Country Whites Weekend #6 - Bike Ride

A good country morning to y'all!
Let's start this day off with a party, shall we!?!
Let's make it a
Country Whites Weekend!!!

Anyone up for a bike ride in the country?

Come on along.

My imagination makes me believe that this bike, at one time, traveled many country roads while passing horses running in the meadows, cows munching in the fields, and dogs barking from farmhouse porches.

The destination? A picnic by the lake, of course.

Lunch could easily ride in the front basket which now holds flowers.

Before heading back home, shoes and socks could be kicked off for some good old wading in the lake. Now really, that is how we all should spend a day once in awhile.

Sweet and simple.

This bike was eventually put away, forgotten, and left to rust in a shed.

Along I come to an auction a few years back and even though the bike was ugly as all get out, 

I knew it had to have a story and still have so much potential!

I brought the bike home, washed it up, and brought out the cans of spray paint.
White paint, of course. And I was quite pleased with it.

The basket was another find from a flea market.

I'm originally from Ohio and my Dad's name is Jim.

Perfect fit for this old bike.

Years ago, I was a long distance bike rider.

I would ride those country back roads...50, 75, 100 miles.

I would even threw some supplies on the back of my bike and camp overnight. 

So this sweet little bike is not only part of my garden decor,

 it brings back country memories of my bike riding days.

Now it's your turn.

It’s plain and simple and oh, so sweet.

Embrace your country whites and share them here!

Inspire us. Take us home. Fill us with country charm.

‘Country Whites Weekend’

The third weekend of every month…

Friday morning through Sunday evening.

Held jointly at

Old Time Farmhouse &

The Country Farm Home.

Link here or there and you will show up on both blogs.

Features will be held the following Friday,

so be sure to come back and check out both our blogs.

♥♥♥Country Rules♥♥♥

♥Your post must be about WHITES. A pop of color is allowed.

♥Write your country whites post first and link back here to Country Whites Weekend with text or link back with the Country Whites Weekend photo within your post.

♥Be sure to link up your post url, not your blog url.

♥Become a follower of both blogs.

♥Take the time to visit at least 3 other party participants.

♥Linking to shops, giveaways, parties and blog hops is a no-no.

♥Linking up something that you have already shared here is another no-no.

♥No more than 3 links per party.

♥All photos must be your own.

Thank y’all for following the rules.

Now let the party begin!

Been In The Garden

I've been working in the garden.

I've planted. I've weeded. I've mulched.

It's getting there. 

I ache from top to bottom.

I have dirt crammed under my fingernails. 

And I've had run ins with lizards, toads, ticks, and mosquitoes. 

But I'm happy.

On another note, I want to quickly remind you that

Country Whites Weekend

will start first thing tomorrow morning.

I'll drag myself out of the garden so I can party with you.

I'm excited to share a rustic white!

See ya in the morning!

Can We Talk?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend with it being Mother's Day.

I wanted to share this little nest with you that is in my garden.

A sweet sparrow is soon to be a mama herself to seven little ones.

Count them. Seven eggs. That's the most I've ever seen in one nest.

And did you know that she just finished raising a family in this nest?

That's right. She's starting all over again.

And did you know that this nest has been used and rebuilt over and over again.

Every year.

Now can we talk?

It breaks my heart every time I read a blog where the blogger finds a nest, then states it was empty so she took it and put it in her decor. Yep, it about makes me cry.

We need to be the protectors of our wildlife.

Just because a nest is empty does not mean it has become useless.

The nest in this photo makes me happy right where it is.

It's the perfect vignette set within my boxwood bush in the corner of my garden.

Oh, here's a bit of interesting info...

According to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, it's illegal to disturb the nest of any native bird without a permit. It's also illegal to collect or have in your possession bird feathers, nests, or eggs without a permit.

I have picked up a nest from the ground before. I have not and will not do so again.

My garden has become a home, a playground, and a sanctuary to the birds.

They all provide me pure joy with their songs and little antics.

Let's respect God's little creatures and their homes.

We can admire them right where they belong...in the great outdoors.

Stepping down off my soapbox now.

Thank you for listening.

#8 Old Time Party Features

Good Friday to ya!
Come on in and sit a spell.
Just leave your boots at the door.
Ya know we enjoy barefootin' around these parts.

I'll make ya some tea and feel free to have a sourdough biscuit. Or two.
Your choice of fresh, raw honey or my blackberry jam to put on top.
How are you and whatcha been doin'? I've been pretty busy.

May is my crazy month. So much to do and so little time.
Remember, I got poison ivy? Well, that really set me back.
Even though I had to go to the doctor, I still got pretty sick from it this time.
It's more than a rash that itches. It's very painful.
I'm doing better now, but it makes me contemplate the purpose of poison ivy.
Movin' on...

