Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,
where we are ankle-deep in leaves!

With the freezing temperatures we've recently had,

we were stuck inside and haven't been able to 

work on mulching leaves.

Things are warming up again,

so we hope to get busy with that task this weekend.

I am so grateful to be able to experience autumn again

in the most magical way.

The chooks are all doing well,

despite the cold weather.

Here, one of our olive eggers (I think it's Esmerelda),

is helping herself to some fresh turnip greens.

This bed is left uncovered so that the girls

can enjoy the bounty!

The garlic that was planted a couple of weeks ago

has started to pop up.

The wire mesh keeps the chooks from digging up the soil

around it, so that it can grow undisturbed.

It has since been covered with used straw to insulate it 

over the coming months.

This is one of the easiest crops to grow,

and we hope that each of the 100 cloves sown,

will give us a beautiful, tasty bulb.

We'll know in nine months' time!

When pruning back some plants in the flower bed yesterday,

this lone phlox blossom was spied.

It's unbelievable how some of the ornamental plants

are unaffected by the harsh weather.

We still have blooms on our salvia,

the Florida ligustrum is flourishing,

and even the milkweed is keeping its leaves and color.

Some did not fare so well in the cold,

however.

The ginger has had it and was cut down

to the ground.

It will probably be moved to another spot,

as it was a bit in the way of a footpath here.

I also want to share some of it with neighbors.

Although the cucumbers didn't survive the freeze,

we did manage to get quite a few harvests,

even though it was planted after fall began.

The chooks love cucumber,

so this is another crop that I can grow for them to enjoy.

Once we get back to leaf mulching,

the other two bags like this one

will be filled to the top and left to sit

for at least a year, maybe two.

The decomposed leaves make a great top dressing for beds,

and add nutrients to the soil.

There will be enough leaves left over

not mulched to put into the chook run,

for the girls to scratch around in.

They love doing their chicken dance in the leaves!

The fresh-milled flour adventure continues,

and I'm happy to say that I am really feeling good about it.

So far, all the bread that I've made has been SO tasty,

and the rolls and pancakes have made me happy.

In the next couple of weeks,

I'm looking to make English muffins,

blueberry muffins and some sort of artisan bread.

My quality of life has improved immensely.

And believe it or not, I noticed that

all of my jeans are loose in the waist.

Hmmm, coincidence?  

I think not.

Something else I recently enjoyed was pot pie.

Instead of making a crust for the top,

I simply coupled it with one of the rolls I had made.

This is such a comfort food for me,

and I really need to put it on my monthly rotation

through the colder part of the year.

Soup is on the weekly menu right now,

as there are so many ways to make it.

And with a piece of homemade bread,

that's all the comfort I need.

We will be thankful for the warm up this weekend.

It's still plenty cool and with no humidity or bugs

to be bothered with,

it makes it perfect for spending time outside.

I'm sure there's something I can do out there!

How about you?

Do you enjoy being outside this time of year?

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

The weather has turned chilly,

although we've not had our first frost yet.

This week has also broken our dry spell,

bringing 3 1/2" of rain to the property.

No doubt the garden welcomed it.

It did, however, deter me from taking many pictures,

therefore this garden update will not be complete.

Recently, the fresh-milled flour adventure began in my kitchen,

and the more I learn, the more I realize

that this is a lifestyle change for the better.

I've been experimenting with various recipes,

mostly with great success.

These sandwich rolls were light, but hearty.

This einkorn loaf of bread was absolutely delicious,

and it will become a regular in my rotation

of homemade breads.

Even the pancakes that I made this week,

are better than any past attempts at using

simply almond flour to keep them gluten-free.

It's hard to explain,

but whenever I indulge in any of these

fresh-milled staples,

my body feels nourished, 

and very satisfied.

A small serving leaves me feeling full

in a very good way.

We still have blooms-a-plenty,

and the pollinators are very appreciative.

This sunflower, which lives near the entrance

of the chook run,

always has a bee of some type nestled on its face.

Likewise, the black-eyed susan vines and

the cosmos are loaded with visitors

doing their work.

