Barren

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, filled with family, friends and food!  We were lucky enough to have Josh spend a few days with us.  He flew in from the coast, as they say.  We had a fun time and he is loving life in San Fransisco. We had some of "the boys" over along with their folks for an after Turkey Day party.  We just dropped Josh off at the airport and I admit I shed a few tears. I will adjust again, just give me a day or two.  It got me thinking of the seasons and how we are entering winter here at the Farmhouse.  Change happens whether you are ready or not.  Things around here are changing - I got out my camera and took a few pics.

I think these bushes are splendid in their fall colors.

We switched out the summer begonias and added ornamental cabbage.  Slaw anyone?

Now that the leaves are gone we get a good view of the tennis bubble behind us.

I would be remiss if I didn't share Cliff's lawn with you.  I give the guy credit, he got himself a beautiful lawn!

I thought this was cool.  This a tree sap icicle.  I had been watching the sap ooze out of this tree and with the cold temperatures the sap froze into a giant icicle.  I wonder if it's maple flavored?

Well I titled this post Barren and you may be wondering why.  The trees are now barren, but, I am referring to something (or someone) else.  Drum roll please.....

Bonnie is NOT preggers!! The sonogram was done and there are NO little piggies in there.  Diagnosis: Pot Belly! I also have a feeling these little swine may be leaving the neighborhood very soon if they are not gone now.  I spoke with "their mom" and she wants them evicted ASAP.  More to come on this.

I am feeling a little melancholy today due to Josh leaving and of course the possible eviction of Bonnie & Clyde.

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Return to Blogging

I have been absent for awhile and I do apologize.  I have been busy attending to some very important matters close to home.  And by close, I do mean close.

It seems I have become the neighborhood liaison for loose running swine.  I have accepted this role with grace, if I say so myself!  However, as of today I am stepping down from my post.  You see, I have finally had a powwow with the owners of said piggies and he doesn't particularly mind that these beasts are at large.  Get it?  At large!! Anyway it seems I became the go to gal to call when swine were spotted.  Why?  Is it because I named my home The Flying Pig, or because we proudly spotlight a flying pig from our roof?

I'd like to think it's because I am a caring person. But, people, if the pig guy does not care if his little piggies are roaming the hood, why should I?  I have bigger fish to fry - don't I? I can't do it all.

This is Bonnie.  She may be in a family way.  According to her "dad" a sonogram was to be preformed last week. I must admit I am feeling very sorry for her having to haul that belly around!

At first they got loose maybe once a month, but, now it is an almost daily occurrence. Even Bella doesn't really care anymore.  It's just another day here at The Farmhouse for her.

On the house front we have been making a few changes.  We felt our den/living room was on the dark side, so we decided to replace the front door with a glass door to let some light in.

Before

After

I love it! Really adds some pizazz.

Stay tuned for a few more improvements.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Grey Gardens of Greenspring?

We have established that I am a nosy neighbor, for better or worse.  Today I took a sidetrack after checking on my beloved pigs and oh boy was it creepy!! There is a mansion that is next door to the swine.  This place is abandoned.  It looks like the folks just up and left one day. As I walked by I noticed that the back door had been broken and glass was everywhere.  Apparently vandals have been there. I ran home to get my camera and a cup of courage.  I had to see this.  The place was once called Mensana.  It was a "pain clinic" back in the 1980's.  If you are interested, look it up, a whole lot of #*%! went down at the"clinic".  After it was shut down it has remained as it was inside. Now that the windows are broken and the doors wide open you can see inside.

It reminds me of the movie Grey Gardens.  Grey Gardens is the story of two reclusive socialites who live in a derelict mansion in East Hampton.  They were mother and daughter, both named Edith Beale.  To say they were eccentric is an understatement!!  Mensana could be a stand in for their East Hampton home.

Weeds have taken over what was once a grand front yard.

