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

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.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Birds, Deer and More Spring Cleaning updates

I saw a deer today about noon, walking around the woods beyond the field out front.  Last night my husband and one of the girls saw 3 deer walking into our property from the back woods.  They were all female.  Today I saw small birds coming from the largest barn. It looked liked a finch but I was too far away to see for sure.  Speaking of birds,  I sure hope to we get to see our summer hummingbird again.

There is still a chill in the air, but it's perfect for weeding flower beds.  I got yelled at last night for having "too much" green onion.  I am trying to locate a food pantry to donate some too, but not many have refrigerators.  It sells pretty cheap in the stores this week (2 for $1.00) so not many people mess with growing it.  Either way, I pulled a bunch to cook with this week.  We've added it to eggs, potatoes, potato salad, and even mixed it with cooked black beans and cheese for a dip.  I was lucky to have cooked up a batch of dry beans and had them all ready in the freezer.  I will have a bean baking and freezing day soon.


Today's spring cleaning updates:
-washing 3 bed quilts
-scrubbing out a few kitchen cupboards and decluttering and organizing them

Sunday Gardening

I am trying to instill Sunday as a "rest" day around this homestead, but my husband is going nuts with my flower beds.  Since we already had the natural rocks from the property, and the dirt from last year that was brought in, we expanded my herb garden.  Now there is room to plant flowers in front of the herbs.  We already have seeds started for planting next month.  Around here we cannot plant until about Mother's Day.

After that was finished I had a sinus headache that needed tending.  I still have not purchased my masks, but plan to on the next trip into town.  I cooled my forehead with a wash cloth and recovered.

I relaxed by finishing a book, Tall Cedars Homestead by Carrie Bender, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.  It's fiction, but sounds so realistic.  It's about an Amish couple who just married, and are renting a cabin in Montana.  The book is written in journal form, but I loved reading every bit of it.  I may have to write a review for this series.