Once In A Blue Moon & A Cute Camper

Happy New Year Friends. Well, it happens every 19 years. Two full moons in one month, hence once in a blue moon. The first full moon of this month was on Dec. 2nd and was also called the Full Cold Moon. Tonight's full moon is called Full Long Nights moon. What a night to have the full moon on, New Year's Eve!! Enough goes on tonite without the full moon. So, use caution if traveling about. Here in Hellertown, PA we had snow this a.m. And boy did it come down for a couple of hours, caught everyone off guard I'm sure. Hopefully the roads will be in good shape for traveling tonight.

Cute idea for retail space

This link is for all my retail friends, it shows you how to have extra space for all the country and primitives items that you carry.

retro cottage chic

All you need now is a camper. It really is too cute.

Les & I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!!

A Visit With The Sisters

Well, I gave in. I went to New Jersey. I picked up my sister Irene who lives about 20 minutes from me and we met up with our sister Marge in Franklin Park, NJ. Where we visted with our oldest sister Joan who resides in a nursing home. Marge, Irene and myself see each other every couple of months (sometimes longer) but for me it has been years since I saw my oldest sister. We are a family of five, four girls, one boy. My brother was the missing link yesterday, he is not in the best of health and I think it would have been too much for him. I actually don't have very health siblings. Marge and myself are the healthy ones out of the bunch. But, enough of that. Our sister visit was good, we sat and talk about family, parents, kids, etc. Had lunch and doughnuts and coffee with our sister Joan before heading back to PA. And I'm glad that I gave in and went, as my siblings are all older then me, and one nevers knows how long anyone of us has here on Earth. I'm off this week from work, taking my unused vacation days. I really didn't do much today, but I'm tired. Tomorrow we will be checking out our weekly auction, I let you know what we find. Have a good evening.

A Magical Night

With tonight being Christmas Eve magical things can occur-one of which is the Lithuanian folklore belief that animals can speak. Anyone still possessing a barn that contains farm animals can- if they're very quiet and careful-sneak up to it at midnight and hear their livestock discussing their master; just as the animals in the stable on the first Christmas night discussed the arrival of the Great Master. Beekeepers can-if they put their ear to the hive hear their bees inside humming Christmas carols. And of course your pets can speak tonight as well and understand anything said to them. So be very careful what you say and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Baking and Shoveling

Yes, that is what I did this weekend. And, thankfully it was more baking then shoveling. Here is Williams Township, PA we got 8 inches of snow and yes, the snow blower was already to go, not like two weeks ago when we did it all by shovel. But, while the snow was falling yesterday I got into baking. Not sure how much more I will do, as there is only two of us and how much can we eat. Or should I say how much should we eat. But, on to the baking, I made Peanut Blossoms and Hungarian Coffe Cake. The Peanut Blossoms were a requested from Les and the coffee cake I thought would be nice to have with a cup of tea and a cold and blustery night (like tonight). I thought that I would post the receipe for the Peanut Blossoms first and then post the coffee cake receipe in a day or so along with information on my on-line store. So, here goes, it is so easy.

1 14ounce can of condensed milk, NOT evaporated
3/4 to 1 cup of Peanut Butter (I use one cup)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups of Bisquick Baking Mix
1 bag of Hershey Kisses, milk or dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixer bowl beat milk, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until smooth. Add biscuit mix, mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour. After the dough has chilled, shape into 1 inch balls, place 2 inches apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, no longer. Immediately after taking from oven, press a milk or dark chocolate, Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie. Enjoy!! Time for a tea and cookie break.

If it's Tuesday, It Must Be Auction Day

That's where we were today, at a auction. Tuesday's are my day off and we attend a auction just about every Tuesday to replenish our stock for Black Duck Antiques. We got some neat stuff, a couple of benches (for those of you who have front/back porches), a primitive garden sieve, a make do medicine cabinet (needs a good cleaning) some advertising tins (tea, soap, etc) a piece of Wedgewood, which is not something I normally buy, but for some reason I can sell a piece here and there. Today's piece cost $3.00, can't go wrong there. And my favorite from today's haul are 12 pieces of handmade (in Germany) winter ornaments. They are made out of some type metal (heavier then tin) and painted. There are trees, sleds with horses, a few people and a snowman. The set will most likely go to one of our shows next year. Oh yeah and a pantry box, which has been repaired, but it's got some age to it and I will most likely keep that for my self. Well, its been a long day of sitting and we may head to another auction tomorrow, but we will need to see what the weather will bring, our weather weenies are calling for another 1-3 inches of snow before turning to rain!! We will see. Have a good evening

Is Your Snowblower Ready?

