A Reason To Work From the House

The sweet sweet smell of gardenias flow into my window and into my workspace...
Here's why:

It only takes one gardenia bush

To engulf your yard and senses in the sweetness.

But as you may know.

I've always been one to over-do things.

Gardenia planting is no different.

I've got a whole row of them.

 

Intoxicating.

I pick them and put them in little vases all over the house.

On the bedside table.

On the back of the toilet.

On the mantel.
On a shelf in the kitchen.

On a side table beside my favorite comfy chair.

On the vanity beside the sink.

I think of my Grandmother every time I smell them.

She hated gardenias.

In her time, gardenias were the smell of death.

They were the flower used in the south for funerals.
So I take a whiff and say,
"I sure am missing you, Grandma."

 

My New FarmHouse-Home

Come over and see our new farmhouse!
I put up some pictures at The City Farmgirl Blog.
By the by, I am totally "decorator-challenged" so this is going to be a real struggle and thrill. I've never been able to put colors and furniture and stuff together so that they look good. Nope, it is just not one of my talents or my skills. I wish it were. Can you learn such a thing? Or are you just born with it?
I have started looking at wall colors and found this cool tool on the Sherwin-Williams website. You are able to "try on" the colors. This is VERY helpful for someone like me.
Here's the way to my farmhouse-home post. See ya there!

MaryJanesFarm Sweet Lena Irises

Isn't that Iris lovely?
Well, you should see it in person.
And you should smell it!!
 

Each year around Mother's Day you hear me brag about some special irises in my garden.

(Like here.)

The beauty, the color, the SMELL! Ah!

I've decided it is the aroma of fruity grape Kool-Aide that wafts around me in the garden.
It tells me that spring has sprung.

I ordered my special Sweet Lena Irises from maryjanesfarm several years ago, before we were about to move.
I kept them in a pot until we moved.
And fully intended to plant them at the new house.
And then, instinctively, I left them in the pot there too.
And sure enough, we moved again several years later.
So, I moved them back here. Did I mention we moved back to the same house we had left?
Are you confused yet? I know. Me too.

Did you notice that lone yellow Iris in the bunch? That's an Iris my Aunt Lillian gave me years ago. I've moved hers around from house to house too. Her patch of Irises is now in a different part of my yard. I guess this yellow one is just bold, that's all, being in the wrong patch.

(And, of course, I'll be potting both of those up again for our impending move to the farm!)

Anyway.
I finally planted them in the garden area.
Last year, when I built (I mean, when my Dad and my Husband built) the picket fence enclosing the garden, they worked around the Sweet Lena Irises.
This year they are early blooming, just like everything else around here.

Order some from maryjanesfarm here. They will be available to order from June to November. They are so worth it!
I think I'm going to go and pick one and put it on my bedside table so I can fall asleep to their delicious and enchanting aroma.

Should I Buy That Mule?

So I've gotten the impression already that farm animals change hands a lot. That's a new concept for me. Usually when I attach myself to an animal, I stick with it through thick and thin. It's a forever kind of deal.

I have also come to understand that farm animals often outlive their usefulness.

Those two things mean one thing to me: I think our pasture will be filled with a menagerie of FARM PETS who need a home.

About that certain MULE that currently lives in the front pasture, but is not mine. (She didn't come with the farm; she is a neighbor's). Now that I have observed her and watched her, she has wiggled her way into my heart.

So I contacted the owner about her.
My question, "Is she broke to plow?" elicited a funny story.

At some point in this mule's life, one of her previous owners had an idea.
They would fancy her up, say with flowers braided in her mane, and she'd pull a wedding carriage for a local place that hosts weddings. This wedding place has a beautiful pond in their meadow where many couples get married.
And so the day came that a bride and groom hired this mule and her new carriage for their special wedding day.

I have this image in my head as I'm listening to the story of the wedding carriage and the mule:

Source: http://www.blackhorsefarmcarriages.com/gallery/weddings/?nggpage=2

Before the actual wedding day, the owners of the mule hitched her up to the pretty wedding carriage.

And. She. Took. Off. Running.

Straight INTO the pond with the carriage in tow.

Can't you just see that?
What a story!!
I wonder what it took to get both the freaked out mule and the carriage out of the pond?
I guess that's why she's hanging out in my front pasture.

So the answer my inquiry? No, she's not broke to plow!
haha.

Yep, that's the story of the "dadgum" mule in the front pasture who is looking all sad and depressed,
looking like she needs me. Looking like she wants me to take special care of her.

Should I buy her and love her and keep her forever?
Yes or No?
Circle One.

Dadgum Mule

I just put up a post at The City Farmgirl Blog at my favorite place on the web: http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/.
Come on over and share my JOY!!!!!

YES! We got that farm!
The deal that was a ROLLER COASTER is done.
Whew. Can you believe it? I can't. Pinch me.
Dreams do come true. Man.
No way. WAY!!!!

In that post I told you about the mule living in the front pasture. I never knew I wanted a dadgum MULE...never even knew what a MULE was. But, you know, HERE'S THE THING! I think she might need me to want her. So I kinda do. Even if she hasn't let me touch her yet.
She's got a sad soul. One that needs some special lovin' and care. I'm always attracted to those in the animal kingdom.

Now I've got a hilarious story to tell you about that mule. I'll tell you about it tomorrow because right now I'm about to have to get on a conference call.

Check this video out. It's a Mule Team pulling a cart through some beautiful woods in Eastern Tennessee. Impressive!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlRW99aSVBo

And looky here. Here's my new "crick."

Oh lordy. Heaven on earth.