Garden update, new chicks, pressed flowers... the fast way.

It has been one full week at home since I retired.    I had to "learn to walk" from all my sitting and driving to work. Just plain stiff.  I was unbalanced at first and had trouble walking very far.  Now, the dog and I walk a mile twice a day  with no problem.  It's a start. 

I thought the days would drag but so far they are full and flying by.  Tonight I looked at Dude and said, "What, it's 7:07pm already?!" And we are still going. 

There is  a never-ending list every day. Here was mine from today.  I got it all done except the coop...procrastinating on that one.  

I love the way my new little kitchen garden is coming along. Even the little fig trees are doing well.  This is the one that I didn't till but rather planted it by building up the soil.  I will continue to do more of these.  I had posted in a prior blog where I saw the idea and another one that does this is with videos from Back to Eden Organic Gardening.

This raspberry plant was almost torn out by Dude last year. He kept saying it was dead, I insisted it wasn't and give it another year … and here it is, thriving. 

The greenhouse. A lot is almost done in here and will be replaced with other veggies... probably peppers since it is so hot in there. I can only work in the mornings or evenings with the door open since it is so hot. 

The flowers are loving the heat. I have been using them in arrangements and today I pressed a few.

I also used some carrot stems. 

The first batch. It is wet because I cleaned the brick.

I dried them between a brick in the microwave for a minute. They turned out okay. 

We acquired some new "chicks" today. A friend had too many and we were given a few.  They got home safely, despite being a bit frightened. 

Tomorrow I will make it a bit more homey and they will be able to go in and out of the bird house without other hens bothering them.  They are beautiful birds. 

That's it for today. 

peace

Canning Beet and Cabbage Relish , a temporary fence and weather

Our weather has been very wet and cool.  We woke up to temps in the 40s.  It rained all night and off and on all day.  The mountains were getting snow all night and most of today. 

Dude did manage to put up a temporary fence until the town gets the sewer for the school done and puts up a new fence for us.  Dude used the auger  to dig the holes and then hand pound them in the ground with a steel stake driver .  

He got the whole thing done in one day.  Norman, the dog, was very happy to have a bigger area to run without the threat of leaving the property. 

I got the canner out and began to can beets. 

I pulled enough out for my first batch of beet and cabbage relish.  I didn't even put a dent in the lot and will be canning again tomorrow!

I got the recipe from Healthycanning.com. The recipe is Red Cabbage and Beet Relish.  I used regular green cabbage.   I did add horseradish and a small handful of mustard seed. I think tomorrow I will add some of our garden radishes.  It is suppose to be used on brats and burgers but Dude liked it so much it wants it with chicken and soups. 

It made a full dozen and I was done just in time to go to mass.  

I came out of mass to cold and rain.  As, I drove home I saw this funnel cloud. It didn't quite touch down, hung around a bit and then slowly went back up into the clouds. 

It's going to be another chilly night but next week we have temps in the 80s forecasted. 

peace 

Gardening in cool weather and a quick toddler activity

The breeze this morning was cold . The forecast is rain and maybe storms with hail this afternoon. It is already snowing in the mountains ...and yes , it is June.  

I went to fill up the car with gas, just in case.  There were two young ladies there who asked me about the weather. They had heard their may be hail and possible tornadoes.  Yes. Then asked, is there a liquor store nearby?  I laughed.  Everyone has priorities... my is fuel and theirs is a fuel of a different kind. 

I wanted to get out early and work in the garden before it began to rain. It was warm and steamy in the greenhouse.

Dude did get our two new elm trees planted. This was no easy feat. Despite the recent rains the ground was still hard as a rock.   I have visions of birds in them next year. 

Raspberries are doing well. Dude kept saying they were dead and I told him not to dare pull them up. I had faith in them and here they are ...smile. 

This is something that baffles me.  Two grape plants right next to each other.

One small and struggling.

One thriving...

I laid more cardboard for a new garden for flowers and lavender. 

A layer of wool.. 

This was my supervisor this morning. 

Then added a layer of compost... tomorrow I will add a bag of fresh dirt. 

I picked roses and mint to dry for the chicken coop. 

It began to sprinkle , so I had to see one of my grandsons.  The temperature dropped to 54* this evening... so much for the first day of Summer. 

I found a fun craft for the afternoon in this book:

They called the craft - grape structures .  We called them - building molecules...okay, I just really like hearing a two year old saying molecules. 

He really enjoyed creating them. 

peace 

Elm trees, weeding and beginning of a gift.

There is still a lot of water so I had to rearrange what we would be doing today. Compost from the horses and sheep was to be moved and used today. Not happening. 

I prepped dinner... almost all from the garden, early in the day.

Vinegar cucumber onion salad. 

Tossed salad.

Plus hamburgers for dinner. It was nice to have it all prepped. I am getting rather tired in the evening and quickly. All this physical activity is a bit wearing but a good type. I no longer just sit all day. 

We headed to the garden shop and got two elm trees. Yesterday we went past our old home.  Before we moved we had planted an elm tree. It was about 4 foot tall when we left 7 years ago.  It is now towering over the two story garage. 

I also got lavender and a flower mix to try. 

I spent the afternoon weeding one section of the garden. Since I am used to an office job with so much air conditioning that I have a blanket at my desk, being in the hot sun for over an hour was a bit much. I was dripping in sweat.  I know, I am a wimp.  There is plenty of homesteading for practice in the sun. 

I prepped boxes to lay down tomorrow... barring the mud has subsided... and begin another strip or two of a garden. 

Here is where I weeded today. Hot, hot, HOT… it was in the 80's and not the afternoon 50's we have had the last few days. 

Before dinner I did work on a gift for my son.  His birthday is next month and I want to make a quick journal of his past year. 

peace