Summer, Already?!

95 degrees today with a stiff 25 -30 mph south wind.  Ouch.  

I cleaned and refreshed everyone's water today -- the horses, the chickens, the guineas..... gave them all fresh, clear, cool water.  I noticed a few of the guineas panting today.  Poor things.

Where has spring gone?  It's only May 8th and we're having record heat.  Tomorrow is supposed to hit 100 degrees!  These are July and August temps here in south central Kansas, not May temps!  There's barely been any spring showers, and so our pond is shrinking rapidly.

The little silt pond (below) shriveled up and disappeared a month ago...

In spite of the heat, the chickens are growing big fast... I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'm afraid one or two of my "pullets" might be roosters in disguise.  A few more weeks should tell.  Especially one of my Rhode Island Reds -- definitely looking like a rooster!  If we end up with 2 or 3 roosters amongst our 8 total chickens, well, you know what that means.  One out of 3 will stay, and that will be the rooster with the best attitude.

 Rhode Island Red by feeder that suspiciously looks like rooster.

 My one Ameraucana in back by the waterer,

with pretty copper and blue-gray feathers.

This would be Sally, a buff orpington who is

my friendliest and most curious chicken.

The hubster has been busy, busy, busy these past few months.  With the arrival of our 8 chickens on April 1st, he quickly got to work building a divider in the chicken coop.  They were moved from their brooder to the coop last weekend, and they've adapted well.  We opened their outside door today to the small fenced run, but they chose to stay inside.  I'm sure the 30 mph winds had something to do with their decision.

He has also installed our new front doors, both the inside door and a new screen door.  We're not done with trim yet (obviously), but boy oh boy do these doors make a huge difference.  Now we can leave the door to the front porch open!

This is the old screen door (above) -- the bottom portion was duct-taped and would flap noisily in the wind.  Poor Trixie Lou was afraid of it.  This door is destined for the junk pile. ( I should have taken a picture of the old doors in place.)

Hubby has also put up an economy greenhouse for me near our gardens.  I'm hoping to utilize it more this fall and next spring.  If the cover doesn't hold up to our Kansas winds, well, at least we have a footprint to build a more sturdy greenhouse in the future.

Small garden from last year in front,

newer and larger garden close to greenhouse, and

new "boxes" to hold manure compost to the left of gardens.

Graveled interior with pavers.

Shelves to be added on either side of pavers.

My Grosso and Provence lavender plants,

soon to be planted in the garden.

Hubby is currently working on a stone border around the front porch -- clematis will be planted at this corner to grow up the lattice.

A quick side note:  A big thank you to Laura of A Simple Happy Life for the maple syrup that I won in her contest .... only one person was supposed to win, but she decided to draw a second name and I was the lucky winner!  So Tom and I got to sample her fresh, homemade maple syrup.  I didn't realize how much I missed the real thing -- ever since I moved here to Kansas, it's been just too expensive to buy real maple syrup.  THANK YOU Laura for sending this most delicious treat to us!

 And finally....

.... CiCi wanted to say "hi" to everyone.... although she's a bit miffed at us right now.  You see, we finally took her to the vet on Thursday to be "fixed", so she's been taking it easy this weekend.  She's been confined to our bedroom, and banned from the bathroom where she enjoys jumping high up to the window.

Here's hoping that everyone is enjoying their spring.... I think the rest of the nation IS having spring, just not us.  :-(

Springtime Giveaway ~ Choose Your Prize!

 My lantana is blooming.... ain't she purty?

I've been wanting to throw a spring giveaway for awhile now... just haven't had the time, as usual!  So here it is, and I've decided to give the winner their choice of prizes.  

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America

I have two copies of this marvelous book, so I would love to share one with my readers.  Since I received my copy several months ago, I have identified quite a few birds around our parts, and I've even helped some blogger friends identify birds that they have photographed!  This is a great book, one I'm sure anyone who loves nature will enjoy and use as a reference for many years to come. Approx. Value: $17.95

My binoculars have become one of my closest friends in recent months... just the other night I saw a juvenile black-crowned night heron in a tree near our pond.  Their call is so distinctive that I had been wondering, what the heck is hanging out around our pond?  One evening I saw an adult fly away.  Click on the pic below to enlarge and see exactly what I'm talking about - it's the bird at the top of the page.

{Does that mean I'm getting old because I'm starting to enjoy bird watching??!!}

Bradford Exchange "Soft Elegance" Limited Edition Plates (includes all 4)

Or perhaps you're a kitteh lover!  I have a numbered series of plates from the Bradford Exchange (click on photos to enlarge).  These are part of a numbered and dated (1994/1995) limited edition and measure 8-1/4" each.  They are from my grandmother's estate, and are in mint condition ~ never hung or displayed, no chips, cracks, dings, NOTHING. As you can see, I also have the certificates for each plate.  If you're a plate collector, this is definitely something you'll love to add to your collection!   
Approx. Value: $29.95 per plate

Plate titles, from top left, clockwise: Alexandra in Amethysts, Emily in Emeralds, Tabitha on Taffeta, and Priscilla in Pearls.  They are all numbered on the back, with full descriptions and Bradex numbers.  These plates are for DISPLAY only and not to be used with food.