I was able to harvest the turmeric,

and will dry this to use for cooking,

and making golden milk during the winter.

What an easy and valuable crop to grow.

Turmeric is one of the best plants to aid with inflammation.

One hundred cloves of garlic were planted,

and instead of taking up the raised bed space

for 9 months, I decided to plant

them in the ground where I had sown potatoes

earlier in the year.

After the rain we had, I noticed that some of the stems

are already poking up out of the ground.

We actually did harvest a cucumber last week!

There are a few more on the vine growing,

and perhaps we will be able to get another picking

before the frost shows up.

This is the Market More variety,

and the skin is a bit tougher than I like.

The cool weather row covers have replaced

the bug netting on the raised beds.

At this point, it's mostly to keep the chooks out,

as they enjoy helping themselves to the goodies inside.

All of the beds are now filled with broccoli, cabbage, 

kale, lettuce and turnips.

The garden is looking the best it ever has,

and I am so grateful for the nourishment it provides.

Since I mentioned the chooks,

I'm happy to report that Saffron is still going strong,

with no extra interventions.

It warms my heart to know that all of our girls

are thriving and seemingly happy.

Through one of our Azure orders,

I was able to find these amazing handmade clothespins.

I'd seen them advertised through Mother Earth News,

but there was a long wait list to place an order.

It's understandable.

These are some heavy-duty pins

that will outlast me.

There's no chance my clothes will be blown away

with these sturdy pins on the job!

You can find their website here.

Another update I thought I would add to this post,

is that we finally got C's surgery done.

It was a long and difficult process,

and I hope we never have to go through anything 

like that again.

He is one week out, and healing quickly.

Thank you so much for your prayers and good wishes.

They were felt.

I'd love to know how your autumn is sizing up.

What's going on where you are?

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

We've had some gorgeous weather lately,

with temperatures ranging from the 50's to the 70's 

and more than a few beautiful sunsets.

Autumn is my favorite time of year and I am

relishing every precious moment.

It was a busy caterpillar season,

with around 40 Monarchs performing their magic

on our property.

This never gets old, seeing the transformation

and watching them graduate as butterflies

to continue on their life's path.

We feel fortunate to witness this amazing event,

and wish them all well on their way.

This was an exceptional year for the cats,

and we hope it continues for years to come.

Among other garden tasks,

drying and shelling beans remains on the agenda.

This is one of my favorite activities to do,

as I sit in our new (to us) rockers

and watch the clouds roll by.

It's the simple things.

Thanks to a couple of fabulous rainstorms,

the garden is growing by leaps and bounds.

The kale, lettuce and turnip greens

are appreciative of the consistent moisture.

The chooks love being hand-fed

the turnip greens whenever they are ranging.

All the Birdie's beds have now been filled with transplants.

Broccoli, cabbage, kale and lettuce will 

continue to grow for months in our mild climate.

The covers on the beds will remain

so that crops don't start disappearing

thanks to our chooks and other visiting critters.

(The covers were removed for the photo.)

sedum

Some reading here may know that I went

gluten-free a couple of years ago.

Due to eczema that was fairly debilitating,

gluten was taken out of my diet

to see if it was the culprit, with mixed results.

Being of European heritage,

bread has always been a huge part of my life,

and I have been in mourning for real bread for two years.

It is the ultimate comfort food for me.

I recently learned about folks who mill their own flour,

using whole grains and I am going to give it a go.

The problem with gluten in our country,

is most likely the process of stripping the nutrients

out of the original grain.

It just makes sense that using whole grains

and milling them fresh would retain the nutrients.

After watching this video,

I knew I had to 

try this for myself.

Our health challenges are not the same,

but if Jennifer could heal from her gut issues,

it would be worth it for me to explore. 

I have a good feeling about this...

The grain mill arrived just yesterday,

and I am reading everything I can about

milling and the different whole grains and their uses.

It is very exciting to me that I may be able

to eat REAL bread again.

There is a lot of information out there

about the benefits of eating whole grain bread,

including the supportive nature to one's health.

