Garden

The beans are up but not by much! As you can see they are not growing very fast! We desperately need rain. It is cloudy right now but there is not any rain forcasted. I am hoping that maybe there will be a scattered one hit us sometime today!  I was so hoping to be able to share my garden this year with some of the elderly in our church! Most of them don't garden anymore because they don't want the worry about falling! Yet they are a generation that depended on their gardens! Everyone loves a fresh garden tomato, right?!?

Oh about the war! We won last nights skirmish! We screwed the doors shut & no chickens were lost! Yeah!!

Psalm 135:5-7 I know the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightening with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses.

We Have War!

When I got up to chore this morning I found both doors to the birds ripped off & 2 dead chickens! Grrrr! This means war! We have had to screw the doors shut to keep out the raccoons before so I guess we will have to go back to this for a bit!  Needless to say there won't be pictures of this today!

All the rain we got has dried up & I am back to watering everyday. I am worried we won't get much from the garden this year at this rate!

Psalm 89:11 The heavens are Yours, and Yours also the earth; You founded the world and all that is in it.

Rain!

We got some rain last night! Yeah! I don't know how much but everything is green & soaked. You can see in the picture just what a little rain will do! It makes the weeds just pop out!

These were pretty small yesterday but the rain last night they have more than doubled in size!! Whoa! Guess what I will be doing in the next couple of days!

We lost another goose last night! We have a critter who is coming & helping themselves to our birds! Grrrr! We fight this battle all the time! One year we lost 21 chickens in a weeks time to a raccoon. Grrrr! This one carries the entire bird off so it is not a coon. We are thinking a fox but not sure.  So frustrating!

Psalm 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!

Beauty or Weed?

Imagine finding this flower ! Just look at the coloring & the beauty of it! I think it is very pretty! But it is a weed & I must pull them so they don't take over! It reminds me of the story Jesus told of the seed that was cast & choked out by the thorns.

I so wanted to let this pretty flower grow but I know that if I do then more will follow & my crop will be ruined. So I pull & pull. If we let "weeds of life" (sin) grow up in our life it will choke out our walk with Christ. We must pull & get rid of these things!

Luke 8:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up with it & choked the plants.

Knee High by 4th of July!

I think the corn is already hip high & it is only mid-June! Now for more rain & it will go crazy!

After the one rain that we received it shot up & turned green almost instantly! It was amazing to watch!

I have been moving mulch again today in the yard. It has been a great day for it with a slight breeze to cool me off as I work!

Next I want to paint the LP tank but may have to wait for fall now. It looks pretty rough right now.

I picked lettuce again this morning for lunches. My husband likes to take a big salad for lunch every day to work! I try to vary them-Taco salad, BLT salad, egg salad, etc. This way it is not the same old salad every day! I have been enjoying a salad also!


2 Corinthians 4:18 What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.

Waiting

It is another day on the farm! We are waiting & praying for rain. The clouds have been there but nothing has dropped for us! Therefore if I want anything from the garden I must water. It is a good thing we are on well water or the cost of a garden would be too prohibitive.

As you can see it all is pretty dry. I love using cattle panels for my tomatoes! They usually grow over 6 ft. tall & they are great support. I run one down each side of the row to cage them in.

The beans are finally popping up. Yeah! Now to keep them alive! The summer squash have also peaked their little heads out!

I did not mow yesterday has the lawn thankfully has not grown much either! It seemed odd for it to be Tuesday & I did not mow! We are creatures of habit aren't we?

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

Irises & Spinach

The irises were just beautiful despite the lack of rain!

Here is one of mine!

It is a really pale yellow!

I love to plant flowers that come up every year! It gives me something to look forward to when spring arrives!  Every year I add more & hope to eventually just sit back (haha) & watch the color show!

I am experimenting with spinach today. I have picked a large bowlful & know we won't get it all eaten today so I am going to attempt to freeze it! I know that it can be done because you can buy it that way at the store. I have consulted my Rodale's Putting Food By book & it says to blanch it for 2 minutes then cool quickly & freeze. I hope it works because we both like spinach!

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

Gardens

The potatoes are growing like crazy. We tried something new this year-we planted them in tires. We are hoping to see more potatoes by doing this. I will keep you posted.

Th rain we got on Thursday was great but we are ready for more. I will have to water the garden if I expect to get anything out of it this year. It only adds to more early morning chores.

Psalm 121:1-2  I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Beautiful Day!

