Vacation Pics Day 1 and 2

No, you will not see pictures of my pretty painted toenails with the blue ocean in the background.  No pictures of the shady, green mountain paths with the babbling brook along the side.  Nope, no bright lights of the big city nights and Broadway. 

No, an aspiring homesteader's vacation is very different.

Day 1
We attempted to put up the rabbit shelter.  We are moving from hutches to hanging cages and putting them in the chicken fence for extra protection and ease of feeding and watering.  We got the posts in, but alas, a huge storm came through and cut our progress short.  The power even went out until 2 a.m. leaving us with no air conditioning and no water.  Yes, there was plenty of water in the 5-gallon bucket we put on the deck to catch a little rain in case the toilet needed flushing or something.  It was at this point that the beach sounded like a much better plan.

Day 2
After a breakfast of fresh eggs, biscuits and gravy (that we had to cook in the toaster over because the oven did not come back on along with the rest of power-uh-oh...), we started cleaning up branches and limbs from the driveway.  Chain saws, pruners, wheelbarrows, oh my.  At least we will have some seasoned oak for the fireplace this winter.

 



After that adventure, we finally got back to the rabbit cages.  The posts were not as set as we had hoped, but we proceeded to finish it up and got two wire cages up and filled.  



Yes, sporting sweat pants and cowboy boots

Breaktime

We got the roof as close as we could.  It should be good enough to keep the rain off of them.  We still have the bottom level to finish with the poop slopes (professional term) and also put a back row to hold the remaining three rabbits and an extra cage for an extra buck in the near future.  The cages were our first two, and they are different. We made Thoretta's first and decided it was turned wrong-too tall.  But, it will suffice.

 

 

 

Rocky

 Rocky, the Blue New Zealand buck, is checking out the new residence.  Thoretta is not so sure.

Thoretta

 The chickens seemed to adjust just fine-as long as nobody is in their coop or on the roost at bedtime.

 



First Days of Summer 2013

No matter how tired or stressed I am after work, watering my garden, snapping a few photos of plants, trees and animals makes me feel peaceful.  I love the feel of the leaves: the sage's fuzzy, bumpy leaves, the smooth plum leaves, the tickling asparagus that has grown to go to seed. Okay, the wild blackberries, not so much.  And the smells.  Is there anything more summery to a Midwest girl than the smell of a fresh tomato? I think not.  Or the best combination is lemon balm-soft bumpy leaves with that energizing aroma. 

  Take a walk with me in the 8 o'clock hour.

The cucumbers are blooming and we have had several jalapenos added to some dishes already.  I used our one good-sized green pepper in tonight's salad.

 

  

The strawberries are doing okay.  I know I am not doing what I am supposed to.  I am letting the runners run and picking a few berries to share with the family even though this is the plants' first year. The blackberries (thornless variety) have a few berries.  The wild blackberries are OMGoodness plentiful.  This will definitely be my first year to try blackberry jam making.

The bee balm/Monarda is doing very well-yet I have not seen more than two bumblebees on them.  At least they are beautiful.

 We had a surprise this year.  One of Cherry's (my goat that passed away over a year ago) favorite trees to eat turned out to be this fabulous plum tree.  I had no idea it was there or where it came from, but it was a most wonderful surprise.  We have a purple plum tree to that is producing small fruits.

The girls were none to happy with my intrusion as they were preparing for bed.  I got quite a few evil eyes.



Our peach tree produced a peach this year.  Just one, but it is it's first year, so no complaints.  I hope it continues to mature so our family can cut it into fourths.

This year the rain has been
good and the pond is full. 
The frogs are very loud
tonight.

The bees are still bearding.
It is a very warm evening.

It's time to head back into the house for a shower and get ready for bed.  I check the large blooming basil that is in with the container tomato on the porch step.  I got another tomato today-but it was put in our salad along with that pepper and a couple of radishes.The lantana that has overgrown onto the old front steps is blooming bright and beautiful. 

 

The Bees' New Lifestyle

Admittedly, I gave our bees sugar water and dusted them with powder sugar as is the normal practice of beekeepers in the two different clubs I belonged to.   I wouldn't dream of putting chemicals on the bees, yes, even if it meant their demise.  But as I read and listened to various blogs and people, it made sense that GMO sugar (because I was not going to buy organic cane juice) was no better for the bees than us-if not worse!

So this winter, we decided not to feed them.  We hoped that they hadn't become dependent on us.  They did make it for a number of years without us, you know.  So far the four hives that we had remaining in the winter have all survived.  And, with the long spring and wonderful blooming season, they seem to be doing exceedingly well. 

This year our honey robbing will be minimal.  What we do take off, some of it will be saved for "just in case."

Spring Blooms

 

Sometimes words cannot express the feelings of peace, joy and beauty.

 

Attitude Adjustments Needed

I think if you have caught the homesteading bug, it is not something that you can squash by hitting the big cities and shopping malls or by getting a consistent paycheck from an outside source.

I will admit that sometimes that bug can be overshadowed and leave us with a small fever, a slight achy feeling about wanting to fit in or 'keeping up with the Joneses.'  That feeling of guilt or inadequency when our kids are saddened by their lack of the most up to date  electronic gadgets or the most "bedazzled" jeans bought at a high-end department store.  Envy really is not pretty.

 

These are attitude problems that need adjustment.  Just like your paid-for automobile, your attitude needs an occasional tune-up. 

 

Am I the only one out there who has this innate satisfaction in putting away freshly starched and ironed shirts? Or the immediate joy in seeing a dirty dustcloth that has done a good job? Oh, and let's talk about folding towels or that first night of laying on sheets just off the line on a sunny Spring day! Am I the only one who really likes her "paycheck job" but only feels satisfaction every other Thursday at midnight when the check is automatically depositied into the bank?  Maybe I am.  But how is that I seem to forget the delight in these daily tasks.  Why do I fall back into seeing the "big picture" of life, instead of the little moments that make life...life!  Attitude.

 

 

It is true, I have a part-time job and plan to keep this job to help cover expenses and to get this homestead back on track.  Sometimes I wish I didn't have a job and stayed home full-time, sometimes I wish I had a full-time job because I think it would get me to where I want to be faster (but in reality we know this is completely opposite), sometimes I want to go back to get a "career," now what the heck would that accomplish other than selfish satisfaction?  I am on a path that I will continue on to see where it leads before veering through the poppy field just because it might be a bit more colorful.  As previously mentioned, I had an epiphany of sorts in the realization of dreams.  This has catapulted my goal-setting tendency into full-fledged monarchy, possibly even dictatorship when it comes to our home and homestead.  All I can say is, oh well.  I have let it ride and been nonchalant about little goals here and little goals there and now I can see how that has worked for us. Not too good... So, along with my attitude adjustment, everyone else will be forced into dealing with their own adjustments and tune-ups.  Oh well!

 

Long live the Queen :)