Bad news for the gardener.......

Seems I've done a right good boo-boo to my back.

I've a compressed disc pressing on two nerves - sciatic and femoral, hence all my pain.

Looks like my chiropractor and I are going to become good friends over the next four weeks.  Did you read that! Four weeks!  This is the heart of starting the gardens! 

No long distance driving, no gardening, no lifting, no bending, no twisting, no nothing....

To this I say, lesson learned.  From this day forward, I will not be such a hard-headed, stubborn woman when it comes to lifting heavy items.

No, nay, never - no, nay, never, no more!

Now, let me go smooch up the ol' hubsters.  He has a lot of work coming up :-)

How could you not.....

fall in love with her?.......

I am still sorting out my recovered files from 2009 and came upon this lovely photo of Fionnghuala.  She's about four months old in this shot, and, if memory serves me correctly, she had just finished a zoomy around the porch.  Now she's looking at me so innocently!

I'm off to the chiropractor tomorrow to have my back looked at after I hurt it weekend before last lifting 60lb bags of leaf compost into my car.  I felt it go "bing" after I lifted the first bag, but, being the stubborn woman I am, I went and loaded the remaining seven.  Well, this time stubborn is not paying off - it's going to make me pay out!  To the doctor, that is! 

When will I learn not to listen to my brain at my age and start listening to my body?

I get what I deserve and let me tell you, the garden is having a big ol' laugh because I can't get out there and do something I love the best - dig, plant, and just play in the dirt!

Okay, pity party over.  Back to cute puppy pictures....

Who are you looking at?......

A night visitor keeping watch over the meadow....

I think it winked at me!  Surely a sign of good luck.

Chubs the cat.....



Chubs the cat.

This is Chubs the cat, the latest addition here at the homestead.  I don't know how Chubs wound up here, but, I'm surmising she was dumped somewhere in the vicinity and gravitated toward our little place.  I first noticed her in January hiding in the shadows of the sheds watching my toddles back and forth to the coop. After a few days, she was still sticking around, so, I started to put food and water out for her.  This is how I got the first clue that she was probably dumped.  As soon as I walked away from the food bowls, she came over to eat.  There was not a lot of hesitation coming to the bowls so that told me she knew what they were and had been fed by humans at sometime in her life.  Also the fact that she is quite rotund is another clue, too.

Since she was sticking around I went ahead and called the local humane society to see if any one was looking for a cat.  I wasn't surprised when they told me no, but, I left my name and number with them on the off chance someone would call.  I also put an add in the local paper under the lost and found for a few weeks, and again, I wasn't surprised that I didn't receive a call.

Time has passed and Chubs has warmed to me and now greets me with sweet meows and leg rubs.  She will let me pet her and has started to let me pick her up, briefly.  I need to finish getting her trust so I can go have her vetted.  I'm almost there, but, not quite yet.  At least she let me feel around her chubbiness so I could see if I had a pregnant cat on my hands, and, good news is no - just chubby!

So, to my delight, I now have a helper in the morning going to the coop to take care of the girls.  She circles my legs on the entire walk to the coop (she must have been watching the dogs) and even goes in the coop and run to help with feeding and watering.  The girls don't mind her any longer and see her as part of the family now, too.  With that being said, Chubs and I are off to take care of the hens!

Happy Sunday, everyone....

Peaceful Fridays.....

Peek-a-boo!

I see you!

Let's play hide-n-seek....

I'll count to a hundred and you go and hide. 

No, better yet, you go and play outside with someone you love.  It'll make you feel like a pup again!

I'll just go bug my brother!

Oh, and don't forget to smell all the sweet smells of Spring.  Do it like me and take a BIG sniff!!

Close your eyes and enjoy the moment.

Geez, is that a cow pattie I smell? 

I think I have to go roll in it. 

Have a peaceful, playful weekend, y'all.......

Sharing the journal.....

I'm a journal junkie. 

I journal for me.

I have gardening journals, spiritual journals, music journals, and even journals of poetic thoughts.  The excerpt below is from the latter. 

My poetic thoughts journal is just that - random poetic thoughts that I write without thinking.  I just let it happen, and, at times, it surprises me how much of my subconscious comes forth.

I hope you enjoy this little tidbit of sharing.

Tried and true, til’ the end, numbness wreaks havoc upon my fiddle hand

Without care nor kindred hope of ever being sensitive again, alas, she now finds

That she can no longer seduce with vibrations of air.

journaled in 2010



The wee little things of Spring....

 It must be Spring - little things are popping up all over the place.

Meager beginnings I hope will turn into a fruitful harvest.

 Wee baby lettuce just popping their little heads up to say hello to Spring.

