While the world financial markets have been going down the toilet, I have been painting the front of my house. That was one of my goals this year. I had also planned to build an outdoor earth oven but that will have to wait. Getting the front of the house painted is, I decided, more important. I bought the paint two years ago. The cedar shingles have weathered for over 20 years. So I had to wire-brush them before painting on the solid-color stain. Two coats. I'm about 3/4 done. Our place will look a little more respectable with two sides painted. Then I'll have two more to do.Maybe I'll get another side painted next year. Maybe not.
In any event, it turns out that September is a good month for Morning Glories. They are Marlene's favorite flower and she plants them around the house. Marlene's homemade soap company is called "Morning Glory Soapworks." The label on each bar bears this Bible verse: "And in the morning then shall ye see the glory of the Lord." (Exodus 16:7).
If we ever have a farm (or something akin to one) she wants to name it "Morning Glory Farm." I want to name it "Strong Arm Farm."
Here are some pictures I took of Marlene's Morning Glories as they look around our home this time of year. The entrance is on the side of our house—the one side that is completely sided and painted:
So I've been painting the house, and Marlene has been canning salsa, tomato sauce, and stewed tomatoes. She says she has canned over 175 quarts of various fruits and vegetables this year. That's more than usual. She still has applesauce and grape juice ahead of her.
While I was painting the front of our house, our neighboring farmer was cutting hay. Then he had my son James ted it. Here are a couple pictures of James tedding hay in the field across from our house. He's thoroughly enjoying himself.
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8 comments:
Love them morningglories! We have "Heavenly Blue" twining around our mailbox, And other varieties around the back deck. Like "Grampa Ott". Morning glories love heat and sunlight, so they do well in the hot summers most people have in the United States. I have found out from people who have been there, that they don't thrive in Englands cool moist maritime climate. After looking at all those books of lovely English gardens, at least I can grow morning glories they can't! I once met a man from Surrey, and was commenting that I would like to grow 6' delphiniums, and such, like i had seen in the picture books. He grinned, and said he would like to grow a 6' tomato, or sweet corn. Let alone a watermelon. Oh, well, the other mans grass is always greener.
Morning glory farm is kind of funny because bindweed is wild morning glory.
It is real pretty climbing up the cornstalks though.
With $700,000 coming out of thin air we had better all prepare for whatever shakes out of this mess when they can't put it off any longer with bandaids.
Randy
I read your blog almost daily, and appreciate the time you take to share what you and your family are doing. I'm excited to hear that you're planning an earth oven--so are we! My husband would like to build it out of bricks, rather than cob. I think because he feels it will be more attractive :-)
Our house, too, is a "work in progress", but the photos of your interior are beautiful. I need some of Marlene's energy to do all that canning! I cheated this year by making raspberry freezer jam, and I even froze my stewed tomatoes and peaches.
By the way, while I was at the library last week, I decided to see if they had any of your books. I found "Refacing Cabinets: Making an Old Kitchen New"!! The pictures and illustrations were very detailed, and would prove helpful to anyone embarking on such a project.
Great morning glory pics...and a great tractor too! I love an old IH!
Randy, the correct number to chalk up inflation is $700,000,000,000. Seven-hundred-billion federal reserve notes! AIG's potential liabilities in their bond insurance department is estimated to be up to $60 trillion. I don't even know what comes after a trillion, but I do know that's 10 times the current national debt.
Franklin Sander's says "the tractor marked the end of the family farm" because you can't grow its feed or make wooden parts to fix it. Money, money, money.
My agrarian question of the year is "What is the difference between Dominion and Materialism?" I think the Bible has the answer.
Yep I meant 700 billion but my brain missed several zero's for some reason.
And yes it will end up costing several times that.
Randy
I've actually been surprised the last few days NPR or PRI, whoever carries Marketplace, has had several experts and politicians on the programs who are critical of the plan, any plan, to bail out wall street with taxpayer money. Ron Paul has, of course, had a lot of good things to say.
BTW, my farm is Free Acres.
How about the name "Morning Glory Stronghold" lol!
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