Here is where vandals have opened up the house.  I was too scared to go inside, plus, it would be trespassing. I wouldn't want Cliff to have to come down to the precinct and bail me out - he's busy golfing.

Can't you just see Edith Beale sitting in her chair waiting for her tea? Or her cat food.

This is a second story window.  Looks like something has been eating the draperies.  I think I saw a 

woman's hand waving at me!

Even the trees are creepy.

I really enjoyed nosing around and I would love to see more.  I have looked at the property online and The place is full of big game mounted heads! The ick factor keeps going up.

So...what did you see today?

Thanks for stopping by.

A Need To Know? Or Just Nosy?

I like to think of myself as an inquisitive individual. I like to know stuff. The Internet has opened up a whole world to me that my beloved, yet , antiquated World Books, never could.  As a child I loved to read the encyclopedias that my mother proudly displayed on her dusty bookshelves.  We had the World Book Encyclopedias and the yearly publication, whose name I cannot remember.  I could recite every breed of dog or horse, I loved the pictures, too. Now when the thirst for knowledge hits me - I Google it.  I also love my smart phone, for those times when I am away from home and the thirst hits me.  This got me thinking. Am I just nosy or am I actually interested in obtaining answers to very pressing questions?  Case in point, the pot bellied pigs we recently "rescued" (what, you thought I would be interested in quantum physics?) The young man who owned the pigs told me he thought the female may be pregnant.  Well, this has been bothering me , as I am now deeply invested in the sows' well being.  So...I looked up gestational times for pot bellied pigs!  In case you are interested and I know you are, it is three months.  Here's where the nosy part comes in, I have been sneaking over there to check on Bonnie (her name).  Yes, I am trespassing, but , I need to know!! So far a lot of nothing, but, she and Clyde greet me with many oinks.

 

My next quandary is more of a global (Lutherville, MD) interest.  Both Cliff and I have been hearing random booming sounds and shaking of the earth.  Earthquake? After about the 10th time of hearing and feeling the blasts, we had to know. My very smart husband wonders if it is some sort of blasting, like from a quarry.  Out comes my smart phone and I boldly call the Bluegrass Quarry on Beaver Dam Road and guess what?  They blast on a regular basis and what we are hearing is said blasting.  Wow am I relieved, I thought we were experience aftershocks here at the Farmhouse. So you see I am very interested in the most mundane of things, but, hey at least I am interested. 

I hope you find this blog interesting.  I am thinking of finding out about different types of pine cones next. I have learned that different types of pines drop different shaped cones.  Fascinating stuff I find as I nosy about my neighborhood.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Field Trips

Believe it or not, sometimes we stray from The Farmhouse.  As much as we love our little home, we find ourselves drawn to other places.  Recently I was lucky enough  to tour Maryland's Sagamore Farm.  As you may know Sagamore was the home of Native Dancer, horse racing Royalty.  After falling into disrepair over the years, the farm is now owned by Under Armour's Kevin Plank and has been restored to its former glory.  It left me speechless.

Our next trip was to see the fields of sunflowers.  If you haven't been - you must run- do not walk, better yet, get in the car and drive!  There are no words.

Mother Nature at her finest.

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Who Are We?

Last evening as I watched my husband haul rocks from the stream bed, I started wondering who we are.  Or I should say who are we becoming?  Cliff has decided to build a low stone wall around the Carriage House.  He is using rocks from the stream by our house.  Every day for the past week he has gone and "mined" for rocks.  His term, not mine.  I must say he is doing a fine job.  In fact he has even come up with a title for this project.  Are you ready for this? Gardening Off  The Grid.  Why "off the grid" you may ask.  Well I will try to explain.  He has only used rocks and mulch from our property. No outside sources for this pioneer.   This got me thinking.  Are we turning into those Birkenstock wearing, granola eating folks we snicker at?  While my beloved is out "mining", I am fanatically sewing pillows on my dining room table. Am I turning Amish?  I mean I do ride a horse and sometimes I like to wear a really long skirt.  Oh wait - I use electricity to sew.  Never mind that thought. But seriously, what is leading us to take on such old fashioned projects?  Is it The Farmhouse?  Have we taken the whole Farmhouse thing too far? I have even been thinking of learning to spin yarn. And play the harp!

