tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39568369532884562172011-08-05T07:04:48.766-04:00A Southern, Eastern Orthodox, homeschooling mom of six with the best husband ever, a love for gardening that MIGHT equal her love for coffee and yes, she knows what causes that.....Saponarianoreply@blogger.comBlogger881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-42996105752962107622011-05-08T13:35:00.002-04:002011-05-08T13:35:37.717-04:00

I am so proud of my beets! Our soil is naturally very heavy clay and I've had to work hard to have dirt I could get beets to bulb up in. Here are my Mother's Day beets to be eaten sauteed in butter. Left to right: Chioggia, Early Wonder and an unknown surprise because I only planted the other two varieties.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-65880301466578503642011-05-08T13:34:00.000-04:002011-05-08T13:34:13.894-04:00

I am so proud of my beets! Our soil is naturally very heavy clay and I've had to work hard to have dirt I could get beets to bulb up in. Here are my Mother's Day beets to be eaten sauteed in butter. Left to right: Chioggia, Early Wonder and an unknown surprise because I only planted the other two varieties.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-19947210888661151262011-04-29T17:36:00.000-04:002011-04-29T18:46:22.078-04:00

Our front yard is just one big ugly hill. The soil is poor, partly because it was graded and stripped of all top soil when the house was built but also because the hill is so steep everything washes away. A steep hill with nothing growing in it just does not retain water or humus. In come swales. I first learned of this from the book Gaia's Garden. A swale catches and holds water in the soil. We

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-1171410422755448002011-04-29T16:02:00.000-04:002011-04-29T18:47:53.289-04:00

If you've ever emailed with me you will appreciate that THIS is Saponaria! I bought a single plant of this about 20 years ago for my second ever garden as a teen. It has beautiful pale pink sweet smelling delicate flowers when it blooms. It has an extremely high level of saponins and has been used as a soap since the Renaissance. I've never actually tried out it's cleaning ability. This is a bed

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-36247619584248361742011-04-29T15:40:00.000-04:002011-04-29T18:48:43.199-04:00

And I need to remember that pictures show up in the reverse order that I add them. This is a Jackson Wonder Bush Lima bean. Mmm. I can't wait. The last time I planted them they grew till they were killed by frost and just kept on producing till then. The heat slowed them down but not the cold. Right now I have 4 rows of these in each segment and there are 4 segments/rows. There is another set of

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-91738065190568036242011-04-29T15:20:00.000-04:002011-04-29T18:49:54.748-04:00

Well, this is a real bummer about only 5 pictures in a post. I don't recall having this problem before. These are some pictures from the raised vegetable beds on the side of the house outside my bedroom window. This is a Forellenschluss. This is a view from the backyard towards the front. Those are trellis up there. 16 feet on each bed and they are both loaded with Sugar Snap Peas about 8-10 in

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-5349810947787535262011-04-29T15:07:00.001-04:002011-04-29T18:50:42.124-04:00

I'm just figuring this out again. The last post would not allow me to add more pictures for whatever reason. This is an old settle that belonged to my grandmother that we have on the front porch now. The rose on the porch post is a Zephirine Drouhin that I got for my birthday last year. It's thornless and smells wonderful. And in the hanging basket is a fuschia I got for my birthday this year

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-16339131061862267712011-04-29T14:53:00.001-04:002011-04-29T18:51:32.936-04:00

The Fairy Garden is going very well this year. I'm filling it up with more annuals and new perennial seedlings. The girls are so happy with their garden. We bought them this little pink picnic table last fall. In the foreground of this picture is a eucalyptus tree. It died down this winter but is coming back at the base. We plan to cut the dead part down soon. Under it I have a bunch of tiny

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-15968372637781533602009-07-11T09:34:00.000-04:002009-07-11T10:18:17.081-04:00

