Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Julia

March 17, 2026

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law! She arrived on Saint Patrick’s Day!

Enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day!

I am going to try and stay warm today.

Before the cold arrived (March 12, Thursday), Bruce spent some time mowing.

Bruce Mowing Near the Purple Magnolia

I took pictures of flowers in the front flower garden. I weeded the front flower gardens. I put a stepping stone in the small flower garden. That made it easier to put in the two larger stepping stones to support the birdbath. I haven’t put the glass bowel out on the birdbath stand yet. I don’t want to experience the breakage I had with my previous glass bowel when the water froze. I forgot to take pictures of my work, so I’ll take pictures when I put the glass bowel on the stand.

Fritillary
??
Covered Fig Trees and Mowed Lawn

I planted radishes along the side of the asparagus bed. They shouldn’t disturb the asparagus.

On Friday (March 13), we went into town to pick up my prescriptions. Afterwards, we stopped at the TVA Muscle Shoals Trail Complex. This is where all the trails meet on the TVA land. We walked on the garden trail.

Entry Park and Parking Lots for Trailheads

We looked at the trail map and decided to walk the garden trail.

Trillium Little Sweet Betsy
??
Sunlight
Lesser Celandine
We’ve Been There

Walking back to the car, we saw this trailhead.

I was very excited to get my plants from Rain Tree.

We did more dirt moving. It was hard work.

Dirt Covering the Wood in Tall Garden Bed

We walked around Blackberry Homestead, we saw the sunset behind the house.

Sunset

We walked to the front and sat in the rocking chairs to enjoy the rest of the sunset.

Sunset

On Saturday (March 14), this heart shaped rock was discovered in the Bama Dirt. My friend from a Colorado farm believes heart shaped rocks are a gift from the earth.

Heart Shaped Rock

The peas have started spouting. As my daughter said when she was small, “Thems are just little sprouts, but one day thems are going to be big sprouts.”

Pea Spout

I also dug holes to plant the trees that I heeled in from the Arbor Day Foundation. I planted three red buds and two crabapples. From Rain Tree, I planted a bare root Japanese persimmon and four bare rooted currants. I put cardboard around the plants. Bruce covered the cardboard with wood chips from the downed pines. I helped with covering the cardboard once the cardboard was in place.

Card Board in Place

On Sunday (March 15), I noticed the red pineapple was looking a little sad. I need to harvest the pineapple and see if I can grow the top.

Red Pineapple

We had a very windy thunderstorm with tornado watches hit us. We were up late in case we needed to take shelter.

Monday (March 16), the cold arrived. We got snow on and off throughout the day. We braved the cold to walk around Blackberry Homestead to see if any damage was done. Thankfully, we didn’t have any damage.

I took the time to make bread and caramelize 10 pounds of onions.

Bruce spent some time researching several things on the internet. He called the RAM dealer to get an oil change scheduled.

Today (March 17), we are sitting at Applebee’s while waiting for the truck service to be completed. It is cold with the wind making it feel so much colder.

30 thoughts on “Happy Saint Patrick’s Day”

      1. It has been awhile. My parents retired in Foley, Al and really liked visiting Muscle Shoals. Fairhope, Al is also a lovely town to visit and on Highway 98, very scenic homes and route.

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    1. I freeze them in quart bags. I put 1/2 cup into each bag, flatten them so they don’t take up much space. It makes it easy to get out the amount I want. Once before, I put as many onions in a quart bag as would fit. Once thawed, I had to use them up quickly. You could put a cup instead of a 1/2 cup and that would work well.

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      2. You can freeze strawberries whole. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash the strawberries and dry them off. Put the strawberries in one layer on the baking sheet. They should have some separation between them and shouldn’t touch the rim of the baking sheet. Place in the freezer until frozen. Remove the frozen strawberries, place in a freezer bag, and return to the freezer. You can do the same with half strawberries.

        If you are using strawberries for a pie, you can slice the strawberries until you have enough for a pie,mix sugar in, place in a freezer bag and freeze them. This also makes for a great ice cream topping. Just let them thaw in the fridge.

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    1. We are so busy. It always feels like there is so much to do. Bruce keeps reminding me that we own Blackberry Homestead, it doesn’t own us. We do want to get set up so later we don’t have to do as much.

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Published by Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We have a 12-pound dog, Nox, who we love dearly. She has been with us since 2009. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. We bought a ranch house on a hill in the middle of five acres. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist and I’ll share my current projects. Reading is my favorite hobby.