Hope is one of those words that we use on a daily basis.
"I hope the weather holds out so we can go to our activity."
"I hope you remembered your appointment!"
"I hope you're happy!"
Too many times we use the word hope, but don't really think about it's meaning. To many people, it's just another word in their vocabulary. To many others, it means so much more.
If you are celebrating Advent, you know that the first week is "Hope"-anticipation for the coming of Christ. This is a very exciting time in the church and in our daily lives.
Ask anyone and they will tell you what Hope means to them. To me, it means so much. Our family gets involved with The American Cancer Society, and Hope means a cure for cancer is on the horizon. Like I've posted before, our son is a cancer survivor. The Relay For Life uses Hope in many of their promotions. Hope for a cure is in the front of everyone's minds when they participate.
Hope is also something we use on our own little farm. We hope to have another source of water for our animals and garden someday, we hope to expand our animals someday to include more species. We hope to build a little cabin out at the pond for storage and entertaining. We hope to update our kitchen so it doesn't have that 1950's look that it currently has. So many hopes and dreams. Sometimes we feel like we will never achieve those dreams, but we keep plugging along. One hope and dream at a time.
This past week, that Hope has caused a more peaceful feeling in my heart. I've tried to quit worrying about every little thing and just "Let Go and Let God." Too many stresses during this season can make for a miserable time. I realized it just the other day, driving home from work. I was happy and had this at-peace feeling in my heart. I couldn't describe it, it just felt right. My hope for each and every one of you, is that you can find that peaceful feeling that is just right for you too.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thankfulness Abounds
I've been posting Thankful posts on my facebook during the month of November. Most of them are the run of the mill, thankful for my family, friends, faith, etc. You know, the important things in life. Well, today is the big one for us. Fourteen years ago, we were in foreign territory. We were sitting in a hospital room with our 2 1/2 year old being told they had found leukoblasts in his blood. I swear I probably looked white as a sheet when the doctor told us. They didn't have to even says what they meant. A mother's gut is never wrong, I knew what leuko meant and it wasn't going to be good. The big fat "C" word had just hit me in the stomach and I wasn't ready for it.
Let me rewind a bit and start at the beginning. We had moved to northeastern Nebraska right out of college for my husband to start a career in hog management. We moved to a little town of about 1500 people and found a rental in the country. We were ecstatic to be able to live in the country and have room for our 18 month old little boy to run around and just be a boy. I decided to stay at home with him and enjoy being a mommy. The summer went by without any issues and we were starting to head into fall. Our son was now 2 1/2 and his health was starting to concern us. He was tired all the time and didn't want to walk up the stairs to his room. We just thought he was being a toddler and wanted to be carried and not want to become a "big boy." Every symptom was able to be explained away without ever thinking it was something more serious.
He finally got sick enough that I was genuinely concerned. He had croup and a friend had said to put him into a steamy bathroom to help break up the congestion. I tried that it didn't help. This was a Sunday afternoon. I still wasn't concerned enough to take him to an ER, but I had decided the next morning, we would get him an appointment with his doctor. We let him fall asleep on the floor on a big pillow so we could keep an eye on him a little closer. About 10:00 that evening, he woke up gasping for air. That was it! I wasn't waiting till morning. We loaded up in the car and drove probably much faster than we should have. We were terrified and wanted someone to tell us that everything was fine and he will get some medicine and be better in the next couple days. A mother knows when things weren't right, and I knew something was wrong.
The ER doctors and nurses thought all he needed was a breathing treatment and we would be on our way. One nurse asked me if he looked pale. Well, if you've seen me, you would have thought the same thing as I did. "Well, I'm extremely pale, so I never thought much about it." I told them. They decided to take some blood to check it out. Have you ever tried to take blood from a 2 1/2 year old? Wow, they are strong. It took three nurses and myself to hold that kid and get blood from his arm. They ended up putting in an IV line in case they needed to give him more medication. They sent us up to a room for another breathing treatment and thought we'd be able to head home in the morning.
We went up to the room and tried to get some rest, but I had a million things running through my mind. About 3 a.m., our friend's mom, who is the hospital chaplain, had come into the room. I didn't have a good feeling about that. Chaplains don't just pop in to say hello, especially at that time of night. Soon after that, a doctor came in and dropped the biggest bomb on our lives. Cancer. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Wow, who would have seen that one coming. We were first time parents and didn't know what we were doing. The hospital felt that they couldn't provide adequate services for a pediatric case. They asked us what we wanted to do. We could go to Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Omaha, Nebraska for treatment. They didn't push us in either direction. They let us make the decision ourselves.
We opted for Omaha, Nebraska because it was close for our family to come up and be with us. Let me tell you, that was THE best decision we ever made. The University of Nebraska Med Center has a top notch staff in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. We were flown down there in a helicopter and a few hours later settled into a room. Blood and platelet transfusions were started since his red blood cell count and platelet counts were dangerously low. Several transfusions later, he was feeling better and being prepped for surgery. They put in a porta-cath (sp?) and his first round of chemotherapy was adminstered.
Three years, many more trips and scares later, we finished his final treatment. He was 5 1/2 when he took his final treatment of chemo and he has thrived ever since. He is 16 years old now and you would have NEVER known he was as sick as he was back then. He is a miracle child for sure.
I will be eternally grateful and thankful to the doctors and nurses that had helped us through that horrible journey. I has made us stronger as a family and stronger as individuals. I am a believer in modern medicine and so glad we live in a time that can help so many families through these times with that medicine. I'm not the type that will just put my kid on medicine because of a sniffle or upset tummy, but when it's something serious, you can bet I will be at the doctor. It took us a while to get to this point. Right after he was done with treatments, I did take him into the doctor, a lot. I was paranoid that it would come back. Over time, we learned what to take him in for and what to just let him get through.
If you've never had to deal with a serious illness with your children, count your blessings! It's something I wouldn't wish upon anyone. It has strengthened our faith and our marriage. If you ever do have to go through something like this, find a support group, a good friend, someone that you talk to. It's a life-saver, both mentally and physically. They can let you vent, let you cry and help you through the piles of dishes, laundry, or whatever else you may have to deal with. It really is a blessing to have that support.
Let me rewind a bit and start at the beginning. We had moved to northeastern Nebraska right out of college for my husband to start a career in hog management. We moved to a little town of about 1500 people and found a rental in the country. We were ecstatic to be able to live in the country and have room for our 18 month old little boy to run around and just be a boy. I decided to stay at home with him and enjoy being a mommy. The summer went by without any issues and we were starting to head into fall. Our son was now 2 1/2 and his health was starting to concern us. He was tired all the time and didn't want to walk up the stairs to his room. We just thought he was being a toddler and wanted to be carried and not want to become a "big boy." Every symptom was able to be explained away without ever thinking it was something more serious.
He finally got sick enough that I was genuinely concerned. He had croup and a friend had said to put him into a steamy bathroom to help break up the congestion. I tried that it didn't help. This was a Sunday afternoon. I still wasn't concerned enough to take him to an ER, but I had decided the next morning, we would get him an appointment with his doctor. We let him fall asleep on the floor on a big pillow so we could keep an eye on him a little closer. About 10:00 that evening, he woke up gasping for air. That was it! I wasn't waiting till morning. We loaded up in the car and drove probably much faster than we should have. We were terrified and wanted someone to tell us that everything was fine and he will get some medicine and be better in the next couple days. A mother knows when things weren't right, and I knew something was wrong.
The ER doctors and nurses thought all he needed was a breathing treatment and we would be on our way. One nurse asked me if he looked pale. Well, if you've seen me, you would have thought the same thing as I did. "Well, I'm extremely pale, so I never thought much about it." I told them. They decided to take some blood to check it out. Have you ever tried to take blood from a 2 1/2 year old? Wow, they are strong. It took three nurses and myself to hold that kid and get blood from his arm. They ended up putting in an IV line in case they needed to give him more medication. They sent us up to a room for another breathing treatment and thought we'd be able to head home in the morning.
We went up to the room and tried to get some rest, but I had a million things running through my mind. About 3 a.m., our friend's mom, who is the hospital chaplain, had come into the room. I didn't have a good feeling about that. Chaplains don't just pop in to say hello, especially at that time of night. Soon after that, a doctor came in and dropped the biggest bomb on our lives. Cancer. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Wow, who would have seen that one coming. We were first time parents and didn't know what we were doing. The hospital felt that they couldn't provide adequate services for a pediatric case. They asked us what we wanted to do. We could go to Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Omaha, Nebraska for treatment. They didn't push us in either direction. They let us make the decision ourselves.
We opted for Omaha, Nebraska because it was close for our family to come up and be with us. Let me tell you, that was THE best decision we ever made. The University of Nebraska Med Center has a top notch staff in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. We were flown down there in a helicopter and a few hours later settled into a room. Blood and platelet transfusions were started since his red blood cell count and platelet counts were dangerously low. Several transfusions later, he was feeling better and being prepped for surgery. They put in a porta-cath (sp?) and his first round of chemotherapy was adminstered.
Three years, many more trips and scares later, we finished his final treatment. He was 5 1/2 when he took his final treatment of chemo and he has thrived ever since. He is 16 years old now and you would have NEVER known he was as sick as he was back then. He is a miracle child for sure.
I will be eternally grateful and thankful to the doctors and nurses that had helped us through that horrible journey. I has made us stronger as a family and stronger as individuals. I am a believer in modern medicine and so glad we live in a time that can help so many families through these times with that medicine. I'm not the type that will just put my kid on medicine because of a sniffle or upset tummy, but when it's something serious, you can bet I will be at the doctor. It took us a while to get to this point. Right after he was done with treatments, I did take him into the doctor, a lot. I was paranoid that it would come back. Over time, we learned what to take him in for and what to just let him get through.
If you've never had to deal with a serious illness with your children, count your blessings! It's something I wouldn't wish upon anyone. It has strengthened our faith and our marriage. If you ever do have to go through something like this, find a support group, a good friend, someone that you talk to. It's a life-saver, both mentally and physically. They can let you vent, let you cry and help you through the piles of dishes, laundry, or whatever else you may have to deal with. It really is a blessing to have that support.
