Projects Galore

Oh boy has life just been whizzing by or what!!!  We have moved yet again.  This time smack dab in the middle of town.  Not real crazy about it being a country girl at heart.  I do have enough room for my garden boxes and there is a nice variety of birds and squirrels to watch but I miss the quiet of the country side.  We live on a main street so it's constant cars, oh and less than a block behind a train track which my grandson absolutely loves.  He's obsessed with trains and the crossing gate is referred to as "Nana's gate".  

Anyway you know whenever there is a move you have a project list that goes on and on.  I did have a summer garden but that's over now I have started my seeds and planted starts of kale, collards (to be eaten I'm sure by my veggie loving dog), Chinese cabbage, lettuce, onions, radishes and soon I'll plant garlic.  The deer are actually worse here than they were in the country.  Not sure why that would be but in 4 years there I never had a deer issue and now it's a constant battle.  

We are working on the front porch now.  Well actually hubby is working I'm sitting on the swing watching and encouraging :-)  The house is a 1935 small house and the front porch was practically falling in.  Someone thought it would be a good idea to install these huge columns meant for a much larger house so they have been removed, the floor decked over and simple 6x6 columns are now in their place.  The house was white dirty and peeling all over.  It has been painted "grassland" green with "muslin" trim.  I have a nice wicker swing which is my comfort zone and I found the prettiest butterfly to hang on the wall.  I'm all about some butterflies now.  The front yard is mostly gravel since it's the only area for parking but there is a small section which is on the project list to be converted to a butterfly garden.

Okay so now I have to get some things in order so I can be a little more productive with the projects that I can actually work on.  Gotta go make a LIST. 

Days Gone Too Fast

When I logged on the picture of Broch and Annie tore my heart.  It was January of last year we lost Broch.  It was a quick passing but many would comment "at least it was peaceful."  Not true.  I watched and held him as he took his last breath.  I told him he was a good boy.  It only lasted about 20 minutes the last 5 of which were the worst.  He had shown only the normal decline of an old dog, arthritis, slowing down etc.  I suspect he had heart disease.  He would tire very quickly and not recover very fast.  The last few months I noticed he had taken to laying in the front room alone (but always keeping his eyes on where I might be).  The other two lay in the back room what we call out "Florida room."  He was loving, gentle and above all else spoiled as are all of our pets.  

I have lost dogs in the past and it was always difficult but Broch has been the hardest.  Ha, and he wasn't even "ours" until the last year.  I keep saying no more but I know that's not true.  My home is never the same without fur on floors and furniture and that warm body laying on your feet. The eyes that watch you expectantly from first thing in the morning till night fall.   The squeals (Annie squeals like a pig) when you come home.  So there will be another just not sure if it will be fostering or adopting.  I do know it will come from a rescue shelter somewhere there are so many now that need good homes.

We will be moving from this house soon.  Our little yellow house that I have come to love.  The gardens that have given us so much.  The bluebirds by the dozens.  The two hawks perhaps Mr. and Mrs.  Not sure if they are Cooper's or Sharp-shinned but they are beautiful.  The move will be closer to town to help and be nearer family.  I love that part of it but a town dweller I am not.  For me it's like losing part of my soul.  I will be missing a breath not to mention breathing in more carbon.  I love living out here and love the large walking space and just looking out the back and seeing nothing but trees and nature.  Oh well as we all know everything here is temporary and passing so we must learn to adapt and move along as life requires.

The greatest joy in passing days is watching the growth of my grandson.  He is learning and growing so fast.  There seems to be a spirit about him that is drawing.   He watches everything so carefully and really seems to be thinking intently on everything.  He talks ALL DAY LONG.  Which I know is a good thing and it's funny because his mom was the same way as a small child.  In fact, once we were shopping and the chatter was non stop a stranger commented "you sure couldn't lose her could you."  Hahaha, no way!!!!

Well more to come.  Gonna go pick some wonderful collards, radishes and onions and made a nice winter meal.  

Still plan to have some sort of garden in the city.  I'm sure I will increase my house plants also just to help keep the air clean.  

 

Lifes Transitions

Well it's been a while since I've been here. Life has taken many turns around this little place.
We had a crisis with my mother-in-law which has turn out just fine. Then there was a crisis with my dad that has been somewhat resolved. We just didn't have the time we needed to take care of my precious goats so we sold them. Fortunately we were able to sell Queen Zelda, Jessie and Luke as a "family" and to my knowledge they are still together. Zelda was in milk at the time and was quite the milker. Baba went back to her original owner and much to our surprise she was pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful little girl, a very very healthy little girl too. We sold Zelda's boy, Zippy, on the same day Zelda left. It was so sad to hear her calling across the pasture for him. It's just not right but necessary I know. So we are now goat free. Sad, I really miss their personalities and the life they brought to the pasture.

