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

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings.

There's not much to share this week,

as we are still dealing with some of winter's weather.

We have had a few quite pleasant days in the 60's,

so spending some outside was possible.

It's always nice to start out with a hearty breakfast.

Hot cocoa, fresh eggs from our girls,

and fresh-milled English muffins kept me full until lunch.

An online crossword puzzle every morning gets my brain jump started.

Outside, the row covers were lifted so that

I could take a peek at some of the beds.

The cabbage is forming heads and looks like

it may make it to harvest.

The frigid temperatures haven't seemed to bother it.

A couple of kale plants are hanging on,

although not enough to get my fill.

Kale is added to greens daily for my noontime meal.

Thankfully, I am usually able to acquire kale from

our local farmers, Piedmont Farmstead.

There is some kale springing back in another bed,

which had been left for the chooks to snack on.

That kale is some hearty stuff!

Another plant that has started to pop back up

is the sedum grown in pots on the front porch.

The discolored stems had been trimmed away

once they looked raggedy,

and new growth has begun showing itself.

Buttercup's curiosity got the best of her.

She is dying to know what's going on inside!

Perhaps she was attracted by the 

handsome devil on the screen door?

The Foghorn Leghorn craftwork,

(given to me many years ago),

is used to prevent bird strikes on our front door.

I'm not exactly sure what's gotten into me,

but I have been on an organizing spree the last two months.

So much satisfaction can be derived from retooling

the everyday areas that get messy over time.

One of the projects was revamping the "junk" drawer

in the kitchen.

We have a couple of bigger projects to tackle

over the next few months,

but until then, I am tickled pink to get things tidied up.

Sister's closet was worked on by her sweet dad.

She and I went through and sorted and purged

what was no longer needed or useful.

No doubt she loves to open these doors now.

It really is so rewarding to take care of what we've been given.

The latest recipe tried with my newfound love of

fresh-milled flour is crackers.

This was the first attempt, and I can't say

I'm thrilled with the results.

The flavor is great, but they may not

have been rolled thin enough.

I'll try them again at some point,

but since I don't eat crackers that often,

(especially when I have all of this wonderful bread),

it'll go on the back burner.

I'm hoping to try making bagels soon,

as Big K and I both really enjoy them.

Not sure what those who visit here are paying for gas

these days, but I had to share this most glorious bargain

I got just last week when I filled Ginger's tank.

The number on the top is what our Ingles' gas station

was charging.

Since I had reward points to use from shopping there,

I got an additional 65 cents off each gallon!

I haven't paid less than two dollars for gas

since I don't know when!

I hope the new year is treating you well.

God bless.

Garden Friday

 

 

Welcome back to another Garden Friday,

where we share what's happening in our Zone 7b Piedmont garden.

Well, the snow is gone, but the winter chill is not.

The temperatures are usually in the 20's or 30's in the early morning hours,

but sometimes it has gotten up to the high 50's during the day,

thanks to abundant sunshine.

Today we will have rain all day long.

 

It took me a while, but I finally got the loofah sorted out.

I'll be listing this online to see if anyone can use it.

Our crop was not as prolific this year,

and the gourds never got a chance to dry completely on the vines,

so we ended up with a lot less than last year.

 

 

I'll keep a couple for us and look forward to growing it again this year.

One thing with loofah, 

there are plenty of seeds left for growing again.

 

While working on a closet organizing project,

I discovered that some of our sweet potatoes 

have started to sprout.

Not to worry, they will be saved in a brown paper sack

until it is time to create slips for this year's crop.

I also found a bag of white potatoes that are even further along

and they will get planted as soon as it warms up just a bit.

 

We started our work on the new chook run

using this welded wire and conduit.

In the fall, our rooster, Gandalf,

was attacked by a stray dog,

and was quite badly hurt.

This is our attempt to keep them all safer.

 

The conduit looks more streamlined than using t-posts,

and are much easier to install.

Simply pounding them with a mallet does the trick.

In no time at all, the posts were put in the ground.

 

 You can see here that the new run will give them

quite a bit of extra room to roam.

The girls will be happy to have more space

to get away from Gandalf's romantic advances.

Once the fence is completed,

the inner flexible fencing (shown here on the left),

will be removed.

That will be used for allowing free ranging during the afternoon.

 

Another idea I'm working on

is creating what I call "grazing tractors"

using cattle panels that have been cut in half.

These frames were originally used on the raised beds

so that row covers could be used in the winter.

I'm finding that they are a bit too tall

and the row covers are not completely covering them,

so I decided to make new frames for that purpose.

These cattle panel frames will be covered in either bird netting

or 1x1 wire so that the chooks cannot escape.

