Blast Off!! Happy Birthday to Me

Oh yeah.

55 and still alive
55 and all that jive
got the drive at 55

Now I can start getting a few of those cool senior citizen discounts.

30% at AMC theaters  (there are none in Wilmington)
10% at Chili's (but I don't eat out)
10% at some Hotels (I don't travel)
10% at Ross (I can never find anything I like and that fits)
10% at Wendy's (fast food, yuck)

Well Crap.  Never mind.

60's.  Come on 60.

Anyway, I had a pretty good birthday.  Jim got me a wine press and Gmar gave me 100 bucks.

I did have one dilemma.  On your birthday, Silver Coast winery gives 30% off on a case, but they don't open til 11 and close at 6 and are 1.5 hours away.  We start bridge at 1 pm and end at 4:30, then groceries.  So the logistics just didn't work out.  Oh well.  I'm going tomorrow to get my quarterly offering anyway.

I took my walkies early this morning when it was 61 degrees.  I think I can do this.  The dogs were eager, but Buddy got too excited and had a little seizure.  I did some tinkering with the vereigated bay tree.  I don't think any of the cuttings are going to make it, so I found a branch low down that was vereigated.  So I nicked it a little, buried it and weighed it down with a log to keep it buried.  Maybe it will put out roots in about 6 months.  We'll see.

Maybe, some day, a tree.

I took the last of my dried soy beans and made more tofu.  I haven't done that in a while.

And I learned something new with the blog.  Movies!

so, for the first time ever, now playing, Farmer Ann's Cockers.

bak bak

T minus 2

During this busy season with the garden, I have decided to back off on blogging until I have something fun to say.  I'm getting kinda bored with the same old thing and you all probably are too.

So, ta for now

bak bak

T minus 3 or the Adventures of the Green Team

What a feast at church today!!  

We had:

3 cucumber dishes, all different (one was mine)

3 different peach dishes (one was mine)

Deviled eggs

Squash casserole

scalloped potatoes and Kohlrabi (that was Jim's)

meatballs

green bean medley (that was mine)

ham biscuits

turnip greens

blueberry ice pie

peach cobbler

you can tell that all the gardens are going strong.

Oh yeah, and the service was good too.  We have our 92 year old pianist back so we didn't have to sing aakkkkkapella anymore.

Then we had our second trash pickup this afternoon.  After last week, we thought we learned some lessons.  So this week, my neighbor lady, we'll call her CJ, decided that we should take her gator, stocked with our supplies and a big cooler of water, and move it as we picked up trash.  Sounded like a good idear to me.  So I swung by her place and followed her and her daughter in the gator to the church, like 12 miles, with my flashers on.  She got that sucker all the way up to 25 MPH.  I had to downshift the Honda.  I've never had to do that before.

So, 20 minutes later, give or take, we get to the church.  The rest of the team showed up and we suited up in our cool orange NCDot vests, in long sleeves, long pants, hats, boots and gloves.  Except for CJ's daughter, who we will call LJ.  She's in shorts, a short sleeved shirt and sneakers.  That's three rules broken right there.

We all piled into my car, except CJ.  We followed her to the red flag dropoff point, where we left the rest of the team, with an admonishment not to start without us.  Then we went a mile up the road to the pickup point, left my car and gatored back to the others, who had started without us.  So, CJ dropped me off and moved the gator up a ways, then came back with her bag.  We were moving along very nicely.  It seems that everyone throws their trash on their way out of town (last week's pickup) and not into it (this weeks).  

I looked back and saw the gator a ways away so told CJ that she needed to move it up and pick up some of our full bags.  She moved it up and stopped on the other side of a very steep ditch.  

Now you have to remember that two of our members are over 70, but no complaints.  The climbed down the ditch in their hot clothes and up the other side for a nice cool drink of water.  After a small break, CJ moved the gator.  I politely requested that she not park it in back of a ditch next time and she politely agreed.

So, continuing the trash walk.  After a while, I notice that CJ had not appeared again with the gator and looked back.  She was walking up the other side of the road and yelled out that she got the gator stuck.  So I thought, well she ran into a big sand patch, and even though the gator is 4wd, it got buried.  So I walked back with her and I'll be gol durn if she didn't find the ONLY spring left flowing in three counties.  The gator was sunk to the top of the wheels in what looked like a very snaky patch of ground.