Ours isn't. It's buried behind many, many items. Who knew that we could use it after Saturday's snow. This was to be a 1-3 incher. Our last measurement was over 5 inches. Getting back to the snowblower, here is a bit of trivia, it was invented in 1925 by a man in Quebec, it uses a pumplike system of impellers to break up the snow and force it through its stack and out of its path. Some say, that it flies harmlessly into another jurisdiction. All of the pictures that are posted were taken by Les this morning before the neighborhood started to movc around and before the snow started dropping off the trees. We will be going out shortly to clear off the cars and do a bit of shoveling. And if the sun stays out, I will be hanging out the holiday flags and maybe get some pictures of them as well. Have a great Sunday.

Looking down the hill from our mailbox. Isn't it beautiful?

Front of the Duck Hilton and our workshop. Star will soon be changed to a wreath.

Red bow on a small piece of iron fence.

The fence was to be inventory for Black Duck Antiques, you see how far it got.

Deer tracks in our front yard, heading to the Juniper bush. Yummy.

Banana Bread Recipe

Good Evening All, Les thought that it would be nice if I published the Banana Bread Recipe for anyone who would like to give it a try. We all have different versions of our favorite foods and if you are like me, I always want to try something new. I don't always get to do that, but I want to. So, here goes.

Banana Walnut Loaf

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup shortening.
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs.
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed banana.
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour

Mix sugar, shortening and eggs, beat until light. Add mashed banana. Sift flour with baking powder, salt and soda. Stir into creamed mixture, beating until smooth. Add walnuts. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes or until loaf tests done. Cool on rack, makes 1 loaf.

Now my, only modifications to the above is that I do not put in 1 cup of walnuts, I put in about a 1/2 of cup and if I have more then 1 cup of banana, I put the extra in as well. Enjoy.

Les has been working on my blog all day today, adding things and improving the look. My header picture is our pond, it doesn't look so great this time of year, but we will give you updates. The white house in the back is not ours, its a fairly new house, maybe 4 years old, nice neighbors. Well if you live in the Mid-Atlantic states my guess is that you are getting snow. It has been snowing for about 6 1/2 hours now. The snow is heavy, we even had a mini blackout a while ago. No plowing (I think it caught them off guard) and I noticed that a mini van is stuck across the street from our house. It could not get up the hill, sure how it doesn't get hit if the plows come by. I measured the snow in three places and took the average, 5.33 inches, and this was suppose to be a 1-3 inch with nothing sticking on the roads!! Well, I have few blogs to read and then maybe watch a movie. Have a good evening.

Blogging For Dummies

No,that's not my readers, it's my new book. Actually it's, Google Blogger For Dummies. After reading so many blogs for months now, I decided that I really wanted to improve upon ginnysyard. And not knowing much more then what I post on my blog now Les and I decided it was time to take a trip to the bookstore. Our favorite bookstore, Barnes & Noble. We had no problem in finding the dummies books, but boy I was not expecting the price. $24.99!! I better have a darn good blog when I done reading this book. We have lots to work on over the winter, my blog, our e-store for BlackDuck Antiques, Les' blog, etc. Other then our trip to the bookstore and moving some furniture (inventory for the antiques business) around, we didn't do much. I did go looking for insulated curtains/drapes this a.m. and ended up coming home and ordering them on-line from Country Curtains. I have ordered from them in the past and you my pay a bit more, but you can't beat the quality. Well, I'm going to start to read my book, keep checking back for the new and improved ginnysyard. And if you live in northeast PA, look out for some snow flakes tomorrow.

