In this aerial photo you can see my property and the black line indicates fencing around those 6 acres. This is an older photo so the pond and garden are not in the picture. They came later.

Fencing is 6’ high chain link which is also buried in the ground 6”. Before I purchased all this elaborate fencing, I had many predators that killed my chickens. I also lost Janey on the highway and nearly lost Faye, too – who was hit but survived.

It became very clear to me that if I were going to live on this property, I would need to invest in fencing because I just could not stand the heartbreak.

When Mom died and I had some inheritance money, I spent over $35,000 to fence this 6 acres – and it’s been worth every penny! I have never regretted it and I have thanked God for it many times when a vehicle comes down my road at 60 mph! Chickens, geese, goats, dogs are all safe inside the fence. The cats are not always inside the fence but I haven’t lost one in many years. Yes, predators can and will climb the fence BUT they are so well fed around here with dead hogs laying outside confinement buildings that my chickens are not worth the effort, I don’t think.

That’s my theory about predators which doesn’t mean I won’t have an incident this summer but I’ve done everything humanly possible to protect everybody.

One of our AC units went out last week and the guy came this morning and fixed it – whew!

We’re heading to St. Cloud tomorrow to meet Eric, Nikki and Camber to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries at a hotel with a pool. I’m hoping to hit every quilt shop on the way there – can anybody help me with that? Tell me what shops are between Mpls and St. Cloud. I need fabric – sewing as fast as I can on quilts for this next book. As soon as I’m done sewing, I’ll have my carpal tunnel fixed.

So that’s Thursday – glad you enjoyed the farm tour!

The purple martins arrived today – honestly, I thought they weren’t coming this year because they usually show up in May. They actually send the scouts out in March but I did not notice them being here – they’re usually just here for a day or even less. Their house is all cleaned out and I will enjoy their singing!

I started a photo album called “Around the Farm” – some need explanations but others don’t.

Good Night, Everybody!

Since it got so hot I took my t-shirt quilt off the bed and admired it. Since there’s always so much discussion about t-shirt quilts, I decided to show you mine.

This is the absolute best t-shirt quilt pattern because it allows you to use all different size logos. It was designed by Sharon Henderson of the Little Black Dog quilt pattern company in Georgia.

These were my favorite t-shirts at the time – can you read this one-“it’s hard to enjoy fishing when you name your bait”? Haha! There are several Iowa shirts from the summer of 1993 when parts of Iowa flooded.

I’m sorry – I can’t get the pattern to post.

I tried this neutral quilt on the table – better picture!

Look at this great Dirty Dozen quilt:

Last Wednesday we had a “kick off to summer” for the kids! We made slushies in the blender and had warm brownies with ice cream – a treat for all of us! We invited Margaret to join us and she had a great time. The kids gave her some fast rides on the golf cart!

Today I harvested my first radishes – here’s my June lunch!

Next week is Camber’s 5th birthday – she had a special birthday party yesterday with her favorite Disney characters.

We’re going to meet them next weekend at a hotel with a pool so Camber can swim and the adults can enjoy some time together. I think I know about a quilt shop in the area that I hope I can visit.

And then the next week Connie and I will be going to the big quilt show in Kansas City – it will be the first time we’ve traveled in many years since we closed the shop. Oh my, I have lots to do in the next two weeks!!!!

It’s another hot day today and so very windy! I have two extra dogs for the afternoon. Might be a good time to mow and then turn on the irrigation because it’s been so hot.