Well, it says, right on the front, RTV not ATV

Mind you, this is the same neighbor lady who backed her SUV into our metal historical church sign, which stands at least 6 foot high, on a metal post, bless her heart.

So, since I have my cell phone in my fanny pack, she calls her hubby and woke him out of his sunday afternoon nap to come get it out.  He gets here and looks and says that his little wimpy Ford 1500 won't handle the job, so we called Jim to bring his Ram 2500 diesel to pull out, which he did.  CJ's husband threatened to put the above pic in the neighborhood convenience store on the wall, but I don't want to humiliate her like that.

So after a good laugh and some water and a rest (while they were unsticking the gator), we finished up our weekly mile.

happy, smiling and DONE

I followed her back to her house with flashers going and got home in time to shut the cockers up and have dinner.  

Can't wait to see what next week will bring.

bak bak

T minus 4

After letting cockers and teens out (they are getting bigger every day) and chasing the three broodies out, I went to pick the garden.  I have discovered that early morning is the best time to pick, when it is cool.

done by 8 am

The okra snuck up on me.  I already had 4 or 5 pods that were monsters.  I will use them for seed next year.  The cukes are starting in pretty good.  Pickle time soon.  The trouble is that I can't get a mess all at one time so have to store up until I do, then the first picked, even in the fridge, get limp.  And I lost another squash.

I now have to decide what to plant at this late date in the areas left open by lettuce, collards and squash.  None of my eggplant came up so I would try that, but they take too long to grow.  Maybe more corn.  Or try the potatoes again.

I also harvested some of my dill yesterday and put it in the dehydrator.  I discovered that if you are careful, when you take the dill leaves, that the new growth underneath is left undisturbed, so I will get more harvests.  It seems that I learn something new every year.  If I could only get rid of the borers and the potato bugs.

Spent some time snapping and putting up beans, but I left enough for church supper.

The heat and dryness have really become depressing.  I just can't keep everything watered.  I went by the  dogwood I had planted last month and it was really thirsty.  I gave it a drink and it perked up.  My simmon tree is really sad, even though I water it every day.  It may not make it.  The pond is now lower than it was during the bad drought two years ago.  Course, I haven't helped by using it to irrigate.  I don't hear the frogs much anymore.  Their environment has shrunk so I guess the population has as well.  I also haven't seen many bats cause the skito population is way down.  Even the biting g nats are gone (sorry Sister Sister, no stories right now).  There is no dearth of yellow flies, however.  I have to put OFF on if I leave the porch.

And still no rain in sight.

And no walkies.  Muskett is getting fat.

My blogs have become boring through repedity.

bak bak

T minus 5

I had another full day today. After letting the cockers and the teens out, I went over to the friendly neighborhood organic farmer and picked cherry tomatoes for 4 hours.  I'm guessing about 3300 tomatoes in all.  My back and my feet were shot, but I got some cukes and another crate of toms and a BUNCH of kale  for my trouble.

Before I left, I hooked the irrigation to the faucet and that seemed to do the trick.  My beans looked better and so did my beets.  The corn still looks dry though.  When I got back, I switched the hose to the back garden.  I have some green toms and some melons growing.

After a quick lunch, I started processing.  I made curry pickles with the cukes.  I got 6 pints.  Jim got home and processed the greens for freezing.  Gmar helped.  I refused because I was in payback mode for all the times Jim brought home produce for me and I had to deal with it.  Besides, my back and feet hurt.  Poor me.

Then it was my turn.  I canned two quarts of toms and turned the rest into sauce.  Actually, I'm still doing it.  I have to wait for the sauce toms to simmer before I run them through the tomato crusher.  

All the cockers are here today.  I have a third one trying to be broody, so I drug her off the nest immediately.  Between missing and broody hens, I 'm not getting hardly any eggs.

Did git one cute pic 

I used to have a confederate rose garden here, now I have a confederate chicken

Well back to canning the toms.  I'll probably be up til 11 doing this.  But, the price was right.