Heat's On

Here is a picture of our two girls. Dolly (in the background) and Maggie (front). For some reason, this year they have taken to sitting on top of the radiator. They are sisters and both are 6 years old. Maybe they need a little more warmth now that they are getting older. This is a rare occasion that they both are sitting together. Dolly is our timid one, Maggie is the bully, but that night they were being pals and getting along, usually Dolly steers clear of Maggie. I just finished putting a Banana Bread in the oven. It is a recipe from my M-I-L, she got it off of the back of a package of Diamond Walnuts. It's a favorite of ours. And for some reason it only gets made this time of year. When my M-I-L was living she always made two, one was put in the freezer for Christmas morning and we ate that while opening presents. I don't carry on the tradition of making two, but I always have some type of bread or muffin made for us on Christmas morning. I'm taking off tomorrow and I'm thinking of hitting a small mall near us. We don't really do Christmas shopping for each other, but around this time of year I like to go and window shop. Boscov's, one of the anchor department stores at the mall is having sales on insulated curtains/drapes and we could use some of those for the drafty windows. With any luck if the weather is decent this weekend I would like to get outside and do a little decorating, put up some wreaths, garden flags (Christmas ones of course) and I don't know what else just yet. We also need to get some more wood on the porch for the wood stove. Well I left Les watching the timer for the banana bread, but I want to be near by when it goes off. Have a good evening.

Full Cold Moon

Good Evening All, tonite we have the first of two full moons in the month of December. Tonite's is the Full Cold Moon. Strange, the weather weenies say that during the night tonite the temperature will rise, yet it is the Cold Moon. We won't see the moon here in North East PA tonite, do to the rain that started to fall at about 4:00. Les and I started to move some furniture, etc. around today to make room for furniture that did not sell at the Antique Show this past weekend. We need to bring in a blanket chest and a crock bench. Over the next few months we will be listing items for sale on our e-crater store, once it is all set up, I will list the address for you to check out our wares. Well, I have some blogs to read and then it's time to get ready for bed. Have a good evening.

All Done For The Season

We had our last Antique Show for 2009 and we are happy to report that it ended on a profitable and happy note. We will start up again in March 2010. It has been a while since I posted, almost a month to the day and I hope to correct that. I really enjoy reading blogs and hope if I post more, I will pick up readers. December 1st already!! Yikes, I have not started to even decorate, I still have to close up the house for Winter ( pull down storm windows, heavier curtains, etc.) If you remember we live in a old house, not very energy efficient, so what ever we can do to improve that will help. I really don't decorate that much, all of our family lives in other states, most in NJ, but rarely get to come to PA for a visit. You see, I'm the baby of the family which means they are older then me and use that as a excuse, i.e. It's so far to PA, why don't you come to NJ. Hello, last time I checked the mileage was the same and not bad at all. So, you may ask why don't you go to NJ? Well, we really never get a invite, though we are always asking them. Enough about the family. Back to decorating, I think I will do a bit more then usual, but in a Primitive/Country way. But, for now the cats are crying for dinner and I have some work to do. I hope everyone has a good evening.

Geese & Cleaning Up

Canadian geese are now daily visitors, stopping at the pond to rest before continuing on their way. Some leave at night but some stay all night. And boy what a racket, honking, flapping their wings making sure everyone is aware that they are in the neighborhood. We started to clean up our Mud Porch yesterday and really got alot done. We need to do this from time to time. It is a landing spot for many, many things. Bird seed, cat liter, groceries and inventory for our antique business.This is where it all happens before you enter our Kitchen. Oh, I forgot its also where the firewood gets stacked as well. So you see it needs cleaning up from time to time. It really is a seasonal porch, spring and summer you will find seeds, garden tools, etc. And in the fall/winter you will find firewood and wait the snow blower when we need to use it. I better finish cleaning it up. I didn't realize how much goes there!! Have a great day, Happy Novemeber.

Down to Four

Good Morning, by now anyone who reads my blog knows that I have raised ducks since moving to PA 21 + years ago and also, have helped the wildlife that lands on our pond from time to time. Well, today we needed to say good bye to one of our little black ducks. She (one of three girls) has not been doing well for some time now. I stopped putting her out in the yard over two months now because she was having a hard time climbing the hill to get to the Duck Hilton. At one time when I was working fulltime I would have whisked her off to the vet, but times are tight and there are few vets in our area that really know what to do with a sick duck/goose, so I made her as comfortable as possible and made sure she had a handful of spinach every morning along with her corn and she was happy. I suspect that she had some type of tumor as she got very big and heavy (hence having the problem waddling up the hill) so yesterday she went into a little cage by herself and had her spinach, corn and water to herself and there she stayed until this morning when I found her. Her brothers and sisters are all a little jumpy as they usually are when one dies, but they will be fine and so will she. She has gone off to be with her other sisters and brothers who have passed on. I should add that she is between 10-12 years old, so for a duck she lived a good life. Hope everyone has a good day, take care.

