Rain Rain Go Away...

I didn't get Farm Friend Friday posted yesterday because I got caught up in all the royal hoopla, but I had good intentions, so here I am today, posting for yesterday. Fortunately, I'm not too late.
Check out Verde Farm for more farm friends.


and Dandelion House for Farm Girl Friday

A couple of weeks ago I was walking on our land by our pond that has the creek running through it. I was checking on the beaver dam,

and their destruction. We actually like having the dam there because it builds up the water level in our pond.

As I was walking to the dam, this lady honked at me.

I didn't dawdle because I've been chased by them before when they are guarding their nest and it's pretty scary. Watching me trying to run is pretty scary too. It's one big scare-fest!

We have had so much rain lately that you can't even get to the pond. It's actually flood-zone and it has flooded.

We don't know if the goslings have hatched or not, but the nest is definitely under water.

See the bright yellow in the middle left of the pic? That's (ahem - blushing here) water guns and rafts and such, that we left out from last year. Well, we thought we'd have time to get them in but winter hit it in the arse and we never got a break from the cold and snow all winter.

So that is where we usually SIT when we play in the pond.

Definitely under water...and when my Shug got to the house on the day I was taking these pics he said, "wow the water level has gone down a lot!" I didn't get there day before, when it was really raining hard.

You can kind of see where the water was in these pics.

And it was getting ready to rain again when I took these pics.

Yesterday it did not rain, but it was cold out until about 2:00ish.

Here is the creek which has come out of it's bank and into our woods.

I actually think it's beautiful when it does this because it reminds me of South Carolina swamp land. However......

I am concerned for our farmers folks. This is NOT a pond, it is a farm field.

LAST YEAR most of the farmers had their crops in by the first of May because April was perfect. Just perfect. But in June it rained every day, every single day, and most farmers lost their crops. And if they didn't lose them in June, they lost them before the summer ended because after June it didn't rain again...all summer...HUGE drought after the flooding. Two years in a row will be devastating.

Now it is raining so much they can't even get their crops in the ground.

And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow.

We've had destruction all over the states from storms, rain, and flooding.

Today, however, it's supposed to be gorgeous and in the 70's. I've put my life on hold today for anything except my bee hives. I'm making splits, and getting everything taken care of with my bees that I can because it might be awhile before I can get back into them.

Cindy Bee

Royal Weddings - Tea & Scones

I decided that this morning would be a good time to have tea and scones and watch the Royal Wedding. It was actually my Sister's idea, but I thought it was a good one! I love royal weddings. They are so romantic. I was wondering if the 29th was significant for the royals for a date...because Charles & Diana got married on July 29 and her son got married on the 29th? I remember that because I too got married on the 29th'.....the first time around!

Anyway I thought you might like this scone recipe. I got it from the owners of the Pembrooke Inn in Door County, WI. Paul & Alice. I don't know if they still run the inn, and they never said I couldn't share the recipe, so here it is. (My Shug and I stayed there several years ago.)

You take 1 1/2 sticks of butter (use butter not margarine. You shouldn't be eating margarine anyway so if you are, stop)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

Mix together

I use my kitchen-aid, but be careful not to overmix.

Add 3 cups of flour

I add walnuts but the original recipe does not call for them.

1 cup of dried fruit

mix together

then add vanilla yogurt (the recipe calls for Danon. Mine was Danon, but it was Activia. It's all I had since I didn't plan ahead. It works)

one Tablespoon at a time.

until you have the right consistency. It needs to stick together

when you roll it out. My edges were a little crumbly but it worked.

You can either cut them like this, or make round scones.

I usually cut them smaller, like this,

so I can either have one or two for breakfast or one for a snack. Sometimes I cut the original triangles into three or four smaller ones.

The recipe does not call for milk on top, but I usually will either brush milk, or egg white on top of the scones.

sprinkle a little sugar on them

then bake them on 400 degrees. Watch them closely if you decide to make them smaller, they might bake quicker.

Enjoy with tea, or coffee, and Royal Weddings...or just enjoy!

Cindy Bee

Should I keep it or let it go?

As you know...I've been packing up the house....to prepare for the move. And I have a lot of crapola! I do. So what do you think.....

Should I keep this? Isn't it kind of cottagy...kind of a memory of yesterday's lake cottage? Or let it gooooo.......