This post shared on: The Thankful HomeAcre Hop
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Stocking Up
This weekend was a stock up weekend. Friday night I came home from work and got my applesauce canned. I had it all ready earlier in the week and ran out of time. It was put into the fridge for a day or two to wait. Friday I actually had the time to get it done. I ended up with 8 quarts. Of course it was 1 quart too much to fit into my canner. Oh, well! That means it must be eaten soon-and it was. Wow, nothing compares to homemade applesauce!
The apples we used were JonaGold. We made our apple-picking trip late this year, so there wasn't much of a choice in apple variety. That was fine with me. The apples still were delicious! We picked 60 pounds of apples this year, so we are in apple overload! We also picked about 60 pounds for my mom. She was busy that weekend, so we picked for her. I love going out to the orchard to pick the apples. Nothing is better than picking your own fruit and eating it right then and there. The warm fruit is beyond compare.
I also love dehydrated apples. The rest of my family isn't as keen on the idea, but as I type this, I'm snacking on some. They are almost addictive! I have a tiny plastic dehydrator that my mom bought several years ago. We don't use it much, but I dry herbs and apples with it. It's nice that it's so small, but a larger one would be nice, if I could just utilize it like it should be. Maybe one day. Two batches were made and I will probably leave it at that. They will most likely be gone by Christmas, but that will keep me wanting more for next year.
Between apple drying and sauce making, we finally got the wood put up from the front yard. Earlier this year we had to cut down the oak tree in our front yard. We think it got hit by lightning a couple years ago and each year the leaves fell off in early summer. Branches kept falling out when the wind blew and finally the bark at the base of the tree began to come off in large sheets. We knew it had to come down. In late September my husband took the chainsaw to it and made several cuts to make sure it fell the direction we wanted. We probably let it lay in the yard longer than we should have, but it was still warm and neither one of us really wanted to cut wood in the heat. Saturday was cool and there was no wind, so we decided to get it loaded up. The top branches were already dried, so we loaded them up and stacked them on the side of the house.
This pile will probably last a good 6-8 weeks heating our home. Not nearly enough to get through the winter, but a good start. We have another pile of seasoned wood out by the silo to burn too. Probably still not enough, but we have some other wood cutting sites that should get us stocked up.
The trunk of this big oak wasn't dry, so we cut it into large slices. Oh my, those were huge. It took three of us to roll them to the splitter and up our make shift risers to get it onto the splitting area. We ended up with a full trailer of wet wood to stack up for next year and there is still more in the front yard. Hopefully we can get it loaded this week and stacked up in it's new home.
Our wood of choice to burn is hedge or mulberry. Oak is a nice dense wood too and should do a good job of heating the house. We are overrun with cottonwood and elm trees at our place, but we only burn those in the outdoor fire pit. They are not as dense, so they don't burn as hot and they leave a ton of ash behind. Hedge can be a tricky wood to burn though. It likes to spark. Our fireplace is completely closed up except for the small vent in the back, so not many sparks make it out. My husband said that a nearby city will not let you burn hedge because of the sparking hazard. Glad we live where we do so we can burn it!
What type of wood do you prefer to burn in your fireplace?
The apples we used were JonaGold. We made our apple-picking trip late this year, so there wasn't much of a choice in apple variety. That was fine with me. The apples still were delicious! We picked 60 pounds of apples this year, so we are in apple overload! We also picked about 60 pounds for my mom. She was busy that weekend, so we picked for her. I love going out to the orchard to pick the apples. Nothing is better than picking your own fruit and eating it right then and there. The warm fruit is beyond compare.
I also love dehydrated apples. The rest of my family isn't as keen on the idea, but as I type this, I'm snacking on some. They are almost addictive! I have a tiny plastic dehydrator that my mom bought several years ago. We don't use it much, but I dry herbs and apples with it. It's nice that it's so small, but a larger one would be nice, if I could just utilize it like it should be. Maybe one day. Two batches were made and I will probably leave it at that. They will most likely be gone by Christmas, but that will keep me wanting more for next year.
Between apple drying and sauce making, we finally got the wood put up from the front yard. Earlier this year we had to cut down the oak tree in our front yard. We think it got hit by lightning a couple years ago and each year the leaves fell off in early summer. Branches kept falling out when the wind blew and finally the bark at the base of the tree began to come off in large sheets. We knew it had to come down. In late September my husband took the chainsaw to it and made several cuts to make sure it fell the direction we wanted. We probably let it lay in the yard longer than we should have, but it was still warm and neither one of us really wanted to cut wood in the heat. Saturday was cool and there was no wind, so we decided to get it loaded up. The top branches were already dried, so we loaded them up and stacked them on the side of the house.
This pile will probably last a good 6-8 weeks heating our home. Not nearly enough to get through the winter, but a good start. We have another pile of seasoned wood out by the silo to burn too. Probably still not enough, but we have some other wood cutting sites that should get us stocked up.
The trunk of this big oak wasn't dry, so we cut it into large slices. Oh my, those were huge. It took three of us to roll them to the splitter and up our make shift risers to get it onto the splitting area. We ended up with a full trailer of wet wood to stack up for next year and there is still more in the front yard. Hopefully we can get it loaded this week and stacked up in it's new home.
Our wood of choice to burn is hedge or mulberry. Oak is a nice dense wood too and should do a good job of heating the house. We are overrun with cottonwood and elm trees at our place, but we only burn those in the outdoor fire pit. They are not as dense, so they don't burn as hot and they leave a ton of ash behind. Hedge can be a tricky wood to burn though. It likes to spark. Our fireplace is completely closed up except for the small vent in the back, so not many sparks make it out. My husband said that a nearby city will not let you burn hedge because of the sparking hazard. Glad we live where we do so we can burn it!
What type of wood do you prefer to burn in your fireplace?
Monday, October 21, 2013
Weekend Review
What a whirlwind weekend we had. It started out with a snowstorm hitting on Friday. Middle of October, in Kansas and we have snow. It never amounted to much, but there were half-dollar sized flakes coming down most of the morning. The ground was still warm, so it melted as soon as it hit. Kinda makes you wonder what the rest of the fall and winter will be like. That's what we expect in Kansas-crazy weather!
Our daughter was supposed to cheer in a mini cheer clinic at Friday nights home football game, but it was cancelled due to the cold temps and wet weather. Thank goodness! I'm hoping the next home game will have nicer weather for them to cheer. That was one thing I could check off my crazy weekend itinerary!
Saturday morning, we got out of bed, bundled up and went out to dig our sweet potatoes. It frosted overnight, so we needed to get them out of the ground ASAP. This was an experiment crop for us this year. We planted approximately 10 slips and seven of them made it to harvest. We didn't get very many potatoes from the plants, but that was fine. We aren't huge sweet potato eaters to begin with, so I'd rather eat what we have and not worry about a bunch of excess. Sweet potatoes are one of those foods that I didn't really care for as a kid growing up, but if I had some now, I would eat them. It's amazing what happens to our palates as we grow up. Things aren't "gross" anymore. We just suck it up and eat it as adults.
Saturday afternoon brought a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt test for our son. He received his first Black Belt back in April, but had to test again to get his 1st Dan. It's the next level of Black Belt that you can get. He was very excited to get this belt. It's his "official" Black Belt. The first one was a "probationary" belt. Now he is a full-fledged Black Belt and will receive a special certificate stating so. He will be receiving it in a couple weeks.
Sunday brought with it a set of mixed emotions. We had to say goodbye to Bella, our new puppy. She was born with a defect that we and the breeder were unaware of. She was getting worse and worse each day and the medication our vet gave us didn't help. Saturday night, she passed away. We were hoping to have more time with Bella, but I think it was probably best that it happened so quickly. You could tell she was getting frustrated with it and we were holding out hope that things would just level off and she would be able to live. It was a very sad day, but made brighter with the addition of Sophie, our new little girl.
Our daughter was supposed to cheer in a mini cheer clinic at Friday nights home football game, but it was cancelled due to the cold temps and wet weather. Thank goodness! I'm hoping the next home game will have nicer weather for them to cheer. That was one thing I could check off my crazy weekend itinerary!
Saturday morning, we got out of bed, bundled up and went out to dig our sweet potatoes. It frosted overnight, so we needed to get them out of the ground ASAP. This was an experiment crop for us this year. We planted approximately 10 slips and seven of them made it to harvest. We didn't get very many potatoes from the plants, but that was fine. We aren't huge sweet potato eaters to begin with, so I'd rather eat what we have and not worry about a bunch of excess. Sweet potatoes are one of those foods that I didn't really care for as a kid growing up, but if I had some now, I would eat them. It's amazing what happens to our palates as we grow up. Things aren't "gross" anymore. We just suck it up and eat it as adults.
Saturday afternoon brought a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt test for our son. He received his first Black Belt back in April, but had to test again to get his 1st Dan. It's the next level of Black Belt that you can get. He was very excited to get this belt. It's his "official" Black Belt. The first one was a "probationary" belt. Now he is a full-fledged Black Belt and will receive a special certificate stating so. He will be receiving it in a couple weeks.
Sunday brought with it a set of mixed emotions. We had to say goodbye to Bella, our new puppy. She was born with a defect that we and the breeder were unaware of. She was getting worse and worse each day and the medication our vet gave us didn't help. Saturday night, she passed away. We were hoping to have more time with Bella, but I think it was probably best that it happened so quickly. You could tell she was getting frustrated with it and we were holding out hope that things would just level off and she would be able to live. It was a very sad day, but made brighter with the addition of Sophie, our new little girl.
Sunday afternoon we made a flying trip to the opposite side of the county for our 4-H Acheivement Celebration. This is a time to celebrate all the hard work our 4-Hers have put into the past year working on projects and activities. Our son had a long list of acheivements this year. He is also a part of the 4-H Ambassadors. This group has been a lot of fun to watch. They help promote 4-H to anyone they see. They go help at functions around the area and learn about leadership and citizenship. 4-H has been a wonderful program for our kids to be in. It's been an asset to their everyday lives and will be with them for years to come.
