Cutting Down Dead Branches

March 22, 2025 On March 19 ( Wednesday), the weather was lovely. I planted more seeds in my raised beds, spinach, lettuce, carrots, turnips and Japanese mustard. While I was busy planting, Bruce decided to cut down some dead branches from our row of pine trees in the back pasture. It was a lot of […]

Putting Up Our DeRubeis Artwork

March 18, 2024 On Sunday (March 16), I took a garden rake and started raking gravel back into the driveway, trying to fill up the washed out section on the hill. I finished that and went to the bottom of the driveway. As I was raking gravel, Bruce came out with a couple of shovels. […]

Making Soil for My Five Gallon Buckets

March 12, 2025 By yesterday, Nox had gotten very smelly since her last bath, so it was time for her to get squeaky clean again. In the morning, I washed her in the shower. After getting toweled dry, Nox sat outside in the sunshine with me. After lunch, we sat outside on the front porch […]

Gardening, Assembling Shelves, Cutting Off Branches and Unpacking Boxes of Books

March 9, 2025 Yesterday, I planted bunching onions seeds and fennel seeds. I also moved several medium sized branches that came down in the high winds to the dead hedge. I mulched the strawberries and onion plants. While I was getting leaves and pine straw to mulch the strawberries, I noticed this violet blooming. I […]

More Dirt from Bama Dirt

March 3, 2025 This morning, I got a text from Bama Dirt asking if we were ready for our second load of dirt. I texted back, “Yes”. The driver texted to ask if I wanted it in the same spot. The answer was, “Yes”. We had moved the tarp closer to the last three short […]

Bama Dirt Delivery

March 2, 2025 On Friday (February 28), Bama Dirt called and asked if we were ready for a delivery. The answer was yes! They had to mix the dirt before they could bring it, so it took a bit for them to arrive after the call. After looking at the dirt, we decided to buy […]

Putting Up Bird Feeders

February 16, 2025 I had purchased a bird feeder online. We purchased a pole from Lowe’s. At Rural King, we bought sunflower seeds, spicy suet, a suet holder and a sock feeder. On Valentine’s Day, we placed the pole in the front yard so we could see it from the living room picture window. We […]

Valentine’s Day, Blackberry Homestead Style

February 15, 2025 On February 14 (Friday), I woke up to flood warnings in Florence, AL from the National Weather Service. The Tennessee River was (and still is) at flood stage. I mentioned I wanted to go to the Rockpile Recreation Park along the Tennessee River to see the water pouring over the Wilson Dam. […]

Finished Clearing the Drainage Ditch

February 2, 2025 Last night, Nox decided she needed a massage. She got my attention and made it clear I should follow her. She trotted down the hall, to our bedroom. She looked up at the bed, so I picked her up and put her on the bed. I picked up the remote and asked […]

Visit to RV and Uncovering Drainage Ditch

February 1, 2025 This morning, Nox and I went to the RV. Nox was happy to be back at the RV. She hopped up onto the couch after I put her blanket down. I plugged the water hose in and kept my fingers crossed that we didn’t have any problems after the bitter cold (8 […]