And a Welcome Back to....ME!

All of my garden areas are ready for the winter. Over the weekend I worked on a decorative project. Over a year ago, my husband brought me an old milk can left over from "the old days" on our farm. We both have a long history in the dairy and cattle industry so he thought it would be cool if we painted this old milk can and kept it as a "tip of the hat" to both our roots, so to speak.

It has been here for over a year. I didn't really know what to do with it! But I finally did some research and decided to go for it. It was really nasty looking, rusty and dirty. This is the before:

That is a wire brush on the top, very necessary for the thing that happened next. I brushed. And brushed. And BRUSHED. :)

So, it was starting to look like a milk can instead of a yucky piece of junk. So on I went. Until the detail could be seen and the rust was gone. Sort of. At least the worst of it. You could now see the lettering on the handles that said "superior" and some of the detail including the "solder" seams where the pieces were welded or "soldered" together.

 So it was now time for paint:

I used Rustoleum spray paint. The kind that has primer and paint in one. You can use it "directly on rust" and believe me, this project called for that. It is supposed to be a protectant as well and to "stop rust". Very much needed in this case. I gave it one coat, and I thought it looked pretty good! And, good news! I thought the lid was hopelessly rusted on! But, no. It came off when I was working things over with the wire brush. I took the wasp nests off all around the neck of the can and then..... I hesitated for just a second about looking inside it. But I should have known. Yeah, it lived with my husband before I got here.....and it was totally clean inside. Much better shape than the outside, actually. It made me smile.

I liked the sort of finish that had the "hammered" look. Definitely called for because the can was kind of banged and dented anyway. But I thought it would be good to give it another coat. I am happy that I did!

Here it is, after adding the lid back and placing it on my porch. I think it's beautiful. I can picture a little wreath hanging on it for Christmas, or a pot with a plant for the spring and summer. I just love it!  I so enjoyed the last beautiful fall weekend here. I hope you did too, wherever your home and garden happens to be!  Have a great week! ~JB was here. 

The Summer That Was

 I really love my blog and photography, and well, lots of stuff. But it's been a wild summer!  I had to "let something slide" and in this case it was my website/blog. This one isn't lonely in neglect, I've totally neglected the farm site too! But, I'm getting my act together. I want to relaunch here, sort of, with lots of new content and point another web domain this way, and just expand the content to include whatever I feel the urge to share!

I'll be back soon, and I hope if you stop in, you'll come back often. My goal is to start transforming this week! 

Have a wonderful week!

~JB was here.

After the Drought: The Vision (still) Lives

It was a long, and can I say, horrific, summer this year. Things became not so much about additions or things growing and flourishing, but more just a case of survival. Every day I armed myself with a watering can, sprinkler, and it became almost a full time job. Needless to say, I haven't written anything since.

We (my gardens and I) did survive, and I learned some lessons. Even my little oak trees that I watered every day, and my little Loblolly Pine that I got from the MDC last spring at the garden show lived, so it was worth all my efforts.

Some things provided bright spots in the depressing oppressive heat. I don't think my roses were ever more beautiful. And my garden, while the yields were severely depressed, had terrific flavor and quality to the yield it did give.

I hosted some animal guests, too. I gave help to the birds, chipmunks and rabbits that came to my yard in the way of water and food. They were also a cheerful, funny, and cute respite to the severe prolonged heat. I'm proud of my efforts to encourage bluebirds and this year they had great success in my new nest boxes.

They say there could be another year of this drought. I'm planning accordingly in a few ways.

One way in particular is, I have this one flower bed that needs renovation.  I studied a lot about butterflies this year, photographing and doing something of a "Census" to see what varieties live in my surroundings. I am planning to make the flower bed in question into a butterfly area next year. I'll be using natives in the planting that can handle heat and low water requirements. Yesterday, I ordered my perennial natives, and I sketched my ideas on a sheet of typing paper. It won't be exact but it proves something definitively about my garden enthusiasm AND my vision for the future. The visions lives and is very healthy. As long as this is the case, I'll continue to garden with zeal and vision for a beautiful future with living things. I still love to raise things. Some things never change. :) ~JB was here.

Reporting from the (Ozarks) Desert!

It's been two weeks since I've posted! I have tons of pictures and experiences over the last two weeks, but have just been crazy busy! It's funny how my day job gets in the way of my gardening fun. :) Anyway, it is very dry again here. Some experts say that the El Nino pattern we have seed will change to a La Nina pattern this summer and will give us cooler temps and more rain. I think I could handle that. Pictures and posts coming soon! ~JB was here.