My husband would be the first to agree with that. I think that I am trying to do more now than at any other time in my life. Even when my daughter was younger and riding and showing horses, I still had time to do some sewing and maintain a flowerbed. These days, with all that I am doing, something invariably gets dropped (like last week’s blog). So let me bring you up to speed on things.
My husband and I were successful at getting all our plants and seeds planted before it started raining. The seeds had just enough time to come up before the flooding rains started. Everything is growing fast. In years past we had most of the garden wash away in a deluge of rain, but this year we lost very little.
We have a handful of plants from last year that had seeded themselves and have already grown into nice sized plants. We have been enjoying the lettuce that appeared in February. Unfortunately, the extremely mild winter caused most of the fruit trees to bloom at the wrong time so they won’t produce any fruit this year.
The peach tree was just loaded with fuzzy little peaches but I guess the storms were just too much for the infant fruits. Only one managed to hang on, and now it is getting big. I guess I will have to buy some peaches if I’m going to make peach cobbler this year.
There is just something magical about the spring rains. Everyone on the river side of the road has a small stock tank. It is located at the lowest part of the property. Normally, those stock tanks are pretty small. It doesn’t take a lot of rain to overflow them—just 2 or 3 inches of rain. But when the spring rains come, it signals to the frogs to wake up.
It is amazing how many frogs there are! Their chorus can be heard inside the house. Besides the tree frogs, we have at least two other kinds of frogs (judging by the different songs). This year we have a large, bright green bullfrog. We have seen him, and we hear him croaking, too. They have such an unmistakable call. My husband does a very good imitation!
Living on the Brazos River downstream from Possum Kingdom lake makes life very interesting. We did get a lot of rain in the last 10 days, but the rain itself only caused minor problems for us. At Possum Kingdom Lake, they regulate the lake level by opening flood gates on the Brazos River.
So last week, they released so much water out of the lake that it caused major flooding for those living on the river. The river rose 4 feet above flood stage on Monday. Of the 13 acres I have, 11.5 of it was under water. Fortunately, this was not our first experience with flooding and we had the horses on high ground.
The water stayed that high for only about a day, but there is still too much standing water for me to let the horses go back to their normal pasture for grazing in the summer. They are starting to get a little grumpy about it.
One of the things that I was working on last week is a contest to give away some very awesome products from Essante Organics. What I have put together is a really nice basket of baby care items, to include laundry detergent, essential oils and wool dryer balls.
These laundry items are perfect for the entire family. The detergent is super concentrated. Only 1 tablespoon is all that is required for most loads, so the bottle is much smaller and easier to handle than regular detergent bottles. Replace your dryer sheets with the organic wool dryer balls which naturally soften clothes, and reduce drying time. Just a few drops of essential oils on each one will leave a wonderful fragrance in your clothes, sheets and towels.
I choose lavender and spearmint in this basket because they are both calming and soothing fragrances; who doesn’t want that for their baby. But you could choose any essential oil you want. I use spearmint and lemon eucalyptus for my family.
There is also baby shampoo and wash, baby lotion, and a sanitizer spray. All of these products are 100% free of any artificial fragrance, dye, or toxic chemical. The sanitizer spray is so unique in that it is 99.99% effective killing germs and bacteria, yet it is completely safe for babies and pets. It can even be used directly on skin to help heal.
And lastly, I have included a ducky that checks the water temperature, and some baby washcloths. The basket itself will come in handy for storing things.
This would make a great gift for anyone with a baby, or someone expecting a baby. I poured a lot of love into putting this basket together so don’t forget to enter to win it! You can get multiple entries if you follow the directions.
Go to the Facebook page Quintessential Organic Living, and look for the contest post pinned at the top. The contest only runs through May 3rd, so don’t delay. Good luck to all my entrants!
James 1:12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
