Homestead Happenings

 

Well, it's finally happened!

Spring made Her way to our region.

We are still having a few cooler mornings,

but overall, I'd say She's here to stay!

Here's what's been happening on our Piedmont homestead.

All the leeks have been planted in one of our

Birdie raised beds.

There are still a few ready to be harvested 

that were planted in the fall.

They make fantastic soup!

The Walla Walla onions have been planted

in an adjoining bed.

I've never had too much success with growing onions,

but I'm not giving up yet!

We use onions often when cooking,

and this variety is supposed to store well.

It may be hard to see here,

but this is one of two lettuce beds.

By the time it was watered three or four times,

I noticed that some of the seedlings had already been eaten.

The most likely suspects are the pill bugs.

They have been difficult to deter,

so we'll see what we end up with.

Not to worry, there are backups in the winter sowing containers.

We have more lettuce, kale and other goodies

waiting for their turn at planting.

The new strawberries have been added to this round bed.

I've never tried growing them on a teepee,

but it was something I wanted to try.

Now I need to devise a plan to keep the squirrels away.

One decent-looking blueberry bush is leafing out.

There seems to be another next to it,

but I didn't think blueberries could self-propagate.

Any thoughts on that?

In any case, I plan to dig up the smaller plant,

and give it a different spot in which to grow.

Blueberries have turned out to be

one of my favorite fruits!

Color is slowly coming to the flowerbeds.

This vibrant phlox is not only gorgeous to look at,

but the chooks find the flowers irresistable!

I hope they leave some blooms for us to enjoy.

It's wonderful to have this pop of color from the tulips

out in the otherwise rather dreary butterfly bed.

Soon enough, its neighbors will wake up

and fill the space with brilliant blossoms.

Daffodils always seem so cheery,

especially in the early days of spring,

when cold snaps can still wreak havoc!

The way I deal with weeds/grass coming up in the garden,

is to throw some plain cardboard on top of the area,

and follow up with a layer of woodchips.

Works like a charm and no chemicals needed!

Some time was taken yesterday to sift through our 

yard waste compost pile.

We fork or shovel the material and sift it through a sieve

over a cart.

The larger debris is added to a separate pile to use

around flower beds or other areas of the yard.

The final product is easy to clump in one's hand,

just the texture I am looking for.

With half of the compost pile sifted,

I had five 5-gallon buckets of compost

to use on anything and everything I plant.

I'm hoping to be able to complete this task soon.

In the next post,

I hope to show you the redo of this area

just off of the kitchen.

It's quite a change,

but will make my life so much easier.

I'm so happy to report that all 5 of our girls

are doing well.

Even Henrietta, who had to join the Olive Eggers

after she lost both of her coop mates.

It seems that everyone is doing well with the transition.

Our new chicks should be here in a couple of weeks,

and I will introduce them next time.

Until then, look after yourselves.

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings.

Spring is getting closer each day,

as this carpet of daisies shows.

The seasonal beauties are popping up all over.

Here's some of what we're discovering in our gardens.

candytuft

hyacinth

tulips

iris

phlox

The purple muhly grass is coming back

after a hard prune last week.

This ornamental grass has a lilac hue,

which sways whenever the wind blows.

The sedum, lamb's ear and salvia are all returning

in the front porch bed.

Most of the lamb's ear will be transplanted elsewhere,

and the sedum will be allowed to ramble.

The Yukon Gold potato bed is hoppin'!

We had a couple of days of rain,

which gave them all the moisture they needed.

Chicken wire supported by rebar has been added

to the inside perimeter to keep curious chooks

and pesky squirrels outtathere!

A new whole wheat bread recipe was tried just yesterday,

and I think this one's a keeper.

The flavor and texture are both delightful.

This will most likely be my go-to for weekly sandwich bread.

It's so wonderful to be able to enjoy REAL bread again!

It's been a rough couple of months.

A few weeks ago, we lost Buttercup, unexpectedly.

This week, her buddy, Saffron joined her.

