May 12th Mother's Day

 

Today is a day set aside to honor our Mothers.

And it might seem to be only a Hallmark holiday,

but its inception was heartfelt.

In West Virginia, in early 1908, Anna Jarvis held a memorial for

her mother Ann, who was a peace activist during the Civil War.

After the war, her mother created

 'Mother's Day Work Clubs'

that addressed public health issues.

Anne wanted to continue her mothers' work and set aside

a day to honor all mothers because she believed

a mother is the

 "person who has done more for you than anyone

in the world."

So, in 1908, Congress made it an official holiday.

That's the background.

Now the reality.

Mother's Day for me, is bittersweet.

It's sad that the only way to honor her now is

flowers on her grave.

Still,

I wonder what life would be like to still have her here.

I wonder if she'd think I did a good job mothering my kids.

I wonder what she'd think of my grandkids.

I know she'd love them to pieces.

And spoil them too!

I hope she's looking down and smiling,

knowing that we love and miss her.

Here's hoping I did a decent job of raising my kids and

assisting with my grandkids.

As the picture said, life and Mothering, doesn't

come with a manual,

So we have to do it by the seat of our pants

and guidance from our Moms.

 

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The CEO gave me these lilies for Mother's Day.

They are beautiful, but have a weird smell,

and the pollen on the stamen, doesn't come

off clothing very easily.

Weird, but they are incredibly beautiful!

 

 

The hostas are blooming.

Looks like it'll be pale lavender flowers.

 

These are our beets

Can't wait to eat them!

Cherry tomatoes.

When ripe, they'll be purplish in color.

 

 

A hanging basket of deep purple petunias

Pretty yellow chrysanthemums.

They bloom twice for us,

in spring and again in the fall.

 

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Hazel has had a wild hair.

 She began laying in the mint planter.

We tried to deter her from it by putting

a sprinkler over the top of the planter,

but the little witch pushed it off.

She's determined!

 

If you are wondering how long hens lay eggs,

here's a chart that'll help.

Our girls were born in early December of 2016.

So, they are about 2 1/2 years old now.

Lucy and Ethel are a bit younger

and are about 2 now.

The following picture shows egg % counts as they age.

To keep the same egg production,

you have to keep adding younger hens to the flock.

But, to introduce a baby hen is a bit difficult.

They have to be acclimated to the flock

or the girls could injure or kill them.

Chickens are territorial and can be mean

to newcomers.

So,

 I'm not sure we'll do that till our current girls

age beyond 7 years.

That's assuming nothing catastrophic happens!

 

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I found a good recipe on Pinterest

that I'd like to share.

It's muffins.

Easy - Peasy!

Only 3 ingredients and very light.

1) Cake mix of any flavor

2) 3 large eggs

3) 1 can of pie filling, any flavor.

Mix together

Place in muffin tin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bake for 35 minutes.

Makes about 24 muffins.

I used a yellow cake mix with cherry pie filling.

They came out golden brown and delicious!

The CEO asked me not to put frosting

on them, so we ate them as is.

I've got to try a yellow cake mix with lemon pie filling next!

Or

Spice cake mix with apple pie filling!

The sky's the limit!

Hope you give it a try.

 

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Oh well, time to go to sleep.

Hope your Mother's Day was as nice as mine.

And,

Thanks to the 2 reasons for my day, my sons.