Many blogs and articles talk of building a good community for the coming hard times. Getting to know your neighbors, visiting and perhaps working together. In hard times neighbors can provide skills you don't have. You may have skills they don't. Sharing chores, sharing food, sharing protection for all. Sure makes sense but it can be harder for some than others.
We live on a little acreage and most people in our area to do. No close neighbors really. Those along the river are much closer together than us on the land side. My hubby, due to his drinking, has slowly closed himself off from just about everyone. I have my family and a few friends. I make acquaintances fine but friends are different. I always have a few and they are good friends. Unfortunately, they live all over the place, none very close.
I start this blog this way because I want to talk about one neighbor in particular. They are really the only neighbors we socialize with and not very often at that. They were the first neighbors we met while the house was being built, walking up our long driveway one day to see how it was going. Far, far too far to walk from their house to ours on the roads. When he rebuilt his pasture fence he put a man-gate in it and when we built our fence we put one in across from his. There is a bit of land between the two fences that belongs to yet another neighbor. We walk across it, and we are all but there. Saves time and leg muscles.
This neighbor, let's call him Scott, has always been a help. He loaned his tractor to clear out blackberries when we first moved in - we were doing it by hand. When animals got out of the fence he tracked them down and put them back. He hunted moles for us when they began to overwhelm us. Gave advice. Plowed my garden every spring. Shared his hay when weather was awful and I ran out. We often yacked with each other with weather was good and we were both out doing chores. Good neighbor.
We've had some tough times for almost two years now. Economic. I've explained before. I had to put the house up for sale and I told them before I told anyone else. He hated to hear it, hated to have to see us go, he said. Well, the house didn't sell and we've hung on. Barely perhaps, but we've hung one. No money to go into savings though and I knew we were going to have to have our long gravel driveway graded this year.
We do this every year but last year I didn't have the funds. Price kept going up and the year prior it had been about $1300, grading, 2 loads of rock and rolled. Boy, it was bad thru last winter and, of course, just kept getting worse. It had to be done this year or no one was going to make it up the driveway at all. Scott had told me to call him when I was ready to have it done and he could give me some local name to call for bids. I was very worried that I didn't have enough money and then what was I going to do? It really needed to be graded.
Once the rain sets in it's time to have it graded. I called Scott. He really wanted more info on how bad it was, how hard it was packed. Then he tells me he'll be over on Thursday with his tractor to see if he could grade it. I didn't think so. It was bad and packed hard. He wanted to look at it anyway so I agreed to wait until he had at it.
My hubby told me that Scott worked on it for about two hours. It's not bad at all. It's not as good as it would have been had the big graders worked on it, but it's not bad. I think we can make it thru the winter. I called Scott to thank him and he told me he'd hit it again when it started to get back again, no problems. Refused any payment, said it was no problem. After I hung up, my hubby told me that he and Scott spoke a bit before Scott headed home. Scott wanted to know what hubby thought and asked if we'd be staying now.
I'm going to go over tomorrow with a bottle of wine that I know they like. Seems very little as a thank you. I was so worried about that darn driveway. It's such a relief. Maybe nothing to him but so much to me. How can one have a better neighbor?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A rich life.
Today was the memorial for my friend's husband. He died of pneumonia at age 58. He would have been 59 in a few weeks. I didn't really know him well, and had only interacted with him on a few occasions. He and his wife, my friend, lived a very simple life on a little acreage, a ways out from a small town quite a bit above the snow line.
They lived in a small trailer with no electricity, no phone, no running water. She works and he took care of the animals, he loved his goats, built on the place and the trailer. Scruffy looking fellow, long graying hair usually covered with his trademark hat, beard rarely, if ever, combed and dressed in whatever he happened to feel like that day. The first time I met him he was wearing his hat, his glasses were dark from the sun, he had a cigar jutting out and an ear to ear grin on his face. Baling twine made up his belt. He wasn't what I was expecting, but who is when you first meet them? I always worried about them freezing up there in their tiny trailer. They did fine, of course. Times were always tight but they got by and they truly loved where they lived and each other.
His health began to fail a bit. Not much but some. Then he got sick. He didn't get better right away. She began to talk of taking him in to see a doctor. This was a big deal as he had no insurance. He didn't want to to see a doctor. He began telling her he was feeling better. One night he told her he was feeling better, don't worry and went to bed. She listened to him breathing, woke him up and informed him they were going to the hospital.
