09-10-15 Hair change and outside home decor

I found this neat little magazine at the store one day! It is full of a lot of great stories, info and links to websites and blogs with more info. It might be more worth subscribing to, it was $10 or $15 for just this one at the store!

Riley and I came home one night after dark and although the Sonoran Toads (Sonoran Toads on the farm) had gone away, we see this Tarantula! I do not do spiders. At all. And it was big. I will just say quickly, we killed it. I freaked out and Riley grabbed a rock or something and threw it at it and eventually killed it. The reason I say that I will "quickly" tell the story is because when I put that on Facebook I got a lot of crap over killing a "harmless spider". Let me say, any spider in my house, in my bed or in my kid's bed is NOT harmless. So you do what you gotta do!

I am all for all natural. And especially when it comes to my skin. The only unnatural thing that goes on my body or my face is make up and even that I try to wear lightly and not daily. I use all natural products for face wash, moisturizer, make up remover, etc made by a good friend in New Mexico who is an Esthetician and makes everything custom for each customer based on their skin's needs and she is super affordable! You can find her on Facebook here!

In this picture I'm using a skin lightening lemon cream face mask she made for me once I noticed I was getting dark spots or age spots. I have spent so much time working outside in the last few months and I noticed some spots in a few places on my face that had NOT been there before. I freaked out and sent her a message asking what could be up! She made me this and I'm proud to say how amazing she is!

I went to the dark side! Lol! I've had brown hair with blonde highlights and blonde hair underneath for about 3-4 years now. I like the ombre (spelling?) look, felt it suited me. But I was also looking for a change and with everyone's excitement in the beauty business for people to go dark in the Fall, I thought I might as well, too! So I took it back to a dark chestnut which is actually my natural color. In this picture on the right just the day after coloring it it even seemed SO dark to me but it only took  me a few days to fall in love with it! Now I'm happy as a clam with dark brown hair!

I met a new client a couple of months ago who had this adorable burlap wreath in her house so I asked her where she got it and she said another local lady made it. She got me in touch with her and I quickly sent her my request for yellow and black and white chevron! Yes please! She quickly made me this wreath and I love it! I can't wait to repaint the front door, hate that color. But either way...I look forward to having this woman make me a few more for my front gate and different holiday ones. I just have to figure out how she needs to make the ones for the gate so that they're wind proof since we get a lot of that out here.

I picked up this metal H sign for our front gate! I'm really excited about it, it is just the right size. Although it is just silver metal and I totally need to paint it because I'd rather it be some nice color. I don't like it alone on the gate right in the center so I need to come up with something to add with it, after it is painted so that it looks better. Little changes here and there and this place is coming to life!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

09-01-15 Storm damage, road runners and babies

September welcomed us with some nice changes! Riley was settling into his new school and we were getting into some new morning and evening weekday routines!

AND a new baby! My cousin Amanda had her 4th baby girl, Amelia!!! I love babies and babies love me! It was a treasure to get to go spend time with this 12 hour old baby girl!!

Just a fun picture of my 3 loves! My now 11 year old son (his birthday the end of August) and our 2 fur babies!

We had a pretty big storm the end of August and since this was in the BACKYARD I didn't even notice it until a day or two after the storm. I haven't been doing a ton of work outside so when I walked out to put clothes on the line I was greeted with this in the far back corner of the backyard. Sadness.

So, that's no good. Thankfully, since we're still in a lease purchase agreement and not the owner yet I called the seller about it and he said he'll have someone out soon to get it all taken care of. Not to mention the part that fell down was part that was put up new not much more than a year ago so it was their work, which they should basically warranty, especially since it is a contractor we regularly use.

One day mid morning I'm hanging out on the couch watching my Cooking show addictions (Pioneer Woman) and out my front window onto the deck I see this little guy. A road runner!!! He was just hanging out on my porch railing like it was nothin'! It just amazes me all the wild life out here that just approaches you or...hangs out on your porch! Lol! I'm not scarred of these guys although I wouldn't approach it to pet it or anything. I did also find amusement in the fact that it is Riley's school mascot, lol!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

