Homemade Tick Repellent ~ More Rain ~ Garden Progress

I'm betting my hens are getting coop fever, with all this rain and wind.  Most likely stir crazy at this point.  We haven't had much of a day for them to free range lately.

Started my day making homemade condensed mushroom soup.  There is nothing better than homemade.  I made another for the freezer.  The first "can" went on top of pork chops in the crock pot.

Thursday morning we had a major storm roll through.  More rain is not a good thing at this point.  It's just downright bad.  I prayed my planted tomatoes made it through and went out after the storm let up to check.  

The wind was so bad, it took out power in several counties, and took down many trees, limbs, utility poles and more.  One daughter of mine is lucky it moved through our area quickly.  She had a bonfire out back with friends, and left all her stuff, plus all my furniture including seat cushions.  Nothing blew away, but my weed garden bucket, which I retrieved.  

I haven't had a break in the day to flip my rain barrels.  Probably a good thing, as they'd be over flowing anyway.

We will not be planting any peas this spring.  Not one type.  I will try to fall plant them weather permitting.  

I got 3 pots of zinnias started, and my spearmint replanted.  I planted mullein and comfrey in two different pots as well, and replanted the peppermint.  I'm not counting on time to get my raised be built in time to plant my "weed" garden, so it's back up plants for us.  I also planted the arnica, feverfew and yarrow.

Woohoo!  I got 68 tomato plants planted so far, but Saturday they are calling for bad storms again. Praying they all make it.  They are saying hail and tornadoes.  I hope they are wrong.  Now I need my overworked "till man" to till more so I can get the rest in.  He's working 6 - 10 hour days again, and may even have to work Monday.

It's Ohio Bike week right now, and the only day off, they are calling for rain.  We may not make it this year on the Harley.

I'm tempted to purchase catnip seeds, as my potted plant is not that big this year.  I will first check the barns for it, before spending the money.

Got a text while out in the garden.  She wanted to buy this pair of baby booties.  Shipped them the same day, to take a break from the garden.

Tick-Repelling Oil

(for adults, dogs, and children older than 5 - otherwise they recommend using a gentle rose geranium hydrosol)

2 oz. jojoba oil
20 drops geranium essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil

Combine all ingredients, place in small bottle and label. To use: Before going outdoors, apply this oil to any exposed skin. For dogs, place a few drops on your hands and then gently smooth the oil over the coat. If you prefer spray, substitute 2 oz. of distilled water for the jojoba oil, and place all ingredients in a small spray bottle. Spritz over your hair, clothing and skin. Repeat as necessary. 

I have also read just using 1 part tea tree oil and 2 parts water for a spray, but haven't tried it yet.  I prefer the oil (recipe above), but the spray works better for your hair and clothing, so you may like to make both versions.  I tend to rub the oil up under the hair line and wear a hat some times.  We don't have a huge tick problem, but the wind can bring some in.

Teabag Tidbits

Just a little teabag quote for the day.

Started a jar of comfrey infused oil.  I haven't decided yet, but I'll either use this as an oil or make a salve, to topically treat my varicose veins.

Made a breakfast scramble with collards, jalapeno and bacon.  Of course eggs, potatoes and green bell peppers as well.  I felt bad Hubby had no breakfast nor lunch to pack on Monday.  We grilled out Sunday night, and had been busy outdoor Sunday morning.

Baked Bourbon Blueberry Banana bread.  Snacks for the next day or two.

You know when the weather really is wacky, when you have this much asparagus, and no snap peas to go with it (when I normally do).  Peas aren't even planted sadly.  I roast the asparagus with rosemary and olive oil.

Today is our youngest daughter's last day of school. 

Considering our weather the last two years, I've asked Hubby to put building a green house to the top of the to-do list.  I can't survive with out it now.  It's imperative in order for us to eat healthy and stock up for the winter and spring.  The weather is definitely a struggle and I have a bad feeling it will happen more often than not.

Storms, Flowers, the Un-planted Veggie Garden and a Crochet Emergency Kit

Thursday we had another gorgeous start to the day - sunshine and up to the 70's again.  I weeded the front flower beds. Indoor cleaning always suffers, but I had to take advantage of a good day outdoors.  It needed done badly. I still can't get into the veggie garden.

