Dried Clementines~

This is the time of year for Clementines~
They are abundant in all the grocery stores now and pretty reasonably priced. Besides being Yummy, Clementines are very easy to dry. I dry the peels on the ones that we are going to eat, and for the fruit that's gotten older, I will dry them whole.



I'll layer the clementines on a tray and place them near the woodstoves. Very rustic! Once they are completely dried, store them in a glass jar.



These look beautiful in my NEW Lavender-Mandarin Potpourri!!

Wild Turkey Invasion

And there they Go...


I counted 32 this visit. They were close to the house a few minutes ago and of course the battery died in my camera....didn't take long before their bellies were full and they were running across the field again.

Besides eating all the Sunflower seeds in the yard, these wild turkey's have discovered their reflection in the truck bumper and they can't get enough of themselves!!

Happy New Year!

After a dusting of snow, this turned out to be a Beautiful New Years Day! And a Beautiful Anniversary for me & my Honey :)

A Perfect day to light the wood stoves and stay indoors~



The fire has been lit in our new Bedroom wood stove and of course I had to fill the Melting Pot w/ my Forest Melting Tarts. Spooky has made her way to the fire too and now she's in her little bed right in front and I don't expect her leave that spot all day :)

Happy New Years Everyone!

Christmas Trees are Up~

Now I have to fill the bottom up w/ Presents!!



This one came out Really Cute~

1st SNOW!

What a Winter Wonderland!




I hung the last of the Cedar Garland over the front door yesterday~ just in time for the snow to arrive!



I went with minimal "fresh" decorations but lots of twinkle white lights~ Looks spectacular at night :)

Where's the CatMint??

Where's my CatMint ??
After laying around for a few weeks in the house, Spooky ventured out yesterday to get a "bite" of her favorite plant. Boy was she shocked to find nothing but a bunch of brown sticks! Winters coming Spooky!



She's all about being in the spot-light :)

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Rosehip Harvest

It was a Beautiful Sunday here at the Homestead! Between the chores of stacking wood & clearing brush, I snuck off to harvest some Rosehips~ That can be a painful job too...but rewarding in the end :)






Here's what I collected and bunched today. I thought the color of the Rosehips look great against the ornamental Kale on the table~ Here's another Kale that has gotten HUGE!





Love the Color~

New Home for White Sage

Harvested the last of the White Sage today and it looks beautiful drying on top of my old Herb Hutch.



When the Sage is dried I'll just lay the bunches loosely on top of each other inside the hutch. The smaller pieces will be placed in jars and used as needed.



White Sage is a sacred herb used by the Native Americans for purifying and cleaning. The leaves are burned like incense and wrapped in bundles called "smudge sticks". At our herb shop we've sold smudging herbs for years and used them in our homes as well. My White Sage is grown without chemicals and is harvested respectfully in my garden. I always give thanks to the plants and appreciate their healing qualities.



Here's a jar of Pineapple Mint on the left and White Sage on the right~
I'm considering selling some bunches of white sage on my website, I can't possibly use all of it myself :)

Black Friday SALE

I'm participating in "Black Friday Cyber Sale" on November 27th thru November 30th
The Crow's Nest is offering 20% OFF your Entire Web Order plus FREE Gift Wrapping!
Just type in the code BLK09 when checking out to receive this Discount!

My RED Saltbox

I found the PERFECT red for our Saltbox house! Old Century paint makes a beautiful deep historical red called Savannah red. We're trying to get the house finished before it gets too cold~ running out of time! It actually snowed here yesterday- yikes! I took some pics today when I was doing yard work. The windows aren't finished, they will be red also and we have some hardware for the doors that was made from a local blacksmith. Here's the house so far~







This is the side of the house and the windows still need to be painted red.







When we moved here three years ago all that was growing near the back door was a few daffodils and grass. So here's my temporary "Herb Garden" that I started as soon as I got the keys to this place :) I dug the grass out and planting sages, lavenders and lots of foxgloves. It gave me the feeling of HOME and the hope of what was to come~



Outside my backdoor~ I leaned a bunch of corn stalks with the husks pulled back to expose the corn (I don't know why more people don't do that~ you get to see the golden kernels...looks so much better) and then I tucked some bittersweet in and plopped a few large pumpkins at the bottom. Very simple but looks great against the house :)



Lots and Lots of work outside this time of year. Today I was the leaf blowing queen! I love that job - it's like vacuuming outdoors and I get obsessed with it! LOL I've also been trying to keep my gardens going. I planted lettuces and swiss chard early this fall for salads and to keep the garden looking colorful as long as I possibly can. The snow didn't help my zinnias and squashes tho. They ended up in the compost today. I should have cut the zinnia blossoms a few days ago when I was tempted, but I'm throwing a birthday party for my sweety next week and I thought the zinnias would still look beautiful. Not so beautiful now :) Here's some zinnias and other flowers I am drying in my racks up in my home office. The doorway to my office is tiny and I had some shelves put in from our old barn boards to hold my drying racks. The perfect place- dark with plenty of air circulating.



Walk thru the doorway and these racks are to the right~

Fall Decor at the Homestead~

I've been Fall Cleaning and doing some Prim Decorating at the house~
Here's the Dining room







And here's one of my Kitchen walls. These jack-o-lanterns are really cute with my flicker lights in them~





Waxed & Spiced Corn Cobs



The Mud Room hutch with an adorable Spider & Spooky jar made by Art Pod Studios on Etsy~







Front Hallway~
I have my Bird nest & egg collection in this hutch. Looks great w/ flicker lights inside :)







Gotta have the Candycorn & Sunflower Ornies displayed too~



Keeping it simple in the Master Bedroom~



Since when has Spooky been camera shy??

Sweet Annie Time!

Aaaah the Sweet Annie is ready to ship~ Lots of customers waiting for this very important "Prim-Staple"


What a Day! I was outside in this crazy windstorm cutting and bunching Orange Mint and Pineapple Mint, trying to get it in the house before the sky opened up :)
All of a sudden I've got all these requests for cut herbs~

Tomorrow I get to cut the Rose Geranium for an order (the jeeps going to smell awesome on my way into the shop) and I also need to start filling orders for Bittersweet & Rosehips. Better wear long sleeves, those Roships are brutal :)

Straw BEE SKEPS with Hole

I just had these straw Bee Skeps made with a hole in the front. They came out GREAT!
Here's some pictures I took tonight when I got home. Think I'll keep one for my own Garden~

Orange Mint

Heading out the door this morning I gathered some Orange Mint for a Customer's order
Looked so good in my canvas bag that I had to take a picture :)
Smells Incredible!!!!

Pumpkin Candle Lights

I just made these New Pumpkin-Spice Candle Lights~ Super Cute!!



They run on two AA batteries and have an LED flicker light. I dip them in beeswax and Prim them up with tons of spices and then scent them with my Pumpkin Spice fragrance. I also add a sprig of Sweet Annie and a mini "pumpkin" tied w/ homespun.

I like displaying these "No-flame" candles in my cupboards and window sills. Don't have to worry about anything catching on fire :)