Thrifting and the garden......

     Right now the garden is the only space I'm shopping for. Today at the local antique shop I found two old windows begging for a new purpose. At just $5 each they'll be perfect for lids to some cold frames. Now I just have to get Mr. Rural to build me some. Hehe shh, don't tip him off! There are some great inspirations for cold frames on Pinterest if you do a search. They are easy to make (for Mr. Rural) and great for transitioning seedlings outside. I'll post photos soon.

     After a little thrfiting and antiquing it was off to the nursery to check out the clearance section. If you don't already know, there is usually a clearance section in most plant centers. Often times these plants have gone dormant or are root bound (need to be planted post haste) but nothing is truly wrong with them. This is a great place to score some amazing plants for at least half off. I picked up a really neat rose bush for $4 which should come back by summer. I also couldn't pass up this Purple Leaf Plum Tree though it was interesting to get the six foot tree home in my Matrix. Lastly I purchased a new hoe as Mr. Rural broke it while angrily happily putting in the new side borders.

     Tomorrow I'm hoping the weather holds so I can transfer some of our older potted roses into the ground along with the new rose bush and tree. I've been craving sunshine this week and find myself going outside to sit in the sun for no reason. A cup of coffee, some sun and bare feet is high on my relaxation list.

Tuesday garden progress.....

     Monday and Tuesday Mr. Rural and I seated the raised beds and started the edging along the left side of our fence. We also sunk the two new privacy screens around the eating area. Though this was one of the less time consuming projects it did have a big impact.

Before the new yard redo

Pulled back the rock from the fence

Added a border and the new beds

     We used a product called Terrace Board which is a recycled plastic that uses stakes to put it in the ground. The board is flexible, 5" high x 40' long and fairly easy to work with. There are a few areas where the material seems a little wavy however, with time, these areas should even out as soil and rock are added on either side.

     Overall the lower yard is coming together and it will soon be time for moving on to phase two which includes a new arbor. Step by step it's going to be a whole new yard.

New privacy screens near the patio and new bed

Working toward Tuscan.....

Staring in the snow

     Our yard project continues as we seated the four raised beds yesterday and plan on working on the side garden bed outline today. Wow, it's a lot of work to take on an entire landscape redo right before spring planting, but I'm sure it will be well worth it.

top beds are leveled

     I knew I wanted the kind of garden where one wants to stroll, explore and venture on. Slowly I hope that the garden becomes all of those things through the use of creative pathways, arbors, trellises and a plethora of planters. As the week continues I hope to put in our first trellises at the edge of our patio and begin choosing stepping stones. I have yet to decide whether I want stone or brick, oddly shaped or even, all the same or varied. It's definitely a step by step project.

The new beds are in

     As the weather begins to warm up I find myself sitting outside and just being. It's quite alone in the garden with only the sounds of the chickens for company which provides a nice respite from the chaos of bunny, child and dogs inside. Speaking of the little bit of chaos; we are having a sweet guide dog puppy in training come to visit us for spring break. It will be nice to have a black lab in the house again!

More progress to come.... hopefully today!

Join the fabulous DIY link party- Elizabeth and Company

Rainy Sunday.....

     The projects were planned, the materials were at the ready and we woke up to.....rain. Yes, rain was in the forecast but I was hopeful that the storm would pass us by and I'd spend the day outside getting moving on our backyard. Mr. Rural is silently (he wants to live) quite ecstatic about the weather. While he sits here, all serene, sipping coffee and surfing the net I'm finding comfort in the fact that he has a three day weekend and at least one of those days will be sunny. Mmm hmm, you go ahead and enjoy that java Mr. Rural! Grr.

     Since the rain has dampened my outdoor plans I find myself over on Pinterest and Etsy checking out some fun new things for spring. It's the perfect weather to share a few warmer weather finds.....

                                Super sweet tee shirt. You can pick one up here.

                                         For your fairy garden! Found here.

                                    Some great chicken coop plans found here.

                    Or these awesome seed bombs (great teacher gift) found here.



     Hopefully some of my friends around the country are enjoying a better day of gardening than I am here. Have a happy Sunday!

Friday garden progress....

All cut

     Today we were operating in overdrive. With rain predicted for Sunday and Mr. Rural gone tomorrow we knew that we had to complete a few of our garden projects today. We finished four of our raised beds (except the top lip) and two privacy fences. It was tiring but they are ready to be seated in the ground.

