spring cuties

My niece and her husband raise chickens and goats. Yesterday, we drove up to their house and picked up our order of 20 chickens for the freezer. While there, DH took this picture of the 2 day old goats. So cute! Mama goat had four little girls! One did not survive, but these three seem to be doing fine.

baby goats

Meanwhile, back at home, we are watching two baby foxes as they take their first forays into the yard. Cutest ever! The quality of this picture isn’t very good, but I took it from the second story window, through a screen. I am hoping to get better pictures of the fox family this week, providing the weather cooperates. We have rain in the forecast for the next seven days.

baby fox

baby fox

My sister saw baby skunks in her barn and my niece said her parents have a buzzard’s nest in their barn. In this part of the country, I am guessing the buzzards are turkey vultures. We had a skunk family in the garden one year. The little ones were very cute and became so used to the mower that I could drive within 15 feet of them without disturbing them. They’d just keep foraging. I am thankful for our large yard with its many trees and plants that make it such a good wildlife habitat. There is always something interesting to see if you take time to look.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ april 18, 2011

Spring just gets better all the time. What’s not to like about fresh flowers and new green grass?

Virginia bluebells

Or apple blossoms?

apple blossoms

As spring makes its way through April, we’ll be celebrating the birthday of our oldest daughter. She’ll be home on Easter and we’ll celebrate then with cake and ice cream and presents. 🙂 Here’s the menu for the week…

Monday
Roast Beef Sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Coleslaw
Celery / Carrot Sticks

Tuesday
Julie’s Fake Baked Ziti
Green Salad
Garlic Biga Bread
Corn
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Wednesday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Peas
Corn
Lettuce-from-the-garden Salad

Thursday
Chicken Caesar Wraps

Friday
Chicken Stir Fry
Rice

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Baked Ham with Raisin Sauce
Potato Rosemary Strudel
Homemade Rolls
Mac and Cheese for DD#1
Steamed Green Beans with Mushrooms
Corn
Green Salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

hangin’ ’round

Buttercup has decided my new basket makes a great bed. She has been sleeping in it during school, as she waits for DD to finish her work.

Buttercup has claimed my new basket

Happy likes to sit on the railing at the back door. She weighs about ten pounds, but when she drapes herself over something, she looks much heavier. It’s all that fluffy fur, I guess. Ewe’s not fat, ewe’s fluffy. Right?

Happy...overflowing

This cat has been hanging around our back yard for more than a month. DD coaxed him out with bits of ham and cat food. Now he comes right to her, letting her pet him and even pick him up. I guess we’ve been acquired by another stray. She named him Cinna. He’ll be headed to the vet soon to be “tutored.”

stray cat

Zak is our very relaxed kitty. What’s not to love there?

one relaxed kitty

Pets…they all add something special to our lives. 🙂

~~Rhonda

grateful for a spring garden

I love this time of year. Green leaves and colorful flowers are coming up all over the garden. Growing faster than seems possible.

back yard

dogwood

The first iris of the season bloomed on April 9. ‘Baby Blessed’ is a dwarf reblooming iris.

dwarf iris 'Baby Blessed'

The Southern Oak is sprouting fresh new leaves.

Southern Oak

DH cleaned the veggie garden beds and planted more lettuce and radishes as well as green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, cuke and squash.

veggie garden

The first black swallowtail butterfly of the season was found on the lilacs Sunday morning.

Black Swallowtail

More hostas pop up every day.

‘Squash Casserole’

hosta 'Squash Casserole'

‘Journey’s End’

hosta 'Journey's End'

‘Emerald Tiara’

Hosta 'Emerald Tiara'

‘Mildred Seaver’

hosta 'Mildred Seaver'

‘Forest Fire’

hosta 'Forest Fire'

‘Spritzer’

hosta 'Spritzer'

And don’t forget the redbuds…they’re in full bloom. Come by and enjoy!

redbud tree

Visit more spring gardens at Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.

And visit Garden Bloggers Bloom Day to follow the links to more beautiful gardens.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ april 11, 2011

The redbuds and the apple trees are blooming. Spring is in full swing. Today we’re getting a nice rain. None of the severe storms that others far north of us had last night. Yesterday’s hot temps are cooler and more comfortable today.

redbuds

The first black swallowtail was spotted by DH.

Black Swallowtail

The dwarf iris ‘Baby Blessed’ is blooming.

dwarf iris 'Baby Blessed'

Last week, we visited our son’s family…

the red dot is an eye...or an i...

…so the menu this week starts with pizza, just to keep things easy while DD gets back into the swing of school.