They were both around five years old,

and I did what I could to help them,

but it wasn't enough.

It's so hard when you don't know the cause to their illness,

and they go downhill very quickly.

I just pray that they enjoyed their time with us,

and that they are together again.

 

These four babies (they are two years old) will have to get used to not having access

to the raised beds for a while.

Winter sowing is going strong, and soon these beds

will be filled with transplants that will be off limits to the chooks.

Insect netting is used in the warmer months to keep them out.

It's possible they could talk me into letting them have one bed

for snacking, chatting and the like.

They will also have to learn to take in Henrietta,

who now has no coop mates.

I'll tell you something about Henrietta

that's pretty doggone amazing.

Yesterday was the first day that she was put into the run

with the four younger girls.

Now, we estimate that Henry is at least 8 years old,

because she is the only member of the original flock

who is still with us.

A few hours after I had put her into the other run,

I went to check on things, see how everyone was getting along.

I found this egg in one of the nesting boxes.

We know this is her egg because she's the only chook

who lays blue eggs

(it may look white, but it is a pale blue).

Now, mind you, she hasn't laid an egg in close to two years.

She had stopped laying one other time and then started again after a couple of years.

Needless to say, she never ceases to amaze me.

I think Buttercup and Saffron would approve.

Homestead Happenings

 

snacktime!

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings.

We are still in a bit of a holding pattern

with outdoor projects,

as the weather has been keeping us inside.

A few fair-weather days did allow for 

a tidy-up of the garden equipment.

Things were rearranged and quite a few

items have been slated for giveaway,

as we continue to streamline our possessions.

Less to keep track of, less to maintain.

Saffron and Henrietta are not the least bit

daunted by the size of the compost pile.

The other pile (just to the right),

will be sifted through and placed in

buckets until needed to give the garden beds a boost.

I did manage to get a bed of Yukon Gold potatoes planted.

The next time I get to the hardware store,

I will look to see if they have any seed potatoes

so that I can plant a few more beds.

They are so fun to harvest.

The winter sowing is going well,

with kale and lettuce looking strong.

We've had adequate rain in the last couple of weeks,

so no additional watering on my part was needed.

What could be easier?

Spring is definitely on its way,

as this display of almost-open daffodils shows.

The nigella in this bed is also spreading,

and we've had candytuft blooming for two weeks.

Crocus has also been spotted in the flower beds.

The elderberry is leafing out and

I'm hoping that I get better use out of the berries this year.

Elderberry syrup is often used by locals

to ward off colds and allergies.

I'm thinking of adding one of our plants to the chook run,

as it makes a great hiding place for the girls.

They eat the berries too!

crocus

Inside, we managed to get the master bathroom and

the adjoining room painted.

The color is "Warm Putty" and it makes the room look complete.

Sometimes just reading the names of the colors makes me smile.

The living room/office area is next in line for painting,

with a Robin's egg blue chosen as the color.

Pizza crust was made with the fresh-milled flour,

although it doesn't look as appetizing here.

This was before the pesto was added,

but it only enhanced the flavor of the crust.

This recipe will make it into my FMF binder.

Alas, the snow is gone,

but the anticipation of germinating seeds

is something to look forward to.

We are ready to spend more time outside.

What's the end of winter looking like where you are?

Homestead Happenings

 

Here we are back at Homestead Happenings,

and what a wild couple of weeks it's been!

We were blessed with at least 6 inches of snow,

enough to stay on the ground for several days.

What a rush!

I haven't made a snow person in nearly 60 years!

I'm a bit out of practice, I'd say,

but I gave it a go.

The experience still left me feeling

like I was six years old again.

The baby girls were hesitant to venture across the snow,

but as usual, our independent Matilda, showed them how it's done.

It's funny how she is the runt of the flock,

and given the chance, she just steams right along,

ignoring their bad attitudes.

daffodils emerging 

Even with row covers on the beds,

the temperatures were a bit too severe

for our lettuce and kale.