     We used cedar for the raised beds and then treated the beds in Penofin. This will have plenty of dry time before vegetables go in the ground, roughly a month. The beds will have a 2'x6" lip around the top which will make the beds look more finished. That will go on once the beds are in the ground allowing for easier positioning as we sink and level the beds.

Whoa it's like Ikea

but they turned out nice

     We also put together two of these super cute cedar privacy screens. They were an Ebay purchase for just $20 each which, if you've been looking for privacy screens, is a killer deal. You can find them here. Phew, that was a lot of work. My hands are killing from staining. Check back Sunday for some more garden picture updates as we put in the beds and start on the planter edging. Exciting!

This is spring......

     The weather today was beautiful. The sun was out, it was warm and I was able to get some more seeds started. As the seeds grow into sprouts, and the sprouts begin to get leaves the starters are moved into 4" and 6" pots. The starters go from upstairs where it's warmest, then move downstairs before moving to the garage and finally ending up hardening off slowly outside. It's a gradual process and I look forward to adding a greenhouse at some point to minimize the starter shuffle.



     I had to share some of the cloud photos I took while taking my son to and from school. Don't worry, I wasn't driving at the time. The clouds were ever present today making me wonder if we'll have another storm this weekend. I sincerely hope not as our landscaping projects will be pretty intense this weekend and I don't look forward to building the raised beds in garage. We want to finish the four 3'x4' raised beds and get them stained this weekend.

     Now that spring has officially arrived what projects are you completing?

The chicken yard.....

With spring beginning many of our friends and family are considering chicken ownership. So, I thought I'd share our setup as well as a few of our preferences for those that might be interested. There are many ways to raise chickens and this is just one way. We live in a rural area, but a regular size lot (5600 square feet) and we have neighbors. We are zoned for up to twelve chickens.

 We started a year ago with three chickens. We purchased a Delaware (Mabel), Jersey Giant (Ethel) and a Barred Rock (Maude) from a chicken breeder at six weeks of age. We chose to start with fully feathered chickens so we could put them directly outside. We chose the Eglu Go chicken coop and run when we started out for it's ease of use in cleaning and it's appealing style.

Top and bottom wire

     After having chickens for a few months we added three chicks (two day olds) from our local feed store which were a Buff Orpington (Dorothy), and Australorp (Gertrude) and a Rhode Island Red (Harriet). However, this posed a problem as we needed a new coop and we knew we wanted a large walk in run. So, we started our research and after much debate we opted to purchase a second Eglu Go (we love them) and build a 9'x12' walk in run in our rather awkward and unused lower yard. Construction took two weekend.

Inside with two coops

     It's important that a run be predator proof above all else. Our local predators include hawks, coyotes, raccoons and bears so we made sure to use steel hardware cloth for the bottom four feet with a LOT of bolts to hold it in place. For the top we went with a large cage steel cattle fencing in order for our viewing pleasure. We chose to have our Eglu houses stick out the side and back for egg collection without having to go in the coop. This has been a great setup for us, but we will be changing the roof to some UV corrugated plastic panels this summer.

Access outside the run

     We use sand in our run. I LOVE sand. Once a week I simply use a cat litter scoop and clean up the poop. Then I rake or how the sand and sprinkle some DE (diatomaceous earth) into the sand. I use pine shavings in the chickens nest box with a little more DE sprinkled in for their health. The chickens are fed Purina Layena. I originally had the girls on organic food, but it was prohibitively expensive with shipping. The girls eat vegetables and fresh fruit as well as table scraps daily.





     In our year with chickens we have had no disease or sickness, no loss to predators and a pleasurable owners experience. The flock do have access to our entire yard often as well as their larger lower yard some days as well. I hope this helps some folks who are considering taking the plunge into chicken ownership!

Happy spring.....

     It's the day I've been waiting for, the official first day of spring. With garden supply orders arriving all this week for our backyard makeover I'm very excited to jump into this new season and get my hands dirty. Already we've received some of our terrace board and clips, some chicken supplies and our wood stain. This Friday the big wood order will arrive for our raised beds. It's an exciting time around our house.

     With all of the new space to plant this season I'm excited to be trying some new seeds and plants. We did a big seed order with Baker Creek Seeds back in January and the sprouts are all doing well. I'm really excited about our Dragon Tongue Bush Beans and Purple Podded Pole Beans which are already going nuts indoors. We will also direct sow many varieties and log the results to see which plants do better overall.


     Are you noticing all of the blooms? Our nectarine tree is going full swing with pink blossoms and our apple tree is just starting to show it's buds. Spring is such a wonderful time of year to celebrate growth, new beginnings and life and I can't help but be excited for all that is in store for us this season.

