Office day

Yesterday was cleaning day. Today is office day. I've tidied up the piles on my desk and now I'm going to tackle the email, Red Wattle Hog Association paper work. Then the newsletter will go out and if there is enough time I might actually get my annual membership drive mailing done before November!!

Here goooooos!!

Pretty flowers all in a row

I love day lillies. They come in so many colors and supply a fresh bloom each day for your viewing enjoyment. These are all in bloom at Lydia and Travis's farm.

Taters!

These are the first potatoes. We stole them from under the giant potato plants growing rampant in the greenhouse. It's amazing what can happen when you tuck in some schriveled up old taters leftover in a bucket from last years harvest!

They were yummy with raw cream butter and a bit of sea salt. :^)

Greenhouse update

Help I've fallen and I can't find my way out the jungle!!

This is what happens when you neglect the greenhouse for 2 weeks and the

tomatoes, weeds and potatoes go wild.

We've got to hack our way in there this week and make some sort of order out of this tangled jungle.  

I know they're weeds

I know it's a thistle, a weed, a nuisance, but weeds can be pretty too. I took these pics on Anders and Emily's farm in Kentucky early in the morning when I went out for a walk up the hillside. I wonder if you could dry these. A whole bunch of them attached to a wire and bent into a heart would make a lovely wall decoration. Hmmmm.....

Beets!!

Last week  Lydia and I picked the last of the beets from the greenhouse. Burpees golden, Chioggia and Bulls blood were cleaned, cooked and peeled. Then we sliced and pickled them with the "Spicy Pickled Beets" recipe from the Ball canning book.

The results: 19 pint jars

We kept the different kinds of beets separate to see how they would do with the canning process. The Chioggia looked a little pale and I was disappointed that the characteristic rings didn't show up well after canning. The golden beets didn't hold their lovely golden color and though they taste wonderful they are not very visually appealing. The Bulls Blood are lovely and delicious.

We have more beets planted in the garden now and plan a fall planting for the greenhouse for fresh eating and greens.

 

Old hen really old hen

When we left the farm we left one old hen who had taken up residence in our barn. She is pretty ancient for a chicken being about five years old. Since we've been gone she's become my son in law, Travis's, barn buddy. She let's him pet and pick her up. Follows him around in the barn. And still lays more than a couple of eggs in the warmer months. He even named her "Momma Hen". She's the barn elder and must be the wisest and wiliest chicken alive - after all if she wasn't someone would have eaten her long ago.