I'm looking forward to the journey.

goldenrod

Matilda foraging

I hope October brings you loved ones near,

peace in your heart,

and a multitude of wonderful memories.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Homestead Happenings

Greetings and welcome back to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here on our Zone 8 Piedmont property.

Although I'm still having difficulty loading pictures easily,

I managed to figure out a new way to get them onto the blog.

It's time consuming, but it works.

The hyacinth bean vines are doing a fine job

of covering the southern end of the chook run.

This gives the girls ample shade and

the bonus is, that they enjoy munching on the blooms.

You'll never guess what happened!

In my last written post,

I told you about our dear Saffron,

who was quite poorly.

The vet had been called and she didn't give us much hope.

After two days of giving her the prescribed pain medication,

and a lot of TLC, she is back to her old self.

You would never know she was on death's door just weeks ago.

Bless her lil' ole chicken heart.

One of the projects started this week,

is the fencing off of our woods.

Three of our chooks like to wander,

and when I found them recently all the way on the other side

our our neighbors' yard, I knew this task couldn't wait.

I'm reusing the nylon fencing that we used to have for our

chicken runs, and simply stapling it to the trees.

This should keep them on their own territory,

and it's barely noticeable.

About half of the area is completed,

and I will work on it as I have the time.

C and I have been slowly working on the woodchip pile,

and we've gotten it down to a fraction of its original size.

It's always nice to have help with these type

of chores, and I enjoy seeing him outside for a change.

The garden is in full swing.

These cucumber plants are an experiment,

as I've never grown them at this time of year.

Our weather has been spectacular of late,

and I'll be curious to see if we are able to get a harvest or two.

In one of the raised beds, we have turnips, lettuce and kale growing.

Everything will continue to be covered with netting,

as I have some very agile chooks

who like to jump up and eat the goodies.

In another raised bed, there is a leftover basil plant,

some lettuce, kale and more cucumbers.

It feels great to see the beds filling up 

with cool weather crops.

Some volunteer pumpkins were nibbled on by something,

and so I used this wire cage to cover them 

until they are large enough to recover.

This also keeps the chooks from scratching and digging around the roots.

We've had visits from rabbits, groundhogs and skunks this season.

Once these starts get a little more size to them,

they will be transplanted into awaiting beds.

There is broccoli, cabbage, kale, and a variety of lettuce

to be added to what is already growing.

I hope you saw the photo I published yesterday.

These monarch caterpillars have been

absolutely magical this year.

We have been totally inundated with them,

and I couldn't be more pleased.

We are overrun with chrysalises everywhere

from clay pots, to rocking chairs, to plants.

We are hoping to have an explosion of color

once they start hatching out.

It is an exciting time indeed! 

Two chrysalises under our bird bath.

Yesterday I checked to see if we still had cats eating the milkweed.

Yup, sure enough, there are at least a handful of them

still devouring what is left.

This multitude of magical milkweed munchers

has done my soul good this summer.

nasturtiums and coreopsis

Although our temperatures have been quite mild,

we haven't had rain since earlier this month.

Watering has been done a couple of times a week,

just to keep everything from looking like a hot mess.

Incidentally, the Florida ligustrum seen here under the left window

has many monarch chrysalises dangling on its leaves.

I will be able to watch them from inside!

I have to say, that I really like the color combination

of the chartreuse and purple elements here.

The dome asters, ajuga and butterfly bush

all serve as a beautiful backdrop for the pops

of bright abelia.

Thank you for keeping your distance!

On a recent neighborhood walk,

an unexpected guest appeared.

S/he was there in broad daylight,

and waddling across the street

like nobody's business.

(If you click on the picture, it will be easier to see.)

Esmerelda eating the blooms!

It feels good to be able to write again,

and share the photos of the homestead.

I'm hoping I can find an answer as to why

I can't get pictures from my phone to my laptop,

but until I do, at least I've found a way around the problem.

The next time I post it will be autumn, my favorite season,

even without all the pumpkin-spiced goodies.

I hope you have savored your summer

and have something to look forward to 

in the coming season.

God Bless.