Category Archive: Garden
September’s OMG plus other goals
ELM STREET OMG
This project has been in the making for 3 months and this is as far as it has come. So this will be my primary focus. I’ve stalled because this will take thinking and doing some unfamiliar things. All those spots in the photo on the left are little twinkling lights. Perhaps linking up to Elm Streets One Monthly Goal will give me the push I need.
OTHER GOALS: September’s sewing/quilting goals will be more modest as we have much work to get the sheep and pastures set up for breeding. We also will be finishing up the gardens in the next two months. Grapes are set to start picking in another week and tomatoes, cucumbers, and other items need to be harvested and put up. Then there are the new greens for winter which are just peeking out of the ground. Hopefully, we will get the water and propane lines finished that we started. Then we are still waiting for the big dozer to come in and clear more land that will be put into pasture. So the next two months will be extremely busy.
2. I haven’t chosen a project yet, but there will be one for Hatched in Africa
3. If there is time, I’d like to get another of the Sunbonnet Sue quilts quilted and bound.
TODAY: I occupied my time picking up some bananas at the grocery and two 30 mile round trips to pick up the grain that I had ordered. It comes in 40# bags and I was on my own today. So I was pleased to find that I could handle the 26 bags and get them where they needed to be.
I am also doing a fair amount to studying to find exactly what these sheep need to produce the best wool. It seems there is some controversy on this, so I’m doing some research.
2017
08/31
Category:
Bees
farming
food
Garden
Life
machine embroidery
quilts
Sewing
COMMENTS:
1 Comment »
Whirlwind August
What a whirlwind this month of August has been. I feel as if I have been chasing my tail. Today is the end of the month and I did finish 4 sewing/knitting goals, but two were left undone. A third,
is now put together with backing and batting, but when I have time, I’d like to add more quilting.
In addition to these projects, I have spent an incredible amount of time in the kitchen. Today again, there was more pear butter canned as well as more produce brought in. I have another dehydrator full of cucumbers for chips, the last batch of pear butter is condensing in the crock pot, the refrigerator is full of cucumbers waiting their turn. I gave up and gave some raspberries, blueberries, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes to the neighbor. The grapes are starting to get ripe and the weather is so incredible, this scenario may continue for another month. We have started new beets and greens for the winter and they have popped their little heads above ground now. And we water, water, water, water. Usually it rains a day or two when school starts, but not this year.
Today a neighbor came over and we wormed 1/3 of the sheep for the winter. We will be dividing them and giving each group a suitor soon. Then we count out 5 months to start the baby business.
In between all this, we have made time for doctors visits and a very few staples to eat. (Today, I visited with the Geek squad so I could bring you this report – I love those fellows) And we have daily fed, watered, and cared for the bees, sheep, ducks, geese, and dogs – oh, yes, and for each other. I am loving this crazy, out of control summer.
Septic tank and heart diet
This 500 gallon septic tank will allow us to put a toilet at the barn which will be a real convenience.
This first time down the hole wasn’t quite wide enough at the bottom, so they had to bring it back up and dig it wider.op
Now it fits beautifully and is covered. Next week we will tackle putting the propane and water tank into the ground.
Here the supervising crew is as close as they can get and still stay out of the sun and out of the way.
The heart disease diet is going to be a real challenge, but we’re going to take it on. We are looking to reverse this disease. I get more information tomorrow, but at this point, it is NO oils, no nuts or avocado, no sugars, low salt, and include 6 cups of cooked greens a day. Thankfully the cooked greens includes such things as Brussels sprouts and broccoli along with spinach type greens. And of course, potatoes, rice, lots of fruits and vegetables as well as legumes. So today we planted more greens in the hoop house, as we try to keep up with these requirements.
Errands and food prep
Errands and food prep took my day. As soon as my helpers got here this morning, I had them unload the 4’x6′ stall mats that I had purchased. These are made from recycled tires and are they heavy! Each weighs close to 100 pounds. We put them down in the stalls which the former owner decided needed concrete. It keeps the moisture and cold from coming up through the concrete. That way our babies will stay a bit warmer when they are very young.
As soon as they were unloaded, I drove off to the feed store for a dozen bags of grain. Home again and unloaded. I took a brief half hour to make and serve lunch and went back to get the other stall mats. That was a lot of driving around.
These little shell socks are finished. I love them. Plus this yarn is so good about being tossed in the washer and dryer.
I made a batch of tomato sauce (including processing) with the tomatoes and zucchini in the garden. The string beans are cut and ready to cook. There aren’t enough to run a canning batch, so I’ll just partially cook them and put them in the freezer. There was a pound and a half of blueberries and another huge bowl of cucumbers wanting to turn into pickles, so tomorrow – maybe. I have been sharing the zucchini and cucumbers as much as I can. I really do love all the fresh food from the garden, but I think I just plant too many after a long winter.