So that wraps up a crazy weekend at our place. I don't think I've recovered either. Another set of late nights are coming my way, but you know what-I wouldn't have it any other way. I guess I don't have a simple life, at least not in my eyes, but I love it!
Shared on: The Homestead Barn Hop
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sad News
Our little Bella, that we just got a little over a week ago, will probably not be with us very long. She came home with us and as far as we knew, was a healthy puppy that was eager to start a new life with our family. We took her into the vet for a visit just to see that things were developing like they should. As far as we and the vet knew, she was healthy. We would get her out and take little walks around the farm, go out to the pond, play and just enjoy the time with her.
A couple days ago, we started to notice she would run circles to the right. It was like she couldn't see correctly. At first it was just a little bit, so we decided to keep an eye on her. A day or two later, it was all she could do to walk straight or even find us when we called to her. She would run into walls, or her fence and couldn't keep herself going straight.
We decided she needed to be seen by the vet again. After he looked at her and did some puppy development tests, he thinks she has fluid on her brain. Her head is dome-shaped and his diagnosis doesn't look good. If the fluid keeps building up, it could eventually kill her. Not, something we wanted to hear after finally getting her. She is healthy otherwise-gaining weight, eating well and trying to be playful.
We don't blame the breeder for any of this. I'm not sure how often this occurs, but we felt this was just a freak incident that neither side could have expected. They are being very understanding and offering us a second dog. Hopefully by next week, Bella will have one of her sisters with her again. This could help her in the long run too. A companion may help her and improve her quality of life.
We are going to keep her and help her live as full a life as she can. Maybe she will surprise us and live a nice long life. Until that fateful day, she will stay Our Bella.
A couple days ago, we started to notice she would run circles to the right. It was like she couldn't see correctly. At first it was just a little bit, so we decided to keep an eye on her. A day or two later, it was all she could do to walk straight or even find us when we called to her. She would run into walls, or her fence and couldn't keep herself going straight.
We decided she needed to be seen by the vet again. After he looked at her and did some puppy development tests, he thinks she has fluid on her brain. Her head is dome-shaped and his diagnosis doesn't look good. If the fluid keeps building up, it could eventually kill her. Not, something we wanted to hear after finally getting her. She is healthy otherwise-gaining weight, eating well and trying to be playful.
We don't blame the breeder for any of this. I'm not sure how often this occurs, but we felt this was just a freak incident that neither side could have expected. They are being very understanding and offering us a second dog. Hopefully by next week, Bella will have one of her sisters with her again. This could help her in the long run too. A companion may help her and improve her quality of life.
We are going to keep her and help her live as full a life as she can. Maybe she will surprise us and live a nice long life. Until that fateful day, she will stay Our Bella.
Shared at: From the Farm Blog Hop
Friday, October 11, 2013
Our Bella
Meet the newest member of our farm family-Bella!
She is a purebred Great Pyrenees. She is such a doll with a shy, sweet personality. She's not too shy though. We are hoping she will be a predator deterrent, guarding our animals from the coyotes and other animals that might think our chickens and ducks are and evening snack. Hopefully we will be able to borrow a couple lambs to socialize her with, so she can practice herding and guarding them as well. We get 4-H lambs each spring and it would be nice to have a buddy for them to hang out with that will also keep them safe. Luckily we've never had to deal with a predator killing a lamb, but I don't want to deal with that-EVER! I know, I'm dreaming, right?!
I've had a couple people ask if she's going to live in the house. Umm, I don't think they realize how big a Great Pyrenees will get. No, she will not be living in the house. I don't have anything against other people keeping dogs in their house, but I'm not THAT kind of dog person. She is about the only dog I will let kiss me too. I think there are two kinds of dog people in this world. People who own working dogs and people who own the little lap dogs. Call me a dog hater, but I prefer the working dogs. I have had so many bad experiences with other people's indoor dogs, I'd prefer to not deal with those situations in my own home.
She is a working dog, and working dogs don't want to live in the house. They have an instinct that says they need to live outside. She will be able to get out of the rain, snow, or whatever bad weather comes our way. It just won't be in my house.
We've been without a dog for about 7 years now, so it's an adjustment having one around again. Our last dog, Annie, was a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. She ended up dying at the age of 13 or 14. She was just getting slower and slower each year. Before we moved to our farm, we had neighbors who's Blue Healers came over and attacked her. (Don't get me started on that one!) She healed up fairly quickly after that, but about a year later, she died, peacefully. It was hard on my husband since she was his dog. He raised her from a puppy and she moved with us all over when we were first married.
Now that we have Bella, we will be busy once again, teaching her to come, sit, shake, and all the other obedience skills dogs need to learn. I'll try and post pictures as she gets bigger!
Shared on:
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Surprises
Look who I found the other day when I went to check on my girls! This little puff ball was hiding under mama. I had let the chickens out one morning and when I got home that evening, I went out to feed and water. I saw the barred rock still sitting on her little nest and decided to see how things were going for her. As I got closer, she ruffled up her feathers and was "growling" at me. She wiggled a bit and I swore I could hear little peeps coming from underneath her. About that time, I saw this little guy poke his (or her) head out. I was so excited!
We started the mama out with four eggs, but one by one, they started to disappear. I figured she rolled them out as she realized they weren't viable. Not sure where they went though. I know my chickens have had egg eating tendencies in the past, but these were completely gone. No empty shell or anything.
This mama was in the corner of the coop sitting on her eggs like a trooper. As all the others would wander in and out during the day, she faithfully sat on her clutch, only getting up for a short period of time to eat or drink. Then, back onto the nest she went. One afternoon, my husband came up from the pond with a duck egg. He slipped it under the mama, but I'm not sure that one is going to hatch. We've never hatched ducklings before, so this in an experiment. It's still sitting there, so I'm afraid it wasn't fertilized to begin with.
Now that baby chick is here, all the other girls have been kicked out of this pen. Luckily I have two smaller pens inside the big coop. I've locked mama and baby in one with their own food and water and all the others have to share the other pen for a while. They still have plenty of room to move around when they get shut in, but for the most part, they are wandering in and out during daylight hours.
I'm really hoping this little one does well. We haven't had a mama chicken hatch babies since we've lived here. I'll try to post pictures of his/her growth progress!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Timber!
This weekend we finally said goodbye to an old friend. Well, we've only known this friend for about 5 1/2 years-since we moved here, but it was old none-the-less. We had an big oak tree in the front yard that we think was hit by lightning a couple years ago. Over the last three years the drought has stressed it out and it finally decided to die. It was very sad. I loved it's big branches that shaded the yard. It was so pretty in the summer covered with leaves and it always had that soothing rustle when the wind blew.
We started noticing something was wrong three summers ago. That year it leafed out and we were hit by 100+ degree weather for several weeks in a row. The heat together with very little rain stressed out a lot of plants and trees in our yard. The oak lost it's leaves by early August and we thought that was strange. That's when we think it was hit with lightning. The next summer only about half of the tree leafed out. We knew something was not right when that happened. Watering and feeding just didn't snap it out of what we thought was going on. We were just hoping it was trying to stay in it's dormancy state due to the stress. We don't know much about trees, so we were just guessing at this point.
Throughout the winter, we started noticing that the bark was falling off the branches at the top of the tree. Smaller branches started to fall out when the wind would blow too, so we knew it was done. By the time spring came around, the top branches were bare and falling apart. Only one small branch tried to put on leaves. They only lasted about a month and then turned brown. We knew it had to come down before falling branches hurt someone. Luckily it was a fairly straight tree and we could cut it down so it wouldn't take out any other trees or power lines.
My husband took the chain saw to it and cut a wedge out on the side that he wanted it to fall towards. He started cutting on the back side of the tree and it finally popped and fell. He was a little off on his wedge and the tree fell more towards our large sycamore tree. It only took off a couple little branches from the sycamore. Nothing too severe.
Now we have this big open spot in our yard that I want to fill in. I'm thinking another oak needs to go back there. This time I'd like one that turns a prettier color than drab brown. It does need to be a sturdy tree though. We get lots of strong south winds in the summer that cause trees to lean. One sycamore tree in the front yard is leaning to the north due to the wind when it was small. No matter what we decide to plant, it will be nice to have a replacement out there that will grow into a big stong tree for the next generation.
We started noticing something was wrong three summers ago. That year it leafed out and we were hit by 100+ degree weather for several weeks in a row. The heat together with very little rain stressed out a lot of plants and trees in our yard. The oak lost it's leaves by early August and we thought that was strange. That's when we think it was hit with lightning. The next summer only about half of the tree leafed out. We knew something was not right when that happened. Watering and feeding just didn't snap it out of what we thought was going on. We were just hoping it was trying to stay in it's dormancy state due to the stress. We don't know much about trees, so we were just guessing at this point.
Throughout the winter, we started noticing that the bark was falling off the branches at the top of the tree. Smaller branches started to fall out when the wind would blow too, so we knew it was done. By the time spring came around, the top branches were bare and falling apart. Only one small branch tried to put on leaves. They only lasted about a month and then turned brown. We knew it had to come down before falling branches hurt someone. Luckily it was a fairly straight tree and we could cut it down so it wouldn't take out any other trees or power lines.
My husband took the chain saw to it and cut a wedge out on the side that he wanted it to fall towards. He started cutting on the back side of the tree and it finally popped and fell. He was a little off on his wedge and the tree fell more towards our large sycamore tree. It only took off a couple little branches from the sycamore. Nothing too severe.
Now we have this big open spot in our yard that I want to fill in. I'm thinking another oak needs to go back there. This time I'd like one that turns a prettier color than drab brown. It does need to be a sturdy tree though. We get lots of strong south winds in the summer that cause trees to lean. One sycamore tree in the front yard is leaning to the north due to the wind when it was small. No matter what we decide to plant, it will be nice to have a replacement out there that will grow into a big stong tree for the next generation.
Shared at the Homestead Barn Hop
Monday, September 16, 2013
Fresh Meat
This summer we purchased a 4-H pig from one of the kids in our club. We brought him home to finish feeding him out so he would be ready for the butcher. We also had a lamb from the fair that we decided to finish feeding out. Well, this morning was the day. They went to the locker for processing. It's always a hard day when you take an animal to a locker for processing. No matter how hard of a person you are. If you have put the time, effort and love into raising them, it tears you up a little when you say goodbye.