She didn't take him to the closest hospital but one she felt was better, had a good reputation. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and taken to the ICU. He would have died that night if he had stayed at home. He probably would have prefered that, knowing him. He spent not quite two weeks in ICU before he was taken off the machines and he peacefully passed.
He and my friend were members of a small local church. He did some work for the church, founded a small group called John's Boys (after John the Baptist) where men would get together and walk in the woods, talking. The church was very important to both of them.
Today was his memorial. The pastor opened the memorial with the comment, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I listened to the pastor's comments, listened to the songs he had loved, listened to the comments made by those that knew and loved him. These were all friends, he had only his wife for family. I realized that I didn't know him at all. And it was my loss. He was a giving, caring individual. He was intelligent and had a seeking mind, always looking for new things. He shared all he had with those around him. He had led such a rich life. Not rich in money or things. But rich in friends, in faith. I wish I had known him better.
They lived in a small trailer with no electricity, no phone, no running water. She works and he took care of the animals, he loved his goats, built on the place and the trailer. Scruffy looking fellow, long graying hair usually covered with his trademark hat, beard rarely, if ever, combed and dressed in whatever he happened to feel like that day. The first time I met him he was wearing his hat, his glasses were dark from the sun, he had a cigar jutting out and an ear to ear grin on his face. Baling twine made up his belt. He wasn't what I was expecting, but who is when you first meet them? I always worried about them freezing up there in their tiny trailer. They did fine, of course. Times were always tight but they got by and they truly loved where they lived and each other.
His health began to fail a bit. Not much but some. Then he got sick. He didn't get better right away. She began to talk of taking him in to see a doctor. This was a big deal as he had no insurance. He didn't want to to see a doctor. He began telling her he was feeling better. One night he told her he was feeling better, don't worry and went to bed. She listened to him breathing, woke him up and informed him they were going to the hospital.
She didn't take him to the closest hospital but one she felt was better, had a good reputation. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and taken to the ICU. He would have died that night if he had stayed at home. He probably would have prefered that, knowing him. He spent not quite two weeks in ICU before he was taken off the machines and he peacefully passed.
He and my friend were members of a small local church. He did some work for the church, founded a small group called John's Boys (after John the Baptist) where men would get together and walk in the woods, talking. The church was very important to both of them.
Today was his memorial. The pastor opened the memorial with the comment, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I listened to the pastor's comments, listened to the songs he had loved, listened to the comments made by those that knew and loved him. These were all friends, he had only his wife for family. I realized that I didn't know him at all. And it was my loss. He was a giving, caring individual. He was intelligent and had a seeking mind, always looking for new things. He shared all he had with those around him. He had led such a rich life. Not rich in money or things. But rich in friends, in faith. I wish I had known him better.
The first hard frost
We've had a couple of minor frosts but we had our first hard frost a couple of days ago. My poor car lives outside and I had to really scrape ice on the windows so I could go to work. I went out and picked all the tomatoes with at least a little color. They are now lining my kitchen window sill and nicely turning color. I wonder if they will taste like home garden tomatoes or like nasty store tomatoes. I'm thinking about going out and picking all of the green tomatoes to see if they will also turn color. I need to come up with some ideas on what to do with green tomatoes. I like fried green tomatoes but I have way too many green tomatoes to eat them all fried. Since I have so many dark orange tomatoes in the kitchen I may try my hand at making some salsa. I would have to buy everything else I need, but I might try anyway.
Friday after my evening feed-the-animals chores I went and dug up my potatoes. My potatoes were planted very late. I cut up the seed potatoes waaay too small and waited until they were almost completely dried up before I finally dumped them on top of the ground and covered them with cut grass. Most of them didn't survive my mistreatment and I was thrilled that any grew. I kept layering grass and barn waste hay around the plants as they grew. I wondered what, if any, potatoes I would get.
I didn't need to actually dig the potatoes. I removed the layers of composted, yucky, organic materials until I found the potatoes. Gloves probably would have been good but my hands wash easier than gloves. Besides, I forgot to bring them. I had several large ones, quite a few medium to small and a bunch of tiny ones. Reds, golds and some purple ones. I've wiped off the wet stuff and they are currently laying on a towel in my entry way drying. My mother was over this morning and viewed them. She was pretty doubtful that potatoes could be grown on top of the ground and was quite enthused about it all.