Lee Middleton "Best Friend Bear" Doll by Reva Schick

(Artist Studio series)

Lee was from Ohio, Springfield to be exact, and she started making dolls modeled after her two kids -- friends loved them and began to want their own, hence how her company got started.  I won't go deep into the history but it's really quite interesting.  She died suddenly in Jan 1997 (heart attack) and three artists were found to carry on her work.  This doll is by "Reva Schick" and part of the Artist Studio collection, the premium line of Lee Middleton dolls. She is numbered 2332 and signed by Reva Schick at the base of her skull; I do not have her original certificate, but she does have both her wrist tags.  She is also missing the small pink teddy bear that came with her. She measures 20" or so, and is weighted to feel like a real baby.  Approx. Value: $158.00

Since she's not porcelain, a little girl can actually play with this doll, so it's an ideal gift for a young daughter or a favorite granddaughter.  Or you can keep it safe on display with the hope that it will grow in value over the years as a collectible.

But she's adorable nonetheless, don't you agree?

The winner of my spring giveaway will be selected in a random drawing of commenter names by Tori... she loves to do this, and I think it's more fun than using the random generator.

The winner will have their choice of any of the above items.  I will email the winner, but I need to hear back within 24 hours or I will award the giveaway to another drawn name.  This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents, however, if you live abroad and are willing to pay shipping costs, then I will happily open it up to international residents.  :-)

So, just leave me a comment, tell me which prize you'd like to win, and you have until next weekend to enter.  If you want extra entries, just tweet or Facebook the giveaway and let me know.  But one comment is all it takes to get you into the giveaway!

We will draw a name on Sunday, May 23rd, and announce the winner no later than Monday, May 24th.

And a big thank you to all who come by to read my blog.  I love your comments and appreciate that you find my blog interesting to read!

An Early Kansas Spring and Black Bean Soup

After a week of temps hovering in the 50s and 60s, we had our first spring storms last night. The line that came through our neck of the woods was the same system that had produced the first spring tornado near Hammon, Oklahoma earlier in the day. At one point, I was awakened by extremely high, (possibly straight-line winds?), with the rain blowing sideways and making much noise on the sides of our house. This morning, I noticed the winds knocked a huge branch out of one of the trees surrounding the house. Luckily, it was far enough away there was no damage to the house!

This morning began with beautiful blue skies and white fluffy clouds.  But there is more rain and storms in our forecast, and it appears that the sky is beginning to darken this afternoon again!  I was hoping the ground might have a longer respite, in order to dry up some of the large puddles and mud from last night's storm, but this is not to be.

Far be it from me to complain, however, as I am thrilled that spring is finally here.  How well I realize that Mother Nature could still throw a curve ball... last year we had a humongous ice storm on March 31!  I am thankful for our warm temperatures and beautiful skies.  And of course, I'm ever hopeful that I might get even more spectacular stormy sky photos this spring, who knows, maybe even a funnel cloud.  Off in the distance, of course. Passing by our house. Um-hm, yep.

If you enlarge this pic, you can see green winter wheat in the distance!
 

With the warm weather comes the urge to clean house.  Just a wee bit, nothing over the top of course.  I was going through some of my books this past weekend, trying to weed out a few more yet again.  (I got rid of a TON of books when I moved from Ohio to Kansas in '08.)  I discovered a book that my father had given to me back in '03 I think...  Spontaneous Healing, one of the many books written by Andrew Weil M.D.

I decided to read the first few chapters to see if it had any merit... and I've been reading it ever since Saturday night!  I'm fascinated and want to research more of Dr. Weil's philosophies and start applying them in my life.  Sadly, I have always struggled with eating the right foods, but his book is reminding me and reinforcing how important our diet is in maintaining our bodies.

Dr. Weil not only explains how our body's healing system is capable of spontaneous healing, but how we as individuals can optimize our healing systems - foods, environmental factors, exercise, stress reduction, vitamins, supplements and herbs all aid the body in maintaining its well-being.  There are also plenty of case histories which present irrefutable and inspiring evidence of spontaneous healing.  I personally like his approach as it embraces natural and noninvasive modalities; I've always been a rebel when it comes to taking very many drugs.  {The latest controversy surrounding Fosomax just serves to reinforce my convictions when it comes to avoiding drugs as much as is feasibly possible.}

I'm currently reading Chapter 13, Mind and Spirit - the book has 19 chapters, so I'm 3/4 of the way through it.  It's revelationary for me, and if you're interested in health and wellness, you will most likely find this book as fascinating a read as I am.  I highly recommend it.

One of his newest books is Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future.  It concerns the great healthcare debate and sounds like another great read so it's next on my list!  Click on the Amazon link to the right to find out more of this book's content.

I went to Dr. Weil's website the other day, and found his simple recipe for black bean soup ... I'm making up a batch this afternoon, and it smells delicious!  I researched different black bean soup recipes, so I've modified Dr. Weil's recipe just a tad by adding a few spices. I have always said "I don't like black bean soup", but you know what?  I honestly don't think I have ever tried it.  Since beans are so good for you, I've decided that I need to try more bean dishes, and today is my first effort to start eating a little better.

I'll give y'all a black bean soup update/recipe tomorrow,

with some photos.  

I'm hoping that I will find out how delicious it is, and realize what I've been missing out on all this time!