Even though it can be a little emotional, knowing that I have helped raise the food my family will be eating makes it all better. I know that if antibiotics were given, it was minimum and only to help if the animal was injured or sick. Luckily neither one of these animals were given antibiotics. We have given them in the past to other animals, but they were needed to keep the animal healthy and it was only a shot or two. No growth hormones are given when we raise any type of animal and they are given plenty of room to move and play.
When both the pig and the lamb came home together, they were a little leary of each other. They didn't grow up together and the lamb's buddies didn't come home with her. She quit eating for a couple days, so we watched her closely. After a few days the lamb and the pig got to know each other and they would be caught playing with each other. The pig would play in the mud puddle we gave him and then he would rub up against the lamb, getting her filthy.
Now that they are no longer at home, we can switch gears from feeding everyday to getting ready to fill the freezer. Luckily my parents have freezer room, so some of it may be stored there. I can't wait to have fresh bacon again. The stuff you get at the store is a pathetic excuse for bacon. The "thick cut" variety isn't very thick and when you accidentally grab a package of the regular thickness stuff, it's laughable. I like my bacon THICK. The type that has real meat that you have to pull apart or the whole slice will come off the sandwich or whatever you have it on. That's just me though. I know lots of people who like it crispy and able to fall apart when you barely touch it.
Like anything else you grow/raise, it always tastes better when you had a hand in raising it yourself. Hopefully in a week or so, we'll be enjoying the fruits of our labor!
Even though it can be a little emotional, knowing that I have helped raise the food my family will be eating makes it all better. I know that if antibiotics were given, it was minimum and only to help if the animal was injured or sick. Luckily neither one of these animals were given antibiotics. We have given them in the past to other animals, but they were needed to keep the animal healthy and it was only a shot or two. No growth hormones are given when we raise any type of animal and they are given plenty of room to move and play.
When both the pig and the lamb came home together, they were a little leary of each other. They didn't grow up together and the lamb's buddies didn't come home with her. She quit eating for a couple days, so we watched her closely. After a few days the lamb and the pig got to know each other and they would be caught playing with each other. The pig would play in the mud puddle we gave him and then he would rub up against the lamb, getting her filthy.
Now that they are no longer at home, we can switch gears from feeding everyday to getting ready to fill the freezer. Luckily my parents have freezer room, so some of it may be stored there. I can't wait to have fresh bacon again. The stuff you get at the store is a pathetic excuse for bacon. The "thick cut" variety isn't very thick and when you accidentally grab a package of the regular thickness stuff, it's laughable. I like my bacon THICK. The type that has real meat that you have to pull apart or the whole slice will come off the sandwich or whatever you have it on. That's just me though. I know lots of people who like it crispy and able to fall apart when you barely touch it.
Like anything else you grow/raise, it always tastes better when you had a hand in raising it yourself. Hopefully in a week or so, we'll be enjoying the fruits of our labor!
Shared at The HomeAcre Hop
Monday, September 9, 2013
S.A.L.T.
I've written in the past that I coach freshman volleyball at a local high school. Each year we have a team theme. This year it's SALT. It stands for Sacrifice, Aspire, Leadership and Tradition. It helps keep our girls focused and helps build their camaraderie with each other.
I don't feel this is a silly thing at all. Over the years the teams have learned about something important. One year we learned about the flight that went down in NY in the Hudson river. Another year we learned how penguins live and work together. This year, our head coach decided that SALT was going to be our theme. The girls' shirts have NaCl on them. Many had questions about it, but once we explained what NaCl stood for, many of them had that "Ah Ha!" moment.
We always take a little trip somewhere close that helps bring the theme to life. This year for our SALT theme, we went to the Hutchinson Underground Salt Museum. This museum is one-of-a-kind. You arrive, get your ticket and go learn about the safety precautions. You then get your gear on and get into a double decker lift/elevator and travel 650 feet down into the salt mines. The area that the museum occupies is about 1/4-3/8 mile away from a working salt mine.
The photo above is a large block of salt that is almost pure salt. Very little sediment is found it in. It is about three feet tall, five feet wide and about 4 feet deep. That's a big block of salt!
I don't feel this is a silly thing at all. Over the years the teams have learned about something important. One year we learned about the flight that went down in NY in the Hudson river. Another year we learned how penguins live and work together. This year, our head coach decided that SALT was going to be our theme. The girls' shirts have NaCl on them. Many had questions about it, but once we explained what NaCl stood for, many of them had that "Ah Ha!" moment.
We always take a little trip somewhere close that helps bring the theme to life. This year for our SALT theme, we went to the Hutchinson Underground Salt Museum. This museum is one-of-a-kind. You arrive, get your ticket and go learn about the safety precautions. You then get your gear on and get into a double decker lift/elevator and travel 650 feet down into the salt mines. The area that the museum occupies is about 1/4-3/8 mile away from a working salt mine.
This area of Kansas was under what was called the Permian Sea millions of years ago. You can see the different layers of sediment and salt that were layed down. Some layers are thicker than others and there is one specific layer that is more prominent than the others and runs through the mine. This line was used by miners to keep the floor level and to know how deep they were mining.
This pillar further into the mine has a vein of pure salt running through it. The color variations are amazing to see. There is lots of the salt in layers with sediment, then there are these larger veins and then there were some red salt deposits. When the salt was deposited, bacteria were growing in the water and caused the salt to turn a red color.
It is amazing what is down there! There are lots of old machinery dating back to the early 1900s and the early days of the mining. We toured through a storage area that showed how all types of records are stored. Old movie reels, medical records and newspapers are stored there. The salt mines are very good place to store all types of things due to the stability of the environment. Yes, metal does end up rusting due to the salt, but other types of things stay preserved.
I think we all learned a lot through this fun team trip. A return trip for me is definitely in order to go through and look at things closer. If you are ever visiting the Hutchinson area, stop by. I've only highlighted a few of the interesting facts here. You can visit their site here. http://underkansas.org/
It's worth it!
Shared at The Home Acre Hop!
Friday, September 6, 2013
I "Can" Do it!
This is my second year of canning things. I guess I wouldn't say second year ever canning, but it's been years since I canned much of anything. Last year I had so many jalepenos that we pickled some and pressure canned some. We also canned some apple pie filling. YUM!!! That stuff was wonderful! I did several kinds of jellies and jams and several pints of green beans.
The green beans were such a success last year, I told myself I was going to do several more pints this year. Well, I have 36 pints and 7 quarts of beans in the cellar, just waiting to be opened up and used. I avoided the jalepenos this year. We just didn't use them like I thought we would. I still have several jars of jams and jellies, so we probably won't bother with much of those again this year. We'll use up what we have.
I've branched out and tried a couple new items this year. Pickles were the first thing to try. I looked and looked for an easy recipe. I've never done them before, so I needed easy and not many steps involved. I know there may be pickle pros reading this and shaking their heads. I know I should use a tried and true recipe, but I need easy! I found some Mrs. Wages packets at my local grocery store and tried the Bread and Butter pickles. It was as easy as add the packet, other ingredients and heat up, pour over the pickles and process! And they taste good too! I think I got 7 or 8 pints from that recipe. I stopped there, since I wasn't sure how good they would be and how often we would eat them. I also tried the Mrs. Wages packets with dill spears and dill slices. They didn't turn out as crisp as I would like, but they taste good. That's good enough for me and my first pickle experience!
I had seen the Mrs. Wages spaghetti sauce packet at the store too and had always wanted to try it. I grabbed a packet and did that too. Surprisingly enough, it worked and tasted good. I may just can tomatoes the next time and just add spices when I want to make sphaghetti. I'm not sure if I want to deal with the packets and trying to get them all fit into a certain number of jars. I think it will be easier to just deal with the tomatoes by themselves.
I'm hoping to get some more apples this year and get some homemade applesauce made. My goal last year was to can some, but I couldn't get enough together to can. We ate it as fast as I could make it. I only have a hand food mill. My mom calls is a ricer, I've seen it called a chinois (sp?), but it takes FOR-EVER to make applesauce. I'm going to use some birthday money to buy myself a nice crank food mill. I'm still researching which one to buy and where. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!
Onions are out of the garden too and filling up shelf space in the cellar. I apologize for the bad pictures. I have 1 light in the cellar and it's at the door. Our goal is to get some more light in there, but the ceiling is so low, we'd hit our heads on it if it hung down too much.
The green beans were such a success last year, I told myself I was going to do several more pints this year. Well, I have 36 pints and 7 quarts of beans in the cellar, just waiting to be opened up and used. I avoided the jalepenos this year. We just didn't use them like I thought we would. I still have several jars of jams and jellies, so we probably won't bother with much of those again this year. We'll use up what we have.
I've branched out and tried a couple new items this year. Pickles were the first thing to try. I looked and looked for an easy recipe. I've never done them before, so I needed easy and not many steps involved. I know there may be pickle pros reading this and shaking their heads. I know I should use a tried and true recipe, but I need easy! I found some Mrs. Wages packets at my local grocery store and tried the Bread and Butter pickles. It was as easy as add the packet, other ingredients and heat up, pour over the pickles and process! And they taste good too! I think I got 7 or 8 pints from that recipe. I stopped there, since I wasn't sure how good they would be and how often we would eat them. I also tried the Mrs. Wages packets with dill spears and dill slices. They didn't turn out as crisp as I would like, but they taste good. That's good enough for me and my first pickle experience!
I had seen the Mrs. Wages spaghetti sauce packet at the store too and had always wanted to try it. I grabbed a packet and did that too. Surprisingly enough, it worked and tasted good. I may just can tomatoes the next time and just add spices when I want to make sphaghetti. I'm not sure if I want to deal with the packets and trying to get them all fit into a certain number of jars. I think it will be easier to just deal with the tomatoes by themselves.
