Rooster in the Bush

Well, mist has been seldom seen lately in the heat of our North Carolina summer, but I did want to finally begin to introduce the Chickens in the Mist to you all. I'd love for you to meet the Rooster in the Bushes. He's a bit shy, but agreed to talk to you all.

As you can easily see, I am a fine big handsome fellow. My breed is of chicken Buff Cochin and I have some very handsome feathered feet. The Buff refers to my color, not to my manly physique. Even though I am very handsome, I don't much like my picture taken, so the Crazy Chicken Lady had to stalk me a bit.

She'll never find me here, I'm so well camoflaged in the bushes!

Still hiding!

The Mexican Pentunias don't offer much cover, I'll have to keep my head down!


Out from the bushes to greet a favorite hen!

"Ditch-Lily" Tablescape

Many thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday Do go by her lovely blog and be inspired!

Down old country roads, and beside quiet lanes a lovely flower grows.

It is called by folk in this area a "Ditch Lily" and is some variety of wild daylily. It grows and blooms in great profusion but is seen only by those who pass by those quiet spots.

Unless of course someone who loves them puts them on the table for all to admire.

This week, I went down one of those old country lanes where I played as a child and found blooming in glorious splendor the orange ditch-lilies of my childhood. In just a few minutes, I had gathered a great armful, along with some Queen Anne's Lace and wild daisies, enough to make a nice arrangement for my table.

The placemats were made by my talented Mother in Love, Ann, as a gift for my graduation. They were originally intended to be handtowels, but were just too lovely. The soft orange tablecloth was found at a yardsale a few weeks ago.

From my MIL came this nice set of dishes as well. I am so grateful for her kindness! I know you can't see it in the pictures, but there is a tiny bit of orange in the dark ring on the outside of the dishes which blends beautifully with the colors of the lilies and tablecloth. The bread plate is translucent smoke colored and I hope to use it more in other tablescapes.

The linen napkins beautifully embroidered with our initial were made by a dear friends' mother, Jill from A Season of Grace. I could not believe how beautiful they were, and am so touched by the thoughfulness of these dear ladies.

The tall candlesticks below blended so nicely with the colors of the flowers and tablecloth. I found these on the clearance aisle of a local craft store and knew I'd use them someday.

This is the tablescape in the candlelight. The tall vase is in an orangey colored carnival glass called "Iris Herringbone".

The goblets with this should have been a smoky color too, but I don't have any. I do, however,have a lovely cut crystal goblet, given to me by my late grandmother. Back in the 50's these came packed with peanut butter. Eat the peanut butter and keep the glass (I wish we had that today!). I remember drinking out of these as just a little girl at her house.

I hope you've enjoyed a trip back to my childhood and the beautiful things that wonderful women have gifted me with in this tablescape. Many Many Many thanks to Susan at

"Between Naps on the Porch" for hosting such a fun event! Hurry over to her blog to look at the other beautiful tablescapes!

Blueberries

Welcome to my contribution to Share a Garden Sunday hosted by the talented Artie at Color Outside the Lines. Stop reading NOW and hasten to his blog to see some truly beautiful and inspiring gardens.

Ok, you're back? Thanks for returning and I hope you are as inspired and maybe a little bit envious as I always am when I see the beautiful things over on Artie's blog. Could you believe that garden??!! Today, we are looking at the blueberries Rob and I planted last fall. Ok, Rob dug the holes and planted, but I did help. I love blueberres, in pies, scones, muffins, on cereal and just by the handful. We planted these bushes, in full sun, along our drive way. We had high hopes for them, even though we have had less than stellar results before. But wow, these are exceeding our hopes!

One thing that made a difference is that we planted, according to the growers instructions. What a difference following good advice makes! We dug huge holes, 3 feet by 3 feet and filled the holes with pure peatmoss, because blueberries like acidic growing media.

During the year, I've also put coffee grounds around the base (with the liner too sometimes!) because they are super high in acid. They also need plenty of water. We put a minimum of 3 measured gallons per bush per week last fall, when it was dry just to make sure that they got all they needed for a good start. That hasn't been needed this spring and summer since we've gotten plenty of rain here in NC. The plastic snakes you might notice are helping to discourage the birds from finding the berries as good as we do, and to find our feeders instead.

Just look at that harvest! This is just the first picking, with plenty more left on the bushes. I'm freezing these on a cookie sheet and packing them into plastic bags. When I have enough saved, I will combine them with other fruit for jam, or maybe make some wonderful blueberry pancakes for breakfast. That is, if they last long enough.

The red berries you noted are our raspberries which are starting in at this time too. We transplanted them from behind our house, and they are liking their new spot!

I hope you have enjoyed my garden, and picked up a few tips to help you grow delicious blueberries of your own! Again, visit our talented and gracious host Artie at Share a Garden Sunday for more blogs and good reading!

Frugal Finds Monday

This week was a bonanza of Frugal Fines and Thrifty Treasures as I visited several yardsales on my way home from work Saturday morning. I always check the Craigslist listings for any good yard sales that are in my area and check them out. Sometimes no luck, but this week was a tablescaping, gardening bargain hunters dream!

