River Bend Ranch - Patty Van Dorin

celebrate the 4th

 

Blue Girl

 
currently blooming - Blue Girl Tea Rose

what lies beneath

two zucchini's that got away from me while I was away for a few days.
 
When I returned these monsters were waiting.
They provided: 14 mini loaves of zucchini bread and 40 cranberry zucchini muffins.  My freezer is busting with baked goodness. The box of Jiffy corn bread box in the picture is just there to confuse you.
 
a tiny garden sweet spot. The deer are keeping the moss rose trimmed down but they are giving it their best effort to bounce back.

the garden archeology is still going strong.

This recent find is tempting me to move all the buildings, maybe even the house and bring in the big equipment
.
I had hired some guys to move the old chicken coup to another location and this doll was found under the coup. Surprisingly clean but incredibly dusty, more like infused with decades of fine dirt.

I reckon she has been there a long time.  This gal has a bigger dust cloud around her than "Pigpen" from Charlie Brown.

Not only does she have all her clothes, booties, panties, bonnet but this adorable jacket was with the doll.

The lace and the homespun fabric on this dress are to die for.

These pictures are just as she was found. I have not tried to clean her up and if anyone has any ideas on how to get some cleaning started, I would love hear from you. I would prefer to leave her just as is but there is just too much dust.

one of the many garden spies that is keeping a close watch on all this activity.

Are the new changes with Typepad driving anyone other me absolutely insane?

getting the most out of a lazy weekend

with pleasantly cool weather it was impossible to stay inside for very long this past weekend.
I could be found outside counting and plotting the Horned Lizard population.
spiny liazrds were also found and noted
   
As a participant in Texas Horned Lizard Watch, I am "on-the-ground" – collecting data and observations about populations of horned lizards, their food sources, their potential predators or competitors, and their habitat characteristics. (see ealier post for a horned lizard photo)
  digging in the dirt making flower beds, I found these Indian looking artifacts, maybe they are just discarded boy scout projects, regardless they are neat. Now unearthed, I will find a way to use them in the garden.
  Over the years, I have been dreaming of the time when I could have fig trees and was finally able to plant a couple this year. Fig trees were a part of my youth. I have fond memories of my grandmother's fig preserves.  I am a long way from having jars of canned figs lining my pantry shelves but I was excited enough to document my very fist baby fig. Stay tuned for continued documentation of it's journey to ripening.
  In addition to the careful monitoring of lizards and figs, this peach is the subject of close scrutiny. It will be a contest to see who gets this peach when it is ripe, the birds or me.  Stay tuned to see who comes out the victor.
 
and there was plenty of dog soccer playing

Ralph the dog takes his games of soccer very seriously
 
soccer keeps Ralph in top form for herding

or maybe it's the herding of livestock that keeps him in form for soccer
and the only remotely artist painterly activity I did this weekend was paint the white sewer clean out a camo green. 

and that's as good as it get on a weekend in a remote part of Texas.

white prickly poppy

  currently in bloom

mystery solved

Not much of a mystery as it turned out to be just who I thought was digging holes in the yard.
  just a tiny baby hanging out in the garden, eating some ants and enjoying some sun. Must be a photogenic celebrity lizard as he waited around while I ran in the house to get my camera.

Here is todays biology lesson - The Texas Horned Lizard (actually quite interesting)

The Texas horned lizard, along with at least three other species, also has the ability to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet. (how neat is that!!)
This not only confuses would-be predators (heck, who wouldn't be confused by that), the blood is mixed with a chemical that is foul-tasting to canidae predators such as wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs (note to self, must teach Ralph the dog about this).  If it is sufficiently agitated it may release up to 1/3 of the blood in its body!
Horned lizards are unusual in that they are myrmecophagous - ant eaters - with blunt, noncuspid, peglike teeth for crushing prey.

Some Native American peoples regard the horned lizard as sacred.
Phrynosoma cornutum, the Texas horned lizard, is the Texas State Reptile.

falling to sleep in a nest of vintage fabric

  pulling out favorite pieces of fabric and piecing them to make pillowcases
  soft silky vintage cottons. The daisy check fabric was a little girls skirt and the neat lime green and rose fabric was a Warrington flea market purchase.
some are pieces of old drapes
  some are used clothing that have been taken apart for the fabric. This pretty aqua blue with flower bouquets was a blouse in a former life.
  it all makes for a nice stack of pillows. I never was one for matching and coordinating ,so a mixed bed linen collection is just right.

tiny bouquets

  a tiny 2" bouquet of switchwort gathered from the yard, quite charming on the window sill. A sign the bluebonnets will soon be making an appearance.

Cherry Blossoms and a new door

Cherry blossoms spilling over the back yard fence
   Thoughts of working in the journal are starting to come to surface despite all the projects that moving into an new to me-old house.
  Vintage drapes to be hung.
I purchased these gorgeous old drapes many years ago and finally have the perfect windows to hang them in. A bit of tweaking, a bit of steaming and these drapes will be ready for daily enjoyment. I love the tropical flowers and the colors are stunning.

The next picture is for Julie.  There has been a recent sighting of the "yellow truck".   And a photo to prove to Peggy that even though I live in the middle of nowhere now, I still exist.
As evidence, I submit this photo of the CNN Express stopping to do interviews at the "Let 'er Buck Coffeehouse". No, there is no Starbucks or Wal-Mart where I live.

And as if getting settled into my little house wasn't enough work, I decided to start a big demo project.
There is a small room that joins the main house to my studio. In this room there was a large old window that looked out onto an enclosed porch that had never been finished. The whole area was rather nasty. 
   I thought a door in place of the window would really be nice. 
  So out came the old window and in with a new door. With visions of a finished porch that in the future will lead out to an herb garden and just a bit further a cutting garden...and....

Lookin' better already
  That afternoon, the new door was in place. I have never tackled this type of project and starting was a bit sickening. It's one of those projects that has a no turning back factor. All the information for doing this was found with a simple Google search.  Later insulation was added and the finish part of this project was started. As more progress is made, I will share more pictures.
  and I did find some time for a journal page.

shaken not stirred

  Even thought I have moved more times than I can count, this move is taking more time than I had anticipated. Time is split between unpacking and updating but that is what comes with moving into an older home.

Thoughts of my seeing my journal appear a week or more away as I have not even started on setting up the studio. Visions of stencils, whiffs of spray paint and fabric longing to be pieced together is prodding me through long nights of elbows deep in paper and cardboard boxes.

Now if only I could find the martini shaker...