I'm hoping to get some more apples this year and get some homemade applesauce made. My goal last year was to can some, but I couldn't get enough together to can. We ate it as fast as I could make it. I only have a hand food mill. My mom calls is a ricer, I've seen it called a chinois (sp?), but it takes FOR-EVER to make applesauce. I'm going to use some birthday money to buy myself a nice crank food mill. I'm still researching which one to buy and where. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!
Onions are out of the garden too and filling up shelf space in the cellar. I apologize for the bad pictures. I have 1 light in the cellar and it's at the door. Our goal is to get some more light in there, but the ceiling is so low, we'd hit our heads on it if it hung down too much.
My onions have a few tendrils that are trying to sprout, but those will get used up quickly.
This room is a nice place to have. I'm not sure it was made to be a cellar or more of a storm shelter. It's ceiling is cement, so this is why I think it was more for shelter, but the wooden shelves are perfect for storing my canned goods. We brought the plastic shelves down for more storage and need to put some built in shelves between the plastic ones to maximize the space that is there.
I think this is about it for canning this year. I'd like to try some new things for next year. Carrots are on the top of my list. Not sure what else will make the list. Any ideas?
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Shifting Gears
The seasons are turning. Well, not drastically yet, but they soon will be. It's been getting to the upper 90's here and into the 100's occasionally and it's finally feeling like summer, just in time for fall to show up. It's been a crazy year with lots of rainfall during July, cooler than normal temps all summer and just plain weird weather in general. Not your typical Kansas-but what is typical for Kansas?
Yesterday morning was our first taste of the seasons changing. Since it's been so hot the last week, the drastically cool weather this morning was a welcome change. I almost felt like I needed a jacket. There were a couple evenings during July that I actually wore a jacket this summer. That's unheard of for our area! Anyway....since things are changing here weather wise, I think it's finally time to put the garden to rest. The chickens have been cleaning up out there, so the cucumbers and green beans are gone thanks to them. They don't mess with the peppers much, and they haven't cleaned off the tomatoes yet. I finally got some large tomatoes from my plants, so I'm hoping they steer clear of those plants for now.
The garden at this time of year is sorely neglected thanks to the beginning of school. My Fridays off are a thing of the past and evenings are packed with volleyball practice and other school activities that take priority. It's nice though to not worry about weeding, watering, picking, and all the other issues that come with a garden. If we HAD to live off of our garden, then it would take priority, but luckily, we don't have to. I would put up a picture of the garden, but I'm sure most people would laugh. It no longer looks like a garden, but part of the yard. The grass has grown in and is covering most rows. We are still trying to find the ideal amount of mulch to keep the grass at bay a little longer, and obviously we didn't find it this year! Back to the drawing board on that one!
Anyone out there have a foolproof way to mulch their garden so they don't have to weed as much? I'd love to have the time and resources to have a completely weed-free garden, but alas, I can not hire a full time staff to take care of it for me.
Yesterday morning was our first taste of the seasons changing. Since it's been so hot the last week, the drastically cool weather this morning was a welcome change. I almost felt like I needed a jacket. There were a couple evenings during July that I actually wore a jacket this summer. That's unheard of for our area! Anyway....since things are changing here weather wise, I think it's finally time to put the garden to rest. The chickens have been cleaning up out there, so the cucumbers and green beans are gone thanks to them. They don't mess with the peppers much, and they haven't cleaned off the tomatoes yet. I finally got some large tomatoes from my plants, so I'm hoping they steer clear of those plants for now.
The garden at this time of year is sorely neglected thanks to the beginning of school. My Fridays off are a thing of the past and evenings are packed with volleyball practice and other school activities that take priority. It's nice though to not worry about weeding, watering, picking, and all the other issues that come with a garden. If we HAD to live off of our garden, then it would take priority, but luckily, we don't have to. I would put up a picture of the garden, but I'm sure most people would laugh. It no longer looks like a garden, but part of the yard. The grass has grown in and is covering most rows. We are still trying to find the ideal amount of mulch to keep the grass at bay a little longer, and obviously we didn't find it this year! Back to the drawing board on that one!
Anyone out there have a foolproof way to mulch their garden so they don't have to weed as much? I'd love to have the time and resources to have a completely weed-free garden, but alas, I can not hire a full time staff to take care of it for me.
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Friday, August 30, 2013
When Opportunity Knocks
Life is a blur right now. Volleyball season has started and this post is a week overdue. I started typing it a week ago and just now have had the opportunity to get back to it.
Eleven years ago I was given an opportunity that I would have never had dreamed of. I was asked to coach a high school volleyball team. We were moving back home and a friend's mom had heard that I had taken a position at one of the school districts in the area. She worked in the same district I took the job in, so she called me up and asked if I'd be interested. I had hesitated at first, but something told me to try it out and see how it went.
Looking back, I think that was God's little nudge to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I wasn't the head coach. (Thank goodness!!!) I was the freshman team coach. That year I had seven girls- barely enough to have a team. I drove them to games and had a lot of one-on-one interaction during practice. That interaction lead to a lot of silliness and me shaking my head at their conversations, but I would have to say, it was one of my fondest memories of coaching. We really got to know each other, and I came to care for those girls like they were my own.
These years of coaching have helped me become who I am and who I want to become. I get to help create wonderful memories for each and every one of the girls. It's a lot of fun watching these girls grow and mature over the four years they are in high school. I'm hoping that one day, the girls I've coached in the past will look back and feel that I had a positive impact in their lives. They have helped me through lots of situations without even knowing it.
Volleyball gives me a chance to get away from everything at home for a little while. It's a nice mental break from farm stress and it's a break from the physical gardening stress. By this time every year, I am done with the garden and wanting it to just go away. I'm not a perfect gardener and lots of things go to waste unfortunately because I just can't do it anymore. This year my chickens have had the run of the garden, so things aren't going to waste afterall!
Looking back at the past 11 years I've seen myself grow as a person, as a coach and as a parent. This is a leadership position that I would have never seen myself in when I was growing up. Now, it's something that I can't think of ever giving up! I know one day I will. My daughter is showing interest in volleyball and she goes to a rival school. I won't coach against her, so I'll have to give it up for a few years while she is in middle school and high school. I have a few more years to enjoy, so I'm going to live it up!
Eleven years ago I was given an opportunity that I would have never had dreamed of. I was asked to coach a high school volleyball team. We were moving back home and a friend's mom had heard that I had taken a position at one of the school districts in the area. She worked in the same district I took the job in, so she called me up and asked if I'd be interested. I had hesitated at first, but something told me to try it out and see how it went.
Looking back, I think that was God's little nudge to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I wasn't the head coach. (Thank goodness!!!) I was the freshman team coach. That year I had seven girls- barely enough to have a team. I drove them to games and had a lot of one-on-one interaction during practice. That interaction lead to a lot of silliness and me shaking my head at their conversations, but I would have to say, it was one of my fondest memories of coaching. We really got to know each other, and I came to care for those girls like they were my own.
These years of coaching have helped me become who I am and who I want to become. I get to help create wonderful memories for each and every one of the girls. It's a lot of fun watching these girls grow and mature over the four years they are in high school. I'm hoping that one day, the girls I've coached in the past will look back and feel that I had a positive impact in their lives. They have helped me through lots of situations without even knowing it.
Volleyball gives me a chance to get away from everything at home for a little while. It's a nice mental break from farm stress and it's a break from the physical gardening stress. By this time every year, I am done with the garden and wanting it to just go away. I'm not a perfect gardener and lots of things go to waste unfortunately because I just can't do it anymore. This year my chickens have had the run of the garden, so things aren't going to waste afterall!
Looking back at the past 11 years I've seen myself grow as a person, as a coach and as a parent. This is a leadership position that I would have never seen myself in when I was growing up. Now, it's something that I can't think of ever giving up! I know one day I will. My daughter is showing interest in volleyball and she goes to a rival school. I won't coach against her, so I'll have to give it up for a few years while she is in middle school and high school. I have a few more years to enjoy, so I'm going to live it up!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Rewards!
Look what I got in the mail the other day!
Ball canning coupons!
At first I thought it was junk mail, but I read the letter that accompanied them and then it hit me. I entered a jar of pickled jalepenos and a jar of crabapple jelly in our county fair and I won the Grand Champion sweepstakes ribbon! I didn't think there would be any award other than the large purple ribbon.
This was a pleasant surprise, so now, I'm making a list of supplies that I will be needing for another round of canning green beans. We picked another two brown paper bags worth the other night, so I will be busy canning this week. Also on my canning wish list is the Ball Blue Book of canning recipes. This seems to be the "go-to" book for anything canning. I've used my mom's knowledge of canning, but this will be a nice addition to my small collection of recipe and how-to books.
This has definitely made me think about doing more canning and then exhibit it at the county fair next summer. I had several people comment on my ribbons when they went through the rooms. I'm hoping this will in turn get more people to enter their canning. If I CAN do it, anyone CAN.
Ball canning coupons!
At first I thought it was junk mail, but I read the letter that accompanied them and then it hit me. I entered a jar of pickled jalepenos and a jar of crabapple jelly in our county fair and I won the Grand Champion sweepstakes ribbon! I didn't think there would be any award other than the large purple ribbon.
This was a pleasant surprise, so now, I'm making a list of supplies that I will be needing for another round of canning green beans. We picked another two brown paper bags worth the other night, so I will be busy canning this week. Also on my canning wish list is the Ball Blue Book of canning recipes. This seems to be the "go-to" book for anything canning. I've used my mom's knowledge of canning, but this will be a nice addition to my small collection of recipe and how-to books.
This has definitely made me think about doing more canning and then exhibit it at the county fair next summer. I had several people comment on my ribbons when they went through the rooms. I'm hoping this will in turn get more people to enter their canning. If I CAN do it, anyone CAN.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Firsts.....
Today was the first day of school for my kids. They attend the local public schools and I couldn't be happier that they go there. I couldn't do the homeschooling thing. I applaud those that do, but it's not for me. I feel confident in my school district's abilities to teach my children and I also feel that they are safe in their school.
Well, I have a kindergartener and a sophomore. Talk about an age gap! I know there are lots of people who have that age gap too, but many have ones scattered between those two ends.
