Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Hump Day



I was awakened at 8AM by a knock on the door. Of course I was in my jammies and looked like a hinkle because the cats had had another fight this morning at 6AM and I had gone back to sleep to try to regain that lost sleep-eye.

My daughter had called the road crew and sure enough here was a sweet young man named Billy who showed up and asked me about it. I explained that the crew shearing trees had sheared the limbs down onto my fence along the road and the weight of all the limbs had collapsed the fence and I could not get it back up due to the weight of the trees. So, I got dressed just in case he might need me.



I really meant to take a friend some eggs but I just felt so rotten I was afraid to drive. Tomorrow it is calling for rain so maybe I will do that tomorrow when I cannot work outdoors????? It depends a lot on these eyeballs. These new bloomers were what greeted me when I went outdoors to put the chickens out. I am glad that I have been being careful with these chicks because there was a standard size chicken that had got away from me and refused to go back in her cage at night and now she has disappeared??? So, I know if I were to even think of leaving any of my darlings in any kind of outdoor area they would not be safe. It is a regular WAR to keep them - that is why they are locked in a building at night.



Yukon had to have his breakfast and say a few mouth-fulls of donkey talk while I debated what I might accomplish since I was feeling rotten. I knew being out for a little while would still help and the 40 minutes it took to put the chicks out in there runs gave me enough gusto to go get the limb cutters and tackle those limbs that are in the way of where I want to put up that piece of deer fence. The limbs were tougher than I had planned on and it took all of my might to twist and turn the tool to make it cut through. By the time I had accomplished that I felt like I had fought a war. And , in a way I had. lol



You can kinda see I have the limbs trimmed back so as not to hang over the little fence. I have a big pile of limbs on the other side of the fence I will figure out what to do with later.



Pain was racking my body and I realized I had forgotten to take my supplement AGAIN and that was why I was hurting . It was 4pm , so I decided to go get something to eat and take a break.

After I rested I came back out and had an hour before time to bring the chicks back in so I worked on that fence again. OF COURSE I made a boo-boo- Don't I Always?????????????????? I got two posts and drove them into the ground and then cut a section of the plastic netting to string on top of the second posts I bolt into the top of the post driven in the ground. BUT - I cut my netting too short and had to change the distance between the two posts.

The advantage is they really needed to be closer together to be stronger , the disadvantage is it left a 5 foot gape that the deer can still leap through. DARN IT> I wouldn't mind it if not for the fact that I now need 4 more metal fence posts and am already  Low on money for the month.

I had to do something to life my spirits so I drug that big bag of garden soil from the car to the raised bed that has my Walking onions in it. I am Really tickled with these onions. They survived the Winter and look beautiful. I put the new, beautiful soil in the bed with them scooting the soil all around the onions and lit left a small section where I planted my 33 seeds of watermelon radishes that say they should be ready in 60 days. That means the end of May I should have some real cute radishes. They are really pretty Inside with rings of red and white and are suppose to look beautiful in salads.

I did tie my new rope to one of the wild rose bushes and the other end to the car. But when I pulled off -the rope just came undone because it is one of those slick polyester ropes??? I was good and tired and still had to carry my chicks back to the building so I decided to give it up on a positive note and try to figure that out on one of my next adventures. ~smile~

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Cold Tuesday

I thought I was going to take a bunch of eggs to give to my girlfriend and her family but when I called her she was in another town 60 miles away visiting her oldest daughter???? So as I turned around to decided what to next do with my day I noticed my little Mama dog , Blondie was having one of her heart spells.

She was collapsed on her bed gasping for breath and turning blue. I knew it was time for her meds anyway so I grabbed her up and prayed as I poked her breathing pill down her. Then I sat and held her for about 20 minutes and she did start to breath better but still not the way she needed to so I decided to head to the vet.

It takes me 45 minutes to get to the vet and he was still at lunch so we had to wait 30 minutes and then we were the 3rd in line and she was doing much better. But, I just felt better being in the right place if we needed help.  He checked her and said her heart was no worse and that made me feel better. So we picked up our month's supple of meds for her and her two daughters.

On the way home I stopped and grabbed me a bag of oranges , one of my favorite treats. By then we had been gone for 3 hours and I was already pooped from the driving and the worry but I wanted to accomplish SOMETHING beneficial????