It will also keep any stray critters from getting at them.

They can be moved around the yard every day.

 

This is another "grazing tractor" idea I had,

using some leftover wire and shaping it into a rectangle

with the bottom open for grazing.

 

 I'm trying to use what I already have on the property,

and it looks like Queenie doesn't mind being in there one bit.

(At this point, the ends were open

and she willingly walked in there with no prompting.)

 

 

On other chook news,

someone is blessing us with blue eggs again!

We've gotten 5 over the last two weeks,

and we're hoping it starts a trend!

The girls have been on an extended laying break,

and I've had to buy eggs from other chicken keepers.

 

I was able to get my self-made "shed" moved this week.

It was too far out into the garden space.

 

The easiest way I could get it moved

was to lay it on its side

and drag it to its new location.

 

It's tucked underneath some trees

and nestled right next to the compost bin.

I need to clean up the leaves around it and lay down some wood chips.

I also tidied up the equipment after moving it.

 Now I have another area in which to plant,

as well as room for the mower and trailer to get by

in case I need to dump compost or soil in their designated spots.

The mailbox, which contains my tools,

will be moved closer to the "shed".

I'm thinking about planting an azalea here

that our neighbor gave us.

This spot is between our houses, so she would get to enjoy it too.

 

 

Can you believe this?

We rescued a squirrel from the inside of our gutter pipe.

The poor thing got himself stuck up there and it took

a swift yanking of his tail to get him out.

He took off for parts unknown and we wish him well.

 

 

It's been a fairly cold winter,

but I'm not complaining.

I absolutely adore living with the seasons.

How do you feel about winter?

Friday Fotos

 

Welcome to Friday Fotos!

We've been a little bit busier on the homestead over the last week,

able to tackle both indoor and outdoor tasks.

It's felt good to rack up some steps on my pedometer.

 

It seems the chooks have decided that the flower bed 

in front of the porch is their newest favorite place.

I'll have to come up with something to keep them out of there,

because I have plans to beef it up with perennial plants for the growing season.
 

 

This week I finally found a home for these old newspapers

my parents had kept from all those years ago.

 

The local historical office was happy to have them

to add to their collection.

 

 I'm not sure how I got them or why I held on to them for so long.

I'm just glad that they will be able to be viewed by others.

 

Our neighbors two doors down keep bees.

I decided it was a good time to stock up,

as I've heard from other beekeepers that they 

completely sold out of their honey this past year.

 

 With springtime fast approaching,

I gathered the cardboard tubes that had been collected

and made seed pots.

A new process was used this time,

and I'm curious to see how well they hold up.

 The tweak with these is that the bottoms sit flat,

so there is less chance that they will tip over and spill soil.

I'll be posting the new method soon.

 

 

We had a weekday in the 60's,

believe it or not,

and I took full advantage.

This DIY "shed" that I fashioned last year

was starting to look ragged.

It was time for a bit of reorganization.

 

These storage units were repurposed from C's room.

They used to house a lot of his Lego bricks,

but we redid his system and he no longer needed these.

They were ideal for use in the outdoor space.

I was able to store smaller items for the garden and the chooks.

 

They fit perfectly in the space and allowed me

to fit more into the same area.

Some "s" hooks will be acquired so that

I can hang up some of the items and get them off the ground.

Here's another chore I've been waiting to do

once the weather cleared up a bit.

The area under the chicken coop would sometimes get soggy

when it rained or snowed.

I'm hoping this diversion dug into the ground behind the coop

will shed the water in a different direction,

thereby keeping their run area drier.

 

Well, the warm weather lasted a day, and then it hit.

We were blessed with about 2 inches of snow.

Hot dog!

 

You'll hear no complaints from me!

It's still a magical thing to me,

and I enjoy watching it come down and blanket everything

in a serene sea of white.

 

The chooks, on the other hand,

are not so fond of it.

They pretty much stay in or under the coop.

I did shovel most of it in the run,

so that they could stretch their legs.

The Eglu coop is surprisingly warm inside.

When I open the nesting box in the morning,

I stick my hand in the roosting area 

and am assured that it is toasty warm.

Amazing!
 

 

On a side note,

we made a discovery this week with one of the chooks.

It was the middle of the day and I went out to check on them,

and Queenie was sitting on two eggs in the nesting box.

Hmmm...

It seems we've discovered why she has been acting so peculiar lately.

Unfortunately, we aren't set up for chicks just yet,

so I took the eggs.

We are hoping she continues to be broody for another month,

when we will have another coop to use for spring chicks.

It will be our first time caring for baby chicks 

and we are all very excited.

 

What's happening on your homestead?