A Week of Farm, Flowers and Snow...

With the new year, I set a goal to blog at least 2-3 times a week and here we are a week since my last post... sigh...  In the last week, our Texas weather has been on a roller coaster, from 60's on Monday to ice and snow Monday night and Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning was 6-10 degrees, depending on which thermometer you looked at. I know for some of you, you live with negative temps every year, but I seriously don't remember it ever getting that cold here and I consider anything below 40 to be cold (actually I prefer it never go below 50). My mom seems to think the winter of  '82 or '83, it got that cold... Yesterday was in the 70's and I was working in the yard in shorts, followed by thunderstorms and another temperature plunge last night.

(I used a watercolor app to edit my snowy barn scene picture.)

It seemed like a lot of our week was spent taking care of the farm animals and making sure they survived the cold (and they did just fine!) I was driving the truck for Jeff to put out extra feed and snapped this picture... I loved that it showed both of us working together to feed the cows. I'm not a fan of snow or cold, with the one exception that it does provide a few different photo opps! 

 While most of Texas seemed to shut down with the snow, we did not! We had packages to ship out and since we were already getting out to go to the farm, we went by the post office and dropped off some pretties.

This bouquet was in one of those boxes, headed to Canada (where y'all are probably laughing at how we deal with snow.) 

 I created woodsy, outdoors style arrangements for our neighbor, who lost his battle with cancer. He loved to hunt and some of his antlers and turkey feathers were included in his casket spray. I love being able to create arrangements that are personal and reflect the person's life and interest.

 Y'all know I am a former 4-H member and think it is a wonderful organization - I was ask to help out at their local fashion camp last week and we worked on creating fabric flowers. I have to admit, it was a different style of flower than I usually make and I learned a few things myself! Our niece was one of the participants. We are very much alike, except she loves cold weather and I can't wait for spring and summer!

I'll be boxing up these jade burlap bouquets this morning and shipping them out this afternoon!
I often get ask about the different sizes - this is a medium size bouquet and two small bridesmaid bouquets. Occasionally the medium size is used as a bridal bouquet or most often used as a maid of honor or bridesmaid bouquet. The medium is similar in diameter to the bridal bouquet, although it is not near as full of roses.

While Jeff did some farm work outside of the barn, I spent time inside the barn, photographing some new bouquets and dream catchers I created this week. This video shows the details of a new bouquet. It is ready to ship now and can be found in my etsy shop.

I created a sample toss bouquet for a potential customer with navy and maroon burlap roses, since I didn't have any pictures of a bouquet in these colors. She is still deciding on  her exact colors and style for her wedding, so I decided to add more to this bouquet and offer it for anyone interested. Its in between the small and medium bouquet size, with maroon, navy, and tan burlap roses, white and ivory lace, and dried babies breath. This bouquet is ready to ship or I can create additional bouquets for your wedding. 

 When we got to the barn, we noticed a bird had been there and we cleaned up the evidence. Later on, I saw new evidence in the same exact place, so I looked up and found this owl roosting in the barn rafters.

Dreaming of Spring!!! Can't wait for the forsythia and spring flowers to start blooming and birds sitting on their nest!

The following two wreaths were also created this weekend. I have several local customers who like this style of wreath and often send them to funerals, as something a family can keep. These are listed in my shop and can be shipped or you can contact me for local delivery.

The first wreath is in white and cream colors, with cotton and burlap ribbon. 

 This wreath has red roses, peonies, and daisies, along with the white heather and burlap and lace ribbon.

We've been talking to lots of bride's-to-be and excited about creating lots of things for all of you!

So that's a run down of what happened last week with the farm and flowers. Hope you all have a fabulous week and if you have a tip for how to keep your feet warm, please pass it on to me! (Wool socks and/or 2 pairs of socks and fuzzy, fleece lined boots didn't do a good job.)

The Snow Bride

Thanks for letting me rant about the snow yesterday. I'm much better today! We had a few hours of glorious sunshine, although more snow is possible later today. But that's not what this post is about! 

May I present to you the Winter Snow Bride!

Its not everyday or year, that you can photograph wedding pictures in the snow, all while staying home in Texas. 

I quickly set up my dress form outside and grabbed this white and ivory burlap and lace bouquet  (from my ready to ship inventory) and snapped a few pictures.

Of course, this keepsake bouquet would be great for a wedding any time of the year. 

Hope you are all staying warm and dry. I'm off to deliver a wreath and make a trip into town, Have a great day yall! 

Snow day

This week has been cold, icy, and snowy. I try to keep things positive here on my blog, but really, I just want to shout it out for the world to hear: I HATE SNOW. There, I said it! 