I let Blondie out of the car and walked down and looked at my pitiful little apple tree - or what was left of it after the deer using it for a snack - after being so beautiful last year.  It is also my cat, Midnight's headstone from last year. I wanted to have something beneficial for the world, not just a board to rot away and it had been so beautiful , just like her.

I went and got the other posts I had picked up the other day and then my pruners and trimmed all of the bitten edges off down to where it was healthy and green. Then I went and got the post hole driver and fought to get the metal posts up in the air with the heavy driver on top of them so I could pound them into the ground. It took me quiet a while but I got lucky and only one of them got stuck on a rock below ground and I had to move it around to finally get it in the ground. By the time I got all that pounding completed I was pooped AGAIN. lol

Next I fetched the bird netting and wrapped it around the posts making a small fence which I HOPE will outfox those mean old deer.



It is hard to see, but I am hoping for the best. I REALLY wanted to plant those radish seeds but I was just too tired to go get the seeds and drag that bag of dirt down from the car. I probably could not even have carried it as tired as I was at that point - not matter how much my "Want To" really wanted to.



Coco came out and got some sunshine while I put everything back up , but she was also Busy keeping an eye on those crazy fighting cats????????? Not drawing blood , Just making all that hissing and such. Will Peace ever rein??????

I went in the house and fixed some potato wedges and mixed up some mustard and honey to dip them in  -then reared back and watched a movie while I worked on that crochet project. I ripped it out again and spent 4 hours on it - only to realize I had made the same mistake again -due to these wonky eyes??? I am about ready to trash it and call me defeated????  ~smile~  Although I am the queen of Rip-It" - "Rip-It".   lol

Monday, March 28, 2016

Huff and Puff and Blow your house down

Well, that's what the wind felt like it was trying to do . Where in the world is all this wind coming from. I gave up on the idea of putting the little chicks outdoors in their corrals . I was afraid the wind would blow them away and I would never see them again, so I just did my chores and came back to the house. Blondie said it was alright to hang out in the house on a day like this.



I Considered going to the garden so I came in and looked up my seeds. I have been anxious to get the red watermelon seeds planted so I found the pack and checked it out. It said it has 33 radish seeds in it. The way the wind was whipping I was afraid it would blow them out of my hand before I could get them in the soil, so I decided to wait another day.




I am kinda sore and just plain tired today so I decided to take the opportunity to check out a book I had picked up at the Sewing Guild meetings. I found it to be very interesting. That was a nice break.



As I looked up from my book Miss Grouchy Gabby was giving me the once over. I was surprised to see her there.



I must have insulted her when I snapped her picture as she went to the far side of the couch and went to grooming herself. lol





I went out on the front porch to fill the bird feeder and do you remember those milk jugs I had put the seeds in a while back???? Wellllllllll????? I did good and I did BAD.  This one is Daisys  -but I FORGOT to keep a check on them to see if they were damp enough??????



And it looks like my NEGLECT might have killed off 3 jugs of them????? I was SOOOOOOOO Disappointed in myself.



Do I fixed something to eat and then put my feet up and went back to work on a crochet project . This will be the First project I have ever made using ONLY the slip stitch?????  I am half way through - we will see how it continues?

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Happy Easter


Well, I didn't do anything creative But I certainly had a Perfect Day. This is my two beautiful Grandchildren. Chantal was my Very First Grandchild and you who are grandparents know how they rock your world. You are changed from that moment on. Dakota, her brother is the 3rd from last and he is a Gammer with the Sweetest Heart and laid back disposition - a lot like his Grandmother. ~smile~



Then my Daughter and Granddaughter . Crystal was my First Baby and yes -she changed my life forever too. She still Rocks my World.



My daughter with her new Sweetie and I am hoping and praying that THIS IS THE ONE - as I adore him.



Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter -two beautiful generations hunting those Easter Eggs. Chantal had hidden candy in each of the plastic eggs and after Lylah learned they were in there she was inhaling that candy as fast as she could find an egg. We know who was going to get a candy high. lol

Then they took me out to eat Chinese and I filled my tummy. Now I am home safe and sound and stuffed and lazy. It was a perfect day.

I did get the tools for my next garden projects -soil and more fence posts. Even got a heavy pair of gloves and rope to tackle that wild rose bush. I had never wanted to move it but it Never even blooms and now is taking up space I need for food. We will see how that goes.

