Summer Thoughts

Our little corner no longer has Internet...
So my thoughts and updates that I have wanted to share have been piling up....
I have not been able to share them...
Until now.  So much has been happening.

1.  The weather has been a bit indecisive this winter/spring/summer.  Early warm up then cold led to no maple sap harvest and no blueberries on our ridge. (there were some blooms, but now no berries - could also be bear related.)  Super HOT temps for a few weeks have bolted many of my veggies and I have once again experienced tomato blight.  Wish I could get rid of that.

2.  The chickens have been through their first year on our little homestead (at least some of them made it a year.)  Over the winter they lived happily in their palace that Scott built while dining on beaver carcass when they were let our to free range, which was often due to the mild winter.  The closer to spring we got and the more snow we had, those silly birds didn't stray far from the path that lead between the barn and the coop.  :)  Sadly over the summer we lost 4 of our 6 layers.  Dora (a Red Star) was taken first by a critter, than Arcee and Honey (both Buff Orphs and my favorites) we lost on the same day due to critters and then Alicia (our last Red Star) died in the next box and had not shown any sign of illness or injury.  Very strange.  Now Lucy and Cricket rule the roost and are not happy on days we are not home so they can free range.  We also ventured into the world of raising meat chickens.  Just last week we butchered 9 that were very large birds and have now just ordered 26 more for a second batch.  I was shocked at how fast they grew and to be honest, how ugly they were.

3.  The yard has begun to take more shape around here this spring and summer.  We (Scott mostly) have put in 3 rock retaining walls (2 around the barn and 1 in the back yard).  The walls are finished, but some of the back fill is not.  Our way of doing things around here tends to be finding ways to do things for free of very inexpensively (not cheaply).  All of the rocks we used were hand picked from a friend's field before planting and the digging, that was all done by hand.  The kids even got into the swing of things.  The girls went with Dad on his days off (I had to work) and picked rocks and Adin helped us do a lot of digging and even got his own real shovel.  Big stuff!

4.  The greenhouse is still in the works.  Yes that is still a dream that is slowly being realized piece by piece as we have extra money.  The footings are framed and waiting for concrete. 

5.  Our 4 legged friends have been well loved and have enjoyed happy and sad times.  Early this summer we adopted 2 more beagles.  They are Shayna (about 6 years old) and Nicki (about 3 or 4 years old) and they have now adapted well to being in a kennel with Freya who is just now 2 years old.  It took the new girls some time to get used to the idea of not being chained and able to play with each other and getting used to being loved and played with by us, their family.  Nicki is a lover who will sit for a long time and snuggle.  Shayna loves playing with Freya and fighting over their newest toy or stuffed animal (which never stays stuffed too long.)  Sadly we had to say goodbye to our long time dear friend Maya.  She turned 13 this year, which is pretty darn good for a pure bred Chessie.  Over the last month we have watched her lose weight and start having "accidents" and had to put her down.  This was really hard as Scott had here since she was a pup and for the kids she has always been there and for myself, well, I always get attached to our four legged friends and still miss her dearly.

6.  Our future hunter Adin got a bow for his birthday in March and has been working really hard to be able to draw it back.  He has now accomplished that challenge and is so excited and will spend hours practising if we let him.  We also discovered that he is left eye dominate and right handed just like his mother.  Darn.  Now he just has to decide if he is going to train himself to use his right eye or shoot left handed.  Only time will tell.

7.  Future 4 legged friends, ok not friends but friend, may be arriving next summer once it's home is built.  What kind of friend may you ask, well it is a pork kind of friend.  This is one step closer to growing more of our food and depending less on the grocery stores.  We may be getting just one pig to raise and then butcher come fall next year.  I have been consulting with my dear inspiration Carla on the best ways to raise, butcher and preserve this livestock.   It has been very informative and interesting all at the same time.  She is such a great read.

8.  Spring fishing adventures were a wonderful weekly family excursion for a good chunk of the spring.  They kids all got chances to catch different fish (albeit small, but some were "keepers" as the kids say).  We have been collecting them until we have enough for a good meal.  The best part was just spending time as a family out of doors and in nature.  It was also a great way to whined down at the end of a busy work day.

9.  School is just around the corner and this year all 3 kids will be going.  Mister Adin will be a first grader and the girls will be in 4K.  They can not wait to go to school like their brother.  They grow so stinking fast.  Just yesterday they were babies. 

Well, now we are off to family time and then our monthly (I think it has been 3 months) shopping trip.  Should be fun.

Seeds Have Arrived!

My sister came down this weekend for my son's 5th Birthday party and brought my seeds with her.  We split a lot of the seed packets because some just have more than we need.  I know we could save them for another year on a lot of them, but this just works better for us.  So after our dividing the ones that we are sharing and her keeping some of the ones that she will start for both of us (because she has the small green house and ours isn't built yet) we are ready for spring.

