Weeding, weeding, weeding

We spent a good part of Saturday getting a bunch of stuff done around here. I painted the stair rails on the porch....and am now looking around at other trim to paint. There isn't a shortage of it :)

Then I weeded....here's what I was concentrating on....the right hand edge of the main Veggie Garden, and the pathways to the strawberry beds....the weeds were getting out of hand!

In progress.....

And the end result.

Over one wheelbarrow full of weeds, which went straight off to the girls....they loved them.

Ok, that side of the garden looks better, where next?

Sphere: Related Content

Saturday's Fish

Yesterday, the Gman went up to a little lake not far from our place....look what he came home with!

A nice trout! Sphere: Related Content

Watching Work Fascinates Me!

Really! It does! Watching work just fascinates me!

Off to go fishing...enjoy your Sunday afternoon!

Sphere: Related Content

Giving Da Dog a Bone

So....a friend of a friend went out bear hunting the other day, and he was successful in getting a cinnamon bear. He thought it was maybe 3 years old.....

The Gman stopped by the other day and casually asked "What did you do with all the bones?" The friend of a friend and the friend replied that they threw them in a pile in the bushes.

Explaining to the Gman where to find them, off he went. Actually, they felt bad that they hadn't thought to ask us if we wanted the bones for Da Wolf.

So here ya go...never one to do things half heartedly, the Gman gave Da Wolf a WHOLE leg bone....yuk! Then he gave him another....double yuk!

While I think it's gross, Da Wolf does not.

Actually, he loves it!

Lip smacking good!

Don't bug me Dad, can't you see I'm busy here??

Sphere: Related Content

Honest Scrap

(Uggggh, I had written out this entire post, went to publish it, forgot to copy it just in case....and sure enuf, Blogger said ERROR, and I have to start all over again!) Can you guess what I had to say in response to that? Read thru this, and you'll probably figure it out, lol!

Anyway, back to the drawing board.....

Aunt Krissy nominated this blog for a Honest Scrap Award, thanks Krissy!

So, I am supposed to state 10 honest things about myself.....I could post silly things, but I'm not going to. I've had a busy week, and have done lots of thinking about stuff while I'm out there weeding, watering etc.....I've been thinking Deep Thoughts (kinda like Jack Handley - NAME that Show!) and so here goes.

It's more like 10 things I am honest about believing, how's that?

1. I still believe trying to be a Good Mother is the most important job in my life....

2. I love my boys with all my heart and all my soul.

3. Ditto for the Gman, just cuz a girl has to kiss a few frogs before finding her Prince, doesn't mean he isn't out there.

4. The older I get, the more I appreciate the love and understanding I got from my Grandparents, God Bless 'em.

5. The older I get, the less I believe in Organized Religion, which I find to be too judgemental and hypocritical (which I think the Big Guy does NOT want us to be)

6. I really think everyone should stop reading Perez Hilton, who I find to be a very cruel person in his treatment of mere mortals.

7. When I get mad, frustrated, or physically hurt, I have been known to yell "MUDDER TRUCKER"....instead of, well....you know.

8. I believe in Pruning Toxicity....if you don't know what the means, think about it for awhile.

9. When I wake up in the morning, I have two choices, I can either be Happy or I can be Miserable. I choose to be Happy.

10. I dislike gossip very much....really, WHAT is the point???

Ok, so there it is...now I'm supposed to nominate 7 people for this same award. Please don't feel you have to, especially at this incredibly busy time of year...just do it if you want to!!

Linda, my buddy and pal, over at Lindercroft

Wandering Owl over at Us Backyard Farmer Types

Sandi over at Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Stone Bridge Farm over at Our Debt Free Journey

Cicero over at Cicero Sings

Heidi over at So....There....Then

Joanne over at Wise Acres

Have fun! And have a great Weekend everyone!

Sphere: Related Content

Wildflowers

Check out the pretty wildflower bouquet the Gman picked for me the other day...what a sweetie!

There are purple Lupines, white Daisies, red Indian Paintbrush and some cool pretty yellow Lilies.....all growing wild on the property!

Sphere: Related Content

Painting Doors

The entry doors to our house were all painted deep forest green. Usually I like that colour. But not on this house, tho I couldn't tell you why I don't like it!

So here's some Befores and Afters.....

Before.....I had put up the bamboo cover on the window a few months ago. I'd already taped off the window edge before I thought to take the pic.

After....ah! I like it much better. I still have to finish the trim around the door. The white that you can see on the left hand side is the casing for the retractable screen that the Gman installed a few weeks ago.

Before....this is the door from the kitchen onto the big porch....

And.....After

What do you think? Do you like the green or the sand colour better?

Sphere: Related Content

My Favourite Time of Day

My favourite time of the day has to be around 7:30 pm or so.....the sun is slowly setting....most of the chores have been completed for yet another day. Usually, we're sitting on the porch after dinner and looking out over the Valley.

A few pics......

every day the main Veggie Garden is looking better and better.....still have the Remay covers over the beans. We'll probably just leave them on. The only time they really need to come off is when the bean plants are flowering....

We took a load of old truck parts to the dump yesterday. I haven't got any pictures yet, but do you remember the old grey pickup? The one we rolled off the bank? Well, the Gman has spent part of his days removing the bed from that pickup and turning it into a trailer! Awesome, now we can load gravel, firewood and whatever else in there. He crushed the rest of it as small as possible, and off we went to the dump to get rid of it.

