No. Really. How does your garden grow?
Although we had a bit of the sky-moisture come our way last Thursday, it was only enough that I didn't have to water one day. One. Stinking. Day.
The temperatures are still in the 100's every day. I worry about our well going dry, even though I have no real reason to believe that it is. For all I know there is a million gallons down there. Or twenty. I have cut back watering the trees to every two or three days. What little fruit there was on the trees have fallen off from the heat (I think) and we've salvaged a few pieces here and there to munch on. But since they are not needing water for fruit production, I'm just watering them to keep them alive.
I've been spoiling my veggie (embrace it, Susan) garden though. It receives a daily watering. And I feel guilty about it. Should I really be wasting water on ten tomato plants, six rows of green beans, ten pepper plants, and a half-dozen squash plants? Not to mention the two watermelon and two cantaloupe plants in the "was supposed to be an herb garden"? Is the water worth the meager harvest I'll get from the summer garden?
And then I went and planted more squash. Half of which some bugger of an animal has ripped up. I had six beautiful pumpkin plants starting to get their true leaves when they were unmercifully dug out of their little compost-filled holes in the ground. The acorn squash survived, not sure if by mere chance or if the critters don't like them. I know I shouldn't plant anything else. But I probably will. I can't give up. Although I am still putting off planting some things because the seedlings will more than likely just die in this heat. I've seen a few gardens in town with sheets hanging up on their garden fences (I assume to provide some additional shade) and I may do that for the peas, cucumbers and lettuce when I get them in.
I've been pretty good at nipping the squash bugs in the bud. Just about every day I'm turning over leaves in search of their eggs and find some every day. Relentless little buggers. I've also found several dozen nymphs and squashed them to kingdom come so I'm obviously missing some eggs. There is also one tomato plant that has been almost totally relieved of it's leaves by a horn worm. It's methodical munching and pile of readily recognized poop is a tell tale sign. I've been out there two mornings now and can not find the bugger. I sat out there going over that one tomato plant for a good ten solid minutes and couldn't find him. They are great camouflage artists, but this guy must be some kind of Navy Seal of the garden pest world.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Picture of Pickles
Come on now. You didn't see that one coming??
Christine, you really need to be more specific. And you should know better.
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Rime of the Ancient Dairy-er
Milk, milk every where,
And all that was stored did shrink;
Milk, milk, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Pickles was four weeks old yesterday. She's in with the rest of our itty-bitty herd all day and night now.....except when she squeezes out of the cattle panel fencing. Which is a bit annoying. And will be even more annoying, if not outright infuriating (and requiring some drastic measures) if she figures out that she can jump on the vehicles. But mainly she just ventures out of the pen to munch on what green grass or weeds she can find just beyond the goat yard.
But back to the lack of milk. Or should I say, the lack of milk that we are getting to drink. Between the hungry little goat and the two gallons a week I sell, there isn't much left for us.
Pickles is tipping back the milk like it's going out of style. I guess I never noticed the amount of milk the kids drank before as I've never had to bottle feed any of them. I've got to the point now where I can give her one last feeding between 11 pm and Midnight and then get to sleep a full six hours until I feed her again at 5 or 6 in the morning. During the day I'll feed her every three or so hours.
Since I am ever curious, yesterday I measured out how much milk she drank in a 24 hour period. She sucked down eighty-nine ounces; that's just over 5 1/2 pounds of milk! And I weighed her in at eighteen and a half pounds this morning before her first feeding. She's drinking almost a third of her body weight in milk. Wow. Can you imagine if you (assuming one weighed 150 lbs.) drank that much? You'd have to drink SIX gallons of milk a day. I'm getting bloated just thinking about it.
And all that was stored did shrink;
Milk, milk, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Pickles was four weeks old yesterday. She's in with the rest of our itty-bitty herd all day and night now.....except when she squeezes out of the cattle panel fencing. Which is a bit annoying. And will be even more annoying, if not outright infuriating (and requiring some drastic measures) if she figures out that she can jump on the vehicles. But mainly she just ventures out of the pen to munch on what green grass or weeds she can find just beyond the goat yard.
But back to the lack of milk. Or should I say, the lack of milk that we are getting to drink. Between the hungry little goat and the two gallons a week I sell, there isn't much left for us.
Pickles is tipping back the milk like it's going out of style. I guess I never noticed the amount of milk the kids drank before as I've never had to bottle feed any of them. I've got to the point now where I can give her one last feeding between 11 pm and Midnight and then get to sleep a full six hours until I feed her again at 5 or 6 in the morning. During the day I'll feed her every three or so hours.