Gotta love the country.  I can work for food.

bak bak

T minus 6

Well it looks like I lost another chicken.  Only 8 hens came home this evening.  But all 4 teens are still around.  I guess I'm going to have to stick more eggs under one of the broody hens for more chicks.

I did make a roost for the tweens and took the nest box out.  It's not really square, but I wasn't that careful about assembly.

good enough for government work

The tweens seemed ok with it.  They were on it when I shut them up.

My pump is also not pushing very well after a day of irrigating.  I think I am going to have to water a garden at a time.  It seems like there is not much water getting to the herbs and corn.  I can see the filter now at the bottom, the pond is so low.  Still no rain in sight.

I went to the doctor this AM for a checkup and am now below 180.  I am halfway to my goal so am on track.

I did a little weeding, but it was so hot, I only got 1/2 row done.  While I was walking around, I checked the bush beans that I planted between the cow peas that didn't come up and they were LOADED.  It took me 30 minutes to pick all, plus the wax beans that were ready.  Then I spent 2 hours snapping them, blanching them and packing them for freezing.  I guess this is going to be my bean year.

bucket o beans

snap snap

ready for the freezer

I need to harvest some of the basil, cilantro and chives for dehydration.

It also looks like I will lose my squash to the borers.  I did some surgery today on the small bush and removed 2 of the little buggers.  The toilet paper trick didn't work, cause the squash outgrew them.  Next year I am getting the squash with solid stems.

I also racked my strawberry wine.  I tasted it and it seems kinda weak, but it is hard to tell at this stage.  I added the juice from three myers lemons for a summery flavor.   We'll see how it turns out.

pre-rack

That's all for today.

bak bak

T minus 7

Not much to tell today.  It was a bridge day.  Let the cockers out and the tweens were all standing on top of their box.  I think it's time for them to have a little roost so will attempt to build same tomorrow out of wood scraps.

Picked a few beans before going to bridge.

I had no cards today, again.  I think it's cyclic and I am on the downswing, but it is just a game and fun to talk to someone besides dogs and cockers.

Went grocery shopping, as usual and got home.

My irrigation pump has been acting up so Jim took a wade and removed the screen pack from the pond.  I cleaned it up and did a test run and the pump seems a lot happier.  Good thing, cause....


No rain in sight.


I'll irrigate tomorrow.

nothing else, so

bak bak

Beets Me

Woke up after a looooong sleep feeling fine.  So that hurdle jumped.

Still no rain, so after releasing the cockers, I started the irrigation and picked some green beans, wax beans, zucchini and one cucumber.

the morning's winnings

It seems that after all my precautions, the squash borers still got to the squash.  I've lost one, but the others are ok so far.  Next year I am planting a new variety that has solid stems.

After that I went to the garden to do a little weeding.  I haven't done it in a while and it is time.  I had one drip line with a huge leak so replaced it with an above ground line from the peas, which are burned up.

 I weeded two rows and got hot so thinned the rest of my bull's blood beets and processed the ones I pulled up.

all the old grass gone, now for the new.

dill gone wild

garden central

garden right

amaranth in bloom

soy beans

volunteer tomatillo

beans and cukes

I'm a little worried about my pump for the irrigation.  It sounded like it was cavetating, but when I unscrewed the hose, the water was coming out.  I may have to pull the hose up tomorrow to see if the filter is clogged.  I really don't want to buy a new pump.

I haven't checked the back garden in a few days so have no idea what the toms look like.  It's probably time to sucker them.

No time for walkies, but I did get a shot of a dragonfly on corn.  I hope he is eating the japanese beetles.

stealth predator

I got a shot of the three new bag baybays.  I don't know where their heads are, but there are three of them.

are the heads or are the legs?

I shut my tweens up early.  They were mad, but I gave them lettuce, and they were ok.

time for a bud.  It's beer weather .

bak bak

Finally Caught Up With Me

Started the day off late.  I was a little draggy and didn't get up til 6:15 to let the cockers out.  They were a bit pissed, but got over it.  Had breakfast, a homemade english muffin (I made more two day ago) with a chickenmade egg,  An egg MacClawsonMuffin.  Read the paper online, then I went off to cull the last of the strawberries at my friendly neighborhood organic farmer's field.  I got enough to make a good bit of jam.  Came home and did same.