 There is something about the emergence of seeds.  It's primal, it's survival, it's nurturing, it's surprising, it's damn good eats!  After all my years of gardening, I never cease to get excited by the growth cycle.  Not quite as exciting as your first born, but, pretty darn close!  haha

Chicks are another thing I never tire of watching them grow.  It simply amazes me how fast they grow!  Before you know it, they'll be making the trip out to the "big girl pad" with the other groovy big girls learning to scratch around, build a nest, and ultimately, lay an egg.

This new bunch of girls are rowdy - like, wake me up in the middle of the night rowdy.  They somehow feel 2am is party time.  They totally wreck the brooder like a rock band at a Holiday Inn!  Water fonts overturned, pine chips flung all about the brooder, loud chirps, squeals, and squabbles. 

They always look very ashamed of themselves when I come down to see what all the commotion is about, but, just like any pre-pubescent youngster, they start right at it the minute you turn your back!

Tell me, what is a chicken mother to do?

Peaceful Fridays.....

Sometimes, it's worth trying

to see the world from a different view.

Sometimes you have to work up some courage

and "think outside of the box".

It's a whole 'nother world out there.

Get out and shake your tail feathers in that big 'ol world this weekend.

Have a peaceful, tail shaking weekend, y'all.....

Peaceful Fridays.....

Interior shot of Beans in the Belfy.  How could not relax here, I ask?

This weekend I encourage all my local friends to come and relax here at this wonderful old church while listening to great Irish music and dine on a delightful fare.  You can even have yourself a Guinness, if you dare. Below are the details. 

Although I'll be fiddling all weekend, music is a huge sense of peace for me.  So, as crazy as this weekend will be, it will still be a peaceful weekend.  May yours be, too.

Have a peaceful weekend, y'all......

Big St. Patrick's Day Concert by Craggy Island and Ceol Anam Cara

As part of our Sunday Evening Concert Series we bring you a very timely and very lively combination of the best of Irish music to celebrate upcoming St. Patrick's Day. Craggy Island and Ceol Anam Cara have combined their musical talents and will perform authentic Irish music and song. Join us in the celebration. A modest admission of $5 will be collected at the door by the performers.

We'll have food and beverage service all evening. You can bring your own Guinness (or favorite beer or wine), but please observe our BYOB policy. (www.beansinthebelfry.com/events)

When Sun Mar 13 7pm – 9:30pm Eastern Time



Craggy Island Band



Céol Anam Cara

The craic will be grand!!                                                                   

Re-designing and so forth....

Just a quick jot to let everyone know that I'll be sparse in blogland for the next week or two since it's coming on to the time of the Leprechaun's....

As some of you have noticed by now I'm in the process of giving the blog a face lift.  Over the next month or so I will be filling in the blanks on the new pages I've created.  I'm looking forward to giving everyone an inside peek of what life is like here on this little homestead and the fun/frustration of what I call the "balancing" act.  You know -  work, home, family, hobbies, travels, etc. 

With that being said, get yer' broomsticks ready 'cause it'll be a fun tour around the place!

I'll leave you with a couple of tunes played here at a house session a couple of years ago to get you in the mood for the upcoming season of "the wearing of the green" as for you know, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

  The pictures are just random band shots because, quite frankly, I don't know of any other way to put music on the blog.  So apologies for the sights, but, enjoy the sounds!!

Peaceful Fridays.....

This weekend take some time and spend it with a friend relaxing - even if it's only for an evening.

Have a peaceful weekend, y'all.....

Wings and things.....

 Bundles of cuteness starting to grow wings....

 One of the Americauna chicks.

 Chick play time.

The brooder set up.  Just made from untreated scrap wood lying around the homestead.  Two feet by four feet by two feet.  We lay bird netting on the top once they get a bit bigger to keep them from leaping out of the brooder box.  Works like a charm and easy to deal with.

In this batch of chicks I have two Rhode Island Reds, what I thought were three Americauna chicks, but, I think I have two of those and one Aracuana, and one Black Sex Link. 

I can actually tell these chicks apart, so, I think I'll be giving them names in a couple of weeks once they have grown a bit and their adult feathers come in.  Our last batch of chicks a couple of years ago I couldn't tell apart, so, I didn't name them, although the one Barred Rock I have left I've named Nellie - as in Nervous Nellie, the sky is falling.  She's always squawking about something! 

In the meantime, I'll have to put the old thinking cap on and start coming up with some names.

Many heartfelt thanks to all of you who left kind words about Shane.  Your comments are helping me deal with this sudden loss and reminding me of how lucky we both were to have each other.

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

For the love of Shane.....

Cross the bridge in love and peace.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your life.

Shane the Ruler

1/20/1996-3/1/2011

Thanks to all of you who has kept us in your thoughts.