Working on Tomatoes

The other day, I spent a good hour in each greenhouse, working on the maters.....pulled off the bottom leaves again, and pulled a bunch of suckers....

We have nice fruit setting!













you can see how much they've grown....with our short growing season, I needed to top the plants....that way the plant can concentrate on beginning to ripen the fruit already set.

















Here's the after shot....they look a bit bare!

















And here's the waste. The tomato leaves are in the wheelbarrow....in the little bucket are the weeds I pulled around the plants.


REMEMBER - Do NOT feed any tomato leaves to animals...poisonous....but I do throw them on my compost....

We're back to finishing meat birds this morning.... Sphere: Related Content

Sending Meat Birds to Freezer Camp

It looks like we're going to start today.....the weather is awful very rainy. since we can't get in the garden, and the Gman can't work on vehicles, we figure we'll get started on the meat birds....

I AM planning on putting up pics and explanations of the slaughtering and dressing portions. We thought about whether we should do that, as it will certainly turn off some people. But....this whole blog is about trying to be self sufficient, and trying to show others the things we do to try to fulfill self sufficiency.

What I'll do is put a Warning up on the title of the post....that way, those who want to see the process can do so, and those who squirm at the thought can skip reading the blog for a few days....sound ok?

This is NOT an enjoyable part about living in the country and trying to raise our own food....but it is OUR life.....and we need to try to portray that realistically....

By the Way, the pics won't appear today....I'll work at getting them posted in the next few days...

Annie and the Gman Sphere: Related Content

Our Hay Is In The Barn!

And what a hot job that was....especially after all the bale hoisting we had been thru. We're sure glad we pushed on that day to git 'er done......cuz that night, it poured!

We'll have to enclose those gable ends...but there isn't a huge hurry for that...as long as it's done before winter sets in....sure is nice to look up and see all that hay. We calculated that when we put the floor above half the breezeway, we should be able to hold a total of 140 bales in this little barn....

Sphere: Related Content

On The Menu

On The Menu for animals today.....3 huge zuccini (wonder how that happened???) some broccoli and cauliflower that we didn't harvest in time.....lettuce, cabbage leaves....yummy!

Whooops!

Yesterday the girls really enjoyed all the mustard plants that had gone to seed.....

Sphere: Related Content

Learning about Gun Safety ( A Young Man's First Lesson)

I mentioned earlier that we had company last week....the Gman's cousin and her son came from the Big City to spend a couple of days in the country with us. It sure was nice to have them! We ate good food, spent time down at the barn with the animals, and just had an all around relaxing time.....

Charlotte and I went for a walk with my friend out in the woods. We learned lots about wild berries and plants and had a great time.....when we went home, this is what we found....

Need a closer look? Here....

Yes, you're right...the guys put TARGETS in the garden!!! Yikes!!!

Nervously, I asked the Gman..."you're not aiming at the zuccinis, are you????"

Found out he had spent about an hour explaining firearm safety to Daniel....apparently, it sunk in. Daniel was holding the gun properly, Pointed Down (Thank God!)....and the two of them were shooting off the porch. Yes, right off the porch....we tend to do that up here!

There is absolutely nothing but trees, trees, and more trees on the other side of the valley...so, it's safe to shoot in that direction. Of course, between the porch and the valley is the veggie garden. There was a good chance bullets would be ripping into my cabbages and heaven forbid, those Mangels.

OK, so we sat and watched them...the 2 guys with their gun....they took turns. Daniel, with great care and concentration, would try to hit one of the three targets. And it worked....OK, next challenge....

They filled a 4 litre jug of water and drew a target on it. The Gman set it on one of the posts down at the garden fence...and took a shot....and missed (don't tell him you read that!) OK, Daniel's turn...he lined it up, took his time, and then fired.

KABOOOOOM! There went the jug flying in the air, water going everywhere...boy I would have loved to get a shot of that....Unfortunately, I had my ears covered, my eyes closed, and had broken out into a sweat by that point. BUT, he Nailed it!

There was also a beer can (empty, thank goodness, or that would have been a Terrible Waste!) sitting on one of those fence posts....Daniel turns to his Mom and says "I'm gonna try for that can"....Charlotte and I looked at each other, probably thinking the same thing, that being, That's a pretty small target compared to the last one you just blasted into space.

But, ding dang, you know what??? First shot and the can goes flying! You shoulda seen the smile on Daniel's face....he sure did a Great Job!

(and he took the exploded water jug home with him, as a souvenir....and also to prove to his older brother that, Yes....he really did Nail it!)

Sphere: Related Content

Haying

We've been helping friends bring in the hay.....we're almost finished. Later on today, I'll put up some pics, if I'm not too tired to type!!! Sphere: Related Content

Sunset in the Valley

We had a gorgeous sunset here the other night...we sat on the porch with a glass of wine and just watched the colours changing...beautiful!

We've company here, they arrived yesterday...so nice to see them! This morning we are meeting up with a friend to walk in the woods with some of her animals....then later, just maybe there may be fishing happening! Sphere: Related Content

Meat Bird Update

The meatbirds are 7 weeks old today....one more week and they should be close to going to freezer camp....We will likely let at least a few of them back and let them stay for another 2 weeks or so....

Some of the cockerels are getting pretty darn big...just what we want to see!

Sphere: Related Content

A Ride In Our Pasture

Well we can't really call it a pasture...it used to be....they used to take lots of hay off this field....but it has been let go, and willows have moved in everywhere.

One day, we hope to fix it all up, rejuvenate the pasture, and then hopefully get a couple of cows....but that's for another year. We always seem to have plenty to do in our gardens and barn...