We had a string of constant teens and single digits,

and it was more than these varieties could handle.

The girls nibbled whatever was left.

The leeks are still hanging in there,

although they were started in May of last year.

Leek and potato soup is one of my favorite dishes,

especially when the frigid winters make it

difficult to keep warm.

Not to fear, though.

Winter sowing has begun.

Just yesterday several varieties of lettuce,

kale, parsley, chamomile and broccoli were sown.

These containers stay outside until they are ready

to be transplanted to their final growing place in beds or grow bags.

If you've never tried winter sowing, read this.

I started using this method two years ago,

and will never start seedlings another way.

The forecast looks promising,

with spring-like temperatures expected 

throughout the rest of February,

and a full day of rain this Sunday.

There are signs of spring popping up already.

This bread was the latest in my bread making adventures.

It is a boule, which is baked in a dutch oven,

and turns out a loaf that is crisp on the outside

and soft and tender inside.

With a little butter, 

you've got yourself a piece o' heaven!

We have two painting projects lined up 

before winter is over.

This color, called "Warm Putty",

will be used to brighten up the Master Bath

and adjoining room.

Having color on the walls just makes things cozier.

neighborhood visitor

We lost our girl Buttercup on the snowiest day of the year.

She had a good life with us,

but it's still so hard to let them go.

The two flockmates that shared her run

seem to miss her, which makes it even tougher.

Hopefully, she is with our other chooks who have passed,

and they are all pecking and scratching

to their hearts' content.

Worms for everyone!

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings.

We weathered the ice storm this week

and it thrills me to say that we had no damage.

In fact, by yesterday, most of the ice was gone,

except for the shadiest of spots on the homestead.

It has been predicted that we will have snow

all day tomorrow.

You won't hear me complain,

I think the stuff is magic!

The chooks are not as thrilled with the white stuff.

They did venture out into the woods on the east side

of the property, to see what they could find.

There is really nothing to report in the garden,

unless you count me being so happy

that the row covers did not get damaged with the

weight of the ice.

So far, so good.

I'm hoping to start my winter sowing next week,

so that I can get a jump start on the spring crops.

With no desire to spend time in the frigid cold,

more indoor projects have been taking up our time.

Here, C is helping out his momma

by constructing a file cabinet.

Voila!

Of course, the grain mill has been working hard

as I discover new things to make

with fresh milled flour.

These tortillas are fantastic and so easy.

I'll never buy storebought again.

A few things were made for sister,

including these mouth-watering rolls

made with a combination of hard white wheat,

hard red wheat and kamut.

The new mixer came yesterday,

so I will be busy today breaking it in.

The fresh milled flour journey is a lifestyle change,

and I can't imagine ever going back to 

storebought breads and baked goods,

so I thought it wise to invest in a heavy-duty mixer.

I rarely buy new things, and in fact I got a good deal on this

because it is considered "refurbished" because the box

had been opened. 

We've always had good experience with refurbished products.

The original warranty is still valid as well.

The younger chooks have been laying up a storm!

We are getting 3 or 4 daily from our four girls

who still lay.

We have 3 other chooks who do not lay anymore

and are just living out their lives here.

We lovingly call them "freeloaders".

three of our four olive eggers

Last time I posted, a picture of Buttercup

was featured, showing her looking into the house

from the front porch.

Unfortunately, she became poorly this week,

and I'm not sure she will be with us much longer.

Sometimes we just don't know the cause.

We will pray for a quick and easy passing,

and hope that she comes back to our family again someday.

With the wicked weather coming our way,

we make sure to keep the bird feeders filled,

the suet feeders stocked and even put out

sunflower seeds for the squirrels.

I know they can be a nuisance,

but they are so fun to watch out the kitchen window.

Grateful that we can nurture the wildlife around our homestead.

With trees on three sides of our home,

we are able to catch sight of many varieties of birds.

They are fascinating and provide plenty of entertainment.

There is so much for which to be grateful,

including the creatures that share this space with us.

I hope you have something interesting

right outside your window.