Here is Cliff's handy work so far.

The mulch pile is from the tree we had removed last fall.

Here is the "miner".

And of course what would a blog be without my crafts.  I have a new pillow theme. Foxes.

 I get a kick out of foxes dressed as fox hunters.  I know - crazy - right?  Well I've got to go and put up some canned goods before the storm rolls in.  What is happening here?

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Oh Deer!

Well folks it looks like we may have to put The Farmhouse up for sale.  We have had some very upsetting events taking place.  It seems a roaming gang has done some real destruction here and frankly I am just not feeling too safe!  Look at this careless vandalism that has occurred:

As you can clearly see there is no possible way we can live with this!  After all we have a paid security guard that frankly is laying down on the job.

That's right - you - Bella.  We count on you to patrol the premises and you have let these hoodlums destroy our beloved hydrangea and hibiscus bushes.  Oh, they are bold .  They come right up to the house and eat away.  I saw a few of them this morning and yelled out some choice words, but, they thumbed their cloven hooves at me and went on eating away. As I have told you before Bella enjoys eating the hibiscus flowers so I am starting to think that she may be in cahoots with these hoodlums. How's that for a fine how do you do? Oh, and I also have discovered my beloved dog is somewhat of a "loose" girl.  Cliff and I went on a little getaway last weekend and left Bella at a neighbors house. I was informed when I picked her up that she had slept in this persons' bed - with said person!! And snuggled, too.  Really?  I guess she is more of the love the one you're with type of gal.  I am a bit ashamed though.

Anyway, I am thinking of looking into a condo, on a high floor where no roaming vigilantes can destroy my plants. Then I will have even more time to craft.  I have two new creations that I am very pleased with.

This is Mr. Dandy Fox.  I went crazy and used two different fabrics.  I actually ran the beige fabric through my ink jet printer to get the image.

I found this bucket at Goodwill.  I painted it and added vintage wine labels, then distressed the paint.  I hope to put pine cones in it and put on the hearth.

I was only kidding about moving, actually I am going to shoot the deer!!! LOL people.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Fungus Among Us

We have a very unsettling problem on our hands - Fungus.  That's right, the lawn that Cliff worked so hard on is now over run with a fungal infection.  Sadly the beautiful green is now brown.  And it's spreading.

Not too attractive! Here is our dilemma.  Do we spray? Or do we not spray?  I am opposed to spraying for two reasons.  One, we have a well and eventually those chemicals end up in the water supply.  Don't they?  Secondly, we have a dog who enjoys eating, rolling and laying on the grass.  There is no way that this stuff can be good for her.  Can it?  However, something has to be done.  We just can't have a brown lawn!  Can we?  So many questions!  In other pest news the insects are having a great time destroying my flowers.

White fly has invaded my Million Bells.  I gave them a major haircut yesterday and sprayed them.

The beetles are eating the Hibiscus Flowers.

Funny, Bella eats the red one's and the beetles eat the yellow.  Fascinating stuff.

The roses are being eaten up too.

We planted 2 Hydrangea bushes and one is doing well, but the other is struggling.  I am providing  both with intensive care.

Even the very hardy Sweet Potato Vine is not immune from the pests.  

The garden was looking so wonderful and then the next day you notice these little buggers have taken over.  I guess we are lucky that the deer have not invaded our property, but they are all around us. It's a constant battle between good and evil here at The Farmhouse.

Josh has made it to San Fransisco and secured a job!  He is hunting for an apartment as I write. I must give that kiddo some props!  It's some adventure he is on.  We miss him, though with runaway swine and fungal problems we have been busy.

Thanks for stopping by.