Evening however, brought on major thunderstorms, wind and possible hail.  I was pretty thankful I had not planted the tomato plants or anything for that matter.

(wasn't cheap and I still need more, and will add color with zinnia seeds and glady bulbs)

This is one small section that edges sidewalk off front porch.  It's a small start.  Needs a few more touches, my rooster planter and then mulch for all the beds.  We lost a few mums over winter, so come fall I'll add a few if I can.  We also lost the granny apple tree, the plum tree died and our large peach tree looks terrible.  The two red apple trees are looking good so far.  Elderberry trees look terrible, but growing.  Darn deer.  I have to put stakes around them this year.  We also lost a blackberry bush, and possibly a red raspberry bush too.

Funny story about that photo.  Hubby finally weed whipped.  He was trying to add more string to the gadget to finish, and we were sitting on the porch.  I told him to just let it go and do it another day.  His response, "If I listened to you I'd never get anything done."  To which I responded, "oh, so that's why the shovel is still sitting in the half dug septic tank?"  Touche.

Friday we had clouds all day, with a high in the upper 60's.  It rained.  Hmpf!  Again. It thunderstormed last night.  Again. More rain is in the forecast for the weekend.  I did some more porch cuteness.  

The wasps and bees are so bad this year.  I can't work in the flower beds after about 10am.  While I ran to the store Friday, wasps literally built a nest in my side door way.  We had to enter the front, go back out and spray it, then wait and knock it down.  Hmpf.

Have you seen this idea on the internet lately?  I made myself one for the truck.  I plan on making two more.  One for the car and one for the camper too.  Ha ha!  I give credit to Blackstone Designs website - notebook (3 for $1 at our Dollar General store), pen, pencil, crochet hook, large eye needle, measuring tape and scissors.  These would make nice gifts for friends and family who you know that crochet.  I also found out that it's much safer to crochet in a moving vehicle than knit.  I don't have a label machine, I just edited the photo with text, but would be cute to add that to it for gift (cricut maybe?).  This one went straight into "Red Lightning" (aka the truck).

I often forget to pack stuff when I bring car projects along on trips.  Speaking of memory issues.  I had to look at my lists to figure out why I ordered jojoba oil.  Sigh....I really did.  

Now, if I can put peace inside my chaotic home, it'll all balance out nicely.  I'm sure the rain will help me out with that.

Rain Barrels ~ End of the Garden ~ Salmon Romanoff

I've lacked the motivation to do much of anything for winter prep, and slacking horribly.   I finally went out and drained all the rain barrels and flipped one upside down.  That was the extent of my "winter prep."  One barrel has poison ivy growing in front.  Wonderful.  I'm flipping the rest today.

It's a winter without beets as well.  I did my first dig and they are the size of the carrots - pathetic.  All that weeding for nothing.  Can't even save the greens - tops dying off.

I took some time to dig up more carrots, but if you saw my post about it, they are getting tossed.  No carrot seeds saved this year either.

I saved some of the carrot tops.  I'll have another post for that project.

More tomatoes were picked - 7#.  Last picking.  Plants are coming out.  I would have started it yesterday, but I left my knife in the house, and walking back and forth to get it was not on the agenda - too hot anyway.

Global warming has me concerned we won't be able to survive without a green house now.  This tough garden year really has be thinking about food shortages and with all the store food contaminations and recalls, I really don't want to be buying it.

I got some homemade condensed cream of celery made, and in the freezer for winter.

Salmon Romanoff was for dinner, with salmon caught by my oldest brother and gifted to us.  Yum!

Salmon Romanoff
1/2 finely chopped organic shallots
1 clove home grown garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. organic butter
1 cup organic cottage cheese
2 cups organic sour cream
5 dashes home canned hot sauce*
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. cooked salmon, flaked
12 oz. medium homemade noodles*
1 cup shredded organic shredded cheddar cheese*

Saute the shallots in the butter until they are clear, then add the garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and toss them into a large mixing bowl and add the cottage cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and salt. Flake the salmon and mix.

Preheat ove to 325°F and lightly oil (or spray) 9 x 13 in baking dish.

Cook noodles and drain.  Stir into mixture and pour into baking dish.  Top with shredded cheese.  Bake approximately 30 minutes.

