An Award Oh MY

I was recently notified that Hickery Holler Farm blog has been named #5 in the top 30 farm blogs from https://www.rankedblogs.com/farming. Oh My!! You will have to drop by and visit some of the others. I am not familiar with many of them and plan to explore myself. There  is also a place to vote for your favorites. See you there. Whoever nominated this blog I send out a big thanks. It is always so nice to feel appreciated.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Bit Of Business

Last week I was received two blog awards from Cranky Puppy Farm. I would like to congratulate Cranky Puppy for her awards and to thank her for thinking of me for the same awards. I am supposed to share 7 random things about myself so here goes. 

1. I love to fish.

2. My favorite singer is Willie Nelson. I am a huge fan.

3. I was a majorette in school.

4. As a child I was super shy.

5. I collect cameos and pearls. 

 I also collect pewter.

6. My vehicle of choice is a Jeep and I have owned 3 in my life. 

7. My favorite color is blue.

 Now I am supposed to pick 15 lovely and inspiring blogs. Instead of listing them here I will instead suggest that you look to my right sidebar where I have links to more than 15 lovely blogs that I am sure you will enjoy that are both lovely and inspiring and I read almost daily.  So to everyone listed in my side bar I present these awards. Why because It is MY blog and I can do what I want to : ) 

Congrats and I love you all...

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Awards Coming Out Of My Ears

This week I was presented an award. Twice. By two different people. I know alot of people don't  do awards but I seem to rarely get them so I just post them with gratitude and move on. This week lots of people have been thinking of me. I am truly touched that people think of me for these honors so in the spirit that these awards were given I would like to thank Kathy Felsted Usher over at Moving On To The Past Blogspot for both thinking of me and her kind words on my blog. She has presented me with The Versatile Blogger Award


I would like to also thank Heidi over at White Wolf Summit Farmgirl for both thinking of me and her kind words also. She also presented me with The Versatile Blogger Award.


I would also like to thank Alla over at Mountain Valley Farms for her kind words and The Versatile Blogger Award. 


Thank you again ladies and congrats on your own awards.  


Here are the RULES for the Versatile Blogger Award-

1. Add the award to your blog. 
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself. (see below)
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are seven random things about me...
1. I love the color Blue.
2. I am the second oldest in my family with 4 brothers and no sisters. Only three brothers living. 
3. I adore Scottie Dogs and English Shepherds.
4. I am color blind which is very rare in women.  My husband is also color blind as is one of my three sons. So far none of my grandchildren are color blind. This makes quilting real interesting. Yes I am that lady that goes to church wearing one blue and one black shoe : ) 
5. I live to go fishing and used to even own my very own bass boat. I do not hunt though. 
6. My favorite Music....Willie Nelson... Old Gospel......CCR....The Eagles....Wow what a mix !
7. I am scared to death of power tools : )








Now I am supposed to list 15 bloggers. Sorry guys but I am only listing 7 as it seems everyone is getting these awards and if I name more I may never finish with these as they seem to return to me full circle.  I am trying to pick really unique blogs of the 175 blogs that I follow.  Something a little different maybe. Hope you'll give some of these a visit.  

1. Agrarian Nation  This blog and number two on my list are both written and maintained by Herrick Kimball. Agrarian Nation looks at agricultural writings from 1825 to roughly 1900. It is an excellent view into agriculture and traditions of the past.

2. The Deliberate Agrarian This blog is also by Herrick Kimball but us a great resource into the christian agrarian lifestyle as well as a source for some wonderful gardening tools and know how. Don't forget to take a look at his planet wheelbang garden cart, wheel hoe and chicken plucker. A very ingenuitive man and a great read. My husband loves his post on pulling a deer hide with a golf ball. He is the only person other than my husband I have ever seen do it this way. I guess great minds think alike.

3. Aspiring Homemaker   I adore this blog and am so impressed with the young, christian, African American woman that writes it. The photography alone on this blog is stunning and well worth the visit. It is simply a look into the life of a christian family living frugally and simply but Mia is able to turn it into a work of art. In a world where homemaking has become a dying art is is so refreshing to see one so young striving to learn it. 

4.Frugally Sustainable This is a great blog for all yo do it yourselfers out there. Learn how to make lotions to cough drops and everything in between. A great blog to camp out at and read for awhile.