We also sold the chickens, chickie town and all. A nearby lady had gotten a government grant to start a farm where everything is done organically and as natural as possible. School children will be able to come to this farm and collect eggs and milk cows and see just where their food comes from I miss them too. They were always so busy.

We still have our dogs, in fact we have acquired another one. He is a black lab, 9 years old and has somewhat been a part of our pack since he was a pup. He belonged to my daughter. This is the greatest news of all, not the dog, but why we have him. My daughter and her hubby adopted the most beautiful baby. He is now 11 months old. He's been home for 3 months. Unfortunately the dog, Broch, did not like sharing with him. The baby has been the most joyful thing to happen in our family in a long time. It was quite the roller coaster ride of emotions just to get him here. First all the paperwork, then the long wait to get a referral, then the wait for the first visit, ahhh then they had to leave him there not knowing how long it would be to go back to get him. Finally the call to go bring him home. He was sick with a double ear infections which resulted in ruptured ear drums and they basically go and just have to take him out of what has been his home for a few months. It was a combination of excitement, sadness, joy, fear, uncertainty and so many more emotions not to mention the sleep deprivation of travel and sick baby. Sick baby that is somewhat terrified. They are all doing wonderfully now tough.

Needless to say the road between my house and my daughters (about a two hour drive) has seen much of my rubber :-) I think seeing my daughter be a mom is such a wonderful thing. To see her make such an effort to do everything she can for his best interest is just awesome. She makes his baby food and honestly after tasting the difference I'm not really sure why any baby would eat the jarred stuff except that's all they know.

We still have a small garden and are trying to do everything possible to keep chemicals out of our food. I now understand "why" killing prey bugs which also kills predator bugs only increases the bug problem. So this years I've been seeing a lot of lady bugs all over the place and every time I see them I say "hello lady bug good to see you, eat all you want."

Well hopefully I can post more regularly now. The smoke has somewhat cleared and I have a little more time. I'll get permission to post a pic of my grandson for my next post.

Squash, squash and more squash. Oh it's soooo yummy. I really wish it would freeze better but that's okay we can enjoy it while it's here. Here's a picture of some we grilled. Then to use the left over I just cooked a little pasta, tossed it with some pesto and topped it with some feta. Oh boy is that yummy. Also a picture of poor Rory. We fenced the garden this year to keep her out. She picked her share of tomatoes and collards last year so we thought we would help her restrain herself this year. So now she just stands at the fence with her long pout on. I usually give her a treat maybe a strawberry or something when I come out. Gotta go pick some squash, they grow overnight!!!!!

First fruits!!!

Yaaaa!!! It's just starting. We picked our first squash and zucchini today!!! Hmmm?? How will I prepare them?? I think I will just cut them in chunks toss in olive oil and roast, can't wait. Oh and then at lunch we picked strawberries. Just enough to share and have a little sweet treat. And boy were they sweet. It made me want to plant a whole bed of strawberries. The garden is growing quite nicely. I'm experimenting with some different things this year. I'm trying some of the "red" plastic mulch. It's suppose to make the plants produce better. We decided to plant a few things in the ground as well as our boxes, mostly because we just didn't have enough room in the boxes. So far it's doing well, all except the beans. They obviously are a treat for some insect. I managed to plant squash, tomatoes and cucumbers as plants then start seeds so I will have new plants bearing as the old plants are starting to finish up. I also plan to root some suckers from the tomato plants to have late season tomatoes. I have to watch Vince though he wants to root every one he pulls off!!!!

Bruce relaxes

Bruce, the rooster, is doing great. He has to stay in with the guineas because he's a little younger than the ladies and when they see him they bop him on the back or head with their beaks. I take him in to visit occasionally and he likes it but they are a little huffy right now. So we'll let him stay where it's safest for now. Plus they have most of their feathers already and he doesn't so he still needs a little more heat. Speaking of heat, I brought him in to hold for a bit and decided to lay the heating pad on my lap for a little extra heat. He usually snuggles up in the crook of my arm but he decided to wander down and check out the heating pad. He laid right down and stretched out his legs and laid on his side. It looked soooo funny. He closed his eyes as if to say ahhhh this feels good. I let him stay a bit but then had to get some things done so back out he went.

