Beauty Farming Life

Here is a quick something we threw together and it couldn't have been easier.  Apologies ahead of the time for the photos, the flash on my camera was acting up and so some photos were sharp others were blurry. We had some butternut squash, peppers, pears and sausage. First up, we diced the squash, peppers and pears and put them on a baking sheet. Then we diced up some Andouille sausage into about the same sized pieces as the veggies.  We tossed it all in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and popped it in the oven. We roasted them all at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the squash was tender and everything had a nice color to it. While that was roasting, we made a pot of mushroom soup rice.  Just white rice, some vegetable broth and some cream of mushroom soup.  We had a few fresh mushrooms leftover that we added after it was cooked. Roasted Squash and Sausage with rice Then we just put some rice in a bowl and top...

Many of you will remember in May when I gave up the garden, temporarily . I stopped watering and just let it go while I focused on other things such as planning the drip irrigation system, deciding on the layout of future beds, and figuring out how to kill the grass inside the garden.  There has been no watering and we haven't had rain in almost three weeks. Well this weekend, I was checking things out and against all odds, two tomato plants are still alive, in fact they are growing and putting on blooms!  And in the herb bed, there are two basil plants that are also doing well. NATURE FINDS A WAY! This is a "Marglobe Tomato".  It's bright green, has blooms and has grown a foot or so, without watering and in the blazing heat.  It's an heirloom from 1917, and in my research I found out it is heat and drought tolerant.  I guess this proves that!  I watered it well and pulled its branches inside the   tomato cage. The other on...

I've been looking for some projects for our upcoming Winter.  Of course, I could go back through any of my Inspiration Thursday posts and find lots (and I am doing that too).  But last night, I was commenting on another blog about window boxes and that reminded me that I've wanted them for the windows on our farmhouse as well. So I did some googling and found these images as examples.  I just love how much they can dress up a house.  This is something I can do this Winter, and have them ready for next Spring.  I've got to find a style we like and then figure out how I'm going to install them on the side of the house. Image courtesy of Southernliving.com Hope you are having a great week.  We've made it to Thursday!  Be inspired!

Yard in Spring What a difference in seasons...the above picture was taken in Spring, when things were lush and green, around mid-April or so.  The picture below was taken this past weekend.  Things are drying up fast in this weather.  It's been over 100 for several days in a row and we have not had any measurable rain in almost three weeks now. It looks like my time on the Big Green Zen Machine will be limited for a while. I hope you are staying cool wherever you are.  There is rain in our forecast, but only 40%.  To me, that means a 60% chance it WON'T rain. Summer has arrived with a vengeance. Yard in Summer

Flexible cat Oh to have the flexibility of a cat. I might get some more yard work done, LOL . This is Sydney, the old one, sleeping in some sort of "L position".  Of course, this was a few years ago when he was a bit more flexible. Now he spends most of his days curled up.   I swear they are part slinky.   It's a cold Friday here, hope you are warm wherever you are. More this afternoon.

Fourth of July Porch decorating, image courtesy of SouthernLiving.com Here is something that I can honestly say I've ALWAYS wanted to do.  I think a porch, with red white and blue flowers and flags and decoration is just such an iconic image of Americana.  Of course, not having an actual porch like this made it impossible but it didn't stop me from saving the picture "just in case".  Now we have a porch in the country!   Naturally, it's not ready, it's not painted white, the stairs are still raw wood, the house isn't painted, and there is no landscaping yet...so decorating it will have to wait.  That's why I post these though, to share what inspires us and to hear from you if you do something similar to get even more inspiration. Hope you are having a great 4th of July Holiday! Be safe, have fun, and be inspired! H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y   A M E R I C A !