Weeding & Sweating To The Oldies

Music

We're out in the garden today.  Can't ask for more perfect gardening weather.  It is sunny and 75'ish.  Still when you are out there working it gets hot and let's face it, weeding is not the most intellectually stimulating activity around.  So we got the idea to take out a fully charged computer and play music.  My daughter's band of choice?  The Beatles!  Andi Rose likes my music.

Well, not exactly "my" music.  I love the Beatles, but they broke up shortly after I was born.  I wanted to clarify that because I'm vain enough to not want to age myself more then I have to.  "My" music is 80's new wave and alternative which Andi likes too.

The time passed way too quick and soon we had our goal for the day met.  Yeah!  We figure if we weed consistently every single day (except Sundays) then we will be victorious over the weeds.

 Weeds vs. Vegetables

In other gardening news, we are buried beneath "green" beans and zucchini right now.  I say "green" because we also planted purple beans so we have both.  We haven't canned any yet but probably this weekend.  We don't have a pressure canner so we will pickle them.  The zukes we shred and freeze.  I most definitely have more than enough for the year. (No complaints- food is food and zukes are pretty darn versatile.)

Beans

Our peas are done and we even have some to save for seed for next year. That is the beauty of heirloom seeds! Wow, I can't believe that I'm thinking about next year while I'm still in the dirt of this year. In a few more days I'll be planting some things for fall gardening.  We're getting pretty serious about wanting to supply as much of our own food as possible. (Not that we're there yet.  I'm very thankful for grocery stores.)

Pea Seeds

What all are you planting, planning, harvesting? Do you use conventional or heirloom seeds?  Do you save seed?

God's Plan For Us

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Proverbs 3: 9 -10

Grandparents, Shopping & Beestings!

Grandparents:

 

Mom and Dad Schuh

We said goodbye to my parents today.  They headed toward home this morning.  I always love when they come and I hate it when they leave.  I love living in Michigan except for being so far from family.  The spot where they parked their trailer looks sadly empty.  Sigh. 

 The entire clan posing for the camera (set up on the BBQ)

 Closer pic with me at the camera... the way I prefer it!

 The kids... do they look hot and sweaty?  We all were... it was right before we finally got a storm to cool things down.

 

Shopping:

I made two discoveries while out shopping today.  1. If you are looking for flip-flops and/or sandals now is the time to buy.  All the stores are clearing out their summer stuff in order to make room for fall items.  My pair of dress flip-flops (yes, I said dress flip-flops- I might be a redneck.) broke a couple of days ago necessitating replacement.  I found a great pair for $8- 1/2 off. I am pleased.  I was willing to spend up to $15. 2.Sadly, it is cheaper to buy full length pajama pants at Old Navy and Sears and cut them to the needed length (long shorts) instead of sewing your own.  My daughter needed some summer sleepwear and she didn't want the short shorts or full length pants that most stores have.  She was willing (and able) to sew some but the fabric she wanted was $6 a yard (which is actually not that expensive as far as fabric goes) and she needed around 3 yards.  Hmmm... $18 to sew or $10/$12 dollars premade.  For pajamas we'll go with the latter but it is still hard for me to buy something new and then cut it up.  It seems wrong, just like buying jeans with the holes already in them.

 

Beestings:

It would appear that some type of stinging bee-like creatures have made a nest in the ground in my red lettuce.  I was picking tonight and felt a prick.  I thought maybe it was a thorny weed I had brushed against but while inspecting the injury (on my lower leg) I noticed "bees" flying around the area.  Ahhh... I've been stung.  The pain was not very strong at first but boy did that pain level rise.  I had to call harvesting to an end and rush inside to tend to it.  Thank goodness for plain old baking soda and water paste.  It may look funky on my leg but the relief was almost instantaneous.

 

What home-remedies do you use for bee-stings?

Friday Read & Write

Just a short note for today's read and write.  The new Writer's Digest is out.  I have perused it but have yet to read it in depth. I am looking forward to finding time to sit down with it soon. But probably not tomorrow.  The heat wave we've been having is supposed to break and that means that I have weeding and harvesting and preserving to catch up on.   Lots of beans to "dilly", zukes to shred, kale to blanch, basil to cube and blueberries to pick. 

What are you reading?  Writing? Harvesting? Preserving?

