The trauma of Tuesday was followed (WAY TOO) closely with the trauma of Thursday, which was less traumatic but still darned upsetting. My neighbor, a different one this time, called and said there was a dog near the goat pen. She called a few minutes later to say that the dog had gone over the (4 ft) fence and had attacked Ella. Luckily, the neighbor yelled and ran into the pen and the dog lept out the other side and was off. Ella wasn't harmed but again, everyone was freaked out. We are very thankful to our wee neighbors H and C for alerting their Mama to the fact that there was a dog in the yard. They were ON IT after the duck incident. Thanks guys and thanks to our fabulous neighbor S who make the rescue.
Another morning spent with the Animal Control Guy. We are not yet on a first name basis and I hope we don't get there. The description of the dog is markedly close to the dog who broke into the duck pen. The time of day was exactly the same. The guy whose dog killed the ducks swears his dog was at home. I don't believe him. He also tells me he is sending his dog to the country to live with his parents. I really hope I can believe that.
The goats have recovered well. The ducks are coming more slowly. Josephine was the last duck standing in the pen, the two other survivors managed to flee though I have no idea how. Josephine is the one who is only now coming back. Since Tuesday she has been sliding into the thousand yard stare for very long periods. None of them have been eating much. Today though, things seemed a little better. They ate some food. The squawked at me when I went outside and they made more in the way of general duck noises. The sounds are what we really miss. The SB most of all, as he is here more to listen. He is pushing for ducklings sooner rather than later so we can rebuild the flock. Three is just too few ducks. I can't say I am thrilled about stinky ducklings in my basement again, but it will be nice to be on the road to normal. Ducks are what pass for normal now.
It has been a very hard week. I was having significant anxiety at work this morning. I was waiting for the phone to ring with more bad news. I made the SB go check on the animals as soon as he got up. They were, and are fine. It is me that is the wreck.
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Friday, February 3, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
And then there were three
Yesterday an off leash dog broke into the duck pen and killed seven of our flock. We were lucky that a neighbor found the dog in the act and pulled him out of the pen. Otherwise we would be completely flockless.
It was a grim day. We were interviewing at work so I had to maintain the happy face all day with the candidates, despite having run home for 90 minutes to collect the bodies, find the the missing ducks and talk with the animal control guy. Everyone was traumatized. Our neighbor, the SB, the remainder ducks.
I am still uncertain if one of them will make it. She is moving slowly today, whether from injury or shock I don't know.
Thanks to our neighbor, we have identified the dog and hopefully will work something out with the owner.
I try to comfort myself with the good life they led up until Tuesday morning.
The neighbors, friends and family have been amazing. It has been nice to hear from folks how much they like having these critters here in the hood.
It was a grim day. We were interviewing at work so I had to maintain the happy face all day with the candidates, despite having run home for 90 minutes to collect the bodies, find the the missing ducks and talk with the animal control guy. Everyone was traumatized. Our neighbor, the SB, the remainder ducks.
I am still uncertain if one of them will make it. She is moving slowly today, whether from injury or shock I don't know.
Thanks to our neighbor, we have identified the dog and hopefully will work something out with the owner.
I try to comfort myself with the good life they led up until Tuesday morning.
The neighbors, friends and family have been amazing. It has been nice to hear from folks how much they like having these critters here in the hood.
Monday, November 21, 2011
It's darker with the light on
The SB and I were working on our porch a month or so ago and took down the security lights while replacing some of the porch boards. We haven't put the lights back up yet. Since then, I have been enjoying the dark-ish evenings and mornings. We are in the city, so it isn't really ever DARK. It is just less light. And I have found it is much easier to see if I am not straining to see around the shadows. I have been taking the goats out in the dark-ish. Closing up the ducks in their house or doing the morning feeding. I actually prefer to have the porch light off, if the porch and house lights are off it is even better.
Today I stopped by a neighbor's house on my way home from work to pick up some leftover straw that was in her garden. She apologized "It's dark out there...." Not a problem.
Today I stopped by a neighbor's house on my way home from work to pick up some leftover straw that was in her garden. She apologized "It's dark out there...." Not a problem.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Seasonal Employment
Because we have been doing nothing other than working on the milking cottage since this time last year (if you include the design/siting and the harvesting and collecting of materials in addition to the more obvious fabrication) I decided to take a bit of a break this fall on the garden. I did make a feeble attempt to get things going this summer, but it was so hot and dry that things really didn't germinate. I do have a small patch of carrots, some arugula and a few beets, but that is it. Because there is currently nothing in the garden that I am too worked up a bit, I have decided to put the ducks to work at their intended tasks...
We got the ducks as garden helpers.... do you remember? They were supposed to take care of bugs and not scratch things up like chickens. Actually, I have not had a slug problem since I got the ducks, even though we don't have them in the garden that much. The reason we don't have them in the garden as expected is because of the leafy greens. Wow, those ducks can put a hurtin' on the spinach and the chard. But since I have neither spinach nor chard this fall, thanks to Mother Nature, who knew I needed a break, I have set the ducks to task. The past year I have been plagued by these very annoying bugs that have ruined the greens and some of the brassicas. I also have a squash bug problem. All this is probably due to intensive cultivation and being a wee bit lazy about cleaning up in the fall.
I am hoping that the ducks take to the task. My plan is to leave them in the garden in the mornings with only a light breakfast. In the afternoon we will let them out into the bigger yard and let them swim in the creek. It is a good deal for them, because it means more forage time, and they do live to forage. The bad thing is that they are going to get spoiled rotten and think that they deserve to be out of the pen ALL the time. I guess we deal with that when the time comes.
I have also started to consider a flock of chickens. We have a section of the garden where we have been growing corn/beans/squash together. Unfortunately, this makes it pretty much impossible to weed. I need some good working chickens in a movable pen who can take that section down to dirt and eat every seed and growing thing in the top two inches of soil. I think some chickens are the birds for the job. While we don't need more eggs, there do seem to be folks in the hood who would be interested. I bet I could get rid of as much as we could produce in that department as people aren't as squeamish about chicken eggs as they are duck... And I don't have any trouble getting rid of the duck eggs.
