Vintage Home and Farm

We've been taking our dog for a walk around the barn regularly, so she gets some exercise (and we do too!). The spring flowers are so gorgeous this time of year! Daffodils were in full bloom the other day, so we decided to capture some pictures of them. The cherry and apple trees are also blooming. There's a sweet fragrance in the air from all of the flowers. It smells like spring! I love looking up into the branches of the flowering trees at the blue sky beyond. Here's a close-up of some of the daffodils. Our homeowner's association planted them years ago and maintains them every year. They do a great job, and the whole community enjoys the beauty. Can you believe how long a line of daffodils there is? It wraps around two whole sides of the barn and horse field!  

The daffodils have been blooming for longer than usual around here! So, we thought we should share a few photos. The patch of lovely daffodils that grows alongside the barn fence is maintained by our neighborhood. My father-in-law, Richard, gave us a bag full of daffodils earlier this year. I planted them in pots and placed them by the front doors. They are doing really well!  We have two front doors...above is our casual entry door that goes into the kitchen, and below is the "official" front door that goes into an entryway next to our living room.   I looked back to see when I first took a photo of the daffodils, and it was on March 6. That is an entire month of blooms so far! 

Here at Vintage Home and Farm, it's time to clean up the flower beds and plant more flowers!  Daffodils are already starting to come up by the barn.  Our flower beds still need additional plants to fill in the empty spaces left behind when we removed a towering laurel hedge from the space about a year and a half ago. We also have to be careful not to plant anything that the deer love, since we have many deer that come through our yard and munch on things.  I planted three heather bushes along the walkway.  A bumblebee appeared on one of the plants while I was putting it in the ground!  Bumblebees are one of the first bees to emerge in the spring.  Incidentally, I recently learned that if you want to control wasps, hornets and yellow jackets, you need to put traps out for them as soon as there is any hint of spring (like right now).  The mated queen is the only one to survive the winter and she's out looking for a new place to build the nest. They neve...

A long row of daffodils have opened up alongside the barn.  My daughter and I walked down our long driveway to the road to get a better view today. I cannot think of a more cheerful flower than daffodils.  Their sunny blooms herald the arrival of spring.   Plum trees are also in full bloom right now.  As we walk, my daughter and I breathe deeply of the spring air heavy with the scent of flowers. Patch the donkey greets us as we make our way past the barn. A little further away, Mocha watches us for a while and then kicks at the fence.  She's annoyed that she can't get to us to say a proper "hello." We circle back to our property and admire the beginnings of our garden.  My husband tilled it the other day and added a layer of compost.  I helped him put in a cattle panel tunnel. My plan is to first grow peas over the cattle panel tunnel.  I'm hoping the pea pods will dangle on the under...

Spring has arrived in full force here in our neck of the woods!  One of the earliest signs of spring here is the row of daffodils that our neighbors planted along the fence by the community barn. The flowers run along the entire east side of the pasture, between the road and the fence. The flowers can be enjoyed by all, as anyone who calls this place home or comes to visit our little community drives past them when entering or leaving the neighborhood.  Plum trees are in bloom, too -- I always try to take notice of the early buds on the trees and when the flowers are just starting to open. The air has a lovely floral scent from pollen as the flower petals on this tree are just starting to fall. I'm looking forward to picking a large barrel of plums for making jam later this fall. Along my walk today, I also stopped a moment to admire my neighbor's two male bull calves. They've grown quite a lot in the past year.  My family enjoys being near the...