Introducing "The Boss"

Today we got out first rooster. His name is Bruce, named for "The Boss." He is a Speckled Sussex and my husband is from Sussex County, NJ so that put him in mind of Bruce Springsteen. He is adorable. I think he's going to be a sweet rooster at least I hope so. We put off getting a rooster because I've never met a "nice" rooster. I have read a lot though about roosters that are handled a lot as chicks and they become very docile with people. So that's what I'm going to try. I held him all the way home and he snuggled right down and went to sleep, then he woke up to poop :-/ and went back to sleep. When I picked him up for this picture he snuggled down in my hands.

So far so good. We also got our first ever guinea keets. The are cute, all different colors and I hate to say it but they don't seem very smart. They are much more skiddish that the chicks but hopefully they'll settle in after awhile. They are pretty though at least now. We're hoping they do a job on the tick and bug population around here.

The chicks are growing fast but are not nearly as big as the Orpingtons were at this age. Several of them have their feathers already and are still tiny. The Delawares have names, Della and Stella. Della will let me hold her and she's very curious. Stella doesn't come near. We got these a little older than our 3 day old Orpington and they are not very touchable yet. I don't think I would do that again. I like being able to handle them when they are babies. Okay off to tuck everyone in for the night!!!

New Chicks on the block!!!

Hey, hey we have new chicks!! This time we decided to get a variety of chicks instead of just one breed. The bad part is the guy we got them from talked so fast I don't remember all the breeds :-/ I know we have 2 Delaware, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Barred Rocks, 4 Americana and maybe 2 Sussex. I guess we'll just have to wait and see when they grow up. I think we'll get a few more about 3 or 4 months down the road so we can stagger the eggs a little more. They are soooo cute!!!! They were in a cage with a wire bottom so when we put them in our little house with shavings on the floor they immediately started doing the bath thing. It's so fun to watch baby animals to big animal things. You would think they were too little to know but nope they do things just like they know exactly what to do. Imagine that :-) Oh the last pic is for you Jenny. I found some pinwheels :-)

More recipes

I sure do like this cookbook. The recipes are simple and the ingredients are all fresh. The flavors are light but a hint of zing. These two dishes were from the Mexican section. A rice and bean salad with a cumin vinaigrette dressing and a Veracruz potato salad. I like the potato salad because unlike the southern potato salad I'm use to it's not heavy with mayonnaise. The dressing is a simple lime juice, olive oil and oregano. These will come in handy this summer too because you can make both ahead.

Watching tv with Papa

Recently my granddog "Broch" visited. He is a very sweet black lab and very well behaved at home. However when he visits Nana and Papa he gets to do special things. One of those things is sit on the sofa with Rory. I know "only allow what you are willing to live with." Well I pretty much like snuggling with Rory on the sofa so I'm willing to live with it. And as for Broch, well how could I allow Rory and not Broch. So we decided to watch a movie and Broch was already laying on the sofa so Papa took the other end. Rory reluctantly climbed up in the middle. Broch is not her favorite black lab. He "likes" her a little too much. She looked longingly at Papa, willing him with her eyes to get off the sofa. He didn't budge so she practically laid on his lap for the entire movie.

Good mama!!!!

Zelda is proving to be a wonderful mama!!! She's very attentive and watches her babies and listens carefully for them. I was wondering how on earth they were ever going to get a chance to try eating grain. You see, Zelda is and always has been a very fast eater. Some people say give them what they can finish in 15 minutes, well Zelda finishes her allotted 1/4 cup in 15 seconds not minutes. I added another 1/4 cup of dairy pellets while she's in milk and now she can finish her 1/2 cup in the same amount of time. That doesn't give the babies much time to explore and test their eating ability. Well today I notice she left about a dozen little pieces and kept pushing them around with her nose while the boys looked intently at what she was doing. I don't think they actually tried any but she left it for them. Yay, such a good mama.

And out in the grass their little noses are under her head looking at every bite she takes. Then they will try to bite off a piece. Not much luck yet but they are trying. I have seen them nibble on the hay a lot though. It's funny to watch it disappear as they nibble.

Cooking again!!

Oh my yum, yum. It's been forever since I cooked a regular meal. What with driving an hour each way to the hospital every day for the past two months, now going out to the barn constantly to check on everybody I haven't had time to even think about cooking or going to the grocery. Cooking is one of my most favorite things to do. I ordered a new cookbook, Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson. It's a collection of recipes from around the world with lots of pizazz, just my type of food. Today I had time to do a thorough grocery shopping and then try out a new recipe. It is an odd combination, at least to me. From the African section a wonderfully spicy Peanut Tomato Salad. Seeded diced tomatoes with hot pepper, onion and a dressing of peanut butter, olive oil, and lime juice, topped with crushed peanuts. MMMMMmmm!!!! I think this one will be a summer favorite once those fresh tomatoes start rolling in.

