Writer's Block?? Not Hardly...

No, I haven't had writer's block, indeed I've much to tell you about. As I now have internet service the blog postings will come to you on a regular basis. That's not to say you'll see one every day. I'm far too busy in the garden to promise that LOL.

Know this though - I never thought cucumbers would grow so profusely as mine have.  I never thought so many tomato plants would be labeled incorrectly. I never expected okra to be so prickly. I never knew chickens could provide so much humor and I surely never knew farming would be so much more work than a "go to" job. But know this too, I absolutely love it and wouldn't trade it for the world!

I still wake up early listening to the rooster repeat his alarming 'cock-a-doodle-do' and I still laugh every time I hear it. As my chickens are already awake and eating bugs, worms, and whatever else they can catch in the grass, I throw them some scratch feed to keep them loyal. Not to worry there, when they see me, they all come running and I can't help but laugh at their apparent sense of urgency. Who knew those two little legs could carry them so quickly! Some get going so fast they fly instead.

Increasing my garden size and raising chickens were two things on the top of my list. As you can tell, both have been checked off. The garden is 12x48, which is by no means huge when you see the gardens people have around here. It's enough for me though and I plan to increase it again next year if all goes well. I bought 50 chickens of three different varieties - not sure what they are but when the purchase is first made, they send you 55 chickens. They come in a box, they come through the mail and they are only 2-3 days old when they arrive.  Suffice it to say, we're down to about 29 now and for several reasons. That's a story in itself.

Our winter was mild by many standards so lots of things happened much earlier than they normally would. Trees came into bloom, the buttercups and tulips bloomed earlier than they should and we had some soaring temperatures even in early spring. The temperatures eventually got into the normal range but things that would only now be blooming, have bloomed and declined. The flower pictures this year were few as a result.

I do have a little plant called calibricoa that continues to bloom even under drought conditions. I highly recommend it for those of you who like flowers but dislike watering (not insinuating anything Ernie...lol) as it is one tough plant. I'll get more next year now that I know how awesome it is!

My sacrificial geraniums survived the winter housed in the back room. When they came out in early spring, I thought they would never bloom. As of today, when I look out the window at them, they are in full bloom and with little buds that promise more to come. The are a deep, dark red and the contrast against the brown cabin walls is simply beautiful.

I planted18 tomato plants, six of which were supposed to be a determinate variety called "Mountain Spring" and the rest were labeled "Beefsteak." Well, we wanted those beefsteak tomato plants because the tomatoes grow so large they fit in Wally's hand. As it turns out, I believe they were labeled incorrectly. The Mountain Spring tomatoes are HUGE and the ones labeled Beefsteak, are faily small for the most part. In both cases they taste WAY better than store bought so I can't complain.

I planted 16 cucumber plants in the hope that I'd get enough to make a bunch of pickles. Well, low and behold I have picked over 100 pounds of cucumbers and all but a few have been made into cucumber pickles. Please let me know how many jars you would like to order LOL. Whatever I don't sell to you, my faithful followers, will be sold at the Fairview Farmer's Market. If you need a reference, Ernie, Neccy & Jack, Dizzy and my brother Doug have all tried them and I had no complaints.

I planted a row of bush beans but alas the rabbits were still able to get at them even with the motion activated sprinklers. Fortunately for me, the cucumbers grew so big that they reached over into the bean row and before long, the beans were hard to recognize amongst the cucumber vines. I guess the rabbits don't like the prickly vines of the cucumbers because those beans were the only survivors hahaha We had a mess of the beans for supper just the other night and it looks like I might get another mess or two before it's time to replant the row.

I planted a row of okra (red spineless variety) and they are starting to do very well. It's a beautiful plant even if you don't like eating the okra. It grows straight and tall with green leaves as big as pie plates. The bloom is a buttery yellow color with a deep red center. It only lasts a day so you need to get out there early in the morning to catch the bloom. No problem here!

I planted peas but again the rabbits intervened. Pesky rabbits, too bad I don't like eating them!

I planted beets, radishes, carrots and lettuce. Of them all only the carrots and lettuces seem to be continuing to grow. The lettuce looks especially nice considering how hot it has been here lately. The carrots are slow growers but their green tops are about 6 inches tall. Another 6 inches and lots more fullness will have to show before they'll be anywhere near ready to eat.

I planted dill, thyme, rosemary and cilantro. All of those are still growing strong and well except the cilantro. No luck there. As happened last year it wilted and died about a week after it came from the ground. I've been snipping the dill to use in my pickles and just the other night I roased a chicken with the thyme and rosemary mixed into a compound butter and rubbed up under the skin. It was so tasty and crunchy I couldn't pass it up - even though it's really not good for me :)

I don't have any cows yet but they are still on my list. I find I'm so busy in the garden or in the kitchen making pickles that the cows wouldn't get the attention they need and deserve. After the growing season, I'll start considering cows again LOL.

There's always something to do on the farm whether I'm planting, picking or canning. The chickens pretty much take care of themselves but I do throw them some scratch feed a couple times a day. The rooster runs them off if they try to eat his share - he just reaches out that old beak of his and pecks the crap out of their backs hahahaha they should know better by now!

The were sleeping on the porch but Wally put a stop to that. They sleep in the tree by the outdoor grill these days...

The hummingbirds returned early, again because of the unseasonably warm weather, and they clean out the sugar water feeders in about 4 days. I have 3 feeders but it's never enough. No matter how many you put out, you'll get that many hungry little birds to drink them dry. What a sight they are though. I can sit and watch them instead of the tv. They fuss and fight each other and even roll around on the ground in protection of their feeders.

The horses are fat and sassy. They escaped the fence a week or so ago and it took the better part of the day to capture them and bring them home. We started at 7:00 that morning and we didn't have them back until 11:30-12:00. The day was hot and muggy so once we had them, we tied them to the hitching post and gave them baths and sprayed them with fly spray so they would be more comfortable. Rebel actually put his head up against me and rubbed on me. He's never done that before so I took to be a big "Thank you." Smokey barely acknowledged me but he did let me rub on him a lot more than he normally would. I'm sure that cold water and all that scrubbing must have felt good to them.

The dogs have shed their winter fur and they look like they lost 10 pounds because of it. We still keep them tied up at the doghouse but it's not a sad life for them. We take them for a walk every afternoon and they get whatever scraps we have from breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are allowed to run free in the yard now that they know better than to mess with my chickens. They can't be trusted to run free without us keeping an eye on them. I guess chickens are just too tempting for a dog... lol I can understand how they feel though because the chickens roam just beyond the reach of the dogs all day long taunting and tempting them. They best be careful lest one of those dogs comes free of his chain while we're not looking...lol

I've been cooking, cooking, cooking my friends! I made up a new barley dish that was a big hit when Donny and his family came up. My kids aren't big fans of barley but his kids never batted an eye when it was offered to them and they ate it until there was no more. Us adults helped out with that too.

So it's pearled barley (has to cook 45 minutes to be tender), garlic, celery, onions and chicken bouillon. I would give you quantities but it would be up to you how much you like each of the ingredients. One thing I would say is that you'll want to chop your veggies pretty small and close to the same size as possible. That way everything gets done at the same rate.

I make individual pizzas with whole wheat tortillas and really folks, you can put just about anything on these handy little rounds of dough. I've made them for breakfast with eggs, onions, peppers and cheese. I've made them for lunch with chopped up