Working With Hands

Despite not feeling myself yet, and still having laryngitis, I made Wild Black Raspberry Jam - 7 pints.  I could have simply told them to freeze the berries, but I was destined to have more jam this summer than last.  Last year I made jelly with the berries, but it requires a lot more berries.

If you have never picked wild berries, you have no idea how much work it is.  My son went out there, with a sweat jacket on (to fight off prickers  and mosquitoes) in 80 degree weather, and picked a quart by himself.  I didn't take a photo of them, but they are smaller than what you buy in the store. Much smaller.  After he came in, my husband went back out with two of the girls and brought more in.

I had 8 cups of wild black raspberries, and there are more out there yet.  I lost my jelly recipe, so I still need to make grape, candy apple and other jellies, to re-stock our supply.

I cannot wait to have a root cellar.  We do not have a basement in this old farm house either.  Storage is a problem for this sort of thing.  Then there is the septic and the buried propane tank.  If we keep this place, it will be interesting as to where we dig for the root cellar.   The couple that originally built this old farm house did not have kids.  It was simply the two of them, thus no root cellar.

After canning the jam, I retreated to my bed to sleep off the allergy medications - blech!  Then I somehow managed to finish off my very first Granny Square hand towel.  This was meant to be placed in my "store" for sale, but I loved it so much it went right into my bathroom.  I plan to add some to the kitchen too.

And speaking of "hands" and work, my daughter came in form the chicken coop.  She has been introducing the barred rocks and Lola (tetratint) to the red hens.  

With two roosters for each group of hens, they don't get along in the coop.  We talked about letting our other rooster roam free, but the kids all squawked about his safety at night.  So, they volunteered to place a red hen in with the others ever night and watch them.  

The other day, while they were all outside free ranging, we kept hearing the roosters crow.  They were having a "crow off" and crowing back and forth.  Wish we got it on video.

To our surprise, on June 27, 2011, the barred rocks/Lola started laying eggs.  We got our first two from them, and they are smaller of course. 

I'm glad we got the different chickens, even though it's a tedious task to get them to get along.  It's nice to look out and see them roam.  One day, we actually had a driver stop on the 2-lane country highway, and watch them peck the ground.  They were intrigued at Mazda, and his brilliant colors.

You can't really see the gorgeous green in his tail feathers, but he's a pretty handsome rooster.

Redbud Trees from Seed

Here is one of the two redbud seeds.  I see that another one has sprouted up in this container.  Other than these two larger ones, I have about 5 more that have sprouted up.  This has been a nice experience, and can't wait to see them as full size trees.


Growing trees from seeds has been on the 100 things to do list.  If you can't decide what to put on your list this summer (or for the year), here is a fun Web site with 52 projects:
The Original 52 Projects


Although my allergies have me down, I did step outside yesterday to blow bubbles with the kids.  I didn't actually have to "blow" since the wind took care of that.  It's a good thing, considering I'm having trouble breathing.

Biscuits and Herbs ~ And Another Project

If you enjoyed our family's favorite biscuit recipe, you may try adding chopped fresh herbs to the dough next time.  We love adding chopped rosemary for a fun flavor.  There are so many ways you can flavor them.

We have not yet used our telescope for our star gazing.  The clouds have taken over.  Tonight might be a good night.

And as if I have all the time in the world, I have started another project.  I may have to learn how to make a comfrey salve yet.  

My knuckles are pretty sore from crocheting, knitting, and holding books.  As soon as my allergies give me a break, I will be back to the garden for picking peas, lettuce and weeding the flower beds.


I purchased 5 heirloom Painted Lady Runner beans, and all five have come up.  They will have blossoms on them, and that is why they are planted in the flower/herb beds. 

And the Bee Balm I planted a few years ago, is finally going to have flowers this year.

Although I didn't take a photo, I have 2 of the heirloom redbud trees doing very nicely.  The first ones were flooded out by the rains we had.  However, a few more seeds have started to sprout.  They are still small, so it will be a few years yet, but we have never planted trees from seeds before. 

Bad Weather? Bad Allergies?

 

It's official.  I blame the weather.  I think my migraines are about lined up with thunderstorms, and I am so sick with cough, sore throat, laryngitis, trouble breathing, watering eyes and so forth. Here's an article that pretty much tells about it.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/Weathers-Influence-on-Your-Allergies-123917124.html

Good for the garden, but miserable for me.  And I didn't need to read that if you are over weight, it's harder on your lungs - ugh.  Even more reason to get the extra fat off.

Knitting Progress

There is an advantage to being home sick (horrible allergies) in bed - endless hour of crocheting and knitting.

I don't know how my youngest daughter sweet talked me into knitting her a scarf, but she did.  This scarf has doubled it's length since I took the photo.  The first trial scarf, I did in scrap brown yarn, was taken apart and put away for another project.  I have to say that this one is turning out better and with a prettier yarn.

Now....if I could just finished the crocheted blankets, the hand towel, and ..... and .... and .... 

It's all good!

100 Things to Do ~ Summer List ~ Star Gazing and More

Blogger is experiencing problems, so I am not able to load any photos right now (and this is happening to many other people right now too).

We decided to blow the dust off of our telescope, drop in a brand new battery, and read over the manual again.  It's a bit cloudy today, so we may not get to star gaze tonight, but hopefully soon.

Star gazing is on my "100 things to do this summer" list.  We've participated in many star gazing nights, and have visited many planetariums in our lifetime.  I've checked out a field guide, from the library, relating to the stars also.

It's crochet mania day here also.  I've had 2 blankets (one is a throw), on my "to-do" list for a few weeks.  I can easily get sucked into new projects, and forget the ones I started. 

Update:
Added about 4 inches to blanket #1

Added 4 rows to blanket #2 (much larger)

I have also crocheted wagon wheel coasters for July 4th, in red, white and blue.  Look for photos soon, at my on-line store:  Pioneer Patchwork Homespun

When blogger gets the "bugs" out of their system, I will try to load photos of the two blankets, our star gazing night, and more. 

Update:  as you can see, I am now able to load the photos. :) Yea!

Biting Flies

Finally!  I found an article for a solution to repel biting insects, including flies.  Here is the link to share with you all.  My eye balls about popped out after reading that there is a 190-proof grain alcohol.  Wow!  That's some dangerous stuff there.  

Herbs vs. Bugs:  Herbal Insect Repellant

We have been using our homemade oil mixture, for a tick repellant,  on our dogs for a week or so.  So far, it is working.  We are also putting a dab of apple cider vinegar in their water bowl, and that is keeping the fleas off of them.  So far they have not had fleas on them.  This has kept our pets healthier and we have saved almost $200.00/month on pet meds.