Northeast Iowa Greenhouse Road Trip

Happy May Day! Today, alongside preparing May Day baskets with my kids for our neighbors, I am also planning my annual trip to Floyd, Chickasaw, Howard and Mitchell Counties, where I love exploring the various Mennonite Greenhouses. These greenhouses are bursting with colorful flowers, robust vegetables and thriving plants, and are worth the trip to see!

Country Fair Blog Party: May 2016

One of our May Day baskets waiting
for our neighbors to discover it
after they return home
Follow me on Instagram (@PlaggeVal)
to see more of our daily adventures

I hope you have had a great May Day!  Our family had a great afternoon (that turned into evening) delivering May Day baskets to our neighbors.  For some, the baskets were a surprise when they returned home, and for others, we turned into their supper guests. ;) Delivering May Day baskets has been a fun family tradition of ours for years, and for my family growing up.  It is a fun way of starting off the month and celebrating spring!  Another great way to start off the month is by sharing a new Country Fair Blog Party!

During the April Country Fair Blog Party, Ally's Sweet & Savory Eat's 25+ Spring Salads post was the most viewed from the link-up.  Congrats to Ally on getting the most clicks and receiving a Country Fair Blog Party Blue Ribbon!  I love this post and actually just made her Chopped BLT Caesar Salad from the round-up the other week.  This post will get you in the spring spirit and will give you lots of ideas for your next lunch or potluck dish.

And talking about recipes I've tried from last month's link-up, I've got to share about Jay Tried and True's Pork Fritters.  I made these last week and they were delicious!  We had them both plain and as a sandwich for easy eating in the tractor ;)  They were simple to make and were very filling.  Our entire family and our entire spring planting crew enjoyed them and that's why they get a Country Fair Blog Party Blue Ribbon.

My final Country Fair Blog Party Blue Ribbon from last month goes to Alarm Clock War's How Old Are Your Cows?.  Mary Beth does a great job of explaining her family's cow-calf farm.  I love how she made each stage of the farm and the cow's lives relatable.

I can't wait to see what great posts get linked up to this month's Country Fair Blog Party.  Country Fairs are all about food, family, friends, farming, animals, arts and crafts, canning, baking and more.  And that is what our our blog hop is all about too.  Feel free to join our Country Fair by linking up to 3 of your posts.  This blog hop is a great opportunity to check out new blogs, and if you blog yourself, have your posts reach a new audience.  Be sure to visit some other party goers and let them know you are stopping by through the Country Fair Blog Party.

Also, be sure to visit my fellow co-hosts:
Jan of Tip Garden
Laurie of Country LINKed and
Nicole of Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom

We're excited to see everything you share this month!  What is your favorite link from this month's Country Fair Blog Party?  Whichever post is mentioned the most in the comments will receive my "Readers Choice" Blue Ribbon next month.  Remember to Comments for a Cause!

An InLinkz Link-up

Country Fair Blog Party: Celebrations

The kids' egg carton flowers they painted and made for May Day

Happy May Day!  May seems to be the month of Celebrations & why not start with May Day festivities.  The kids and I are going to celebrate by delivering some May Day flowers to our neighbors.  Before I get into May celebrations, let's talk about last month's Think Spring Country Fair Blog Party.

Last month I loved looking at everyone's garden posts.  My favorite garden post was Grow a Good Life's Salsa Garden.  I personally plant a salsa garden and Rachel's post made me wish I had already planted my onions and garlic so they could actually get "full size"...  Maybe next year I'll be better prepared then!  Another great thing about this post is that she shares a salsa recipe I can't wait to try after I harvest this year's garden.

Another favorite blog post was Messy Kennedy's Small Bathroom Remodel with Big Character.  Spring is a great time to not only do spring cleaning, but a great excuse to do some remodeling or at least trying a new arrangement or style to a room.  I love how she reused an old dresser as a vanity in her bathroom.  And I love the sliding barn door as well.  This make me inspired to actually work on a small room in our home, our front porch.  I have so many ideas, I just haven't found the time.  This summer I vow to find the time so we can enjoy our porch all year long!

Lastly, I loved Of Kids and Cows's When You Give a Boy a Calf.  Spring is the time of new life and for Jodi's son, lots of new memories.  She shared why I love raising our kids on the farm.  Farm kids are taught responsibility, work ethic, discipline, compassion, joy, and skills for the future.  I can't wait till my kids are old enough to get involved with programs like Clover Kids and Bottle Lambs.  This post simply made me smile!  Who can't when you see his smile, right?  Love the PJs!

I can't wait to see what great posts get linked up this month as we Celebrate!  Throughout the month of May we are looking for your posts that have anything to do with this month's celebrations - May Day, Mother's Day, Graduation, Memorial Day, End of School, etc.  Man there is a lot to celebrate in May!  I can't wait to see your recipes, crafts, memories, gift ideas, etc. that associate with any celebration during the month.

This blog hop is a great opportunity to check out new blogs, and if you blog yourself, have your posts reach a new audience.  Bloggers, feel free to link up to 3 posts this month and be sure to visit some other party goers and let them know you are stopping by through the Country Fair Blog Party.


Also, be sure to visit my fellow co-hosts:
Country LINKed
Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom
This Uncharted Rhoade
Tip Garden

We're excited to see everything you share this month!  What new blog did you discover through this month's Country Fair Blog Party?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy May Day!

LP ready to deliver May Day baskets this morning

Happy May Day from our family to you!

This year our May Day baskets are cups of Teddy Grahams with a muffin liner flower and note attached.  Pretty simple besides that LP wanted to keep the Teddy Grahams for himself...  May Day baskets are a fun family tradition!

Happy May Day

Happy May Day from my family to yours!  I always remember making May Day baskets with my sisters and Mom when I was growing up for the neighbor kids (which meant we drove around a five mile radius to deliver them).  We would hop in the car, drop them off, knock on the door and run to the car before anyone could catch us, that way we wouldn't have to be kissed by any of them!  Since LP is kind of old enough to do it this year, we made May Day baskets for three of our neighbor kids.  We also helped make May Day baskets for shut-ins and members of our church in nursing homes in Sunday School this past Sunday.  Making the May Day baskets was a fun thing to do for our neighbors and members of our church.  If anything results from them, I hope it at least makes everyone smile.

By the way, no kissing occurred during the delivery of the May Day baskets!