Finding Beauty in the Winter Garden

The Winter garden teaches us to listen, to rest, and a time to plan. The roots are getting ready for the upcoming season. The trees are starting to make an appearance when spring awakens and tells the trees to begin blooming. 

Hello and good day,  today I am showing you the beauty that can be found in the winter garden. When ever  I say the word winter garden I automatically think of the book I read in 2025. Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah Winter Garden . 

 

A beautiful story a must read. It will touch all the senses. All the feelings. Here is one of the gourds left in the garden. They will dry up and be ready to paint by the time it’s time for the spring cleanup. You would first scrub them in a little bit of bleach water using a rough sponge or a soft wire brush. Something with texture to remove the peeling skins of the gourds. 

That’s a good view of the deep snow. 

The vines of the tomatoes 

Garebear had bought me this one Mother’s Day. I really enjoy it. It’s garden art. 

Welcome, Dusty put this together for me last year and I paid him a little bit of money. It is great for the vines to grow on. It’s also a great garden entrance. 

This was one of best years of the gourds since NC. One year we had so many that I made numerous fall scenes and gave so many away. It was when Dusty was small. 

This is Abigail our oldest granddaughter with Dusty. I had seen this in the Timehop one day and saved it. That was the year we had so many gourds of all shapes and sizes. Even the caveman club gourd. The kids used to run through them. It was magical. 

It says exactly what I needed to share. 

The flag I got reminds me of Sophia, Rosie and Kevin. Just makes me happy to see it. 

The strawflower with snow. 

The strawflower these are so beautiful in the summer. They will be casting all their seeds about for springtime. 

You know I can’t stop sharing these pictures of the beautiful birds. I always say when I see a cardinal it’s my dad Richard. Last week I had seven cardinals at the feeders at once. Six males and one female. It was the most I had ever seen at once. I watch them and off in a distance you can see them. They will wait for the bluejays to leave. Sometimes! 

Yes it does! The seed catalogs the dreaming of new ideas and plans for the future. They always say to plant a garden is to believe in the future. I am thinking of all the possibilities. 

The other night we made nachos they were so delicious. Easy meal and everyone always likes it. 

It was the usual day. Tomorrow will make Day 17 of the 100 Days. I feel like I am questioning this adventure I want to make it happen as I have goals involved. I have already learned so much about how I can paint intuitively and not even think about what I am going to make. Today while painting the watercolors I was a purest where usually I add all the mixed media in. Today I stayed with just watercolors. Which watercoloring has always been my favorite painting.  I hope today as you read this you see the beauty in the winter garden or perhaps read the book. 
Much love and happiness.
Good vibes for a great weekend, 
Dawn Gallop 

 

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Goats, Coats, Bees and Cheese ..........Smithfield Farmers Market on Saturday April 14, 2018

 Good Morning everyone........this is going to be sweet and to the point. Tomorrow we will be at Smithfield Farmers Market in Smithfield Virginia from 9-12noon behind the BSV Bank on Main Street. There is also other great things to do in the town on Saturday so if you can stop by. The above pic is of Violet and Milly.......Milly was one of my goats I sold several weeks ago....and is living the "BIG Goat Life" these two are so spoiled they live in baby onesies and diapers and of course drink from baby bottles. They are in the house until they are six months old as the lady told me. WTG Milly....we miss you!

See how sweet and precious Milly and Violet have it. Adorable precious goats! #GoatLove 

Remember this Saturday from 9-12 noon April 14, 2018 #SmithfieldFarmersMarket 

 I made several jams this week and let me tell you once again as if you haven't heard it enough.....another busy busy busy week......I want a less busy week to enjoy painting or reading....but that will come later....after planting season. This jam is the Strawberry Fig Vanilla Bean Jam which is very much asked for and goes very fast. Vanilla beans have went sky high on price and it has been hard to come by to be able to afford them. Also I do have two bottles of the aged vanilla extract that aged for more than a year.....soooo if you want that better get it fast.

The strawberry fig vanilla bean jam, also here lately I have the worst time getting jars...well this size as I haven't been able to buy the pallets like before but going to Walmart, Food Lion, and Kroger the jars on the shelf will only be like two cases....I just hope that soon there will be more jars in the stores. 

I got lots of stuff done this week, deodorants, rose waters, beard oil, soaps (of course the soaps I did this week will need to cure) I also got several more salves made, we labeled a lot of soap that was already on the shelves. I continued to transplant in the greenhouse you can see the video on YouTube below I also made lots of cheese, lots of fermented foods and cooked dinners and ran errands as needed. I hate having to leave as there is sooo much here to do. My title of the post this week is Goats, Coats, Bees and Cheese....well as always we are milking goats (story of our lives) and Sunday I was at Riverview Farmers Market in Norfolk Virginia which was fantastic! I post a lot of pic on Instagram as stampmom9 so if you would like to see them go to Instagram and look for stampmom9 

I am always cold so I am always wearing a coat but on Sunday the wind blew and I tell you I FROZE! It literally took me till Thursday of this week to not feel tired and wore out from Sunday as basically I was in the wind and cold from 8 am to 5 pm that evening, yes its a much longer market but when its warm it will be wonderful. Lots of zoo goes, and park fun!

Well and as far as cheese and bees....you already know that story. 

This is a video on YouTube of my plants in the greenhouse please take a look everything I have planted from seeds

Our bees, I took I small video of one of the hives and you can also here the rooster crow and the bees buzzing and hauling lots of pollen hauling in.....work work work!! It is just beautiful watching the bees....They are truly AMAZING!  

