~ More Earth Sun Catchers ~

Yesterday I had Little Missy and Little Froggy , so I decided to let them try to make a earth suncatcher for Earth Day. We made a simpler version , out of a coffee filter. I put some blue and green food coloring in small containers , they used a paint brush to dab the color on the filter , then I sprayed the filters with water to make the color run. We laid them on a paper napkin and let them dry.

They were so cute when I gave them a paint brush , they were looking at me like I had lost my mind , but they watched and took their brushes and dabbed at the filters just as I had shown them. They did well until I sprayed the filters and they saw the colors running , then they just had to put their little hands in it , so they got stained hands ( true little artist ), but for 17 month olds they did good. I really like the way they turned out , it's a wonderful tye-dye look , I punched holes and hung them with fishing line.

Hope everyone had a great Earth Day !

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ On this Earth Day ~

Let us begin to
celebrate Earth Day ........... Everyday

Let us Appreciate

& Respect Mother Earth's beauty .....

Let us take good care

of her .....

reuse * recycle * pick up litter when we see it.

Let us take time each day to be Thankful for all she provides for us !!

~ Earth Day Blessings to Everyone ! ~

JoyceAnn

~ In the Garden ~

I worked in the garden Saturday , finally got the broccoli and cabbage planted , hope it has time to produce before it gets to hot. I also got my asparagus and strawberries planted in the raised beds , still need to mulch them. Hope to get the seeds planted this week. The onions and potatoes are sprouting , need to mulch them soon too.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Cooking up some Dandelion Greens ~

I tried that dandelion recipe last Saturday , it was so good I made it again Thursday night. Dh said it was different , but later said it tasted pretty good. I think it is delicious , highly recommend it , wish I had taken a pic of the finished dish but I forgot to. I served it over brown rice , Dh doesn't like brown rice , so I think that's why he didn't care for it. The next time I will serve it on white rice or whole wheat noodles. Here is the link for the recipe if you want to try it ~ http://southernfood.about.com/od/collardgreens/r/bl30319f.htm ~.



Check-out Flassie's blog for another yummy looking recipe using dandelion greens , I hope to try it soon ~ http://wwwflassiesfila.blogspot.com/2009/04/while-looking-at-martha-stewart-website.html ~ . Tansy has a recipe for cream of dandelion soup posted over at Not Dabbling in Normal ~ http://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/eat-your-weeds/ ~ . It sounds delicious too , hope I can gather enough dandelion greens to try both of these recipes.

Hope everyone is having a Blessed weekend !!

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Spring Break / Celebrating Earth Day

Curious J has spring break this week , no pre-school. He's staying with me , Little Froggy is staying with my Mom this week , so Jake and I can spend time together , creating and doing big boy things.

He has been helping feed and water the animals. Shadow enjoys chasing him , but he gets to rough with him at times. He's just playing , but he's a big pup now and doesn't know his strength.

We're celebrating earth day this week , since he'll be back in pre-school next week. Yesterday we made an earth sun catcher and planted my rosemary. Today we made a diorama of the ocean and baked Mother Earth oatmeal/raisin cookies.

~ Spring Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Easter Blessings ~ * ~

It was a Blessed Easter for us , we had our gathering with family and friends. The kids enjoyed the egg hunt , games and swinging.

Everyone brought covered dishes and ate to much.

Little Miss Sunshine took time to smell the flowers.

Hope you had a Blessed Easter !