They got really motivated to make this yesterday. They were outside playing and then came in to get us to see their fort they were building. We had a lot of scraps leftover from making the chicken coop and chicken tractors. It of course needed a flag.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-40083034022032570012009-07-11T09:06:00.000-04:002009-07-11T09:33:58.847-04:00

It looks kind of bad doesn't it? Like maybe a soccer ball rolled on through and knocked them all over. It was just a lot of excitement over a great spot for a big group dust bath though.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-80324353928197744812009-05-18T15:27:00.000-04:002009-05-18T15:31:56.036-04:00

The girls like dressing up as princesses a lot. Eudora will curtsey to Emmeline and say, "Your Majesty!" Emmeline will curtsey back and say, "I Majesty!" I love it. 

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-55529123505271295132009-05-14T10:01:00.000-04:002009-05-14T10:06:03.903-04:00

Our sugar snap peas and potatoes are looking great. We have also started to pick a few peas from the back garden over the last few days.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-45924502817950057412009-05-13T14:47:00.000-04:002009-05-13T15:00:16.993-04:00

I got these on Mother's Day. I had wanted an old fashioned climbing rose but it never even occurred for me to have any hopes of finding a Cecile Bruner. I love them and bought one as a teen. The ONLY old fashioned climbing rose I found was able to find was a Cecile Bruner. We are going to plant this one between the kitchen window and kitchen door and train it to climb over the top of both. I also

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-7612136015118944052009-05-13T14:03:00.000-04:002009-05-13T14:07:58.287-04:00

The boys had just gone across the street to my parents to dig for worms to go fishing and then their daddy unearthed this in the garden. I promise it was at least 18 in long when it was relaxed. 

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-26845618627797602742009-05-13T13:27:00.000-04:002009-05-13T14:02:35.428-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-32700226980943909232009-05-13T11:47:00.000-04:002009-05-13T13:19:11.507-04:00

That's what we are calling it anyway. I was thinking of a sunflower house for the kids. But those giant sunflowers don't bloom long. I thought I'd just carve a section out of this bed in front of the house but we ended up going with just about the whole thing. There is a separate row of pole limas on the left and a row of tomatoes and tomatillo on the right. But the rest of it will be a kind of

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-67104955924327247112009-05-03T20:19:00.000-04:002009-05-03T20:31:45.718-04:00

I first read about Independance Days from Carla Emery's book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living. Last year after doing some rereading in Carla's book I read through her part on independence days and then the very next day ran across it on Sharon Astyk's blog.  Sharon is inviting everyone to join in and share about their own attempts for Independence Days. I'd highly recommend reading her post on

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-74192979508689905222009-05-02T20:36:00.000-04:002009-05-02T21:00:06.564-04:00

Let's see. In the vegetable garden we have:replanted eggplanttwo 45ft rows of tomatoes plantedlima poles in and the lima beans are plantedcharentais melon plantedsuper zagross middle eastern cucumber planted- crazy name!costata romanesca zucchini plantedgentry summer squash plantedIn the bed behind the kitchen door I got my stevia plants planted. The kids love to nibble on herbs in the garden and

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-69248177649713724342009-04-30T23:14:00.000-04:002009-04-30T23:16:45.940-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-83727122367385398892009-04-29T12:19:00.000-04:002009-04-29T20:18:10.525-04:00

replant some eggplantplant turnips in raised bed-DONEplant scallions in raised bed-DONEplant Blue Hubbard squash-DONEplant Waltham Butternut squash-DONEplant Rouge Vif d’ƒtampes pumpkins-DONEplant Sweet Dakota Rose watermelon-DONEmake tomato and lima bean poles- some doneWe also ended up hilling up most of the potatoes. 

