In late March, FD and I began the big task of landscape cleanup at the rock house. After having many large trees removed in the year since my mother-in-law passed, we were left with a lot of overgrown shrubbery, wild vine, and small saplings growing in iris beds that FD’s grandmother had established more than … More A Tale of Spring Romance
Early yesterday morning while I was enjoying a cup of coffee on the back porch, I noticed some odd movement down in the canyon near the dry creek bed. Fetching my binoculars I observed a fox squirrel rolling around, flipping, jumping straight up, and then back to rolling in the red dirt. I wondered if … More Squirreling Away
Almost every morning when looking out the kitchen window while finishing up the last of the breakfast dishes, I can find Emma and Ronnie deer, grazing in the yard. Of course, this time of year there are numerous weeds growing, and my herb and lettuce bed is sprouting all sorts of greens that deer like to nibble … More Shadowing Your Mom At Work
Not surprisingly, it did not take FD long to find a name for our new doe fawn. The week before Emma’s arrival we drove to Wichita Kansas to meet my sister Jules. Wichita is more or less the halfway point between Jules’ home in Nebraska and our home in Oklahoma. She was bringing sixteen-year-old Emily … More Emma Deer’s Namesake
The month of May is usually quite busy around The Ten Acre Ranch. I am continually planting and weeding in the gardens. The flower beds also need attention and I usually add more variety to them, though I say every year that I am done planting more flowers. Then I see hummingbirds, butterflies, and bumble bees flying … More When Everything Slows Down
This time of year, when warmth returns and spring rains prompt growth, the landscape really comes to life. Birds begin migrating to the north, their chatter producing a cacophony of noise and song as they make their way through the woodlands. Mammals who have long slumbered or kept inactive over the bitterly cold winter months, … More It Is Of No Consequence
In late August, I happened to be in the front flower bed snipping fresh basil for a batch of my roasted tomato sauce, when I noticed a Green Lynx spider perched on a basil plant that had gone to seed. For years, I saw these spiky, green spiders all around the house but never did more than … More A Killing Freeze
When we moved on this place eight years ago, gardening was a fairly simple undertaking. All I needed was a small, tilled up section of ground, sunshine, and a little rain supplemented with water from our well for irrigation in the dry months of July and August. Spring fertilizer came from seasoned chicken manure from the year before. … More Roasted Tomato Sauce
Do you ever feel the notion to write when you are in the middle of a project that you cannot leave? Do thoughts of writing constantly bubble forth in your mind – the weaving and unraveling of a story or tale that you have a need to tell? These things happen to me all of the time. … More Too Many Hats and Too Many Irons in the Fire…
I fretted something fierce the week before FD and I headed to New York City. It was our first real vacation in seven years. I wanted everything to be done here on our ten acres so that on our return we would not have so much to deal with. FD’s sister from Dallas, Sissy Jo, offered … More Catching Up After Vacation
Last fall, it became apparent that FD and I would have to deal with a dead walnut tree between the old barn and our metal storage building. Not only could strong winds and ice bring limbs down on either building, they could also fall and injure any critter that might have to occupy “Daisy’s pen” … More Nature’s Gym
Day by Day the Farm Girl Way... 