This coming week is my cheese class at Wine and Cake Hobbies  you can view and make purchases for my classes 

at this link

https://www.wineandcake.com/cooking-baking/for-the-chef-or-cook/farm-to-table.html

Farm to Table

You still have time to sign up for Tuesdays class I will be having cheese to sample and show you how to make it. 

Next Saturday 

Next Saturday 

Well it looks like its going to be a beautiful Saturday and I hope you get out enjoy your day the weather is going to be outstanding. 

I have been reading a new book now its called 

Flat Broke with Two Goats

I am loving this book and it is sooo true! 

Also Jane Davenport has two new books coming out real soon check them out here...

Fabulous-Figures

and Whimsical-Girls

I can't wait to get these copies. 

Until next time have a FAULOUS WEEKEND 

Best,

Dawn Gallop

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Places we will be this weekend...........Smithfield Farmers Market and Riverview Village Days Plus Some Baby Goats and Wildflowers

Hello everyone well it has been spring break all week and we had big plans......but you know how they can change in the blink of an eye. We have been cleaning up the limbs still from the March first Northeaster and Dusty had several ticks on him and of course one attached under his arm. Well Tuesday night he developed a "really bad headache" and then a fever......of course being a mom to nine kids and spending most of the years without any health insurance....you just don't run to the doc, you use all the home remedies and old school ways to relieve symptoms and "HEAL" and as nurse I also "know too much" you know the old saying "what you don't know won't hurt you, and what you do will." Well of course I got worried about the tick bite.....so I took him to the doctor on Wednesday and they ran some labs...and really no meds and all the labs came back normal and we would be waiting until Monday or Tuesday for the "tick borne" labs. He has been sick all week and he feels better during the day as long as you keep some children's Motrin in him. He was able to ride his scooter on Monday and Tuesday have bonfires at night and cook hotdogs on the fire, but it can really suck for a child to be on spring and be sick. My poor baby.......but as Dusty told the doctor he wasn't the baby of the family......I looked at him funny "what" then who is Dusty????? He said Ledger!!! LOL. Dusty he is your nephew and our grandson.....then I told him you might not be a baby but you are my baby! So its been a super busy week...well did you expect anything else???? LOL

We had more baby goats born and of course the bottling continues...the high tunnel preps and the greenhouse still full and growing. Still milking......which never stops...and of course we did extract honey late one night. 

Saturday is calling for rain and a sleet snow mix......really April and on coastal North Carolina yeah I'm still running heaters in the greenhouse at night but that is always expected. So IDK how this will go for tomorrow but I do plan on being at Smithfield Farmers Market tomorrow from 9-12 noon. So everyone think "NO RAIN" tomorrow morning and maybe it won't rain! 

April 7 Smithfield Farmers Market from 9-12 noon 

I have decided to attend the Riverview Village Market on the 2nd and 4th Sundays starting this Sunday.....as I told David the manager I was a little worried to attend more than one day a week even though its only two days a month mostly.....sigh I did this before (not Riverview) but attended more than one market a week and I tell you...then you can't be a farmer.....unless you have tons of help and can leave others to do your jobs. So this will be a new experiment for me this year.....as I will try again....yes I do need the money and YES most defiantly I want to do the best job I can.....so we shall see how my new adventure goes. Because to me Sunday is a day of rest or a day you want to just EASE into the day.  

Of course I made kombucha again this week and I tell you it took me all day pretty much 10 hours to make the teas and bottle the rest and transfer scobys etc.....its worth it totally as I tell you my husband Bruce really loves it! It is just soooo yummy..... if you want to see my recipe and how I do it go 

HERE 

this time I did grape and pineapple I got way more bottles I just needed to get them put up and out of the way for each batch, the hooch tops are the grape and the flag are the pineapple

This is catnip which has stayed alive all year in the high tunnel and now is flourishing 

The radishes are really growing and all the water lines are in and ready to go 

The seedlings are doing well in the greenhouse looking forward to going outside in the high tunnel

Early jalapenos I grew from seed....lots of them I will bring some to sell at the market

Some of the tomatoes growing 

the okra 

               Bruce built me more boxes this year so I am excited for that. See all the waterlines in

                                            The high tunnel is all ready now

                                                                    More of the boxes

One of the baby goats born this week 

Welcome little one 

My wildflower seeds came this week for the bees this year I ordered 5lbs which let me tell you is expensive, we had such awesome luck with the wildflowers last year we wanted to plant more for the bees plus its great ground cover and BEAUIFUL plus other pollinators love it too. 

These are some of the wildflowers we grew last year 

The field was loaded with flowers and you cans see the hive bodies behind the field 

Butterflies love them too 

of course the bees absolutely love them!! 

See all the hove boxes behind the flowers 

A friend of ours let us use his homemade extractor and it has helped out so much as we were doing four frames at a time with another borrowed extractor this extractor is automatic and holds ten frames plus you don't have t flip the frames each time! 

The uncapping tank 

Bruce uncapping the frames to extract the honey note all the hive body boxes in the background each needs to be extracted and full of frames full of honey, I know always too much to do 

uncapping the frames of honey 

the frame totally uncapped  

See the honey draining through the screen 

Coming out of the extractor 

You can see some of the BEE POST 

HERE

and 

HERE

and 

HERE

This is Milly who now has a new home and look at that SPOILED 

                                    Milly and Violet in their onesies and diapers #GOATLOVE

Bruce found this adorable turtle in the high tunnel of course I put him or her under the greenhouse for shade and plenty to eat 

You see how tiny it is 

I will be at both of these events coming up so please note that 

Well remember hope for no rain tomorrow......at least not at market time. Enjoy your weekend I am off to replant some more in the greenhouse and paint some more hive body boxes and then make some strawberry jalapeno as per request. Hope to see you this weekend. 

Until next week! 

Dawn Gallop

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