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-16527919236385241642009-04-28T20:44:00.001-04:002009-04-28T20:51:53.421-04:00

So today's plan was to:prepare two rows for tomatoes-DONEprepare bed for sweet potatoes and plant-DONEplant cilantro-DONEplant parsely-DONEplant swiss chard-DONEreplant some of the eggplant-You can see what we did and did not do. The sweet potatoes look great. I can just picture the vines as they'll look this summer. I also did a lot of watering. And I strung up about half of the twine for the

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-27686501318870265862009-04-28T15:06:00.000-04:002009-04-28T15:45:05.250-04:00

This is in the front yard looking away from the house. This is looking towards the house. That small square on the upper left corner is the same plot in the first picture. This is a strip you are looking at that is about 15 ft wide and goes around the top of the hill otherwise known as our front yard. You can't see all of it in the picture but it goes all the way around and evens up with the

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-15564824244827953262009-04-28T14:43:00.000-04:002009-04-28T15:02:38.693-04:00

Here's a broody hen with 18 eggs she is guarding greedily. We moved her to her own broody suite. I hope she doesn't give up on setting the eggs. It would be so much fun to have our hens start to hatch their own eggs. Some of our newest batch of chicks in a new chicken tractor. We are planning on selling most of them. But we'll keep a few. They are mostly Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks and

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-250335709075609412009-04-28T14:36:00.001-04:002009-04-28T14:41:37.465-04:00

This is some of the Yugoslavian Red Butterhead Lettuce I planted last fall. I am so thrilled with it. It's just beautiful. It's on the menu tonight.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-5424294816104795702009-04-24T20:37:00.000-04:002009-04-24T23:41:14.108-04:00

We got the Czech Black Hot Peppers planted today in one of the raised beds. They have a nice deep purple black color in the leaves. I went ahead and planted 4 short rows of Royal Burgundy Beans next to them. The Sugar Snap Peas look wonderful and we got the screws put in on the trellises. We just need to thread the twine next. The two 50 ft rows of potatoes behind them look gorgeous. I love the

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-8903048242426216412009-04-22T17:58:00.000-04:002009-04-22T18:04:24.687-04:00

It's starting to look nice out there. I have felt so lethargic this spring but am starting to really feel motivated to work in the garden.   We got a 45 ft row of Masai Haricots Verts planted. I love green beans. I can't wait.   I also have Provider Bush Beans and some Bush Romanos to eventually plant. My mom's favorite are Romanos so I got those for her as well.  We also planted a 45 ft row of

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-36837371796676604082009-03-21T17:41:00.000-04:002009-03-21T18:08:55.487-04:00

I am currently overwhelmed with all our plans in the garden. I just planted 100 row feet of potatoes. Yesterday I planted 32 ft of Sugar Snap Peas up 2 trellises David built for me on our new raised beds. We have two 48 foot long raised beds now. In the back garden we have four 40 foot rows of bush peas planted. We are trying to grow as much as we can in large quantities.I didn't start a large

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-69762596267662149252008-12-27T12:36:00.000-05:002008-12-27T13:15:53.387-05:00

(Here are the girls in some Ethiopian dresses Frederica bought them! And see the messes they love to make.)David and Dad are getting us manure. It feels like it's been forever waiting on someone to be able to get some. One of the plus sides of unemployment I guess. Now that the coop is done and Christmas is over and we are almost well again with the exception of me we can track down a source of

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-43622549464181806602008-12-01T17:18:00.001-05:002008-12-01T17:43:51.194-05:00

You can see the new feeder and waterer here. That is Robin Hood in the background making a landing.This is Loud Mouth. He was a very bossy busy little guy from the beginning always very alert to checking out what's going on. He has a little harem of two Porcelain d' Uccle hens, Tiny and Tick. They are all really tiny. The smallest of all our birds. Even more so than the other D' Uccles. I am not

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-48967056472546126852008-12-01T13:26:00.000-05:002008-12-01T13:36:12.157-05:00

It's finally finished. Yippee! We just need to go buy some straw and some better feeders suited to a large coop. It took a while to transfer them all and coax them in. But they love it. Oh, and it's snowing today! The chickens are cold. I can't wait to fill all those nest boxes with straw.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-57237509339675750742008-11-16T08:29:00.000-05:002008-11-16T14:21:27.276-05:00