Next year will see a lot more potatoes grown. They will get planted in the spring instead of June or July, which ever month it was. How great, and really quite pain free, it was to grow our own potatoes. My sister-n-law makes this great potato dish. Cut some potatoes up into a baking dish, melt a lot of butter and mix with this great garlic mix she has and pour over the potatoes. Bake for about an hour. Not very healthy but oh so good! I'm going to do that with my potatoes. Soon. When they are dry. I can hardly wait.
A big want to do tomorrow is work in the garden a bit, loosing up the soil. Then I'll plant my garlic cloves. I bought some of the elephant cloves, two bunches. That's a lot of individual cloves. I have the space available and have just been waiting for the first hard frost. If nothing else gets done this weekend, the garlic will get planted.
I now have rabbits. I'd been thinking of raising rabbits for meat for awhile. I'm wondering if I can get past the cute factor and do the butchering. What with my own goat meat and now rabbits I'll be just a bit more self-sufficient. I like that. The rabbits belong to a friend of mine. They are just living with me for the winter until she gets back on her feet a bit due to the recent loss of her husband. It's fine with her if I breed them and eat the results. I need cages built though and they are currently, five of them, living in my garage. That sounds worse than it is - tonight is their first night in the garage. Tomorrow cages will get built for them.
Also thanks to this friend I got more chickens, with tons of chicks, and geese. One hen has 19 chicks and one has 17. Yikes! I figure we'll be crock potting a lot of roosters here in a couple of months. Egg production is low due as is usual this time of year. I miss all of the fresh eggs. It's always feast or famine with the eggs. Sometimes I'm nuts about what to do with all of the eggs and then it's I'm not getting eggs! I'd planned on freezing some of the extra eggs this year but thanks to predators, hawks I'm thinking, I never had an overabundance of eggs.
I sold two of the chicks this morning to a family that bought my last two wethers. I'd been thinking it was time to get them into the freezer as it's two less mouths to feed and the goats are already eating hay. I already have two wethers in the freezer though so it's nice that someone else will get the meat. I still have a couple of mama goats I'd like to sell but if not I'll have 6 does kidding in February. Too many for me. I prefer less as my kidding pens are still full of other things. And my barn floods every year. The first year the french drain was put in the floor barely got wet but last year wasn't good.
We've lit the woodstove a couple of time already. I though I would this evening but I put on a sweater top and sweat pants and I'm comfortable. Soon though we'll have a fire every evening. I still have a little bit of wood outside that I need to bring in. The main wood is stacked and waiting. Still lots to do before winter gets here.
Friday after my evening feed-the-animals chores I went and dug up my potatoes. My potatoes were planted very late. I cut up the seed potatoes waaay too small and waited until they were almost completely dried up before I finally dumped them on top of the ground and covered them with cut grass. Most of them didn't survive my mistreatment and I was thrilled that any grew. I kept layering grass and barn waste hay around the plants as they grew. I wondered what, if any, potatoes I would get.
I didn't need to actually dig the potatoes. I removed the layers of composted, yucky, organic materials until I found the potatoes. Gloves probably would have been good but my hands wash easier than gloves. Besides, I forgot to bring them. I had several large ones, quite a few medium to small and a bunch of tiny ones. Reds, golds and some purple ones. I've wiped off the wet stuff and they are currently laying on a towel in my entry way drying. My mother was over this morning and viewed them. She was pretty doubtful that potatoes could be grown on top of the ground and was quite enthused about it all.
Next year will see a lot more potatoes grown. They will get planted in the spring instead of June or July, which ever month it was. How great, and really quite pain free, it was to grow our own potatoes. My sister-n-law makes this great potato dish. Cut some potatoes up into a baking dish, melt a lot of butter and mix with this great garlic mix she has and pour over the potatoes. Bake for about an hour. Not very healthy but oh so good! I'm going to do that with my potatoes. Soon. When they are dry. I can hardly wait.
A big want to do tomorrow is work in the garden a bit, loosing up the soil. Then I'll plant my garlic cloves. I bought some of the elephant cloves, two bunches. That's a lot of individual cloves. I have the space available and have just been waiting for the first hard frost. If nothing else gets done this weekend, the garlic will get planted.
