Random Tidbits

I haven't been around due to not much going on.  As a self-sufficient gardener, I should be acclimated to a bad harvest year and just get over my pity party.  I'll admit. It stinks, and it stinks worse to not have like minded neighbors.  We rely on garlic and hot peppers for health over winter, and it's gonna cost us, having to buy it this year.

A dozen dinky jalapenos made there way to the freezer.  

A very small amount of zucchini was blanched and went into the freezer.

Tomato harvest has not been good.  The late planting, and bad weather, the paste heirlooms are not much bigger than the cherry or grape.  

Here's what I did with some of those paste tomatoes - homemade Einkorn pizza crust, with home canned sauce, some gifted pulled pork with caramelized onions, garden tomatoes and green onion.  It was delicious. 

The second pizza was topped with my dinky (but very spicy) hot banana peppers, some green peppers, and onion.  Also, very delicious.

I guess, if it's the only thing I can stock up on, it may be freezing what I get, as I get it.  They are so small, I have doubts that I will get to can anything (but you never know).

The chickadee is still nesting in my flower pot, and the other day two chickadees flew up, one crawled in and it appeared to be the male, bringing food.  We may be seeing babies soon.  It's hard to get a close up photo, but I'll be trying.

We continued to get rain this week, so garden work and mucking the chicken coop is on hold.  As far as extreme clean, the book shelf is back in order, and another box is filled for the thrift.  

The kitchen clean up is almost a success (on the hunt for new curtains, possibly new rugs or make them myself).  I purged more recipes (try-it), purged my old articles and writing resources, purged old magazines, filed some recipes, filed some patterns I printed, and put the camping supplies, bedding and linens back in the camper.  Camper curtains are washed and will go back in when we pull it out for the next trip.