Since I am ever curious, yesterday I measured out how much milk she drank in a 24 hour period. She sucked down eighty-nine ounces; that's just over 5 1/2 pounds of milk! And I weighed her in at eighteen and a half pounds this morning before her first feeding. She's drinking almost a third of her body weight in milk. Wow. Can you imagine if you (assuming one weighed 150 lbs.) drank that much? You'd have to drink SIX gallons of milk a day. I'm getting bloated just thinking about it.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Daily Grind
This is the grain mill I normally use to grind our wheat:
And this is what it looks like now:
And this is what it looks like now:
A few months ago when I was using the grinder, there was suddenly a horrible screeching definitely-not-normal noise coming from the grinder. So I ran over to it and turned it off. There was a little bit of smoke and a nasty metal burning smell. And I cried a bit.
This machine is one of the workhorses of our kitchen. I bake a lot (look at my thighs if you don't believe me) and I try to use fresh-ground wheat for everything if possible. So that baby grinds quite a bit of wheat.
Of course, I didn't have the original receipt or even the owner's manual (lost somewhere in the move I reckon) but knew that it did have a lifetime warranty with it so I went online to see what I could find. And of course, nothing is covered without an original receipt. I mean, come ON! What does it matter if I have the original receipt with it? It's obvious I bought it because I have the stinking machine, but even if I didn't buy it, somebody did at one point and they didn't say you had to be the original owner. So after working myself into a hissy-fit, I just accepted the fact that my grain mill with the "Lifetime Warranty" only lasted me seven years. And if I wanted another one, it's going to cost $260. Ouch.
After learning that the mill wasn't under warranty, I started taking apart some of the pieces that didn't look too complicated or difficult to put back together. Looking for what? I don't really know. But I thought I should at least be a little proactive about it and try to find out what had caused the malfunction. And I found nothing strange looking; just a bunch of flower dust covering everything and that burned metallic smell.
Paul took a look at it later on and he did a bit more disassembling than I was comfortable with (I am so incredibly mechanically uninclined it's pathetic). One of the teeth in the milling head assembly had come off during grinding and got jammed between the other teeth, thus causing the mill to lock up. Not sure if the tooth came off of it's own accord of if I didn't catch a stone or other foreign object in the grain bin. Regardless, Paul cleaned it all up, put most of it back together and now I'm just waiting for some food-grade silicone to show up in the mail so he can finish re-assembling it.
In the meantime, here's what we've been using to grind our wheat:
The Good Old Country Living Grain Mill. Non-electric, by the way. I bought this mill several years before the move to Krazo Acres and was very happy with it. But since the move, I had been making more and more of our baked goods with whole wheat and honestly, I was getting lazy so decided to splurge on an electric mill. That's where the Nutrimill came into our lives.
Hopefully the electric mill will last several more years. But when it does finally kaput on me, I'm definitely going to consider purchasing one from a different company. I can't help but hold a grudge. Even if it's just a grain mill.
This machine is one of the workhorses of our kitchen. I bake a lot (look at my thighs if you don't believe me) and I try to use fresh-ground wheat for everything if possible. So that baby grinds quite a bit of wheat.
Of course, I didn't have the original receipt or even the owner's manual (lost somewhere in the move I reckon) but knew that it did have a lifetime warranty with it so I went online to see what I could find. And of course, nothing is covered without an original receipt. I mean, come ON! What does it matter if I have the original receipt with it? It's obvious I bought it because I have the stinking machine, but even if I didn't buy it, somebody did at one point and they didn't say you had to be the original owner. So after working myself into a hissy-fit, I just accepted the fact that my grain mill with the "Lifetime Warranty" only lasted me seven years. And if I wanted another one, it's going to cost $260. Ouch.
After learning that the mill wasn't under warranty, I started taking apart some of the pieces that didn't look too complicated or difficult to put back together. Looking for what? I don't really know. But I thought I should at least be a little proactive about it and try to find out what had caused the malfunction. And I found nothing strange looking; just a bunch of flower dust covering everything and that burned metallic smell.
Paul took a look at it later on and he did a bit more disassembling than I was comfortable with (I am so incredibly mechanically uninclined it's pathetic). One of the teeth in the milling head assembly had come off during grinding and got jammed between the other teeth, thus causing the mill to lock up. Not sure if the tooth came off of it's own accord of if I didn't catch a stone or other foreign object in the grain bin. Regardless, Paul cleaned it all up, put most of it back together and now I'm just waiting for some food-grade silicone to show up in the mail so he can finish re-assembling it.