~~ Spring Blessings ~~

JoyceAnn

~~~ DandyLions ~~~

Today I'll be gathering dandelion blooms , hope to gather a gallon and start some dandelion wine. I'm also gathering the last of the violets , hope to harvest enough for another batch of jelly and some for potpourri.

~~ Spring Blessings ~~

JoyceAnn

~ Herbal Hike ~

Spring has all the wonderful herbs popping up , I've been hiking and trying to identify them. I've found some interesting plants , but need to wait for blooms to open , to properly i.d. them.

Shadow always tags along and enjoys the creek , while I explore. He found some grass along the creek bank that must be pretty tasty , so he chowed down. We ran into Mr. Kong whom resides behind my hubby's garage at the edge of the woods , he's been around this area for a few years. He maybe finding a new home if he decides to visit the chicken coop (lol).

I finally got around to making those violet ice cubes , they're quite charming. The dandelions are blooming , plan to make some ice cubes with their blooms too.

The weather has been colder the last couple of days , but I believe we're suppose to get back to Spring weather starting today ~ Yay ! Will be planting broccoli and cabbage tomorrow , a little late but I think it'll be o.k.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week !!

~ ~ Spring Blessings ~ ~

JoyceAnn

~ Windowsill Beauty & Fundraisers ~

Lib and JoAnn inspired this photo , check-out Lib's violet jelly in the windowsill at http://libsprivateparadise.blogspot.com/2009/04/violet-jelly-and-tea-parties.html and JoAnn's blog about flowers and vases at http://piecefulquillting.blogspot.com/2009/03/flowers.html , you'll see way I was inspired . I enjoy picking flowers from the yard and having them on the windowsill at the sink to enjoy as I do dishes. The rosemary will be put outside as soon as danger of frost is past , the rosemary from last year didn't survive , so we'll try again this year.

I read in our local paper about a Relay for Life fundraiser happening yesterday , one of the local chicken processing plants was having meat sale. They had fresh boneless chicken breast for 2.00 lb. I sent DH to pick some up , we got 30 lbs , the last 3 bags . I was thrilled to add this to our freezer , great price for a great cause.

Hope you're having a Great weekend !!

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ A Walk around the Homestead ~

Between the April showers , Little Froggy and I took a walk around the homestead yesterday. Just as we were getting to the chicken coop , I saw a big bird flying up to a tree at the end of the garden. I thought it was a buzzard , but then I saw the long tail feathers. I believe it was a wild turkey , I had my camera , but by the time I got close enough to get a pic , it flew off. I think it may have came by to visit the guineas and the hens, maybe it will come back. The hens are enjoying their freshly , cleaned coop.

The blueberry bush I moved last fall , is putting out leaves and buds. The other two aren't sprouting , hope to get some more blueberry bushes this weekend to replace those.

Little Froggy thought it might be fun to feed Jazzy a stick , she wasn't to thrilled , although she does love apple tree sticks.

Have you taken a walk around your homestead lately ?

~ Spring Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ In the Garden ~

Tuesday I spent most of the day in the garden. I cleaned out the small bed behind hubby's garage , found some surprises. Catnip is growing there and a couple of spinach plants. I planted mixed leaf lettuce there last year , so I guess that's were the spinach seeded from. I may have planted the catnip year before last , not sure why it's just coming up or maybe it was in the lettuce mix from last year. I sowed more mixed leaf lettuce in this bed.


We've been working on the other raised bed , raked and added leaves to it. I also added a bucket of rabbit poop , will probably buy a few bags of compost to put on top , since I've used what I have and the other compost is not ready.

The garlic is showing out , but so are the weeds. Next week I'll be weeding and adding some fish emulsion to it. We planted onions on Tuesday too , almost a whole row , no worry about vampires around here (LOL).

The mixed leaf lettuce is growing well , sowed more in the bare spot Tuesday. The spinach I planted in this bed didn't germinate , so I planted another kind of spinach and some carrots in that spot , we'll see how it goes.

My seed starting has been a real disappointment this year. First the cat made a bed on my lettuce seedlings and destroyed them. Now the broccoli , brussel sprouts and cabbages have just stopped growing , so I guess I'll buy some plants next week.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~~ Violets ~~

The violets are blooming , they're so beautiful. I harvested some of the blooms yesterday , and made violet jelly. This was the first time I've made violet jelly , the flavor is mild and delicate , it taste wonderful on crackers. Making it was fun , it turns 3 different colors through the process. If you're interested in making violet jelly or want to learn more about violet as a herb , check-out the links below.

Recipes for violet jelly ...........
http://www.prairielandherbs.com/violetjelly.htm

http://spring-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/violet_jelly

The April issue of Herbal Roots is about violets ........ http://fieldoftansy.blogspot.com/2009/03/herbal-roots-april-2009_30.html , I haven't purchased it yet but I'm sure it's full of wonderful information.

Great blog entry about the herbal uses of violets .....http://garlic-breath.blogspot.com/2009/03/violets.html

~ Violet Blessings ~

JoyceAnn