Now it is all about fencing and a movable pen. And some warm weather. The first frost came in solid last night. Everything was crunchy this morning and the duck and goat water had a skim of ice across the top. Welcome to the Season of Frost.
We got the ducks as garden helpers.... do you remember? They were supposed to take care of bugs and not scratch things up like chickens. Actually, I have not had a slug problem since I got the ducks, even though we don't have them in the garden that much. The reason we don't have them in the garden as expected is because of the leafy greens. Wow, those ducks can put a hurtin' on the spinach and the chard. But since I have neither spinach nor chard this fall, thanks to Mother Nature, who knew I needed a break, I have set the ducks to task. The past year I have been plagued by these very annoying bugs that have ruined the greens and some of the brassicas. I also have a squash bug problem. All this is probably due to intensive cultivation and being a wee bit lazy about cleaning up in the fall.
I am hoping that the ducks take to the task. My plan is to leave them in the garden in the mornings with only a light breakfast. In the afternoon we will let them out into the bigger yard and let them swim in the creek. It is a good deal for them, because it means more forage time, and they do live to forage. The bad thing is that they are going to get spoiled rotten and think that they deserve to be out of the pen ALL the time. I guess we deal with that when the time comes.
I have also started to consider a flock of chickens. We have a section of the garden where we have been growing corn/beans/squash together. Unfortunately, this makes it pretty much impossible to weed. I need some good working chickens in a movable pen who can take that section down to dirt and eat every seed and growing thing in the top two inches of soil. I think some chickens are the birds for the job. While we don't need more eggs, there do seem to be folks in the hood who would be interested. I bet I could get rid of as much as we could produce in that department as people aren't as squeamish about chicken eggs as they are duck... And I don't have any trouble getting rid of the duck eggs.
Now it is all about fencing and a movable pen. And some warm weather. The first frost came in solid last night. Everything was crunchy this morning and the duck and goat water had a skim of ice across the top. Welcome to the Season of Frost.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Ten Ducks, Two Dogs and One Very Close Call
The SB and I were out working on the goat barn/milking cottage on Sunday, as we have been doing for, oh about eternity. The SB was on the ladder nailing up trim and I was holding/handing tools like a surgical nurse.
I heard a bunch of quacking and splashing, not really odd for the ducks, but it went on.... when I turned to check out the hoopla, I saw two very large dogs happily chasing the ducks around in circles. I took off toward the creek with the SB right on my heels. I was yelling and running straight at the dog that was closest to actually having a duck in its mouth. It was a near thing. He almost had his paw on one and I think that would have been the end of it due to sheer terror or physical trauma.
Luckily the dogs weren't hungry, they were just chasing the ducks because the ducks were running. Had they been intent on eating one of them, I have no doubt they could have snatched one and been off before we even knew it.
It was a lucky day all around. All the ducks survived, the dogs did not end up getting punched in the face (which was the only feeble plan I had for what I would do if I got a hold of one of them) and the SB and I were able to return to the work on the milking cottage without dog bites or ancillary damage.
Around here, we count that as a win.
I heard a bunch of quacking and splashing, not really odd for the ducks, but it went on.... when I turned to check out the hoopla, I saw two very large dogs happily chasing the ducks around in circles. I took off toward the creek with the SB right on my heels. I was yelling and running straight at the dog that was closest to actually having a duck in its mouth. It was a near thing. He almost had his paw on one and I think that would have been the end of it due to sheer terror or physical trauma.
Luckily the dogs weren't hungry, they were just chasing the ducks because the ducks were running. Had they been intent on eating one of them, I have no doubt they could have snatched one and been off before we even knew it.
It was a lucky day all around. All the ducks survived, the dogs did not end up getting punched in the face (which was the only feeble plan I had for what I would do if I got a hold of one of them) and the SB and I were able to return to the work on the milking cottage without dog bites or ancillary damage.
Around here, we count that as a win.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
PIctures soon
Boy howdy, there is some cute goin' on at the Urban Farm. Two new residents arrived today. Two pretty darned fresh baby goats. One 5 weeks old and her half sister right on 4. They are wee and have elastic in their bones. Friendly like puppies and they love people. We have them in an abbreviated pen and temporary housing, but they have plenty of room to sproing and the SB moved a big chunk of log into the pen so they had something to climb on.
We arrived home from the farm late in the afternoon and the goats were welcomed by my mama and three of our closest neighbors. Everyone was enchanted, natch. Which is good. Cuz we are the ones that are going to be hearing them.
They bleated a bit when we all left to go inside. A heart wrenching 10 minutes, but since then, all has been quiet.
The SB and I will be trading off feeding duties, I'll take morning and night and he does the mid day shift. Three times a day shouldn't be too much longer. We are working them onto milk replacer from goat milk, slowly upping the proportions. The goat lady gave us some goat milk to help with the cross taper. She rocks. Cross your fingers for a smooth transition.
Names when we get to know them a little better.
We arrived home from the farm late in the afternoon and the goats were welcomed by my mama and three of our closest neighbors. Everyone was enchanted, natch. Which is good. Cuz we are the ones that are going to be hearing them.
They bleated a bit when we all left to go inside. A heart wrenching 10 minutes, but since then, all has been quiet.
The SB and I will be trading off feeding duties, I'll take morning and night and he does the mid day shift. Three times a day shouldn't be too much longer. We are working them onto milk replacer from goat milk, slowly upping the proportions. The goat lady gave us some goat milk to help with the cross taper. She rocks. Cross your fingers for a smooth transition.
Names when we get to know them a little better.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Productivity
I have had a relatively productive week. And it is only Tuesday. A list!
I
1. posted on the neighborhood email list for a doghouse, and found one. This will be the temporary goat housing while we work on the goat barn.
2. found some rhubarb from another neighbor down the street.
3. chatted with neighbors while walking to my mama's.
4. went to my goat cheese class.
5. planted potatoes
6. moved the bees another 5 feet out of the goat yard.
7. successfully retrieved a key from my neighbor when the SB accidentally (I think) locked me out of the house.
8. dug 2 post holes.
9. communicated with the goat breeder and reiterated our interest in the little caramel colored goat and one of her cousins.