Jammin

After that I racked my blueberry wine and put my strawberry wine into the secondary fermenter and placed them back into the bathroom/winery

blueberry on left, strawberry on right.

I would love to find a better place, but there just isn't one with a convenient water source (bathtub).

I was still feeling tired, so I went down for a little nap, but could not sleep so got up and sat on the porch for a little while, staring at my poor low pond.  Still no rain in sight.

Then came in to do my blog.  I think I will call it a night as soon as the cockers are shut up.  I'm not feeling up to snuff.  Hopefully it's just that I'm tired from yesterday.  I've got too much to do to be really sick.

bak bak

And Now for Something Completely the Same

8 am

Well, got up this am and it is cloudy.  There is a small chance of rain, and I hope we get some.  The pond is about 4 feet low, and I am pulling water out of it every other day for the garden.

I made green beans, yellow wax beans and potatoes for church today, all out of my garden.  I also made my best beets, also out of my garden.  I love doing beets cause they smell so earthy.  There is nothing quite like them.

When I was picking beans, I noticed one cucumber on my vines, which are loaded with flowers.  And my soy is starting to make beans, and my corn is tasseling.  Won't be long before I will be LOADED with produce and will be complaining even more about picking, canning and freezing.  Poor me.

It also appears that I have a verigated lemon basil in my garden.  All of a sudden I am surrounded by verigation.  Is someone trying to tell me something?

two tone basil

10 am

My baybays are tweens now.  They have all of their feathers except on their heads and tails.  When I let them out in the morning, they can't wait to leave the house.  Ah, how quickly they grow up.

out and about

I turned the irrigation on.  I don't know how much longer the pond is going to hold out.  It is really low.

grass growing where water should be

Now off to church.

1:30 pm.

Home from church and the last in the first series of eco-christian lessons.  We are now ready to apply for green status.  Our lessons will come from a new book and will be once a month.  I get to lead the first one.  It really looks like fun.

And, no rain yet.

So at 4 today we will do our first adopt-a-highway trash pickup.  We have 4 people AWOL but one space is being filled by our neighbor's daughter's boyfriend.   What a guy!  Helping us pick up trash instead of relaxing on a nice clean date.

7:30 pm

Whew, got home.  It took us three hours to do one mile.  I think this first go round we will do one mile per sunday and maybe after that there won't be so much trash.  Some of this stuff has been here for YEARS.

NOT under the gun

before

after

still no rain.

Got in the house and drank a gallon of water, put the chickies up, did this blog and am now going to watch Hee Haw and the season premier of the Glades.

I earned it.

bak bak

Stay tooned

I spent all day cleaning my room and my bathroom and putting up winter clothes and putting recipes in my DEMY, so nothing of note to report.

bak bak

Pickin and Scratchin

Well, I helped the friendly neighborhood organic farmer pick his crops for market today.   He had me on


wait for it



TOMATOES!!!

I spent three hours picking his cherry tomato crop for market.  Ended up with two 5 gallon buckets full of red ones, yellow ones, black ones, just a great mix.  That's a lot of cherry tomatoes.  If you figure one tomato for one tablespoon, that's 256 tomatoes in 1 gallon, times 10 = 2560 tomatoes!!!!  I was in the greenhouse and man was it like the Amazon.  I was ready to get out in the dry (relatively) heat.  I figure the best way to pay him for his largesse is to pick for him since he is hurting for workers.

When I got home, I processed the toms I got yesterday and got 5 more quarts, but one didn't seal, so really only 4 to keep and 1 to eat.  Spaghetti tomorrow night.

I'm getting better, but I still have too much air space.

After that I played around with my new toy, my DEMY, the electronic recipe book

too cool

This way, I can have all my favorite recipes in the kitchen without having to try to remember which book I got it out of.  It can download recipes that I upload at the Key Ingredient website.  It's going to take some time to upload all my faves, but I'll get it done eventually.

Then I went to the garden and got three more zucchinis, one was too big so I will use it for seed next year, some beans, some dill and some basil and made steamed squash and rockly marinated in razzberry vinegrette for din din.  I didn't get enough beans for a mess, but there will be more tomorrow.