Monday
Homemade Pizza with Portobello Mushrooms

Tuesday
Baked Salmon
Rice
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn

Wednesday
Hamburgers / Homemade Buns
Celery / Carrot sticks with Ranch Dressing Dip
Red Grapes

Thursday
Baked Lemon Pasta
Garlic Bread
Green Salad
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Friday
Chicken Stir Fry
Rice

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Spaghetti / Homemade Sauce
Corn
Peas
Garlic Bread
Green Salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

visiting family

Last week, DH, DD and I traveled east to visit our older son and his family. We had a wonderful time! We spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather.

picking flowers

taking a walk around the tree

The twins picked up with us just as though we were always around.

up high!

dandelion puffs

They love Pa’s homemade rolls.

thanks for the rolls, Pa!

And Ma had lots of help making pizzas.

then the cheese

letters with Pa

They were happily entertained with Ma’s Nook…it wasn’t long before they could turn it on and find “Big Dog, Little Dog” all by themselves.

watching story books on grandma's nook

Pa pulled weeds. The twins took them to the compost pile.

weeds to the compost pile

Here’s the cutest basket of laundry I ever saw…

hi, there!

We celebrated Sissy’s birthday while we were there.

happy birthday!

And enjoyed blueberry snacks…

blueberry fingers

Ma made the big rolls and Ma’s helper made the little rolls. She was SO proud of herself!

I helped make the rolls!

Much fun was had by all.

Q

~~Grandma…AKA “Ma”

menu plan monday ~ March 28 – April 3, 2011

DH took a few pictures around the yard Sunday morning. Sun, snow, and flowers. By Monday noon, the snow was gone. Sun and flowers? Still here. 🙂

snow capped daffodils

forsythia

The menu for the week is as follows:

Monday
Tacoritos (Didn’t get to this last week.)
Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

tacoritos and bake tortilla chips

Tuesday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice

Wednesday
Oven Baked BBQ Ribs
Cauliflower Salad
Corn
Steamed Green Beans

Thursday
Fridge Food

Friday
Ham Sandwiches
Veggies / Ranch Dip
Seedless Grapes

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Seedless Grapes

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday. What’s on your plate for the week?

~~Rhonda

snowdrops? um…no, that would be just plain snow

Last Wednesday was warm and breezy and lovely. Today, not so much. Temps hovered around 34* all day. And it snowed, along with some sleet. DH took some pictures for me. I stayed inside where it is warm.

daffs waiting for spring to come back

The columbine looks no worse for the wear after having snow and sleet pelt on it today. It’ll be blooming soon!

snow and sleet

Bad weather didn’t bother the ‘Minnow’ daffs, either.

'Minnow' daffodil

Brave little flower…

brave little flower

Green grass, bide your time. Next week will be better.

back yard

I love the way the redbud trees bloom in clusters along even the larger limbs. The cold temps won’t bother them. They’ll wait for warmer days and pop out when the conditions are just right.

redbud buds

Redbud and the Star Magnolia in the front yard…

east front yard

Pretty pink quince blossoms.

quince

Before too long, spring will be back on track. Can’t wait! ~~Rhonda 🙂

happy little bumble bee

Last Saturday, while we were in the garden, I spied this bumble bee checking out each of the ‘Tete-a-Tete’ daffodils.

bumble bee

bumble bee

bumble bee

Looks happy, doesn’t she?

bumble bee

bumble bee

If you live in Illinois, and enjoy taking pictures of honey bees and bumble bees, check out the Bee Spotter site. You can add to a scientific study of bees in Illinois by submitting your pictures and information to the site.

~~Rhonda

beautiful breezy day

A lovely day to be outside!

DH cleaned up around some of the daffodils and daylilies today. This tiny little daffodil is called ‘Minnow.’

daffodil 'Minnow'

‘Minnow’

daffodil 'Minnow'

The garden is full of daffodils right now, with more coming on. The warm weather the first part of the week really brought them out. Now we’re headed into a few days of colder weather, but the daffs won’t mind.

daffodils

daffodils

daffodils

daffodils

daffodils

daffodils

Tete-a-Tete daffodils

Quince blossoms

quince blossoms

The bloodroot in the woods is blooming. such a beautiful flower!

bloodroot

And the grape hyacinths are coming up. I love these little blue flowers.

grape hyacinth

Our bleeding hearts are just beginning to unfurl.

bleeding hearts

You can smell the heavenly scent of the star magnolia across the garden.

star magnolia

This is the magnolia ‘Jane.’ A beautiful shade of rosy pink.

magnolia 'Jane'

Virginia bluebells nestled against a pin oak in the front yard.

bluebells

The apricot blossoms began blooming last week. We had a good crop of fruit last summer, so we’re not holding our breath this time around. We shall see, though. They may surprise us.

apricot blossoms

From the woods, looking toward the house, you can see the massive Southern Oak that sits behind the kitchen. It’s starting to flower. Come summer, it will be hard to see the house from this vantage point because the leaves of the oak will hide it.

Southern Oak

Oh, and did I mention? The lettuce is shoosting up in the garden. Can’t wait for it to get big enough to pick!

lettuce in the garden

I have other pictures from the garden, but I’m stopping here for now. More on another day. Meanwhile, head over to Tootsie Time and check out what’s blooming in other gardens.

~~Rhonda