Yes, it can make for some pretty pictures, but in reality, its really more of big head ache. Our flowers and trees had already started blooming and showing signs of an early spring in Texas, then we had ice on Monday, followed by snow on Wednesday. 

There's always worrying will be have power. Thankfully this time, we kept our electricity, but the generator is on stand by, with water drawn up in ever pitcher and bucket to be had. We have our own water well, so no power equals no water, plus there's the job of keeping the well from freezing up. Last year, we were out for 3 cold days, so we do have a generator and an electric heater large enough to heat a room this year. 

The farm animals always need more feed and attention during the bad weather, so there's no staying in the warm house when the weather is unpleasant and the weathermen tells everyone to stay inside. I'm tired of bulky jackets and too many layers of clothes. I've got random gloves scattered everywhere and when I have cold feet, I'm just grumpy. The toes on my right foot, seem to go nearly numb every time I get outside, even while wearing wool socks and insulated boots. I truly do not know how everyone living up north handles this weather. I want to move south now and we only got a few days of this mess. I can not even imagine negative temperatures. I got in the shower a few days ago and thought there was a hole in the tub. I didn't realize how cold my toes were (I had on 2 pair of socks + fleece lined boots) and I couldn't feel the tub, It was a rather strange feeling. 

This is the reality of snow - spinning tires in the muddy snow, while trying to feed cows, then having to be pulled back up the hill with the tractor. Fun times...Not! 

In Texas, a little bit of winter precip shuts almost everything down, I had several orders that needed to go out in the mail yesterday. Thankfully my mail lady was able to make her route. She said it was tough going at times, but she made it! 

Then there have been frozen gate locks, slick steps that needed clearing, trucks that take much longer to warm, while covered in snow, the pile of wet and muddy clothes that need washing...

I could go on, but I'll stop here. At least we get a few pretty pictures from the snow! 

Thanks for letting me rant! I promise to have a happier post next time. So do you love snow or hate it? (I promise we can still be friends if you love it!)

Snow Predictions

I convinced my sweet man to take me to work the day after our Christmas snow. I didn't want to drive in the snowy, icy conditions plus he would have the truck warmed up when he came to get me that afternoon. The local paper has researched and can't document a Christmas Day snow since 1929 in our area.

On the way home that evening, he pointed out how pretty the swamp pond down the road looked covered in snow earlier in the day. He had stopped and took a couple pictures with his phone, but it was too dark to take pictures at that time, so I decided to leave a few minutes early the next morning

This little pond is usually sooo ugly and murky, although I think the snow made it pretty.

Our snow has since melted, yet it did stay on the ground for three days. Old timers are saying that since it stayed three days, it will snow again this winter.

That it turned has brought up the persimmon seed prediction saying a snowy winter. We cut persimmon seeds open earlier in the fall and there was a spoon shape, which means you will need a shovel to dig out the snow. (Other symbols are the knife meaning a cold, icy winter where the wind will cut you like a knife and the fork representing a mild winter.)

I'm not a big fan of snow, except for the pictures that can be captured. It won't bother me if we don't get any more snow this winter, but if we do, I'll have my camera in hand! Now if it will only snow on days I don't have to work, so I can drive the country side in search of pretty snow scenes!

A White Christmas in Texas!

What does a East Texas girl do when it snows on Christmas Day?

 She grabs her camera and heads out in the rustic junk for a photo shoot! 

One time I remember a few snow flurries at Christmas time, but never this much snow on Christmas day. It rained and stormed most of the day, then all of a sudden, everything began to be covered in snow. (Scroll over the pictures to see the description.)

 The Christmas farm scene I shared yesterday was from our last snow, almost two years ago.

 Donna from Cottage Days said it best on Twitter "Snow on Christmas Day is magical."

 I've never been a big fan of snow - I don't like the cold or the mess or driving in snow. The only thing I like about it is taking pictures.

A snowy pine tree...When I first started taking pictures it hadn't been snowing for too long. I went back outside a few minutes before dark and the poor pine was very droopy. The lights have flickered a few times too. I'm sure hoping the power stays on tonight.

 One year we had a small live Christmas tree that I dug up out of the woods. After Christmas, I planted the cedar in the yard and today its covered in snow!

Its still hard to believe we had a White Christmas in Texas! As a farm girl, I am very appreciative for all the rain and moisture we received today (over 2 1/2 inches rain and we've got almost 3 inches of snow and it hasn't quit yet.) Our ponds and ground water are low, so its nice to see the precipitation.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We are hearing reports of tornado damage across the south and are thinking about all those who may have been in the storms path and hope they are safe tonight.