10. received the goat milk replacer in the mail so as to be ready for bottle feeding baby goats.
11. called Southern States to be sure that they had timothy hay to start the wee ones on.
Also didn't sleep well due to the electric storm last night. Still need to work on the taxes. Taking Friday off to do goat fencing/prep in hopes of having goats home this weekend, though I suspect it will be a stretch.
I
1. posted on the neighborhood email list for a doghouse, and found one. This will be the temporary goat housing while we work on the goat barn.
2. found some rhubarb from another neighbor down the street.
3. chatted with neighbors while walking to my mama's.
4. went to my goat cheese class.
5. planted potatoes
6. moved the bees another 5 feet out of the goat yard.
7. successfully retrieved a key from my neighbor when the SB accidentally (I think) locked me out of the house.
8. dug 2 post holes.
9. communicated with the goat breeder and reiterated our interest in the little caramel colored goat and one of her cousins.
10. received the goat milk replacer in the mail so as to be ready for bottle feeding baby goats.
11. called Southern States to be sure that they had timothy hay to start the wee ones on.
Also didn't sleep well due to the electric storm last night. Still need to work on the taxes. Taking Friday off to do goat fencing/prep in hopes of having goats home this weekend, though I suspect it will be a stretch.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Urban Homesteading on the Urban Farm
My parents moved to this neighborhood when I was in high school. What drew them initially was the rural nature of the place. When I was in high school, there was a cow pasture a block and half from our house. There were chickens. You could hear a rooster on some mornings. But we were right on the bus line and less than a mile from downtown. In the ensuing years, the cow pasture disappeared to make way for the new development. The roosters came and went. The gardens were always here. Our neighborhood is near The River. And much of the land has escaped development b/c of the flood plain.
My end of the neighborhood, just a few blocks from my parents, was divided off in the 1870s or 1880s. Sold off to pay off the debt of a dead man. The lots were divided into one acre plots. Someone figured this was about right. This was a village then, separate from the city with its own store/pub, schoolhouse and manufacturing. The people who lived here worked at The Mill. And the people that built and owned houses, at least in some areas, had acre lots. They grew their own food. They had animals. There was common grazing ground across the train tracks and children would take the animals back and forth. And that is in living memory. When we renovated, we removed some very bug eaten old wood dividers that had canning records scrawled on them. How many quarts of green beans. And the vaccination and calving dates for Inky the cow. Inky may have lived in the backyard, or maybe at the common grazing grounds. This was in the 60s I think, so probably the back yard. There was also an old chicken coop, fallen down around a perfect glass egg that was put in the nest to encourage the chickens to "lay here".
I hesitate to call us an urban homestead, since we have an acre and a half (the owner of our property was owed money by the person who owned the lot behind and they made it up in half an lot). So many are out there doing more with so much less. But we are in the City limits. We are making our way. Slowly slowly. At first one garden bed, then two. Then we raised them and enclosed them. Two more beds and two more. Bees. Two more garden beds. Then the ducks. Soon, we hope, goats. The SB wants to build a solar dryer and I hope we can hook up our rain barrels this year. May solar hot water heating? Who knows? We are learning more every year. Sometimes we have the privilege of sharing that with others. That is what people who are interested in this do....
We would have done this whether or not anyone else was doing it. So have many people here. It is our culture and our history. This place attracts people who appreciate it for what it is, has been and will be. We are lucky to have found our home here. I can't imagine being any place else. People here have been growing their own right here in the city limits since we were annexed around the middle of the last century. And I am betting that a good number of them have never heard of a family in Pasadena that is so much in the news - but this post isn't about them, it is about urban homesteading.
Neighborhood friends, feel free to correct my dates and timing and add your own stories. And if you want to learn more about the 'hood, you can go here and read from the beginning where it is all beautifully spelled out and lovingly illustrated.
My end of the neighborhood, just a few blocks from my parents, was divided off in the 1870s or 1880s. Sold off to pay off the debt of a dead man. The lots were divided into one acre plots. Someone figured this was about right. This was a village then, separate from the city with its own store/pub, schoolhouse and manufacturing. The people who lived here worked at The Mill. And the people that built and owned houses, at least in some areas, had acre lots. They grew their own food. They had animals. There was common grazing ground across the train tracks and children would take the animals back and forth. And that is in living memory. When we renovated, we removed some very bug eaten old wood dividers that had canning records scrawled on them. How many quarts of green beans. And the vaccination and calving dates for Inky the cow. Inky may have lived in the backyard, or maybe at the common grazing grounds. This was in the 60s I think, so probably the back yard. There was also an old chicken coop, fallen down around a perfect glass egg that was put in the nest to encourage the chickens to "lay here".
I hesitate to call us an urban homestead, since we have an acre and a half (the owner of our property was owed money by the person who owned the lot behind and they made it up in half an lot). So many are out there doing more with so much less. But we are in the City limits. We are making our way. Slowly slowly. At first one garden bed, then two. Then we raised them and enclosed them. Two more beds and two more. Bees. Two more garden beds. Then the ducks. Soon, we hope, goats. The SB wants to build a solar dryer and I hope we can hook up our rain barrels this year. May solar hot water heating? Who knows? We are learning more every year. Sometimes we have the privilege of sharing that with others. That is what people who are interested in this do....
We would have done this whether or not anyone else was doing it. So have many people here. It is our culture and our history. This place attracts people who appreciate it for what it is, has been and will be. We are lucky to have found our home here. I can't imagine being any place else. People here have been growing their own right here in the city limits since we were annexed around the middle of the last century. And I am betting that a good number of them have never heard of a family in Pasadena that is so much in the news - but this post isn't about them, it is about urban homesteading.
Neighborhood friends, feel free to correct my dates and timing and add your own stories. And if you want to learn more about the 'hood, you can go here and read from the beginning where it is all beautifully spelled out and lovingly illustrated.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
On Fire
The blogosphere is on fire. Since I am not a fray-enterer, I will just say that I concur with what the people are saying. A very famous family in CA has trademarked the words "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading". Those of us who are also gardening/keeping animals/orcharding/etc will now be unable to use these terms unless we give credit to The Family.