5. lafermedesourrou.blogspot....Permaculture In France  I love foreign Blogs and this french one is great. You'll find a translation button on the side and make sure and scroll to some of her earlier posts and look at her gardens.

6. Mias Landliv This is a phenomenal Norwegian Blog with plenty of quilting, knitting, and gardening.

7. Snowcatcher Any of you that follow my blog know that I am crocheting snowflakes for my Christmas Tree. Every Monday is snowflake Monday with a new snowflake design. Check it out.

And now for the kicker....before I could get this published I received yet another award. LOL 

I received the Liebster Blog Award from  Baskets By Rose Blog Spot  Congrats on your award and thank you so much for thinking of Hickery Holler Farm. 

I am supposed to pass it on to 5 blogs but since I am out of ideas I am just going to pass it on to all my readers. You have all just received the Liebster Blog Award because I said so. 

Congratulations! I'm feelin the love! 

Now I am going to publish this really quickly before I get anymore.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Liebster Blog Award

Unlike many other online activities Blogging has been such a fun activity for me personally. I have met some great people, learned things that I would have never thought of otherwise and both gotten and shared some great ideas. Hickery Holler Farm was recently presented the Liebster Blog Award by Kathy Felsted Usher over at the Moving On To The Past Blog Spot. To quote Kathy:

The origins of the award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note.
Here are the rules:

1- Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to award the Liebster to. Blogs must have less than 200 followers.
2- Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3- Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites.

Well it just thrill me that someone took the time to recognize this small blog but am so grateful for the love and appreciation.  Thank you again Kathy! This was a hard decision for me because I read so many different blogs on gardening, quilting, sewing and canning along with self sufficiency blogs that I just want to recommend everyone. So in the spirit that this blog award was given I will pass it along to these 5 people.


Survival Kitchen is a wonderful blog about living in and renovating a 100 year old house, cooking canning and just plain good living.


Freedom Acres Farm is another great blog with subjects such as gardening, cooking homeschooling and good clean rural living.

Providence Acres is another small blog all about organic food, frugal living, and rural skills. Wine making, herbs and cooking are my faves.


Woodridge Farms is also a small farm blog. Lots of gardens,goats, quilting, cooking and canning. Just a great all around site located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia



Ozark Mountain Family is a homesteading and self sufficiency blog located in the Ozark Mountains of Southern Missouri. Lots of gardening, livestock, canning and cooking located in a beautiful area.


You can find all 5 of these blogs on my sidebar and I read them regularly also.

Thanks again Kathy and I hope you enjoy visiting all of them.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Madame President!

Baby O went Saturday to Missouri State University to compete in the State 4-H Public Speaking Competition.She brought home this plaque after making it to the top 6 finalists in the state. Her presentation was on the 10 most influential people of this century.

She also was elected president of the local 4-H club. Hail to Madame President : )

You go Baby O !!

So much for the theory on lack of socialization in the home school setting?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

She's A Keeper

 Last weekend was a flurry of activity for us. Baby O had a 4-H competition on Saturday and then had to come home and pack to leave on Sunday on a competition for FCCLA. For those of you my age when we were in school(centuries ago)  FFA was for males and represented Future Farmers of America. Girls joined FHA which was Future Homemakers of America. Well times are a changin. FFA is now open to both male and female participants. FHA has now become Family, Career And Community Leaders of America. It is also now open to both male and female participants. Baby O belongs to both FFA, FCCLA and 4-H. At last weekend's 4-H competition Baby O competed in collections, public speaking and photography. She won first place in all 3. In public speaking she will go on to the state public speaking competition sometime this summer. In her FCCLA competition she won first place in state with a display board and oral presentation about a project she did at her school. Basically once a week she met with a group of younger pre teen girls at her school and made presentations and worked with them on issues that pertain to their generation. She called her sessions Camp Confidence and worked on things like self confidence and body image. She will be going to California in July to compete in Nationals. She is so excited about going to California. We are proud of not only her work with other kids but also her success with this program. We are all exhausted from all the packing and transporting and unpacking etc. What an exciting thing to happen in a 15 year olds life.

As for me I'm still trying to dig out from under this pile of laundry.

We are waiting on chickens to hatch any day now and preparing for a masquerade dance friday night for Baby O at the school. The garden is sprouting ! All the seeds we planted on St. Patrick's Day are up. We are looking forward to warmer weather this weekend again to maybe get some more lawn and flower bed work done.

