Beet canning day

My goal this weekend was to learn the small tractor as I want to take it over as mine. Instead I learned to push it out of the way. The battery  was dead. Well, it is three years old. I did learn to check the oil as well. I hope to buy a new battery for it on pay day. (it wasn't figured into the budget and can dig into the savings)

The farmgirls met today.  Beets were coming in from the garden and canning was on the agenda!

Ohmy, I got so excited when we began to mix all the spices, salt and sugar.

Add the vinegar and the water and watch the magic happen. 

Ruby gems of beets.

I like to add onions. 

More beets and add the vinegar mixture. 

After the water bath... perfection.

Neighbors stopped by to visit...okay, really they came a courting. 

Sunny showed us her weavings. 

She spins her own alpaca wool, yes, from her own alpacas.

A finish product drying. Can you believe all her work? Amazing!

I need more fun days like today. 

peace

Sunday - garden, dehydrating, cards, fence repairs.

We did go out last night and had a stakeout.  We probably looked hilarious. Two mid-aged farts in the dark protecting our animals - me with the flashlight and Dude with a rifle (just in case).  We did catch the eyes of a fox soon on.  We were out there for an hour, the goats standing behind us giving their commentary and me telling them to hush.  Every time I got the fox's eyes he would slowly duck down and then back up. After a while he gave up or we couldn't see him any more. Not sure if it is the fox or the coyotes we hear nightly that got our chickens but we will do what we can to protect our animals and keep them locked up safe at night.

We need rain.  I watered again today.  I had put away the hoses (it was snowing this time last year) and had to get them back out.

The basil made a comeback after the frost. 

Time to dry parsley today. 

We will dry lavender tonight and hopefully it will dry and help us sleep. 

Picked carrots, collards and the very last of the tomatoes for this week. 

We finally let the hens roam today and they went straight for the goat pen. 

Heading out to do fence repairs and had some help from Peppermint our milk goat. 

Came in and made a boatload of potato chip cookies. 

Next was cleaning the coop. I like to add a mixture of mint, lavender and roses to the coop. Smells great, is an insecticide and calms hens. 

I use straw in the laying boxes.

And pine chips in the coop. 

Sprinkle with the herb mixture. ahhhh

Then I did have time to make some cards from a kit.  

Hoping to cut out a dress tonight. I am so glad we had an extra hour today with Daylight Savings Time. 

peace.

Coyotes and fall this year

We have had a wild week!    Dude is still recouping from his fall.  He was out riding Mr Buttons when he was almost home and a Kawasaki came right up to them, openned throttle good scaring the heck out of Mr Buttons. He reared up and dumped Dude in a brier bush.  It was amazing and thankful that Mr Buttons did take off but stayed with Dude, helping him get back on him to get home. Dude has bruised ribs, lungs and a partially dislocated shoulder.

Then on top of all this, Mr Buttons was finally calming down, when we got a call from the neighbors. Mr Buttons was over a half mile away hanging with their eleven horses and enjoying himself.  It was dark when we went to bring him home and he was visibly upset and didn't want to come home.  It wouldn't be until morning when we found out why.  Our four newer hens/rooster were gone. We went out looking.  We found feathers everywhere.... entrails on the southeast end of the property, a body with no head on the west end and just a tufts of feathers in the middle.  The last hen was found half dead but had recuperated with some slowness left in her step.  We also found an area where it looked like Mr Buttons was spooked and the ground was all dug in and where he jumped the fence.

Everyone is locked up tight tonight. 

 The weather continues to be warm and the lavender and the bees are enjoying it all . 

Everything is in bloom, which is not the norm in November. We do need rain. 

I wanted to show how dry it is here and our water situation with a couple of pictures. 

I put water in the bird bath every week.  By the end of the week it evaporates and leave a line of salt.  For our home water we have 3 filter systems on our well. It used to be much worse with coal also coming out.  We do not drink this.  We have reverse osmosis for that.

Heading out to check on the animals with Dude.  Hope to get some reading done and craft/sew most of tomorrow. 

Peace!