Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Mrs. Bird has been doing a lot of singing.  I almost (almost) got a picture of her.  Thankfully, she's singing and not squawking.  As long as she's already in the nest, she doesn't bother me at all.  Once I water the flower pot however, bam!  She really gives me a good talking to. Check this out!  Could another bird be laying eggs in there too?  I took this photo on June 7th. Mrs. Bird has inspired me to add a book to my bookshelf.  More on that later, but it's in the line up to read this year. Meanwhile, the rain has been a blessing for the garden(s). Mrs. Bird   ©  June 2025 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  Although the cooler mornings have been nice, this is not  - wild fire smoke so thick it looks like fog. Cough, cough.  Why is it that this has happened only the last few years?  Growing up, we never (that I remember) had to deal with bad air quality.  It would have been a good day to open windows here. Meanwhile I am trying to get caught up with everything that suffered in the last two weeks (it's not as bad as I thought), after planting the garden.  I'm struggling with blog content.  I may make it to the end of the year.  Maybe.   Smoke Haze in the Air   ©  June 2025 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  The days here have been so long, that I cannot even remember what I did in the mornings by the time evening rolls in.  It's easy to forget how much work planting a large garden is.  I know it will be worth it, and it is starting out much better than last year (in more ways than one). Exhausted with a capital E for sure.  Hard work in a good way. I'll be honest, I think we are more happy planting the garden this year.   I finally got all of the garden in, and rain is in the forecast as I type (praying it does).  We are not planting pumpkins of any kind this year.  We still have a lot in the freezer.  We are sort of on the path of having some garden good last 2 years, so we can start to rotate what we do plant.   Last year, I did not can any hot pepper relish, sweet pickle relish, can pickles, can jalapenos etc.  I planted 3 types of cucumbers this year.  Praying the harvest is bountiful. We are talking about expanding it ...

  I've been using a sample size of horsetail salve, to see if it will help with the very dry cracked skin on my hands (joys of gardening).  I did a bit of reading (like a tiny bit), and it apparently is good to help brittle fingernails too.  I do not make the salve.  I, honestly, never heard of it, until we bought some earlier this year.  So far, it's helping restore my hands and heal the very dry cracks.   Garden planting is still on-going.  The rain has now moved later into the week, so watering newly planted seeds and plants is happening.  I obtained a few packets of organic collard seeds, and have a new plan for them this year.  I read that if they are planted next to thyme, they thrive better (we'll soon find out). Our garlic is starting to grow scapes, and the radish plants have not even sprouted due to late planting.  The two together, make the most delicious dip.  I don't need to cut the scapes just yet, but I read they...

  After a long, but productive day in the garden, I retreated to the front porch for some "rest" time and to enjoy a few minutes of reading a book.  I was being harassed by a very small bird.  I am not sure what it is, but maybe a wren.  It was squawking and carrying on at me like I was in her territory.  I kept looking at her and, of course, talking to her.  She flew off, and I had peace on the porch again.   The next morning, I went to watering all of the hanging flower plants around the front porch.  Guess who has a nest (again) in one of our hanging pots?  Ha!  It's built interestingly safe from my watering too.  The top is covered and the entrance is low and on the side.  I used my phone to capture a photo of what's inside.   Hopefully, Mrs. Bird will be copasetic and share the porch with me, without squawking on and on in the evenings.  The strangest part, it's the flower basket that is closest to the ...

The evening temperatures are still cooler than we'd like.  It would be great if we were camping, but we are not.  Woke up to 38 F degrees this morning.  Way too cold for much of anything in the garden.  I'll be out to check on my tomato plants (there are a lot of them, so I am concerned). Yesterday, the last day of May, I thought I picked the last asparagus from the garden. I then found another one while out working on the garden.  I don't see anymore new shoots, so this should be the end of asparagus this year. On a good note, the garden fence is up.  It's not perfect, but it looks good. The remainder plants will not be planted until these cold nights warm up, and I am even hesitant to drop any seeds just yet.  It's been a very strange May this year. I planted some chamomile seeds, not realizing we'd have another night of very cold weather.  I also have already planted two types of radish seeds, two types of swiss chard seeds, and a some Russian ...

  Any writers here?  Are there any free downloadable programs that are similar to what Word offers?  Other than Google docs and notepad?  Looking for one like Word, in which to use for writing, with options to save to a removeable drive as well as save to the computer.  Font options, italics, underscore, paragraph widths and all the options that Word has. Or an inexpensive program to purchase similar to Word? Our Word program expired a few years ago, and I do not like notepad at all.  It comes in handy for a recipe, but that's about it. Thanks to anyone who can give me recommendations.  I think I follow a few that write books, and possibly a few that keep journals (not blogs, but actual personal journals) using their computer/laptap or tablet.   This tip may be a repeat tip.  Sorry if that is the case.  I started buying 2# bottles of Dawn on sale, and use them to refill our smaller bottle.  Saves us a lot of money, as we can, p...