In The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pa told Laura how they could expect a long cold winter when they came across the biggest muskrat house he had ever seen. He said the animals always knew what was coming. Right now our squirrels are working frantically all day to bury acorns all over our lawn and garden. My Dad has noticed it at his house as well. Fintan even made a squirrel feeder. He

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-24680612035382565052008-10-20T14:26:00.001-04:002008-10-20T14:34:27.623-04:00

We are grinding our wheat and baking the bread..for those in the family who can eat wheat. We have a Country Living Grain Mill that David attached to the counter. We got it years ago but never used it much because it really needs to be firmly attached to something very sturdy to be able to use it and it's time consuming and exhausting.He ground about a gallon and a half of flour and that was

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-76935339385721140552008-10-02T11:23:00.001-04:002008-10-02T11:28:22.684-04:00

Just thought I should update. I finished up 5 days and then ate only raw food for 2 more. I feel pretty good!

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-56557778803324079942008-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:002008-09-28T10:03:13.753-04:00

I am having this delicious juice right now. It's exactly what I wanted for a break from sweet. It's tomatoes, celery, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic with a little salt and cumin. Mmm I love Mexican food and this is my substitute. I don't think there is any way to juice avocado though. It's a pity. The tomatoes and jalapenos are from our garden too.I feel good. A little tired off and on. But still

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-9639631746542658802008-09-26T14:02:00.000-04:002008-09-26T14:14:03.330-04:00

We still have 27 chickens. Yay! I am amazed they all survived.I felt like I was getting mastitis yesterday. I had breast pain, aches and chills and a low grade fever but it only lasted about 8 hours. (I initially wrote 8 years. *snort*) I am so relieved I am ok now. I was not going to quit the juice feast because of that but wasn't looking forward to doing it while sick either. I wonder if it had

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-37589193999962818042008-09-25T11:59:00.000-04:002008-09-25T12:11:22.565-04:00

I feel grrreat! I got up this morning with plenty of energy but some sinus yuck. I went ahead and juiced 3 quarts of juice for the day first thing this morning. It took like 55 min. I am surprised. Maybe I timed it wrong? I was just grateful I had time to make it and drink a quart before anyone woke up. I won't try drinking a whole quart at once again though.I had at least a gallon of juice

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-85534813016062350852008-09-24T12:39:00.000-04:002008-09-24T13:02:20.574-04:00

I am starting a juice feast today. I have juiced before and felt so good. The longest I have ever juice fasted before was 10 days. I remember feeling great but just the idea that I hadn't had solid foods in that long a period of time made me nervous and I was afraid to continue. I have done some reading though of people going much longer periods of time and I feel far less concerned knowing

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-30927459238444950692008-09-01T13:21:00.000-04:002008-09-01T13:53:26.325-04:00

Today was our first day of school for St John Chrysostom Academy and the start of the liturgical year. Unfortunately when I got up I heard Isaac crying at 5:30 this morning. He had a fever and had had a "..sad dream. No, a terrible dream!" He is mostly on bed rest today but has done some school regardless.The day has gone really well. After we finished school and lunch the children did a

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-82691823313589778202008-07-30T15:27:00.000-04:002008-07-30T15:30:55.005-04:00

See hawk fly.See hawk fly from chicken coop.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-66397196923503489302008-07-22T15:12:00.001-04:002008-07-22T15:46:33.631-04:00

There were two of them but they were so fast! The kitchen table is in the way and I didn't have enough time to run from one side to the next before they were gone.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-47991212154520615992008-07-15T20:44:00.000-04:002008-07-15T21:13:40.916-04:00

It just makes them giddy to pick all this! LOL That's corn, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillo, okra, zucchini, cucumber and summer squash.This is a picture David Benjamin took of where some evil chickens have eaten a small butternut squash. They have destroyed several of them.Look at the cantaloupe hugelkultur bed. You almost can't see the sad one on the left. The big bed is full of baby

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-58967880485727502222008-07-08T21:28:00.000-04:002008-07-15T21:18:41.842-04:00

Categories:Fintan TriviaSpacePersian Rug TriviaMicrobesBible TriviaHarry Potter TriviaDirty Tshirt TriviaWebkinz TriviaDinosaur TriviaIsaac TriviaQuestions:Which arm is Fintan's left arm?What is Fintan's favorite color?Which Death Eater killed Sirius Black?Where would you put a Persian rug in our house? Daddy's noseWhere are germs in our house? EverywhereHow much is Davy Jones' locker worth in

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-21656096832786101492008-07-08T21:03:00.000-04:002008-07-08T21:07:46.344-04:00

He just played me a "tune" on his Daddy's guitar. And he said he did it so I would know how much he loves me. That I am his best friend..really I am. And he loves me 58% ..no a 1000!

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-54481553142838910772008-07-07T13:48:00.000-04:002008-07-07T13:55:13.936-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-69850035438254828482008-07-07T07:16:00.000-04:002008-07-08T07:38:23.235-04:00

Is that so bad?

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-14881467396584147162008-07-05T00:57:00.001-04:002008-07-05T01:33:34.750-04:00

I showed some pictures previously of the process of building our hugelkultur bed. I can't remember how many of them I showed. A couple of weeks ago I began to suspect that something odd was going on with our cantaloupe beds. I had had one packet of cantaloupe seeds. I planted 3 hills each in 2 beds. One bed was a hill bed like you might plant with corn and squash. I cleared a rectangle and dug

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-61691319626425355382008-07-02T12:02:00.000-04:002008-07-02T12:17:28.157-04:00

The boys decided yesterday that it would be fun to catch bees! I think they are crazy but they seem pretty good at it. No one has been stung...yet. The bugs are all entranced with the big patch of Monarda, otherwise known as Bee Balm, in the flower bed outside the kitchen window. That's the remains of a flower head of one in with the giant bee. And we have a nasty wasp thrown in for good measure.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-78053201825052658912008-06-30T09:57:00.000-04:002008-06-30T10:04:14.861-04:00

Isaac loves to use big words. I love to hear Isaac use his big words. This morning he told me he found his cereal a little threatening.On the subject of cereal, it is so great you can now buy guaranteed gluten free General Mills Rice Chex in pretty much any store. This is Isaac's new special treat. He just loves it. I have no idea what he meant when he said he found it threatening. It was said

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-44536284172441078672008-06-30T08:21:00.000-04:002008-06-30T08:34:26.802-04:00

I was getting Emmeline out of her seat and noticed this little guy in the zinnias and cosmos outside the kitchen window. Excuse the piece of cardboard. It's supposed to be over by the watermelon plant not too far to the right. He is so tiny and he was sitting right on the zinnia leaf underneath before I ran to grab my camera. He is leaning over in the pictures and grabbing the seed head of a

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-14160847544102711242008-06-25T08:32:00.000-04:002008-06-25T08:46:15.380-04:00

This is that sweet dress y'all bought Emmeline. I love how she looks in it. It's such a nice simple old fashioned dress.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-5515207423606946372008-06-19T20:03:00.000-04:002008-06-19T20:11:19.754-04:00

David took one look at this and said, "It looks like we left that Easter egg out too long!"

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-74694433851673621322008-06-19T09:56:00.000-04:002008-06-19T21:10:23.294-04:00

I planted the dill around the rose because I thought they would look pretty together. Those are some daisies there in the center I started from seed this spring. They have been growing wonderfully. I can't wait to see them bloom next year.We had a lot of zucchini to pick today. No surprise there, huh? I have 5 trays of sliced zucchini in the dehydrator right now to put aside for the winter. I

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-26465004889476929022008-06-17T17:27:00.000-04:002008-06-17T18:18:08.387-04:00

I was inspecting the corn today. The tassels are out. It won't be too terribly long till we have some corn. Isaac is so excited. He picked this corn out and considers it his. I noticed this one spot where a spider had encased this whole section, laid eggs and they have hatched. It's fascinating and disgusting all at the same time. Can you spot the

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-24475222661098290862008-06-17T10:04:00.001-04:002008-06-17T10:20:49.810-04:00

I have always wanted to grow these. I started a flat over a decade ago and missed watering them and lost them all. I bought some more seeds this spring and put them in the freezer to stratify. They were planted a couple of weeks ago. I now have 2 flats with a total of at least 100 seedlings. I am so excited. David is making fun of me over how frequently I bring up how excited I am about my alpine

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-66163714849255961012008-06-15T23:37:00.001-04:002008-06-15T23:49:11.566-04:00

...and you need to take the laundry down to the basement anyway. It's better than the other day when I gave up and went outside barefoot because I could only find shoes for my left foot.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-10483797523047948932008-06-09T11:08:00.000-04:002008-06-09T11:15:45.000-04:00

Daddy won't make us do this much longer.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-86622456158045253092008-06-07T15:04:00.000-04:002008-06-07T15:14:07.568-04:00

All on a dual purpose zip line. The chickens like the change of scenery. Emmeline likes a dry behind.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-66131084488468184492008-06-03T08:26:00.001-04:002008-06-03T09:24:14.879-04:00

I called DNR and we can legally kill raccoons. Our neighbor can also continue to feed them legally. They have our name down to borrow traps but we are looking at a 14 week wait so we will just have to buy our own.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-29972710111342077212008-06-03T07:09:00.000-04:002008-06-03T07:20:19.529-04:00

I hope it's the end! This morning we discovered 10 of our 37 chickens were missing. All that was left was a few feathers on the ground outside of one tractor and the mangled remains of one of the cochins under the apple tree. Wouldn't you know they didn't steal any of the roosters in the less well secure tractor. It looks like the local raccoons can open the sliding locks we have. So now we need

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-1803970770388143052008-06-02T08:19:00.001-04:002008-06-02T08:43:28.528-04:00

This morning I walked by the kitchen window and noticed chickens flapping around out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to see a hawk sitting on top of one of the chicken tractors. I was on the phone with David at the time. I wish I had taken a picture before opening the door and hollering at it. It had a narrower body than most of the hawks around here and was gray with white strips. Very

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-74156312816159174342008-06-01T20:21:00.000-04:002008-06-01T20:54:54.202-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-50519753318341637212008-06-01T15:50:00.000-04:002008-06-01T17:17:36.595-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-18019496909062270482008-06-01T15:26:00.000-04:002008-06-01T15:48:17.909-04:00

He is really rather tiny. He should weigh under 2 lbs when he is full grown.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-81902723985924444242008-06-01T14:22:00.000-04:002008-06-02T07:58:53.939-04:00

Everyone is looking for some tasty bugs in the garden.This is a pretty little hen. She is a blue Mille Fleur. They are extra tiny even for bantams it seems. They are the smallest of all our chickens. The Porcelain Mille Fleurs we have are the smallest of the Mille Fleurs. She was very curious about the camera.Here is one of our white Silkies. They are fascinating to look at. If I recall correctly

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-47140234493637833462008-05-31T09:32:00.001-04:002008-05-31T09:48:40.736-04:00

Evil! We have found them in the yard several times, always under the swimming pool. It was a pool where the sides went all the way to the ground creating a nice dark area. When we first tilled up our back garden area about 5 years ago I could have sworn a spider I saw was a black widow but David crushed it into the dirt and we couldn't find the body to get a good look. I don't know of any other

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-74439480832017038192008-05-30T15:20:00.001-04:002008-05-30T16:01:08.339-04:00

