Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings.

I'm hopeful that your week has been a good one,

allowing you to feel the wonderment of this place we call home.

Summer has bid us farewell,

and we are experiencing cooler temperatures

and the miraculous changes in the natural world.

Big K and I got out yesterday to participate in early voting.

We usually fill out an absentee ballot,

but I felt strongly that I needed to see my vote

register on the machine.

What a privilege it is to have a say in the future of our democracy.

Despite the hurricane affecting their business,

Sow True Seed sent out our garlic for planting this week.

I can't say enough about this company,

and especially their customer service.

Great quality seeds provided by folks who care.

With our final two rectangular Birdie's beds constructed,

we managed to go ahead and fill them with topsoil,

compost and a layer of shredded leaves.

The plan is to grow a cover crop in them this season,

and have them ready for spring planting.

Raven and Scout

Our chooks are keeping us entertained,

that's for sure.

They have taken to climbing up this trellis

to get at the hyacinth bean flowers on the vine

above their run.

They can sometimes be found on the top of the run itself,

where they enjoying munching away on these sweet morsels.

Matilda, who has been our most friendly chook,

has now discovered that she can fly over the fencing at will,

and so we often find her wandering wherever her little heart desires.

I have no way to corral her until a proper fence can be built,

so I just pray that she stays safe.

These black bean sweet potato burgers were made for supper

one night.  I'm happy with the ease of preparation,

but I think I'll add a bit more seasoning to them next time.

The recipe was acquired on Detoxinista,

where many gluten-free, dairy-free goodies can be found.

Check out her autumn/Halloween treats.

We put up a small autumn display.

The Lego head was originally made for

one of C's Halloween costumes.

It was easy to put this together,

with old clothes and straw we had for the chooks.

I hope it brings a smile to neighbors passing by.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has truly been

horrific for our neighbors to the west.

At the time of this writing,

there are still 81 people unaccounted for,

three weeks after the storm.

Please keep all of these folks in your heart,

as well as the amazing people who are here to help,

including government workers, linemen and volunteers.

May you be blessed with those you love around you.

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont, North Carolina homestead.

I recently made a garland out of these harvested

marigold blooms.

It is featured at the end of this post.

It was an easy and fun way to bring a bit of summer inside.

We were fortunate to have had a minor impact

from the recent Hurricane Helene.

Our neighbors to the west were not so fortunate.

Much of Western North Carolina has been

absolutely devastated.

We were inconvenienced with a few hours of pioneer living,

and a few days without internet,

and about 10" of rain over two days.

Feeling so very fortunate.

It's been over a month since my last post,

how did that happen?

There was a pup sitting job that took me away

from the homestead for a good while.

I am playing catch up on all things gardening,

and relishing the time spent with the chooks.

This week, I took the time to sift through our compost.

This is done every 6 months,

and I get enough to fill about five 5-gallon buckets.

This meets my needs for compost,

so there is no need to purchase it.

Our handy neighbor Joe,

made me a screen that just happens

to fit perfectly over this garden cart.

Works like a charm!

Several Seminole pumpkins were picked earlier this week,

and I look forward to roasting one soon.

Seeds will be saved, as I am very impressed

with their lack of pest issues.

There are still a few that are ripening on the vines.

The sweet potatoes were also harvested.

The results were a bit disappointing,

but I am grateful for what we got.

The last two years have not been the best for spuds.

One crop that never disappoints is 

Red Ripper beans.

They are a drying bean and once they get going,

they produce pods for months.

I allow them to dry on the vine,

and shell them for storage once completely dry.

The herb garden is rockin'!

Periodically, herbs are picked for drying

in paper sacks.

The pollinators have been enjoying the basil.

Some cool weather crops have been transplanted.

In this bed we have cabbage and kale,

and in another bed we have broccoli, lettuce and more kale!

(I am a kale junkie!)

Once all the beds have been topped off or constructed,

(I have Birdie's beds to put together and place in the garden),

more brassicas will be planted,

as well as carrots, onions and turnips.

The fall planting season is my absolute favorite!

These girls love roosting!

Our "baby" chooks are doing well

and laying up a storm.

Since they are so young,

they did not have a first molt yet,

and so their eggs have been coming regularly.

They are all so gentle and seem to get along well.

I'm thinking it is because they were hand raised,

and that makes a world of difference.

Matilda!

Baxter and a friend.

May your week be filled with simple gifts.

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings.

Our Piedmont home and garden is coasting toward autumn.

Here's what's been going on around here.

The zinnias and other beauties keep on comin'

and adding a touch of summer to the indoors.

The container is actually an old pitcher

my momma used to store milk in when I was young.

What a treasure!

The squash vines just keep on-a-sprawlin',

and are invading any bare ground they find.

We haven't had rain in a couple of weeks,

but you'd never know it by these crops.

It looks like we'll have a nice harvest

of red ripper beans.

This variety is always easy to germinate,

has no pest issues,

and provides months of pods to pick.

We let them dry on the vine,

so they are ready for storage for the rest of the year.

The teepee turned out well and will definitely be repeated.

Although we've had a fairly mild summer,

this week's higher temperatures

boosted the growth of the loofah.

We once again have gourds growing on our gazebo frame,

providing much needed shade for the chooks.

Although these can be eaten when picked small,

we will most likely leave them to grow

so that they can be given away as loofah "sponges".

