2019 Spring Gallery – My June Farm, my lawn actually went to seed! lol
2019 Spring Photo Gallery. So I kinda spaced out the mowing situation at my place this spring. Mostly I just don’t care but, also… I really just don’t care. I did kinda want my dandelions to do their thing for the bumbles and also wanted to see how well the clover I planted last year came in this year. Fortunately I do not live near town and my neighbors also don’t care lol… or, at least they don’t care enough to complain. Gotta love country folk we really just ignore our neighbors doing their thing in the hopes that they’ll also ignore us doing our thing lol.
The last time my best friend Rachie was here helping me ta-bogon my big stock tank across the yard to the garage we had a conversation about it.
Rachie: What must your neighbors think?
Me: OMG What is that girl doing now?! I’m sure the horses say it too.
There is one real regrettable thing about not mowing a lawn in Minnesota though: The mosquitoes and the wood ticks. Fortunately I seem to have one of those blood types that they like the LEAST so they don’t bother me much. However, it is starting to get out of hand, spring is nearly over, and its time for me to call my mower dude.
(If you’re spending time outdoors this spring, it’s important to protect yourself from mosquitoes and wood ticks. Both of these pests can carry diseases that can make you sick. In order to protect yourself, it’s important to book pest control services. Pest control companies have the tools and knowledge necessary to keep your property free of mosquitoes and wood ticks. They will also be able to provide you with advice on how to protect yourself from these pests in the future.)
In the meantime this spring came in with thunder and heat and it was absolutely glorious. We hit the 90s two days in a row before dropping back to the 60s and 70s. We’ve experienced two spectacular thunder storms and welcomed summer with open arms.
Unfortunately the heat meant my lilacs, choke cherries and crab apple trees all bloomed and then lost their blooms in the first storm. They were pretty lovely for a few days though! I have several huge bushes of the common lavender lilacs but I also have one sweet little bush of white ones too that are just so beautiful.
My tiger lilies, lilies of the valley, chives, ferns, milkweed and Virginia blue bells all made it through that awful winter. Yes, they are perennials but I still worried about them! This spring my irises did NOT make it at all. They didn’t do well last year either. Maybe they still might another year? I don’t know but I’m pretty bummed about that.
My Grandma’s peonies returned with the rhubarb I planted with them along the west side of my privacy fence. For the THIRD year in a row more have come up on the south side of the house that I’ll definitely be moving to join these. There are some ferns coming up there too I also plan on moving into my main flower bed.
Most of those perennials were in my Grandma’s old flower beds when I moved in here which I transplanted and saved. The milk weed I purchased from Save Our Monarchs and I am always so thrilled to see it coming up for the butterflies! I also planted the chives some years back and love that its also prospering every year. I even have a few sprigs of asparagus that came up near them that I planted a few years ago and thought had died. (I literally dream of the awesomeness of having a full on perennial asparagus patch to look forward to every year.)
After nearly killing myself (and breaking a shovel!) moving my Grandma’s ancient hydrangea bush this spring I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I probably killed it. Nope! She has sprouted!
Speaking of sprouted I have literally done the happy dance in my new garden almost every day. Every single thing my Mom and I planted: cucumbers, carrots, beats, beans, tomatoes, peppers and dill are all coming up beautifully! Yay! I am so stoked to have a garden this year! (Yeah its about time for me to thin my seedlings out… I hate that part of gardening!)
My mom came over on the weekend of those two gloriously hot days, she brought sweet corn and watermelon. I supplied the hot dogs and we grilled together and basked on my deck in the incredible weather.
One thing about my lawn going to seed my wild life has moved in and it is wonderful to see it all. While we lounged we were visited by bumble bees, honey bees, dragon flies, monarch butteries and a huge array of birds including the first Baltimore Oriel that I’ve ever seen at my house! In the yard the bunnies have really settled in to enjoy my clover and I love watching them play.