So Cute!!

These babies are adorable. The little black one is a feisty one, he hops and jumps sideways like he's saying "hey, I'm alive, I can move, yippie." The blonde one is still figuring out his legs are for standing and walking. They seem to be doing great. We let them out with mama for just a bit yesterday to get some fresh air and exercise. The little black one was watching intently as mama ate. He tried to bite a couple of blades but couldn't quite figure it out. Then he just went back to his usual supply of mama's milk. I laugh when they start to nurse and they do the little head bump first.

Zelda's big day!!!

She did it, and she did it beautifully!!! Yesterday was Zelda' official due date. When Papa let them out in the morning he noticed she was acting funny and "talking." Zelda never talks. I even noticed it from the window. He brought them all down to their regular pasture area and rubber her a little. When he walked through the gate to come in the house she immediately started for the barn, not like Zelda either. So we dressed and went out. The others were grazing in the pasture and she was standing in the door looking at us like "what took you so long?" She spent a little while pawing and getting up and down. She laid inside then got up to go outside. About an hour passed and I called Vince back because she had laid down inside and appeared to be pushing. When he got there she decided to go outside (it was warm but windy) so we let her. Then she really started pushing. And the moaning, steady constant, human like moaning. We felt so bad for her. Papa rubbed and massaged her and did all he could to comfort her. Then there it was, the "bubble." Papa popped it with some straw and there were hooves and a head, Praise the Lord. Out popped #1 as quick as you please. We put her in front of Zelda and she didn't waste any time started to clean her baby. We helped since it was a little chilly from the wind. Then more pushing, ha here comes #2. It all happened so fast neither of us remember if we saw hooves first, we think it was head then hooves but he popped out almost quicker than the first. AAhhhh! glad that's over. Now the clean up. We took every body in the barn and cleaned and dried and Zelda licked, and licked, and licked. She even licked Papa. She kept looking around like "wow, did I do that?" Yes you did beautiful girl. She did a great job. The moaning still haunts us though. In the pics of her head on Papa's foot and him rubbing her face she's constantly moaning. #1 is a big golden boy with blue eyes. #2 is a feisty black boy. They are all resting comfortably with their sweaters on and a heat lamp just for a little warmth. Zelda had a little treat of grain with molasses and a nice cup of hot coffee with molasses boy did she like that. I'm so glad that's over, it was amazing. I am not sure I could do all that with a large herd of animals. I worry too much :-)

So where have I been??

Well the days are zooming by even when nothing is going on but since Christmas Eve the days have been a blur. My mother-in-law had an accident on Christmas Eve. She fell and hit her head on a ceramic tile floor. Ouch!!! We think she fell early that morning and my daughter and son-in-law found her that evening, so she was unconscious pretty much 12 hours. They did emergency surgery and she was in a coma for several days. All in all she's doing amazingly well especially since the surgeon didn't really have much hope for her at all. She's doing physical therapy and has been released to an Assisted Living Facility to continue the therapy. We are now starting our barrage of doctors appointments and I'm sure they will all say "come back in a couple of weeks." So that's where I've been between driving to the hospital (an hour one way) and rushing in and out of my house it's been a crazy two months.

Now how is my little pregnant goat :-) She's a round weeble she is. I think she's going to pop any day. Her due date is March 5th so we are watching the signs constantly. I sure hope she picks a warm day to deliver. Generally goats will go into labor during the warmest part of the day in cold weather and the coolest part of the day in warm weather, that gives the babies a better chance of survival. Ha, guess that's another one of those things the Master thought of. I'm sure that doesn't always happen but generally that's what I hear. I went out today and sang her favorite song "Soon and very Soon." While I sang I gave her a massage, she kinds gets that spacey look in her eyes. Not sure if she's tuning me out or not. Only the goats like my singing.

Well off to check on her again, it's really cold and I sure hope she waits a couple more days.

Jesse the spoiled goat

This is Jesse. He is a love bug. Now you see Papa letting Jesse do something he shouldn't. We bought Jesse and Luke from Tranquility Acres and Sharon told us not to allow the goats to jump on us. Well Papa wasn't listening. Jesse likes hugs and back rides. Fortunately Luke is a little larger and hasn't learned this yet. He just likes to be loved. I think these goats are a little spoiled and Papa says I do that but I think these pictures prove otherwise, don't you?? :-)

Snow Snow beeeeautiful snow!!!

