Valentine Tree

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Last Wednesday I  made some little sweet hearts when we had a 'no school ice day' and left you with a promise that I would show you today where I would put them BUT first I had to make it!  It's a Valentine Tree!!!

I got the idea to make a Valentine Tree ..... well really a tree that can be used year round for each holiday, just by changing up the decorations ..... from Leslie over at A Spoonful of Everything.  I thought it was such an adorable idea, I just had to copy it.  I hope you don't mind Leslie!

On my morning walk, I grabbed the pruning shears and headed out the door.  Since the ice storm, it isn't as easy to walk around as it use to be!

Making my way carefully around the property, I searched for the perfect branches that would make up my little 'tree'.  I wanted to make sure I chose some sturdy ones as I am hoping to use the 'tree' for Easter, Canada Day, July 4th ..... you see where I am going with this?

Finding the 'best' bush on the property, I carefully trimmed some branches ..... I don't want to kill the poor bush and headed back indoors where there is no ice that could break a hip or something.

Finding a large enough 'vase' that wouldn't topple once the branches were placed inside, I proceeded to decorate my Valentine Tree. 

 

 

Isn't it just cute?  So easy but oh so festive.  I do however have to make more hearts....either that or make my tree a tad bit smaller as there seems to be quite a few branches!  Now Suzan made a comment the other day to add red lights....oh how I wish I had some!  That would really 'add' to the tree.  I also love the idea that Katie had to hang them from ribbons in the window.  I think I need to make A LOT more!

 

 

Do you have such a thing?  If you do, I would love to hear about it and see it on your blog!  Just leave a comment and I will head over to check it out.  

 

         

Then after seeing Stephanie's Paper and Yarn Valentine Trees over at The Enchanting Rose, I wanted to make one of those as well!  My yarn was quite thick enough so I had to wrap around the paper cone twice to make it appear full. 

 

 

Thanks for the idea Stephanie, although yours are so much prettier! 

 

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Adding to the Fruit Trees

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Friends of ours, Barb and Dave, own the local greenhouse here in town.  In the spring and summer they sell everything from flowers to trees to bushes to shrubs to vegetable seedlings to soil.  They then close up for the months of July and August.  

They re-open again in September and sell fall flowers such as Mums and pumpkins, ornamental squash, straw, cornstalks and anything that one would use to decorate their home for the season.

Locals love their greenhouse and products as Barb and Dave take great care in providing only the best for their friends and customers.  The other day, the hubster and I stopped in to check out their new stock and say hi as we don't see much of them when the shop is open.

Around the corner I noticed an adorable and very healthy looking tree.. a Redwing American Cranberry Bush.  The leaves were already a glorious red and they looked almost like a maple leaf.  Well I just had to have it and the price was perfect!  Only $14.95!!!  This bush was already five feet tall!

We have been slowly adding fruit trees to the property and this will be a wonderful addition.  The berries are edible .... just imagine .... my own homegrown cranberries for Thanksgiving dinner!  That will, however, have to be next year as the berries have already gone through their cycle.

Loading it into the trunk, we drove our new little baby home but a heavy frost was threatening that evening and since I didn't want the leaves to fall off just yet, we brought the bush indoors for the next couple of nights.

Yesterday the threat of deep frosty nights had passed and it was time to put the bush in the ground.

After digging a hole big enough, I added a bag of Miracle Grow soil to the bottom to give the bush some extra nutrients for a good head start.

I then added a bucket of fresh water and dropped the bush into the hole.  Finishing up, I gave it another good bucket of water.

Hopefully the deer will leave the bush alone and let it grow into a large, fruit producing tree that we can enjoy for many years to come!

Do you add fruit trees to your property?  If you do, which ones have been successful?

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Visit to the Neighbor

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The other day when we went four-wheeling, we decided to take a break and stop to visit our neighbor Kathy.

Kathy lives about 1/2 mile from us down the road. She lost her husband to cancer about 2 years ago and now lives on her own with her 38 cats...yes, 38 cats on 20 acres of farmland. In the summer, you can find her outside puttering in the flowerbeds, playing with the cats or mowing the grass. She doesn't get many visitors so we try to stop in there regularly and give her a hand with anything she might need help with.

To my surprise, she has fruit trees just loaded with fruit! I had never seen anything like her trees. So I had to take pictures to show everyone her bountiful harvest this year. She told us to come and pick as many as we want since she doesn't want to see them go to waste. What an offer! I can imagine jams, jellies, pies, tarts, desserts of a wide variety due to her generosity. I will definitely be making sure she gets some samples to try when they are made.




Apples. Minnesota Honeycrisp. Yummy!

As you can see, the tree is beginning to die in a few places (I think) or maybe it just needs to be pruned. The apples are not wormy at all and she doesn't even spray them.

Crabapples!!! Luke's favorite. He must have eaten 20 of them while we were visiting with her. :)

Look at those crabapples! The branches are drooping in the weight of all the crabapples. The deer move in at night and eat the ones that have fallen on the ground.

They have just the right amount of tartness.

Branches laden with fruit.

Now this is my absolute favorite! A pear tree!!! Nope, didn't see any partridges up there.

I didn't know that a person could grow pears in Minnesota! Kathy said that they aren't quite ripe yet.

She also said that they taste just like a Bartlett pear. Mmmmm. Good.

Aren't they cute! This tree is amazing as it stands about 200 feet high and the pears reach all the way to the very top! Just amazing.

So very soon, I will have a ton of work to do with baking, canning, freezing and dehydrating and Kathy will be receiving a big basket full of all the treats.

She is a wonderful neighbor and so sweet. I hope she finds some comfort in knowing that we will always be there to give her a hand when she needs it.