How Does Your Garden Grow?
January 29, 2008|Comments (7)
We are not ready for spring. Very simply put: this is crunch time. We have seeds to order, potting soil to mix, bird netting to find, row covers to locate, and kitchen windows to clear for a landing. Of course, the prep work for the garden is great fun! A seemingly simple question like, “What sort of tomatoes do we want to plant?” sparks a passionate discussion about the mistakes we made in the garden last year, articles in Grit, Victory Gardens, salsa ingredients, and the joys of yellow tomatoes. By the time we tire of talking, we may not have even made a decision. Ahh… but it is fun to think about. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out soon and then flood this blog with pictures of seedlings. Until then, here is some money-saving advice on starting seeds that needs no debate:
- Pick varieties of plants/seeds that will actually succeed in your area. Find a sunny spot (or use artificial light) where your new babies will not be disturbed and where the temperature stays between 65 and 70 degrees.
You can start seeds in all sorts of containers (yogurt cups, etc). Simply disinfect them, poke a few little holes in the bottom, and fill them with potting soil.
Make your own potting soil by mixing one part perlite, four parts vermiculite, and four parts peat moss.
While I’m chatting away about excitement… you just haven’t seen excitement until you’ve greeted chickens with a plate of homemade suet. Our Gabor sisters crowd the doorway to the coop (they are still cooped up because we only just got them and we want them to know that the coop is where they bed down at night once we let them free-range). The girls gracefully walk the edge of the nesting boxes like runway models and then dive for the suet. Here’s how I make my suet:
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter (could use smooth)1/4 cup lard or bacon grease
1 cup wild game bird feed or chicken feed
1/4 cup rolled oats
a few tablespoons of corn meal
Mix all the ingredients together, scoop the mixture into a container, and then freeze it until I want to give the birds a treat. I use old store-bought suet containers but you could use muffin tins lined with wax paper. Serve suet to your birds once it is nice and firm.
Menina and the Hockey Game
January 26, 2008|Comments (none)
There were a few requests for more pictures of the chickens and I am more than happy to post a recent picture of our little darling, Menina. Menina, named by Tio Raul, means “little girl” in Portuguese. This is very fitting and is not to be confused with La Niña or “O Menina” by Beck. Here she is:
I just couldn’t help but post a picture from last night’s hockey game which was military appreciation night. The game was GREAT! The Cottonmouths won and enjoyed a full stadium of adoring fans. Everyone wondered why they didn’t have military appreciation all the time — surely they made enough money from concessions to continue it! The Cottonmouths no doubt loved the cheering and could actually hear it. Josh was part of the color guard and reported that the crowd was quite loud from the ice. He felt strongly that the Cottonmouths performed so well because of the support. Pity the refs, who are normally greeted with “boos” from the audience thanks to a series of rotton calls (don’t know where they’re getting these refs from but they have been horrible of late). When the refs skated out before the next period — the entire stadium booed them. Anyway, here is a picture of Josh (in ACUs) waiting to go out on the ice:
These photos were taken by Heather when my camera batteries died (the first is of the color guard that Josh was in and the other is a picture of the hockey players & military guys holding a huge American flag):
Thanks Heather! You’re the best!
Strolling Down Memory Lane
January 25, 2008|Comments (none)
Only a few moments before I must rush off to deliver bread to a friend down the road but I couldn’t help but post a few vintage commercials (before there were wardrobe malfunctions). I have apron photos to add but will have to do that later. Have a blessed day! — Am back and have added some photos of my progress. So far, I have one apron made (minus the strings) and four more are cut & pinned. Four of the five have a striped side with a floral pocket and the reverse on the other side. I ended up with more floral fabric than striped so I decided to make one apron with a green side and pocket. Check them out and tell me what you think!
I took the picture before sewing the pockets on or pinning the sides together to be sewn — thus you could see how it begins.
