A Little Down Time From the Garden...

It doesn't happen often but I find today there are a few minutes for me to get something posted on the blog. It seems it has been forever!

I'm happy to say that my wine has been pressed and poured into jars and is patiently awaiting Wally's birthday party when it will likely be completely consumed. Well, that's if anyone actually likes it LOL!

The sauerkraut was skimmed for the final time and fit perfectly into a gallon size freezer bag. It too awaits our guests. As it turns out, I don't mind homemade sauerkraut at all. It tastes nothing like the bagged or canned stuff in the store that we're all used to. I think I'll cook some pork chops in with it when the time comes. No offense to those of you who prefer store bought, my thought is that you probably haven't tried making it yourself up to this point. Perhaps you'll give it a try?

The cucumbers are beginning to make a comeback but I'm not expecting the awesome crop I had earlier in the season. That's okay though because I've been away for so long I haven't had the opportunity to take my pickles to the Farmer's Market so the refrigerator is still packed full with jars of them.

It doesn't look like I'll get there any time soon either as this weekend will be spent getting ready for the party the following weekend. After the party I'm sure I'll need some down time... but soon enough the pickles will be packed in a cooler and hauled to market for selling.

If you haven't heard yet, my chickens suffered a major loss the night before I got back from Florida. Colt somehow got free and went on a chicken eating binge. He caught and killed 4 black chickens, 3 red chickens and I'm not sure how many white chickens he got but I'm down to just 20 now - total. I still have my one old rooster from the original flock too. He's still the coolest rooster in town and never gets on the porch - unlike those other unruly chickens who refuse to stay off of it.

The dogs are now being tied up on either porch to keep the chickens off of them. At night they go back on their lines but during the day they are on the porch. So far, they seem to like it well enough. Every time we walk out, they get petted. So far I haven't seen a chicken even come close. LOL

Once again Florida was a sad trip for me to make and while I'm missing my mom something terrible, I know that she is happier to be in heaven with my dad and her parents. She's no longer in pain and it would be selfish of me to wish for her to be here and have to endure that any longer. I've already picked up the phone to call her a few times before realizing that's no longer an option. I caught myself and just stared at the phone in my hand with her number half dialed. It's hard my friends, it's very hard so be thankful for every day you get no matter the situation.

As writing about my mom is still a bit too difficult, I hope you'll be okay with me moving on until those words come easier for me. They will come someday and when they do I think you'll enjoy the post as she was a wonderful, dear, sweet lady for whom there are lots of nice things to write about.

My CSA baskets continue to impress me with their bounty and their variety. I've been getting poblano peppers, sweet bell peppers, sweet red peppers and soon I'll see jalapeno and sweet banana peppers. I have green beans, squash, basil and tomatoes. I have eggplant, cucumbers, fingerling and baking potatoes.

I'm growing my own jalapeno, bell and sweet banana peppers but one can never have too many of any of these. We use them in every meal. I've even started using the pickled jalapeno peppers in my cheesy-jalapeno cornbread and we love it! They are just a bit hot and just a bit sweet mmmmm!!

As I sit here at the computer this afternoon I can see my laundry hanging on the line drying in the summer breeze. Today there are sheets, pillow cases and the quilt for the spare bedroom. With company coming, all must be cleaned and put back on the bed. I see too my bird feeders that upon my return were completely empty but now are filled with sweet water for the hummers and fresh seeds for the others. In case I haven't mentioned it, birds are really pigs in disguise hahahahaha

I don't know how many humming birds there are outside but I know they empty the feeders within just a few days and these are little bitty feeders either - they hold at least a cup and a half of water.

The tomatoes are coming in again and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be ripe by the 25th. If not, I may have to pick one anyway so we can have fried green tomatoes. I made some fried eggplant the other night and it rocked! I used just a little cornmeal, some Parmesan cheese and a little bit of "Slap Yo Mama" seasoning that Donny Greene bought for us while he was here visiting. They are definitely on the list for another meal - maybe when you come I'll make some for you too!

We cut the grass for the first time since early summer. Going through the drought caused the grass to stop growing so there was nothing to mow. Now that we've had some much needed rain, every part of the yard is growing like crazy. I mowed around the cabin about 5 feet out and then Wally came along with the bush-hog and got the rest. In fact, he's down in the pasture bush-hogging today.

Talk about a sight to see - when we mow, the chickens go nuts chasing everything that moves; grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, whatever is out there that gets stirred up, they are on it! We can't always see what they're after but it's funny to watch them running hither and yon chasing all manner of bugs!

I have a new recipe that came from the many folders of recipes at my mom's house. It's a recipe for Salisbury steak and it's awesomely yummy. I don't even know if that's a word but that's the best way to describe it. The meat is mixed together with an egg, some seasoned breadcrumbs and some other stuff, then pattied up and browned on each side. After draining the fat, there's a gravy to cover it while it simmers for about 20-25 minutes. Easy to make, awesome to eat! If you're interested, let me know and I'll post the recipe for you.

To go on the side, we had green beans from Hilda's garden and corn, shucked about a month ago and frozen in water. It came from my CSA basket and was super sweet. It wasn't Zellwood corn, but it was GOOD... we love corn.

I missed Tennessee while I was gone and driving through the mountains in Chattanooga really reminded me of how beautiful this state is. The clouds were still clinging to the tops of the ranges but the sun was shining down on me and the wildflowers were blooming in the medians. The air has a chill these days that I hope will last through the weekend of the party. It has been in the 60's at night and the 80's during the day. Since the wind is constant up here on the hill, we haven't used the a/c in a week or so. Instead the windows and doors are open and the fresh air blows right in.

Yesterday, as I sat on the love seat reading my recipes, I had to use my afghan (thank you Ernie) to cover up with. It feels good to have cool enough weather to warrant a light blanket after the heat wave we went through this summer.

Friends of ours came over this weekend and we rode the 4 wheelers all over the place. I couldn't even begin to figure out where all we went on those things but it was a full day and we had a great time. I made homemade pizzas when we got back home and then I was so sore the next day I didn't even want to look at that machine. LOL I think Wally said we put 50 miles on them. whew!! It may not seem like a lot but remember, we're not on the road, we're on trails and hills and rocky terrain the whole time. I used muscles I forgot existed!

The deer have been showing up in great numbers lately. Yesterday we saw three in the front yard, one of which had spikes on his head that were just a bit taller than his ears. They stay fairly close to the house and I was even able to get pictures of them. They're a little blurry but you can still see that it's a picture of deer in the yard.

We see them up and down the driveway, out by the garden, behind the burn pile and always in the driveway between the doghouse and the flagpole. I know I say it every year but surely this will be the year I put one in my freezer...fingers crossed, gun loaded! LOL

As with everything, the deer population is strange this season. Even though it's already August, and just a day shy of half way through August, we're still seeing deer with spots on them. Clearly these youngsters won't be full grown by the time hunting season gets here in late September. I hope the hunters out there have respect for next year's herd...not likely from what I've seen though.

I planted two packets of wild flower seeds in a window box planter that I sat out on the chicken coop. Seeing as how the chicks don't use the coop yet, I figured the planter box would be safe. But nooooooo, those darn chicks upended it the very same day I planted. ARGH!!! Well, I put everything back in the box and then pulled the chicken wire across the front and around it so the darn chicks can't get to it now. Just this morning I noticed the seeds have sprouted and appear to be doing quite well now that there isn't an animal trying to eat them. I wish I had bought more seed packets!

The time has come to close this post but know that I have much more to tell...just not the time to do it. Soon though - soon :) I promise.