Boy howdy. There are some excellent posts out there. There is a face book page. Here are a few links:
From Kate at Living the Frugal Life
From Dog Island Farm
and Havenscourt Homestead with a whole list of other links (including a very good one from Punk Domestics which happens to be another favorite site of mine and has a good rundown of the full story to date...)
Many of these folks say exactly what I would... The Family has done a lot of good work. I have always been somewhat uneasy with their persistent marketing. I gave the benefit of the doubt. It is tough to make a living as a farmer, especially when there are 4 mouths to feed and none of them seem to work outside the home. They did a great job of promoting themselves. They had lots of speaking gigs and reporters and TV shows etc. I am sure they work hard. But they have also isolated themselves from the other people who have embarked on this journey. They assumed that since they were getting attention that they were leading the pack when the truth is, they were part of a resurgence that would have happened with or without them. The internet has allowed them to have the spotlight shone upon them which they seem to enjoy. It also seems to have blinded them to the rest of the community.
The Family's response to the hulla ba loo in all this is to shut down, retreat and play the injured party. Sorry Family, but here is my message to you. If you want to play in the big leagues you have to act like adults and enter the conversation - shutting down your sites and turning off the comments is cowardly. Get your head out of your .1 acre and start looking around at what all these great people are doing for sustainability, food security and environmentalism and the local food movement. You didn't start that movement. There is ample evidence you weren't the first to come up with the term or the methods. Step off and let people talk and share info and celebrate good work without having to give you credit. There are a lot of people working jobs while trying to make their way through all this. Finding ways to coop their effort and restrict how they talk about it are absurd and unfriendly.
Wow. Look at that, I DID enter the fray.
And now for more regularly scheduled programming... I made the leap and planted some seeds outside yesterday. Radishes, lettuce, arugula, beets, chard, spinach and mustard. And onion sets. I NEVER have luck with onions, but I do love banging my head against a wall. The seedlings in the basement are finally coming around. Way too slow for me, but there you go.
I may do some more planting today, but it is windy something awful. I may just go ahead and start the tomatoes and peppers and such. It is early, but those stinkin' eggplant take for freaking ever.
My neighbor gave me some cranesbill, which I am very excited to have. I bought seeds, but I am hoping that this will get me started while I see if I can get the other stuff rolling. It may be a whole year before the seeds even sprout, so it is nice to have a jump start.
If the ducks don't start laying soon, they are going in the stock pot.
So far the bees are alive, but with this warm weather, I need to be sure to keep them fed since they will be up and about and eating more but without any food out there.... Generally they call March the "starving time" for bees around here for this reason.
Busy weekend.
Boy howdy. There are some excellent posts out there. There is a face book page. Here are a few links:
From Kate at Living the Frugal Life
From Dog Island Farm
and Havenscourt Homestead with a whole list of other links (including a very good one from Punk Domestics which happens to be another favorite site of mine and has a good rundown of the full story to date...)
Many of these folks say exactly what I would... The Family has done a lot of good work. I have always been somewhat uneasy with their persistent marketing. I gave the benefit of the doubt. It is tough to make a living as a farmer, especially when there are 4 mouths to feed and none of them seem to work outside the home. They did a great job of promoting themselves. They had lots of speaking gigs and reporters and TV shows etc. I am sure they work hard. But they have also isolated themselves from the other people who have embarked on this journey. They assumed that since they were getting attention that they were leading the pack when the truth is, they were part of a resurgence that would have happened with or without them. The internet has allowed them to have the spotlight shone upon them which they seem to enjoy. It also seems to have blinded them to the rest of the community.
The Family's response to the hulla ba loo in all this is to shut down, retreat and play the injured party. Sorry Family, but here is my message to you. If you want to play in the big leagues you have to act like adults and enter the conversation - shutting down your sites and turning off the comments is cowardly. Get your head out of your .1 acre and start looking around at what all these great people are doing for sustainability, food security and environmentalism and the local food movement. You didn't start that movement. There is ample evidence you weren't the first to come up with the term or the methods. Step off and let people talk and share info and celebrate good work without having to give you credit. There are a lot of people working jobs while trying to make their way through all this. Finding ways to coop their effort and restrict how they talk about it are absurd and unfriendly.
Wow. Look at that, I DID enter the fray.
And now for more regularly scheduled programming... I made the leap and planted some seeds outside yesterday. Radishes, lettuce, arugula, beets, chard, spinach and mustard. And onion sets. I NEVER have luck with onions, but I do love banging my head against a wall. The seedlings in the basement are finally coming around. Way too slow for me, but there you go.
I may do some more planting today, but it is windy something awful. I may just go ahead and start the tomatoes and peppers and such. It is early, but those stinkin' eggplant take for freaking ever.
My neighbor gave me some cranesbill, which I am very excited to have. I bought seeds, but I am hoping that this will get me started while I see if I can get the other stuff rolling. It may be a whole year before the seeds even sprout, so it is nice to have a jump start.
If the ducks don't start laying soon, they are going in the stock pot.
So far the bees are alive, but with this warm weather, I need to be sure to keep them fed since they will be up and about and eating more but without any food out there.... Generally they call March the "starving time" for bees around here for this reason.
Busy weekend.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Decisions
Before I get to far, let me just say that the ducks are fine. I know you were on the edge of your seat waiting to hear that. When I came in from the morning feeding I told the SB the good news. He was unsurprised. He said he is beyond attributing sense to the actions of the ducks. Which equates to "Who knows the mind of a duck?" We are on the same page I suppose.
In other news. ... My seeds have started to arrive. So far, I have expected the packages. There have been years where I have continued to receive fat little envelopes from seed companies whose names only sound vaguely familiar. When opened, they begged comments like "Did I order this?" "Don't I already have some of this?" etc. If you are a gardener, perhaps you understand.
Today's order from JUNG was relatively light. I got four 128-cell seedling trays,
4 packets of zinnias, some cutting celery, ground cherries (free), and some stupid teddy bear sunflowers (also free). The two bundles of strawberries will be shipped at the appropriate planting time. Oh yeah, and some foxglove. You see, this wasn't my REAL seed order. That arrived a few days ago from Southern Exposure. I was pretty sneaky with that.... I ordered with a neighbor, so when a relatively large envelope arrived, and was greeted by the SB's raised eyebrow, I had the excuse that not ALL those seeds were mine. It was a shared order. Probably 5-10% of that order would be leaving the house, but I didn't get specific on that.
