"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Monday, May 27, 2013

Tea~Time Tuesday At Cannon Beach

 Teacups bought and enjoyed at Cannon Beach, Oregon where my husband and I spent a few days last week. The teacups are sitting on the balcony railing of our room in Hallmark Inn. Look at this view!
 Here is the little shop in downtown Cannon Beach ( The Buttery) where we bought the two teacups. The shop had many tea items for sale but I restrained myself and purchased just two teacups for my husband and myself.
 I have never seen a gray ( the listing calls it khaki ) teacup before but we like it and it is a masculine sort of teacup / coffee cup. The pink one is mine.
 This is our view from our balcony too. The whole Pacific Ocean stretched out in front of us with Haystack Rock to the left, Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and more rugged rocks to our right. So much to see every day for a few days. Sunsets to enjoy together, meals we prepared in our room, a fireplace to snuggle in front of, and time together. The best way to spend a Tea-Time Tuesday I think.



 My husband & I drank our coffee from these cups while reading and bird-watching.
The Oregon Coast is one of our favorite places and we visit it as often as possible. We especially love Cannon Beach, Lincoln City, Seaside, and Depot Bay. I have more to share about our get-away later , but this is Tea-time Tuesday and it is about the teacups ! I love our new tea / coffee cups and found out this cup comes in turquoise too. I may add to this set soon.

"With stunning views, remarkable natural areas and spectacular stretches of sandy shore, Cannon Beach offers inspiring beauty, superb sightseeing, the setting for a perfect picnic and outdoor adventures ranging from birdwatching to hiking and surfing."  Cannon Beach Magazine 2013

I am joining the following blogs for Tea-Time Tuesday ~




Thursday, May 23, 2013

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 !*

Thursday, May 16, 2013

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

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Alice In Wonderland Teacup ~ Tea-Time Tuesday

 When my husband drew up the plans for our home here on Cedar Pond we knew we wanted most of the windows in our home to look out on Cedar Pond. Now we have a view of this pond through our front room window in all seasons, and we love it. Today the view showed me a stormy day.
 A perfect day to stay inside and sew.
 I am sewing a patchwork quilt of fabric one of my granddaughters chose for her bed. I gave her a 4 X 4 inch cardboard square to trace and cut out squares from fabric she chose  for me to sew her quilt. My granddaughter  traced and cut out hundreds of little squares for her quilt and today was a perfect day to sew  the squares together because there was no other work demanding immediate attention after I fed my animals. I could not garden in the down pouring of rain. I made myself a cup of peppermint tea and drank it from this teacup, a gift from my sister Karen, as I sewed many squares of fabric together to make a patchwork quilt for a granddaughter.
 The teacup is from Disneyland , but I think you could have guessed that as soon as you saw the photo. The quilt is barely begun in this picture. The puzzle for me is how to bring the differing fabric squares together to make an over all pleasing design for my granddaughter. I need some more tea and time to think about this.


 I have many friends & family who love Disneyland and all things Disney. I have never been to Disneyland, but I hear tell they love it and visit it as often as possible. My Alice In Wonderland teacup is from one of my sisters who also loves the magical land and especially sharing it with her granddaughter. I am honored she chose to give me a teacup that is a token of her good times in Disneyland.

Peppermint tea in a sweet teacup on a very stormy day spent sewing a quilt for a beloved granddaughter. A very good day for me.

When I look out my windows and see Cedar Pond I remember the many good times here with family & friends I love. I know I am blessed. Sip a cup of tea in your favorite spot at home and remember you are truly blessed !
 
Tea-Time Tuesday is hosted by these ladies , pop in and spend some time with them !
 


 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

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.)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Country Chicks Big Event ~ Rochester, WA

 A friend posted an announcement about the Country Chicks * event to be held on a farm in Rochester, WA last week. On the spur of the moment I packed up my sunglasses, sun hat, bottles of water, loaded up our dog Hawk, to discover what all the excitement was about. Rochester is about 45 minutes away from my home. It was a pleasant sunny day and I knew the drive would be scenic. I took my time on this sweet country drive using back roads going past small towns and farms. This is just a sample of the many, (and I do mean MANY ) booths presented by the Country Chicks , offering a variety of vintage and farm junk gone creative for sale. I will leave off commentary for you to peruse some of the pictures. Click to enlarge any pictures you might wish to further scrutinize.









 What did I buy? Well, since I discovered my whole place could qualify as a Country Chick booth, I realized I lacked nothing for pretty much any of the items that caught my fancy. I only bought this bird cage stuffed with bedding plants. Yes, I do have several old bird cages in my feed room, but the price of this bird cage was cheaper than it would cost me to buy all the plants stuffed into it to turn my own cages into centerpieces. Plus, now I have the tangible idea of this planting here for me to remember to plant up my own farm junk!
Some people's idea of junk is another's idea of treasure, and my day with the Country Chicks inspired me immensely. I decided if I cannot use the last of my farm junk by the end of this year by creating and crafting worthy projects I will really sell it or donate it to those desiring it. How about you ? Do you use your seemingly worthless farm & vintage items to create interesting items for your home, garden, or friends?  Do you sell it at bazaars or on-line? Is it fun ?!?

As I told my sister & husband about my day with the Country Chicks I also informed them that if I should drop dead anytime soon, they only needed to add price tags to most everything around the place to cash in on my "estate" ! All in all, the sunny day driving in the country, seeing the local farms, enjoying the fresh air, and strolling through booths that all reminded me of my home, also reminded me life is good, we are blessed, and anyone can take the bad things in life that might be considered trash or tragedy and turn them into treasure. It truly is in the eye of the beholder.