For a couple weeks, we've been talking about the first day of school with both kids. I get the ever present groaning from the 16 year old. He's not about to say he's even the slightest bit ready for school to start. Secretly I think he is ready. He doesn't see his friends everyday in the summer, so this will be a nice change for him.
My 5 year old has had mixed emotions about school. At one moment she's asking if school starts the next day and then the next time I turn around, she is giving me this worried look, like she's not too sure she wants to go to school. I think it's all been an act to get a little more attention, but I've kept reminding her that school will be so much fun, she'll get to have lots of play time in class, recess, p.e. and learn so many neat and wonderful things.
Well, we drove up to the school and I had to all but keep her from jumping out of the car and running into the building. She's ready. We walked into the gym to wait for the buidling to open and she lined up with the rest of the kids. Once they were told to head inside, she walked like a big girl with her class, found her room and sat down at her seat. The whole time, she had this HUGE smile plastered to her face. I gave her a quick kiss and hug and told her she'd do great, then I left. Several people messaged me this morning asking how I did when I was leaving. Well, I did great too! No tears!
I couldn't say that when I took my son to school for his first day 11 years ago. I at least held it together until I got out of his sight. I can say I didn't break down and bawl, but I left with a few tears that day. Why did I do it then, and not now? Why is the first child different that the last child? Who knows. I'm sure there is a psychological answer, but I don't have time for that! LOL!
It's amazing how these kids grow up so fast and change. One day we are changing diapers and dealing with spit up, then the next thing we know, they are driving out of the driveway on their way to high school. Don't blink!
Well, I have a kindergartener and a sophomore. Talk about an age gap! I know there are lots of people who have that age gap too, but many have ones scattered between those two ends.
For a couple weeks, we've been talking about the first day of school with both kids. I get the ever present groaning from the 16 year old. He's not about to say he's even the slightest bit ready for school to start. Secretly I think he is ready. He doesn't see his friends everyday in the summer, so this will be a nice change for him.
My 5 year old has had mixed emotions about school. At one moment she's asking if school starts the next day and then the next time I turn around, she is giving me this worried look, like she's not too sure she wants to go to school. I think it's all been an act to get a little more attention, but I've kept reminding her that school will be so much fun, she'll get to have lots of play time in class, recess, p.e. and learn so many neat and wonderful things.
Well, we drove up to the school and I had to all but keep her from jumping out of the car and running into the building. She's ready. We walked into the gym to wait for the buidling to open and she lined up with the rest of the kids. Once they were told to head inside, she walked like a big girl with her class, found her room and sat down at her seat. The whole time, she had this HUGE smile plastered to her face. I gave her a quick kiss and hug and told her she'd do great, then I left. Several people messaged me this morning asking how I did when I was leaving. Well, I did great too! No tears!
I couldn't say that when I took my son to school for his first day 11 years ago. I at least held it together until I got out of his sight. I can say I didn't break down and bawl, but I left with a few tears that day. Why did I do it then, and not now? Why is the first child different that the last child? Who knows. I'm sure there is a psychological answer, but I don't have time for that! LOL!
It's amazing how these kids grow up so fast and change. One day we are changing diapers and dealing with spit up, then the next thing we know, they are driving out of the driveway on their way to high school. Don't blink!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Adventures in preserving
I've never really canned anything until my mom and I canned green beans last summer. Well, I'm hooked! I've had to buy store bought canned green beans recently and they are not nearly as good as my home grown canned green beans. Even the "low sodium" canned beans in the store have less taste than my beans. I don't add anything to my beans when I prepare them. Just garden green beans and water. That's it!
The picture above shows the load of beans I brought in the other night. They were gorgeous! These were sold at my farmer's market stand, but this is what I am working with! I had picked a brown paper bag full of beans earlier in the week, so those were the ones I was planning on canning.
We started out the adventure with snapping the beans. My 5 year-old daughter wanted to help with part of this, so she got her own little pile and started snapping away. She lasted about 20 minutes and then she was off to play. We kept on snapping beans and were done before we knew it!
The next step was getting them all cleaned up and ready for the pot of water. Mom likes to hot pack them. She feels she can get more into the jar, so that's what we do. You can cold pack them if you wish. It's all up to you. We worked in 2 batches, since we had so many beans. The first pile went into the pot of water to boil for 5 minutes. While those cooked, we got the jars washed up and ready to pack. The first round we canned pints, then decided some quarts were needed too.
Mom worked on heating the jars up with HOT water while I finished up the beans. We switched the canner over to the large burner and filled it to the appropriate line with water. A small pan of water was on a back burner with boiling water to heat up the lids. Once the beans were done, we brought the hot jars to the table and started ladeling the beans and water into the jars. These jars are Ball jars, but we've had Atlas jars and Mason jars as well. All have worked well and we typically buy what's in the store.
Once the jars are filled, we wiped the tops down and placed the hot lids onto the top of the jars and put a ring on it; tightened just till it's secure. Into the pressure canner it goes. Ours is a Presto. Beans need to be processed in a pressure canner, not a hot water bath. They are a low acid food and bacteria can grow inside the jars if they are not pressure canned.
We secured the lid of the canner and turned on the heat. The weight is not on the canner at this point. You wait for the steam to start coming out of the vent at a steady pace and then time 10 minutes. The pressure starts building at this point. There is a little air vent that will eventually rise and seal the canner. Once your 10 minutes is up, you place the weight onto the vent and wait for it to toggle at a steady pace.
This is when you start your processing time. The pints were proccessed for 20 minutes and the quarts were processed for 25 minutes. When you are done processing, you removed the canner from the heat and LEAVE it alone! Don't take off the weight, don't open the canner, don't try and cool it down too quick. When the canner cools down and the air vent drops, you will remove the weight and time 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, you can then remove the lid. We always open and pull the lid towards us. This allows the steam to escape away from us and not into our faces.
As with anything-PLEASE read the directions for your canner. These directions are for the one we use and they all can be a little different.
Remove the jars with jar lifter and set on a towel. They will start to seal as they cool. Any jars that do not seal can be refrigerated and eaten within a few days. If jars seal correctly, you can store them for about 1 year. We leave the jars on the table on a towel for a couple days to cool completely and settle.
This is the finished product!
We started out the adventure with snapping the beans. My 5 year-old daughter wanted to help with part of this, so she got her own little pile and started snapping away. She lasted about 20 minutes and then she was off to play. We kept on snapping beans and were done before we knew it!
The next step was getting them all cleaned up and ready for the pot of water. Mom likes to hot pack them. She feels she can get more into the jar, so that's what we do. You can cold pack them if you wish. It's all up to you. We worked in 2 batches, since we had so many beans. The first pile went into the pot of water to boil for 5 minutes. While those cooked, we got the jars washed up and ready to pack. The first round we canned pints, then decided some quarts were needed too.
Mom worked on heating the jars up with HOT water while I finished up the beans. We switched the canner over to the large burner and filled it to the appropriate line with water. A small pan of water was on a back burner with boiling water to heat up the lids. Once the beans were done, we brought the hot jars to the table and started ladeling the beans and water into the jars. These jars are Ball jars, but we've had Atlas jars and Mason jars as well. All have worked well and we typically buy what's in the store.
Once the jars are filled, we wiped the tops down and placed the hot lids onto the top of the jars and put a ring on it; tightened just till it's secure. Into the pressure canner it goes. Ours is a Presto. Beans need to be processed in a pressure canner, not a hot water bath. They are a low acid food and bacteria can grow inside the jars if they are not pressure canned.
We secured the lid of the canner and turned on the heat. The weight is not on the canner at this point. You wait for the steam to start coming out of the vent at a steady pace and then time 10 minutes. The pressure starts building at this point. There is a little air vent that will eventually rise and seal the canner. Once your 10 minutes is up, you place the weight onto the vent and wait for it to toggle at a steady pace.
This is when you start your processing time. The pints were proccessed for 20 minutes and the quarts were processed for 25 minutes. When you are done processing, you removed the canner from the heat and LEAVE it alone! Don't take off the weight, don't open the canner, don't try and cool it down too quick. When the canner cools down and the air vent drops, you will remove the weight and time 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, you can then remove the lid. We always open and pull the lid towards us. This allows the steam to escape away from us and not into our faces.
As with anything-PLEASE read the directions for your canner. These directions are for the one we use and they all can be a little different.
Remove the jars with jar lifter and set on a towel. They will start to seal as they cool. Any jars that do not seal can be refrigerated and eaten within a few days. If jars seal correctly, you can store them for about 1 year. We leave the jars on the table on a towel for a couple days to cool completely and settle.
This is the finished product!
Good luck if you decide to try this for yourself! You won't be disappointed with the taste of fresh green beans from your garden or local farmers market! Enjoy!
Managing My Priorities
Recently I've had to take a step back and re-examine my life priorities. How many of us do this on a regular basis? I know I don't very often. What made me do this is our local 4-H Club. We've had several kids graduate high school this past year, a few families moved to other states and another couple families that have decided to take a break. Those families that are taking a break or not returning at all due to "burnout" have decided that this is not a priority in their lives. That is their opinion and they have every right to feel that way. 4-H is something that can be very time consuming and if they feel they can't give the time to do it, they probably shouldn't be doing it. I know I've had to give up on certain events that I was once a part of because it just wasn't something I could give my all to. I still help out if I can, but I'm just not as involved as I once was. And that is OK.
Years ago I was very involved in Relay For Life. It's an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. It's very near and dear to my heart since my son is a cancer survivor. I was part of the planning committee for several years, but once we found out we were having our daughter, I decided that she needed to take priority and I stepped away from my responsibilities there. I know I left it in very capable hands and the Relay has done exceptionally well since.
Now that my daughter is getting older, I am getting involved in other things. The farmer's market in our local community is a new venture that we've been involved in for the past three years. She loves to help me garden and this is a way to bring in a little extra money for the family. It's not something that I could retire on, or even quit my day job for, but we are able to grow food for our own family and share with others in the community that aren't able to garden or don't think they can garden.
