Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. 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. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.

Where, Oh Where Has My Day Gone?

August 9, 2026 On August 7, Bruce had made plans to meet a friend for lunch in Huntsville. Bruce was getting computer memory from his friend to try out. We decided to go early to enjoy the Huntsville Botanical Garden. We can remember when the Garden was a start in a cow pasture, with more […]

If That Mockingbird Won’t Sing…

August 7, 2026 On August 5, I put together the garden kneeler and seat I ordered from Amazon. It was mostly easy to put together. It was hard to push the buttons in to release the extendable feet for extra stability. One button worked just fine and the other was a struggle. Using a chopstick, […]

Burn Pile Is Set on Fire

August 6, 2026 On August 5, Bruce decided to set the burn pile on fire. He was dragging the hose to the burn pile, while I was heading to the blueberry circle to weed. I only weeded for a couple of hours. This time I understood just how much work weeding the blueberry circle is. […]

More Cowbell, Oops, Not Cowbell, I Meant More Tractor and Chainsaw

August 6, 2026 On August 3, while I was finishing up the weeding, I am sure some of you (Tom from Reiko’s Journey) were wondering what Bruce was up to. Bruce clipped the blackberry thickets to make straight sides. This allowed him to safely mow next to them. He also clipped the blackberries around the […]

Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Hummingbirds and Flower Bed Weeding Done

August 6, 2026 On August 3, I spent the cool of the morning pulling out the last of the weeds from the flower garden. The flower garden jungle is tamed. In the early afternoon, I took a walk around the garden to determine what should be done next. First task, kill the Harlequin bugs on […]

Almost Done Taming the Flower Bed Jungle

August 4, 2026 On August 1, 2026, in the morning and afternoon, Bruce and I did a lot of outdoor work. In the evening, I saw this bird on the feeder. Using the picture, the Merlin app wasn’t able to identify the bird. When I used the step by step, I was able to find […]

Pictures of Pretty Red Okra

August 3, 2026 Updated August 7 to correct grammar errors. This is what happens when I write a post as I am drifting off to sleep and posting it. Vero, from https://verosverbiagevisuals.com/ and I were exchanging comments about okra flowers. I happen to mention that I was growing red okra. I asked if she wanted […]

And the Jungle Is Less Wild

August 1, 2026 On July 30, in the late afternoon and early evening, Bruce used the leaf sweeper mower attachment for sweeping the hay from mowing. Bruce used his soaked water vest to keep cool. While Bruce was sweeping the yard, he saw a mouse. He said the mouse ran away from him and stuck […]

And Now, Back to the Present

July 30, 2026 On July 26, we started to try to tame jungle Blackberry Homestead had become. We had an overnight thunderstorm that knocked down an old branch from the oak. Bruce mowed at the highest setting on the mower deck. There was no speed mowing that Bruce normally enjoys. It was slow going and […]

Still Back in Time, and Stopping at LaMar’s Donuts Before Coming Home

July 29, 2026 On July 23, weleft Jeanne’s (from A Jeanne in the Kitchen) to head home. We made a detour to stop at a LaMar’s Donuts. I have missed getting LaMar’s Donuts as a special treat since we left the Denver Metro area. If you like donuts and have never had a LaMar’s Donut, […]