Finger Painting in Plein Air at the Market

Last Tuesday the sun was blazing extra hot, maybe it was a last ditch effort to claim its sky before the storms that were brewing made the scene on Wednesday night. 

NorthSide Farmers Market had a great turnout of people braving the heat to support local growers and bakers. It was a fun day.

This young artist joined the make-it/take it table. Even if the day had been dreary and cloudy, this young miss would have cheered everyone's spirits. Her yellow and white outfit was a perfect match for the yellow and white paint that was provided for flower pot decorating.  I love her sunglasses! 

Marcheta *fun in the sun

As American as Strawberry Shortcake (or pie, or jam, or....)

Man, oh man! Nothing says "Summer is just around the corner" better than fresh strawberries. Right now strawberries are the star attraction at farmers markets. I found these at God's Little Acre Farmers Market in Galion.

Marcheta *fan of farmers markets!

Relaxing with Popcorn

I found this young fellow taking a break from helping his parents at a farmers market. With the help of Photoshop, the picture has the feel of a portrait.

Marcheta *digitizer

Misty Morning Surise

Sunrise over our field of nursery trees. 

I see this eastern vista from my front porch. On misty mornings, I feel that I am in some other, more exotic location. :)

Marcheta *sunrise dreamer

Hands to Work

Now, isn't this window treatment fun? Finding things like this is the main reason I love being out and about with my camera. I call it "Free Ranging", because I never have a set idea in mind, I simply go out to see what I will see.

When I saw this window treatment in a country outbuilding, I thought it was about the most clever idea I've seen. I keep thinking that I'll buy some inexpensive gloves and gussy up the old milkhouse windows, but so far that's all it is....a think. To my defense, I've been busy working to gussy up the areas around the house. The barn area is always lowest priority, by the time I get around to it the weather has turned hot (which I hate) and I usually do the minimum (if that) clean up. 

This is not a good system because we pass the barn before we get to the house, and I'd like it to look nice, too. 

But this year I think I'll actually put "hands" to work and get the gussy done because I am inspired by this fun window treatment!

What inspires you?

Marcheta *handy

*note* I am heading to Florida with Kerry's family to visit with my other daughter, Meg, and her husband Nate. The next week or so of blog posts will be a photo essay of country scenes like the one posted today with a minimum of text. I hope that you enjoy my pictures while I am away enjoying the company of my kids and grandkids :)

Baby Birds Survived the Storms!

The eggs in the hanging planter began to hatch yesterday. This joyous occasion was also a reason for concern and even fear, because of the huge multi-state storm that came with hale, high winds, and fierce rains. I knew that to survive, these birdies needed their momma, so taking the planter down and bringing it inside was out of the question. My fear was that the wind would blow the planter away and all would be lost.

I am happy to report that not only did the planter stay on the porch,  but also that the momma and/or pappa stayed on the nest. I can just imagine the rough night they had of it. But just look how much the first little bird has grown. It is getting more feathers, and I think the hairdo looks like a Mohawk. So that is what I named the sparrow family...my Brave Little Mohawks.

Honest to Pete, I was almost as worried about this birthing as much as I was during my own children's and grandchildren's births. 

*WHEW*...glad that it is almost over. As far as I can tell, there is one egg left in the nest to break open. But for now I plan to leave this little family alone. 

Marcheta *midwife

Batten Down the Hatches!

This picture of Jim moving a small tree that has fallen across our road is tame compared to the storm that is predicted for today.

Last year we had a horrible storm which we later learned was called a derecho. The damage in our immediate area was not too bad, but we may not be as lucky today.

According to this website, Meteorologist are warning that the continuous line of storms may even spawn an unusual weather event called a derecho, which is a massive storm of strong straight-line winds spanning at least 240 miles.

And The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, is roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day.

Last year, we had no warning about the storm. Most of us had never even heard the word 'derecho' or knew what it meant. This year is different.

We have warning.

Now we can prepare.

Here's hoping that everyone stays safe.

Marcheta *holding onto her hat

Little Green Apples

 

This morning I took a quick walkabout in the orchard. Man-o-MAN (!), have those trees ever been busy. It looks like it is going to be a good year for fruit around here :)

This pic is of apples, of course. I can't help but think of the song "Little Green Apples" .

Now, here's the thing. When fruit trees are overloaded, it is wise to thin out the fruit so that the remaining fruit gets bigger. It's a painful thing to do when you have a small orchard. 

Not wanting to be wasteful, I spent some time on the Internet researching unripe apples. Most recipes were for making apple jelly.

Apples are a natural source of pectin, the ingredient that makes jams and jellies set up. I found several recipes for making other jellies using the unripe apples instead of buying a commercial pectin.

Most of those recipes looked like too much of a commitment because they call for letting cooked apples drain in a jelly bag for a few hours or overnight. 

No, thanks.

Then I found this recipe for strawberry/apple jam. It's exciting because strawberries are ripe now and I can purchase locally raised berries at our farmers markets. The drawback is that the recipe calls for a ripe Granny Smith apple, not unripe apples. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained as "they" say!

If I decide to give this a try, I'll certainly blab, I mean, blog about the experience. I've made jam and jelly many times, of course, but never with "little green apples", so it will certainly be venturing into a new territory!

Marcheta *feeling venturesome :)

Blooming Bales Update

On April 4th, I wrote about Jim making a raised bed in the garden by stacking up straw bales (You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks). The picture below shows the straw bales lined up and ready for the next step, topping off with compost or topsoil.

April 4

These new pics show  that Jim made a wooden frame to hold the compost/top soil. As you can see, the plants are doing very well. 

June 10

June 10

I like raised beds like this and wish that Jim would do more of them in the garden. Raised beds are a more efficient use of space and are easier to maintain and harvest. A LOT less back-breaking, believe me! But, old habits die hard, and for the most part Jim has the garden in old-fashioned rows that will eventually be taken over by weeds. :(

Who knows? Maybe Jim will like the raised beds so much that next year he'll make more of them. There's always hope eh?

Marcheta *hopeful

Honey Bee Update

I've had a few people ask about how different projects are progressing, so the next few days I will be posting updates.

Today's picture is of one of the wild honeybee swarms that Bob and Sue Nelson captured for us. As you can see, the bees have adapted beautifully from being homeless to having a house and garden.

Just after we brought the bees home, we had a cold snap and were afraid we might loose the bees. Bill Bebee, of BeBee's Bees suggested feeding sugar water to the bees to help them along. We did, and it worked out great for us and the bees.

At present we have 2 sets of supers. Bob is working on capturing another swarm for us, which will make our honeybee neighborhood a nice size. And just look at this thing! The swarm, which is high up in a tree along the creek on the Nelson's property looks like a fuzzy football. Can you imagine how many bees are clustered together? It is mind boggling.

 

Marcheta *boggled.