With all the moisture we have had lately the ants have moved indoors and we are fighting a sugar ant infestation. Anyone out there have any good solutions for ants other than a

$145.00 exterminator bill.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

Baby O Goes To Town

Way back in November Baby O entered an essay in the Voice of Democracy essay contest sponsored by the VFW. She won in her local and then in the District. So last Friday we were off to Jefferson City, the capitol of Missouri for her to compete in the state competition. We battled the aftermath of the blizzard to get there. They put us up on the 7th floor of the Capitol Plaza Hotel right across from the State Capitol Building. Above was the view from the 7th floor. 

With a waterfall right in the middle. On Saturday Baby O toured the Capitol Building and the city and went out for pizza with the other 17 contestants. O Wise One and I  watched movies and then sat by the indoor pool and read and talked and had lunch together and had the entire day to ourselves. It continued to snow on and off. 

That afternoon Baby O returned and we got dressed up and attended the awards banquet.

                             

Baby O placed 6th out of 18 District winners. She was the youngest participant and from the smallest school. No one could believe that her entire class consisted of 18 kids. She wore a long black beaded dress and was escorted in on the arm of a soldier. She sat at the head table as a guest of honor with the other 17 kids. She handled herself beautifully and we were so proud of her and her accomplishments. We were so impressed with all these kids. They were definitely cream of the crop with many heading off after graduation this year to Harvard and other Ivy League colleges across the country. She was indeed in good company. They all won cah prizes to apply toward their education and a Voices of Democracy Jacket. This is a country wide contest and I would encourage anyone with high school age children to participate. It is a wonderful program for the kids and a way to help them make money for their education.

It was nice for us all to get away for a weekend even though we stayed around the hotel because of the snow conditions. And Baby O did us proud. Our little farm girl is indeed growing up. On Sunday morning we drove that 3 hours home stopping for a nice lunch along the way. Back to Hickery Holler with waist deep snow drifts and all. Home was a welcome sight.   

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter and O Wise One

Baby O is goin to the capitol!

(Baby O is the one with the certificate to the far right)

Yesterday morning we got up early and got the chores done quicker than usual. We all got dressed and took a Saturday morning drive. We headed south out of the glaciated plains of north central Missouri. Out of the rolling hills and into the Missouri River bottoms. Miles and miles of flat black farmland along the Missouri river.  Acres and acres of rich black dirt. Come spring that bottom land will be some of the prettiest corn and soybean fields you've ever seen. But right now it is just plowed black dirt with a dusting of snow and lots of geese feeding off the leftover grain that might still be in the fields. And little small towns with lots of white houses and front porches.  O Wise One, Baby O and I were headed to Richmond, Missouri. There Baby O was to receive an award. She entered months ago in the VFW's Voice of Democracy Essay Contest. And it seems she won local and now she has won first in the District. She went to read her Essay to the District and except her award and a check for $200. You go girl !!!   And now we find out that Feb 5 she will go to the state Capitol in Jefferson City to receive an award from the State VFW. Seems she has placed in the top three in state as well. We don't know yet if it is first, second or third. It's a secret and nobody's talking.....

It's a formal affair in February, over the weekend and they are even putting us up in a big hotel. And a formal dinner. Oh My! O Wise One is pouting because we have told him that he has to wear a suit and tie and leave the bib overalls at home. Baby O is dreaming of a new formal dress. I am wondering who will babysit the dogs and feed the chickens, turkeys, guineas and rabbits. Hoping daughter Fred and family will be able to farm sit.

We are so proud of her and are truly blessed to have her as a daughter. Our little farm girl has grown up. O Wise One and I have decided to just thank god for them little late life surprises.

And it looks like the country mice are headed to the city.......Oh MY

And if she wins first she goes to Washington, DC

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

An Award Oh My !

Last week I received my first Award! It came on probably one of the lowest days I had endured in awhile. But never the less I was truly honored. It was presented to me by Gail at

AT THE FARM

To Gail I would like to send a sincere thank you my friend.

And a great big ol Hickery Holler  hug......

I enjoy my blog and the people who visit it so much. I love to go visit all my blogging friends every morning with my coffee. You have all become such an important part of my morning routine. No matter how busy I am my day is just not complete without atleast a quick visit around my little blogging community. Each comment I receive is a gift that I treasure.  But in the spirit that this award was given to me I must pick some worthy bloggers to pass this along to. And this is probably the hardest part but I shall try.

