Ohhh excitement,

I've finally found a bunny. Well, actually 2 baby bunnies.

I've been looking for a place that wasn't very far away since gas is around $3.95 a gallon here now. They'll be ready next week.

Time to get busy and build some cages and a chicken tractor.

For those of you who don't know what a chicken tractor is, just google it for pictures. Basically, it's an enclosure made from wire and wood that will keep the bunnies safe and secure while they keep my grass trimmed down this summer.

That will be their main job since I don't have a lawn mower. And of course to keep Dolly company. She needs somebody to talk to, especially when I'm working long hours.

As soon as I get my camera fixed, I'll have pictures.

Ohhhh, excitement!!!

I simply cannot recommend the movie,

. . . especially to someone 13 years or younger. Or a parent thinking it was okay to take their child to see that kind of violence.

I've not read the book yet, so I cannot compare the two. However, there were several things in the movie that did not ring true.

One is you cannot eat squirrel or rabbit in warm weather. I'm not sure about birds. Which begs the question as to why Katniss was always hunting, but not fishing? American Indians developed a dam funnel technique in which fish followed an increasingly narrow waterway to make catching them easier.

Another key factor is if the districts had been segregated for 75 years, problems would develop within the gene pool. Case in point, a past history within the Amish communities of a higher percentage of birth defects.

Applachian people have a long history of living off the land. If game were not available, wild plants for food and medicine would be to some degree. Holistic medicine passed down from the Cherokee people is still in practice in this area of the country.

Gardening, seed saving, canning and pickling are also very much in evidence, especially in a suppressed economy.

I could go on and on, but the one major flaw in the movie was how the camera kept swinging around from one spot to the next, making me rather dizzy.

The popcorn was good though.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

A few words on seeds,

I've had great fun lately ordering seeds from a vast variety of places. I have noticed, however, that many of the seeds available on-line are also for sale locally. So along with non-hybrids and non-GMO, I've been looking for new or unusual varieties too.

For instance, Thompson-Morgan offers a zucchini that turns into a pumpkin.

Did you know that Ferry-Morse seeds are guaranteed to grow? I can attest to the fact that my cucumbers did indeed do well last year. F-M even sells quite a variety of organic veggie seeds.

This year, Wal-Mart is carrying Seeds of Change brand. I've planted those in the past and they did great.

Some companies like Annies Heirloom Seeds are small and offer a limited amount of specialty seeds, so you need to order early. She offers a nice variety of lettuce too.

Parks located in Greenwood, SC, has a lovely variety; however, they charged me $9.95 for shipping and handling. Whereas, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, only charged $3.50 for about the same amount of seeds. AND, I got a hand written thank-you from Bakers.

Groco is an American company and can be found on E-bay. They are by far the cheapest for the largest amount of seeds. They may not have as wide a variety as some catalogs, but still a nice selection for the average gardner.

Our pal, Siobhan, showed us her Botanical Interests seeds the other day, so I jumped onto the site and am currently working on my order. They have a warty pumpkin that looks very interesting.

The absolute best variety of flowers (in my opinion) can be found at Swallowtail Seeds, a California company. I've ordered several kinds, most of which I had never even heard of before. If you want to see if any of them are growing, you'll have to stop by.

A store I found out about accidentally is an Amish owned business located in Berlin, Ohio, Berlin Seeds. My catalog came yesterday and it is FULL of information. Not just the seeds they offer, but fertilizers and pest control, organic, non-organic, gardening tools/gloves, stuff for making your clay soil better, stuff to keep your hanging baskets healthy, etc. etc. etc. They don't have a web site, but their number is 330-893-2091.

Most states have a Farmers Market Bulletin in which ordinary folks, those who actually know something about gardening, sell their seeds. I love this idea. Talk about grass roots growing. Go on-line and see if your state has one, won't you.

Don't forget to check out your local, home-town hardward/feed/garden center. Those are the folks who really know your zone and what seeds will work for you. Plus, they'll be there for you to answer questions down the road. If we support the small business, the small companies who are trying to keep unique and wonderful strains of flowers and vegetables going, we'll all be better off for it.

If you have a favorite seed source, do leave a comment and share. There's probably something I haven't ordered yet.

Let's go play in the dirt . . .

Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hoppin' down the bunny trail.

Sorry couldn't resist. But Easter is just around the corner.

And I've decided that Dolly needs a buddy . . . a bunny buddy.

So if you happen to know of anyone selling Flemish rabbits in North Georgia, Eastern Tennessee, or Western North Carolina, would you let me know.

I'm looking for 2 fawn and 1 gray.

Thanks sew much, San n' Dolly

There's nothing like a little tornado to stir things up.

Dolly and I are fine though, as it mainly hit the business section of town. A couple of the grocery stores were damaged, a lot of trees came down, especially on the mountainside.

This is alongside the main road into town.

The high school and middle school sustained some damage, but volunteers were out right away on Saturday helping to clean up.

An old feed store was badly damaged along with a storage building. You can see debris scattered in the background. Some homes were damaged outside of town. Thankfully, there were no injuries or loss of life even though it came through when folks were having dinner at a popular restaurant and were shopping at Wal-Mart.

I spoke with a Wal-Mart employee on Sunday who had been in the store when it came through. She said it sounded like a freight train and of course she was scared as all power was out. They locked the doors and moved everyone to the back of the building.

As I drove around town on Sunday looking at the various used car lots, gas stations, stacks of firewood for sale, I thought how much worse it could have been with all kinds of debris flying through the air not to mention the fact that houses are much closer together in town.

So all in all we were quite lucky. I live several miles outside of town and never lost power.

Very lucky indeed.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .