Got our Goats!

Today was the big day- our baby goats (introduced here) were ready to come home!

We brought them home... the leashes/collars are way still big, but we figured they'd give us a little control!

They were introduced to our old goat... luckily he doesn't seem to mind them too much!

Showed them into their new yard... they were kind of intrigued by their neighbors!

 The boys played with them all day, to make sure they were doing okay...

They are so funny how the prance & jump around!

They seem to be happy, and are steering pretty clear of our old goat.  

Which I think is a good thing, while they get to know each other!

Oh, Deer!

Check out this little guy that we found in our yard the other night...

He couldn't have been more than a couple of days old!  

We kept an eye on him, and at dusk the mama returned & they ran off.  

I'm sure I'll be cursing him when he starts eating my flowers, but he sure is adorable!

I bet the ones running across the street in front of the school bus are his family!

Catching Up- May 2013

We've had a super busy May- including a Disney trip and a family wedding, resulting in far fewer house updates than usual!
While we have lots of house stuff planned to get done in June, here are some odds & ends that we did get done this month!


We picked up some hanging plants to decorate the front porch.







I also hung up the birdcage that my brother got me for Christmas...

Just this past weekend, I gave the wicker furniture a quick clean up with a fresh coat of paint.  But before I put the furniture on there I was hoping to get the wood flooring sealed.  I had already scrubbed it down to prepare it, but it seems like it's been raining just before or during every free weekend we've had since!  So, that's on the list for June!

Our gardens are now blooming... so I've been taking photos to make into prints to add to my hallway art collection.

Speaking of artwork...
For Mother's Day, my mom and I got to treat ourselves to some antiquing, while Mike & my dad watched the kids.  We found a couple of great little shops that we hadn't been to before.  One of them had this oil painting (by a local artist) for $20.





It was unframed, but the colors were perfect for our bedroom and I knew I had some old frames up in the attic.  So that made a fun artwork update for the bedroom!



More artwork that we're finishing up is from our Disney trip...

At the Magic Kingdom, we had silhouettes done of the boys.  It's incredible to see the guy cut out their profiles so quickly!  And definitely a bargain at only $8 per person!
You get two silhouettes of each person, so I'm framing & hanging one and putting the other in their baby books.

You can buy frames there, but the only ones offered were plastic- and I knew I had 5x7 wood frames in the attic that would look better!  I've already painted them black.
I'll update with photos of them once they are hung!

Picking Garden Update

The picking garden is done!

After building the wall, and clearing the inside, we've completed the rototilling, added topsoil, and purchased some plants!

Here's the in-progress... after adding the topsoil, but before the plants were in

And the reverse:

We need deer-resistant plants.  

Rutgers has a great website that rates plants on a scale ranging from "Rarely Damaged" by deer to "Frequently Severely Damaged" by deer.  The only tricky part is searching for the common names.

Here's what we're trying out:

Delphinium
"Seldom" Deer Damaged

Baby's Breath
"Seldom" Deer Damaged

Lavendar-
"Rarely" Deer Damaged

Sea Holly
"Frequently" Deer Damaged
Ooops!

Lilyleaf Ladybell
Couldn't find on Rutgers site,
but listed as "Deer Resistant" on other sites

Checkermallow
"Occasionally" Deer Damaged

Blanket Flower
"Occasionally" Deer Damaged

Tall Bearded Iris
"Rarely" Deer Damaged

Delphinium
"Seldom" Deer Damaged

Salvia
"Seldom" Deer Damaged

Catmint
"Rarely" Deer Damaged

Speedwell
"Seldom" Deer Damaged

Globe Thistle
Couldn't find on Rutgers site,
listed as "Deer Resistant" on others

We shouldn't have gotten the Sea Holly, since that is a "Frequently Deer Damaged" plant.  But since we had the two boys with us at the nursery, I consider only one error to be a success!  We'll plant it in the middle and Mike will spray it with the deer spray, so hopefully they'll stay away.

We also moved some daffodils & lilies that we already had, and will continue to do this as we re-arrange some of the other flower beds.

Here's how we look all planted!

We put the larger plants against the garage wall, and small plants towards the front.

The very front row contains the bulbs (daffodils & lilies).

The plants will fill in as they grow, and we plan to continue to add to our variety, picking a new plant up when we run to a nursery or home improvement store for other things.

Clothesline

One of the benefits of moving to a much more rural area than we used to live, is that we can use a clothesline!

I was SO excited when my parents got us a collapsible one like my mom used when I was growing up.  

(I have great memories of walking around & around in the maze it created!)  

We love it for a few reasons...

-it's great for the environment

-saves money on electric

-reminds me of summer!

With clothesline weather upon us, 

now's the perfect time to tell how we installed it!

1- Choose a spot.  Requirements were: sun, not noticeable from the road, avoiding pine trees that could drip sap.  We ended up picking a spot between the house & the well house, since we didn't want it to be TOO far to lug the laundry basket.

2- Dig hole.

3- Put gravel in bottom of hole, and make sure the base of the holder will be level with the surface.

4- Mix up Cement and pour into hole.

5- Insert plastic base piece, and create a drainage hole in the middle by taking a stick and pushing it down into the gravel layer.

6- Put first section of the pole into the base, and use level to ensure it's plumb.

7- Remove section of pole, and wait for the concrete to harden around the base (approx. 24 hours)

8- Assemble the rest of the clothesline 


Here it is empty... (a little hard to see)

And being used...

The best part is that it can be collapsed and stored away very easily if bad weather rolls in, or if we just want it out of sight.  Even Mike had to admit that it's much more compact than the one that hung between the two trees, and that the air circulates really well.  I was able to get two loads hung on it, with room to spare (compared to the one load that the old line could hold)!  And the first thing my 4 year old son did was wander around inside the hanging sheets, just like I did when I was little!