08-26-15 Second snake experience

So on this beautiful August day I had been out working and I come home midday all happy and gleeful to be home! I pull into the driveway, up to the gate and stop. I put the car in park and before I even open my door I notice something odd. I notice right at the middle of the gate on the OTHER side there is a gopher sitting there. I found that odd as every time I pull up (there gophers are ALL over the property) they usually scurry off, afraid of the car. But this guy didn't and was just sitting there. So I was perplexed and stopped what I was doing. As I watched it about 15 seconds later it started doing this weird lil "dance"! It was on all fours and it would shake all over and move its tail around rapidly, then it would stop, then start again. So since it seemed to be facing something, I decided to back up my car so I could see over the hood. As I backed up a few feet I saw a 4 FOOT LONG SNAKE slowly moving, stretched out, along the bottom of the gate, parallel to it, going to the left. I freaked! Thank God I was in my car but my first thought was "I will not get out of this car, I'll sit right here". Because, of course, since I had been working I was wearing a dress and sandals, not properly dressed to deal with critters!!!!

So, of course, I had to take pictures. Right here is where the snake slithered to the left of the gate and in this pic the snake is just below that brush, although you can barely see it. But on the far right just above the bottom of the gate you can see said gopher.

What was happening, or so it seems, is the gopher was doing this odd little dance and ushering the snake AWAY. The snake continued to move away from the gopher, never trying to eat it. Which I found interesting since I'm pretty sure most types of snakes will or would eat this type of small gopher. So in the picture above you can see where the snake continued to move to the left, away from the gate and my driveway, towards that overgrown mesquite tree. The gopher is still right behind it.

Every time the snake would move further away, every foot or so the gopher would move closer to it and do its little dance again and the snake just kept on going. By the time it got here to the side I had already called my neighbor who had said after my FIRST snake encounter (see here: First Snake Experience) that if I ever saw another one to call her asap and she'd send her husband over to either relocate it off the property or kill it, depending on what kind it was. So I called her and he was on his way over. And I did film a quick video as well to try and capture the odd little dance the gopher was doing.

A friend told me they could barely see the snake in this photo without blowing it up but I swear, without exaggeration, that it was at least 4 feet long. Which to me, is a big snake, and no baby!!!

What ended up happening? The neighbor's husband came over (first time I'd even met him, lol!) and there I was in my car with the window down looking all girly and ridiculous, terrified of this snake and the snake was gone. I had watched it move under that tree and the gopher had stopped moving for a good few minutes so I figured maybe the snake went into a hole. So when my neighbor showed up, his truck scarred off the gopher and it ran away, unlike before. So he comes in, opens my gate, I pull through and he goes over to see where it was. He went all under where that tree over hangs and didn't find anything. He said hopefully he was gone and I wouldn't be seeing him again. 

Let's hope!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

08-07-15 First snake experience!

So I take Riley to school in the morning and come home. All the wind from the storm the night before had blown some items out of the burn pile and I don't like random trashy things all over so I start walking around to pick stuff up. I walk up by the shop and there is a grocery bag so I pick that up to put stuff in. Then I'm picking up cans between the shop and the gate to the backyard. I got probably 5 or 6 and then I see another can over under this covered awning storage area off the back of the shop. I walk over and bend down and as my  hand is literally...literally 6 inches from the can, I SEE IT! A SNAKE! First I should have started with how terrified I am of snakes, all of them. I don't know enough to know which ones are poisonous and which aren't I do, however, know that rattlesnakes are common here as are other numerous poisonous snakes. We are, in fact, in the Sonoran Desert, people! 

So as I reach down I see this BABY snake. But, it is still a snake and the first time in my adult life I have seen one alive, near me, in person. (First time was a tiny garden snake in Arkansas when I was about 12 and even that one freaked me out and it was from a distance of about 15 feet) So it is just stretched out up against the side of the shop, 6 inches from my out stretched hand and maybe 2 feet from my feet, my flip flop feet! I freak out, INTERNALLY and slowly back away keeping my eye on it. Of course, my fear is that it is going to lash out towards me and chase me, right! So once I get about 5 feet away I literally turn, jump and SKIP away to safety! Okay, not a joyful skip, maybe a scamper is a better word because it wasn't like running, more like quickly taking giant steps at a fast pace! Lol! Freaked out is a gross understatement!!!

Once I'm safely about 15 feet away, curiosity sets in. Fears subsides a bit because it was no more than 12-18 inches long, definitely a baby snake. And since it didn't react in the least as I fled the scene, I thought..."Maybe it won't chase me..." So then I decide I want to SEE it, scope it out, see what it's doing, if it's still there, etc. So I slowly, SLOWLY walk back towards it. I get about as close as 6 feet, always with the option to flee in mind. I look at it for a bit, of course, I didn't have my camera or phone with me. But that damn thing blended in perfectly with the color of the ground, so deceptive! I got to thinking if a baby is here a Mama might be near but...I do not claim to know a lot about snakes.

