Friday Favorite: Bitter Lemon
Ahhhh, there’s nothing like a refreshing beverage when you’ve been working in the garden on a hot day. When I was younger I used to LOVE drinking Bitter Lemon. Recently I rediscovered this gem.
I don’t drink soda very often, when I do it’s usually this or tonic water. It’s refreshing but not too sweet and with the slightest hint of bitterness, even better with a piece of fresh lemon squeezed into it. I also love this brand as it’s not made with HFCS and with real botanicals.
What’s your favorite refreshing beverage when you’ve been working in the garden on a hot day?
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Friday Favorite: Flags
I love flags, love.love.love them! When I was a kid I was always the one hanging our flag outside for holidays. Things are no different now, I have almost always had a flag or two in the garden. Last year I only had one small one in a flowerbed, this year I decided to go all out!
I’ve been eyeing these triple flag holders for quite a while, they’ve been on my Amazon wish list for many years. Bunting is also something I’ve been wanting to get but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Last week I stopped at a local store and they had both items! I snapped up a few and came home ready to decorate the house and barn.
Now it’s looking perfectly patriotic around here and that makes me happy. I love the flags so much I’m thinking of getting another triple flag holder for the chicken coop, no doubt they’ll love a little summer decor as well. Colombian flags will also be purchased to hang out on the appropriate holidays, nothing makes me happier than celebrating both of my citizenship countries! I don’t think I’ll be able to find those locally.
Do you hang a flag in your garden?
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Friday Favorite: Cats in the Garden
It’s no secret that I am a cat person, I always have been. Cats are great to have around, I love their personalities and the way they interact with humans and each other. Gardening is also so much better with cats.
Dexter and Samson are most often my gardening companions, Dexter in particular likes to follow me around while I work.
There’s also the little feral garage cat, Sweets, who I don’t see as much as I used to since she has become mostly nocturnal. I do catch her sleeping on the couch in the upstairs of the garage quite often during the day.
I’m thinking about getting another garage cat for Sweets to train. She’s such a good mouser and is really smart about predators as well. Cats can also play an important role in the garden for rodent control. Since we don’t want foxes coming close to the house we need something to keep the mice and other small rodents in check. This task is important for helping keep Lyme disease in check as well, if all the smaller rodents like mice are kept under control larger rodents like squirrels can thrive and they are less likely to be hosts for Lyme disease.
What’s your favorite kind of animal to have around?
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Friday Favorite: Barter is Better
I love bartering, it’s so nice to be able to trade things you produce or no longer want for things you need or want. A few months ago I stumbled on Erin Flett’s Etsy store and fell in love with her hen print. Into my favorites it went and I went to Facebook to like her page.
She’s a Maine artist that focuses on sourcing all of her raw materials from companies in the United States, now that’s the kind of art/products I like. Fast forward a month or two and she posted about a new light she got for her studio which just happened to be like a few lights that were in this house when we arrived.
I messaged her to see if she was interested in a few more, which she was. A deal was made, I took four lovely vintage white globe lights of varying sizes down to her studio near Portland and she gave me a host of lovelies, including the hen print that I loved so much, which is being printed soon.
I now have four lovely oversized kitchen towels with hens and roosters, perfect for my love of all things fowl.
She also insisted that I take a small zippered pouch, which will come in handy for trips to the farmers market. I think it will become my new purse.
I also have two small pillows that will be perfect in our guest room on the bed with that quilt that I just finished.
Bartering is so great, I have a few other bartering relationships. One is for eggs, I give a local couple eggs in exchange for a credit for cedar lumber when I need it (they have a cedar mill).
Do you ever barter? What product or item do you produce that would be a good barter item for you?
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Friday Favorite: Relics
Back in Ohio, it was very common to unearth relics while working in the garden. It’s no different here in Maine. Last year I remember picking up dozens of things that were buried during the previous years of ownership. Just this week, the chickens dug up this yellow cup in a small patch of woods by the garage.
The pigs also unearthed loads of goodies in their woodland area last summer.
Then there are the bulldozer tracks up the garage.
And every now and then I find a piece of trash that blows in from somewhere.
These things all provide an interesting history of the people who have lived here before us. No doubt many more things will be unearthed as I expand the gardens. I wonder what I will find next.
Have you found interesting things in your garden?
