Pioneer Woman at Heart

  We went from sub zero straight to a week of up to 64°F, and a sloppy, slushy, muddy mess.  I was very tempted, and almost twice, used the clothesline.     However, with the warmest weather days brought us rain and thunder storms (yes thunder storms in February).  Add that rain to the already mushy mess, and you have slosh yards. The house was refreshed with several days of open windows, and we are very thankful for that. Nothing better than fresh air circulating indoors.   Of course, as it is still our winter season, the weather cooled right back down to the 30's and brought a small but of snow.  We got outside anyway, and did our very first "snow" walking trail. It's been a mish-mash of a February.  Lots of re-organizing, purging, and home repairs.  It seems like the hardware store shopping list is maintaining it's weekly to-do list. We have not cleaned out clothing in more than two years, so it's been this month's focus, and boy...

  Coyote maybe. Dog vs. Coyote (photo from Google) Cat on the left, and possible coyote on the right. Cat. Birds.                                              Raccoon again . Although the snow is melting today (the thaw before the freeze), yesterday I was able to get some photos of more animal tracks in the snow.  I was most curious if my thoughts were correct, and that the coyote has made it's way to our property.  I have not seen it on our property yet, but I have seen a very fat raccoon.  To note about that, we have not seen a raccoon here in several years.  I'm guessing they are sensing that there is an extreme cold front coming, and the wild animals are all trying to fatten up. There is a stray cat we have tried to feed, and have seen it many times since the day after Christmas.  The tracks lead all over the place.  I have a food shel...

I purposely get up early enough to recharge with coffee, and watch the sunrise.  I also go outside to take in a breath of fresh winter air.  Even if it's just a minute.  Some days, I catch a beautiful sunrise, some days I see animal tracks, some days I see the beauty of mother nature in wild animals. I took these photos, not realizing I what I would see.  It was quite a sight to watch, as it appeared the largest buck was standing guard, while the rest of the herd got into the woods nearby. What I didn't expect to see in the photos.  A stalking coyote. Keeping an eye on the coyote. I hope you enjoyed the photos. They are not the best, as I am using an older camera, but still pretty good.  My husband gifted me a new camera for Christmas, but due to a problem with it, it had to be returned.  A new camera (we are going with something else this time) is being sought out, and hopefully soon. We are getting more snow, and they are still predicting a big dip i...

It wasn't really planned, but the first day of November was dedicated to resetting my home and health, and recharging for the fall/winter chores. The travel coffee maker (single, but cheap brand) was cleaned up and put away.  The cooler we traveled often with, was also put away.  Counters completely cleaned off and sanitized (I like my homemade 4 Thieves cleaner), extra purchased dry goods were canned and vacuumed sealed, travel totes with paper plates etc. were put back in storage, and the suitcase put back in storage. I have two absorbant coffee pot/grinder mats.  While one is being washed the other is put out.  It really helps keep the coffee pot area tidy.  We like coffee. I double checked canning supplies, expiration dates on pectin, and so forth.  Checked the winter tea supply, and even dehydrated more sage. I had a half bag of sugar sitting on the counter for a few weeks, and finally put it canning jars, and vacuum sealed them.  I did not can a ...

  Hot mess express checking in for a quick minute.  October has been, and still is a crammed month of commitments, projects and whatnot.  More so on the commitments (preventing other work to be done). I feel like the days are so out of control, but I dug out my new jars and recipes.  I realized I had not dehydrated comfrey or plantain, and needed it for one recipe.  Of course, we just mowed too. The kitchen is full of baskets of herbs and medicinal weeds, which are all waiting their moment in the dehydrator. Our weather changed rapidly, so I am working quickly.   Sticky notes to the rescue!  Without them, I would be a double hot mess express.  I finally made a phone call for a quote, that should have been done a year ago.  I was to complete that job today, but someone took the wrong vehicle to work this morning. Purging continues, but not as productive as it should be.  Garage clean out remains on the to-do list (did I mention too m...

  I was not too excited for the Labor Day weekend.  First, we were invited to a cook out event (not my favorite, as there is very little healthy food), and two, my husband made several plans, where I was hoping for some finishing touches on projects and some good ol' R & R. We decided to visit a produce stand to pick up zuchinni (ours produced very little with the drought), another dozen ears of sweet corn (frozen on the cob this time), some plums, cucumbers, and local honey. First dig - about 5#.  I wasn't even going to plant the potatoes this year, but threw them in the ground willy-nilly.  We were both shocked, because I did not water them heavily during our drought.   One haul of hot peppers, and the jalapenos are hot this time around.  Hot banana peppers had zero heat.  I bought the plants from a different place, and I really think they were not labeled correctly (sad for us). We have enjoyed fresh salsa, as the tomatoes provided.  T...