Blue-Bottle Herb Garden

 The dovecote my husband built me for my herb garden makes me happy . I especially love the detailing in the roof ridge that mirrors the roof ridges he put into our larger dovecote , the goat house, and also the grape & kiwi arbors.

 I keep only 2 doves in my herb garden, my Blue Bottle Herb Garden. You can see how we decided on the name...

 ...there are blue bottles everywhere in this garden.

 These blue bottles are holding the prongs of upside down tomato cages together to form supports for my comfrey . Comfrey loves to get big and floppy , and does so very quickly, often taking over this shady corner of my herb garden if left unattended too long. I use a lot of comfrey for my livestock, poultry, and also make poultices out of it for my feet which have a tendency to get very dry and crack & bleed. Comfrey poultices are great for this. ( I will do another post on this later.)

 Our dog Hawk keeps me company as I weed the garden.

 This old bike holds an old milk crate stuffed with blue bottles and flowers. It is leaning up against a picture window we had to replace after a big earthquake here a few years ago caused the window to split & crack. I like the window in this garden and it helps  keep the woods on the other side of the garden fence at bay.

 Fennel has a lovely licorice scent and thrives in my garden. The fennel has seeded itself in other parts of the herb garden too. It is like growing feathers ! You can see some of the sage and Lady's Mantle growing at the foot of the fennel.

 Lovage also thrives here. I have metal cages and stakes around and through the lovage to keep it from bending and breaking. I love this herb. It tastes like celery, the leaves are yummy chopped up and used in salads, eggs, soups. Anything celery adds flavor to would benefit from lovage. It has a little stronger celery taste, so not too much is needed. The stems grow up to 6 feet in my garden and are hollow so if you strip them of leaves ( or not ) you can use the stems as straws in any drink you might garnish with celery such as tomato juice, delicious!

 My rosemary grows quickly in this garden, and thrives all year, even in the coldest winters. Since my older rosemary plants are now unruly bushes I decided to start 2 new rosemary bushes and encourage them to be more orderly and well-behaved. I placed a large tomato cage upside down over rosemary planted in a large pot. The blue bottle holds the prongs of the cage together. I like the touch of blue it adds.

My blue bird bath sits in the thyme portion of the garden, along with a sun-dial ( not shown here). There are several varieties of thyme in this garden and when they bloom it looks like the bird-bath is perched on a beautiful carpet of color. Our honeybees love the thyme garden especially. My Blue Bottle Garden is a source of herbs my husband and I use for cooking . Some of the herbs are especially beneficial to our health. The garden is also a place of delight on sunny days to soak up the sights, sounds, and scents of Cedar Pond . God is so good and we are truly blessed !

I am joining the Thursday Farm Blog-Hop*. Please check out all the blogs offering useful and inspirational information regarding all things farm,gardening, crops, food preservation keeping poultry & livestock...decorating too. You don't need to have a farm to appreciate all you can learn as you visit these blogs !*

Duck Eggs With Lovage & Chives

Eggs, farm fresh eggs laid by my poultry. Chickens, ducks, & turkeys I tend. They are fed not only commercial poultry feeds, but fresh greens from our gardens. The large white egg in the lower left of the picture is one of many eggs laid by my flock of ducks.

This is one of my Pekin ducks. Yes, she looks like the duck you see in the insurance commercials . ( I love those commercials )My Pekins are spending most of their time sitting on a clutch of eggs. Since my flock of ducks has been very prolific this spring in their egg laying I take quite a few for our consumption.

I have a herb garden where I cut herbs for home cooking, and when you have an abundance of farm fresh eggs and farm fresh herbs you have the makings of some good eats ! Above you can see the lovage I am growing in my herb garden. Lovage tastes like celery,is very tasty in salads and also...

...with eggs. Here are some of my eggs pictured with herbs from my garden. Lovage ( upper right ), chives, and thymes. ( left )

The duck eggs are the big and bright orange eggs. My ducks free-range which enables them to eat all the grass and greens they desire. The greens are what give eggs their bright orange, almost red-orange color. If your eggs are this richly orange you are eating some good eggs ! I whipped these eggs up with freshly chopped herbs, seasoning salt, and cooked them up for dinner the other night. My husband & I sprinkled grated cheddar cheese over them, served them with buttered toast and YUM !

I am joining the Thursday Farm Acre Blog Hop* today. Please check it out, you will learn so much as you visit the blogs participating in this Thursday event even if you do not have a farm or acreage . I hope your weekend is full of blessings and the enjoyment of this beautiful world God has created for us. "It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands , and I ordained all their hosts. " Isaiah 45:12

Farm Junk Planters

 A person can get pretty creative with old farm junk. Old rusty chicken feeders and waterers make interesting and even quirky planters.

 This old rabbit feeder stuffed with pansies and lobelia hangs on my feed room door.

 The sedums and Ajuga come up every year all by themselves. I have only to remember to bring the junk out from behind the chicken pens where I hide it during the winter months. Sometimes I add a little topsoil or compost .

This pile of farm junk sits at the fence line separating our back yard from the woods behind the house  and close to my chicken & sheep pens. Momma hen has been taking her new little chicks for walks around the junk . The hummingbirds are enjoying the blue Ajuga spires. The wild birds perch on the old stuff as if I put it there especially for them.

I have a bit more junk stashed away . My visit to the Country Chicks event in Rochester, WA last week has inspired me to use it all or get rid of it. ( I know which option my husband is hoping for.)

Today I am joining the Thursday Farm Blog Hop * .

Sheep Shearing Time~ Valentine Surprise !

It is shearing time for my flock of Jacob sheep.I have them sheared, feet clipped, vaccinated, and if they are not pregnant, wormed at this time.Here is Thora, enduring the indignity of being turned onto her back for the process.

My sheep shearers are a father/daughter duo, and also our good friends, Dirt * and one of his 4 daughters, Bet*.

This is Tilda, she is 2 months shy of her 1 year birthday and a very small Jacob sheep lamb.

My oldest grandson & I love her. She is petite, very feminine looking, and over all an appealing sheep. She has 4 horns, and if she can refrain from head-butting her sister sheep, she might have a beautiful and well balanced set. She gets feisty about where she wants to sleep and if any other sheep are in HER place she takes them on paying no mind to extreme size differences, forgetting she is one of the smallest sheep in my flock.

Bet does a very fine job of shearing. Since Bet showed sheep for many years in 4H she tries to shear so as to preserve the fleece for those of us who process our wool for spinning.

Timmy, my wethered lamb is being sheared.Did I just spot something surprising? No Way !

Look at this! Can you believe it? I am trying to be careful how I word these pictures because so much comes to mind....

..so I'll leave it at this, Happy Valentine's Day!

I am linking up to a Valentine's Day Farm Blog-Hop, please join me!

Valentine's Day Boost My Blog Party *
&
 Self-Sufficient Home Acres *