Other activities that have me hopping are Tae Kwon Do, coaching volleyball, chickens, my daughter's gymnastics and starting kindergarten this year. I know it's a lot on my plate and in a couple more years, things will get even busier with more kid's activities. I don't regret any of the craziness, because I know one day the kids will be grown and on their own and I'll have a whole lot less to do. I'm just going to hold on tight and keep looking at the things I do and decide what needs to stay and what needs to go.
It's all I can do and that's what works for me.
What works for you?
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Feast or Famine
I know too much of a good thing can be bad for you-sweets, tv, internet. The list can go on and on. Well, right now the "good thing" that is turning out bad is water. We have been getting rain off and on for the last 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be ending. We have been in an extreme drought for the past 2 years, so you would think I would not be complaining, but we can't always be happy, can we! ;) I was thrilled when this rainy system started, but 4+ inches later, I'm ready for a little reprieve.
The creek near my parent's farm has been out of it's banks for several days now. We haven't had a lot of water for the past several nights where we live, but further up stream, they've had buckets dumped on them, and that has been keeping the water levels up. Luckily the road hasn't been washed out yet, but if it keeps it up, the road will be under before we know it.
Usually this creek is just a little trickle of water. It had even dried up for several months last year. Now it's only a couple feet from the bridge. The bridge stands about 20 feet over the creek, so there is A LOT of water here now.
When we bought our place 5 years ago, we had a few big rains that flooded our front yard. Our house sits approximately 300 feet from the road, so we have quite a large yard. It also sits lower than the road, so there is a berm of soil between the ditch and our yard. Over the years, the soil had worn and eroded away. The berm wraps around the north side of our tree row and west along the trees. It too had worn down over the years. Due to the erosion, water would run down the south side of the berm and into our yard. One large rain and our front yard was completely under water. Knee deep water! 20 feet from the house! I was scared at first, but then realized that the water would run across the driveway into the field.
After several pools showed up in our yard over the next 2 years, my husband decided to talk to a local construction company that digs ponds. The soil from the pond would go to raising the berm to keep water out of our yard. We brought the front berm up about 3 feet and the north side of the tree row raised about 5 feet.
Once we were done with the pond we sat back and waited for the rains to come again. Guess what happened.... 2 years of drought. I think we had a total of 4 inches of rain in those 2 years. It was probably more than that, but it sure felt like we only had a little bit. We had a crop failure and the pond was quickly loosing feet of water. We have a pretty good supply of ground water close to the surface, so the pond kept some water in it at all times. There were a few months last summer that we thought it might dry up.
I guess I should quit whining about the rain. We were begging for rain for the last 2 years and now, we have it.
The creek near my parent's farm has been out of it's banks for several days now. We haven't had a lot of water for the past several nights where we live, but further up stream, they've had buckets dumped on them, and that has been keeping the water levels up. Luckily the road hasn't been washed out yet, but if it keeps it up, the road will be under before we know it.
Usually this creek is just a little trickle of water. It had even dried up for several months last year. Now it's only a couple feet from the bridge. The bridge stands about 20 feet over the creek, so there is A LOT of water here now.
When we bought our place 5 years ago, we had a few big rains that flooded our front yard. Our house sits approximately 300 feet from the road, so we have quite a large yard. It also sits lower than the road, so there is a berm of soil between the ditch and our yard. Over the years, the soil had worn and eroded away. The berm wraps around the north side of our tree row and west along the trees. It too had worn down over the years. Due to the erosion, water would run down the south side of the berm and into our yard. One large rain and our front yard was completely under water. Knee deep water! 20 feet from the house! I was scared at first, but then realized that the water would run across the driveway into the field.
After several pools showed up in our yard over the next 2 years, my husband decided to talk to a local construction company that digs ponds. The soil from the pond would go to raising the berm to keep water out of our yard. We brought the front berm up about 3 feet and the north side of the tree row raised about 5 feet.
Once we were done with the pond we sat back and waited for the rains to come again. Guess what happened.... 2 years of drought. I think we had a total of 4 inches of rain in those 2 years. It was probably more than that, but it sure felt like we only had a little bit. We had a crop failure and the pond was quickly loosing feet of water. We have a pretty good supply of ground water close to the surface, so the pond kept some water in it at all times. There were a few months last summer that we thought it might dry up.
I guess I should quit whining about the rain. We were begging for rain for the last 2 years and now, we have it.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Blackberry heaven
This summer has been the first year we've harvested wild blackberries. We found a patch at our nearby lake and the State Park regulations allow for people to harvest for their own use. We decided to head to the lake and try it out.
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These are not thornless blackberries, but they are delicious. The State Park staff have mowed paths throughout the patch to make it easier for pickers to get to the berries. We loaded up on a Friday morning with our jeans and long sleeves and plenty of containers. Jeans and long sleeves are a must if picking wild blackberries. Those things can grab you and practically pull you into the cans in a matter of seconds. I thought leather gloves would be a good idea, but they made pulling the berries off much harder. When you pick these berries, they are soft or really soft. You need to know how much pressure to use and leather gloves just don't let you feel that.
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We usually pick in the morning, so it's cooler. This summer has been strange with cooler than usual July temperatures, so the two times we went out, the picking was great. We typically spend about 1 1/2 to 2 hours picking. By that time, we are either hot and tired or our fingers are full of tiny little thorns.
When we get home, we get the berries ready for the freezer. I freeze mine in a single layer on parchment paper. Once frozen, they go into my food saver bags and back into the freezer until I decide what to make with them. The first time out picking, I froze all my berries. This second time out, I froze 3 quarts and kept about 3 cups out and made a blackberry cobbler. It was so rich and delicious! I can't wait to make more! I think I may be done picking for the year. My fingers are tired of thorns and I'm running out of summer to get up there.
These are not thornless blackberries, but they are delicious. The State Park staff have mowed paths throughout the patch to make it easier for pickers to get to the berries. We loaded up on a Friday morning with our jeans and long sleeves and plenty of containers. Jeans and long sleeves are a must if picking wild blackberries. Those things can grab you and practically pull you into the cans in a matter of seconds. I thought leather gloves would be a good idea, but they made pulling the berries off much harder. When you pick these berries, they are soft or really soft. You need to know how much pressure to use and leather gloves just don't let you feel that.
When we get home, we get the berries ready for the freezer. I freeze mine in a single layer on parchment paper. Once frozen, they go into my food saver bags and back into the freezer until I decide what to make with them. The first time out picking, I froze all my berries. This second time out, I froze 3 quarts and kept about 3 cups out and made a blackberry cobbler. It was so rich and delicious! I can't wait to make more! I think I may be done picking for the year. My fingers are tired of thorns and I'm running out of summer to get up there.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Growing Up
Goodness, this spring is flying by and things don't look to be slowing down any time soon. We have been so busy with our garden, track meets, school and work. Oh, and a very special birthday just happened. Our little girl is 5 years old now. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone?? Wasn't she just born? Didn't we just move to our new place with her being this tiny little thing? I guess I blinked and now 5 years has gone by. Sad, I know, but I wish she would just stay little forever.
Our daughter isn't the only one that is growing up faster than I would like. Our 15 year old son is getting more mature acting everyday. That is no doubt a blessing and I never thought I'd see it happen. He is and will always be my baby. I've probably babied him more than I should have, but considering his early years, I guess you can't blame me. Or maybe you should. You decide! :)
I've been noticing little subtle things in this last year that all teenagers go through, but there have been big things that have really made me stop and think, "Wow, this kid is turning into a grown up!" He went to a concert this spring with some youth from our church. He invited his girlfriend and one of his good friends to go. They and a couple other kids rode with one of the adult sponsors and on Sunday, the lady came up to me and told me what a polite boy I have and how he held doors open and acted very appropriately with his girlfriend. I was floored by the compliment! I always expect my son to be polite around others, but to have her come find me and tell me these things, just made me very proud of the young man he is growing up to be. He must have left a good impression on her!
Another thing that is making me stop and think, is the hobbies and interests he is getting into. He is starting to wean himself away from the video games (Thank the Lord!) and he is wanting to learn how to weld. He plans on working for his grandparents this summer on their farm and is hoping his grandpa can teach him how to weld. My dad is a very good welder, so I think he will learn from the best. Hopefully he'll be able to work on some projects that we have around our place and soon be able to build his own. I am seeing all sorts of projects that he can build for me on the horizon! (Hee, hee!)
I know these stages in our children's lives are something every parent goes through, but until you go through it personally, it never registers in your mind how real it is. I am the farthest thing from a perfect parent, and I don't know if I know anyone who would think they are perfect in raising their kids either. We all like to sit around and commiserate together on what we screwed up on or how we would have done this or that differently. As long as we are trying our best and doing it with love and understanding, we are as close to perfect as we ever will be.
Our daughter isn't the only one that is growing up faster than I would like. Our 15 year old son is getting more mature acting everyday. That is no doubt a blessing and I never thought I'd see it happen. He is and will always be my baby. I've probably babied him more than I should have, but considering his early years, I guess you can't blame me. Or maybe you should. You decide! :)
I've been noticing little subtle things in this last year that all teenagers go through, but there have been big things that have really made me stop and think, "Wow, this kid is turning into a grown up!" He went to a concert this spring with some youth from our church. He invited his girlfriend and one of his good friends to go. They and a couple other kids rode with one of the adult sponsors and on Sunday, the lady came up to me and told me what a polite boy I have and how he held doors open and acted very appropriately with his girlfriend. I was floored by the compliment! I always expect my son to be polite around others, but to have her come find me and tell me these things, just made me very proud of the young man he is growing up to be. He must have left a good impression on her!
Another thing that is making me stop and think, is the hobbies and interests he is getting into. He is starting to wean himself away from the video games (Thank the Lord!) and he is wanting to learn how to weld. He plans on working for his grandparents this summer on their farm and is hoping his grandpa can teach him how to weld. My dad is a very good welder, so I think he will learn from the best. Hopefully he'll be able to work on some projects that we have around our place and soon be able to build his own. I am seeing all sorts of projects that he can build for me on the horizon! (Hee, hee!)
