~ Poppets & Poppies ~

 Hello Friends & Folk!

Happy May Day! and a Blessed Beltane to us All ~

Yesterday I made a few poppets ~

one I finished completely...her three sisters will be finished off today {fingers crossed}.

our wild poppies are blooming again,

there are many more of them this year than last - it seems.

 

...someone's hair matched the poppy petals perfectly!

our walking-onions are growing in their beautifully-twisted way:

a quiet spot in the kitchen garden below:

one of my rusty wire chairs gently holds a fox-skull that Roxy found in the woods for me...

 wishing you all a day filled with beauty, creativity and peace ~

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ After the Rain ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

and a happy mid-May day to you ~

We had some crazy storms come through here last night...

mostly high winds, lots of thunder and even hail

 but hardly any rain.

but rain it did.

here are a few snaps of our kitchen garden and front of the farmhouse...

Peter & I have been weeding, turning soil and planting for two days!

our Mock Orange bush is getting bigger each year...

...the blossoms smell SO sweet ~

next to that are shoots of our banana trees ~

we have counted 12 this year and think there might be a few more coming up.

 

these will grow so tall and their leaves will be huge ~ creating perfect shade for our little patio :)

 the rusty planter below is filled again,

it was a gift from Joan...

 ...as was the solar Owl lantern that lights up each evening

this was completely overgrown with chickweed and other sundry weeds...

we left a few wild Black Eyed Susans and Sweet Annie plants, 

as we do every year.

the larger bunch of Chocolate Mint towards the bottom of the photo will fill in much more, and we also have volunteer green leaf & red lettuces already coming up!

we planted Rosemary {the cold winter zapped mine}, Basil, Parsley...

and 2 types of tomatoes ~ and we will be transplanting our Oregano & Thyme 

from another garden to this one as well.

an Italian garden of-sorts for my Pasta-Loving Hubby!

Then we decided to do away with the grass 

in one portion of our lawn that is inside the fence:

 we transplanted variegated Hosta, Giant Hosta and some of my beloved Lily of the Valley too.

Everything will get a fresh covering of wood mulch soon ~

the vine you see growing on the left is Jasmine

 and I cannot wait for the blooms to open again this year ~ 

makes sitting on the porch-swing even better!

Aside from gardening,

I finished my little Stitching Witch ~

and put her under glass in one of Petere's frames that I handpainted.

 

  the pattern for Stitching Witch, 

as well as the previous Feeding the Bees design 

and their frames will be available soon

in our Etsy shop ~ 

Did you know that we have all of these delightful 

Bee-Themed patterns & such available?

we love our little bees, big bees and in-between-bees too!

Click HERE to see them all in our Etsy Shop

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ a short visit to Richmond, VA ~

Spent the last few nights in Richmond, VA

 with our daughter Hannah

walking the brick-lined & ancient cobble-stoned streets, seeing the sights...

just taking in the old-city 

and being amazed at all of the wonderful diversity she has to offer. 

We dined at a few locales, thrifted at a few dusty little shops

and then headed out on our walking tour of her neighborhood:

a.k.a. 'The Bottom' {Shockoe}

I didn't want to infringe on anyone's privacy, so I did not take photos of private homes.

But let me tell you this ~ row after row of beautifully appointed and historically known homes line the streets there, my head was spinning around like an owl's!

Our plan was to take in a few museums, then maybe head over to Hollywood Cemetery.

 but we just took our time and enjoyed each others company 

walking on those old streets and being voyeurs of those old houses.

We did however, visit the Edgar Allan Poe museum, 

...which is in walking distance from Hannah's home.

and what a loverly museum! 

a small home { ca. 1700's} is used for the entrance to the museum and gift shop,

 and walking through it & out the back door brings you to a delightful tiny courtyard surrounded by high brick walls, pathways. and a bubbling fountain ~

I made fast-friends with two resident cats

...they are brothers.

 

the shrine's statue of Poe is laden with coins, pebbles and other gifts of remembrance...

{there is a penny in Mr. Poe's right ear...very strange indeed.}

 

I tried my best to stay focused on the subjects of the tour

and not drift off to this spot...

but he was calling me.

 

the grotto that the Poe shrine is in 

was a cool respite from the day's almost 90* heat & bright sun.

my girl is a beautiful soul ~ inside and out.

 

I would love to make a courtyard here at the farm ~

complete with a bubbling fountain...

maybe in place of the kitchen garden!

 

ok, so my attention span is short.

I couldn't bear not to hold one of these big-boys...

oh, and we ducked into this to get out of the hot sun:

thought it was a phone booth at first, but....

no.

 

Perfect spot to REST in.

I drove home from Hannah's this morning, 

and once here I set to work cleaning up the kitchen garden

 {with thoughts of that courtyard in my mind}

and it's overgrown mass of sweet annie...

while I walking {always barefoot}

I tripped over a three tiered wire plant stand on the porch and busted my left heel.

~ so now I am walking with a cane. {ok, it's a walking stick I use when we go hiking}

cannot put any weight on it without shooting pain, so I think I fractured it.

ugh.

I'm just glad I didn't hurt it before the weekend 

... or I would have never been able to go to Richmond.

Now that I have to sit with this blasted foot up on a pillow on the couch for the rest of the day,

and possibly tomorrow ~

I will be perusing my sketchbooks for something new to needle punch.

{just hoping I don't need to get x-rays, not much they can do for a fractured heel anyway}

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori