Category Archives: A to Z Blog Challenge

Over and Around

Posted on April 17, 2015 | Leave a comment

Yesterday, the boys and I went on a hike in the late afternoon.

Through the swales, over the swales and all around the swales.

I gave them a mission.

“Be on the lookout for trees boys, and let me know when you see one.”

Feeling this was an important mission, Joe raced down the path spotting trees and shouting, “Right here! There’s one right here!”

Jake ran right behind him, mimicking his shouts.

I followed taking notes on my clipboard.

We have 47 trees in our swales.

We planted more than that last year, but many died early on or didn’t make it through the winter.

We have 47 trees that are alive with leaves sprouting in different shades of green.

There are fruit trees: cherry, apple and pear; a few nut trees: chestnut, walnut and almond; and a sprinkling of other miscellany: lavender, pussy willow, corkscrew willow, oak and a few question marks.

The boys had completed their mission long before I’d finished documenting the tree varieties on my swale map.

They were playing in the dirt pile when I walked back to the house. I stood and watched them play for a few minutes thinking about how excited they get when they feel they are a part of the work.

They don’t even see it as work…it’s a mission, a game.

It’s a joy to watch.

I called them to the kitchen garden. One final chore needed to be done before we could turn in for the day.

I had toted three cabbage pots over from the greenhouse. I’m not willing to risk all of them by planting too early, so these three will be my weather test.

Once I told the boys the plan, they were eager to help.

Joe passed them out to us.

One for Jake…

One for Joe…

And one for me.

The cat supervised.

In the yard today
Warm sun setting on our backs
Cats purring, stretching

News from the Front

Posted on April 16, 2015 | 2 comments

I’ve sadly neglected reporting on what’s going on out front.

In fact, beyond occasionally peeking at the roses and strawberries, I’ve sadly neglected checking on the front.

And now for the news…

The Vineyard

Happily, almost all kiwis survived the winter. I’m still optimistic on the few that have not yet started to bud. It took awhile for all of them to get green last year.

On the way out to the fedge, I saw that one of my lilac bushes is budding. I don’t have hope for the other…the branch sticking out of the ground is gray and dead looking.

Walking a bit further, I found that the burning bushes, all three, are returning. They are even brighter and greener than they were when I planted them last year. The snow in summer is also starting to spread out between the tiny shrubs.

The Fedge

There is so much life and green out in the fedge!

The seaberries are rocking it.

The autumn olives are bursting with green.

The aronia bushes are going crazy!

That’s the news for today folks, join us again tomorrow when we’ll talk about cabbage and chickens.

The news has come in
The bushes are growing
In the garden tomorrow
We’ll talk about sowing

2 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Garden Stories, Writing

Maze Runner(s)

Posted on April 15, 2015 | Leave a comment

Windy, sunny and warm.

We’ve spent all morning outside planting peas and carrots and herding chickens.

The pullets escaped while being transferred to the big pen which caused another series of blunders. This time…without the mud.

While the hens were running around and the pullets were stretching their legs, the boys and I planted peas, carrots, borage and marigolds in one of the woody beds out back.

Joe ended up planting peas all over the place. I’m not even sure where they all are so we might have a few surprise peas later in the season.

Once we’d finished planting, the boys ran off into the maze. I was right behind them…strolling and taking pictures of the fruit trees we planted last year.

All of the trees in the south swale are budding. We won’t have apples or cherries this year, but at least they all survived the winter.

Sugar Sweet Cherry

Most of the oaks we planted last year are not budding…yet. I still have hopes though. The branches are reddish and not gray a sign that life is in there somewhere.

Before going inside, I put the hens away. I’m still not sure what ate our two missing ladies so I don’t want to take any chances. Since hawks have been spotted in the area and the coyotes are starting to come out at dusk, we’ll only let them out when we are working in the yard.

But, I didn’t want the little girls to be stuck in the garage on such a nice day.

I pulled a dog kennel over to the hen’s playpen and put the pullets in it.

Not only does this give them a chance to forage and get used to the wind, but it’s also a good way to get the big ones used to the little ones and vice versa.

I don’t know if we are ready to let them mingle in such a confined space as the play pen, but this is a great way to get started.

Pullets are on the loose
Stretching claw and wing
Hens are introduced
To start the mingling

Lettuce Emerges

Posted on April 14, 2015 | 6 comments

The buttercrunch lettuce I planted in the greenhouse just last week has emerged.

It’s hard to see, but tiny leaves have popped up through the soil. It’s not too far behind the batch I planted in the container on my deck.

A few of the replacement tomatoes have also popped up, and the lone surviving Black Prince has developed its first set of true leaves.

The climbing vine tomatoes continue to impress me. I just cannot get over how strong they are. They are definitely ready to plant in the ground and their roots are starting to tangle so I may need to transplant them to a bigger pot.

I don’t want to risk losing them by planting outside too early.

I will plant a few from the brassica group outside next week. They are cold hardy and can handle the lower temperatures at night. Their roots are also starting to tangle so they’ll be happy to be able to spread out.

Cabbage

Broccoli

Except the jalapenos, all of the seeds I planted when we first moved into the greenhouse on 3/9 are doing well. I’m not too worried about the jalapenos. The first round of peppers took much longer to sprout than the tomatoes that were started at the same time.

The chives I planted two years ago has come back! The bright green spikes are definitely chives and have a delicious garlicky oniony flavor. Mmmm…baked potatoes.

Itching to garden
Outside with hands in the soil
And sun shining down

6 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Garden Stories, Writing

Killers Unknown

Posted on April 13, 2015 | 5 comments

The morning started just like any other morning.

Bleary-eyed, I started the coffee pot.

Yawning, I looked out the back door.

Uh. Oh. The chickens were out.

I forgot to put them away. Again.

Their coop had been open all night. Again.

Sighing, I started breakfast.

‘I have to start remembering to lock the hens up,’ I thought to myself.

Later, I went outside to move the little girls out to the playpen. After getting them situated (with only a few squacks and pecks), I did my morning headcount.

Nine pullets and six hens.

Wait. Six? Where were the other two?

I looked around a little, not too concerned yet. They’d been out for most of the morning after all and they’d been getting braver, venturing further away from the coop. Surely they’d come back when they got hungry.

I went about my day, forgetting about the missing ladies.

Early evening, after eating dinner, I went out to pull the little girls back to the garage and shut the big girls in for the night. My niece came out to help me.

I only counted 6. I asked my niece to check too. She only counted 6.

Where were they?

I called out the troops.

Joe, Jake, Issabella, Cheyenne, Charlie and I walked the property searching for the two rogue hens.

We trudged up and down the swales, walked around the house, double checked the coop and peeked in the garage.

We couldn’t find them. They were gone with no sign of a struggle.

Even with the occasional threat of the freezer, they would not have run away. They have it too good…shelter from the cold and rain, all the food they can eat, treats, kitchen scraps and a steady supply of water.

No, the only plausible explanation is that these two unlucky ladies were late getting back up into the coop and a hungry coyote or two caught an easy meal.

Farewell Matilda and Enid!
(Or Hester and Henny, or Edith and Tabitha, or…well, whoever you were.)

I can’t say you will be missed, but we sure will miss the eggs.

Goodbye my ladies
Oblivious to danger
You were gobbled up

5 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Adventures in Homesteading, Chickens!, Garden Stories, Writing

Jetsam and Flotsam

Posted on April 11, 2015 | 2 comments

One man’s trash is another gardener’s treasure. Just take a look at Pinterest and you’ll find all sorts of repurposed materials used for different functions in gardens.

Egg cartons used as seed starting containers.

Used coffee grounds for fertilizer.

Crushed egg shells used to repel slugs or powdered to add calcium to the soil.

The list goes on.

Here are a few things we repurpose for our garden:

Coffee grounds as a nitrogen soil amendment.
Egg shells as a calcium soil amendment.
Kitchen scraps go into the compost pile or to the chickens.
Berry containers are great seed starters, especially herbs as they have drainage holes.
Coffee canisters hold powdered egg shells and coffee grounds.
Cardboard and newspaper to keep down weeds. We use only uncoated cardboard.
Growing celery from kitchen scraps.
Vinegar kills weeds.

Here are a few things we’d like to start repurposing:

Toilet paper rolls for starting seeds. These cardboard tubes can be planted directly in the ground as the cardboard breaks down over time.
Growing lettuce from kitchen scraps.
Using cinnamon as a rooting hormone substitute.
Growing beans in cotton balls.
Milk jug turned watering can.

The boys would really enjoy the milk jug watering can. They love to explore, water and help in the garden.

I come across more things we’d like to try every week. My Pinterest board is full of techniques others have tried with success.

Now it’s my turn
I’ll try to be thrifty
Maybe they’ll work
That would be nifty

2 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Garden Stories, Permaculture, Writing

It Was Hilarious

Posted on April 10, 2015 | 2 comments

The chickens were out ALL NIGHT last night.

Ok, so they weren’t outside, but their coop was open while they snoozed on the roost.

When I woke up this morning, I watched them circle the playset.

They are such funny birds. They pecked at the ground and strutted around. They must have detected some invisible threat, because they suddenly high-tailed it back to the coop.

It was hilarious.

I should never have gone outside after that. I should have taken their strange behavior as a sign. A warning to stay indoors and in my pjs.

But…the sun was shining, the breeze was inviting and we were all ready to enjoy the day.

I dressed the boys, put their coats on and we headed out the door.

I stopped to peek at in the planter on the deck. Itty bitty buttercrunch lettuce seedlings that had popped up.

I smiled, excited to see them.

And that is when the day turned into a series of blunders.

First, I decided to move the pullets outside to the playpen while the big girls ran around.

A couple of the little girls escaped while I was transferring them to a smaller tote. I had to creep around the garage trying to find where the little vixens were hiding.

When I finally caught them, I pulled the garden cart out to the playpen. Several times the tote almost slid off the cart. So, I had to slow-mo out to the pen.

I picked up the tote and tried to gracefully place it inside the pen. I didn’t want them to fly out and escape again.

Not only did I look ridiculous trying to move the awkward tote, I ended up tumbling the girls into the pen as I fell down. Luckily, I only plopped in a pile of mud and none of the girls escaped or were injured.

As soon as they were in, they ran to the back. They were terrified of me…and for good reason.

I had traumatised the poor things.

While I was fighting this battle, Jacob decided to turn on the outdoor faucet up. I ran back to the house, tripping over my feet and getting even more muddy.

While I was drying Jake off, Joe managed to make a fantastic mess with the sand under the playset.

All of this happened within a half hour.

Muddy, frustrated and tired. I trekked back to the deck, sat on the steps and drank my coffee.

It was cold.

I tried to go outside today
To work and play, enjoy the day
Of course it was not meant to be
I think I’ll hide, or maybe flee

2 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Chickens!, Garden Stories, Writing

Hail to the Prince!

Posted on April 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

As I was watering the plants in the greenhouse today, I noticed one lone tomato seedling sprouting up through the wreckage of its frozen brethren.

Hail to the Prince of tomatoes! Push through your fallen comrades and show your new troops how to grow up strong and proud!

It’s too soon for the replacement seeds to be germinating. I think this was a seed that was being held back by the original plant.

The climbing vine tomatoes are thriving! As soon as they started to get some height, I would brush my hand over the top of them to simulate windy conditions. I think that may be why the stems are so thick and strong.

The broccoli I started on 3/9 has transformed from seedling into start. Soon it will be time to put these in the garden so I will not need to transplant them to a bigger pot.

Once they fill out a bit more, the tomatoes I started on 3/9 will also be ready to plant in ground or give away.

When I was in the greenhouse the other day, our neighbor showed me what they had done with the greenhouse tables.

They put heavy plastic down, punched a few holes for drainage and filled them with potting soil creating mini raised beds.

He said I could use one so I planted lettuce, cilantro, rosemary and basil. We are so thankful to have such generous neighbors!

At the beginning of the week, I started celery in the house.

I placed the end of a celery stalk leftover from dinner in a dish filled with water. The center is starting to grow already. Once it gets a little taller, I’ll plant it in the garden.

After planting onions and carrots today, I updated my seed start chart (Seed Start Guide 2015). Planting is going to start picking up in the coming weeks. By early June, everything will be in the ground and I will start to plan the fall garden.

Seeds in the ground
Plants all around
Greens, reds and blues
Oh so many hues!

Greening Up

Posted on April 8, 2015 | 2 comments

A storm rolled through in the wee hours this morning.

Rain and thunder.

Big, loud claps of thunder.

Our dog was freaking out.

Our boys were fast asleep.

A few hours later, I poured myself a cup of coffee and stared out the kitchen window. I smiled as the steam rose and the cup warmed my hands.

Everything was green again.

Just a few days before, the grass had been crunchy and brown.

One heavy rain came and spread a bright green blanket over our whole yard.

Our perennials are working hard to catch up.

The strawberries are taking over and the rose bushes are sprouting new leaves.

The hostas are fighting up through the rocks.

And our kiwi plants are just starting to bud. I’m so relieved to see them returning. We’ve had terrible luck with these vines. Hopefully they will bear fruit this year.

Today, if the rain lets up, the boys and I will don our gear and take a stroll through the swales to see how our trees are doing.

After feeding and watering the chickens, we’ll trek over to the greenhouse and plant lettuce, cilantro, basil, rosemary and oregano. We’ll swing by the fedge on our way back to see how our berries are faring.

Later this week, we’ll sow onions, carrots and shallots in our garden.

Outdoor work is picking up
The garden life is growing
With boots and hat, we’ll go outside
More seeds we will be sowing

2 Comments

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Garden Stories, Life, Writing