Blueberries

Just look at all these beautiful blueberries! I think I mentioned we planted 3 blueberriy bushes this year. Well, this is one of them. They all have lots of blueberries on them but I think this one has the most. They seem to be doing very well so far.

Monday, we worked around the house. The girls and I made a batch of cherry jam. It is very tasty! Yesterday, we worked in both gardens, hoeing and weeding. We then took down the greenhouse and put it away for next year, cleaned the fish tank, and did several odd chores that have been needed to get done for a while. The girls worked on history and science while I ran into little town to get chick feed. Supper last night was hamburgers, corn on the cob, and pineapple all fixed on the grill. I love cooking on the grill. Not near as much clean up involved and the kitchen doesn’t get heated up.

Well, today we will be cleaning out the chicken house and working on the nests. Definitely not my favorite job, but it is a little cooler this morning so hopefully that will make it a little easier. This morning I am making kefir and buttermilk. I have shared before how I make my buttermilk but maybe someone is reading this that hasn’t read it before, so I thought I would share it again. It tastes a lot like kefir. Heres what I do. First add 1/4 cup of whole milk buttermilk purchased from the store to a quart jar. I suppose you could use lowfat or fat free for this, we just prefer whole buttermilk. Finish filling up the jar with milk. I use raw milk but any milk will do. I leave the cream on but you can take it off. I then shake it up and sit it out on the counter for about 20 hrs. There is no set time for how long to leave it out. It all depends on the temperature of your house. This same rule applies to kefir. The warmer the temperature the quicker it will set. It is ready when you turn the jar over and it all leaves the side of the jar in one clump. Shake the jar for about 5 min and put in the fridge to chill. Now to making kefir, I use kefir grains when making my kefir. Jess bought the grains for me a little while back. Before that I used the powdered starter. The grains will continue to produce indefinitely. I store them in the fridge in a jar covered with milk. When I want to make kefir, which is usually every other day, I take them out, finish filling the jar 2/3 full with raw milk and leave it out on the counter for about 24 hrs. This time is also dependent upon the temperature in your home. Kefir is very good for us. You can read about the benefits of kefir online. It is full of good stuff. It tastes very good in smoothies. I think it is good to drink plain with just a little sweetener.

Well, I guess we better get busy with our day. God bless.

May 30, 2012 5

Dollywood

Wednesday, we had a GREAT time!! We went with the Horn’s to Dollywood. They had bought season tickets and got free one day passes to take a friend. We were their friends. Thanks again, guys. We left Floyd at 7:00 that morning and got back home around midnight. It was a long day but filled with fun. Everyone was tired but happy. Please be in prayer for Vicki and Quentin. Quentin’s grandfather passed away yesterday morning.

Yesterday was a dry day here in Floyd so I jumped in and started working on the garden.

I tillered both gardens and got them ready for planting. It was a full day. This morning I started getting the plants in the ground. So far, I have planted the potatoes, corn, onions, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. After lunch, beans and tomatoes. The girls will be helping me with them. They have been inside doing the housework this morning while I worked outside.

These are the seeds the girls and I planted in the greenhouse. They have done really well. Maybe all we needed all along was a greenhouse. They certainly look the best of any seeds we have started before. Hopefully, they will do good when transferred into the garden.

The squash and cucumbers have really grown. Speaking of growing, look how big the goslings are.

They were up in the field watching me while I worked. Well, I think that’s about it. I better get back into the garden. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 18, 2012 5

Questions

Look at our new toy! Grace and I put it together this evening. The thing is I’m not sure how to use it. Do we leave it inside when we start the seeds or do we put it outside? I am totally unfamilar with one of these. I tried to find out how to use it on the internet but could’nt find exactly what I was looking for. Have any of you used one? If so, could you share your knowledge. Grace is really excited about starting seeds so I would really like to make it work. I have tried starting seeds for many years but never have success. They grow up tall and “spindly” and then die. Last year we tried starting them like this: https://merryheartcrafts.com/2011/04/20/our-greenhouse/ They looked really good until we transplanted them and they just died. So sad! All that work and then nothing. I REALLY want Grace to be more successful than I have been over the years, so as I said earlier, any advice would be appreciated.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 10, 2012 8

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Just a few pictures today to show the progress of our upper garden. It is finally starting to look like a garden.

We have been enjoying lettuce and onions for a while now.

The peas are starting to bloom. I really love fresh garden peas.

These are the plants we started under the greenhouse. We decided since we were not having much success transplanting them, we would just leave them where they were. They seem to be doing great.

Cucumbers blooming. I love fresh garden cucumbers.

Squash blooming. I love fresh garden squash.

A closer look at the cabbage. I love fresh garden cabbage. Can you tell ? I just love ALL fresh garden food!!!!!