In the meantime, here's what we've been using to grind our wheat:
The Good Old Country Living Grain Mill. Non-electric, by the way. I bought this mill several years before the move to Krazo Acres and was very happy with it. But since the move, I had been making more and more of our baked goods with whole wheat and honestly, I was getting lazy so decided to splurge on an electric mill. That's where the Nutrimill came into our lives.
Hopefully the electric mill will last several more years. But when it does finally kaput on me, I'm definitely going to consider purchasing one from a different company. I can't help but hold a grudge. Even if it's just a grain mill.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
What do ya do when it's a Hundred 'n Two?
You crank up the stove and make a pot of split pea soup, of course!
No, I'm not crazy. Well, maybe just a bit. And yes, I know that it's the middle of a record-breaking hot and dry summer, but I've been craving split pea soup for quite some time now and I just couldn't contain my hunger any longer.
Now maybe I wouldn't have such an appetite for soup if we actually had a winter this year. Since the wood stove was barely stoked up this season, there were not as many opportunities to make stews, soups and the like. And I miss them. There's nothing better than homemade soup and fresh ott'a the oven bread for lunch. Or supper. Or breakfast even.
So I said heck with the temperature outside, cranked up the A/C and went to making split pea soup. Of course, I didn't fire up the wood stove. I'm crazy, but not insane. So I just made my soup on the stove top. It went much faster on the electric stove as I didn't really want to heat the house up any more than I had to, so instead of simmering it for half the day, I turned up the heat so it only took about two and a half hours.
Granted, I didn't get to have a Pea Soup Facial, but it was still delicious. We had it last night with ham steaks and corn bread.
And this is what I'm having for lunch this afternoon:
Jealous??
No, I'm not crazy. Well, maybe just a bit. And yes, I know that it's the middle of a record-breaking hot and dry summer, but I've been craving split pea soup for quite some time now and I just couldn't contain my hunger any longer.
Now maybe I wouldn't have such an appetite for soup if we actually had a winter this year. Since the wood stove was barely stoked up this season, there were not as many opportunities to make stews, soups and the like. And I miss them. There's nothing better than homemade soup and fresh ott'a the oven bread for lunch. Or supper. Or breakfast even.
So I said heck with the temperature outside, cranked up the A/C and went to making split pea soup. Of course, I didn't fire up the wood stove. I'm crazy, but not insane. So I just made my soup on the stove top. It went much faster on the electric stove as I didn't really want to heat the house up any more than I had to, so instead of simmering it for half the day, I turned up the heat so it only took about two and a half hours.
Granted, I didn't get to have a Pea Soup Facial, but it was still delicious. We had it last night with ham steaks and corn bread.
And this is what I'm having for lunch this afternoon:
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Frost Dates
I can't believe I was even capable of typing the word "Frost" without it just melting and hissing and turning to steam on the computer. Wednesday was 105 degrees, Thursday 107, Friday 104, Saturday 100. And looks like it's going to be about the same for the next five days.
I know, I know, everyone is sick of hearing about the heat and the drought. But since there is nothing I can do to control the weather, I have to do something, and that is complain. And you're still here listening and rolling your eyes.
Anyhow, back to the frost dates.
According the the USDA, the first frost for our Zone (6B) is October 15th. So that means that if I want to get in my Fall Garden, I have to do it. Like a week ago.
Cabbage, pumpkins, acorn squash and butternut squash have a 75-90 day harvest from planting. So technically I'm only a few days late. I'll have to wait a few more weeks to plant the cucumbers, carrots and peas as I'm positive that the heat will kill the newly emerged seedlings as soon as they poke their green, succulent heads out of the ground into the scorching, bone-dry heat. I'm not even sure if the squashes and cabbages will survive temperatures rivaling those on the surface of Mercury.
But I'm going to plant them anyways. My summer garden was / is pathetic so I've got to make up for it somehow. And hopefully we'll get some relief from the heat and maybe, dare I hope, even some rain. I'm going to use the suggestion you guys made and mulch the heck out of them and maybe it will give the plants a fighting chance.
I know, I know, everyone is sick of hearing about the heat and the drought. But since there is nothing I can do to control the weather, I have to do something, and that is complain. And you're still here listening and rolling your eyes.
Anyhow, back to the frost dates.