The pigeons abandoned my barn and I’m not mad at all. They were REALLY mad about what happened this spring and tried to take over my garage. Their moving out means that my barn has a new tenant, someone who hasn’t nested there for many years. I am now home to a flock of barn swallows and their fabulous swooping and singing over my yard is really really cool.
My horses are doing well, they are both in their 20s now. My bay gelding has been with me since I was 11 and he really is the love of my life. (Even though I tell him he’s an asshole every day cause he’s so damn crabby to his poor pasture mate: my mom’s little POA Jazzy.) He’s still just gorgeous in my opinion.
No I don’t ride him anymore and I also don’t work them. They are my wards, I keep them, I care for them and I love them.
They are as thrilled as I am that summer is finally here. I see them stretching their legs and getting out and using my entire acreage to run just because they can. I am REALLY tempted to just let them into my yard too lol it would sure save on my having to mow it…
I purchased myself a chain saw and really like it! I hate small engines because growing up on a golf course meant they were ALWAYS breaking down whether it was weed whackers, chain saws, golf carts, mowers etc. So, when I finally decided to buy one I decided to be a real girl about it: I got myself a battery operated chain saw and OMG you guys, I AM REALLY IMPRESSED.
I’ve been running chainsaws for years (I heated my house with wood for three years) and I was afraid it would feel kinda rinky dink to me and it doesn’t at all! For what I need: wood for bon fires and to clean up branches etc. Its absolutely perfect.
I even kinda enjoyed cutting up a pile of logs the other day…
I caught myself, so many times over these last couple of weeks, stepping outside and thinking, “This is why we live here.” Right now is the time to be in Minnesota. The sunsets are long, dawn comes early and there is no part of me that wants to spend a single moment of it inside.
My house is kind of a mess and it will probably stay that way until fall and I’m ok with that.
My windows in my master bedroom are open and will remain so until late September (hopefully). Every night I come home from work and open all four of my main floor doors. (Those screen “doors” I purchased last year remain one of my all time favorite purchases.) If I don’t work on something after work I still remain outside on my deck, reading and sipping wine.
It is glorious.
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
I love your home and land. I also love the horses! Enjoy your perfect time of the year!
Thank you so much Carol!
To take care of your lawn mowing problem, you need to get 2 or 3 pygmy goats. They will take care of it for you. And, is there anything much cuter than little goats scampering around?
Your lilacs are beautiful, your garden is flourishing and it must be very comforting to know that the fruits of all your labor is YOURS, and you can do whatever and whenever with it.
Indiana is bad enough in the winter (our winter weather becomes worse due to winds off Lake Michigan) so please enjoy the somewhat lazy times of your northern state summer. It’s short and the time for surviving winter in Minnesota will come soon enough.
Oh Pat that sounds adorable! I’ve actually thought about goats more then once around here though my current horse fence would have to be majorly upgraded. You’re SO right! Its so easy for us in the more northern states to rush so hard in the summers because they always seem so short, but I fear many times we don’t take the time to enjoy them. Thank you for coming by 🙂
What a wonderful read! You definitely are in a “good place”. I so enjoy reading of all the things you are up too….or not! Just sitting and taking it all in is wonderful, in itself! Way to go, girl. Enjoy the summer…..all other things can wait. 🙂
Thank you so much Erika. It so wonderful that summer is finally here!
It sure looks glorious. Thanks for the update. I love imagining living like you do. How wonderful. You’ve done a great job.
Thanks for coming by, I’m so relieved summer is finally here!
Hello Tarah and welcome to Summer! we had a hot week, then some days of rain and we expect a hot spell again in a few days. So I know how you feel now that your Summer is here. How do you feel about goats? They eat anything – do you know anyone with a herd who would lend you half a dozen – you’d have the meadow and grass cut in no time (or of course, you could invest in a few yourself! … or even a few sheep?).
