We have 3 acres of alfalfa that was ready to bale this week. Oh, the smell of that fresh hay takes me back to being a kid like nothing else.
As a kid we used a hay fork and the pickup to lift the bales into the haymow but today we have a bale elevator.
Last night Becky and I went to Clear Lake to Thursdays on Main to eat junk food, listen to the band and see the people. I didn’t wear my boot so today I’m paying for it. I will sit today with my foot up.
Just two reader quilts today – both from Liz
My young friends from church came to visit yesterday and they sure did have fun on the new cat tree! The cats haven’t given it a second look but the kids had a ball!
Three on the golf cart
My most recent porch finish – such a great story! And it’s true! Last night I started Two Widows.
My prized antique thimble from a reader!
Tomorrow is fair set-up day – let’s hope it’s not quite so hot to hang all those quilts.
We have baled our hay years ago, now a neighbor with a goat farm does it all. Not that there’s a lot, our field is broken up into two sections, one for hay and the other we use the bush hog (?) to chop it up after that part dries enough to drive our Ford 8N on it…but I agree! There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay! Pretty quilts by Liz. I laughed out loud seeing the kids on your cat tree! They really had fun! Jan in MA
I love the stones – I have been looking to find something just like these Mary. Awesome!
Thank you for always sharing your life! Farms remind me if my grandparents snd aunts/uncles as most of them farmed. Snd YES – fresh cut hay is the best smell ever!
The smell of fresh baled hay takes me back! I remember having three-wire bales and using hay hooks to pull and throw them around. They were heavy! The cats would follow us to the barn to catch the mice when we moved bales around. The dogs too. We’d have to cut the wires and then pitchfork hay to the horses. It was great being a kid in simpler times.
Have your cats found their new tree yet? Liz’s quilts are great! I’ll look for that book from our on-line library. It looks like a good one.
The kids on the cat tree are precious!! So cute! Liz, your quilts are beautiful. And Mary I love seeing your farm pictures. It’s so pretty there. Let us know how the Two Widows book is. I just finished John Grisham’s The Guardians. It was very good. Now I’m going to start A Time for Mercy.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Loved the Letts book. What a story.
I loved this book! I recommend it to everyone! I also enjoyed her book – 80 dollar Champion!
Linsey – I’m going to read that one, too
Are you talking food truck junk food? I love food trucks and would love a report of what you ate! LOL!! I too, love the smell of alfalfa. Nothing like it!!
Carmen – we waited for 15 minutes for our onion rings – the seasoned raw potato fries looked fantastic. Also steak and grilled onions on a bun. Next week we’ll try something different. The band was great playing songs from the 50s and 60s!
Loved your pictures- especially the thimble on the rocks. Reminds me of the beaches in Aruba. And the kids in the cat tree! Have a good weekend! Super hot in southwest Ohio, but going hiking tomorrow.
I have been reading all of your posts, quilting, and cleaning😃. I have Covid and I’m the one who wears her mask everywhere still! I feel fine, just stuffy. It seems to be spiking here in Ohio. I love the smells from farms. I grew up in town, but in dairy farm country in Western NY. Your pictures are beautiful and the kids on the cat tree made me laugh out loud! 😹. The quilts are so cozy looking. I hope to have one to show soon. My Little Free Library has kept me in books since 2019 and was a Godsend to all of our neighborhood during Covid. Take care, Mary and happy reading😃 Yes, vaccinated twice and boosted twice, but a woman rode with me who was coughing and said she had allergies, but….
Diane, take good care of yourself. Hope your Covid symptoms stay mild.
Great quilts today. I love the bow-tie middle.
Mary, so funny about the cat tree being used and enjoyed by your young friends.
Has anyone heard from Betty Klosterman? She was such a regular commenter and now she is silent. Hope she is ok.
Thanks, Lynn. 😀😀. I feel fine, but still sound stuffy. Today dies seem better so I am hoping! I saw Betty is below. I enjoy hers, too!
Mary a couple weeks ago my husband and I celebrated our 50th anniversary. You asked why we didn’t make more of a celebration of it. Well as it turns out our daughters surprise us with a big celebration. Mind you they are from Chicago and Dallas and the celebration was in Iowa. They arrive on Friday night as a surprise, 6 extra people to juggle in a small home. But it was okay. They provided appetizers, drinks and cupcakes for the event. We had 60+ people and were very surprised.
