Author: 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.

Visit to Leighton, AL

June 28, 2025 On June 16 (Monday), I told Bruce I wanted to only go for a short motorcycle ride. My left shoulder and back were bothering me. I wanted to try to ride the motorcycle, but not cause my back and shoulder pain to become extremely painful. We rode down to Leighton, AL which […]

A Walk Around Blackberry Homestead

June 28, 2025 On June 15 (Sunday), I told Bruce I needed to take it easy. I woke up with my knee aching. Fortunately, walking wasn’t a problem. Bruce decided to mow the blackberry canes around pine tree number two. He wanted to get closer to the trunks to cut the tree branches off. Pine […]

Pine Tree Number Three Down to the Trunk

June 28, 2025 On June 14 (Saturday), the storm had left Blackberry Homestead cooler. I checked the garden for potential problems and for problems. Bruce and I took advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures and sunshine to finish removing the branches from pine tree number three, Bruce used the chainsaw and the pole saw to […]

Stormy Weather Rolls Overhead

June 28, 2025 On June 13 (Friday), we were outside checking the plants when we noticed a storm rolling in. In the above picture, you can see the broken pine tree number two. You can see where Bruce cut the attached trunk so the stump is now clear. I took a picture of the some […]

Planting More Blueberry Bushes and Back by Popular Demand, Bee Bums

June 27, 2025 On June 11 (Wednesday), we planted three more blueberry bushes. I forgot to take a picture until I was admiring the bushes the next day. We also planted an American persimmon tree, Caramel Cocktail recently. I am not sure of the exact date I planted it. On June 12 (Thursday), I took […]

Female Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

June 27, 2025 On June 11 (Wednesday), I got some pictures of a female ebony jewelwing damselfly sunning on the floating primrose in the creek.

Julia, Julia, How Do Your Peppers Grow? In Five Gallon Buckets, All in Rows on the Patio

June 27, 2025 I thought I’d provide an update on growing peppers in five gallon buckets. June 11 (Wednesday), I took a look at my pepper plants in the five gallon buckets. They are growing well and producing lots of peppers. The rain and wind earlier in the week had caused some of the pepper […]

Pictures of the Garden

June 27, 2025 On June 10 (Tuesday), I got up to take Nox outside. It was foggy from all the rain from yesterday. I had PT and on the way to Florence, the fog covered the Tennessee River. By the time we got back home, the fog had burned off. Bruce went off to mow […]

Cutting Branches from Pine Tree Three

June 27, 2025 On June 10 (Monday), Bruce used his electric pole saw to cut branches from pine tree three. It was a lot of work. I helped by dragging branches out of the way. We made a lot of progress in breaking the tree down. A storm was coming, so we started heading inside. […]

Getting Chickens from Our Neighbors

June 23, 2025 On June 7 (Saturday), I got a text from our neighbor saying our ten chickens were ready. He had sent the text while Bruce and I were demolishing pine tree one. I didn’t hear the phone notifying me. After I got cleaned up, I saw the text and responded back asking when […]