Then walkies and bug art.

almost the greek letter lambda in mirror image

This really looks like an attempt at writing.

I think they are trying very hard to communicate.

And a close up of landscape.

here ya go, Sister Sister

Lastly, a picture of the sun on grape leaves.  So artsy fartsy.

sun on leaves

Day is done.  

Oh, almost forgot the scratchin part.  Seems that I got into a nest of chiggers yesterday.  I got like 15 bites all over and am trying desperately not to scratch myself bloody.  I forgot to put off on ONE day and this happens.  

But I still love the country.

bak bak

O!!!M!!!G!!!

I ROCK today.

Started out at 5:45 am to let the baybays and the cockers out.  Went to the garden and picked 1/2 bucket full of green beans and wax beans.  Then headed out to cull some rockly.  Saw the friendly neighborhood organic farmer and promised to help him pick his cherry toms tomorrow for market.  Helped Jim gather up his baybays and move them down the road to their new home.  Went home and showered.

Headed to Etown.  Picked up my tiller.  It needed a new carburetor. I also found out, while I was there that a 2 stroke engine can't handle more than 10% ethanol and we are fixing to go to 15%.  I don't know what I and other people are going to do.  Then I went to the bank to deposit IRS checks and paychecks for Jim.  Then I went to get my car inspected.  I dropped it off and walked to Wally World and bought some new tank tops and new trousers since my big pants don't fit and my little pants don't fit.  Headed to the grocery store for lemons for the blueberry wine then to the feed store for scratch and mash for the cockers.  Then stopped in to get my car registered.

Home again.

Started in on the toms.  Prepped and canned the heirlooms and got 3 quarts.  While these were boiling, I scalded and froze the beans and the broccoli.  Then prepped the other box of toms for sauce.  When these were sliced and diced, the heirlooms came out of the canner.  All sealed wonderfully.  Put the other toms in for a simmer, then ran them through the tomato press to separate juice from seeds and skins.  Put the juice on the stove to reduce to 1/2 volume before canning.

While this was cooking, I cleaned up the huge mess I had made.  About this time, Jim walked in with another box of toms. @&$^@(^#@(&!!!!!

Now I am taking a short break to blog.  My sauce is still simmering.

No walkies today.  Too busy.  Here are pics:

new toms

Holy Simmering Sauce Batman!

My bathroom is now a winery

today's winnings, except for the sauce, which is still cooking.
Toms, Beans, Rockly

Well, after reviewing today's blog, it seems that I have forgotten to use my prepositions, like Mr. Wang in Murder by Death.

Sorry.

But I am pumped by the day's work.

ONLY IN THE COUNTRY.

bak bak

Wednesday = Bridge

Well, besides playing bridge today, at which I SUCKED, and going to the grocery store, at which I excel, I did a few things.

Watered the garden again today.  The pond is getting rather low.  It's down about 3 feet.  And I am pulling water out of it on a daily basis.  But, hurricane season starts today, soooo.... be careful what you wish for.

Jim brought tomatoes today from the friendly neighborhood organic farmer.

red toms

odd toms

So now, on top of my hugely ginormous list of things to do tomorrow, I have to find time to can tomatoes.  Poor me.  We also got our income tax returns in the mail today, so I can knock off a few bills.   When I get time to sit down and pay them.

Took walkies today and got a flower and a butterfly

what is it Sister Sister?

the color on these were exquisite

Then I came home and cleaned out the baybays brooder box.  MMMM new shavings smell.

The big coop now smells like blueberries due to the large number of same we have been giving the cockers.  Interesting.

My egg production is way down now for a month.  I get between 3-5 eggs per day.  Two cockers are broody, but the other 7 aren't laying well.

And I have found a way around JW.  It got so that he would attack me no matter what I was doing or where.  So when I first walk out and see him, I pick up a handful of stuff and throw it at him.  Since he can't throw, this cows him and he won't attack.  But I always have to be near something I can grab and throw but not hurt him.  But he is really getting impossible.  I'm thinking I'm keeping a bay bay rooster and parting ways with JW.  I really need two roosters for the number of hens I have anyway.

I now have to go and prep the toms for tomorrow.

bak bak