We spent quality time with our 8 and 6 year old grandsons .
On the ugh side of things my sister came down with COVID and then several other guest did also. My daughter sent out alerts to all the guests so that they had heads up. It is what it is, my husband and I have not come down with COVID or has my daughter and family in Dallas.
There was a shooting at Maquoketa Caves, in Iowa, today and we had spent time there just last week with our kids. You just don’t know where things are going to go sour. Be diligent and safe everyone!
Rita in Iowa – oh my gosh! Better yet because you did not have to plan one single thing or fret about it!! Too bad about the Covid. Tomorrow night Farmer Tim’s wife was having a huge bash for her. 60th BD party and yup – she has Covid. Dang
Cat tree? Kid tree! What a hoot! Liz, can you tell us the pattern/designer of your first quilt? I love the little “bow” in the center of the block. Mary, I don’t think I will ever tire of your hydrangea pictures. Our neighbor had ‘snowball’ bushes when I was a kid. We might be only a half mile from the nearest farm field, but the only smell we get from that direction is what my uncle called, “The smell of money” when they spread manure. Newly cut hay is much nicer! The thimble is a sweet crowning touch to your cairn. Sew delightful. I’m glad you could enjoy your evening out and enjoy the next time as well!
Like you, the scent of hay takes me back to the farm and my childhood. I love that scent! My uncle would come to our farm with two of his older children and help us bale the hay, take it to the barn on the hay racks and lift it up to the haymow through the haymow door on a rope and pulley system with hooks in the bales. I would help Mom make sandwiches, cookies/bars, and kool-aid and take it out to the guys as they were in the field. The last year on the farm, I drove the tractor and baler as it made bales and my Dad and brother stacked them on the hay rack. Oh, the memories.
Thanks for the pictures of hay being baled and running it up into the barn. I always got stuck working in the mow, hot and sweaty. Seeing the kids enjoying the cat tree was too fun, lol. I hope your foot takes it easy when working the fair, don’t overdo it.
Love the cairn and thimble! I’ve often thought cat trees look like good toys for kids lol…I hope your weather is perfect for quilt hanging! Blessings.
Fair days were always so hot and sticky but those days are over for me. The smell of hay bales takes me back to my childhood days of the farmers leaving us kids some to build forts in our back yards so we loved climbing in our igloos.
Now those fields are a large track of homes filled with families and they will never know the fun we had outdoors.
The quilts are so pretty ! And how funny the kids are and JB3 is so stinking cute.
Diane – grateful your bout with Covid is mild as the boosters and vaccines are doing their job keeping it less severe. It’s high transmission area still here so we continue to mask up and avoid large gatherings as no sense walking into it.
Thanks, Kathy. We avoid those things, too. I guess the problem is people are thinking it is allergies because it is mild. Luckily, the vaccines and boosters are working. Take care😀
Oh, I agree!! The smell of fresh cut hay can’t be beat!!
The kids on the cat tree makes me smile!! Gizmo never cared for his scratching post either—at least not until he moved to CA with Jen last year. Not sure what changed, but she says he uses it now.
We are celebrating Laurel’s 2nd birthday this weekend so I am looking forward to seeing her! Her b-day isn’t until Aug 6 but Baby #2 is due on the 11th and they didn’t want to risk a need to cancel. Can’t believe she is already 2!!!
What a wonderful jungle gym for the kids. They can never sit still and something like that keeps them safe and busy. I watched a boy about the same age as your visitors who was sitting on a waiting room type chair waiting with his grandmother. He was not bad just very quiet , but he was busy climbing all over the chair. I didn’t know you could do all that on a simple chair and in slow motion!
Three little boys were at the neighbors with a plastic slide and the garden hose. It was wonderful to hear all their giggles, laughter, squealing and having so much fun. Makes things seem all right with the world.