Love to all and hope you had a wonderful day Too.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Have you ever wondered what you did with your day?



Well, I discovered today that you might just surprise yourself if you take your camera along for the day????  I put my chicks out in their corrals and they loved the sunshine that was just perfect today - not too hot - not too cool. Just perfect Spring sunshine -also perfect to work in.



I pulled out my little electric mower and dis this hillside at the back door where the chicks had already worked it over pretty good -getting all of the good grass. It is very hard to mow because it is so steep. I managed to fall 3 things before I could get it accomplished. Glad nobody was around to see it happen and SO Glad I did not hurt anything but my pride



When I put the mower up I noticed that Mocha had come out in the sunshine and I was so glad to see him - hoping being outdoors would make her feel better. There is something about being cooped up in a house that just is not good for you .I used to tell my DH that I always felt better Out of the house.



Next I pulled my little Mantis tiller out of the building and took the tines off to clean out all of the gunk from where my daughter had used it last year in her flower bed at her house. Then I put gas in it and tried to start it . Of course it would not start and I Wished I had bought that electric one two years ago on Ebay when I had the money and it was on sale in the Winter. Hum??? I guess Winter might be good for something???

Then I discovered there was a round hole in the gas tank????? Well shucks! It seems I always get left with things that cannot work , but I REALLY want to plant some peas .



I swung by the house and picked up my pack of seeds and headed to the garden. That ground made me tired just looking at it. All hard and Covered in a thick layer of weeds. How I wished that tiller would have been able to work.



Well, when machines fail you there is always the manual technique. I have learned that I just do not have the talent to make machines work but I can make tools work and Miss Callie came along for moral support and to cheer me on.



It took me about an hours digging but finally I had a space cleaned off  to where I could plant the peas. Yea ! I did not fail in my goal. (This would be another time when I would wish for my DH , who could make any machine work. Or, wish that my oldest son was not too busy to help make it run as he has that ability too.)



I had to laugh as Miss Callie was still cheering for me from the top of a fence post where she could keep an eye on me. lol



One of the posts had broken off at the ground level in the fence along the driveway so I went and got the post hole driver and a new Metal post I had just got last week . I stood the wooden post up straight and placed the metal post beside it and went at it. I was very careful not to hit my sore hand. Finally it was in nice and solid - I did not hit any rocks that time and I tied the broken post to the new metal support.



The deer here will devour anything you want to eat so it is a battle to have any food for me. Last year I came up with a neat idea. I drive a metal post in the ground -then bolt another metal post on top of it -then take bird netting and drape it up over the top of the second post -giving you a protective fence that is WAY UP IN THE AIR! Probably 16 feet high. Now that fooled them. But one of my posts had fallen over . I knew it would because I hit a rock there last year and I knew it was not stable -but I had been too tired to fix it. Now that the wind had helped take it down , I took the two posts apart and then took my hand driver and pounded the post back into the ground in a slightly different spot where I did not hit any rocks. Next I put the top post back on the now stable ground post and re-erected my bird netting and Yea - back up in the air. Another job marked off my list.



My next project was to put up a little canvas fencing around the garden fence to help keep out other critters ??? I had to hack a lot of vines growing on the ground that tried to prevent me from getting it close to the ground. I even got a brier in my finger and had to fuss with that.



Bless her little heart - Miss Callie is still encouraging me on. She has hung  right out with me the entire day. Talk about loyal -but she has taken funny spells. One time she ran down the driveway to the two big walnut trees and she jumped up about 5 feet in the air onto one of them and then over to the other one and then BLISTERED it back up to the garden . She was running so fast my eyes could hardly keep up with her. You can sure tell she is young - wish I could have some of her energy. lol

I went back in the garden and weeded more of my strawberry plants. You should have heard my tummy rumbling and complaining but it was getting so late that I figured it was too late to go eat now. It was only an hour and half till dark so I decided to work on one more space for a different pack of peas. So it took that hour to dig that patch up and get those peas planted too. These are to be used pods and all and said the plants were sensitive to heat so maybe they can accomplish something Now. I sure do hope so.

Then I had to put up all my tools and go gather up all of the little chickens. It takes 14 trips from the chicken building where their stalls are and then out to the little corrals and then back in -so I am getting plenty of exercise. Then I locked up the one small group I had put in the pasture. Finally I can call it a day and go get my much needed shower. I did slice up two small potatoes into wedges and coat them with olive oil and Italian seasoning and turmeric and put them in to roast while I showered.

But , when I looked back on the camera I could not help but think, " O, so that is what I did with my day."  Not too shabby for an old grandmaw. ~smile~

Friday, March 25, 2016

Friday Flys By



It rained all this morning but by lunch time I was able to get the chicks out and get me outdoors too. I did wear a coat and scarf for a couple of hours .


I worked in some of the flower beds for a while and just enjoyed God's beauty. These are my hellebore .They are one of my favorite flowers because they bloom early and they thrive in the shade.



You can enjoy the blooms for the longest times. I wish their little faces would turn up to the sun but they hang down kinda like bells.



One of my little tulips that my daughter had bought me is showing its little face. How very precious it is. I am so Thrilled to see the flowers coming out.



There are two apple trees here -one on the left and one on the right and they are the ones that I am having so much trouble with the pruning idea. That piece of a porch to the right is WAY above my head and you can see the trees go up beyond that. And me and that pruning hand saw are NOT having anything else to do with each other.



My little pair of Cochins are helping me work up this raised bed . They are scratching up all of the weeds and getting some sunshine to boot.



This little guy was blooming down where they were at.



But this little darling was blooming back up at the top of the hill at the main chicken building.



Mocha actually came outdoors for a few minutes to inspect the hillside where I had mowed. You can see the flowers coming up nicely on both the left and right hand side. It looks level but IT IS NOT. As you go around that post it starts to go straight up the hill and there are tree roots that make it very hard to mow. It is so steep that it takes all of my strength to push the mower UP the hill so that is why there are flowers on both sides of the area. I am trying to get them to grow and fill it in until there is only a path to worry about. It will take time. I weeded in the garden some also . Thanks to my diligence the weeds have not taken over my strawberries this year so MAYBE I will have a few????

I want to put up that deer fence but I have to come up with a way to cut the branches on a tree there too that is in my way? I want to plant some things but need to get my little tiller running ????????? I need some soil for my beds but do not have a truck to haul any??I thought about hauling some dirt from the woods but that is a long walk to only have a little wagon to drag some home in.??????????? I wish things weren't so complicated. But I am just so grateful that Spring is here , even though I read this morning about some places having SNOW! I don't want ANY of that Stuff.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Well, I'll Be?????


It was suppose to be 70F today (that is 21.11C for you Aussies) so I went up to the building and opened the doors for fresh air since I had to visit a friend. We went to look at some baby chicks at a new local hardware store but they did not com in . I looked at a little hand saw pruner and asked my friend his opinion if it would work on my apple tree. He came back with one with a different handle so I got it.

He had a little seabright rooster that my neighbor wanted so I picked the little guy up and brought him home with me and my neighbor came and picked him up.Then I set to working on the apple tree. I had to drag the big Heavy ladder around from the back of the house where I had used it to get that tarp on top of the storage trailer. It was a battle but I finally got it around to the tree. Then was fighting with the smaller branches stopping me from putting it in place.

I was thinking -hum????? That tree has got a LOT taller than I remember as I started to climb up. I had made it about 3 steps when the branches ganged up on me and I knew I would have to cut my way free so I pulled out the little saw and tried to saw through one . Well , I was not making any progress and I realized this was a losing batttle unless thee was some kind of secret to operating these things that I did not know.

I climbed down to the safety of Mother Earth and stepped over to where there was a big branch of a kiwi that had gone crazy last year and tried to strangle my other apple tree. I thought I would practice on that. Well of course it would not let me make cuts - it would just peel the bark off?? I tried making smooth moves and it seemed to get hung?? I tugged on it and the darn thing popped loose and latched onto the part of my hand above my thumb and grabbed a big hunk of hide and blood flew everywhere? I was stunned it happened so fast. Blood was going everywhere so I headed to the house . I got to the porch and blood was squirting all over it so I thought, " I can't get in the house like this" so I headed to the car to grab some napkins in there. I grabbed them up and popped on it and headed back to the house . Those napkins were now dissolving into mush as I flew to the kitchen sink. I scrapped them off and blood was covering the bottom of the sink. Geezzzzzzzzzzz! I grabbed for the drawer that had the junk rags in it and got two of them and put pressure on it and sat down to calm down??