Have you heard of fairy gardens?

The supplies

     Just as terrariums have become extremely popular of late I am suspecting that fairy gardens (miniature outdoor container gardens) are the next "it" thing. I have seen some pretty amazing setups over on Pinterest and was inspired to start my own fairy garden using a large vintage wash tub I have sitting in the yard.

fairy house and bird bath

     I am not usually one for whimsy and pretend, but this small garden posed some serious challenges and brought out my competitive spirit. Today we whisked off to Michaels for a few supplies. To start I purchased a house ($10), some paint ($1), some rocks and moss ($1 each) and got to work. I decided to try and use as many found objects as possible thus the cork roof. To cut the corks in half simply use a serrated knife and be careful.

     Now that our little house is finished and a bird bath made with a vintage doll dish and another cork I'm ready to start plant shopping. This is where the real challenge of fairy gardens comes in. You want plants that look small, will stay small and can thrive in a container. I'll be starting with some French Thyme and a touch of a plant called Polka Dot (freckle face). More on that to come.

The roof

     Is this a challenge you might take on? I think the best part of creating this fairy garden is a unique, educational, play space for my son. I'm making sure that lego men fit well!

Chickens and snow.....

Dorothy- BO

      This evening we let the chickens out and showed them to a patch of grasses coming up. It was snowing and the chickens had been locked up in their covered run. The girls were very happy for some free ranging time and gobbled up the grasses as quickly as I could show them to them.

     The snow here has been off and on all day which has been beautiful to watch. However, we haven't had much in the way of accumulation what with the sun peaking through the clouds from time to time. We spent the day reading, doing chores and sitting in from of the fireplace. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

     In other news, I was able to upload the chime on my new vintage clock. It is such a pretty sound and goes off every fifteen minutes which we love!

Snow in the mountains.....

     Tonight it's snowing here, as it has been all day. We are warm inside with our fire blazing, red wine poured and are enjoying the quiet that comes with freshly fallen snow. Yet, before we could truly relax and enjoy the wintery weather we took one last trip outdoors to check on the chickens.

     Of course, this is where the true tale of a winter night begins. The six girls had once again chosen to share an Eglu. When we tried to enter the run to start separating them the latch was frozen. Then, when we opened up the Eglu we found a broken egg. Aaa, one must prevent egg eating and thus I had my husband shoving chickens back through their hatch door so we could do a little cleaning in the dark. Fun fun.

     Now the chickens are in bed, my finger only lost a little skin from a much harassed chicken, and my feet are thawing because, as I'm sure I failed to mention, I was wearing my Crocs which had spent the day collecting snow on the porch. Yes, I'm a professional backyard farmer. Can't you tell? Ha ha

Antiquing on the road... Ventura CA

American Home and Garden

     With storms predicted for the rest of the weekend we took the opportunity to drive to Ventura today while it was still dry. Ventura is a hot spot for antiquing and thrifting, with an entire street and many side streets devoted to the hunt. We browsed, sifted, explored and bargained and came away with some fun finds.

Inside American Home

     One of my favorite shops in the downtown Ventura area is American Home and Garden on Oak Street (64 S. Oak St). This shop is brimming with amazing finds that are always in season. The store has dealers who truly care about presentation and the shop utilizes the space well with items high and low. Some of my favorites at this gem of a shop are their garden items now on display. You can find urns, metal beds and lots of wrought iron. I came away with an amazing little German tambour clock with a Westminster chime.

Display animals

Haller Clock

     Along the way I also snagged a few "new" records and a couple of clothing items. Then it was off to Country Fair Antique Mall in Canyon County for a little more shopping. I picked up these darling wood animal cutouts to display in my china cabinet. Each one has a detailed description on the back. So cute. Overall the day was a wonderful success!

A guide dog puppy update- Moxie

     Wow, over a month has gone by since Moxie left our home to begin his formal guide dog training at Guide Dogs of America. Today we received our first post card from Moxie from camp GDA. Yep, they not only are teaching him to lead, but also how to write. Ha ha.

Moxie writes: " Dear Family,
                        How are you all doing? I'm great! I'm learning how to walk with a special black and white harness on. Boy do I look handsome! Next we will be learning right and left turns. Hope you guys are well. Take care. Wags and Kisses,
                                                                                            Moxie

     We are so excited for Moxie and really hoping that he makes it through to the end. I feel like every Friday I haven't gotten a call from GDA it's a little victory. Hooray for Moxie!


P. S. More garden updates coming this weekend. Fingers crossed we don't have horrible weather because I'm itching to do some yard work.