The hot weather slows me down and I don’t always sleep as good, but it will pass and naps are nice. In the meantime I’ve been busy enjoying my piles of fabric, finishing some projects, making two I Spy quilts for a new great, great nephew and a another baby – no relation, sorting thru stuff and taking loads to the Thrift Store. It is nice when something leaves the house and DOESN’T come back. I am so glad to live in my house and have no plans of moving, but there is a whole bunch of stuff I don’t need any more. I still have to make 1 more I Spy quilt, but I’m thinking on it. Progress is slow. Not much exciting or interesting here. I sure like seeing all the quilts people have made, especially colors and patterns.
I always said Country Threads was an old age farm for animals! It does look like 3 has a good home. The guinea problem is solved. You don’t have to worry about getting rid of them?? God did it. And I love seeing the corn. I was shocked when I found out that they don’t tie their bales with wire – just twine. And of course, baling wire is what fixes everything, like WD 40!
I always enjoy everybody’s comments. Helps keep me in contact with the real world.
My doctor said that COVID is everywhere and it’s hard to tell what it is.
In the meantime, enjoy and be careful. Betty in Rapid City
I never saw baling wire, only have heard about it. I think twine use was started back in the 1940’s.
Here is my first update on my solo maiden trip in my motor home with my 3 fur babies. After 2 days and a few stops I arrived at the rescue here in Pacolet, SC early Wednesday evening. Had help setting up my RV up by the owner’s house and barn and horses and many dogs, their own (about 10!) plus the SOS and special needs dogs are still housed up here. The senior cottages are not finished on the inside yet but when they are, those dogs will move to their new home. The SOS dogs are “save our seniors” , some are still up for adoption and others will live out their lives here. The special needs dogs may be epileptic, diabetic, or have some other issues that need more attention. My guys love being able to run freely and are safe and far from the road. There are rescued horses up here too that wander the yard freely and pay no attention whatsoever to the dogs. Just watch where you step!
On my first 2 full days here I did transports. First morning I went back to NC to a shelter to pick up a stray and give a freedom ride to the farm. She was about 9 months old, probably a doodle found on the street with another dog. She’ll get an evaluation, vaccines, dental if needed, assess any medical concerns (she was losing her hair on her back) . Her first appointment was directly to the bath and grooming room. When ready, she will be put up for adoption.
Yesterday I met up with another volunteer near the GA state line. She picked up a dog from the medical college at UGA in Athens who had some extensive leg surgery. I will be taking him directly back to Athens on Tuesday for another appointment. All of this expense is covered by fundraising, contributions, supporters, etc. As they say here: “we only do what we do, because of you.”
Enough for today, time to let my own kids out. I am helping with adoptions today .
So good to hear your first report on the road Patti. I am assuming you were comfortable driving down I 95 and did well on the roads pulling into gas stations. I applaud you and your passion for transports. Sounds like a beautiful place for animals to live out their lives in this sanctuary.
Good for you, Patti, going on your own and doing well😀. Our Humane Society just took in 80 dogs from just weeks old to adults. House with no running water! Yes in 2022! Ohio does a bad job of taking care of its poor. We are sending extra money to the Humane Society. Bless them! We and our neighbors don’t get each other gifts, we send to Humane Society.
Pattie – you are living my dream of a rescue farm!!! How old are these owners and who will carry on the rescue when they no longer are able? Dogs everywhere running free – and horses, too. So wonderful and I have driven many transports some understand that part. Your RV must be quite comfortable even with 3 large dogs. I wish I lived closer so I could adopt a doodle from them. Sometime I have some questions for you about doodles. Is is very hot there? Can you send some pictures? Where did you park to spend the night on your way down? You are a brave soul and I’m just so jealous.
Keep up the wonderful work and telling us your adventures!
Let me tell you about the boot….WEAR IT! You don’t want to sit all winter from reinjury. You know what i’m talking about. Lol and so does your husband, Paula in KY
I don’t always comment but every time you send out the blog it is so interesting! Reader quilts are beautiful, all of your activities are so interesting and pictures of your animals, the kids? The things you find at the thrift store, the interesting places you go, the quilts at the fair… everything is so much fun to have you share with us!!! Our county fair starts now too and our youngest granddaughter is in her last year in 4H so we will be watching her show her alpaca and looking at all the great works that people have done this year!! Thank you, so much, Mary! You make my day!!!
Kathy – thank you, Kathy! How’s Penny? I haven’t gone many places lately – my bum foot makes walking just too hard! Luckily it’s not my driving foot.