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 9, 2011 8

Wild Roses

Remember the rose bush up by the fence that had not bloomed yet. Well, this is it. It is full of tiny white bloom. Very pretty.

I thought I would share with you all how my plants look. This is what the cucumbers looked like before we transplanted them.

This is what they look like now and this is one of the better looking ones. Oh well, live and learn. I am going today to a local greenhouse and hopefully get some cucumber plants. Yesterday, after school, the girls and I worked on weeded some of our flower beds. We planted some cosmos seed, some columbine and some seeds that just said “cut flowers”. It is a little late getting the seeds in the ground but I think they will still have time to make flowers.

Temperature here is beautiful. 70 with sunshine and a good steady wind. I have clothes ready for the line and another load to wash. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 26, 2011 3

Free At Last

Our chicks. Look how big they are getting. Today we finally finished their fenced in area and let them out from their little house. They were very excited and loved pecking in the grass and dirt. They are so much fun to watch. Now when Daniel comes up, he will be able to see them much better.

Today has been nice here. We worked on the fence and made the gate. Then Hubby and I went to get haircuts. A lady from our church cuts our hair. She does it at her home and always has home baked goodies to share with us. It’s like a visit instead of just a hair cut. We always sit around eating a snack, drinking coffee and talking after our hair is cut.

Tomorrow is our church’s trout fest day. Hopefully I will get some good pictures to share with you all. Maybe, after we get back, our garden will be dry enough to do some work in it. I hope to get the plants in the ground from the greenhouse. They are definitely ready to be planted. Next year, though, I don’t think I will plant any pepper or broccoli seeds. They just did not do well at all. The tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers though are huge.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

May 20, 2011 3

Baby Gooseberries

Our gooseberry bush promises to have lots of fruit on it this year. We’ve glad as we really like them. We spent today making a swing for our neighbor. She is in her upper 70’s and loves to swing in her yard swing after working in the garden. We first intended to repair her old swing but it was just too far gone. Hubby made her a new one exactly like her old one. We took it down and hung it up for her. She was very happy. We so enjoy doing things that make others happy.

Today has been a nice day here in Floyd. A slight breeze with warm temperatures. You all will not believe how much our plants have grown in the greenhouse. I will try to take a picture of them soon to let you see them. Well, it is late and we are all hungry. I’m frying chicken for supper with gravy, corn and biscuits. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 9, 2011 2

Tomato Plant

Yesterday, while in town, we visited our local greenhouse. We bought some cabbage plants and this tomato. See the bloom at the top. Hopefully, we will get tomatoes early from it. I put it in a bucket (dry wall ) and as of now it is on the front porch. I plan on moving it out on the front deck, then moving it back in a night. For today it will probably stay on the porch-too windy outside. I tried to leave it out some yesterday but the wind kept blowing it over.

The other day when my brother in law came, he brought us over some morel mushrooms. It was a very nice treat. These grow in the wild and are only available in early spring. Some people call them dry land fish. Anyway, after eating the ones he brought us we decided to go looking for some here. Hubby thinks it is still a little too early for here but we had a lot of fun looking. It was so nice to get out in the woods and walk around.

Time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 27, 2011 3

Baby Emily

This is Baby Emily, David’s neice. She is a very hardy eater and seemed very content in Daddy’s arms.

Daniel and his cousin Zack riding bikes. Zack is Emily’s older brother.

And baby Sam held prisoner in his walker. We all had a lot of fun with lots of good fun. Jess had ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and banana pudding. YUM!

Yesterday we went to get the inspection sticker on my car and found out the tie rods ends were bad. We had to make a run to C-burg to get new ones. Hubby and his brother put them on yesterday evening. We went back in this morning and got the inspection sticker. Hubby still does not have his window fixed on the van. This has given him much trouble. He of course is trying to fix the old one instead of buying a new one. For some reason, the wire is not winding up on the spool correctly.

We are getting rain today. Temperatures are warm though so it will be very good for everything. The girls and I checked our seeds out yesterday underneath our greenhouse. We have a few tomatoes coming up, cucumbers and broccoli. Very exciting. Well, our lunch break is over. Time for school to start. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 26, 2011 3

Pickled Eggs

Every year at Easter and Christmas, I make pickled eggs as a special treat for my Hubby. He and David both like them so I will be taking them down with me for our Easter dinner. Don’t they look so colorful in the jar?

Yesterday we had some pretty hard wind. Our plastic is still on our greenhouse, YEAH. I had clothes on the line drying and looked out our dining room window and a pair of Hubby’s jeans had blown off the line and into the dogwood tree. I should have taken a picture of them hanging from the limb but I didn’t think of it in time. Anyway, the wind is not as bad today. Our clothes are all still on the line. Hubby and his brother are working on the van window. Hopefully, they will be able to fix it. It has been more difficult than he first thought it would be.

Well, time for us to start back on school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 21, 2011 3