All Set To Go!

Good Evening, Well Black Duck Antiques is all packed and ready to head out before the sun is up. As a matter of fact, I think we will be pulling out before the roosters crow!! We will be out at the Hunderton Fair Grounds, Ringoes, NJ on Sunday. We are under cover, but I think the weather will be nice. Wish us luck that folks will be doing a little buying and not just looking. This will be our fourth time here and we just have a hard time cracking that nut and making a little money,but because we do other shows that these promoters do, we feel that we got hang in there. Not to mention that really none of us are spending money on something that we don't need. Well, off to get a shower and then to bed, I will be back and let you all know how we did.

Where does time go?

I don't have the answer, all I know it has been a long time since I posted. I have been reading all of my favorite blogs, but I guess I didn't have anything to post. Ginnysyard is hanging in there, the heat did in alot of my annuals, but that's okay, they were getting tired looking. And in our part of the Lehigh Valley, our tomato plants were hit with a blight. Nasty looking tomatos!! We were looking forward to making sauce from them, but thats not going to happen. I started to clean up the area where they are planted last night. They said we have to throw away the plant, don't compost it. Now, in our antique show world, things are happening. We are off to Ringoes, NJ Sunday 9/21 for a one day show and then we leave the Black Duck Antiques van loaded and head off on Wed 9/23 to set-up at Kutztown, PA for the big three day show. On top of that we have to go shopping at a couple of sales this week. But, we do enjoy this and I don't think we would have it any other way. Okay, maybe if we had a shop in our home that would be the best, and if I could do antiques, gardening, etc. full-time and make money at it, boy I would be one happy lady. Maybe one day, it can't hurt to dream. Well, back to my real job, the one that is currently paying the bills, have a great day.

Hot Antique Show

Good Evening, We are back home in the a/c (the only room in the house that has it) from our Antique Show. As I'm sure it was in many places today, it was hot, but we did have a breeze just about all day and our booth was under a large shade tree. This was our first time doing this show and it turned out to be a very good show for us. We were next to some friends who are antique dealers and not too far down from us were more of our friends. I thought I would share these couple of pictures with you all, they were being sold by our friend Tina. She is calling them button bags, made out of feed sack material or calico and the bottom of the bag is filled with buttons. This is the way that she purchased them. I just thought that they were the cutest things and I'm hoping to get some made from vintage fabric that I have. They are about 4-5 inches high, but cute as a button!! Well we were up at 3:30 a.m. today and this is one very tired lady, talk to you real soon. Have a good evening.

Antique Show

Good Evening, I can't believe I have been such a bump on a log and did not post for such a while. I mentioned it to Les and he said, Well you should be promoting your Antique Show, DUH!!! So, here it is, Antiques in August, Sunday August 16th, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. North Hunderton High School, Rt.31 Annandale, NJ. Admission $5.00 and it benefits the Hunderton Helpline. 100 quality dealers, and we are one of them. Les & I use to shop this show when we lived in NJ, many moons ago. This is the 28th year for the show, so that has to say something. This is our first time setting up as dealers, if you can stop by, look for Black Duck Antiques, stop in and say Hi. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will post next week and let you all know how the show went. There maybe some items going on to our e-store soon that we have been carrying too long at the shows, we will keep you posted when that happens.

Our Girls

Hey, this is a first for me, two posts in one night. We just happen to have our camera out on the screen porch with us today and Les snapped a picture of our girls. Maggie is the one on the little table, Dolly is the one passing thru. This was suppose to be just a picture of Maggie because she was sitting so nice (that rarely happens) and just as Les was ready to snap the picture Miss Dolly decided to pass thru. And after that Maggie was not going to cooperate any longer.

Nine Dollar Wheel Barrow

Yes, that is what I paid for this great old wheel barrow, complete with drainage holes for the plants. I really liked the iron wheel and will use that some other way when it is no longer good for a planter. Plants were not a bad deal either. A entire flat which was six, six packs or a total of 36 Marigolds for $7.00 bucks. Everything I read says its too late for annuals, but what the heck be different if it makes you smile. And my wheel barrow and flowers do just that. Hope everyone has a good evening.