I'm glad ya stopped in cause I wanted to share with you the top viewed from the
Old Time Party.
Go ahead. Grab another biscuit and I'll get started.
Here are the features from Old Time Party #8...

~My Kitchen Revisited @ Debbie-Dabble~ 

She shared her kitchen which has that wonderful old time feel!

Lots of precious, vintage pieces here.

~Debbie Dabble also had lots of views with Colorful Patio~

This is her cute and colorful little corner. I could easily enjoy that cozy space.

~Vintage Door Display @ Southern Belle with Northern Roots~

Great vignette on a door with a down on the farm flair! Of course, I love that farm feel!

Thanks to all those who joined in at the Old Time Party!

It was so farmtastic of you!

Go ahead and grab the button if you were featured.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love y'all!!!

Barn Charm

Just sharin' a little barn charm today.

A little bit closer.

And here's her closeup!

Barn love.

Farm Fresh Feature - May 2013

The time has arrived for another fabulous
Farm Fresh Feature!!!

Here's Tammy from Our Neck of the Woods!
Her love and passion for her down home lifestyle shows in every post she writes.
Let's get to know her and give her a farm fresh welcome while we're at it!

What would you like to share with us today?

I am so thrilled to share our homestead with everyone today! We are situated on 20 wooded acres in the country and have a big vegetable garden and a barnyard full of critters. At current critter count we have 5 baby chicks, 10 hens, 2 roosters, 35 guinea fowl, 2 indoor cats, 2 outdoor cats, a new hive of bees, and a livestock guardian dog. 

 

 

 

What farm/country lifestyle are you currently embracing?

We are on a path to be as self-sufficient as possible, mainly with our food supply. About 5 years ago, we saw a documentary called Food, Inc. and it completely changed our lives. We wanted to have control over our food from seed to plate, so we decided to make the move to the country to have enough land to grow lots of veggies and not be restricted on the type of livestock we could keep. We are far from being completely self-sufficient, but we are much closer than we were 5 years ago.

Tell us more. What are you raising, growing, doing to obtain this lifestyle?

Our hens supply us with delicious farm fresh eggs, and we have an ever expanding vegetable garden to grow our own organic veggies and herbs. Eventually we hope to be able to grow all of our own food and put enough up to last us through the winter months (we live in Missouri so we can't garden year-round unfortunately). This is only our second year gardening at our new place so we have a lot to learn! We lived in the city before moving to our country home in May 2011 and gardening out here in the woods is much different from gardening in the city. We've had to cut down quite a few trees to have enough sunlight for our garden. The soil isn't the best, but we are adding composted chicken manure to the garden each year to add lots of nutrients. We had a horrible drought in our part of the country last year, so our garden didn't perform near as well as we'd hoped. It's definitely a learning experience!

 

 Do you have any future plans/goals?

We are getting into beekeeping for the first time this year! We just picked up our bees from a local beekeeper during the last week of April, and we are so excited to learn more about them and hopefully harvest our own honey later this year. Next year we plan to get some ducks to live near our garden area to help with eradicating bugs and other pests. In a few years, we hope to add either some sheep or goats to our property for milk so we can make our own cheese. Our biggest and most desired future plan is to have a pond dug on our property behind our house. We are currently saving up to have a professional do it for us so it may take a while until this goal is realized, but we are working on it!

 

What do you cherish most about your farm fresh life?

My favorite thing about my farm fresh life is where I live. My husband and I love to take hikes in the woods together and explore our surroundings. For me, being in nature is a very spiritual experience and I feel like I am at peace and can breathe easy when I am in the woods. Seeing a gorgeous sunrise come over the tree line while letting the chickens out of their coop in the morning is just about the best thing there is. I get so much inspiration and energy from my wide open spaces and I'm never going back to the city!

 

 Where can we find you?

I blog regularly over at Our Neck of the Woods and you can also find me on Facebook by clicking the brown button at the top of my blog's sidebar or visit directly by clicking here. I hope you pop over to say hello; I'd love to get to know you better!

 

Thanks, Tammy for sharing your homestead with us today.
You are a true inspiration!

And thank you to our readers for taking the time today.
Don't you love her lifestyle and her critters?
I've told Tammy that I either want to adopt her or to be her neighbor. LOL!
Want to learn more? Just hop on over to her 'blog'. 

The next Farm Fresh Feature will be June 3.
See ya then! 

It's Coming!

Farmhouse Feature is coming!!!

I'm excited about this one. 

I don't want to give it away until tomorrow morning who will be featured, but here is a hint.

Yep...just a pretty little photo.

Have a sweet Sunday

and see you tomorrow!