We were supposed to leave today for the Outer Banks. For most people, this is a disappointment and an inconvenience to reschedule. For Mr. FixIt, it’s really hard to take. He has been going to the OBX every year since he was five…except for one. The Outer Banks is, obviously, his favorite place in the whole world. He has been uber excited ever since we got the the time share there. It meant we had a great place to stay and it’s booked the same time every year. 

Except this year. He understands why. And he agrees it’s necessary. It’s just not any fun to have to give up everything. It’s small potatoes to what a lot of people are giving up. I’m trying to come up with special things to help him feel a little less trapped in one place, so we went to the farm to stay the night. We mowed on Wednesday, then just sat back and enjoyed the atmosphere.

It is SO incredibly quiet out there. The spring flowers are beginning to peek out. As I was riding the mower over the lawn, I continually apologized to my grandma in a running commentary in my head. Ohhhh, she would have been so upset that we mowed the lawn while the Johnny Jump-ups were still showing their pretty little purple faces. She made my Uncle Bob wait till they were gone before you could mow. I’ll bet this is the earliest that lawn has ever been cut.

I made a country breakfast yesterday in Grandma’s kitchen. We had hominy, bacon, eggs and toast. Have you all had fried hominy? Do you even know what hominy is? Hominy is made from dried whole corn kernels that have been soaked in lye to soften the hard outer hulls. Then the kernels are rinsed well and cooked like beans. I have never made them from scratch. I’ve always bought them in a can. I drain them and fry them in some butter or a little bacon grease.

I had some thin crispy bacon and fried eggs ready when the hominy was done. I like to mix mine all together. Mr. FixIt likes to eat them separately using the hominy like fried potatoes. It doesn’t matter how you served them…they’re delicious!

After breakfast, I grabbed my second cup of coffee and headed outside for a walkabout to see what’s blooming. Moss grows over everything here because of the moisture and the shady holler. There aren’t a whole lot of wildflowers out yet. There are still a few fiddleheads coming up. I thought I found the asparagus, but the lookalike shoots I found were milkweed. I read that you can eat them, but I would prefer to leave them for the monarch butterflies.

While I was in the garden, I got a closer look at the cherry blossoms. They don’t look like they got nipped too bad from the frosts we’ve been getting. As I was walking back up to the house, I passed the big rhododendron and startled a robin from her nest. I got up high and zoomed my lens in to peek in the nest without disturbing it and there were two sky blue eggs in it! When we were replacing the tarp on the ‘67 Franklin on Wednesday evening, I uncovered an old Jenny Wren nest on top of the air conditioner. It was abandoned so I removed it and look a picture of it. Their nests are distinctive because of all the moss they use to construct them. 

When we finally wrapped up all the chores at the farm, we headed back home. As soon as Mr. FixIt unloaded the riding mower, I mowed both big fields before it got too dark and cold. I noticed there towards the end that my shoe was wet. When I pulled the tractor up to the garage, Mr. FixIt flagged me down. It turned out the dipstick for the oil had loosened and oil was spattering all over my leg and shoe. I had to go in and strip just inside the door to keep from tracking oil through the house and jump in the shower. What a mess!

Country living…it’s a peaceful life, but the work is never, ever done. I wouldn’t trade it to live back in the city for any amount of money. I’d much rather have deer and possum for neighbors. And I wouldn’t trade Mr. FixIt for anyone to quarantine with!

Oh, and today is “Feel Good Friday”. What good news do you have to share this week?

❤️

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:23 ESV