But, all that blood was making me woozy and a little bit scared. Then I happened to realize that my other neighbor was my school chum and she was a NURSE! That was all she wanted to be her whole life , so I called her and asked if I could come out and let her patch me up and she said sure. By the time she got ahold of it the pressure I had put on it had slowed it down to look like no big deal. I was disgusted. But she dressed it -said it was a flap and had probably hit a little vein , thus all the blood. She put a TIGHT bandage on it to keep the pressure on it . After a while my finger were getting cold so I loosened it up and cold see where it had tried to bleed , even with all the pressure??? I am turning into a real Woose!

It is hurting pretty good now, you know the old, Throb, Throb, Throb. I don't think me and that Saw are going to have much more of a relationship. lol

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Busy Little Me

 

I got all my little chickens out in the fresh air today and then pulled out one of my flats. I had purchased the potting soil yesterday just for this purpose but Boy did it turn out to be a disappointment. It was so full of sticks and trash that l like to Never got it sorted enough to even plant one flat. I was Disgusted.

I planted half yellow peppers and half heirloom variegated tomatoes.  The tomatoes were from a tomato that a friend gave me last Fall. The plants were so beautiful you could have put them right in your flower bed and they would have been at home because the soft leaves were a green with white trim on each of them.Now he told me the more shade they were planted in- the more variegated they would be?? If they come up I will test that by planting some in the sun and some in a shady spot. I cannot believe tomatoes could even grow in a shady spot and produce?????But it will be a fun experiment. I do know that last year his variegated outproduced all of my tomatoes and I would definitely be grateful for a little more than the 8 quarts I canned last year.



Then I spent the afternoon working on the "condo-door" where the raccoon had got in and killed my little seabrights. I sure do hope I have outfoxed him this time. My hubby built me this many years ago and nothing had ever bothered it until now!  I pulled out the two little odd roosters and put them in there - There are two more sections that the front doors will have to be redone but I ran out of time and energy. Plus, by late evening my back was complaining AGAIN.



I put the lid on the little flat and carried it in the house until something starts to show its little head-Hopefully! ~smile! I also transferred my 6 chickens from one henhouse up to the pasture henhouse where I HOPE to be able to turn them out and let them enjoy some freedom. I will give them a few days to figure out that is their new home and then set them free to have some fun while I work outdoors around them. It has been about 4 months since the coyote killed the last ones and I have seen no sign of him - I hope that is a good sign. Boy, they gave me a fit catching them - you would have thought I was the coyote. lol My nose is still full of the dust they exploded everywhere.

Then I had to carry all of the little d' Uccles back into the building. They are starting to remember how to climb into the carrying cage now with out giving me too much fuss. That makes things so much easier. They had a good day - I had a good day and am so grateful for a beautiful day. Just wish my energy would not give out on me so I could do more.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Busy Tuesdays just make them fly by

 I started my morning by running to town and mailed that birthday shirt. Yea, it is On It's Way!

Then I grabbed a bag of soil as I hope to  start some seeds.  I ran in and fixed some pinto bean soup and some corn bread with honey for lunch -then I headed outdoors. I put all of the little chickens in their little runs to get fresh air, sunshine and some exercise.



While they were out I set about cleaning their  runs in the building and lugging the litter out .



It was hard work and by half way though my back was already complaining. I wish my sweet hubby were still alive . He would have let me fill the buggy full and then got his little 4 wheeler and hauled it anywhere I would have wanted it. I Really do miss his help. I hate that my young son tore up the 4 wheeler so I cannot use it-it would be a help.



This color is my very favorite. I had a surplus of boiled eggs so I shredded a bowlful for each of the groups and they really enjoyed them.


I was down to my last run when one of my young neighbors stopped.He said he had heard my turkey gobbling and he was looking for one for his two hens. He just wanted to see if I had an extra male or knew of anybody who did.  We had a nice "bird talk".



I finally got that last run cleaned out and all of the feather-babies put back up. Then I scurried around and gathered up a car load of trash from around the yard and took it down to the road. Now the weather is changing things are already getting ahead of me.



See, their inside runs are all clean and full of new bedding.  Now I am heading to the house for a shower and a snack before bed. Tomorrow is suppose to be  pretty too so I hope to accomplish more outdoors if I can talk my knees into co-operating. lol