So I leave the area! I go inside and then I remember...it's laundry day. And said snake is on the other side of the fence, right next to my clotheslines. The snake is so small, of course, it could crawl right through the fence into the backyard, where I needed to put clothes on the line. 

I pondered it, was terrified and I remembered a friend telling me that snakes generally bite when they are scared or threatened and so don't sneak up on them or happen upon them without notice. 

Note to self #1: Don't be quiet and do announce myself. 

Then I remembered that some poisonous snakes are more deadly as baby snakes because they haven't learned how to use it yet. Ehhh! 

Note to self #2: I should fear said baby snake as much as a large one, just in case. 

Then I remember that some snakes can be scarred off by dogs, goats, chickens, etc. Just any animal bigger than it that is aimlessly wandering around can make a snake run off and hide, if it has a chance. 

Note to self #3: Bring guard dogs!

So the laundry was done in the washer and I prepared myself. I put on my boots to protect my feet and calves in case one struck at me (you might laugh, I was hardcore serious) then I loaded up my laundry, put my phone on iHeart radio to blast music, brought my dogs out with me and opened the back door singing along loudly to the music to "announce" myself! Lol! No sneaking up here, I was loud and with every piece of clothing I hung on the line I checked the fence line looking to see if I saw any snakes. I was terrified. Then once I got all the laundry up and, of course, the dogs wandered off because they didn't know they were supposed to be guarding me, I got curious again. So I decided to slowly sneak over to the fence line and see if I could still see it in the same spot through a hole in the fence. I found a good hole, could see to the area and...IT WAS GONE! Ahhhh!

I swear, for DAYS upon days I thought about that snake every time I went out back and I totally boycotted that covered storage area by the shop, lol! My only solace in the days after was that it was a baby snake and that nothing actually happened. Although, it did make me realize I need to rattlesnake train my dogs with us living out here. They're both totally "city dogs" and have no "animal avoidance" skills, yet!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

08-20-15 Storm clean-up and Arizona sunsets!

We had a Monsoon storm that took out an old dead tree in the side yard a few weeks back and I finally had a chance to take care of it.

I am becoming near expert level at "tree removal" and not much makes me feel more powerful and capable than welding a chainsaw! I am woman, hear me roar!!!!

In my excitement with removing said small dead tree in the first photo I decided to take out this bigger one that, as you can see, always hindered my view to the west from the porch. And it was just all dead and ugly. So although I didn't get it ALL removed and there is still about 2-3 feet of stump, I was exhausted by the time I finished all this. Plus I can't stop a tree project until I get all the limbs hauled off (to the side yard) and the ground raked so it all looks nice again, lol! But just the above before and after photo was totally enough for me to know this was absolutely the best decision!

Description on the photo says it all! Yay for mountain views! One of the biggest pros to living in the country!

Even though it is just August I LOVE fall! So even when it is still hot outside, the kids going back to school always gets me in "Fall" mode and indoor Fall home decor is possibly my all time favorite! So I made this center piece for our dining room table! And I am totally in love with it!

One day coming home from work and I was still on the porch and just walked across to look off to the west and see this gorgeous sunset! I love so many things about living out here and the glorious sunsets definitely make the top of the list!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

08-11-15 Critters on the farm!

One thing we are not short on here on the farm is...wild life, critter style! Animals do not bother me but for some reason the small, scurrying type REALLY bother me. I guess because they can jump on you, fly  up and smack you in the face, crawl on your skin, sneak through the front door, get in the car with you, jump up your leg when you're outside wearing a dress! Uggghghghghgh! Yuck! So, the critters waited until the rain came to come out and "introduce" themselves to us.

This REALLY bright neon green beetle was chilling on the front gate one day when I was leaving. I had never seen that color of one before so, of course, I had to take pictures!

These rabbits live somewhere on our property. I am no expert but I think they're cottontail rabbits because....they have white cotton tails, lol! Now every evening when we come home at dusk or after, up to 7 take off running across the yard! These don't bother me I'm just always surprised to see so many of them because when I'm just out walking around or working on projects I rarely see them around the property.