Probably this weekend I will start some seedlings. I have 256 cells to plant since I have two trays that fit under my grow light and two heating mats. I am going to have to parse out what goes first.... spinach, beets, lettuce, chard.... some of these things go so fast, they won't even get started indoors. I think I am going to try radishes again, and just try to pick them early before they get so hot. I said I wouldn't do it again, but the prospect of vegetables from the garden in only a month is pretty compelling right now.... Kale, arugula and mustard may go straight into the garden. They go so fast... Then second plantings right into the garden to extend the season, the earliest stuff goes to make room for the summer things....
I have some plannin' to do!
In other news. ... My seeds have started to arrive. So far, I have expected the packages. There have been years where I have continued to receive fat little envelopes from seed companies whose names only sound vaguely familiar. When opened, they begged comments like "Did I order this?" "Don't I already have some of this?" etc. If you are a gardener, perhaps you understand.
Today's order from JUNG was relatively light. I got four 128-cell seedling trays,
4 packets of zinnias, some cutting celery, ground cherries (free), and some stupid teddy bear sunflowers (also free). The two bundles of strawberries will be shipped at the appropriate planting time. Oh yeah, and some foxglove. You see, this wasn't my REAL seed order. That arrived a few days ago from Southern Exposure. I was pretty sneaky with that.... I ordered with a neighbor, so when a relatively large envelope arrived, and was greeted by the SB's raised eyebrow, I had the excuse that not ALL those seeds were mine. It was a shared order. Probably 5-10% of that order would be leaving the house, but I didn't get specific on that.
Probably this weekend I will start some seedlings. I have 256 cells to plant since I have two trays that fit under my grow light and two heating mats. I am going to have to parse out what goes first.... spinach, beets, lettuce, chard.... some of these things go so fast, they won't even get started indoors. I think I am going to try radishes again, and just try to pick them early before they get so hot. I said I wouldn't do it again, but the prospect of vegetables from the garden in only a month is pretty compelling right now.... Kale, arugula and mustard may go straight into the garden. They go so fast... Then second plantings right into the garden to extend the season, the earliest stuff goes to make room for the summer things....
I have some plannin' to do!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Break
I think this is the longest break from work I have taken in years... Off a half day on the 22nd, back to work on the 3rd and only a half day in the office in between. Sheer freakin' bliss.
On the 28th I made cheese with my neighbor. She had The Cheese Kit. I had done this with the food crafting girls a while back, but since it was a while ago, it was like starting all over. Except that I also tried some cheddar. You inoculate the slightly warmed milk the night before with some yogurt or buttermilk and let it sit at room temp. By morning it was certainly thicker than regular milk. I walked it over to the neighbors as we were doing this in her fabulous kitchen. Then you add the rennet and let the milk sit for an hour. Which we did. Only we used my rennet which had apparently lost its kick. So the first 30 minutes nothing happened. We added new rennet and 60 minutes later we had a lovely curd - lesson learned, keep your rennet in the freezer. (We were doing other things along the way, making mozzarella, drinking tea and eating home made toast). The curds were cut into tiny squares, then stirred gently for 15 minutes while the whole thing was held between 90-100 degrees. The whey was drained off, and the curds were put into a clean cloth fitted into a clean tomato can with both ends cut out. I then took this home and placed one of the can ends on the top of the cheese which was on top of my cooling rack. On top of the can I put a smaller can (tuna, full and unopened) and and a couple of fat cookbooks (the Joy, and 1000 Chinese Recipes). We pressed it overnight on the counter and then wrapped it in fresh cloth and stuck it in the fridge where it will hang for a week or two until it forms a rind (which appears to be happening) then I am supposed to put cheese wax on it. But I will probably eat it instead.
We went to dinner at our other neighbors house. Cold roast beef, roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding with hard sauce. Yum.
I went shopping with Cho to the new fabric store. All I could do was think that those lovely upholstery fabrics would look great in the garden pavilion. Or the goat barn.
I walked to the Tea House with my chummy and had a pot of tea.
I made goat stew from the Frugal Gourmet. I messed with the recipe.
I made no knead bread. And messed with the recipe (adding 1/2 cup oatmeal and a bit of wheat germ to tone down all the whiteness) and had success.
I got a comment on my blog from the MENews people regarding my dissing of the garden planner. I was corrected.
I moved heavy things.
I saw an owl fly through our backyard.
We worked on the garden pavilion and goat barn plans. We made a model of the goat barn in cardboard.
See how much fun I am when I don't work? Someone should buy me out so I can be a stay-at-home homesteader and blog about it.
On the 28th I made cheese with my neighbor. She had The Cheese Kit. I had done this with the food crafting girls a while back, but since it was a while ago, it was like starting all over. Except that I also tried some cheddar. You inoculate the slightly warmed milk the night before with some yogurt or buttermilk and let it sit at room temp. By morning it was certainly thicker than regular milk. I walked it over to the neighbors as we were doing this in her fabulous kitchen. Then you add the rennet and let the milk sit for an hour. Which we did. Only we used my rennet which had apparently lost its kick. So the first 30 minutes nothing happened. We added new rennet and 60 minutes later we had a lovely curd - lesson learned, keep your rennet in the freezer. (We were doing other things along the way, making mozzarella, drinking tea and eating home made toast). The curds were cut into tiny squares, then stirred gently for 15 minutes while the whole thing was held between 90-100 degrees. The whey was drained off, and the curds were put into a clean cloth fitted into a clean tomato can with both ends cut out. I then took this home and placed one of the can ends on the top of the cheese which was on top of my cooling rack. On top of the can I put a smaller can (tuna, full and unopened) and and a couple of fat cookbooks (the Joy, and 1000 Chinese Recipes). We pressed it overnight on the counter and then wrapped it in fresh cloth and stuck it in the fridge where it will hang for a week or two until it forms a rind (which appears to be happening) then I am supposed to put cheese wax on it. But I will probably eat it instead.
