STEPPING STONE

The Pekin Rotary Club holds a silent auction annually, in June.

I look forward to going to this with Dennis.  We eat dinner, have a few drinks, and bid on fun items.

We also take an item of our own to donate to the auction.  This year we offered a snail flower pot with pink petunias.

 

 I bid on this patriotic stepping stone and I won!

One of the members crafts this by hand.  I have a light blue, tulip stone he made three years ago.

I guess I am starting a collection. 

 

 

So, I tried it out.  I took a step.

But I can't bear to step on it!  It might get dirty. 

Look how dirty my work shoes are.

 

I tried again and still could not step on it, only around it.

Then I tried my left leg.  It just sorta bent at the knee and went west.  Again, not stepping on the stone.

 

That's ok, I have seen paw prints on it so I know someone around here steps on it.

 

 

SWEETIE PIE IS BROODY

Our little Sweetie Pie is "broody".  This means she wants to sit on eggs and hatch baby chicks.  This is a natural instinct for hens.

When they become broody, they quit laying eggs.  In fact, they never leave the nest except for a sip of water and maybe a bite of food.  They are not fussy whose eggs they sit on either.  In fact, Sweetie is sitting on Maureen and Colleen's eggs, hoping they will hatch.

Sweetie can make it very difficult to find the eggs she is hiding.

A hen has a way of almost attaching herself to the nest, making it hard to get your hand under her to locate the eggs.  

SELLING FLOWERS AT THE FARMER'S MARKET

 

 

Last Saturday, we drove to the Peoria Riverfront Farmer's Market.
Weekly during the growing season, vendors sell their produce, baked goods, and even crafts from tents set up along the Illinois River. 

This is a retired man who make stained glass pieces with his wife.


Dogs are welcome too.



Women in summer dresses, moms pushing strollers, and an old couple holding hands.............oh, that was us!  It's a friendly atmosphere.


As we looked at each display, my wheels began to turn.
Little did I know Dennis's wheels were turning too.  We were coming to a similar conclusion.  I studied the fresh flower and herb arrangements. 




Tired of walking on the cement and getting hotter as the temperature rose, we opted to head over to our favorite coffee shop in Peoria Heights.  We rested and shared our thoughts on the market. 

We both agreed we have some nice, established, flowers blooming in our garden and it might be fun to try selling them for profit.
The wheels continued to turn. 




Dennis found some great books on raising flowers for profit and I began to cut flowers and put them in tubs in the basement to see how well they kept during the next week.  I contacted a friend, who is a horticulturist, for advice.





This past Saturday, we took our flowers to Heritage Farmer's Market in Tremont.  I arranged them on the table and priced them.
This first trial run was actually very helpful.  I was challenged by several tasks.  Should I gather flowers together by color or by size?
Which colors look best together.  How many leaves do I cut off?
Ew.......ants on my table!

I experimented with throwing in some variegated leaves from my trees and bushes.  It was fun!

It was also difficult to keep Cupid from eating the greens.  I had to put him in another room.

This is our display.  We will have more flowers next week.
Buy A Posey For Your Rosey. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight I planted more flowers.