1. My first choice shall be Becky over at Sunny Morning Farm Becky and I have decided early on that we were sisters secretly separated at birth. I'm adopted..IT COULD HAPPEN! Anyway I love Becky's blog for her sense of humor. She is like a breath of fresh air in springtime. So energetic bouncing all over the place. She says it is her ADD but I find it one of her most charming qualities. She just amazes me! A nurse and a hairdresser, a quilter and gardener and canner and goat farmer. Wow !! Her Blog is a must for me for that dose of good humor. Becky we love ya sista!

2. My second choice is Katy at THE COUNTRY BLOSSOM  for just the opposite type of Blog. When you visit Katy you feel at peace. Just listening to her describe her days with her 3 children that she homeschools and her love of her family and her home and her faith in her God gives you such Peace. I think she has to be the most gentle soul I have ever encountered and it is amazing how that comes through in her blog.  I am going to quote the words of a song here that I think describes what I take away from Katy everytime I leave her blog.

" Lay down my sweet sister, lay down and take a rest

   I'm gonna lay your head upon my saviors breast.

   Yes we love you, but jesus loves you best

   I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight! " 

Thank You Katy and we salute You !

3. My third blog choice would be OUR CRAZY FARM . I so respect her for her dedication to her 5 children and her faith. Being an adoptive child myself and having adopted a child I have so much respect for what she and her husband have accomplished with her children and her dedication to her family and that farm. What a lady. This blog and this family are one class act : ) I salute You ! 

4. My last choice is going to Tipper at BLIND PIG AND THE ACORN . Tipper's blog is about her family and her heritage. Her people in Appalachia. I was born in the mountains of north Georgia but at an early age adopted by a couple and raised in the Cajun Country of south Louisiana. Therefore I missed out on this part of my heritage. Tipper is educating me one blog at a time. Every visit I experience Appalachia through her eyes. Her people are slowly becoming my people as I bridge that gap and become more educated to their customs. So I salute Tipper for giving me back my heritage.

And to all the rest of you I send Huge Hugs from Hickery Holler and present this award to you all !!! What the heck it is my blog and I can do what I want. Everybody gets one!!

   I salute you my friends ( :

 Hugs from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Stormy Skies

This is the sight we woke up to this Monday morning. This picture was taken at 9:30 am. How's that for ominous skies? Then this afternoon the heat index is forecasted for 110  degrees. Every gardener's nightmare storm water and then high temps to scald everything. Add to that a flat tire on the truck and the engine light on the car on. The mechanic thinks it is a sensor problem.  This week is off to a good start !!

Last week was a heck of a week too. Last Monday we scrambled to get all the exhibits for Baby Oops ready for the fair. They had to be delivered that night and judged. She did extremely well. Her 3 photographs all took blue ribbons, her coconut chocolate candy and cupcakes both took blues, her birdhouse took a blue and was chosen for Fall Review. Her Bug collection also took a blue and also is going to the State Fair.

Her ornaments for Arts and Crafts also took a blue ribbon and is also going to State Fair.

On Wednesday we spent all afternoon and evening at the fair grounds. We had to help work the concession stand for Baby O's 4-H Club. O Wise One was grilling hamburgers in 100 degree heat for most of the afternoon. We then walked around the fair looking at livestock and the other kids exhibits for a few hours. We got to visit with alot of our neighbors. That night Baby O competed in the talent contest. She sang a song and won 2nd place in the county. Her prize was $35. We were in the front row cheering her on with our neighbors from the farm down the road. She stayed after for the youth dance and rode home with her friends parents.  Us old folks went home and went to bed.  O Wise     One  and I were pooped.

Thursday was grass mowing and we managed to break a lawnmower belt and had to finish the mowing with the tractor. Mower is at the shop as we speak.  In between all this I managed to put up blackberries and blackberry jam and sauerkraut. On Sunday Baby O was back at the fair grounds for 1:00 for the archery competition. She took 2nd place in the county and brought home a gold metal.

Sunday evening we were all back home for Sunday Dinner with Fred and her husband and Baby Hank. We all pigged out to Red Beans and Rice, corn on the cob, corn bread and apple pie. Then the rest of the evening I passed out in my recliner with O Wise One right next to me snoring in unison. You see we have his and her matching lazy boy recliners sitting side by side. We snore in unison and serenade one another. Baby O retreated to her room to watch television and read a book. At the same time. Yes she is talented like that. Me, I can't walk and chew gum at the same time : ) 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

County Fair Time

July has rolled around again and as always we look forward to two things.