We went to dinner at our other neighbors house. Cold roast beef, roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding with hard sauce. Yum.
I went shopping with Cho to the new fabric store. All I could do was think that those lovely upholstery fabrics would look great in the garden pavilion. Or the goat barn.
I walked to the Tea House with my chummy and had a pot of tea.
I made goat stew from the Frugal Gourmet. I messed with the recipe.
I made no knead bread. And messed with the recipe (adding 1/2 cup oatmeal and a bit of wheat germ to tone down all the whiteness) and had success.
I got a comment on my blog from the MENews people regarding my dissing of the garden planner. I was corrected.
I moved heavy things.
I saw an owl fly through our backyard.
We worked on the garden pavilion and goat barn plans. We made a model of the goat barn in cardboard.
See how much fun I am when I don't work? Someone should buy me out so I can be a stay-at-home homesteader and blog about it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Less Sweltering
Ok, so a lot happens in a week around here. And you know what that means....Yes! A list.
1. FAB.U.LOUS weekend weather. Cool overcast and not humid. Near heaven.
2. Potatoes harvested. Woot.
3. Ginger beer made from this recipe.
4. Dark and Stormy s made with above ginger beer and dark rum. It is the go to cocktail of the rest of the summer. Kill.Er.
5. The SB got three free truckloads of dirt. Woot! For projects. Woot!
6. Dried tomatoes are almost done. At least the first round. We have lots. Yay.
7. WTF?
8. I bought a set of popsicle forms. I am starting with iced tea/lemon/honey popsicles. I'll keep you posted.
9. I think La Michaicano has closed. Which blows.
10. I thought I had a sick duck last week. Blew a day of vacation running around looking for someone to give me antibiotics without dragging a duck into the vet. Luckily she got better on her own.
11. Trying to make mint ice cream.
12. I have some major freakin' welts on me. Chiggers? GAH!
13. Thinking of making white peach liqueur
14. We sheet mulched the garden paths with cardboard. At least some of them
15. Found a nice guy in the country who is happy to get rid of his old horse poop and will load it into the truck with a front end loader. Free. We are going back as much as possible while we have my Pop's truck.
16. Nice people rock and we met several this weekend.
17. Sometimes 2 gin and tonics and some bread pudding can count for dinner. It is O.K., especially when combined with good company.
18. There is no smell like the smell of tomato vines. Get out there and enjoy it while you can. Tomato season is WAY TOO SHORT.
Sheesh. So much. Want to know the back story on any of the above let me know. Too overwhelming to think about describing them all. Summer is some kinda busy!
1. FAB.U.LOUS weekend weather. Cool overcast and not humid. Near heaven.
2. Potatoes harvested. Woot.
3. Ginger beer made from this recipe.
4. Dark and Stormy s made with above ginger beer and dark rum. It is the go to cocktail of the rest of the summer. Kill.Er.
5. The SB got three free truckloads of dirt. Woot! For projects. Woot!
6. Dried tomatoes are almost done. At least the first round. We have lots. Yay.
7. WTF?
8. I bought a set of popsicle forms. I am starting with iced tea/lemon/honey popsicles. I'll keep you posted.
9. I think La Michaicano has closed. Which blows.
10. I thought I had a sick duck last week. Blew a day of vacation running around looking for someone to give me antibiotics without dragging a duck into the vet. Luckily she got better on her own.
11. Trying to make mint ice cream.
12. I have some major freakin' welts on me. Chiggers? GAH!
13. Thinking of making white peach liqueur
14. We sheet mulched the garden paths with cardboard. At least some of them
15. Found a nice guy in the country who is happy to get rid of his old horse poop and will load it into the truck with a front end loader. Free. We are going back as much as possible while we have my Pop's truck.
16. Nice people rock and we met several this weekend.
17. Sometimes 2 gin and tonics and some bread pudding can count for dinner. It is O.K., especially when combined with good company.
18. There is no smell like the smell of tomato vines. Get out there and enjoy it while you can. Tomato season is WAY TOO SHORT.
Sheesh. So much. Want to know the back story on any of the above let me know. Too overwhelming to think about describing them all. Summer is some kinda busy!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
M.I.A.
Wow, I have been out of it for a while... And there is soooo much to report on....
Waiting for pictures of C in her Halloween costume that I made. She wanted to be a princess, because she is 4. I made her a purple and gold number with flow-y sleeves and lots of bling. And a cape. A sparkly cape. Cuz everyone needs a cape. Don't tell me you don't. THAT took up a chunk of October weekends, but it was the good kind of taken up.
We had a party. Which worked out great considering it rained and it was an outdoor party. It just didn't rain much and we had a fire and music and lots of beer. So it was definitely a good party. Getting ready for the initial one that we canceled and then the one that went on took two weekends.
The garden, well you really must see it. I instructed the SB to take pictures since I am not home during day light hours thanks to daylight savings time (booo). He went out to take pictures and got distracted by ducks and then his batteries went on the fritz. So hopefully you will get to witness the remarkable and inspiring beds of greens that are overflowing right now. And hopefully you will get a good picture of where the ducks have sheared back the greens as far as they can reach through the fencing. So much for ducks being garden helpers. With the recent rains they managed to turn our garden paths into a mud fest. Really, I don't know where they got all that mud because it wasn't there before. Re.mark.able.
Over that last week, with the help of my friend V and my back yard neighbor, I have launched my duck egg empire. I was whining to V about too many duck eggs and the hassle factor of listing them on Craigslist when she reminded me that we have a neighborhood list serve for this sort of thing. Oh. Right. I listed the eggs and got some interest.... Then one of the interested neighbors forwarded the email on at her work place and I got orders for 7 dozen eggs. Seven. Dozen. I told the SB that we clearly needed more ducks. At $4/dozen, it won't be any time at all until we are rich, I tell you, RICH!
Waiting for pictures of C in her Halloween costume that I made. She wanted to be a princess, because she is 4. I made her a purple and gold number with flow-y sleeves and lots of bling. And a cape. A sparkly cape. Cuz everyone needs a cape. Don't tell me you don't. THAT took up a chunk of October weekends, but it was the good kind of taken up.