Quite in the Yard

Good Morning, just to update everyone, we finally found lounge chairs. We found them at K-Mart. I'm not really a KM shopper but we were in the area on Monday and said what the heck and there they were and at 25% off, can't beat that. Now we just need to make room on the screen porch and we will be sitting just fine. Slowly we are cleaning up the porch and the house, now that we have our new storage shed, many items that we take to our Antique Shows will be going in there. As far as our yard goes, all is quite. We believe that Mom & Pop Goose have left with the family, they had been teaching them how to flap their wings and take off and we have not seen them for over a week now. We are always happy to have goslings, but just as happy when they leave, way too messy as they grow up. Also, sadly I think Buddy is gone on to a better place for injured geese. He was have a terrible time getting around, his wing was caught under his leg and try as I might (just ask Les), I was unable to catch him and I did not want to chase him and cause him any more pain then I believe he was in. So, as hard as it was, I needed to let him do his thing and what it was/is we now have not seen him for a few weeks. But, mark my words if he comes back I will try and catch him again and if I do, he will be going in the Duck Hilton with the ducks for good!! Have a wonderful day.

Is Summer Over?

I know its not, but don't try and buy any lawn, patio, porch furniture. Les and I decided that it would be nice to have a pair of lounge chairs for the screened porch. So yesterday off we went, first to Lowe's, they are having 30% off all of their patio furniture, but they only carry one style lounge, one that I cannot operate, you kind of have to push with your legs/back and I just don't have that much push and they were $55.00 ea. So, off to Dick's Sporting Goods, they were having a sale their's were very simliar to Lowe's. What ever happen to the lounge that you sit in and the arms when lifted recline your back, can't find them anymore. Then it was off to Target, which had a very sad :( patio dept. only had two chairs left. Walmart had a similar patio dept. Moral of my story, but porch furniture in February!! Sorry, but I just can't get into it then. We need to go and fill up our van with gas tonite at the Giant Gas Station (gotta lot the bonus points, we get .60 off every gallon on gas) so we are going to pop in at Home Depot, I expect to not find any lounges there either. If anyone knows of of stores in NE PA that may have furniture, let me know!! Have a great evening.

Where Does The Time Go?

I can't believe that it has been over a week since I lasted posted. I think I was lost in space. We did our Antique Show out at Renninger's in Kutztown last week. We have had better shows. But, we do believe its just a sign of the times. Lots of people looking but not spending too much. But, when we were unpacking the truck on Sunday morning, three ladies from a nearby neighborhood were walking and just fell in love with many items sitting in the driveway and came back with a pick-up and purchased them!! Gotta love the ladies. We have no big plans for the holiday weekend, just plan to take it easy. We have to catch-up on yard work and house work. It does not seem like the weather will be too bad. I have two cone flowers to get into the ground and then I'm done. We could fill our second raised bed that we made for a couple of reasons, one reason was that the rain just won't let up and when it did we weren't around. And then we discovered that maybe all the wet mushy ground wasn't just rain. It seems that we had a septic system problem, pump not working and a few holes in our tank. All is fixed and the ground is drying out nicely. Oh, to live where there is real plumbing!! Septic systems just make me nervous. Well, I'm at work and need to finish up a few things before I head out for the weekend. Have a very happy and safe 4th of July. Remember to fly those flags!!!

Antique Shows

Happy Monday, Les and I did a Antique Show on Sunday in Ringoes, NJ. It was our third time back to this location. It is nice because we are under roof, but not so nice because the barns, only have dirt floors. Things tend to get a bit dirty. We will be heading out to Kutztown, PA to Renningers Show, for three days. It is Thurs., Fri., and Sat. We are in the second pavillion, space #322, stop by if you are there. Well, I need to finish up some work as I will be gone for the rest of the week. Have a wonderfull afternoon and evening.

Will the Sun Ever Come Out?

