For Sarah P.

Zinnias in the first picture, and gomphrena is in the right forefront of the second picture, the ball shaped flower.

Flower Madness

Evening walk on the farm and last market

Ancestry

I'm a lover of old family photos. I can never get enough of them; seeing how people age, the jawline or eyebrows or lips that pass from one generation to the next, the spirit revealed through a smile, the apprehension of life conveyed by a glance captured by film over a century ago. Though I would share these somewhat recent acquisitions to our meager collection.

1st photo- Stuart's paternal grandmother, Ruth. Stuart's father is the oldest son. All of Stuart's siblings have some of Ruth's features. I hear she was an amazing woman and I wish I could have met her.

2nd photo- Stuart's paternal grandparents, Ruth and Ranny (nickname for Ransom), Stuart's father in the adorable western wear shirt. Stuart's parents have some amazing furniture pieces made by Ranny, a artist with wood, although not his profession. I hear he also built a boat, the start of Stuart's father's love for boating.

3rd photo- circa early 1900. my maternal great great grandmother Milly Ann and her 9 (soon to be 10!) children. Can you believe the hairdo's? My great grandmother is the female in the front row. Milly Ann's husband was a scoundrel and she raised these ten children basically on her own. She looks tough as nails to me, and beautiful.

4th photo- Maternal great grandmother Bessie with her three children, my grandmother with the adorable bashful look in the middle.

5th photo- My lovely mother around age 16.

Spring delights

Did you all see Bittman's commentary on the sustainable food movement? Check it out and viva la revolucion! We can do this!!!

For Sarah

My brother says we can take it for a spin when you come visit.

House arrangements

This past week we received a house-warming present that makes me so happy. Our neighbors who collect and sell antiques gifted us this lovely pitcher and wash basin set. I can't get over how vibrant the blue is---so gorgeous. This picture does it no justice. Our neighbor had the perfect idea that it would be appropriate for warm water foot massages from Stuart to Alice....heehee.
The poppies are almost officially "in season" on the farm. They are loaded with blooms and we picked our first bunch last week. We'll see what the 30-31 temps do to them tonight. Hopefully just make the buds more cold-hardy! Also new on the flower front---hyacinth. A new cut for our farm and I'm smitten. The bulbs are pricey but the frangrance.....divine. You need some of these on your table.

My mother's mad skillz; old picture

Some artwork by me mum. Isn't she amazing? Her heart is more beautiful than any bleeding heart you'll ever come across, and that is the truth. We actually need some bleeding hearts on the farm....behind the house is a great spot for some and also hellebores as it is shady but well drained.
Right now our garden looks like a swamp. We only got an inch and a half of rain today, but whew, it sure made a mess of things. Drainage issues abound at our farm; it's something we really need to work on as we lose many a crop dollar to wet feet.
Our good friend Alix came by the other week and brought us a portrait she did a few years back for Mule Magazine. It's great to have a good picture of us both, a rare thing. We noticed something was weird about the photo; I'm not really that much shorter than Stuart, but I had just pulled my hamstring when this was taken so I must be leaning on something for balance. It's so sweet I wanted to share it with you all. Thank you Alix!!!