Chickens in spring......

     The backyard chicken movement is growing, or coming back depending on how you look at it. Our family has finished up our first year of chicken ownership with no major issues and no losses. If you are thinking about adding chickens to your own backyard now is an excellent time to start thinking about chickens or eggs.

     My son's school hatches eggs in the classroom which got me thinking about incubating a few of our own chicks. If you check your local Craigslist or feed store you will find that you can purchase fertilized eggs as well as already hatched chicks. Hatching eggs is a great learning experience for children, and though not always successful, a lot of fun as well. 

     First, you'll want to check out some incubators. Luckily they are very easy to find online at places like MyPetChicken.com or McMurrayHatchery.com  among others. It takes about 21 days from point of lay for eggs to hatch and funny enough, all eggs should hatch within 48 hours of each other. After your new peeps arrive you'll need a heat lamp, a brooder of some sort (can even be a cardboard box) some starter mash and some water. Something fun to think about! 

Sunday yard progress.....

Staked out new beds

     Today we spent about six hours working on the hardscape in our landscape makeover. We staked out the future new raised beds (two rectangles and two squares) as well as started to put in the upper garden round. We used a few decorative gates we had to give us a visual marker of where the new trellises will go. It was a beautiful day for yard work.

     Now that we have some definitive plans there is much work to be done. Before the rains come this week I'll be pulling all the rock back from the fence line, pulling out all the pots and miscellaneous garden art and pulling out the brick rounds that were previously along the fence. I've attached a sketch in hopes you guys can see what our plans are. It's quite an undertaking and will require a lot of plants once completed. Of course, that's half the fun!

Saturday yard progress....

Pulling out raised beds

     This weekend we started tearing out our old raised beds as a first step in our yard makeover. We created a brick round and moved our fountain center stage. It's a little hard to see our yard all torn up this close to spring planting, but we'll be working overtime to complete at least a portion of the new raised beds before it's time to put our seed starts outside.

Moving fountain center

     Next step will be to mark off the spaces for the new garden beds and start pulling out the rock. We will also be lining both sides of the fence with long planters and filling those with plants as opposed to the sparse landscaping we have thus far. There are so many more projects to be done that my husband has broken everything down into phases.

Harriet- "Mooom, where are you going?"

     In other news I've been letting the chickens into the main yard for some weed maintenance. The girls are so good about attacking the weeds and leaving our other plants alone. Of course, I supervise. My Harriet (RIR) follows me everywhere. She's much more like a dog than a chicken and I just adore her.

The little studio that would......

Before the fence, before we moved in

     One of the amazing parts about our rather ordinary property is my studio. This little building was built and lived in, in the 1800's by one of the original families in our town. The foundation is stone but there have been many modernizations over the years to this simple four sided dwelling.

Before the makeover

     When we purchased our house as new construction in 2004, the studio had a new roof but was basically four exterior walls and a very old concrete floor. The concrete floor has pieces of WWII newspaper embedded in it with pictures of war brides and soldiers. We've done our best to preserve the floor. We did add insulation, framing and drywall to the interior along with a tongue and groove ceiling and sadly, almost all of the windows needed to be modernized.

The studio today- still working

     Though the studio has been modernized it's still a pretty cute space where I can create freely and overlook the soon to be expanded back 40.... feet (as we like to call it). It's always my side project, the studio, and has changed a lot from storage space to gym to creative space over the years. I'm slowly highlighting this little space and hope to share some new interior shots with you soon. For now, I leave you with some before and after shots from the outside, which are already showing a dramatic change to this darling little house.

Creative storage- vintage remixed

Locker baskets with wooden tags

     Ask any home owner what their number one problem with organizing would be and you will hear lack of storage at the top of the list. No matter the size of the house there never seems to be enough storage, or the right kind of storage for all those little bits and pieces and that creep into our lives. Often this leads to junk drawers (we have one three) or closets that spill out when you open the door.

china display turned book caddy

     When I'm out thrifting or at flea markets I'm always drawn to interesting containers, baskets, and the like. In our house a vintage laundry basket corrals all of our blankets downstairs which keep them handy for couch cuddling. We've utilized many vintage canisters in the kitchen pantry for sorting out staples and the bedrooms all have a container or two that are repurposed from a former life.

Tool box for thank you notes

     Using vintage containers for storage adds that rustic charm to a space and is so much more fun than plastic. Vintage locker baskets, unloved tool boxes and glass jars abound at flea markets and make organizing a bit for fun. What creative item do you use to organize your space?