I now have rabbits. I'd been thinking of raising rabbits for meat for awhile. I'm wondering if I can get past the cute factor and do the butchering. What with my own goat meat and now rabbits I'll be just a bit more self-sufficient. I like that. The rabbits belong to a friend of mine. They are just living with me for the winter until she gets back on her feet a bit due to the recent loss of her husband. It's fine with her if I breed them and eat the results. I need cages built though and they are currently, five of them, living in my garage. That sounds worse than it is - tonight is their first night in the garage. Tomorrow cages will get built for them.
Also thanks to this friend I got more chickens, with tons of chicks, and geese. One hen has 19 chicks and one has 17. Yikes! I figure we'll be crock potting a lot of roosters here in a couple of months. Egg production is low due as is usual this time of year. I miss all of the fresh eggs. It's always feast or famine with the eggs. Sometimes I'm nuts about what to do with all of the eggs and then it's I'm not getting eggs! I'd planned on freezing some of the extra eggs this year but thanks to predators, hawks I'm thinking, I never had an overabundance of eggs.
I sold two of the chicks this morning to a family that bought my last two wethers. I'd been thinking it was time to get them into the freezer as it's two less mouths to feed and the goats are already eating hay. I already have two wethers in the freezer though so it's nice that someone else will get the meat. I still have a couple of mama goats I'd like to sell but if not I'll have 6 does kidding in February. Too many for me. I prefer less as my kidding pens are still full of other things. And my barn floods every year. The first year the french drain was put in the floor barely got wet but last year wasn't good.
We've lit the woodstove a couple of time already. I though I would this evening but I put on a sweater top and sweat pants and I'm comfortable. Soon though we'll have a fire every evening. I still have a little bit of wood outside that I need to bring in. The main wood is stacked and waiting. Still lots to do before winter gets here.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
New birds and lost things found
A friend of mine's husband has had a sudden health emergency. She is spending virtually no time at home and a neighbor has been taking care of her animals. Since it looks like the emergency isn't going to be over soon, I've taken in some of her critters. Yesterday I brought home 2 roosters, 6 geese, 4 hens, and 2 hens with each about 12 young chicks. I was planning on bringing home her 5 rabbits also but my small truck was running over with the birds and their cages. I'm supposed to pick up the rabbits next Saturday.
Such chaos getting all the birds into the chicken house. I'm not letting anyone out for at least a week so the new birds learn that this is their new home. The geese are in a large doghouse (it's BIG) that is a bit cozy but not bad. I let them out this morning and they found their water fine but pretty much just stood all day around the chicken house ramp. Hearing the chickens probably and it sounded like home. I've been having problems with predators, hawks I think, getting my hens so I'm hoping having the 6 large geese in the chicken yard will help with that. Going to be fun feeding tomorrow AM in the dark. I do have a tap light out in the chicken house now and will have to use it tomorrow.
Usually I'm not out feeding until around 7 - 7:30am and it's mostly light by then. Tomorrow, Monday, I start my new job! So glad to have a job at last. I'll be getting up much earlier now, of course. Probably about 40 minutes to work but I'll leave early at first to see what the traffic is like. I'll probably leave at 7am and I'll have to feed the chickens and goats and let the geese out (they were fed tonight) plus get myself ready to go. Guess I'll get up around5 - 5:30ish to be safe. I like time in the morning and hate to be rushed.
Yesterday while we were getting birds stashed away and working on the goose house I accidently wore my glasses outside. I have the no-line lenses and they make the ground look weird. I never wear them outside. So, I took them off and put them into the pouch of my sweatshirt. My spouse asked me for some nails and I went to get them and put them, loose, in my sweatshirt pouch. Not a good idea I realized, so I took the glasses out, and for some unknown reason, placed them on the hood of the pickup next to the windshield. I planned, I'm sure, to pick them up when we were done. Forgot about them. Afterall, I never wear the glasses outside.
It wasn't until I went to pick up my grand daughter around 7:30pm that I realized I didn't know where my glasses were. It was dark and we had moved the pickup. I checked the garage hoping I'd put them there. Nope. I couldn't remember where I had placed them and I was freaking. I just knew I had left them outside somewhere and probably had crushed them when I moved the pickup. I told my spouse when he got up this morning and he went looking. Not in the garage. I checked the back bumper of the pickup, opened the canapy doors - not there. No money to buy new glasses and I can't read without them. How was I going to work without the glasses? Then my husband brought them in. He had found them on the pickup's hood. Damp from the morning rain but safe. Of course, as soon as he told me where they had been I remembered placing them there. Such relief!