Homestar Runner anyone?Here are the birthday boys and their sisters. They are all or almost 8,7 and 5 now. David Benjamin was just telling me while we were out in the garden picking peas this afternoon that he can recall when Fintan was born. He remembers my parents taking them to the hospital to see us and coming in the room where I was holding Fintan. He had just turned 3 then. I am truly

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-75426426389365609132008-05-09T16:51:00.000-04:002008-05-09T17:17:01.383-04:00

David built this for our chickens. I think he did a great job. We copied one we saw on the net. There is a little door in the front to let them out to graze. We have the larger side door for easier cleaning access. And then there is the door behind the laying box to gather the eggs. The chickens are clearly thrilled to be outside. We let them out every morning after we eat our breakfast while the

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-13645046887723141972008-05-09T16:39:00.000-04:002008-05-09T16:50:46.789-04:00

Here is is. An assortment of lettuces, chives and violas. It was delicious.And here is our first pot of greens. With the obligatory blob of bacon grease. Mmm. I turned it into a cream soup.There is something so satisfying about eating something you have grown yourself. It also makes it all the more likely that you will find an inchworm in your salad bowl after you have eaten 2/3rds of it!

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-27160121194071534932008-05-09T14:49:00.001-04:002008-05-10T11:35:54.236-04:00

I pulled back the mulch to plant some amaranth and look what I found! A nice big pile of worm castings. There was a great big earthworm who took off as quick as he could from the pile when I pulled back the mulch.This is what it looks like under the thick layer of straw we put down. The paper and cardboard are very decomposed. The ground is soft and moist without being too damp. I planted some

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-18503868516512801992008-04-28T09:51:00.000-04:002008-05-09T16:37:49.542-04:00

The boys are becoming rather daring with their tree climbing. That's Isaac at the top and Fintan lower down. All Fintan wants to do is play outside.We have corn planted on the right. The bed on the left is us attemping a hugelkultur bed to plant the boy's pumpkins in. I assume the vines will spread into the corn and help mulch the ground. I do plan on adding a straw mulch to the corn though. The

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-42635534290605212822008-04-25T14:12:00.001-04:002008-05-09T16:39:08.309-04:00

A new potato bed in which we hope to grow new potatoes! We found a wonderful source of aged horse manure. We get another load tomorrow morning. I am so excited. I am sick of buying bags of what is not really composted horse manure but something full of wood chips and manure. She is just a little doll!We laid builder's paper here.Then

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-57007869087059502862008-04-15T08:10:00.000-04:002008-04-15T08:11:54.328-04:00

Fintan: "Daddy, you passed gas!"Daddy: "Yes, yes, I did."And we continued to drive past the gas station......

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-31854891439977190172008-04-11T20:43:00.000-04:002008-04-11T20:47:38.262-04:00

Here is David who wanted me take a picture of him to put on my wart thing.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-76792131317218847652008-04-11T19:00:00.001-04:002008-04-11T19:04:46.159-04:00

It tastes much better than it looks. The girls fought me over it. Each taking a bite and then trying to get one more before the other did. It really was delicious. I wish I had gotten to eat more of it. They were some of the yummiest greens I've ever had before. I picked fresh dandelion greens, sorrel and some Egyptian topping onion from the garden and then sauted them in bacon grease.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-51474310973541078272008-04-11T09:55:00.001-04:002008-04-11T15:55:07.496-04:00

They arrived Thursday! We got them from Ideal Poultry. We have 4 Blue Mille Fleur d Uccle Bantam, 4 Porcelain d Uccle Bantam, 4 Milli Fleur d Uccle Bantam, 4 Golden Neck d Uccle Bantam, 4 Silver Laced Cochin Bantam, 4 Black Silkie Bantam, 4 Buff Silkie Bantam, 4 Partridge Silkie Bantam, 4 White Silkie Bantam and 4 Buff Orpingtons. They are all straight run

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-13125481062991755162008-04-11T09:27:00.001-04:002008-04-11T09:53:44.561-04:00

"My chicken is both very delicate and very active which makes it hard to hold!"

