Latest Critter Catches ~ Bunny, Bull frog, Praying Mantis

My husband, Jim, caught all these critters over the last couple of weeks. He's so great about showing new things to the kids. Of course, Noah (being 3 years old), is enthralled with new things and especially new animals.
Keera is holding the wild bunny she named Fluffy. Fluffy scattered with her siblings as their nest was being mowed over. None were caught by the blades thankfully. She was big enough that we hope she was able to make or find a new nest.


This beautiful bright green praying mantis was surprisingly slow when we let him out of the mason jar. They are wonderful for eating undesirable pests in the garden, so all are welcome here. :)





Noah was very sad when his large bull frog hopped away with huge leaps. Isn't it gorgeous with it's beautiful spots underneath it's body and it's webbed hands and feet?! We suspect it was a female as we now have many little frogs all over the garden. Too bad the gardening season is pretty much over. Regardless, we always have frogs in our small ponds, evident by their loud croaking in the evenings. It's a welcome sound heralding the spring after a quiet long winter.

The Best Salsa Recipe for Canning

30 tomatoes peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
10 cups chopped onions
10 cloves garlic
4-5 yellow banana pepper or 1 cup chopped jalapenos
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
2 cups vinegar
8 teaspoons pickling salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 large cans tomato paste

Simmer 1 1/2 hr, stirring often, at the end of cooking time add 1/2 bunch of cilantro if desired.
Jar and process, 35 minutes for pint jars and 45 minutes for quart jars.
Makes 17 pints

Enjoy!

This recipe came from my mother in law, Doris. She got it from her Canadian friend Fran.

We use less sugar and more jalapenos. Either way it is delicious and a great way to make use of all those garden tomatoes.

We use this salsa in place of rotel for a cheese dip, also added to mashed avacados with lime juice for guacamole and my hispanic friends like to eat it on rice. And of course, it's used as a dip for tortilla chips or topping on other mexican dishes.

Missouri Wildflowers Part II

This orange flower is so vibrant isn't it? It might be lantana growing wild. The bees sure did like it. There is a honey bee in the second photo.
I don't know if this fern produces a flower or not, but it's pretty enough for a photograph anyway.
Another one I don't know the name of, sorry!
More fern.
These were all taken in Warsaw, Mo.

Missouri Wildflowers

These wildflower photos were taken down in Warsaw, Mo. There are so many photo opportunities with all the wildlife and greenery of the beautiful wooded area where my mother and father in law live.

I believe this first one is called crown vetch. I've noticed it's being used as a ground cover quite commonly. And why not, it's so pretty! It has purplish pink flowers and a fern like leaf.

This could be called butterweed. The tiny yellow flowers are so bright and cheerful.

This white one may be called a fairy wand.
One of my favorites, spider wort. It's just about finished blooming for the year.
This pink one is very sweet and I have no idea what it is. I'm going to check the library for a wildflower indentifacation book and will update this post when I find out for sure.

*update~Unfortunately I was not able to find a good field guide for wildflowers at my local library. If you know the name of a wildflower I have pictured here, please contact me or post a comment and let me know. Thanks Tina@belleadorn.com
I have so many photos I will have to do a couple more posts with wildflowers. One will be dedicated to Queen Anne's Lace exclusively. I got some really cool shots to share.

Grandma and Grandpa's

We took the kids on a mini vacation last week down to Warsaw, Mo and stayed with my inlaws. They have a place surrounded by oak trees that overlooks a pond and it is so pretty and peaceful there. My mother in law feeds hummingbirds, orioles and all kinds of song birds, deer and turkeys. I didn't get pictures of the birds or deer this time though. I took pictures of all the wildflowers and will have several posts showing all the ones I could find.

My husband's sisters and their families were there as well and so we were a crowd of 18 people all together! There was lots of cooking and lots of helping hands too, thank goodness for dishwashers and inflatible mattresses! The kids had a blast with their cousins and the weather was so mild we had the windows open with fresh air in the house.

Missouri is usually very hot and humid by the end of June. The muggy hot air was here on Sunday to greet us when we arrived home. I think it will be here to stay for awhile too.

Here's a picture of the children with their cousins just before we left.

Purple Finch Nest with Blue Speckled Eggs

Me and my eggs, I know! But isn't this cute? A little finch wanted to make her nest in my hanging flower pot. I love this picture so much, it's the background on my computer.

*update ~ I am amazed at how many people all over the united states find my blog with this little post. Please leave a comment and let me know how helpful this picture is to you......I would love to hear others' stories too.

Elvis lives!!!

That is, our rooster Elvis! He has such an Elvis hair doo, Elvis strut and Elvis coolness, lol! Isn't he a pretty boy?
He's a barred rock plymouth chicken, my sister Jamie brought to me from Independence. She found him on craig's list. One of the aracauna hens is standing behind him here....It may be Robin or Nosey. Hard to tell from the back side, ha ha ha.

Belle Adorn

~Adorning You Beautifully with Unique Artisan Jewelry

Beaded Jewelry, Semi-precious Gems, Swarovski Crystals, Shells

Honey Locust Trees

Our honey locust trees have been blooming in the woods behind our house. Can you see the white blooms? They fill the air with their heady sweet fragrance.

Fresh Eggs

These eggs are just gathered and washed before I put them up.

The blue and green eggs are from our Aracana chickens. Aren't they pretty?!

The brown eggs are laid by our black australorps and yellow buff orphingtons.

We are getting more chicks this week from the Cackle Hatchery here in Missouri. The little peeps are so sweet, I'll be sharing them in a future post.