Never take chances on such a vital piece of equipment. Yes, I had a spare set. However, my eyes did not like them at all. I think both my spouse and I will have to get a good, current spare pair of glasses. I haven't even started the new job and I'm already spending money on things (well, making a list anyway). A water filter such as the Berkey is #1 on the list. Glasses just hit #2. I'm thinking I might try on some on the reading glasses I see in stores. Might not hurt to have a couple pair of them around in case of emergency. I think they are pretty cheap. I don't plan on getting caught without glasses again.
Such chaos getting all the birds into the chicken house. I'm not letting anyone out for at least a week so the new birds learn that this is their new home. The geese are in a large doghouse (it's BIG) that is a bit cozy but not bad. I let them out this morning and they found their water fine but pretty much just stood all day around the chicken house ramp. Hearing the chickens probably and it sounded like home. I've been having problems with predators, hawks I think, getting my hens so I'm hoping having the 6 large geese in the chicken yard will help with that. Going to be fun feeding tomorrow AM in the dark. I do have a tap light out in the chicken house now and will have to use it tomorrow.
Usually I'm not out feeding until around 7 - 7:30am and it's mostly light by then. Tomorrow, Monday, I start my new job! So glad to have a job at last. I'll be getting up much earlier now, of course. Probably about 40 minutes to work but I'll leave early at first to see what the traffic is like. I'll probably leave at 7am and I'll have to feed the chickens and goats and let the geese out (they were fed tonight) plus get myself ready to go. Guess I'll get up around5 - 5:30ish to be safe. I like time in the morning and hate to be rushed.
Yesterday while we were getting birds stashed away and working on the goose house I accidently wore my glasses outside. I have the no-line lenses and they make the ground look weird. I never wear them outside. So, I took them off and put them into the pouch of my sweatshirt. My spouse asked me for some nails and I went to get them and put them, loose, in my sweatshirt pouch. Not a good idea I realized, so I took the glasses out, and for some unknown reason, placed them on the hood of the pickup next to the windshield. I planned, I'm sure, to pick them up when we were done. Forgot about them. Afterall, I never wear the glasses outside.
It wasn't until I went to pick up my grand daughter around 7:30pm that I realized I didn't know where my glasses were. It was dark and we had moved the pickup. I checked the garage hoping I'd put them there. Nope. I couldn't remember where I had placed them and I was freaking. I just knew I had left them outside somewhere and probably had crushed them when I moved the pickup. I told my spouse when he got up this morning and he went looking. Not in the garage. I checked the back bumper of the pickup, opened the canapy doors - not there. No money to buy new glasses and I can't read without them. How was I going to work without the glasses? Then my husband brought them in. He had found them on the pickup's hood. Damp from the morning rain but safe. Of course, as soon as he told me where they had been I remembered placing them there. Such relief!
Never take chances on such a vital piece of equipment. Yes, I had a spare set. However, my eyes did not like them at all. I think both my spouse and I will have to get a good, current spare pair of glasses. I haven't even started the new job and I'm already spending money on things (well, making a list anyway). A water filter such as the Berkey is #1 on the list. Glasses just hit #2. I'm thinking I might try on some on the reading glasses I see in stores. Might not hurt to have a couple pair of them around in case of emergency. I think they are pretty cheap. I don't plan on getting caught without glasses again.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Winter is coming
Been awhile since I last posted. I've been a bit depressed over my continuing unemployment. Four weeks of unemployment left. A 13-week extension is available but if I understand correctly, that kicks in after your initial claim period is over. My claim period started 04/08 and is not over until 04/09; however the money is all gone. Does that mean I have to wait for the extension until 04/09? We could very easily lose our home. Good news is that my husband has finally found a job. Pay starts out at $9 an hour, ouch, but it's better than what he was bringing in, $0.00. I continue to search every day, something will come in. I hope.
I planted a fall garden this year. First time for that. My spring garden didn't get plowed so I ended up planting the plant starts I had already purchased in a flowerbed. Unfortunately, it's on the semi-shaded part of the house. I have finally been able to harvest some tomatoes, long green chilies, jalapeños and some lettuce from the fall garden. Even my zucchini plant has not done well this year. It finally has 4 4-inch long fruits on it but as the nights continue to cool I don't know if I'll be able to harvest any. My fall garden consists of peas, 4 types of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, parsnips, turnips, onions and rhubarb with everything being seeds. Turnips came up pretty good - boy do I hate thinning turnips. Or anything for that matter. : ) Peas came up real good, best of everything. I've been out every day making sure their little vines reach and twine around the strings. I'm pretty sure its rabbits that found them and nibbled them down to the ground. No fall peas for me this year.