We had a great big snow and it complete shut down the town :-) Our town doesn't handle too much snow well but that's okay since it usually doesn't stay around long anyway. The dogs loved it. Rory danced and pranced and ran all around while Annie just tossed her ball in the snow then dig it up with both paws, snow flying all over the place. Papa decided to let them run in the pasture since the goats were in the barn, ha, Rory made a beeline for the pond and jumped in. Crazy dog. Rory has become our working dog. When we walk back from the barn to the house she insists on carrying something. I usually give her a scoop or bucket and she proudly carries it all the way to the house. Sometimes she doesn't want to let go.
The goats are staying in the barn during the snow. They have a little play area and we put them extra hay. They still expect a nice warm snack around lunch so I soak a little beet pulp in warm water topped with a little molasses and cut up oranges or tangerines. Jesse's not crazy about the beet pulp so I put a few peanut hulls on top for him. They are all happy campers.

The chickens took one look at their snow covered ramp and said "nope, not going out today." So they just stayed inside and of course I felt sorry for them so I made them some oatmeal with yogurt and raisins. They too are happy campers.

So all is running smoothly at our little pretend farm. We even have an official name "Midlife Crisis Farm." We decided this was our crazy time so we gave it a crazy name :-) I have come to realize though it's really not farming. Farming is hard hard work and it takes years to establish a farm as something really productive. What we do is a hobby. But that's okay we enjoy it. I have a hard time with the animals though. Since we don't raise them for meat and I get a lot of joy from them I don't see me ever getting to the point where their sickness or death is just part of the plan. I think that's one thing I will love about heaven, there will be no sign at all or even any hint of "death." No dead leaves, no dead trees or branches, no dead or "struggling to live" animals. An no mean people that are cruel to animals. Well I'm going out to walk in the mush now that the snow is melting. Gotta go see all the lovies!!

I think I saw her belly roll!!!!

We decided to let Wyatt and Zelda mate this fall and of course being new at this whole thing we didn't have a clue!! So we thought Zelda might be, possibly was, could be, should be pregnant. I have read there's really no way to tell for sure until the last 4-5 weeks. So she's been getting a little pudgy and round but hey that could be from what is causing the rest of us to be pudgy and round :-) But this morning I was brushing her (she loves to be brushed and rubbed) and I stopped for a few seconds and just watched and I saw a huge roll in her side. Cool!!!! I think she' s got a little goober in there. I'm so excited and nervous. You know just like people you read and hear all the horror stories about kidding.
We sold Wyatt and I think he's found a good home. We thought Basil (BaaBaa) may be pregnant too but not because we wanted her to be. She's not showing any sign at all of being pregnant, which is a good thing. She was just a little young yet.
Luke and Jesse are tremendously happy that Wyatt is gone. Now they can all play and jump and be frisky without Mr. Horns butting in. The fact that he had horns and none of the rest did was not a good thing. The breeder said he was disbudded but those horns say a different story.
Most of the ducks have gone to good home. There were just too many of them and darned if two more, a huge male and female didn't just show up for dinner and stayed. Where they came from I don't know. They were muscovy too. We're down to 6 chickens and plan to get a new batch in the spring. I think I'll try Speckled Sussex this time and maybe another kind.
That's a short update on the animals. It's been awhile since I've been in the kitchen. We had a sad accident with my mother in law over the holidays so we've been back and forth to the hospital since Christmas Eve. I'll post about that separately later today.
Gotta go check out that belly one more time :-) YAY!!!!

A new bread!!

I'm trying out a new bread procedure that Jenny and I thought sounded interesting. You mix up a batch of dough. The bread in this picture contains a mixture of whole wheat and all purpose flour, salt, yeast and water. After mixing you let it rise in the container for about 2 hours then pop it in the fridge. The next day you cut off a chunk, shape it let it rise for about 90 minutes then pop it in the oven and in 30 minutes you have a wonderful dinner bread. The remainder of the dough is in the fridge waiting for the next day. As it ages it gets a sourdough taste to it. The last dough of the batch was actually the best but they were all good. It's all in the book ArtisanBread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois. It's yummy and quick. I still make my other bread because I can make that 6 loaves at a time and freeze it, but this is nice for a hot dinner bread.

Looking good!!!!

My talented husband has started trimming out the windows. He's very handy I must say. The bottom of the old plaster wall had too many holes and such to patch so we thought we'd put up the bead board. I think it looks good!!!! I love the windows. This house has a lot of windows. I like the light so I'm glad. He's finished two and only has 16 left :-)