I know these stages in our children's lives are something every parent goes through, but until you go through it personally, it never registers in your mind how real it is. I am the farthest thing from a perfect parent, and I don't know if I know anyone who would think they are perfect in raising their kids either. We all like to sit around and commiserate together on what we screwed up on or how we would have done this or that differently. As long as we are trying our best and doing it with love and understanding, we are as close to perfect as we ever will be.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Spring Thaw
The last couple of weeks has kept me quite busy so I have neglected my blog. After the thrill of valentine's parties wore off we were hit with quite a nasty blizzard. I can't remember the last time I saw the amount of snow on the ground in this area.
We had plenty of warning that this "Blizzard of Oz" (as so many people have been calling it) was coming. We made sure we had plenty of food on hand either in the freezer, the fridge or in the pantry long before the stores were rushed and ran out of milk and other necessities. I figured I went through the proper preparations and had things ready for several days of being snowed in, now the weathermen will be wrong and we won't get a drop of moisture. Well, I was wrong and the weathermen were right-for once! Sorry, it just seems they talk up all these storms then they are a disappointment.
Anyway, back to our "Blizzard of Oz" that is on the horizon. It started Wenesday, February 20th. The school district that I work in let out school at 1:00. I headed home in near white-out conditions at times and could typically see about a half mile ahead of me. I wasn't too worried about the drive-I've driven in worse conditions. I stopped by and picked up my daughter from preschool and we trekked home. The roads weren't bad at this point, but I knew they would get worse as the evening wore on.
My son finally arrived home and then followed by my husband a few hours later. We made sure all the chickens had plenty of food and water and shut all the cats up in the garage. The storm settled in Wednesday night and by the time we woke up Thursday morning, there was about 10 inches of snow covering everything. My husband thought he would be able to get to work, so he got out on the tractor and bladed the driveway open. Once he got out to the road, he thought better about trying to drive down the road. The township road grader hadn't gone down the road at that point, so it was pretty deep. The grader did get down the road about 7 a.m., but the road had either blown shut or more snow piled up and it was way too deep to drive down shortly after that.
We enjoyed the day at home and felt fairly lazy all day. There aren't many days we get to do that.. The kids and I ended up staying home on Friday as well due to school being cancelled. My husband did finally get to work Friday, but it was slow going. Friday wasn't as snowy as the day before, so we were able to get into town and get our son to a Tae Kwon Do test. We ended up with about 13-14 inches of snow. For our area, that is a lot.
Saturday came with news of another storm heading our way on Monday. This one was going to have substantial winds and snowfall. Great, that's all we need is more white-out conditions. School on Monday was called off due to blizzard warnings from weather stations. Monday morning came and went with not much snow. A few little flurries showed up before noon. After lunch the snow started coming down. It was heavy at times, then lightened up. My husband came home and it really let loose. The wind was blowing pretty bad and roads drifted shut pretty quick. Tuesday morning we dug ourselves out and decided it was day best spent inside by the warm fire. I did get out and take some pictures.
We had plenty of warning that this "Blizzard of Oz" (as so many people have been calling it) was coming. We made sure we had plenty of food on hand either in the freezer, the fridge or in the pantry long before the stores were rushed and ran out of milk and other necessities. I figured I went through the proper preparations and had things ready for several days of being snowed in, now the weathermen will be wrong and we won't get a drop of moisture. Well, I was wrong and the weathermen were right-for once! Sorry, it just seems they talk up all these storms then they are a disappointment.
Anyway, back to our "Blizzard of Oz" that is on the horizon. It started Wenesday, February 20th. The school district that I work in let out school at 1:00. I headed home in near white-out conditions at times and could typically see about a half mile ahead of me. I wasn't too worried about the drive-I've driven in worse conditions. I stopped by and picked up my daughter from preschool and we trekked home. The roads weren't bad at this point, but I knew they would get worse as the evening wore on.
My son finally arrived home and then followed by my husband a few hours later. We made sure all the chickens had plenty of food and water and shut all the cats up in the garage. The storm settled in Wednesday night and by the time we woke up Thursday morning, there was about 10 inches of snow covering everything. My husband thought he would be able to get to work, so he got out on the tractor and bladed the driveway open. Once he got out to the road, he thought better about trying to drive down the road. The township road grader hadn't gone down the road at that point, so it was pretty deep. The grader did get down the road about 7 a.m., but the road had either blown shut or more snow piled up and it was way too deep to drive down shortly after that.
We enjoyed the day at home and felt fairly lazy all day. There aren't many days we get to do that.. The kids and I ended up staying home on Friday as well due to school being cancelled. My husband did finally get to work Friday, but it was slow going. Friday wasn't as snowy as the day before, so we were able to get into town and get our son to a Tae Kwon Do test. We ended up with about 13-14 inches of snow. For our area, that is a lot.
Saturday came with news of another storm heading our way on Monday. This one was going to have substantial winds and snowfall. Great, that's all we need is more white-out conditions. School on Monday was called off due to blizzard warnings from weather stations. Monday morning came and went with not much snow. A few little flurries showed up before noon. After lunch the snow started coming down. It was heavy at times, then lightened up. My husband came home and it really let loose. The wind was blowing pretty bad and roads drifted shut pretty quick. Tuesday morning we dug ourselves out and decided it was day best spent inside by the warm fire. I did get out and take some pictures.
The crabapple was flocked with about 2 inches of snow.
Our back door was blasted with a layer of snow.
The back door of the garage. The cats weren't sure they liked this view.
All in all we recieved about 20 inches of snow. Like I said earlier, we haven't had this much snow on the ground at one time in a LONG time. A week later and we are finally about thawed out. There are still piles of snow here and there, but we are starting to see snippets of spring. My garden got some much needed moisture and there is talk of more on the way. Hopefully it is in the form of rain and not snow. I've had my fill of the white stuff for a while!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Food For Thought
I've been trying to find a cheaper way to feed my chickens over the years and have started looking into growing my own. I've dug around on the internet and just couldn't seem to find the best way for our situation-until now! I have heard about fodder in the past, but didn't know if it would be a source of complete nutrition for my girls or not.
I don't feel comfortable going completely free-range at the moment. I do let them out from time to time, but with our schedule, there are days when I leave in the morning and don't get home till after dark. Living as far out as we do, there are plenty of predators around that would love to have half a dozen chickens for a tasty dinner.
Case in point with our ducks. We started with 9 and are now down to 2. Something has picked them off one by one. I'm afraid we'll have no ducks soon. They don't like to stay up around the house anymore since the stray dog that showed up tried to retrieve one. (He has since found a better home.)
Feed prices are the main reason I am trying this new system. I'm still going to buy commercial feed, but I don't wan to depend on it for their main source of food. I'm in the R&D phase of this right now, so we'll see how it goes. It helps a lot that I have a solid source of my starter. I am using wheat for my fodder. I know lots of people use barley, but we grow wheat in our area and it is very easy to get. I have a 5 gallon bucket in my kitchen at the moment that I am going to use-that is if I can keep my daughter out of it long enough! She loves to dig in it like a sandbox.
I'm only trying one tray at the moment. I took an old coffee can and filled it about half way with water. I put just a tiny splash of bleach into the water. This will help kill any bacteria or fungus that might be on the wheat. I placed 4 cups of wheat into the water and stirred with a wooden spoon to distribute the chlorinated water around. I let that sit for just a couple minutes then drained it. I then filled it back up with water and stirred again. This sat on the kitchen counter for about 9 hours. Once it had soaked, I spread a layer of paper towels in the bottom of a seed starting tray. This is to keep the roots from attaching to the tray. (Not sure if this is really necessary, but we did it. Remember, this is my R&D phase!)
I've been keeping the wheat damp and it is starting to get little green sprouts! The first morning, there were little white spots starting to show up at the tips of each kernel. The second day there were a few more. By the third morning, there were lots of little green-looking tips. This should take about 6-9 days to complete a full tray, depending on how big we want the sprouts to be.
This is what the sprouts look after 5 days.
I don't feel comfortable going completely free-range at the moment. I do let them out from time to time, but with our schedule, there are days when I leave in the morning and don't get home till after dark. Living as far out as we do, there are plenty of predators around that would love to have half a dozen chickens for a tasty dinner.
Case in point with our ducks. We started with 9 and are now down to 2. Something has picked them off one by one. I'm afraid we'll have no ducks soon. They don't like to stay up around the house anymore since the stray dog that showed up tried to retrieve one. (He has since found a better home.)
Feed prices are the main reason I am trying this new system. I'm still going to buy commercial feed, but I don't wan to depend on it for their main source of food. I'm in the R&D phase of this right now, so we'll see how it goes. It helps a lot that I have a solid source of my starter. I am using wheat for my fodder. I know lots of people use barley, but we grow wheat in our area and it is very easy to get. I have a 5 gallon bucket in my kitchen at the moment that I am going to use-that is if I can keep my daughter out of it long enough! She loves to dig in it like a sandbox.
I'm only trying one tray at the moment. I took an old coffee can and filled it about half way with water. I put just a tiny splash of bleach into the water. This will help kill any bacteria or fungus that might be on the wheat. I placed 4 cups of wheat into the water and stirred with a wooden spoon to distribute the chlorinated water around. I let that sit for just a couple minutes then drained it. I then filled it back up with water and stirred again. This sat on the kitchen counter for about 9 hours. Once it had soaked, I spread a layer of paper towels in the bottom of a seed starting tray. This is to keep the roots from attaching to the tray. (Not sure if this is really necessary, but we did it. Remember, this is my R&D phase!)
I've been keeping the wheat damp and it is starting to get little green sprouts! The first morning, there were little white spots starting to show up at the tips of each kernel. The second day there were a few more. By the third morning, there were lots of little green-looking tips. This should take about 6-9 days to complete a full tray, depending on how big we want the sprouts to be.
This is what the sprouts look after 5 days.
I think I'll let them go another 2-3 more days and feed my girls on Saturday or Sunday.
There will no doubt be changes to our process, but it shouldn't need a major overhaul. We are going to cut back to only 2 cups of wheat for the next tray. Four just seemed to be too much once we spread it all out.
Once we have a system up and running, I'll post some more on this new venture!
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