What didn't come up at all: parsnips, rhubarb, spinach and 3 of the 4 types of lettuce. A red leaf lettuce is finally growing but not in the rows I planted. It looks like the seed was blown in the wind. I'm guessing I must have planted everything too deep. I don't think onions are usually a fall crop but I had the starts so I planted them. Maybe half came up but they are only about 5 inches tall. I have no idea how long they will survive if a frost hits. Broccoli recommends starting seeds inside and planting starts. Next year. The seeds took a long time to come up and then those darn rabbits nibbled some of them. They are only about 2-3 inches tall.
Once again, if we had to live off of the garden we would starve.
The problem with the spring garden was not being able to get it plowed in a timely manner. The neighbor that always plows it for me sold his tiller and didn't get around to getting a new one. Lesson there is you shouldn't depend on others for the important things. My folks gave me their tiller that attaches to the back of the garden tractor. Took us a long while to figure out how to use it. Finally found the instruction manual on-line. It couldn't be used in the original garden as the tractor (this is a small riding mower type thing) couldn't get over all the barn waste I had been spreading around.
I picked a new spot and finally got it tilled. No fertilizer was added though and I'm guessing that's why nothing did well. I will be buying some for next spring. No barn waste though. Thistles have taken over the original garden and I'm guessing it's from seeds that passed thru my goats' systems. Lots of thistles in the pasture that the goats eat. I don't have thistles anywhere else so...
The new garden spot is small. I plan on tilling several small spots next spring and planting them. Maybe different types of beans in one spot and tomatoes and onions in another. I still want to till one more spot to plant winter wheat in. Probably during October as I plan on planting garlic in October to winter over. I also have 2 plum pits I've saved I plan on planting in the garden. They need winter before growing so I'm going to see if I can get them to do anything. I have 4 plum trees already but I love plums.
I picked walnuts yesterday for the first time. Not all are ready for picking yet so I'll be watching the tree every other day or so. I need to go on-line to see about how to dehull them (they are not black walnuts) and dry them. And my apples should be ready for picking pretty soon. Not sure what I'll be doing with them this year. Last year I made so much pie filling (froze it) that we still have plenty left. I don't care for dried apples much but applesauce sounds good. I'm thinking of trying to make apple cider vinegar from the peelings and such too.
My mother brought over her canner for me to use. It's an old one. It was my grandmother’s forever until she passed. I had the gage tested and it's good to go. I have the Ball Blue Book on canning for figuring out how to use it. It's a big, intimidating canner. I was thinking of canning the applesauce rather than freezing it and taking up freezer space. I also want to can a couple batches of this delicious lentil barley soup I make. Nothing like instant soup out of a can - home made can that is. I need some more quart jars which I can get from my mother. They are in the well house which used to be buried under blackberries. They had some well problems not long ago though so the berries are gone. I'd better get the jars before the blackberries come back. Hmm, maybe I'd better do that today.
In May I purchased 4 cords of green wood. It was delivered and dumped on the ground to start seasoning. We had about 2/3 of a cord left over after winter. I've been slowly, very slowly, stacking wood. We've had some rain of late, with more to come so I've been working on getting the rest of the wood stacked so we can cover it against the rain. I fill a wheelbarrow and then wheel the wood over to the stack. Back and forth. I've done 9 loads so far this morning but have lots more to do.
My plan was to have the wood finished this weekend. However. My mother is in the hospital (hopefully getting out today) from cancer surgery. I spent a good portion of Friday and Saturday at the hospital. Saturday was also the 4th birthday of my middle grandchild so after leaving the hospital I went to her party. She's really into being a princess and she certainly can do that after her party. Lots of lovely princess type dresses, shoes, tiaras - the whole bit. She had a castle cake made by my nephew's wife. Niece-in-law? Beautiful cake. Lots of food to eat. My hubby had to work yesterday (today too) so I brought him home a plateful plus enough for lunch today and maybe tomorrow. That's always appreciated.
