Growing up on the farm in the 1950’s and 60’s, I always begged my grandmother to ring a dinner bell for my grandfather to come in from the fields. At the time, we did NOT have a dinner bell, but Nanny did have an old cowbell. 

One day, she finished dinner a little early (the noon meal for country people). She and I got the cowbell and hurried to the front yard. Dadoo knew that we were going to ring the bell that day, but apparently he had forgotten. 

There was a huge weeping willow tree in the yard back then, and I saw him duck behind it. I never told him that I saw him. He never knew how disappointed I was that I did not get to call him to dinner with the “cowbell.”

Standing at Nanny’s side, I rang the bell loudly, and we rushed back into the house to set the table. A few minutes later, he came in hot, dirty and tired. I never asked to ring the dinner bell again. 

When I was a little older, Mama found this old antique dinner bell and put it up at our house. Years later, when my husband retired from the Coast Guard and we moved home to the farm, Mama let me move the dinner bell to the back yard of the old farmhouse.

Bella, my granddaughter, loves to ring the dinner bell! It is a mile to the backside of the farm, and her Pappy can hear the bell and knows dinner is ready.  If it is not dinner time, he knows that something is wrong and rushes back to the house. We do not have reliable cell phone service, especially on the backside of our property, but the dinner bell is like our SOS.

Many times it is the simple things that make cherished memories for children. Baking cookies with Granny. Hot chocolate on a snowy winter’s day. Mama’s fried apple pies. The smell of fresh cut hay. Ringing the dinner bell to call Pappy home for supper.

If you would like to add a dinner bell to your farm or homestead, I have included a link here. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means, if you click on a link on my blog and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  THANK YOU for helping me start a college fund for Bella!  This FARM BELL is a large, 14″ heavy cast iron bell that should last a lifetime. It is a vintage style.

The old farm house is currently under “reconstruction.” It was built in the 1890’s. The original framing was done with hand wrought square nails. This will make three times in my lifetime that it has been remodeled. We have just replaced the tin roof, and some siding also had to be replaced. Fresh paint is next, inside and out.

I cried when the back porch had to be torn off. When my grandfather remodeled the old house back in the late 1950’s, he added this porch, and I do not remember the house without it. Unfortunately, the pitch of the roof did not allow for access, and part of the eaves had started to rot.

Because of this problem, we cannot replace the porch. I am thinking about adding an arbor with some type of climbing vine. But I know my husband is going to veto this idea even before I mention it! He does not want plants near the house, much less climbing on it. I think it must be a “man” thing.

A word about the raised bed in the foreground. We constructed 6 of these back in March–3 on either side of the walk that runs from the old farm house (circa late 1800’s) to the newer farm house.

So far I have only been able to get 3 filled and planted. But I am LOVING them! It is so handy to be able to stroll down the walkway and pick salad greens for lunch! And every time I walk by, I make it a point to pick out any grass that I see.

We have always planted in-ground gardens, and they have produced all that we could eat. My husband and I grew up with this type garden. It is sometimes hard to try something new, especially when what you are already doing is so successful.

But I thought it would be nice to have a kitchen garden with things like salad greens, slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper plants and squash right outside the kitchen door. These raised beds seem like they are going to fit the bill perfectly! Of course, my husband will still have a huge garden for corn, beans, peas, okra, cantaloupe and watermelon.

A lot of people have asked about where to find an enameled dishpan like the one in the photo. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means, if you click on a link on my blog and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  THANK YOU for helping me start a college fund for Bella! Here is a link to a similar DISHPAN.

If you would like to read more about the raised beds, there is a blog post with details: cost, material list, how to videos. Check out the post here.

Bella’s Raised Garden Beds https://cozykitchenwoodstove.com/2023/02/09/bellas-raised-garden-beds/