Eating supper at the edge of the pasture is a treat. Not too far from the house to get the food to the table, but far enough to feel we were on a picnic.
My mom has a beautiful pink Camellia bush growing in the edge of her woods so she let me steal a few of the pretty pink blossoms for our table. The table is set in the shade near a few rose bushes so we can enjoy the color and scent.
I love using crystal with silver. I also love collecting this aluminum ware.
Chicken and Dumplings were on the menu with white wine.
The sun was shining bright on the table when I was setting it, not quite in the shade yet....so sparkly.
Wishing you a bright sunny week and I hope to see you Wednesday.
I was out walking in the pasture one day this week and noticed something under the beautiful Deodor Cedar tree that caught my eye. When I got up to the tree this is what I saw.
They stood so grand in the shadows. They took me to a place of make believe.....fairies and elves, woodland creatures and soft cool places. I don't know what it is about mushrooms that conjure up these images for me. Maybe it's because of where they grow, maybe because they are so interesting looking. Maybe it's because I just finished watching The Hobbit with my son...lol.
Not only did these beautiful little mushrooms (well, actually quite large mushrooms), cause me to daydream, they inspired a new arrangement idea. I love how nature inspires and connects me with interesting ideas.
So, this is what I did. I purchased a package of Sculpey clay from Hobby Lobby and made two mushrooms to use in my arrangement. I shaped the clay and baked per the directions on the package. I then washed them in watered-down acrylic paint.
This is where you can be creative. After letting the paint wash over the clay I added white polka dots with the end of my paintbrush.
Next, I dug up some beautiful moss from under a tree. You can keep this moss in your arrangement for about a week. Just mist daily with water...then put right back under the tree where it came from.
Here's the arrangement. I found a quiet, little spot on a small secretary beside a reading chair. I used a clear bowl so I could see and enjoy the moss.
I hope you have a very nice weekend. Get out there, take a walk, and get inspired.
Good Friday morning to you all and I hope this has been a nice week for you. Today on Friday Finds instead of suggesting a product to you I want to share with you some beautiful surprises I saw on my daily walk.
Many of you have seen the post about the addition to our old barn a few weeks ago. I walked out past there yesterday and looked up and this surprise was there.
Wow, how fast these birds move in getting their nest built. This beam is about 10 feet up, so I had to climb up on my ladder and I still couldn't see into the nest. I didn't want to touch the nest so I just held my camera over it and started to shoot hoping I would get a picture of what was inside.
There was only one egg and you can see it is a pretty large one. And isn't it just beautiful? So bright and perfect. I'm not sure what kind of bird it is but I'm going to keep a look out to see.
Here are a few other pretty amazing things I saw on my walk I thought you'd like to see. Sometimes If we take a moment to stop and "smell the roses" we are surprised at how much beauty there is in the fast paced, hectic world we live in and it refreshes our souls. I know it did for me.
It's early Spring and with that brings hope, new beginnings, and beauty in small places. Take a walk, breathe deeply and snap away.
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I love old things, furniture, hobnobs, houses, and barns. There is something so imaginative about these things. We get to look at them and wonder what they've seen, who's hand has touched them, what was happening long ago.
I have lots of old things and I seem to have an affinity for them. Sometimes I want to redo, remake, and repurpose them, and other times I want to leave them as is. Our old barn is both leave as is and redo. Just this past weekend, my husband added a little shed roof off of one side for his tractor and lawn mower, so I took a few pictures to share with you. We plan on leaving as much as possible original, it's in good shape, and use wood and tin roofs from old barns to repurpose ours.
The photo's above are the barn in different seasons, below is my hubby working on the barn this past weekend adding a shed roof for his tractor.
Here are a few of the pictures of the barn. Our barn is about 80 years old and the wood on it is both beautiful and hard as a rock.
New, shiney things have their place, and I love them like everyone else, but nothing touches the beauty of worn, used, aged, and well loved things from the past.
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It’s time to start thinking about Spring coming up and what better way than to talk about Composting. I just got a new compost bin for my kitchen, from World Market, and I love it. It will hold about a weeks worth of compost and doesn’t smell because it has a charcoal liner.
Here are a few other kitchen composters I saw online. There are so many to choose from that will match any style of kitchen.
The one on top is made from plastic bins that held coffee with holes drilled into the top. Composting keeps your organic waste out of your local landfill, and makes a wonderful soil. Composting is easy, too. If you’ve never had a compost bin before, you might be surprised at how much satisfaction you get from seeing vegetable scraps, coffee, tea grounds and lawn clippings turn into rich, fertile soil, and it helps make your vegetable garden and flowers beautiful.
Listed below are the things you can compost.
Fruit and vegetable wastes - peels, skins, seeds, leaves
Egg shells
Coffee grounds (including paper filters), tea bags, used paper napkins
Corncobs - should be shredded to make them break down quickly r
Yard waste
Grass clippings
Leaves
Pine needles
Weeds
Woody materials (branches, twigs)
Straw or hay
Newspaper.
Next is a photo of my outside tumbler composter. When the kitchen one is full, I simply empty it into this large one, add a little hay or grass clippings, close and tumble.
I've also added photo's of what other's use to compost. The possibilities are endless and can be very simple and decorative. Just use your imagination. What good this does our earth.
Add water regularly during the compost-building process, about the wetness of a sponge.
Speed the process by turning the pile with a pitchfork once a week or if you have a tumble one like I do, just flip it. Mixing it allows oxygen into the center of the pile, encouraging the growth of bacteria which will break down organic material.
That’s it. I know it may sound labor intensive, but believe me it isn’t. Compost your scraps, add them to the outside pile with clippings from your yard, water and turn occasionally and you’ll have beautiful soil for your planters. Happy gardening.
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