On the way home, we came around a corner and saw.....a Cougar!!! Awesome, it was really incredible. I would never have gotten a pic, even if I did have the camera along! That long tail, and those powerful legs, simply incredible! It went across the road and into the bushes. Many people who have lived up here for years have never seen one, so we consider ourselves fortunate to have been one of the few.

My heart was still pumping hard by the time we got home! Talk about an adrenaline rush!

Sphere: Related Content

Hilling Potatoes

Yesterday, I finally went out and hilled the potatoes in the main veggie garden.....9 rows, all done.

I hilled the ones down in the Barn Garden already. I will have to hill the 2 rows in the Animal Garden still, but they are not quite ready yet.

I'll be trying to hill each plant 3 times before the season is thru.....

Although it has been raining a LOT here over the last week (yeahhhhh, we really needed it!) once it stops and the sun comes out, it gets hot pretty quick.

So I was glad to have another chore done with. I went up and sat on the porch, had a beer and stared at my taters, lol!

And then I looked over and saw da Wolf, laying under his special shade tree. I think it's a pretty good pic, it is hard to get a good pic of him!

Sphere: Related Content

Dandelion Wine and Rhubarb Wine

I did the next step on the Dandelion Wine this morning. I made up a sugar syrup and let it cool.

Meanwhile I was ladelling out the contents of the crock thru a strainer and into large bowls.....trying to get all the fruit out. The liquid is not clear at all, so I thought I might as well go ahead and use the potato masher to squeeze out all the juice I could get.

Here's the results....you can already see a layer of sediment (little bits of fruity stuff) settling on the bottom of the jug. That's ok....we will rack it several times, trying to leave the sediment on the bottom. You can see I didn't even get a full gallon of liquid.

While I was doing that, the Gman was doing the next step on the second batch of Rhubarb Wine.....here's the leftover rhubarb sitting in a cooler. We'll take it down for the pigs. Go figure, they Love the Stuff!

A pic of what's sitting on our kitchen counter at the moment. (Gee, it'll be nice to get that wine room finished downstairs!)

From left to right....Dandelion Wine, a gallon of Rhubarb from the 1st batch, and the primary container holding the full 2nd batch of Rhubarb Wine.

Edited to add: I've put a heating pad under the Dandelion Wine and turned it on low. Also, wrapped the jar with a towel....I want to get the sugar addition working.

Sphere: Related Content

Mo' Fishing This Morning!

The catch from this morning! 2 Rainbow Trout and another Kokanee.

Sphere: Related Content

In the Greenhouse

It's planted, finally.....

The remaining tomatoes got planted a couple of days ago.....

Tomatoes blooming already (bad me, they should have been planted earlier)

Nice roots......

See the sucker? It's coming up between the main and side stem....

Pinch the suckers out.....

Left side, planted in tomatoes, with 2 squash in the back corner. They will hopefully send out trailing stems that will cover the bases of the tomatoes.

Corn, 3 rows along the back wall.

Different kinds of squash and pumpkin along this side. I had room in the greenhouse for squash, because I lost some of the tomatoes that should have been here.

Sphere: Related Content

SuperCute Baby Goats!

Cali, Linda and Jim's Nubian goat had twins! Look how adorable they are! One doe and one buck....check it out!

Sphere: Related Content

Do Wolves Like Sour Cream?

Yes, apparently they do!

Yup

Oh yeah! You betcha!

Puhhleasssseeeee Mommy, may I have some more????

(We know, we shouldn't do it. But da Wolf LUVS himself some sour cream. So....we just let him lick the spoon. So sue me...I like seeing a happy Wolf)

Sphere: Related Content

Sunday Morning Fishing

This morning, we took a ride and headed out to a nearby lake. We've got the little boat in the back of the pickup, and we're thinking of just leaving it in there. That way, we can go fishing on a whim....at least for the next little while.

We spent about 4 hours out there and here's the results

The big boy, the one in the front weighed in at 2 lbs 14 oz. The Gman was smiling a lot today!

See the smallest in the sink?

He says it's a Kokanee (a landlocked Salmon). It has no distinct black spots on it, like the one above it in the pic on the left.

It has 15 rays on the anal fin. All Kokanee have more than 13 rays.....

While he was bringing the Kokanee in, it started pouring rain. We had been hearing thunder and yes, saw the clouds darkening....but hey, we were fishing! That's important!

Anyway, the skies completely opened and we booted it to shore, standing under the trees for maybe half an hour. Once the rain stopped, we headed back out to resume fishing and made our way back to the boat ramp.

Sphere: Related Content

Some Veggie Pics

We took a walk thru the garden tonite.....here's a few pics. I am already falling behind on weeding and mowing lawns....but we have been doing some fishing. That has been fun!!!

A few of the flower containers on the porch.....

The main veggie garden as seen from the porch.....the row covers are protecting beans.

Potatoes that need to be hilled, and weeded too!

Swiss chard coming up

Spinach

Cabbages

They haven't missed a beat. Unreal how well they grow up here!!

Beans (which have grown so much in the last 2 days, it has astounded us!)

Onions with peas in the background

Virginia Creeper seems to have settled in. I am hoping it grows up the trellis at the barn, I think it will look nice to see it from the house!

In the Animal Garden....field peas nicely weeded on the left.....the rutabagas, etc, not so nicely weeded on the right!

After looking around the gardens, we put all the animals in for the night.

Then I looked up and saw this.....

Sphere: Related Content