Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm

I told myself this year while going to the boys in California during the month of May, I wasn't going to do much as far as a vegetable garden this year. That's because I would plant and weed like crazy before I left and then when I came home it would just be a jungle out there. I have gotten tired of coming home right when the humidity would kick in and try to work out in it. I'm not getting any younger and the humidity, it's not letting up either. But I cannot handle a jungle in my veggie patch. Literally it drives me nuts. So that's what I've been doing in the morning, every morning since I've been back. I will go out to the veggie patch and work until I can't handle it anymore. After being in California with no humidity, I come back a wuss every time. It takes me at least a week to acclimate back. Yesterday was the best day I've had so far this week, I lasted till 10:30. But not today I barely made an hour. With the humidity bein

Yes that's right, it's 70°  and  here it is December 9. This is unseasonably warm weather, but I have to admit I am enjoying it because I was able to put in some outside time that I normally wouldn't of been able to this time a year. Before I went outside today this morning, seeing how is it was in the 30's and 40's.   I worked on some of my Quilty 365 circles I have been searching for Christmas fabric to add to the boys I spy quilts.  And here are some of them that I found. Christmas is such a fun one to do.  I have a few more fabrics but not enough to go all the way to 25 December. I'm not sure what I'll do.  I'll deal with that when it when the time comes. Then this afternoon I spent time on something I normally do the end of October to the middle of November but seeing how I was gone this year and when I got back we had a whole mess of rain that the ground was too wet to mow.

Even thou I was able to get some gardening in you can see by the picture there is so much to do and I have little time to do it right now.  For some reason this year I just could not keep up with the growth of weeds. Then on top of that, some of the veggies just didn't preform like they should of. My guess is the cooler temps in early summer, then above normal rainfall in the summer. So now it's getting close to our first frost and Grammy needs to be leaving to go visit the "little dudes" Plans are to tend to harvesting whats left before I go and then worry about most of the clean up when I get back. Was able to get one block made from The Farmer's Wife 1930's book and went looking for the pink fabric used in this block but had no luck. Did find the green so I guess I'll use that. Think all white border might be a little to plain seeing how it needs at least a 6' border just to make it 36". Woul

It is meal like tonight is why I work so hard growing my own food.  This morning the weather was perfect and I spent my time out in the garden. With the extreme heat and humidity before the quilt show last week I didn't feel right about starting the fall crops. I believe they would of just burned up, especially seeing how I wouldn't be around to tend to the seeds. So I was out there prepping a bed to plant, when it dawned on me that I hadn't dug the potatoes up. Some of the plants are still green plants, I believe those to be the purple ones. But there were some that had died back I say a month ago and I knew if I didn't dig them up soon they would start sprouting and growing.  Well sure enough as I was digging I came across a couple of new plants. Had a thought.... I have never grown a fall crop of potatoes so I left those plant in the ground and even added some more dirt to give them a good start. Will see what happens, It is the right time to pl

I have the first of 4, of the Ruby's Gardens done and the fabric picked out for the next one. It has been so stinking hot that I do not dare go outside after I come in from working in the garden. By then I am heated and tired and just want to hibernate inside. I had no intentions to work in the garden this morning seeing how it was near 80 at 7:00, other than watering the new seeds planted but this one bed has been driving me nuts since I've been home.  My garden and that beds looked like this 6 weeks ago before I left  As you can see I had planted cabbage in this bed.  Now my garden looks like a jungle. I made it through only weeding half the bed before I got overheated. I wanted to get it all gone but it was just too hot and this was before 9:00. I just can't work out in this heat like I use to. I had harvested 5 heads cabbage and meant to get to the others before the rain hit last week.   But I put it off and now my cro

I want to share an update on my straw bale garden experiment. I hadn't planted anything before I left to go to California last month. I was afraid it was going to be hot and dry and no one to tend to the bales. Boy was I wrong, we had a record amount of rain and cool weather while I was gone. My bales were perfect for starting a garden. They were well into the composting phase of their development and ready to plant. Last week I planted pumpkins, a climbing butternut squash and some cucumbers. I planted vines variety because my bales are next to the fence and I figured I would take advantage of it As you can see they all came up so beautifully except for some older pumpkin seeds that I went ahead and planted.... being very doubtful they would even come up.  So I'll need to replant something in that spot As you can see from this photo I have some weeding to do around my bales. weeds find any crevice to grow. After I do that,

My day did not go as I had planned this morning. I figured I would work outside for a couple hours and come inside to clean up, then spend time in the sewing room all afternoon. It look good on paper but not in reality... I did spend the morning outside but longer than I thought I would. First on all the humidity was lower than it has been so I was able to last longer working.  I was out there from 7 to 11am...was able to plant seeds for zucchini and butternut squash, weed some more (which I bet will take me all this month to get it cleaned up). Was working in the bed with the onions and like the peppers... there are some in there There they are The front porch finally was cleaned up of all the fallen bird seed and fall decorations. Pretty sad that I had not gotten to that before now but seeing how I live in the boonies and do not have company very often it was easy to put it off. Well by the time I came in and shower, it was lunch time. And like my gran