Pumpkins keep showing up,

in various sizes, shapes and patterns.

Seminole pumpkin

Some were planted,

and some are volunteers,

and I have absolutely no idea

what variety they are.

It's the most success I've had with squash,

so I'll gladly give them a home.

The nasturtiums cheerfully fill in

some of the Birdie's beds.

The flowers added to the veggie beds

attract pollinators to work their magic.

Next season, more flowers will be added

around the veg garden.

It's a win-win!

Some time was spent this week

harvesting herbs from the designated bed.

There is no dark room in our home in which to dry them,

so I simply use paper sacks to accomplish the task.

Here, we have oregano, which will be placed in the food processor

so that we have it for the entire year.

The Monarchs butterflies are here!

One was spotted early on in the week,

and we have the milkweed plants to support them.

Here you can see the aphids that are covering the milkweed,

but not to worry.

After some observation,

I noticed that the plants where this lil' mystery guy (gal) resided,

the aphids were gone.

So, I've been moving them from plant to plant

in hopes that they will take care of the aphid problem.

This will create a healthier milkweed plant

whenever the Monarch cats decide to show up.

I choose to use the natural approach to gardening,

and don't spray or otherwise interfere with Mother Nature.

She knows what she's doing.

Once our baby chooks started laying,

they have been cranking out eggs like crazy!

We are getting almost 2 dozen weekly,

although they are smaller than the average size egg.

They will increase in size as the girls get older.

Feeling very rich, indeed!

3 out of 4 of our baby olive eggers

Speaking of the babies,

would you look at this?

There are three nesting boxes in our 

Omlet Pro coop,

and yet, they all want to lay in the same one

at the same time!

They seem to be working this out,

but now we have one broody hen 

who refuses to leave the box all day!

Every two hours, we take her out,

so that she can eat and stretch her legs.

It's always something,

but our lives are richer because of them,

so we will deal with any drama that comes up.

The three older girls, or as they are also known,

the bullies, get free range time at least once daily.

They live in their own run,

as they are merciless with the babies.

They seem to be enjoying their freedom,

and are very good about staying close to home.

Betty eating homemade applesauce

I'm sorry to report that our sweet Betty passed in the last few weeks.

She was a good friend to our beautiful Queenie,

her twin sister Wilma, and dear Ruby. 

I hope they are all together somewhere 

and catching all the crickets they can eat!

With each chook passing, I am getting better

at dealing with it and giving them some comfort.

It's never easy losing a beloved pet,

but I know that they've had a good life with us,

and I send them off with love and peace

(and a boatload of tears).

May September usher in for you

new adventures and a peaceful heart.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Homestead Happenings

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here

on our Piedmont NC property.

Tropical storm Debby made Her way through our area,

bringing over 3 inches of rain, fierce winds

and a short loss of power.

All is fine here,

and the chooks were all kept on lock down

for the event.

 

Speaking of chooks,

our babies are now laying.

We had a full dozen eggs last week,

after months of having to purchase eggs

from other chicken keepers.

The girls are earning their keep!

The gorgeous olive-colored eggs will get bigger with time.

In the veg garden, the sweet potatoes

have been savoring every drop of rain.

The vines are now overflowing from their bed.

Looking forward to having sweet spuds in the fall.

A couple of new Cushaw squash have been spied

on their trellis.  The Seminole pumpkins are growing,

but have not yet ripened to harvest.

These two squashes will be staples in the garden

from now on.

Red ripper beans are coming along on the teepee,

along with some stringless green beans.

I have enjoyed watching the teepee fill in,

and will likely add a few more next spring.

All of the volunteer squash vines are sprawling

in every available spot.  

Thankfully, there is ample space,

and we'll see what we get by season's end.

A volunteer pumpkin near our pollinator bed

is starting to change color.

I have no idea what it is,

or how big it's supposed to get,

so I guess we'll just watch it and take our best guess

for harvest time.

Another volunteer,

near the sweet potato bed,

seems to be some type of melon.

There are quite a few fruit on the vine,

and I fear that the trellis I secured will not be enough

to hold them all.

It's so exciting to see all of this mystery food appear!

Last week, we had temperatures in the 90's,

and we took full advantage of the new

mister fans we picked up.

Here, Betty is getting some much-needed relief,

bless her skinny lil' self.

I've also used them for myself on the front porch,

not only for cooling, but to keep mosquitoes at bay.

The fan can be used without the mister, if desired.

The spiderwort border near the chicken run

had been cut back severely a couple of months ago,

as they were looking mighty raggedy.

With the ample rain we've had,

they are coming back strong.

It's so nice to have fresh blooms

when other things are looking so tired and worn out.

Speaking of fresh blooms,

the zinnias are popping up

in every shade imaginable.

The combination colors are one of my favorites.

This display is just under my bedroom window,

and it brings me such joy

when I open up my curtains in the morning

and am greeted with this beautiful sight.

It reminds me at the beginning of my day

just how blessed we are.

The cactus zinnias are another favorite

and grace our garden every summer.

The milkweed plants must be 6 feet tall,

but so far, no monarchs have been spotted.

We'll keep an eye out though,

as it should be within the next few weeks

that they will start devouring these plants.

This year, there were many volunteer milkweed,

so we have an abundant supply for the caterpillars to enjoy.

What wonderous things are happening on your homestead?