*5 dashes of Tabasco sauce can be substituted.
*I some times any non-gmo/organic store brand noodle too.  Amount of noodles can be changed as well.
*I like to put an additional 1 cup of organic shredded cheddar cheese in the mix too.  

I apologize for no photo of the dish, we took off right after to deliver some of it to two places.  I'll try to get a photo next time and add it to this post.

Weekend Updates ~ Freezer Pie Crust Crumbles Tip ~ probably my boring-est post yet

Friday we woke up to the chilling 40's again, and rain.  Yes that is a morning moon photo.  Weeding was ruled out upon onset of the day.  That's okay, I had floors to sweep and mop, vacuum etc.  Bills to pay, one errand to run, and so on.

I managed to snatch up a small amount of organic yellow squash.  It's now in the freezer.

My 19 year old daughter called.  She needed to vent.  She's now the manager of a video store, and often has employee issues.  I just put my phone on speaker and let her talk.  It was nice to hear from her.

Late evening our oldest daughter called.  Had a flat and could not get her tire off.  Hubby gave her advice, as it was too late to drive all the way there, and we were no help Saturday morning, other than giving her a ride.

Saturday it heated up to the mid 80's.  Muggy and more rain. Air conditioners off, air conditioners on... conversations started early out on the porch, and the garlic bed was discussed.  Rain is the issue.  I brewed the 3rd pot of coffee and still didn't have a plan for the day.  Couldn't muck the coop, hand laundry out, till, weed, etc.

Hubby had to work, so it was one daughter and I.  Started out the day cooking some whiskey-apple bacon to make breakfast sandwiches with. Cleaning resumed as the rain came down (again).  Knitting resumed.

I got a few knitted dishcloths done (photos to share later).  The weather has just been crazy, but typical for our October - hot, cold, rain, cold, rain, hot, fog...frustrating to say the least.

The strange fall-spring like weather helped me cross off one more thing off my "to-do" list - restock the freezer pie crust crumbles.  My tip?  

I slice the butter and put it in the freezer.  Then I put it in my food processor with a bit of the flour and pulse until it's in small bits.  Then I use my hand blender (aka butter cutter) to blend it into the flour/salt/shortening mix.  I use King Flour's recipe (found online) using all organic ingredients.

Sunday we woke up to a drizzle, fog, and a somewhat chilly morning (60's).  Hubby got called to work first thing.  We had plans for a motorcycle ride, but we are staying home.  I think.

I now have a second spider in my flower bed.  Despite rain, both are still there.  Hubby better get to work at moving them.

I also went to porch this morning, and sat down to enjoy my bacon/egg and cheese sandwich.  Just as I sat down, I noticed a frog sitting on the porch bench in front of me, staring at me.  Gently, I got him back in the garden.  Maybe he'll/she'll eat the spiders.

Pears ~ Cauliflower ~ Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake ~ Spooky Spider Ear Warmers

Pear picking has begun.  Deer have ripped down a branch, but the trees are loaded.  We carried back what we could, but need to go back out.  It may be the year to make pear wine.  We need more practice at it anyway.

I also picked another 6# of tomatoes.  Those went into the freezer with hopes for more.  Some plants are dying, while a few are thriving.

I was able to get 1 head of organic cauliflower in the freezer.  I snatched up one on clearance - $1.49.  I am hoping for more.

Here's what went with that leftover corn bread - dutch oven chili with bacon (but cooked in the crock pot this time).

Baked a blueberry-lemon bundt cake.  I felt bad when Hubby asked on Monday if I had baked anything "sweet."  Monday was a busy day.  It sort of stuck in the pan this time - added extra blueberries.  Lip smackin' good.

Got some more weeding done until I ran into this.....

I'm waiting on rain or Hubby to extract this, and then I'll continue weeding in that area.  No way am I even gonna try to remove it myself.

We'll be getting a dog soon.  Our oldest is moving and can't find a place that will allow dogs (that she can afford).  Mia will be getting "fostered" at our place for a while.  It will give us a chance to see if we want to get a puppy or not too.  She's well behaved, but doesn't like dogs she doesn't know.  We may get a puppy while we have her, so both can get used to other dogs.  Time will tell.

Believe it or not....got this out...

I actually took time to start reading it and love it.  I am shocked I put my crochet hook down too.  Boy it felt good to read a book again.  I also did some journaling.  It felt great to put a pen in my hand and get off the computer as well.  

