God's Plan For Us...

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalm 52:9

Removing Garden Carpet...

You know that Ben Franklin saying... "A stitch in time saves nine"?  Yep... truth!  We put off weeding in favor of other farm chores, mainly keeping up with the strawberries and now we will pay dearly.  We have hours of weeding ahead of us.  Almost all of our garden beds are entirely carpeted.  Pretty but not practical.  Between rain, hot and humid weather, mosquitoes and other commitments we just haven't gotten out there to do it.  Now we have no choice.  Our veges are still healthy and growing but I don't want to lose harvest because I didn't weed.

We have chosen to go organic and not use any chemical weed control.  I don't even want chemical fertilizer on my lawn.  We have tried mulching: wood chips, leaves, straw, newspaper... we still have weeds.  There just isn't anyway around it.

I actually find weeding relaxing but my children are not fans and I don't like "whine" in my garden.  That is what makes weeding unbearable for me.  I think today, since it is hot and humid, we will use the 1/2 hour on, 1/2 off method.  I also think my 1/2 hour off will be spent in the kiddie pool or fighting the mosquitoes back in the woods and setting a lawn chair in the creek.  I admit to having elements of redneckness in me.

Despite the weeds we have peas galore, tomatoes forming, squash and beans blooming and basil out of control and tons of greens!  I'm thinking I need to watch Craigslist for a cheap used electric stove to put outside for an outdoor canning kitchen so I can put up the bounty without heating the house up. (We are being frugal and trying to avoid using air conditioning.)

Well, I guess I'd better feed the tribe lunch and head out to "roll up" the "carpet".  I wish it were going to be that easy.

Have a great day!

 Carpeted root crops!

 

 Beans

 

 Zukes

 

Tomatoes 

 

Basil 

 

Peas 

 

Endive, Chard, Kale and some Dill

Friday Read & Write!

This week on the reading list is: The Millionaire Dropout by Vince Stanzione. I would classify it as a motivational or self-help book.  It's full of "love yourself" and other humanistic ideas but there is some good information on priorities and finding time and some good ideas on building a home-based business.  The premise is working from home/having your own business will make you happier, healthier and more financially sound than merely working for someone else.  I found some good ideas to run past farmer John to help us earn a little more income.  It is a fairly new book published sometime earlier this year.  I found it in my library's New Book section.

 

 Also at the library was the newest edition of Country Woman.  I'm particularly interested in the article on Author/illustrator Jan Brett.  She is a lover of chickens and uses her hens for story ideas to write about in her children's books. Hmmm.... Mrs. P and Mrs. Q approve of this idea!

I also picked up the next Cappers.  Great articles this month, especially the article on deep litter management with chickens.

 

Have a great day! Go read and write!

Happy Fourth of July!

Remember why we celebrate!

 

 

 

15 Years & A Movie In Production...

Yesterday was the birthday of my second eldest. Andi Rose Lewis has been blessed with 15 wonderful years of life and we have been blessed by her in return.

We spent the day celebrating as a family.  The other kids and I took care of her daily chores as well as our own and then, after lunch, she opened her gifts and then we partook in cake and ice cream. (Orange Soda Cake, Creamsicle Ice Cream, and Orange Soda). We then went to Barnes and Noble to pick her up two books that she wanted that were released on her birthday. We finished the day off by having her favorite dinner... Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and watermelon.  I am so thankful for this wonderful, Godly, young lady.

 

Also... I found out from reading The Deliberate Agrarian about a new Christian, Agrarian movie being made called Beyond Off Grid.  It looks really good and I am looking forward to it's release.  My husband and I have been working on self-sustainable living (though we have a long way to go.) and I hope this film will inspire us and educate us. I really hope the grid doesn't go down but it seems to me to be prudent and know how to live without it if needed.  Let's face it, we've only had around 125 years (ish) of electricity in history.  Seems foolish to forsake all the knowledge of those who came before us as primitive and not needed.  Our normal is actually not normal when viewed through the scope of history. 

 

The novel I am working on touches on these subjects too.  The Follower is set in post-peak oil and though electricity is still around society is very much changed and agrarianism is once again the main way of life for most of society.  Anyone want to donate the use of a weekend cabin and babysitting for me to write more?  Haha... just kidding... sort of.

 

Have a super Fourth of July! 

 

Keeping Chickens... Hazardous?

It appears there are dangers associated with keeping chickens.  Chickens, in fact, are a "gateway" animal and hardly harmless barnyard creatures.  Go here for the facts!

Did you enjoy that?  I sure did and must say I'm completely guilty of it all! 

Rooster Pedicures & Other Chicken Tales

Yep, you read the title correctly.  Today my husband gave our two adult roosters a pedicure.  Three of the four hens they have access to all have bloody gashes on them and these hens all get along with each other.  The roosters are the culprits.  Their spurs were so long and pointy that every time they got busy with the ladies they were gashing them. So Jack and Sawyer got a spa day today.  They got caught and held upside down while John filed down their spurs to duller nubs.  I think the ladies will appreciate the results.

We also cleaned out the "horse stall" portion of our barn (holding bikes, car toppers and other misc. things) and made it into a night area for our two "free-rangers".  John was a little put out that the ladies (Mrs. Q really) were roosting on the steering wheel and leaving lovely little "gifts" and deposits all over the cab.  So out came the junk and in went two cardboard nesting boxes, their food, water and grit and a roost.  At night I simply close the sliding stall door and in the morning I'll open it.  This way the tractor should stay clean.  (I've only seen Mrs. Q on it at bedtime.) I thought perhaps we would have trouble getting them into it but tonight we walked them into the barn and they went right into the stall.  What good ladies.

We took the cardboard nesting boxes for Mrs. P and Q and the other hens got two brand new nesting boxes.  My son did most of the construction while my husband instructed him.  I think they look pretty snazzy.  Hopefully the hens think so too.  I hope the changes don't mean we go eggless for awhile again since we just got them back to laying.

Also today, for a refreshing change, I picked peas and not strawberries!  We enjoyed straight from the garden peas for dinner.  Yum!  I'm also excited because we have pepper forming on our plants and tomatoes too!  Good summer eating ahead.  Now if we could just get on top of the weeds.