Guess?

The Contest is Over!
Roseann correctly guessed it was Garlic!
Congrats Roseann!






Attention: I have updated this post by adding a couple of more pictures and a hint at the bottom, so scroll down to see the update!


I remember watching a TV movie called Skylark many years ago. It was based on a book by the same name that was written by Patricia Maclachlan and was one of a series of 5 books including Sarah Plain and Tall.  

 One of the things that stuck with me from that movie was the scene where the family dog is being introduced to Sarah and she asks what the dogs name is and is told Guess. And so she guesses... and guesses... and guesses again, not realizing that the dogs name was Guess!

And it seems, I am always remembering that when ever I hear someone say, "Guess?"
And the reason why I am telling you this now is because I'm asking the question of you!


Can you Guess?

As I was going about my farmly chores recently of harvesting such things as strawberries...

And lavender...

and this stuff...

 When I thought to myself... Hmmm? I wonder if anyone could guess what these things are? 

So then I thought, wouldn't it be fun to not only have people guess but to make it an unofficial
1st ever Bountiful Blessing Farm Contest* 
Ü

And what's a contest if there isn't a prize?

So, to the first person to guess correctly what the green things are that I am holding in my hand in these pictures, will be given (or sent depending on where you live) a $10.00 personalized Bountiful Blessings Farm Dunkin Donuts gift card! 


How Sweet is that? Literally even! You can get yourself something sweet and yummy for your tummy!

If you are the winner, you can choose (or I will choose for you) a critter from our farm or flowers from my garden or some such other thing found here at our homestead to personalize your card with.

Here's an example of what your card could look like using a picture of our Ducks

I love my ducks ♥

But the picture could be of any other variety of the Flora or Fauna found on our Farm-a.


You be the first to provide the correct answer and I'll provide the picture and the card.
Easy peasy!

So then... Do you care to give it a Guess?

For the sake of simplicity, and to keep guesses in one place, please go to our 
Bountiful Blessings facebook page
and leave your guess in the comments section under the link to this post

And I will contact the winning guesser to set up the card details.


So there you have it!

Happy Guessing!

*You do have to live in the USA

(and preferably for you, near a DD Ü)

I would add something like, 'no close relatives or friends may enter this contest' but I doubt any of my close relatives or friends could guess correctly anyway (and you know who you all are!) so, hehehehe... go for it!

Ü


Funny, because my one concern of doing this contest was that it would be very short lived, meaning I envisioned the first person to see it saying, "Oh, I know what those are!" and guess them first thing and then the contest would have been over... which would have been alright but I'd hoped for a little bit of suspense and mystery along the way.
Heh heh heh!


Well, I guess it's working!


Everyone is in suspense at the mysterious greenery suspended from my hand but no one has been able to guess correctly yet. 
So, I thought I would add a couple of more pictures that show more of what I am holding.

And perhaps give you an extra clue... 


These are not the main harvest but rather an edible by product

Any more guesses?

Meow... Meeee-oooow!

I love birds, they are so fascinating in their diversity, complexity and their beauty. And this is one of my many favorites. It's called Dumetella carolinensis or better known as a Gray Catbird. 

A rather non-distinct little fellow and one that you may not have even noticed with it's slate gray plumage but you may have heard it before, for it is named for its unique cat-like meowing sound.


But that is not the only sound they make as Catbirds are relatives of mockingbirds and thrashers, and they share that group’s vocal abilities, although described as more raspy and less musical. The Catbird copies the sounds of other bird species and strings them together making their own song with some songs lasting up to 10 minutes!



Their summer breeding range spans across southern Canada, southward to N.E. Arizona and eastward to N. Florida. 
They spend their winters along the East Coast from southern Massachusetts to Florida, and from the Gulf Coast southward into Central America and the Caribbean.


Catbirds like to build their cup-like nest close to the ground in dense thickets, woodland edges, parks and residential areas, especially near a water source. 



They're ground foragers with their main food source being insects like ants, beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars.  But when wild fruits are available they also eat them too such as holly berries, cherries, elderberries, poison ivy, bay, and blackberries.

They are sometimes garden pests, eating cultivated fruits such as raspberries, grapes and strawberries. And I know this first hand as I saw one fly out of my strawberry bed and upon closer inspection there were peck marks in the ripening berries! But alas, I can't be mad as it was my own fault, I should have had the netting over the berry bed already, which I didn't, but I do now! 


So now, the next time you think you hear the sound of a cat meowing outside think again... it may just be a Catbird! 

Ü

Wildflower Bouquet

I picked flowers from my garden and made a bouquet!

And the really cool thing is that almost all are wild flowers and weeds!
For flowers I have Tickseed Coreopsis; Oxeye Daisies; Loosestrife and Bedstraw and I tucked in a Lupine and a Foxglove.

And for the weeds... I used grass seed heads and a Curly Dock seed spike.

It's actually become quite the 'in' thing to do to use weeds and wild things!
I once saw bouquets of flowers at a wedding that had Poke Weed berries nestled in it! I thought it was ingenius and certainly made me think about what I could use for a bouquet! It seems some weeds are moving on up and taking starring roles mixed in with the good old standards. So move over roses, Poke Weed is coming on in!

Poke Weed Berries

Photo by Dr. John Meade, weed scientist emeritus
Rutgers Cooperative Extension

So go ahead and pick a vase of weeds!

Ü