It's supposed to be up to 83F today. I had planned on going back outside to stack more wood but now I'm thinking I'd better go get jars. My aching back will appreciate the break but, you know, winter is coming.
I planted a fall garden this year. First time for that. My spring garden didn't get plowed so I ended up planting the plant starts I had already purchased in a flowerbed. Unfortunately, it's on the semi-shaded part of the house. I have finally been able to harvest some tomatoes, long green chilies, jalapeños and some lettuce from the fall garden. Even my zucchini plant has not done well this year. It finally has 4 4-inch long fruits on it but as the nights continue to cool I don't know if I'll be able to harvest any. My fall garden consists of peas, 4 types of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, parsnips, turnips, onions and rhubarb with everything being seeds. Turnips came up pretty good - boy do I hate thinning turnips. Or anything for that matter. : ) Peas came up real good, best of everything. I've been out every day making sure their little vines reach and twine around the strings. I'm pretty sure its rabbits that found them and nibbled them down to the ground. No fall peas for me this year.
What didn't come up at all: parsnips, rhubarb, spinach and 3 of the 4 types of lettuce. A red leaf lettuce is finally growing but not in the rows I planted. It looks like the seed was blown in the wind. I'm guessing I must have planted everything too deep. I don't think onions are usually a fall crop but I had the starts so I planted them. Maybe half came up but they are only about 5 inches tall. I have no idea how long they will survive if a frost hits. Broccoli recommends starting seeds inside and planting starts. Next year. The seeds took a long time to come up and then those darn rabbits nibbled some of them. They are only about 2-3 inches tall.
Once again, if we had to live off of the garden we would starve.
The problem with the spring garden was not being able to get it plowed in a timely manner. The neighbor that always plows it for me sold his tiller and didn't get around to getting a new one. Lesson there is you shouldn't depend on others for the important things. My folks gave me their tiller that attaches to the back of the garden tractor. Took us a long while to figure out how to use it. Finally found the instruction manual on-line. It couldn't be used in the original garden as the tractor (this is a small riding mower type thing) couldn't get over all the barn waste I had been spreading around.
I picked a new spot and finally got it tilled. No fertilizer was added though and I'm guessing that's why nothing did well. I will be buying some for next spring. No barn waste though. Thistles have taken over the original garden and I'm guessing it's from seeds that passed thru my goats' systems. Lots of thistles in the pasture that the goats eat. I don't have thistles anywhere else so...
The new garden spot is small. I plan on tilling several small spots next spring and planting them. Maybe different types of beans in one spot and tomatoes and onions in another. I still want to till one more spot to plant winter wheat in. Probably during October as I plan on planting garlic in October to winter over. I also have 2 plum pits I've saved I plan on planting in the garden. They need winter before growing so I'm going to see if I can get them to do anything. I have 4 plum trees already but I love plums.
I picked walnuts yesterday for the first time. Not all are ready for picking yet so I'll be watching the tree every other day or so. I need to go on-line to see about how to dehull them (they are not black walnuts) and dry them. And my apples should be ready for picking pretty soon. Not sure what I'll be doing with them this year. Last year I made so much pie filling (froze it) that we still have plenty left. I don't care for dried apples much but applesauce sounds good. I'm thinking of trying to make apple cider vinegar from the peelings and such too.
My mother brought over her canner for me to use. It's an old one. It was my grandmother’s forever until she passed. I had the gage tested and it's good to go. I have the Ball Blue Book on canning for figuring out how to use it. It's a big, intimidating canner. I was thinking of canning the applesauce rather than freezing it and taking up freezer space. I also want to can a couple batches of this delicious lentil barley soup I make. Nothing like instant soup out of a can - home made can that is. I need some more quart jars which I can get from my mother. They are in the well house which used to be buried under blackberries. They had some well problems not long ago though so the berries are gone. I'd better get the jars before the blackberries come back. Hmm, maybe I'd better do that today.
In May I purchased 4 cords of green wood. It was delivered and dumped on the ground to start seasoning. We had about 2/3 of a cord left over after winter. I've been slowly, very slowly, stacking wood. We've had some rain of late, with more to come so I've been working on getting the rest of the wood stacked so we can cover it against the rain. I fill a wheelbarrow and then wheel the wood over to the stack. Back and forth. I've done 9 loads so far this morning but have lots more to do.
