HighButtonShoe
the farm update May 2, 2008
 
...it is raining, but a welcomed rain as the winds have been hard and high and fire danger is extreme so I welcome the rain. It greens my grass and the hay fields I so love will grow fast with its blessing and moisture. Of course, that means that Fritz  the Anaconda,( my unwelcomed, unwanted, resident  barn snake) will undoubtedly slither to some undetectable  hiding place IN plain sight to scare me witless, when I have temporarily forgotten about him. I will be back to wearing my leather tool apron full of my assault weapons to murder him off given the opportunity. In reality, the most activity we have together is my screams, his screams ( I am sure snakes must scream...) my almost running into the new calf pen doors with the riding lawn mower as I am screaming and headed in the opposite direction of him,( a destruction that would surely raise the attention of Ronnie the farmer who does NOT kill snakes, and therefore causes me another frown wrinkle and occasional heart failure). I simply cannot make this man understand my complete and utter hatred and fear of Fritz. Alas, I have acquired almost 10 year old grandson Mattie to see my side of the snake murder situation and he has agreed to help me in my quest of ridding the farm of Fritz. So this saga will be discussed probably all summer until either I am rid of Fritz, he is rid of me, or winter comes again. I fear it may be the winter.
 
Spring, also finally brought an end to our snow and ice. Just when I thought it would never come, as is usually the case.  The pussy willows I had waited for, for so long, have come and gone now into their leaf buds and the farm itself is turning each day, almost by hour some times, into deep shades of many colors of green.  The woods have had the tinge of reds bringing the leaves for weeks and I always marvel that green trees show us many colors of pale muted shades of red prior to the greening. The swamp I so favour, behind the house, heralded in the deafening roar of frogs a few weeks ago, and we, of the farm, all called each other the first night to announce that we heard the frogs. The 'hearing of the frogs' is a MUCH anticipated event of the farm, as well as the first sighting of robins return and the sounds of the red wingeds coming back. However, the red wingeds is more important than the robins return, as the early robins faced more than a full month of bitter cold and snow to my waist, so I surely don't know what they expected to eat. Like Miss Elspeth and I both believe, (www.pineberrylane.com) the true beginning of spring is the return of the red winged blackbirds. A sound we wait months for, and strain to hear for weeks.
 
Yesterday, with daughter in law Cheryl, while I had thought I would not get any plants from the nursery, but rather try my 'not green thumbed' hand at raising flowers more from seed this year, prompted by finding a box of seed packets that would probably plant flowers for all of us, I have so many.... we came home with my truck loaded with flowers. Most geraniums, but a lovely large hanging planter of bridal veil, that I always sit in an old chair each year.. and some perennials to add to the flower/herb garden. With its total neglect last year and the move...I am not sure what will be coming up. So just in case, bought a few extras. My plans to pot most of them today were canceled out by a trip to Home Depot to buy trim for the Gundrum Mercantile building restoration. Why do trips to Home Depot tend to take 3 times longer and twice the money you expected? And then I came home to rain...so while I could have potted plants in the rain, I opted instead for a walk thru the hay field in the rain. Came home sopping wet with rain dripping from my hair, sans the usual rainy day baseball cap. But a good calming walk. Wet to be sure, but calming. The plants will get potted another day. Ron's comment on coming home to see the porch overflowing with flowers? "Where do you want me to throw the flowers?". His obvious yearly reference to my often times neglect to getting all the plants planted and then we end up throwing their lifeless dead brown dried up bodies in the garden. Each year, I strive to prove him wrong, but I must admit, most years his predictions prove correct. NOT this year. I am determined.
 
As many of you have asked, I will write later about the Gundrum Mercantile I am working at. It is the restoration of this old 1882 building our niece  & nephew owns. Rather than bulldoze it, and start afresh with some NEW building, they have opted to restore it. Ah, the undertaking. Ron is the master mind behind the actual restoration work, along with its owners, I am merely the laborer.
 
