Adapting in Nature

My husband discovered this interesting Inch worm on our property to other day. It looks just like the branches on our willow trees. I love to see how natures adapts to get away from preadators. This little guy is trying to keep away from the birds beaks. LOVE.

Adventures on the Ranch: Chickens

Chickens...

How did we come about a dozen (and soon to be more) free chickens? Well it is complicated...

The first two were given to me by a co-worker who needed to find them a home because the family pet factor was wearing down on his kids. I was happy to have them. They escaped their cage on the first day and let me tell you something. IT IS HARD TO CATCH A CHICKEN THAT HAS ACRES TO RUN FROM YOU ON! My thighs are burning just thinking about it!

The next 10 were from some lovely friends who were moving out of state. Very soon we will add two more to our brood. They really are fun.

Lady hens are all about the DRAMA! They fight each other, hurt each other, chase each other and gang up on each other. I mean lady hens are MEAN! But for the most part they dwell together in peace. Especially when there is plenty of food to share.

Here are a few pics of what we have been working on to house them. it is an ongoing project and something I am having fun doing when time permits. The eggs are delicious and we are swimming in them right now if anyone is interested!



My lovely husband finishing the door for the run. I Love my man.




Some sturdy fencing. and a pre-made home off of craigslist. just needs a bit of spit shine and it will look fab soon.




Mary Jane drinking from the smallest water holder...SIGH...




We decided to place the hens by one of our willow trees near the walnut orchard. this give them shade on hot days and a bit of greenery.

 I will post pics of the chickens soon and a few more of the coop as we improve upon it. This is an ongoing project that I look forward to. :-)

Fall for the Front Door

Fall Leaves! I love seeing pictures of leaves falling in Autumn. All the beautiful hues of red, yellow, brown and orange remind me of my adventures as a child growing up. Unfortunately we don't experience much of that in California so I have tried to recreate its magic on my front door. This project cost me about two dollars since I shared materials with my fall centerpiece.

Go to the Dollar tree and pick up these beautiful leaves in a variety of colors.

Start with two leaves and hook them together. This is where you will cascade from.

Add the leaves as you go along to the top of each stem as you can see in the two above pictures.

Keep going till you have enough leaves to satisfy your tastes.

Hang them up and enjoy! Here you can see I changed ideas early on in the project. They way I described above gets you a better effect as you can see in the mid to lower portion. Now I think I need a fall wreath and I will be good to go!

Fall Centerpiece

Fall has been lingering through the ranch and I finally have a dining room table to decorate for the season! So what did I do after I put the table together? Made a fall festive centerpiece for three dollars!



Head on over to your local dollar tree and pick up some fall leaves! I picked up a few colors for two projects.

Pick up a bunch of branches from your back yard and wrap the wire end around the branches at various places.

  And BAM! You got yourself some fall colors indoors!



If you have any leftover, curl up the ends and put them on either side of the vase. You honestly can not have enough color!

Happy Belated Halloween!

Lately it seems as though things just fly by. Time is so limited with hefty schedules and preferring time with my son and husband over anything else. Therefore, this is a late post but I thought I would still share.
This year was my sons first Halloween and I have always wanted to make my kids costumes if I ever had any. This was my first go and I was very happy with the results.
Since we bear the last name KNIGHT my son was THE DARK KNIGHT...BATMAN!

 Every super hero needs a "super" pose!

 This cape was a super easy no sew cape! perfect for future play times! I will post a tutorial soon.

The hood had minimal sewing too and is really easy for those who are beginners.

I had the most fun with the utility belt. It has a satchel, the rappel and ninja stars! All felt of course!

I hope you all had a fabulous Halloween!!!

Favorite Tool #1: Pie Crust Bag

So I have been making allot of pies this week. So far I am up to six. I know that may not be allot to some but for me that has been quite a bit. I still have to more to make to wrap up the week so that will leave my total to eight. Something I don't usually do on non pie related holidays.

Being a new mommy I don't get allot of time to be in the kitchen so when I make something I have to cut corners where I can. Therefore, I introduce to you...

The Pie Crust Bag!

This gets you whipping out a perfectly sized pie crust in seconds! The best part is...

When you are done you just unzip and flip it over right into the pie pan without it breaking!

For $7.00 it is well worth it.

Thrift Store Find - VINTAGE PRINTS!

I love it when I find something for a good deal. These just called to me...And for $5 for all four I just had to grab them!

Here they are all laid out after carefully removing them. (below)

After cutting the cream Mat Board they were ready for framing...

And Last but not least! Here is the finished product! These are likely to go in the kitchen or breakfast nook. I am so happy how they turned out though.

3-0

THIRTY!

It makes me so happy to see how far we have come. I mean 100 years ago (maybe more) many people did not make it to 30. Honestly I feel like life has just begun and I am so excited to LIVE IT!

So in celebration of 30 here are 30 things about me:

1. My favorite color is green. Any green!

2. I love math. No seriously I do!

3. When I start reading a book (any book) I HAVE TO FINISH IT. Even if I don't like it.

4. I play the piano (shhhh.).

5. I love to sing

6. I have been painting since I was five years old. My favorite medium is oil but watercolor is surprisingly more forgiving.

7. I love to do silly dress up even though I am...well 30.

8. I have 4 cats, a dog, a snake and now two chickens.

9. I love plants in the house. If it did not drive my husband crazy I would have 20 or more.

10. I secretly want to shave my head. I think it would be fun and quite frankly easy to maintain.

11. Sometimes I stay up to just stare at my sleeping son.

12. I don't like it when people do things without asking.

13. I tend to be a private person.

14. If you tell me something in confidence I wont tell anyone. Not even my husband.

15. I am very sensitive.

16. I don't care if my clothes don't match.

17. I love high heel shoes. The taller the better!

18. I am a Land Use Planner and I Love my job.

19. I have a degree in Design.

20. If I could I would live in another country.

21. I am afraid of spiders.

22. I am allergic to coffee.

23. I do not have a good "poker face" so there is no point in lying.

24. I am addicted to canning and wish I had more time to do it.

25. I dislike sweeping.

26. I love being outdoors.

27. I love being a mom. Which was something I was worried about.

28. Fake people bother me.

29. I share my birthday with a nephew and a niece. By the time they are 20 I will be 46 years old.

30. I love to laugh!

So there is a bit about me. I hope as I start this blog out I can share with you some of the things that I love to do. :-)