Speaking of mice....

One of the challenges that we have faced since we moved into the little red farmhouse that came with our property is that of keeping mice out of the house. No big shocker, right? Well, let it be said that there are two naughty mice who will not soon be forgotten by yours truly! Short story.....

On Sunday night--at an obscene hour somewhere between midnight and morning--Farmer B and I awoke to a loud noise coming from the kitchen. I must admit that I was sleeping too soundly to care much at the time what it was, so long as it wasn't a burglar. Farmer B checked things out, came back to bed, and mumbled something about a mouse getting stuck under the refrigerator. The frig made a loud knocking noise from time to time throughout the night--I just tried to ignore it (seriously, do we not loose all common sense when we are sleepy?)

Yesterday--I woke up and remembered the commotion from the previous night. I looked around the frig. No sign of mice. I thought no more about it.

Around 10 pm last night--the frig began to make a strange noise again. Was the motor going out? Did something fall behind the frig and get caught in the fan blades? I could not figure it out, but Farmer B and I decided that we probably just needed to call the repair man the next day to come out and have a look at it.

Last night--again, at an obscene hour (1:30 a.m.)--the frig was still making this annoying racket every time the motor kicked on. I couldn't take it any more. I got up and UNPLUGGED the refrigerator! Seriously.

All was quiet for the next four hours....finally!

At 5:30 am, I awoke and realized that, like an idiot, I had unplugged the refrigerator in the middle of the night. It only took me about two seconds to decide that this may not have been one of my best ideas, and so I got up and plugged it back in. Again with the loud clanking noise.

However, this time, accompanying the noise was a very unpleasant smell. Surely nothing could have spoiled already, could it? In the five minutes that it took for Farmer B to get his morning shower, I had come out of my sleep-induced fog just enough to remember what he had said the previous night about the mouse....

Farmer B came into the kitchen as I was standing in front of the refrigerator playing "Sherlock Holmes" (hey I'm a little slow on the draw in the mornings before I have had my cup of tea). He grabbed his keys and was starting out the door for work when I looked at him and said, in my most serious "you're not going to believe this" voice.... "I think that there is a mouse that has expired under our refrigerator."

"Well, why don't you call the repair man and have him come and get it out?"

I just stared.

"Seriously?"

Farmer B laughed. "No. I can't get it this morning, but if you can wait until I get home I'll take a look at it then."

"Thank you," I sighed. I detest mice. As he left I was thinking about how thankful that I am that he is always so willing to dispose of our "capturees" so that I don't have to get near them! (Does that sound too much like a "city mouse?")

As the morning progressed, the smell got worse.

I lit a candle.

I lit two candles.

Finally, by noon, I couldn't stand it any longer. I got my screw driver and a flashlight, pulled the frig away from the wall, and extracted the varmints.

Two hours later, I think I may have stopped gagging!

Gross!!!

Does this count as a step toward becoming "true country folk?"

The First Day of Summer

We had vacation Bible School at our church last week and I hardly got to spend any time in the garden.  It has grown a LOT since I posted last, so I thought it was time for an update.

The pumpkins are taking over.  At first I noticed that the little pumpkins would begin to grow, and then in a few days they would shrivel up! I think I have discovered the trick of pruning them. I'll know in a few days if I have succeeded.   

The watermelons are also going crazy. I think they like all of the hot weather that we've had this week. We have two melons that are fairly large and lots more that are just starting out.

Tomatoes are finally coming on. I think heirloom varieties are a little bit slower than hybrids.

We picked blackberries a couple of times this week, got some of our first green beans out of the garden, and were even able to get enough blueberries from our two bushes to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning!

Cucumbers are going to be the next thing to be harvested.

This week is supposed to be another hot one.  Here is a picture of the garden taken this morning.  It's finally looking full!  I'm enjoying the last of the "taking it easy" days of gardening before the canning and freezing frenzy begins.  :~)

 

Two Years Later....

Okay

There is too much going on around Forest Springs for us not to share!

This is our first year to have a "real" garden and it has been so much fun!

Here are a few pictures that I have been taking over the past few weeks:

This one was taken about 1 month ago. You can see the tiny lettuce plants just beginning to come up. At the very end of the garden, you can see our two blueberry bushes (I have them covered up with netting to keep the birds from eating all of the berries).

This one is really dark! The lettuce is getting bigger. The little green plants to the right of the lettuce are pumpkins.

This one was taken this evening. The pumpkins are going crazy. To the right of the pumpkins are cucumbers and a few herbs (basil, mint, and marjoram). How do you like our "tent" that we made for the runner beans? Cute, huh? That was Farmer B's creation. We took the kids (M1 and M2) into the woods last week and cut down a few saplings for the frame. I had to laugh because M2 thought she was going to die from the humidity before we made it back to "civilization." Does that mean that she spends too much time in an air-conditioned house?

The deer are sniffing around our blackberry patch and I am going to have to devise a plan for keeping them at bay. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that we could pick over 50 gallons of blackberries if the deer don't get them first!

Hopefully, Farmer B will be able to build a chicken coop by summer's end so that we can have chickens. Really, the sooner the better, although my neighbor told me that she has lost three hens this week due to chicken hawks in our area. Bozo (our dog) is going to have to earn his keep and learn to protect chickens, I think.

(This is just a random picture I found. Isn't it cute?)

Not to mention, we have a bee hive--full of bees, I might add--on standby just waiting for us to bring it home!

This promises to be a fun summer! We are having a blast. We hope that you will join in our adventure as we journey into the "wilds" of country living!

Life at Forest Springs

Greetings from the Ozarks...



Our small farm in the heart of the Ozarks of Arkansas is called Forest Springs- thus the title "life at Forest Springs." We enjoy a beautiful setting with wildlife all around. More on this later...