Boy, if you live in the Northeast I bet you are asking yourself this same question. Make sure the sunglasses are clean, cuz you will need them when the sun does come out!! Not much new around ginnysyard. Went to a auction yesterday, bought a few little bits, a few will go for the shows we have coming up and few are for the booth at Weil Antique Center. Still trying to get plants in the ground, but not having much luck. Mr. & Mrs. Goose's kids are growing like weeds, maybe the rain is doing that, but it won't be long now before they have their feathers and off they go. We won't miss them too much, as you know they can make a awful mess. Buddy is doing good, I actually got to pet the top of his head for a split second and then he hissed, so I thought leave well enough alone. He really is a sweety!! Have a good evening.

Not So Young Anymore

Well, after a weekend of gardening or should I say excavating, the title of my blog says it all!! After going shopping for treasures for our upcoming Antique shows on Saturday morning, Les and I decided it was time for us to try and tackle the back 40 (only kidding, its more like a acre). Now mind you this is about as far as you can get from our house and still be on our property, and we don't have one of those fancy ATV's or a golf cart, which seems to be the mode of transportation in our area. So we pile the tools into the wheel barrow and off we walk. The dirt out there is supose to be topsoil, HA HA, Les said if we sifted out all the rocks we could make our own redware dishes, etc. So, Les dug and dug and then the big rains came and stayed all afternoon and into the night. Sunday morning we drag everything back out only to find that the holes are completely full of water and not draining. So we walked the property some more and found different soil, still not topsoil, but it had promise. So, Les dug again and we mixed up dirt and planted our gourds that we started from seed out on the flats. But, it has been decided unless we get some real equipment for digging, smoothing out, etc. we cannot work this part of our property, we are just not so young anymore!! Oh, did I mention that the flat is full of ROCKS!!, STICKER BUSHES!! and WEEDS!! So, if anyone hears of some excavting equipment that is for sale, real cheap give me a holler, I just might have to buy it. Have a good evening everyone.

Wet, Soggy, Drippy

If I had new ducks that what I would name them. There really isn't anything new happening in my yard. I look forward to going out after work/dinner and I really have not been able to. Yesterday the fog rolled in a little after four and I couldn't see the pond by 5:00. I think we are going to have to go out and find some pepper plants to buy. Our seeds just ain't sprouting, I really think its just been too darn wet. Tansy is starting to bloom, Yeah!! Once its done I plan on relocating it, so we can walk on the sidewalk near the house, it must be a good four feet high and just about as wide. Here is hoping you have a great and sunny weekend!!

A Good Weekend

Good Morning, Hope everyone had a good weekend. Here in PA the weather was great on Sunday, not too shabby for Saturday either. We now have our internet back, it was fixed late Friday afternoon, only took four visits from Verizon, sure glad we were not paying for this. Our antique show could not have gone better (unless we sold all of our goods). All the furniture that we took, sold and we sold a mixture of small items, i.e. watering cans, feed sacks, sprinklers, crockery, etc. Now we need to stock up for our next two shows coming up this month. Tomatoe plants are growing, snow peas will soon be ready for picking and our seeds that we planted are coming along, slow though. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

Wet & No Internet

Everyone must be tired of me saying "No Internet". But, can you believe in this day of high tech, Verizon cannot figure out what is wrong at our house. Our house line is fine, computer line, no good. This is the third day that they will be coming to our house. When I called this morning, we were second in line, I just called, sorry he didn't get there this morning, but he is in your neighborhood, your next. Les said he is going out to find him and ask him if he needs any help, so we can move him along. Okay enough of that. Is everyone as tired as us with this rainy and chilly weather? Here in Hellertown it is just 58, not nice. Even the ducks and Buddy are sick of the rain. We have strange ducks, they really do not like the rain. Can't get them out of the coop if it is raining, just give us corn, git and water Ginny and we will see you tonite. Buddy has been coming and going the last couple of days. I really think he is being hassled by Pop Goose (they got the five babies), so he was laying low out in our field, not a good place for him, but I can't change him. Not much happening in the garden, no sun, nothing sprouts. But, boy are the birds ever hungry in our yard. How about yours? I can't keep the feeder full. Have a good afternoon and nice weekend.

No Tone

Good Morning, we still have no internet. The person that came out on this past Monday, said no problem with the line, what he meant was no problem outside, now they tell me we need a inside person, and it might not be until this coming Monday!! so, I got a bit loud and now they are checking into a earlier appt. Patti at The Brickhouse asked what flowers I'm trying to sprout for drying, and I will be darned but all that comes to mind is the Cornflowers. My mind is blank, oh yeah we also started some Bee Balm, maybe some Statice. And we promise as soon as we are back on line, we will get some pictures of the raised beds. One you will need to use your imagination, it has no dirt in it, yet. Tonite we need to pull out inventory, so we can sell, sell, sell (I can hope) at our show this weekend. Thank you all for Les' B'day wishes, dinner was good if I say so myself. Have a good day.