My list of seeds include:
Peas: RSVPea for shelling and Sugar Snaps
Beans:  Burpee's Tenderpod and Gold Mine
Pumpkins: Dill's Monster,SuperFreak Goosebumps Hybrid, and Snack face Hybrid
Squash:  Waltham Butternut Heirloom & Buttercup
Gourds:  Gremlins and Goblin Egg
Carrots:  Atomic Red, Bambino, Cosmic Purple, Lunar White & Solar Yellow
Sweet Zuke Hybrid Zucchini
Baby Leaf Hybrid Spinach
Sweet Basil
Lettuce: Iceberg A & a leaf
Early Pride Hybrid Cucumber
Dimitri Hybrid Brussels Sprouts
Peppers: False Alarm, California Wonder, Sunbright, Horizon, Purple Beauty, Midnight Dreams, Chocolate Bell, White Belle and Lilac Bell
Dukat Dill
Granex Yellow Onions (grown from seed for green onions and sets for 2012)
Tomatoes:  Brandy Boy, Roma & a Cherry
Cilantro

I think that is it.  Looks pretty daunting, but I am excited.  I may add a thing or two as the time get's closer.  I am also getting seed potatoes and onion sets, but they are on back order.  We have this huge beautiful south facing deck that doesn't get much use, so I will be doing a bunch of container plantings up there with the leaf lettuce, herbs, some tomatoes and maybe I'll add some pole beans as my others that will go in the garden are bush varieties. 

Friday, Scott and Adin went and got our glass for the green house.  We got 10 panels of replacement patio door glass for $15 each.  Should work great.  The layout of the green house is once again changing in Scott's mind.  He is now thinking of having it longer and narrower, which is fine with me.  He has a picture in his head and it should work.  He is pretty meticulous when it comes to building so I'm sure it will be beautiful.  He even textured the concrete that he put down last fall for our split wood to sit on.  He is wonderful. 

Today is beautiful, but tomorrow is supposed to rain.  At least we should loose a lot of snow this weekend.  This afternoon I was actually able to get into the garden and dig up some carrots that have been overwintering in there.  I was amazed.  Other than being really dirty, they were still crisp and crunchy and not frozen.  I love it.  It is fun to be harvesting again. 

Spring Has Sprung

This morning I walked out the door into 40 degree bliss and it smelled delightful.  I could hear the water running down our drain spout, spring is really here.  Finally!  Our driveway is a mess, I am glad that I have my Muck boots, I practically live in them these days.  The kids are loving jumping in the mud puddles or "Muddles" as Adin still calls them.  It sure doesn't take them long to be completely soaked, but I don't mind.  I was the same way as a kid, you couldn't keep me out of those silly muddles.  The snow in the garden is even starting to disappear, although it still has a long way to go.  We do have some spots of nice green grass though.  They can be found in a nice line from the house to the barn, directly over the buried wood stove line.  Pretty interesting! 

Tomorrow Scott and Adin are taking the long drive to Merrill to pick up a bunch of insulated sliding glass door panels that we are going to use to build our greenhouse.  I am so excited.  Yeah for Craig's List.  The girls and I will be at day care for the day, playing and working respectively.  I guess I get to play some too.  :)  This kind of weather just makes me smile and puts me in the best mood.  Such a great day.

Dreaming BIG!

So as summer work project season draws closer....who am I kidding, it is still many months away. I am at least going to start planning and dreaming about the summer work project season. Much better. Hubby and I have started to toss around the possibility of building that green house and chicken coop this summer/fall.

Chicken coop: We are for sure going to have layers as we go through tons of eggs and we LOVE fresh eggs. We are also tossing around the idea of adding fryers or as combo meat-eggs breed to the mix, obviously keeping the two separate for different feeding needs. Scott sees that as a good reason to get a plucker "for the chickens" that will also work on ducks and other game birds. For any of you out there who may be reading this and who have or are raising chickens, I would love to hear suggestions for coop ideas and breed ideas. We are in Zone 3 so we need hardy hens.

Green House: Just dreaming big on this one as I have no idea what is possible or even in the budget as of yet, but if I could have anything, these are some of the things I would want.
* Raised growing tables where I could grow some fresh veggies year round (provided we have this hooked up to our wood boiler.)
* lots of work space for potting and starting seeds.
* Soil bins that tip out like my Grandmother's flour bin. One for soil and one for completed compost.
* A lighting and watering system.
* A system to collect & store rain water.
I would love to hear other's dream green house components, things that are must-haves and can't live with outs.

I figure I might as well dream big and then pair it down from there to reality.