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Cabbage, pumpkins, acorn squash and butternut squash have a 75-90 day harvest from planting. So technically I'm only a few days late. I'll have to wait a few more weeks to plant the cucumbers, carrots and peas as I'm positive that the heat will kill the newly emerged seedlings as soon as they poke their green, succulent heads out of the ground into the scorching, bone-dry heat. I'm not even sure if the squashes and cabbages will survive temperatures rivaling those on the surface of Mercury.
But I'm going to plant them anyways. My summer garden was / is pathetic so I've got to make up for it somehow. And hopefully we'll get some relief from the heat and maybe, dare I hope, even some rain. I'm going to use the suggestion you guys made and mulch the heck out of them and maybe it will give the plants a fighting chance.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Seven (or six) out of Nine
Mother hen hatched out seven chicks! Although after today, the number will probably be down to six.
One egg had nothing going on so I candled it and found it was infertile. The other one had a little crack in it, but nothing had progressed for over a day so I "helped" it along a little bit. I peeled a little bit of the shell off where it had started breaking out and there was a drop of blood, but no movement. I left it alone again for a while, but when I came back nothing else had happened. I opened the rest of it and the chick was dead. Not sure if I killed it by opening the egg of if it just died trying to get out. I feel like crap now.
One of the eggs that did hatch was a green egg from my Easter Egger hens. I've never had one of the green eggs develop, let alone hatch, so I was pretty excited about that. But when I went into the pen yesterday morning, I was greeted with a very, very disturbing sight. The Easter Egger chick had been scalped! As in the feather fluff & skin on top of it's head, from the eyes back to the neck, had been peeled away! I almost yacked when I saw it, and I'm not one to get queasy by barnyard blood & massacres.
The poor thing was still alive, but peeping like crazy. I immediately decided to put it out of it's misery so I scooped it up and set out to quickly lop it's head off. But when I took a closer look, not only did the chick seem active, but the wound actually looked pretty much "clean". It looked like somebody just pulled it's skin/feather hood off. Totally gross and disturbing, but not bad when you think of it as just some skin peeled off. I took a picture and debated posting it just to show how it's not always Rainbows and Ice Cream Cones on the homestead (you know, how some people think homesteading is), but figured my description was more than enough.
I brought the chick inside the garage (where it's warm & I won't have to supplement it with heat) and put it in a basket with some water and food. It's not looking so good this morning. Still peeping, but it's having a hard time standing up and probably not getting to the food and water because of it. I've been giving it water by hand, but it's not taking feed. If it keeps going downhill, I'll put it out of it's misery. Which is probably what I should have done yesterday in the first place.
I have a feeling I'm going to have nightmares about scalped chickens now. Creepy. Really creepy.
One egg had nothing going on so I candled it and found it was infertile. The other one had a little crack in it, but nothing had progressed for over a day so I "helped" it along a little bit. I peeled a little bit of the shell off where it had started breaking out and there was a drop of blood, but no movement. I left it alone again for a while, but when I came back nothing else had happened. I opened the rest of it and the chick was dead. Not sure if I killed it by opening the egg of if it just died trying to get out. I feel like crap now.
One of the eggs that did hatch was a green egg from my Easter Egger hens. I've never had one of the green eggs develop, let alone hatch, so I was pretty excited about that. But when I went into the pen yesterday morning, I was greeted with a very, very disturbing sight. The Easter Egger chick had been scalped! As in the feather fluff & skin on top of it's head, from the eyes back to the neck, had been peeled away! I almost yacked when I saw it, and I'm not one to get queasy by barnyard blood & massacres.
The poor thing was still alive, but peeping like crazy. I immediately decided to put it out of it's misery so I scooped it up and set out to quickly lop it's head off. But when I took a closer look, not only did the chick seem active, but the wound actually looked pretty much "clean". It looked like somebody just pulled it's skin/feather hood off. Totally gross and disturbing, but not bad when you think of it as just some skin peeled off. I took a picture and debated posting it just to show how it's not always Rainbows and Ice Cream Cones on the homestead (you know, how some people think homesteading is), but figured my description was more than enough.
I brought the chick inside the garage (where it's warm & I won't have to supplement it with heat) and put it in a basket with some water and food. It's not looking so good this morning. Still peeping, but it's having a hard time standing up and probably not getting to the food and water because of it. I've been giving it water by hand, but it's not taking feed. If it keeps going downhill, I'll put it out of it's misery. Which is probably what I should have done yesterday in the first place.
I have a feeling I'm going to have nightmares about scalped chickens now. Creepy. Really creepy.
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