Sprouting

Well, finally all the seeds that we planted 2 1/2 weeks ago are finally starting to sprout. I guess the pass couple of warm days really helped. We started alot of gourd seeds, flowers to dry, and a couple of diffrent peppers. Tomato plants are all in and doing well. Still no internet at home, so I only get to read/blog at work, which isn't too hard as we are very slow. You see, I work for a high end new home builder, need I say more? No one is out there buying what we sell, keeping our fingers crossed for better days. Today is Les' B'day, spaghetti and meatballs is on the menu with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. Strawberries are from our local farmers market, this is the second week we got them and they are great. Have a good afternoon/evening.

All Done......For Now

Good Morning, What a great weekend in PA, hope is was great in your part of the world. We got our other raised built and fill with dirt and have started to plant, Woo Hoo!! We now need to mix dirt for the second bed, but I think we have some time yet. All of our seeds that we started two weeks ago have yet to sprout. I think its just has not been warm enough at night, some of the gourds have start, but that is it. Tomato plants are all in, two by the side door and one out in the raised bed. We also got our pop-up set-up which we will be using on Sunday at our Antique Show, it really was quite easy. I know you are all saying where's the pictures, well we have been without internet service since last week, so this is coming from work. We expect to back on line today, so pictures will be coming soon. Have a great Monday!!

Yard Work, Washing

Good Morning, In between the rain drops I have managed to pull weeds and trim back the Tansy so that we can plant the tomatoe plants. I plant them in a bed right outside my mud porch door, easy to grab some for dinner. Les has been washing the feed bags that we got at the auction last week, some look really great, others maybe turned into Primitive/Country stuff. This weekend we need to set-up our pop-up tent that we use for outdoor Antique Shows. We purchased a new pop-up this Spring and have yet to see how it works, and you do want to know that before you get to your show. We also need to look over the inventory. We are doing a show in Tinicum Park, Bucks County, PA. The park is really nice, its a one day show, but a great one for Primitives! We will see lots of old friends and make some new friends. If anyone wants a coupon for a dollar off, let me know and I can get it out in the mail to you. The show is June 7, 2009, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Have a good day.

Took the wind out of our sails

Happy Memorial Day. Our weekend started off very bad. Saturday morning after letting some ducks out of the coop, I walked over the the mailbox to pick-up the newspaper and what do I find but broken glass. Upon further checking out by Les and myself we find that someone has thrown a 20 pound boulder thur our back window of my mini van. Boy, I felt so hurt, angry, violated I just started to cry. So, on to calling the state police and waiting over one hour for them to show up (he got lost, that really makes us feel comfortable) then calling the insurance company and then finding a glass place. We have the car at The Glass Doctor in Hellertown. They had garage space so the car in all locked up till Tuesday afternoon, which is when it is suppose to be finished. We are sure we will never know who did this, as it happen sometime after 11:00 p.m. Friday night. So....needless to say I have not gotten much done, still upset, but getting better. Oh, I might add who ever did this did no want anything as the van was unlocked and nothing was taken. Also, our van for the antiques business was sitting right next to it, untouched and it had some antiques in it. They just did, because it was the trooper told us. Have a good afternoon.

Hose Reel

Good Evening, Here is the hose reel that we purchased the other day at auction. It is all wood with cast iron wheels. It really is too wobbly to put the hose on it, so lady bloggers, I need some ideas what to do with it. I guess you figured out by now that I will be keeping it. Once you see the picture you will see why, it is sooooooooo cute. We have a busy weekend planned, already have feed bags soaking so that I can hang them out to dry tomorrow. And I still have plenty more to soak and wash. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Memorial Day!!