And I'm thinking about taking this out of the to go box and keeping it...

and this too!! My Purge-atory friends are gonna get so mad if they see me carrying these. They made fun of them the most! (80's my @ss! I just bought this one six months ago!)

And what about this......yes or no....keep or go.....

Does it work? Nooo....

And what about these.....keep or no?

(just seeing if you are paying attention!

ahem janis - those are mushrooms dear...helloooo....a bag of bones? sheeesh!)

Cindy Bee

PS Before anyone asks....none of this stuff has a story that goes with it. Not to me anyway. The typewriter didn't belong to my parents, I didn't play with that little doll as a child nor did my Grandma makae it for me....

Three more Easter pics and my PURGE-atory friends!

I forgot to tell you about a funny thing that happened during the Easter Egg hunt. My Shug found a cell phone, and he thought....."hmmmm, someone dropped their cell phone...."

then he realized it was the one he lost last year! He had it a total of one week. He doesn't care for cell phones, but I could never get a hold of him when I needed to because he was always out working on our house, so I made him get one. He lost it within one week, with over 400 unused minute on it.



And this picture....well someone said for everyone to make a funny face. I didn't. Why? Have you ever made a funny face, because someone said to do so, and you were the only one in the pic making the funny face? Well, this time several people did make the funny face and these type of pics are my favorite.




And this...I took this morning. It's very windy here today. See how the feathers are ruffled on the bird. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds.



So yesterday, one day after Easter, I have tons to clean up, and my "PURGE-atory friends" come over. I've decided to start calling them that because they help me purge, and it feels like hell! They are the friends I told you about here . Now before you all start feeling sorry for me too much....don't. And I mean DON'T! I told them I need help. I NEED to get rid of stuff. I do. It only feels like hell for a little while, then it starts feeling good. And in all fairness, I confessed in that post that I was a hoarder. I'm actually a secret hoarder. It hasn't taken over the main part of the house. It's in closets and the basement, so no one knows. My friend Beth says I'm a collector. Either way I just can't move it all.


So, one of them arrived before the other one, and I was putting Easter deco away. I decided to purge a tiny bit of deco. I've decided I want either hand-made or vintage. I don't really have that much Easter deco. One tub is all.


But this cheap crap is gonna go. Yes that one bunny is hand painted by a friend but I haven't seen her in years and years. It was actually a Christmas ornament.



I did get to keep my egg cup collection because it's kind of cool.

and fun....

and I do use them. Not just for eggs, but to hold candies too.

I believe these paper mache' eggs are old.

and I'm keeping them too!

The inside.

Don't know if this is old or new

but I like it. I can't get the 'dirt' off of her face though.

There are no markings on the bottom of it.

The Purge-partner arrives and we decided to tackle, "the room." The computer-craft-clutter room. It has become a 'throw it in there and shut the door' room. We started with the purse closet. Hey, I admitted on this post that I am a bag lady.

They did not believe the hoarding bag lady really lived here, but they do now!

What? These bags have to go?

It was so horrible.....they made fun of me blogettes....

This purse has to go? Really? So what if it had a tassel on it. What if I take it off? "Bee" they said, "it has to go." I bought it when My Shug and I went to the Cincinnati Flower Show. It's handmade. Okaaaayyy.....

This one too? It's my Christmas purse!

No more Christmas purses?

My Shug bought me this one at the Cincinnati Flower show. We used to go to it a lot. I've seen Martha there, and Rebecca Kolls, and Tasha Tudor, and I got their autographs and pics and such. Such sweet memories....

"Bee, you have a story with everything..." they say.

Not everything. This tote has no story.

They said faded denim is out. Is it really? Even on jeans? I'm in troub if it is.

Now this one....there wasn't a story, but there is now! First of all, I just bought it a few months ago, but they said the color is total 80's. As I'm thinking they are wrong as it reminds me of the color of lipstick everyone wore in the 70's... one of them said it is total 80's and I should just put a scrunchy in my hair when I carry it!!!

I quickly ripped the scrunchy out of my hair and threw it on the floor somewhere in the pile of piles! Really? Scrunchies are out? They still sell them though....

Dixie felt sorry for me. He was trying to protect me, and my bags....
Winston could care less. He only cares about his new found afghan that he isn't supposed to be sleeping on.

Bye bye bags....

Truth is....I'm about ready to go through the ones I saved and get rid of about half of those too. But don't tell my Purge-atory friends.

Gotta go make some laundry detergent and finish packing up that room.

Cindy Bee