My Birthday at the Vineyard

So the Phil took me to Gregory Vineyards for my birthday last weekend. It was so much fun. We got to sit down with the owner, Dr. Lane, and talk to him about the different vineyards we've been to and all the wines I've tried. (Phil prefers beer tasting to wine tasting.) We learned a lot stocked up on some muscadine wine. They also bottle ciders and juices. I'll try to bring some for Thanksgiving for everyone to try.

We also were told about a few of the "wine trails" in NC. Go here to see what I'm talking about. It looks like a good goal to try to go to each of them, right? The one the Gregory Vineyards is a part of, if you go to all four vineyards within a six month period, you get a t-shirt. I think we should start a collection.

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving being so late this year, it makes things a little different. For one, the hubby is actually working on Thanksgiving, instead of the weekend after. So we'll be in for the three-day weekend with our three crazy dogs to celebrate.

Hope to see you then!

Puppy Pics (and a kitty)

Look what I found. :)

Decorating Changes

Phil and I did some rearranging of our living room today. We moved the couch off the wall and put the saddle stand and two bookcases behind it. I really like it. We also moved all our horse pictures to the wall behind the couch. Here's how it looks. What do y'all think?

Happy Birthday, The Mom!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!! Here are a few yarn birthday cakes just for you. I'd like to say if I were in Texas I'd make one for you, but we both know how that might turn out. 

Hope Dad makes it the best day ever! 

Make sure he takes you to a vineyard and a yarn shop.

Love you bunches!!!

Puppy and kitty pics!

Puppy and kitty cuteness!

More garden stuff...

     As you can see, I've added a few plants to my garden pond. Oh, and we got the rocks put around it and the waterfall working. To be honest, we got the rocks and waterfall up and running, and we transplanted some moss and ferns (which may or may not make it). We did this all last weekend. However, we woke up Monday morning to an empty pond.
     We thought it was the waterfall, so we adjusted the hose. And woke up Tuesday morning to an empty pond and a huge bubble of water under the pond. So we got it out on Wednesday, got it dried (kitty litter does the trick), and back in on Thursday. And thankfully, Friday morning we still had water in the pond! Apparently the waterfall was right on the edge rather than overhanging just enough to not cause issues. Go figure.
     So I added these plants yesterday; a local nursery had a bunch of their water plants on sale (75% off!), and so, of course, I had to get some. From everything I've read about the ones I got (2 hardy water lilies, a pickerelweed, and a Louisiana iris), they'll overwinter fine in our pond as long as the water doesn't freeze. Since we have the waterfall, that shouldn't be an issue. Especially in our zone.
   So, now I've been driving Phil crazy looking up fish I can put in the pond come spring. It's too small for koi (which makes me a little sad) but large enough for several different goldfish species. I just have to figure out a way to protect the water lilies. I'm thinking about putting some type of netting cage over the pots about 6 or so inches so the new growth is protected from nibblers but the plants can still grow and expand. Not sure what to do yet, but I have a while to think about it.
     Here's a video of it. Doesn't it sound great?

Some knitting I just finished for Anna's friends.

I think he is a cutie! And a lot of fun to make. Now I am back to Christmas knitting. No peeking!

Hunter Pony

So I recently found a girl just a few miles from the house that needed an exercise rider for her 17 yr hunter pony. His name is Cotton, and he's only about 14 hands. He's a typical hunter pony in that he can be pretty rotten, but at least he's a horse to ride. The girl who rides him runs a pony rescue called Lilly's Ponies.

Here's a video of him after I rode him one day. I spent all this time brushing him and making sure he was nice and clean. Then I turned him back out into the pasture. Oh, well, what else was I expecting?

The Weekend Outside

 

Well, as you can see, we finally have our garden back up and almost running. Had to order a new pump for my pond because some random Great Dane decided it was a chew toy. He actually went into the pond, pulled the pump out of the pond, and chewed on it. All while it was running. Just goes to show how special he is.

This of course, is why we needed the fence. Phil did a good job on it, didn't he? All put together by hand, not those prefab panels (cheaper that way). We did have to raise the gate so it wouldn't drag through the mulch, but I like it that way better.

Phil has a friend with some property up in Person Co with a creek where we can get some rocks to line our pond with. That's the plan for next weekend. I'm just glad we have it all roughly put together. Now it won't be so hard to do the next steps a little bit at a time. I think I'm going to make a fairy garden in the grassy area in front of the AC unit, and we're going to put some trellis or pallet walls around the AC unit to block it from sight (more spots for plants).

What do y'all think?