Auctions

Good Afternoon, Auctions have kept Les and I busy the last two days. We have three Antique Shows coming up in June and needed to stock up the best that we could. Let me tell you, sit a auction for a day and you would think that there is NO RECESSION. We can't believe some of the prices things go for. So....needless to say, not much gardening/building of beds is getting done. We hope to correct that over the long holiday weekend. I'm at work today and my computer is giving me fits. I'm having trouble reading my favorite blogs. Don't work it's not your blogs, it's the computer. I will have Les help me tonite when I get home. Baby goslings are growing, and Buddy is still around, though he gets moved along by Papa Goose if he gets too near those babys. We bought a neat wooden hose reel, can't decide if I want to sell it or keep. We will post a picture soon. Have a good afternoon.

Plants In, Plants Out

Happy Monday, well we were advised last night to cover or take the plants in, so we took them in. It didn't even get near the temp. that they said it would. But..have no fear, they are already telling me to do it again tonite. So..of course we will. Got alot of seeds started in peat pots on Saturday (a little behing sch'd) but they are in the Duck Hilton under lights, so it may not ake that long to see sprouts. Yesterday it sure was chilly in Hellertown, didn't do much outside, stayed in and tried to get caught up on stuff. We have three Antique Shows coming up in June, so I really need to get caught up. I have been asked to tell more about our Antique business, which I will do in a future post. Have a great day!!

Pictures from ginnysyard

Good Evening, Well with any luck you will get to see some pictures from my yard. One of course is of Buddy eating his evening corn. The other is a arbor (homemade) that I purchased at a local auction. Not sure what I will do with the arbor, but I really liked it. Right now it is protecting the herbs from Cinnamon Stick, a few Marigolds and a tomato plant that I got at the local Farmers Market. Hope you enjoy them.

Snow Shovel

Good Morning. Somehow, we have snow peas growing, cut our lawn two times, pansy's in apot by the Chicken Coop, Feverfew growing out on the flat land, but........why can't I put that darn snow shovel away? I pass it everyday, arms usually full, but none the less I pass it. Note to self, put the snow shovel away this weekend. Have a good day.

Buddy's Back

Good Morning,

Well, our Buddy is back. Buddy is a Canada Goose who arrived on our pond almost two years ago. Now, he did not fly to us as he has a broken wing. It was a old injury when he arrived, could have happened anywhere, but one thing is for sure he covers alot of ground on his two webbed feet. In February of 2008, he walked off one morning, not sure where he went. But, August of 2008 he was back and this time had a mate. Now, Girl Friend can fly somewhat, but chooses not to. So, I fed them both all winter and this was a nasty winter in ginnysyard, lots of ice, cold cold days and nights and wind. Both of them were well fed. So, fast forward to March 13th 2009, a Friday I might add, and Buddy is gone. Girl Friend was still around but very sad, so I thought the worse that something had gotten him. Well, she disappears about a week later. So, now we only have our pair that come once a year to raise their family, which are doing very well and the goslings are growing every day. Well here it is May 13th, and Buddy was out in the yard this morning!! I said Hi Buddy, welcome back and he was so happy to see me, he flapped his good wing, enough to say Hi Ginny, I'm back, can I have some corn? It is a happy morning in ginnysyard. Buddy got his corn.

My First Post

I'm new to blog land, so any mistakes that I make, please let me know. I read so many blogs and really enjoyed them. So....I got to thinking this might be something I would like to try. My husband came up with the my blog name, as many things go on in ginnysyard. We have lived here in Pennsylvania 21 years and have always had ducks/geese from day one. Right now we have five ducks, four of which were hatched in the chicken coop a.k.a Duck Hilton as one of our neighbors call it and one Pekin who was dropped off here. We also have currently Mr. & Mrs. Goose (Canada) and five goslings. Having a one acre pond allows Mr. & Mrs. to return every year and raise their family. So, enough about the wildlife (don't worry you will hear more). One of my favorite blogs is The Cinnamon Stick and The Herbal Bouquet. My husband and I were able to visit with Judy this past Saturday for her Herbal Faire. What a great place. I picked up four different herbs to plant, Lavender, Rose Geranium, Lemon Verbena, and Pineapple Sage. We are in the process of building raised beds for the yard, but have been seriously delayed due to our rainy weather in Pa. Our one raised bed from last year has my snow peas planted in it and I also might add, doing very well. Southerwood, Tansy, Lemon Balm and Spearmint or all growing like weeds as well. Well, I think I have gone on long enough for my first post and I hope that you have enjoyed it and will return to ginnysyard.