We had a party. Which worked out great considering it rained and it was an outdoor party. It just didn't rain much and we had a fire and music and lots of beer. So it was definitely a good party. Getting ready for the initial one that we canceled and then the one that went on took two weekends.
The garden, well you really must see it. I instructed the SB to take pictures since I am not home during day light hours thanks to daylight savings time (booo). He went out to take pictures and got distracted by ducks and then his batteries went on the fritz. So hopefully you will get to witness the remarkable and inspiring beds of greens that are overflowing right now. And hopefully you will get a good picture of where the ducks have sheared back the greens as far as they can reach through the fencing. So much for ducks being garden helpers. With the recent rains they managed to turn our garden paths into a mud fest. Really, I don't know where they got all that mud because it wasn't there before. Re.mark.able.
Over that last week, with the help of my friend V and my back yard neighbor, I have launched my duck egg empire. I was whining to V about too many duck eggs and the hassle factor of listing them on Craigslist when she reminded me that we have a neighborhood list serve for this sort of thing. Oh. Right. I listed the eggs and got some interest.... Then one of the interested neighbors forwarded the email on at her work place and I got orders for 7 dozen eggs. Seven. Dozen. I told the SB that we clearly needed more ducks. At $4/dozen, it won't be any time at all until we are rich, I tell you, RICH!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hmmm
I checked the bees today. There definitely is activity. Though really, they are not going through they syrup like I would expect. The flights are more frequent and there aren't signs of robbing or incursions by stronger hives. The long and the short of it is that I am going to have to go in full tilt this weekend and take the whole stinkin' hive apart again and see what is going on in there.
I spent last evening with my neighbor. G is the sort of friend that one really needs in life - I am just lucky that she lives next door to me. She is British, and has a way with roses. She is an experienced naturalist and gardener. She keeps up on local and national politics and keeps the BBC as her webpage. She has an AMAZING cook book collection, a passion for prints, and a fantastic and fascinating living room. She is the neighbor that always has a cup of sugar, bottle of capers, a lemon or some ginger when your guests are on the way and you really NEED it. She can talk art with the SB all night long. She is wholly supportive of the chickens and ducks. And besides all that, she has some experience under her belt. Always nice to spend an evening in her lovely house sipping gin and bitter lemon and catching up on national politics, local gossip and personal plans for the future.
I spent last evening with my neighbor. G is the sort of friend that one really needs in life - I am just lucky that she lives next door to me. She is British, and has a way with roses. She is an experienced naturalist and gardener. She keeps up on local and national politics and keeps the BBC as her webpage. She has an AMAZING cook book collection, a passion for prints, and a fantastic and fascinating living room. She is the neighbor that always has a cup of sugar, bottle of capers, a lemon or some ginger when your guests are on the way and you really NEED it. She can talk art with the SB all night long. She is wholly supportive of the chickens and ducks. And besides all that, she has some experience under her belt. Always nice to spend an evening in her lovely house sipping gin and bitter lemon and catching up on national politics, local gossip and personal plans for the future.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
I'm Back
You thought it would be weeks, didn't you? Admit it. But no, here I am only a few short days later.... Well, maybe a week, but who's counting?
It has been a busy weekend. Friday I had to take off work early so that I could go snorggle some baby ducks. A lady out by the airport keeps runner ducks and she has some ducklings. She let me hold them even though I was very clear that I was NOT going to purchase any. Not even one. Not even all 5 of them. I got to check out the duck layout and see some runners in action. They didn't seem terribly messy, but the 7 ducks have free roam of the yard, and the goat pens, so there is lots of space. They have a solid enclosure that they are comfortable in and I got to watch the ducks put themselves up for the night. Man those baby ducks were cute. Pocket sized. If they were mine, I would make myself a duck apron so I could pop them in there and take them out to the garden with me.
Saturday I skipped the market all together and went straight to the harvest festival in the rain. I thought I was bein' all sly by going in the rain thinking no one else was that crazy. But LO.... Wads and scads of crazy gardeners. Wandering in the downpour. I thought I would have lots of time with the speakers to ask questions and tap into their knowledge, but things were hectic because of all the changes and people were coming and going and everything was crowded. I got a great handout though on winter vegetable gardening and I am scouring it to see what I still have time to put in.
Later Saturday I went to the parent's for a neighborhood potluck. I was sort of all social-ed out by that point so I didn't stay long. Though I had lots of nice garden/chicken chats with my neighbors.
Today was spent puttering in the garden, doing some weeding and trying to figure out where I might be able to put some of those winter vegetables. I washed all the potatoes from last weeks harvest and picked out some to try to save a seed potatoes. We'll see how that works....Clearly, it has been done, I just don't know if there is anything special that has to be done... I cleaned the front bed and planted some kale and arugala. I have teeny spinach coming up in one of the pots that (until this AM) contained my persimmon tomato.
And speaking of fruits, I had the rapturous experience on Friday of tasting my first ever paw paw. I bought some at the market on Wed and forgot about them. They were almost too far gone on Friday when I remembered them. After trying them, I raced out to my paw paw tree to see if mine were ripe, but the are still hard and green. I checked again today and still no. But I am watching them, as I am sure the squirrels and raccoons are. Hopefully, I get there first.
The rest of today was spent with the bees and my bee mentor (who rocks). The bad news is that there is going to have to be some serious feeding to get these guys up to speed before storage activity shuts down in October when the weather gets cold. Like, I have to be ON IT and be sure that their feeder never runs dry. He tells me I am going to have to feed 30-40# of sugar in the next 6 weeks. So tonight, I went grocery shopping and came home and made dinner for the bees. I filled the feeder and took it out at dusk without the smoker, but with my gloves and veil on. That time of night things are pretty quiet so there were no problems. Other than they forgot to tip the delivery person. Ahem. Makes me feel sorry for the Dominos guys.
It has been a busy weekend. Friday I had to take off work early so that I could go snorggle some baby ducks. A lady out by the airport keeps runner ducks and she has some ducklings. She let me hold them even though I was very clear that I was NOT going to purchase any. Not even one. Not even all 5 of them. I got to check out the duck layout and see some runners in action. They didn't seem terribly messy, but the 7 ducks have free roam of the yard, and the goat pens, so there is lots of space. They have a solid enclosure that they are comfortable in and I got to watch the ducks put themselves up for the night. Man those baby ducks were cute. Pocket sized. If they were mine, I would make myself a duck apron so I could pop them in there and take them out to the garden with me.