Yesterday morning the Gman was out riding on his excavator....now, we have spent many an hour with a glass of wine (or two or three) sitting on our porch looking out over the garden and the "fields" beyond....

We talk about getting the pasture fixed up, and we want to start our plan with putting in a rough road down to the creek. Then, the hope is, we can ditch beside the road, put up fencing and let in some animals to graze.

I was out on the porch, watching the Gman work with his machine, and he started moving farther and farther down that road line we had so many times pointed out and dreamnt about....

Then he came back up to the yard, and yelled "Want to take a Ride?" Well, did I, you bet!

It was the first time I have been in the excavator...the Gman has tried many times to talk me into learning how to use the machine...No way, uh uh...no thank you! Cuz I just know, if I ever were to learn, next thing I knew, I'd be doing Actual Work on that darn thing...and isn't it enough that I mow all the lawns? Well, isn't it? No way I am learning how to work that machine!

But a ride out to the pasture? Sure, and I ran down to meet him....stood in behind his seat while he did the driving.....it was kinda like being on a ride at the fair, lol! Bumpy, jerky, and downright scary when he lifts the tracks to turn direction.

Off we went....

Look at all those willows...there are a few large aspens there too.

Oh it was beautiful out there! The pictures don't do it justice at all....the grass is well above our heads...

Look at the valley, gosh how pretty it is! And all that grass, wow.....now lots of times, we can hear deer and moose and the odd bear making their way thru the grass....most of the time we can't see anything, because the grass gets so tall.....

Here's a little stream....it had lilypads in it...really pretty! We do have a creek running thru the property but this isn't it....this is just a little stream (tributary??) whatever they call it, a side stream off the main creek....

Looking back from the fields to our house...

Such a beautiful rosy pink colour on the grass, simply gorgeous!

In order to redo the pasture, we're gonna have to pull out those willows, and do some ditching. then fencing, then running wire, arg.....see how this job is easy to put off until another year?? But we have something to dream about....it would be so neat to get it all cleaned up, and see a few cows out there grazing, wouldn't it?

Sphere: Related Content

Fishing and Relaxing

We decided to kick back on Saturday morning and go fishing....was so nice to be out on the water! It was really hot tho....

You can see a few pine trees killed by the pine beetle....

someone building themselves a nice house right on the lakeshore.....

We had lots of damselflies come around the boat, and sit on the edge to sun themselves......

We each had a couple of hits.....and then, I got one!!!! (The Gman must take some credit, as he always willingly puts the worms on my hooks, lol!)

I cut myself out of the pic, as I really and truly looked like carp....oh I mean crap!

Dinner that night.....lake trout, garden zuccinni with garden herbs....yummy!

Sphere: Related Content

Mudhole and Pigs

We've got a mudhole for the 3 Little Pigs....they just Love it! Since pigs can't sweat, they need a way to cool down on hot days......

Stubby drinking from the hose.....

Stubby's getting ready for his bellyflop

Almost there

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Enjoy your Saturday....we're breaking loose from the farm and going fishing! Yeehaw!

Sphere: Related Content

The Pigs are on the Move

The Gman has been wanting to extend the pig run out into our pasture....so over the last while he has been weedeating a wide path around the area he wants to put the pigs into.....

Today he pounded in the Tposts and hung insulators, then we ran the wire....He got the power to it.
A side view...

Not sure if you can see the white electric fence tape in the distance...but that's the other end of the run...

It took a few minutes...the pigs didn't want to cross that fenceline, even tho there wasn't any wire there anymore....

First Brave Whitey stepped over the line....

Once Patches could see Whitey was OK, he came out too.....

finally, out comes Stubby! They've been running along that path for awhile now and they're having a blast!

Sphere: Related Content

On The Menu

The other day we moved the extra woodstove down to the barn area....today was the first day we fired it up...

On The Menu today for the 3 little pigs ....cabbage leaves and one spinach I left behind when I pulled them last week.....

Sphere: Related Content

Buckwheat

I planted buckwheat in that middle portion of the berry bed on June 10th...here's what it looks like 5 weeks later. From what I have read, I can expect it to start heading up and flowering pretty soon.

I had read that it grows so quick it takes over a bed and the weeds won't have a chance to get started....and I've seen, yup, that's true....it's quite thick! (I should have seeded it thicker in the bottom portion of the bed!)

Sphere: Related Content

Flowers

The Valerian is in full bloom and smells incredible, as always...if you can plant some of this by a window, so the scent wafts into your kitchen or bedroom, you will just love it!

Valerian gets quite tall, maybe almost 5 feet. It's a perennial, so every couple of years I can divide it, move half to a new bed or, as often happens, give a piece to a friend so they can have their own plants.

And the wildflower daisies are blooming all over the place! Sphere: Related Content

Meat Bird Update

We took a couple pics of the meatbirds yesterday....at 6 weeks of age. Two more weeks and we can start sending some off to freezer camp.....

here's a cockerel....we ordered a mixed run, meaning they were unsexed.

At this point, we can tell the cockerels from the hens...the males have larger combs and wattels.

The Gman figured this one weighs close to 5 pounds...and they still have 2 more weeks to go, so they will definitely be putting on more weight.

Incredible how much these meat birds will eat!

I am always amazed at the size of their legs and feet....this one seems to be growing into his legs quite well!

The birds are spending most of their days outside in their new run....there's shade up close to the barn for them, so they can choose to be in sun or shade. We've been feeding them outdoors and put waterers out there as well....and we haven't had the brooder lights on for probably 2 weeks now, as our weather has been hot during the day and warm at night.....

Sphere: Related Content