Lock Your Doors & Booby Trap Your Porch!

Is this a familiar site in your neck of the woods?

 

Zuke season has arrived and I made the mistake of planting all the seeds in the packet.  I forgot just how prolific each plant can be.  We are bursting with zucchini.   But the fun thing is there is so much you can do with it: quick breads, muffins, pancakes, cookies, stir fry, battered and fried, pickled and on it goes.  We shall not go hungry where there is zucchini.  My freezer will be stocked high!  My chickens will eat well.  And still there will be surplus...

What will I do with said surplus?  Start a cottage industry of course.  Creek Cottage Homestead (The official name of our farm.) is now offering fresh, homebaked, zucchini bread for $8 a loaf for local area pick up.  If you live in the Grand Rapids area you can place an order via the comment section.  If you don't order you run the risk of heaps of huge zukes being dumped in your car when you aren't looking and dropped on your porch steps. (Warning zukes produce like rabbits.) I know where you live! (Well, not really... some of you.) Don't let this be your fate.

Coming soon muffins and cookies and perhaps even cake.  I might try a gluten-free experiment too.  Anyone ever try quick breads with out wheat flour?

What do you all do with your zucchini?  Anyone willing to share recipes?

Mrs. Q Thinks She Is People!

Mrs.Q wanting to be on the inside.

 

Today was another hot day.  When we weren't down by the creek we were hanging in the back yard under the trees and who was hanging out with us... Mrs. Q.  My dad commented that he had never known a chicken that liked to hang out by itself.  That is when it dawned on me that she wasn't hanging out by herself.  She was hanging out with us.  We are her new flock.  She thinks she's people!

 

The other day when we were gone but my parents were in their trailer they said she stood at the slider door off the deck and cackled and clucked for us.  Today when I was inside for a moment she followed me right up to the door and thought she was coming in.  She squawked with indignation when I didn't let her follow.    She also hangs out under the picnic table when we eat outside.  We don't have a family dog... we have a family chicken!

Martha making Mrs. Q. Jealous.

 

 Martha isn't sure what to make of Mrs. Q and I'm sure Mrs. Q wonders why Martha is on the side of the door she wants to be on.  But here's a hint... Martha uses a litter box and I'm not buying chicken diapers.

Making rope and keeping cool.

 

 When we weren't hanging with the "Q" we were down at the creek.  Farmer John doesn't like to just sit around and he doesn't like to read or write like I do so he gathered a bunch of dried grass along the bank and wove rope.  Very ingenious! Last year, after a shoulder surgery, he used his downtime during recovery to make himself a "straw" hat out of dried daylily leaves.  We'd sell them but it took a lot of time to make and I don't think most people would pay $100+ for a daylily hat.

$100 or more for a handmade hat?

Ingenious Chicken Feeding Contraption

 

Earlier in the day he finished setting up our teenage chicks' "Protein From Thin Air" bucket.  There is a smaller bucket inside the larger.  Inside the small lidded bucket are the entrails from butchering our roosters.  We allowed flies to land in there and lay their eggs.  The eggs will hatch and the maggots will fall out of both buckets. (Courtesy of the holes drilled in each bucket.) Then the chickens can feast.  The smell is masked by grass clippings stuffed in the bucket to keep predators away. You can read about the process in depth in Harvey Ussery's book The Small-Scale Poultry Flock.

Snowball the teenage rooster

 

Clearly the maggots aren't dropping yet or Snowball wouldn't be escaping his enclosure and free ranging in my garden!  He is so funny to watch.  He'll fly to the top of the chicken tractor and crow to let all the ladies know he's in charge!  Only his crow isn't quite developed yet.  My mom thought she was hearing a cat in the morning.  She figured out today it was snowball "crowing".  Keep at it little guy!

Beating The Heat!

Highs for the week are in the 90's with a heat index pushing what the temp. feels like to more around 100!  It is hot, humid and we are going AC free by choice (well actually by budget).  But we still found ways to beat the heat...

 City daughter and Tay sat by open windows and doors, under a ceiling fan.

 Grandma and Grandpa chose outside in the slight breeze under the shade trees.

 

 Andi and Rem chose the coolest place in the house... Downstairs in the craft room.

 

 My favorite place is a little redneck...

 

  ...but it's cool!

 

 Reagan likes the creek too!

 

Even the chickens chose shade!