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-21928214997541927862008-04-09T22:12:00.001-04:002008-04-09T23:08:20.252-04:00

We had a tea party today. It was inspired yesterday when Isaac learned that the roots of dandelions are used for tea and are good for you. He informed me that we were going to have a tea party for me and have *the sick people* come. You know, because dandelions are healthy. The kids spent a lot of time digging up dandelions out of our yard and we collected and washed them. They have been learning

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-39775691282185628442008-04-05T13:40:00.000-04:002008-04-05T15:29:18.555-04:00

The peas have doubled in size.Can you see the small green plants popping up across the bed?No? Well I don't mean the big obvious ones. I mean these:

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-34660824296914349122008-04-01T18:03:00.001-04:002008-04-01T19:23:04.818-04:00

Here he is waiting to go to his Yaya and Papa's for dinner! And we got an area about 5 by 12 ft planted with peas before he went.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-56612173697674330962008-04-01T15:10:00.000-04:002008-04-01T15:42:19.956-04:00

Here is the big bed fully mulched just waiting to be planted.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-91066625511912400402008-03-29T23:08:00.000-04:002008-03-31T23:46:48.316-04:00

This is the large garden bed we are working on. We have had it for several years. But this year we didn't weed it or till it. We are sheet mulching or sheet composting. Over the winter we scattered our compost over it and then covered it with cardboard and builders paper (much easier to come by but more fragile when wet) covered it with a layer of leaves and then a thick layer of straw. This is

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-11481242820781461762008-03-29T22:43:00.001-04:002008-03-29T23:04:33.359-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-7732169153967298622008-03-29T21:20:00.000-04:002008-03-29T23:26:23.977-04:00

Aren't they gorgeous? They look like exotic lily pads. A Seussian forest!

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-11863880231574384502008-03-29T17:09:00.000-04:002008-03-29T23:28:17.903-04:00

I am doing a form of polyculture in this bed. Polyculture is about growing multiple crops in one area rather than the usual monoculture. We started the bed by just laying down the frames from 5 old garden beds that were 4 by 8ft in dimension. It wasn't necessary to use frames but I had them and wasn't using them for anything else and it made it easy to shape the bed evenly. We had save quite a

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-7611491173906497192008-03-29T16:31:00.000-04:002008-03-29T17:09:25.442-04:00

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-14799741733946684912008-01-15T14:33:00.000-05:002008-01-15T14:38:00.955-05:00

Yesterday while trying to get everyone loaded up to leave from the library Isaac in a moment of frustration hollered that he could NOT get his carseat buckled. I overheard David Benjamin telling him, "Use the force, Isaac!" We watch way too much Star Wars around here.

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-75182543204506683072008-01-15T14:19:00.000-05:002008-01-15T14:33:13.439-05:00

TuesdayBreakfast:potatoes fried in bacon grease (50 lb bag for $9.50 from farmers market and $1 a lb bacon deal)oranges slices from farmers market in Claytonraw milk from our local farmerLunch:blackeyed peas and ham (ham and ham bone were gift from friend, locally grown ham only local feed and pasture)raw milk from local farmerDinner:blackeyed peas, ham and organic brown rice in ham broth ( from

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3956836953288456217.post-11390604240440748732007-11-26T14:59:00.001-05:002007-11-26T15:45:30.059-05:00

Eudora helped me make some banana cashew bread for Isaac. I was out of honey so we used some homemade apple butter. Hope it turns out ok. Isaac is not doing well off his diet. We placed him on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet when he was two years old. It was sort of for his Autism Spectrum diagnosis but primarily because he had symptoms of Celiac and I wanted to avoid invasive testing. Within 5

Saponarianoreply@blogger.com1