My plan was to have the wood finished this weekend. However. My mother is in the hospital (hopefully getting out today) from cancer surgery. I spent a good portion of Friday and Saturday at the hospital. Saturday was also the 4th birthday of my middle grandchild so after leaving the hospital I went to her party. She's really into being a princess and she certainly can do that after her party. Lots of lovely princess type dresses, shoes, tiaras - the whole bit. She had a castle cake made by my nephew's wife. Niece-in-law? Beautiful cake. Lots of food to eat. My hubby had to work yesterday (today too) so I brought him home a plateful plus enough for lunch today and maybe tomorrow. That's always appreciated.
It's supposed to be up to 83F today. I had planned on going back outside to stack more wood but now I'm thinking I'd better go get jars. My aching back will appreciate the break but, you know, winter is coming.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Home canned butter
I've been reading for several years about home canning of butter. Many people do it but canning books do not recommend it. I keep quite a stock of butter in the freezer but if power should be lost it won't last. Home canned butter is shelf stable, I'm told, for 3 - 5 years. The instructions I have says to use the cheapest butter you can buy, although the good stuff works even better.
So I tried it. I canned 4 pounds of butter today which made 4 1/2 pints. The butter is finished and now sitting on the kitchen table. In a bit I'll put it on a shelf in the pantry. My hubby is quite leery about this. I'll wait a few months and then open a pint so he can see how it's just fine. I'm hoping this will be another step towards being prepared for whatever. I'll be keeping an eye out for cheap butter too.
So I tried it. I canned 4 pounds of butter today which made 4 1/2 pints. The butter is finished and now sitting on the kitchen table. In a bit I'll put it on a shelf in the pantry. My hubby is quite leery about this. I'll wait a few months and then open a pint so he can see how it's just fine. I'm hoping this will be another step towards being prepared for whatever. I'll be keeping an eye out for cheap butter too.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Groceries
I normally shop for groceries on a monthly basis. At my last job (still unemployed) we were paid once a month so shopping monthly was easiest. I think I spend less this way too as the less I'm in a store the less I'm tempted to buy. I always shop with a list and I try to stick to it. I admit, however, to always buying off the list at least a little.
My mother and I went grocery shopping last week. I always start off at the local Costco and then go to the local WinCo. Now that I'm on unemployment the list is shorter and I have crossed off usual buys like books. Sticking to the list is much more important now but I still have some money for stocking up. Not anywhere what I had before, but some. Those items are on the list as well and I have a pretty good idea what everything will come to.
Last month I came in under budget so perhaps I was too cocky this time. Over budget by about $80. My spouse's dental work was cheaper than expected so I used that to cover all but $37 of the overage. My unemployment does not allow any overages at all. This is going to have to be a new skill for me to learn.
I can blame part of the overage on higher prices. When you only shop monthly you can really see the price hikes on some items. I can also blame - and this is really the big problem - on shopping off of the list. I bought some fibers tablets for my spouse. Two tablets give you 4 grams of fiber. 220 tablets for $19.99. Only 4 grams of fiber for $20.00?! Won't do that again. I also bought some of the best tasting fruit and nut bars I've ever had (Costco had samples). Better to eat one of them than a candy bar if a sweet craving hits. However, they were $17.99. Again, not a good buy. Hmmm, right there is the $37 dollar overage. It's that easy.
My mother and I went grocery shopping last week. I always start off at the local Costco and then go to the local WinCo. Now that I'm on unemployment the list is shorter and I have crossed off usual buys like books. Sticking to the list is much more important now but I still have some money for stocking up. Not anywhere what I had before, but some. Those items are on the list as well and I have a pretty good idea what everything will come to.
Last month I came in under budget so perhaps I was too cocky this time. Over budget by about $80. My spouse's dental work was cheaper than expected so I used that to cover all but $37 of the overage. My unemployment does not allow any overages at all. This is going to have to be a new skill for me to learn.
I can blame part of the overage on higher prices. When you only shop monthly you can really see the price hikes on some items. I can also blame - and this is really the big problem - on shopping off of the list. I bought some fibers tablets for my spouse. Two tablets give you 4 grams of fiber. 220 tablets for $19.99. Only 4 grams of fiber for $20.00?! Won't do that again. I also bought some of the best tasting fruit and nut bars I've ever had (Costco had samples). Better to eat one of them than a candy bar if a sweet craving hits. However, they were $17.99. Again, not a good buy. Hmmm, right there is the $37 dollar overage. It's that easy.
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