I did want to be sure to remember to tell you about my new calendar. I am not real big on calendars. Or perhaps more accurately AM big on calendars. I don't like most calendars. And I surely don't like the ones our insurance agent sends us each year. Yuk!
We (that would be the singular, not the plural, of the household that we discussed a few weeks ago.. me), prefer a calendar that suits my wall. Actually my preference would be INSIDE a cupboard somewhere, but that defeats the whole purpose of a calendar. I would never look at it then and then why have a calendar?I got an email from Candy Looker of Candy and Max at Simple Goods (www.simplegoods.net) and the fabulous minds behind the SimpleGoods shows held in Mt Vernon Ohio, showing me their calendars for sale, with a limited supply being available. I quickly wrote back to request one, thinking I probably was too late, as anything these multi talented women do is in hot demand...to find I could get one. Shortly, it arrived. Ah, if you want a purely simple extreme primitive calendar check their website or write Candy and ask about the calendar to see if any are available. Purely lovely!!  So I now have the greatest calendar hanging right out in plain sight, and everything. Thank you Candy and Max!
 
I also wanted to be sure to tell you, after LOOKING at my calendar that I have decided after weeks of undecision, to schedule the farmhouse open house for Sunday May 18th from noon to 6PM. Realizing most of you don't live in Michigan, near Michigan and some not even IN the USA, not all of you will be able to attend! Unlike my Open Houses of the past many years, nothing is for sale. We are opening the farmhouse up to show you how it looks as a home, rather than the shop it was for so many years. For some drive time reference, we are located just south of Cadillac Michigan, and 1-1/2 hours north of Grand Rapids just off US 131. Email me if you need the address for mapquest. I assume however, most people coming will have been here before. The farmhouse is more than I ever dreamed possible for a house to live in. It continues to make each day one of new sunlight hitting places for brief moments of time, before moving on to another old furniture piece. Sometimes in that brief moment, highlighting a killer dust bunny I had not previously seen! We are closing in on the end of our first year here. It has been a delightful year. I love this house. So I hope those of you who receive this, and live close enough will come see the farmhouse, and listen to my frogs.
If not that day, perhaps another day. But you must call first. Now that I am a working girl, I am often not home. Drats. Working definitely cuts into my sitting on the porch with coffee time... And my body often reminds me that I haven't actually worked out in some time... at least not in construction work! Wearing socks and work boots alone could kill me off. That didn't come out right. Obviously I have on MORE than just socks and boots, but if you don't know me, you don't realize I am barefooted more than not, so the wearing of socks and work boots IS significant!
 
As I did not have myself together significantly enough ( a malady I have unfortunately been prone to in the past weeks)  to write a newsletter in mid April, you perhaps did not check out PrimitiveGatherings. The link is listed below at the end. We upload new items on the 15th (now past...), and goodest chum Miss Elspeth of PineBerryLane has new items up yesterday, as well as another talented friend BittersweetSusan. Please check them out as well as me. And while there, whisper a prayer of good health for the PG owner, Deena as she continues on her journey with cancer.
Visit her blogspot as she continues to inspire us all with her thoughts and journey.
www.lemonpoppyseeds.com was uploaded with new items on May 1 as was www.simplyprimitives.com .
 
I am preparing, mentally at least, for a sale this summer in late July or early August, of folk art, antique smalls, barn junk, linens, shop & show display pieces (ie, shutters, tables, ladders, benches and such), in the quest of emptying the basement and barns. I will keep you posted on this sale. It will be a good one. When finalized, all information on it will be posted on our website www.highbuttonshoe.net  with dates, times and probably a partial list of things that will be sold. The real work of course, comes in the getting the sale together, something I dread. But first priority this year is the return of my flower/herb garden to its beauty of years past, and perhaps to finish the 9 brick done pathway. That must be done in May and June, so the sale comes after that. Priorities, you know.
 
Also, must mention that we will be ending the 1800 house in May, to be resumed again in the fall. Karen will continue with her own things for sale I believe, but not have the group antiques. Continue to check her website however, as she has the best to offer in quality farm primitive antiques and folk art.  www.the1800house.com
 
OK, this is long enough I suspect. I have other ideas for other letters, so they will come another time. When you get a moment, please check out our links below, and also the other talented artists I mentioned.
If you would prefer to no longer receive newsletters, merely reply with remove and I will do so. Keep in mind, please, that often, my computer will NOT tell me who you are. I type in your name, or email address exactly as you send it to me and the computer address book tells me, you are not in there! So, if you ARE receiving this and have requested NOT to, I did try to take you off but cannot find you! Just delete me!
 
Thank you for asking to be a part of our farm and life.
oh, Beulah put up new spring pictures of the farm on the homepage. Still with spots of snow at that time, not long ago, but still some nice photographs of the farm...
in fond regard, Tilda