Daughter came home from school, and saw what I was crocheting and gave me a suggestion.  Like I need a new project, but...

This is what was created.  

Wednesday I finally got to the library to return and pick up books.  My weeding was delayed and the weather really heated up fast.  I checked on my green bell peppers.  There are a handful, and they are still small (sad face).  I will need to buy more of those to put up for winter now too.  

Lima Beans ~ Random Tidbits

Lima beans are high in iron and also benefit bone growth, hence good for hair growth.  I whipped up a "greek" version of lima beans the other day and they were very good!  Here's how to make them.

Rinse and drain 1 lb of dry organic lima beans.   Place in a pot with enough water to soak them overnight.  In the morning drain, rinse and drain again.  I cooked mine in the crock pot the entire day, drained and cooled them.  The next day I took them out of the fridge and place them in a baking dish.

In a sauce pan, saute one diced onion in a bit of olive oil.  Once the onions are ready, add enough frozen/thawed garden tomatoes to equal about a can of dice tomatoes.  Add 1- 4oz. jar of home canned tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp. organic ground cloves, a few tablespoons of honey, 3 minced garden cloves of garlic, salt and pepper.  Heat until it thickens.  Toss in fresh chopped parsley.

Pour the mixture over the lima beans in the baking dish and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or more until it's bubbling and thick.  

Enjoy!  

It's my next go-to side dish, and possibly the dish that will be a side at the holidays too. You could also half bake the beans and just add water to the tomato mixture, but bake longer at a lower temperature.

So this happened.  Someone ran into one of our driveway posts and blasted the light off, which landed over 10 feet away from the post.  See the tracks?  It happened just after I returned home from running a form to the school, and before Hubby got home from work (while I was inside preparing dinner).   I never heard it, nor saw it, but the Sheriff came out and looked at the tracks and even questioned our neighbor.  We'll see if we can get to the bottom of this.

We are still seeing some beautiful sunrises here at the homestead.

Friday was a misc sort of day - put stuff back in the camper, cleaned up the front porch, and made a visit to the garden.

I dug up some carrots and beets to see how big they were, and decide to dig or leave them in a bit longer.   Carrots?  Fail.  Popcorn?  Fail.  Beets and Sweet potatoes?  Maybe.  I can leave those two in another month, but everything will get pulled now, but the tomatoes.  Sweet potatoes and beets are small, but there is hope unless we get a frost, then the plants won't grow.  It's too wet to work out there, so the garlic bed has not even been put in yet.

Checked the berry bushes too.  Picked 4 red raspberries.

I got a bit of rosemary into the pantry, but not enough for medicinal purposes.  Will keep harvesting until our first frost.

Thyme harvest has been small this year, as well as green onion and chives.  Parsley did pretty good.  The two new sage plants grew nicely as well.

I started roasting pumpkins.  These were the hardest sugar pumpkins I've ever cut in half.  They are tough.  I kid you not.  The skin was about 1/4 thick.  Any tips on softening them to cut them more easily?  Otherwise the rest may become target practice.

Made some of our delicious Whiskey Bacon pumpkin seeds too.  The guts were treated to the chickens.

I also got some crochet work done (photos to come soon).  Hubby kept texting me all day for a date night out, with a motorcycle ride, and just as I went inside to change clothes, he canceled on me.  He worked over (sigh....).   Daughter went out to a football game, so it was little ol' me by myself for several hours.  I immediately changed to PJ's, and binge watched netflix with crochet work.  That's a lot for a Friday.  We'll see what happens over the weekend now.  Thanks for reading through all of this.

Zero Pumpkins ~ Handiwork

There will be no pumpkins this year.  Jack o' lantern nor pie pumpkins.  Such a waste of seeds, time and hard work.  The large one I saw is no longer there. Raccoons or squirrels got to it.

While avoiding the garden like the plague, I've been inside lately.  I'm just not motivated this year.  Whatsoever.  

I was able to get another mug set done.

Made a few cup cozies.

Started on a pair of candy corn earrings and matching necklace.

I'm thinking I may take a blogging hiatus soon. I'm not that perky, I have no comments most of the time (and way less views), and there isn't much to talk about this gardening season.