This is, as always, hosted by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality. Go and check out their blog!

The first find was for tablescaping. A lovely, lacy sugar and creamer set which will match my white gravy bowl to perfection. The very reasonable sum of $4.00 ensured it found a new and happy home with me.

Next, I found a perfect stoneware picture, which is EXACTLY what I wanted! I could maybe have dickered on the price a bit, but generally, I just pay what is asked.

Now for the best find of the morning. I had been looking for a deck box type thing in which to store my gardening tools. It had to be big, weatherproof and a seat on top would be a plus. had been looking retail, because you just don't find those things at yardsales around here. Until last Saturday anyway.

A little elbow grease and some scrubbing and this will be put into good use in my garden. Not bad for 25.00! On top of the box is another GREAT buy for the day. With my garden growing so well, I was hoping to score some canning jars for putting by the harvest. I got these at the great price of $1.00 per box!
Well, those were my great deals for the day! Don't forget search at Southern Treasures for more Frugal finds and Thrifty treasures!

Garden Metamorphosis

I've tried to think of something that we have "metamorphed" here at Chickens in the Mist because I so wanted to participate in Susan's (at Between Naps on the Porch) Metamorphosis Monday. The baby Chicks in the Brooder haven't grown enough yet to truly Metamorphasize, so I think I'll share my garden both at Metamorphsis Monday and at Share A Garden Sunday with Artie of Color Outside the Lines.

A little sun, a little rain, a little hope, and tiny seeds become tiny plants..

A little more rain, sun, and of course weeding, and the genetic code miracle begins to unfold, and the little seed, becomes a bigger plant...

With anticipation, we watch them grow and look forward to harvest, and good food to be shared with family and neighbors.

Belle watching the cows watch her. I think the cows are actually waiting for that corn to be bigger...

Corn, tomatoes,beans, cucumbers and squash are thriving in the little patch of sun my neighbor left me.

And in the front yard, flowers bloom..

Bees love the lavender and hummingbirds love the nectar,

Meet Our Pets

Sally in the Hosta

I was recently tagged by Mid-Atlantic Martha (hasten to her wonderful blog and be inspired!)and had to post the 6th picture in the 6th file on my computer. That photo just happened to be my beloved dog, Sally (who was in the hostas at the time). And here is her story:

We have an......unusual....dog living with us. She isn't in herself unusual, just an ordinary dog, but rather the circumstances of how she came to be with us are...different. We call her Sally, because she is long and tall, like the song and also because we have no idea what her real name might be. And why is that? Simple! She isn't really ours ! Now, before you start calling me bad names, you have to realize that Sally, of her own free will, decided that it was more fun at my house than at her old house, and moved herself over without asking permission from anyone. She used to traverse the 1000 or so yards between the houses, wearing out a little trail across the fields, but when the farmer fenced in his field, she decided that it was too much trouble to go around. So now, she's here on permanent loan. And she's just sweetness in dog skin, if you ask me :-).



Belle, Princess of the House

This is our precious old girl Belle, who really owns the house, no matter what the deed says.


She is almost 12 years old, but still spry and has her puppy-ish figure. She is reclining on the carpet in the guest room. She is adorable, loving and a bit of a sneak. She does naughty things, and quickly pins an innocent look on her face, and pins the blame on the other dogs. She has allergies to foods so must eat salmon and potato dog food, which makes her grocery bill run neck and neck with ours! I plan to get a new picture when she is all dolled up after her summer haircut. She is truly beautiful Belle, at least until she finds a hole to dig in! Beautiful Belle, after her summer trim

Cinder - the one and only cat


This little beauty is our girl Cinder. She is just the best cat, and a wonderful gardener. You can see that she is hard at work planting some impatients in windowboxes. They will be rearranged several times, before she is quite finished. She is a very constant companion, never underfoot or with her nose in your business, unlike some dogs I could name, but quietly in the background, watching, and only giving her opinions when asked.She is also an expert snuggler, and good mouser (much appreciated by the Chickens in the Mist). Without a doubt, she is the queen cat of the household, Cinder Elizabeth Diane Mouseripper.

Billy

And last , but never least, our Billy. Rescued from an abusive home, Billy came to live with us in fall of 2007. He was slow to warm up to me, but was my husbands buddy from the first day. He was the highest of praises, a good dog. So many memories he left us, before he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Cuddling with daddy on the bed. Playing with his favorite stuffed monkey. Begging at dinner under the table. Unexpected licks with a long, long tongue. Such soft, soft fur. You were loved, and you are missed desperately.

Mr. Bun-Bun

This guy is just a joy. Mr Bun-Bun is all long ears, soft fur and plain mischief. He loves to play with his rabbit rattle, to eat dried papaya and carrot chips and to do binkies for the plain joy of it. He is so gentle and allows us to pick him up and gently hold and stroke him. He knows that the papaya is "cookies"and eagerly comes for the treat. He is such a special bunny and with his friend Sakura make up all our "fur babies".

Next time: Finally, the Chickens in the Mist!