So here in the desert we have the Sonoran Toad...which is code for fat, juicy, ugly frog...that is also poisonous! These guys wouldn't kill an adult however they have taken out small animals, small dogs, medium sized dogs and even made very small children (toddler and younger) very sick! They only come out when it is raining. However, this year I saw them around our property up to 2 weeks after all the rain stopped. They did get to be VERY predictable, thank God. They would come out after dark and hang out right at that spot in the picture which is the start of the walk way from the driveway up to the pergola up to the deck and front door. Above that is an archway with a light hanging from it. That light is left on all at all times. I'm guessing they gravitate towards the light because we would always see them there. EVERY time I'd come home after dark and they were out they creeped me out so bad that I would make Riley walk in front of me and use a stick or something to scare them off the walk way because I didn't want to have to walk close to them since the majority of the time I was in sandals or flip flops. And just the thought of these guys jumping at or on my feet makes me want to VOMIT, ewww! 

I had to throw in this adorable picture of Bella sleeping on the couch with her head hanging off because...why not! <3

Here is PROOF how hot it gets here! 123 degrees with 37% humidity (not a rainy day) and mid August midday! And see how hot it was inside? 87 degrees! That's because the AC doesn't work great here so even if I had the AC on 80 (which is conservative) it still couldn't cool the house that cool during those hot summer days! We eventually caved in and bought some fans for throughout the house which did help a ton but I think next summer we'll have to get a window unit for at least the 2 hottest months of the year. Because we did have the AC serviced about 2 mths ago so how it was performing this summer is the best it is going to get due to poor insulation and old windows!

A good shot of a county woman's nightstand! Love my Arriat boots!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

08-02-15 Rain and the end of Monsoon!

We did not get much done around the farm from early July to early August because it was just too hot!!! When we first moved in I knew I'd need accurate outdoor temps and I have always thought the temps on the media outlets are WRONG. So I bought a good indoor/outdoor system with an outdoor thermometer and an indoor 7 inch digital wireless monitor! It measures indoor and outdoor temps as well as humidity. The temps throughout July and even in August got up to 126 degrees at times!!!! So even when I would try to get up at 6am it would already be in the high 90s! Add to that that June to August is our Monsoon (rainy season) in Arizona and the humidity was suffocating on top of the already super high temps!

On our "First Summer" on the farm I definitely learned a lot, from experience and also talking to my modern homesteading neighbor. It reminds me of the show Alaska; The Last Frontier how they rush around all Spring, Summer and Fall to get all of their chores and hunting done because in the winter it is so terrible they stay indoors as much as possible and just "survive". Well that's how the Arizona summers are! And it isn't the hottest June and July as I had always kind of thought or assumed, without putting much thought into it really. Rather, it is hottest July and August, with August being the worst by far! Lesson learned! I actually went ahead and put a note in my Google calendar for NEXT year to make sure all major outdoor projects are done or nearing completion by June, so that I don't plan to put too much effort into outdoor chores during the hottest time of the year. Thankfully here we have wonderful weather almost the entire rest of the year. So I will be using that to my advantage all the way up until next summer!

So as the days ticked by I had to focus on indoor projects but thankfully I was pretty busy with work and so I didn't have a ton of time on my hands as it was. But come the first week of August we had had a big storm and it caused some damage.

Our property is primarily flat and mostly level so when it pours it just pools in some areas around the property and causes some MINOR flooding. This picture above is the corner of the front yard, that yellow is the dying bamboo along a broken fence. Just beyond that is the driveway.

This is looking off of our front porch to the west 2 acres of ours that is totally vacant, natural desert. It looks like much more rain out there than it really was.

After a good storm we had this small dead tree fall. Thankfully it fell away from the house and just "rested" on this fence, didn't cause any damage.

This is a tree in our backyard that as far as I can tell has never had a water source going to it. I'm not sure if it's a native desert tree or a planted evergreen tree. Because it hasn't had leaves I can't tell what kind it is. I've been watering most all of our trees weekly by hand just to try to spur them in the right direction. This guy started getting a few green leaves on it by the end of Summer!

You see the green leaves!!!

Being as the goal is 100% homesteading and being self sufficient that will eventually mean eating all natural and only eating what we can produce or reproduce here on the farm. The idea may sound far fetched but it really is what I want to do. So I decided to splurge on getting myself a great cutting board as I planned to be doing a lot more cooking than I normally do!

Not only is this cutting board awesome but it's also beautiful and I love having it on my counter at all times! Makes me feel somewhat like a...dare I say...grown up!!!

XoXo,

Elizabeth