Random Tidbits ~ Struggles

I hope your labor day weekend was fantastic.  Ours was hot, productive, and yet fun.  We didn't go camping, but Hubby and I stole off on a one day motorcycle ride.  Our first motorcycle show/stampede about an hour away. But oh,it was hot. Too hot.  We were so ready to be home sweet home.

I made a batch of black bean hummus to go with those homemade einkorn chips.  Yum!  No tahini either.  I even added a garden jalapeno to it.  Oh, and I seeded it and got about 100 seeds saved from one.  I plan on saving more.  I also saved hot banana pepper seeds and green bell pepper seeds.

...made an einkorn pumpkin spice bundt cake since I had more pumpkin puree thawed.  Very good too!  Recipe is online.

Almost had ground hog for dinner.  Almost.  It was headed straight towards the garden (not that it would have gotten much), but still.  It ran off in the opposite direction just as my hand went on the door knob.

I got some good news regarding the soap saver bags that I took to a historical museum gift shop - 4 sold!  A check is coming my way.  So happy about it, so I plan on making more soon.

Also, I found out about an upcoming farmer's market event in the "Big City" and guess what?  There is no set-up fee.  I have registered and I'm just awaiting their email to confirm it.  It's in September so people may be thinking "fall" and my scarves and lapghans will sell.  I hope to make a trip to the "Big City" and look for more white mugs for mug/coaster sets to make too.  I need to look through my yarn stash as well.

Just when I was ready to start yanking those tomato plants the weather turned on us.  It was back up in the high 90's over the weekend (with more thunderstorms), so I let them sit to see if we'll get more tomatoes.  The beets are not getting big either, so I sure hope the rain helps.

It's been one heck of a year this year.  Not only did one plum tree die, but the other one did too.  Cherry tree has been dead for a year, and not been replaced.  Deer have practically ruined one of my elderberry trees, and now my green apple tree is practically dead (fungus).  The peach tree now has a bit of fungus, so those were sprayed and hopefully regain full health.  We also noticed an infestation of tent caterpillars, so we headed to town for a same spray that will take care of that.

Oh, and all those apples are gone.  Poof!  Either deer, raccoons or squirrels got them, so baffles will need put up before next season.

We got the go kart (aka dune buggy) out and worked on her, but she's not running just yet.  She'll need a few new parts, 
then it's Ba ha time.  We actually got it to start, but it won't idle, so yeah, new parts and she'll be zooming around the homestead.

I found the best deal I could on hot banana peppers.  It was a 30 minute drive, but we got a peck of peppers for $8.00.  

16 1/2 glorious pints of hot pepper mustard were canned, even though it was another hot weekend.  How hot?  Heat index of 99°F.  It'll stay hot for the next few days, so I'm praying we have lots of tomatoes.

Thursday To-do's

I woke up Thursday realizing I had no plan for the day.  I always have a plan. Yikes.

The only think I needed to make was a nice home cooked dinner and deliver some to Dad for his 87th birthday.  It all depended on if the chickens gave me more eggs too.

I had to flour and pepper my pumpkins due to the excess of bugs.  I am sad too.  Only 2 jack'o lantern pumpkins on them, and no pie pumpkins (a few blossoms, but they look terrible).

If we ever have another wet spring like we did, I will not plant our garden.  It's so big and wide that I can't get the weeds caught up either (due to rain).  It's been a huge issue, and now faces us with the cost of putting in raised beds (so I can plant and weed no matter what), or move the entire garden, or reduce it's size.

As for the tomatoes, the weather is now cooling down, and they don't like that, so I'm going to salvage any green ones and start ripping them out. Yeah, not gonna plant a garden late ever again.

I couldn't let these buggers sit one more day to wait on late tomatoes, so a little over a pound went into the freezer.  

Speaking of freezer, has anyone ever frozen their tomatoes and thawed them later to can salsa or anything sauce-wise?  If so, I'd love to hear how to froze the tomatoes - skin on? skin off? etc.  Just asking in case we can't get enough in one picking in future years.

Just after washing all the dishes and putting them away, I did it two more times.  I guess the "to-do's" found me.

Made a jar of nettle hair tonic.

Made a jar of Four Thieves Vinegar.

Harvested some herbs - thyme, rosemary and parsley.  I needed fresh parsley for dinner.  I love the smell of fresh herbs.