The 4th of July

And the County Fair. 

Baby Oops has been in 4-H for years. Since the 2nd grade. I was in 4-H as a child also. I stayed in all through school. I met my first husband at a 4-H competition. He was in Dairy Judging and I was in Horticultural Sciences. He was 16 and I was 14. We dated all through high school and eventually married. We were married for almost 20 years. This was before O Wise One. So tonight O Wise One decided he would take Baby O and a neighbor boy to the fair to enroll their projects.

Baby O took photography and entered these 3 pictures. 

I love the lighting on this day lily!

And a shadow shot of purple cone flowers

And like her mother she has an infatuation with the neighbors goat.

And she took cooking. These chocolate covered coconut candies are delicious. It is an old recipe from her great grandmother. I spent yesterday translating the recipe for her. Such as what Oleo is. And why paraffin is mixed with chocolate. Exactly what a bar of paraffin is. And what Eagle Brand milk is and why coconut used to just come in a can and what the measurement equivalent of that is nowadays : ) Anybody know ? It is 1 and 1/3 cups. That was before everything came in a bag!   It kind of turned into a history cooking lesson. Gosh I feel old!

Check out these frog cupcakes she made. How cute is that?

And for Arts and Crafts she made these cute wooden Christmas ornaments...

O Wise One has to get into the picture too so he helped her make a wren box to go with the squirrel house and bat house and duck box they have made in recent years. These projects were all for Conservation Frontiers projects. She has won state awards for her knowledge of animal habitats and conservation.

   

I got dibs on the wren house when they are done!

And we can't forget she and O Wise One and their bug collections. They have 4 boxes of these things in my house ! And then after all that is judged on Wednesday she will sing in the talent contest and she also has to work the concession stand to help raise money for her club.

And on Thursday she and Daddy will be there bright and early for the youth archery shoot. She won 2nd in the county last year. I thought O Wise One would burst with pride.

And we continue to add to her wall! 

In the mean time O Wise One will be standing guard to keep her away from the dairy barns : )

Who knew?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

4-H Contest Day

4-H Contest Day was this weekend and Baby O made a very good showing indeed. The picture above won her first place. It was taken last year at Sea World in Orlando on vacation. 

She also entered a collection in that competition and also won first place. It was entitled "Stitches in Time". It was a collection of her grandmothers  and great grandmothers stitches  in bonnets, aprons, pillowcases and quilts. Not fancy work but the day to day homespun things in the life of a farm woman. Thrown in were their pictures and a biscuit bowl and butter mold and old bedside lantern. 

Along with the collection she wrote this story.

"Some people believe that the past is made up of faces and names, nothing more than dust that floats away on the winds of life as they blow forever by. Some believe that it’s nothing more than what was – not at all relevant to what is, and what shall be.

But not me.

Each time I run my hand over one of these quilts, I don’t just see fabric that someone saw fit to piece together. I don’t see rough fabric or pretty colors and swirling patterns.

I see the past, sitting in front of a fire as it crackles and snaps and sends embers of neon orange into the breeze, warming the house. I see fingers that have since blown away in the wind, carefully pushing a needle through the stiff cloth and putting time and effort and care into each and every stitch.

In these pictures, I blow the dust off of the top and look past the fact that these are simply glimpses into what used to be. I see lives, people with identities and lives and things they liked and disliked. What was that girl’s favorite color? What was that little boy’s favorite toy? Did he always do as his mother said?

These things are part of the past, and the past is not just dust. The past is the very foundation of the Earth we stand on today. Today would not have come without a little shove from yesterday, and that’s precisely why I chose a collection of ‘Stitches in Time’.

The things that sit in front of you on this table are a part of my past. These things are the foundation of my world, the things that belong to my grandmothers. It was their hands that stitched them so carefully, and their fires that warmed them.

So look. Read. Experience for yourself what it’s truly like to let the winds of eternity swirl around you, and carry you away in a storm of dust to a whole new world where the past and the present dance together as old friends.

Because the past is more than just faces and names.

It’s the reason today’s faces and names exist."

I am so proud of her and her efforts. At 14 she is such a wonderful mixture of child and young woman right now. But truly a joy everyday. That little late life surprise has truly turned into a blessing.

Blessings from the Holler

The Canned Quilter