Local Color

Since I can't seem to get a break with my own strawberries, I decided to drive over to a neighboring small town that has a couple of those 'you pick' strawberry farms.  They also claim to use organic growing practices and when I chatted with the farmer he readily explained what that meant.  He also confirmed my choice for ordering Chandler strawberries for this area.  He said they were great for home gardeners and the ones he sold us were quite tasty!  So, on the way there and back I thought ya'll might like to see some of the surrounding countryside.  I know I've shown similar pictures before but this area is a bit more hilly.  I've always thought it was very pretty out this way.

We've been getting out quite a bit these past couple of weeks in order to appease my wanderlust. I know going to pick strawberries isn't very exciting but we do other, more cosmopolitan things too!  The concert the other week is a good example.  I know it seems crazy to some that someone like myself, that likes to wander so much, would tie themselves down to a homestead type place but I don't know of another way to achieve the type of life I want of food and economic independence.  It's nice to have a partner that I know will take care of things while I'm out exploring or go with me on occasion too.

These 2 barns I have pictures of are a bit of an unusual style for the south but I think they are cool.  The lower roof on this one is sort of an odd design.

We also participated in a community yard sale yesterday.  We made a little money and, more importantly, got rid of some more stuff that might be cluttering the place here. We also had the good luck to be put next to a local Hispanic church at the yard sale that was raising money by selling home cooked food.  They had some magnificent tamales.  Holy cow!!  I LOVE good tamales!  Between me and Allen they made pretty good on their food.  I also got some nachos, which they talked me into putting pickled jalapenos on, and it was good! Of course, I might have made a few more dollars if we hadn't been put next to them but we had fun.

This is another unusual design for this area but oddly enough, there is one very similar to it about 15 miles south of here.  That one is on a dairy farm and this may have been one also at one time; it's now just for beef cattle.
So, today I am trying to get some loose ends tied up and cleaned up for tomorrow starts the big push to finish the house!!  I will still be doing pottery part of the week but I am really getting serious about completing the house and landscaping.  AND, I expect ya'll to give me a kick if I start slacking off any.  My first project is to complete the painting of the exterior.  I know, it's downright awful that I have not finished that before now!!  Once I get that done, which shouldn't take more than 2-3 days, I think I will then move to the kitchen.