Saturday I skipped the market all together and went straight to the harvest festival in the rain. I thought I was bein' all sly by going in the rain thinking no one else was that crazy. But LO.... Wads and scads of crazy gardeners. Wandering in the downpour. I thought I would have lots of time with the speakers to ask questions and tap into their knowledge, but things were hectic because of all the changes and people were coming and going and everything was crowded. I got a great handout though on winter vegetable gardening and I am scouring it to see what I still have time to put in.
Later Saturday I went to the parent's for a neighborhood potluck. I was sort of all social-ed out by that point so I didn't stay long. Though I had lots of nice garden/chicken chats with my neighbors.
Today was spent puttering in the garden, doing some weeding and trying to figure out where I might be able to put some of those winter vegetables. I washed all the potatoes from last weeks harvest and picked out some to try to save a seed potatoes. We'll see how that works....Clearly, it has been done, I just don't know if there is anything special that has to be done... I cleaned the front bed and planted some kale and arugala. I have teeny spinach coming up in one of the pots that (until this AM) contained my persimmon tomato.
And speaking of fruits, I had the rapturous experience on Friday of tasting my first ever paw paw. I bought some at the market on Wed and forgot about them. They were almost too far gone on Friday when I remembered them. After trying them, I raced out to my paw paw tree to see if mine were ripe, but the are still hard and green. I checked again today and still no. But I am watching them, as I am sure the squirrels and raccoons are. Hopefully, I get there first.
The rest of today was spent with the bees and my bee mentor (who rocks). The bad news is that there is going to have to be some serious feeding to get these guys up to speed before storage activity shuts down in October when the weather gets cold. Like, I have to be ON IT and be sure that their feeder never runs dry. He tells me I am going to have to feed 30-40# of sugar in the next 6 weeks. So tonight, I went grocery shopping and came home and made dinner for the bees. I filled the feeder and took it out at dusk without the smoker, but with my gloves and veil on. That time of night things are pretty quiet so there were no problems. Other than they forgot to tip the delivery person. Ahem. Makes me feel sorry for the Dominos guys.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
When?
When, dear friend(s), do you find time for:
1. dusting the baseboards
2. cleaning under the furniture
3. organizing the basement
4. putting the second coat of paint on the entry hall (the first coat went on 4 years ago)
5. filing all those papers
6. trying the recipes that you have cut out of magazines
7. knitting those patterns that you found on the internets
8. exercise
9. writing notes to your elderly relatives
10. finishing the above on the off chance that they have been started
I must say that I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the prospect of spring cleaning.
And I am getting the sneaking suspicion that I have too many projects. How do you choose from the list of totally cool stuff? The bees vs. the garden, the chick collective from the NeighborWoods tree planting, the lovely green mohair yarn vs. the delicious rose wool fabric, the pasta with peas and parm vs. the pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter? How o how can you choose?
1. dusting the baseboards
2. cleaning under the furniture
3. organizing the basement
4. putting the second coat of paint on the entry hall (the first coat went on 4 years ago)
5. filing all those papers
6. trying the recipes that you have cut out of magazines
7. knitting those patterns that you found on the internets
8. exercise
9. writing notes to your elderly relatives
10. finishing the above on the off chance that they have been started
I must say that I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the prospect of spring cleaning.
And I am getting the sneaking suspicion that I have too many projects. How do you choose from the list of totally cool stuff? The bees vs. the garden, the chick collective from the NeighborWoods tree planting, the lovely green mohair yarn vs. the delicious rose wool fabric, the pasta with peas and parm vs. the pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter? How o how can you choose?
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Monday
Labor Day. I celebrated by doing as little labor as possible. My sis in law and I went to Joann's which was a mob scene of people buying Halloween stuff. Huh? It's like two months away, dude. Isn't the fun racing around at the last second trying to find a costume? But perhaps this is the reason people always ask me what I am supposed to be. I hate Halloween especially for this reason.
Also, at Joann's, there was wrapping paper. That would be Christmas wrapping paper, people. I am not kidding. It made me want to hide. Hide my checkbook anyway.
Today I started by Survey Research Class at UVA. I haven't applied to the program yet, but I have been merrily taking classes in program evaluation, research and statistics. Well, not merrily taking statistics but.....What is keeping me from applying... one stinkin' essay that I can't seem to get on the schedule. I am such a loser.
To combat my guilt from not doing what I was supposed to this weekend (you remember the "paint the house thing?) I have allayed my guilt by coming up with another project. Which I need like a hole in the head. I want to get the neighborhood involved in the Red Scarf Project. I think we have a couple of knitters around, and it would be a nice way to ease into the holiday season . Last year we sponsored a family and did a cookie exchange. I hope to be able to do that again, too.
With all the CRAP that happens in the neighborhood, I think it is nice to be able to forget our differences and come together to support folks who are less fortunate. I think it makes us remember how lucky we are to live in such a lovely and remarkable place.
Also, at Joann's, there was wrapping paper. That would be Christmas wrapping paper, people. I am not kidding. It made me want to hide. Hide my checkbook anyway.
Today I started by Survey Research Class at UVA. I haven't applied to the program yet, but I have been merrily taking classes in program evaluation, research and statistics. Well, not merrily taking statistics but.....What is keeping me from applying... one stinkin' essay that I can't seem to get on the schedule. I am such a loser.
To combat my guilt from not doing what I was supposed to this weekend (you remember the "paint the house thing?) I have allayed my guilt by coming up with another project. Which I need like a hole in the head. I want to get the neighborhood involved in the Red Scarf Project. I think we have a couple of knitters around, and it would be a nice way to ease into the holiday season . Last year we sponsored a family and did a cookie exchange. I hope to be able to do that again, too.
With all the CRAP that happens in the neighborhood, I think it is nice to be able to forget our differences and come together to support folks who are less fortunate. I think it makes us remember how lucky we are to live in such a lovely and remarkable place.
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