Susan, I have actually thought pretty seriously about getting a couple of goats! Currently my horse fence wouldn’t even keep most horses in (mine are old, they’re happy to stay in the pasture) so I would need to do a pretty major fencing upgrade but goats sound like a pretty lovely idea, a built in lawn mowers too.
We purchased a Snapper battery operated chain saw this year and I LOVE it! We just finished building a 16×16 porch w/roof and it was handy when we had to cut the 6x6x16 posts! We also purchased a Kobalt battery operated leaf blower. Rather than sweeping the floor, I just blow off the deck (we have 4 dogs = LOTS of hair). I am appreciating the ease of just putting in the battery and pressing a button. Makes life so much easier!
Tina, I was thinking the same thing and wondering if my battery on my chainsaw didn’t match up with several other handy tools. It turns out there’s a whole array of them including a weed wacker and a leaf blower! I know what’s going on my Xmas wishlist lol!
I enjoy so much reading about your grandma’s house and all the wonderful things you have done. I know its been hard physically and I admire all the hard work you have put into each of your projects. Your lilacs are so beautiful and so are the horses. After working all day, I can’t image where you get the energy to work on all your projects. Sure wished I had found your blog when I owned my 150 year old house. I could use your advice. Had to downsize do to husband’s health. Miss that old house so much! I don’t post often but check in ever down and than to see how you are doing. Was so sorry to hear about your barn. I couldn’t believe the size of it and how old it was. I know your grandmother would be so pleased to see all that you have accomplished. Have a great 4th of July and use that wonderful deck you built.
Oh Connie thank you so much for coming by and all your kind words! It has been a lot of work of course but it was all SO worth it and what’s really lovely is I am finally finishing up some of the worst of the jobs and I’ll never have to do it again lol
I live way up northern western Washington, within spitting distance of the Canadian border, as they say. 48.9* long. Although we live in a very temperate climate, so VERY much warmer than Minnesota, it the winter darkness that is hard to deal with sometimes. During the dead of winter, we get less than 8 hours of daylight, and mostly gloomy and rainy. It is then that I have to tell myself, within a few months, the hummingbirds will be buzzing at the window feeders shortly after 4a and it won’t be fully dark till 11p. Spring is my favorite time of the year! And being outside in the gardens is exactly where I want to be!
I, too, plant seeds thickly and thin seedlings. I throw beet seedlings into my salads and just this year, started ‘thinning’ my peas by using every other or every 2 of 3 seedlings as pea shoots for salads, just snap off the top 2” or so and let them grow again and repeat. I let some grow to produce pods but am really enjoying the tender shoots as much as the peas! I plant Cascadia Pod Peas, the are a great 3 stage veggie https://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-non-gmo-cascadia-snap-pea-a.html . They have sweet tender shoots and pea pods. If I let them go too long and the pods lose their tenderness, they are a great shelling pea. They say you can use the peas from dried pods like a dry bean, but the few that make it to that stage I use as seeds for the next growing season. Yes, as you might guess, peas are my favorite veggie, then small green zucchini. I have yet to grow too many zucchini! 😉 You can also use chard thinnings and carrot thinning tender greens in salads, too! I can live on salads all summer long! Oh yes, I know of a friend who dries carrot tops and when dry uses them like a dried herb in soups and stews, a little goes a long way as the flavor is very strong. I’ll take her word on it, as I am deathly allergic to carrots and parsnips.
And, oh yes, I am one of those nuts that love dandelions. First tiny leaves into salads, successive leaves as a treat for my rabbit, who gives me bunny berries for a non-burning garden fertilizer. Flowers are for the pollinators and the seeds get eaten by the finches!
I have never used herbicides or pesticides in my gardens or yard, so when the dandelions got too prolific, I’d pay the neighborhood kids (& my own) $.01 for each yellow flower head. OR they could get a bag of M&Ms for a brown lunch bag stuffed full of just the flowers. They always chose the $.25 bag of candy so it never hurt my wallet! Hahaha. I even came home one day to find 3 bags full by the front door with a note saying who had picked them!
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Frances
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