The geese love their fresh drinking water. Remember how small they were this spring.
Embroidered hedgehog and garden
These embroidered hedgehog are from Hatched in Africa. They are darling (background on left is accurate color). It is a set of 10 that I will make into a baby blanket bit by bit. My aim is to embroider one or two each day between other chores.
The blueberries are nearly finished. I have 55# in the freezer and the rest that I pick we will just eat. This bowl had 4#15 oz this morning. My guess is that there will get another 3-4# this year and they will be done.
These sun gold and Oregon gold tomatoes don’t stop. There are a few Romas here. Every year I am not gong to keep any volunteers as they are always the little ones. However, every year, I give in and give most of them a place. This year they consumed about 45 linear feet of space. Please help me with my resolve next year to not keep more than 6 volunteers. I want only to plant half a dozen big tomatoes and half a dozen Romas. That should be plenty.
Day in the kitchen and garden
A day in the kitchen yielded another 13 cups of relish,
And an artichoke, potato, pepper casserole, that took too much time to create and was okay, but we won’t be having it again.
This one was hiding. But thankfully it went home with the daughter who found it. We now have 22 sizeable cukes in the refrigerator meaning over 8″ plus many more pickle size on the vines. I will be finding homes for some most of it. One hears about zucchini sneaking in people’s cars, on their front porches etc. Here it will be cucumbers. The zucchini have about the same number of plants, but are not out to win the race. But I am choosing not to complain too much because winter is on its way and I will wish we had the fresh produce.
Male Cardinal is paper pieced
Between picking blueberries and cucumbers, watering, working on the tomatoes, etc., I finished this little fellow. He will finish at 8″ square and will get a mate sometime in the next week. I do enjoy getting a chance to work on projects, but often during the summer, they have to take a back seat.
There is another double batch of cucumber relish now in the refrigerator. In the morning, I will rinse it, put the rest of the ingredients in and can it.
Beau, the dog in the foreground spent some time at the vet’s on Friday. He had to have stitches in two places and they updated his shots, which were way out of date. In two weeks we go back to have the stitches out. The window that he went through to cut himself now has fencing over it. He didn’t go through glass, it was a cutout, but had a nail where screening had previously been. However, we don’t enjoy spending money at the vet’s, so have that covered.
I also went to the grocery store that day and had a physical. When chores were done, I just lay down for a bit and went to sleep and that is why no blog post.
End of July Garden and sock progress
This week, the garden has to catch up. Our youngest and her DH came over and I turned them loose in the hoop house. So I will not have to deal with zucchini or cucumbers unless these missed some. And that is okay with me. It appears there are enough tomatoes to keep me making paste and sauce all week and there are still cucumbers and zucchini in the refrigerator. So my plan this week is to catch up with using the produce. And we have planted more lettuce this weekend. The weather is promising 90-102 degree temperatures. So we probably won’t be moving much mid to late in the day. But we will be doing a lot of watering.
This morning (forgot to take photo) I picked 9# of blueberries. 5# will fill a gallon Ziploc bag FULL. I’m not as fast as I’d like to be as that took 2 hours. My mind and body are not on the same page. My mind has not connected with the fact that my body thinks it is older than 50. So it often times runs way ahead of what the body is willing to do. Next year maybe the blueberries will be higher on the plants and there won’t be so many at ground level.
Sock Progress has been slow, however, this afternoon I sat and knitted for a bit and turned the heel corner. I like this particular pattern which is a 7 stitch repeat. It is “Little Shell Socks” at http://www.knitting-and.com/knitlistgifts/2000/little-shell-socks.htm. My goal is to finish them before the end of August, maybe while enjoying the sun.
Relish making, watering, summer produce
The relish I started last night turned into a lovely product. I made a double batch and canned 11 cups of relish. DH can’t have sugar, but can have honey. So I substituted 1 cup honey for the cup and a half of sugar. Next time, I may go down to 3/4 cup of honey. It does have salt, but I’m hoping that if he eats a little once in awhile and we aren’t using salt other places, he can get by with it. If he gets swelling in the legs again, I’ll be sharing it with the children instead. If you are interested in the recipe, let me know and I will share. Thank you so much Dar for sharing with me.
Harvest today, included more blueberries, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, basil, and potatoes. The summer produces so much bounty that it keeps me busy. That’s why you see very little creative work then. In the winter, we live off the summer’s bounty and I have more time for the fiber arts. Maybe some of you can send me some photos of your work and I can help you enjoy your creative arts.
Even so I need to use fiber just to stay sane. I thought the month was nearly over, but I just looked at the calendar and I still have most of a week. Maybe I can sneak in another finish this month.