Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Zucchini Facials, Weeding, Canning, Chickens, and Goat Tricks

The zucchini facials we did were fantastic. If you are trying to save money on expenses, but still want to do something special for yourself, you really should try it.  We have extra made up, and keep it in the refrigerator.  I am having another facial done tonight.  After these very hot days in the garden, my face deserved it.


The weeding continues.  Today we could only weed for about a 1/2 hour.  The humidity is terrible, and our clothes were soaked through from sweat in such a short time.  I always take breaks, but I am so physically tired, we quit.  It may rain soon anyway.  I did manage to get the 20-some pepper plants weeded out, with the help of my 14 year-old daughter.
 
Yesterday, my son helped me weed out and hoe the corn.  the rows are too close to get the tiller through.  We finished that, and I came in to add another 5 qts. of pickles to the pantry.

We are very happy at the progress we have made in canning food from our garden, to save money, and eat healthier.

After that I went back outside, and weeded around the cabbage plants.

You can see in the upper portion, how many weeds were in this part of the garden.  After I finished that, I had to hoe it.  Even though it's very hard work, especially in this heat, I am still happy with our progress to feed our family.

Yay!  I can finally see my broccoli, swiss chard and a few more bean plants.  However, there is a lot more weeding to be done.

I saw 2 melons in the melon patch today also.  I can't wait to enjoy our own, home grown, fresh fruit again. It tastes so much better that store bought, and we grow ours without any chemicals whatsoever.

Our barred rocks and our tetra-tint, love to hang out underneath this evergreen tree.  They are often giving themselves mud baths and cooling off.  I treated them with some sliced cucumbers. 

In one day, my 14 year-old daughter has taught her goat, Misty, to do 3 tricks.  Hopefully, she will have videos to share on YouTube or her blog.  I will update you when she does.  This goat is so fun to play with.  She will go on top of a stump, and if you tell her to "go in a circle" she does.  Next, she taught her goat to bow, and also shake (like you do with a dog).  Goats really are smarter than dogs.  She is often doing the tricks without showing her the treats, just so she can get treats.  It's funny to watch.

Herb gardening is getting better and better each year.  This year we let the dill re-seed itself on it's own, and I am busy cleaning my dill seed in a strainer, to use for pickle making and cooking.  The feathery leaves are used for fridge pickles, and are also dried for dill weed.  Each year we learn more ways to do things ourselves, save money, and live a much simpler life.  We don't have trouble sleeping most nights.  

 Dill Seed

2 comments:

Candy C. said...

Your garden looks great! I need to get outside and harvest my dill seed before it all falls off! LOL!!

The 3 Foragers said...

Your garden is such a wonderful resource, I enjoy reading about your abundances. We live in a small city, and our yard is about the size of a postage stamp, so I just have a few cherry tomatoes and hot peppers in the ground. This may be part of the reason we get out to forage so often--fresh, chemical free produce!
Karen