. Especially when they look up at you in surprise when you lift the lid to the outside garbage can. But when they climb in your husbands engine and (well we assume it’s a mouse, I mean what else could it be?) the stench of death assaults his nostrils? Not so cute.

Turkeys! We’ve seen turkeys. And I looked out the front window last week just in time to see a groundhog run across the driveway and into the woods. Just this morning I woke up and looked out our bedroom window just as a racoon came bumbling across the backyard. Then there are the ever familiar squirrels and birds. Beautiful birds. Cardinals, bluebirds, bluejays, and robins are some that I’ve recognized, but there are others. I love it out here.

In the next few days we will be releasing 5 butterflies that we have watched go through the process of metamorphosis. I hope to take pictures for the next post. Stay tuned….:)

Saturday

Posted on March 24, 2013 by tara32

Clean-up

Two of my boys were working hard today! The majority of the work was clearing, chopping, and cutting trees at the top of the driveway to improve the appearance and make visibility clearer for pulling out onto the road.

Concentration

Cody spent the entire day outside with his dad. From first thing this morning until they came in at 7 for dinner.

The forecast for the day was clouds and rain but by lunch time the sun broke through and it turned out to be a beautiful day. :)

Machete

Fresh eggs from our neighbor’s chickens.

It was a good day. A lot was accomplished inside and out! It was the kind of day I dreamt about before moving out here. Just working around the house and taming the land. Just add some animals and a big ol’ garden and I’m good to go.

I hope to keep up with this blog a little more now. Next post: Our transition from the city to the country and what we’ve been up to. Note: We haven’t been up to much really. So don’t hold your breath waiting for the excitement.

Wildflowers

Posted on March 7, 2013 by tara32

So, I just created a photography blog tonight. I did it just for the fun of it because I like to mess around with a camera and take pictures and stuff. I’m still working on it but you can go check it out here. It’s called Wildflowers. Let me know what you think!

Chocolate, Inspiration, Relaxation, and Kale Chips

Posted on February 26, 2013 by tara32

I just came off the most amazing weekend in Raleigh with my friend Amy. It rained and rained and rained. And it was cold. But that was outside and we were inside at the Mom Heart Conference at the Sheraton Imperial being ministered to and inspired and confirmed in our roles as moms. What mom doesn’t need that?! It was awesome. Oh, and for breakfast we had omelets made by “The world’s best omelet chef” with the kindest and most joyful smile on his face. Good morning!

Omelet and coffee to fuel up for the next full day!

But let’s back up. It started with a friendship with Amy waaay back when my husband I first moved to a little town called Richfield and Amy and her husband lived a few houses down on the same street. I was 6 months along with our first child and she had just found out that she was expecting their first. You can read more here at her blog. Through different life changes, moves and more children we have remained friends and kept in touch.

Fast forward to this past Fall. Amy sent me a message inviting me to join her at the Mom Heart Conference in February. Um, yes! Of course! We have both been mentored by Sally Clarkson through her book “The Mission of Motherhood”. Naturally, I wanted to go for this two day getaway! I was NEEDING a fresh vision for my role as full-time mom. This weekend exceeded any expectations I may have had.

The first day I browsed the books at the book tables while cute little girls with baskets full of chocolate kept coming up to me and asking me if I wanted some chocolate? Is the Pope Catholic? Never mind. Yes, I did want some chocolate and had to eventually turn them away because my purse was full. :) I thought, what is this place? Books and chocolate? I can’t take it!

Amy, Sally, and I

We were given so much good biblical instruction, information, and inspiration. And that was just the first night! We had another full day of that on the following day! Better drink that coffee and you know, have a little chocolate.

I also had my first taste of kale chips. Amy brought those from home and surprisingly they were quite good!

Would I recommend this conference to other moms? Absolutely and adamantly. If you are mom that needs some refreshment for your soul and a fresh new vision then it’s a must!

I have some reading to do. Fine by me!

Thank you, dearest husband, for allowing me to go and be refreshed and to spend time with a wonderful friend too. Much love to you for holding down the fort here on a very rainy weekend. :)

Where the Green Grass Grows…