Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Summer Times

The days are getting longer, warmer, and more busy for us out here on the ranch. We started haying a couple of days ago and that will carry on for quite some time. Hubs has been  swathing (pictures below) so we decided to take lunch out to him and have a family picnic, or "tiknik" if you ask Hazel. 


I made some sandwiches, packed some carrots, chips and drinks and headed out to our big hayfield. I made this purse earlier this year but I'm not sure I showed it to you all. I wasn't as crazy about the color scheme once I had made it as I had been when it was in my head, so I haven't used it as a real purse. For now its serving as a carrier bag.


Here's hubby swathing. Think of a giant lawnmower that piles the hay in a nice row, called a wind row, after he's cut it.


These are some of the windrows out in the hayfield. This is just a tiny, itsy-bitsy bit of our big hayfield.


This is my favorite wild flower that bloom out here on the Montana prairie. It doesn't actually grow out in the pasture, but along the roads in the sandy soil. Its called Scarlet Globemallow and the Plains Indians would chew the mucilage and gums in the stems, and they used the herb as a medicine.


Here is a closer look at the flowers. I just love orange flowers!


We've been crafting here at our house to get ready for the 4th of July that's coming up next week. All of these are from Martha Stewart's website. We made a few changes that made them a little more practical for us. The rockets are actually supposed to be party favors. The hanging decorations are actually supposed to be used as fans. The blue "dot", is actually supposed to be a drink parasol, but we just cut out the cute circles and taped them to the wall. Take that Martha!


Its time to start making baby food again! Mary is going to turn 6 months in a couple of weeks so its time for me to get in gear and get to making her some food. These are sweet potatoes, not my favorite, but Hazel sure loves them and I'm hoping Mary will as well. First I baked the potatoes in the oven, them scooped them out of the peel, chop them up and put in blender with a little bit of butter for taste and a little water. Blend away! Add enough water to make the potatoes the consistency you need for your little one. Next on my list is carrots and when we get some peas from the garden I'll do those next.


Look at Hazel and Mary's new playground! The guys of the family rallied together and got this thing built in about four hours. Now she lives on it! It's a good thing because it keeps her entertained while I work around in the garden.

Have a good week!

4 comments:

Hint of Grace said...

love the purse! So cute. And the swing set looks like so much fun for Hazel and Mary.

Anonymous said...

Love seeing all the green.. I about forgot what that looked like!
We need a swing set, that looks like fun!

Gumbo Lily said...

I like the purse. Summer fun is just beginning.

Affordable Medical Insurance said...

The swing set looks like so much fun for Hazel and Mary.