Finally a great day here! Working in the garden is a pleasure when the breeze is cool & the sun is shining. Going to have to pick more lettuce & spinach as it is growing like gang busters!



Dan & I went to pick up some tractor tires this am in Webster City-2 hour drive at 7am! It was great! We love to take drives & look at the countryside!

I took an order from my Etsy site into the post office & of course had to make a detour to go to the Teen Challenge Garage Sale! I love to go garage saling!!

Hope you have a great week end!

Colossians 4:2 Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God.

Summer?

It is June 1st. But when I went out to chore this morning the thermometer said 40 DEGREES! THAT IS 8 DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING! How crazy is that?!? The sun is out so maybe it will warm up a bit.

This week end needs to find me out in the garden weeding! I am sure this rain & sun are going to make the weeds spring up like crazy! We are having a wonderful garden salad for lunch today! It is so nice to be able to grow your own food! Makes you feel a bit self reliant!

Yesterdays rainy day left me getting plenty done-laundry, knitting, pictures, roast in oven-YUMMY! Having the oven on warmed the house nicely! Oh the smell! Love the smell of a roast cooking!

Acts 20:32 Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all thoses who are sanctified.

Rain! Yeah!

Finally a nice gentle rain! The garden needs it so badly! I am hoping for this to stick around all day! It needs to soak the ground pretty good for it to help!

It is a great day to stick something in the oven- so I have a pork roast in low & slow all day! Yummy! It may be a good day for some zucchini bread also! I like to do a couple of things at a time in the oven on cooler days!

I will be working on taking more pictures of sale items for my Etsy shop today as I can't get outside to the garden! I hope to get more listed this week end.

I also have a knitted vest for a certain little boy that I am working on so today might be a good day for that! I love rainy days! It is so nice to have time to do inside stuff for a change!

Enjoy your day where ever you are!

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
There are things that God has made only for you to do-find them today!

Needing Rain

Well, the garden is in & now we are waiting for rain. I am watering the plants everyday & the rows with seeds every other day! I have beans popping up. We have the trellis already in place as when they grow they grow fast!

The goats are done having babies for this spring! I ended up with 1 buckling & 1 doeling!  But with no rain we are having to feed them extra hay as the grass is not growing very well.

The duck is still setting on her eggs so hopefully we will have ducklings running around soon!

Going out to the garden to pick some lettuce & radishes for supper!

Psalm 46:10 Be still & know that I am God.

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!

The clematis is in full bloom! It has hundreds on it this year!

Two New Babies!

Faith had her babies today! She had 2 little boys. One is black & white, the other is brown & white! The black & white one is in the house-not sucking-so will have to tube then feed him. The other one is up & about & sucking on his own!

HERE IS A REPOST OF MY FAVORITE RECIPE!

Eggs! Eggs! More Eggs! (not sure where the pics went)
What do you do when you are overcome with eggs from your lovely ladies? Why you can always make pasta! I made several kinds last week.




First you put 2 cups flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt & 2 eggs. Mix with a heavy fork. As it comes together in a ball take it out & knead it until smooth & elastic. You don't want it to be too sticky so if you need to add a small amount of flour.





Next you roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick.



Next I lay my dough out on flour sack towels to dry briefly. Usually until I am done rolling out the other dough. The it is time to decide what shape pasta you are going to make! This is the fun part! I have several pictures of different shapes that I made last week. You can make almost anythign that you can buy with the exception of the tube pasta unless you have a pasta maker with those attachments.







Ravioli cutter











Finished ravioli.











Cutting egg noodles.











Tortellini











Finished egg noodles.





I usually let them dry for a couple of hours. Then I either cook them or freeze them. They make the best home made chicken noodle soup!! Yummy!!



Here is the finished display after the ceiling is done!

It has been fun finding things around the house to put up there.

SPRING IS HERE!

It is really almost here! I saw my first robin this morning. She was singing to me from the walnut tree-announcing her arrival!  I know when she arrives that the warmer days of spring are not too far behind. Thank you Father for helping me survive another winter!  Thank you for sending the spring & new life!

REMODEL

We have been tackling a remodeling project since December & it is soon to be finished!! It is exciting to see the progress! My husband & I have done all of it by ourselves & that is quite a feeling!!

Here are some before pictures:

This is the suspended ceiling which we took out!

This shows the 10 foot ceilings hiding underneath!

This shot is all of the wires & ceiling gone!

Here is the new ceiling fan & light!

Here is a shot of the car siding going up!

Here is a shot of the ceiling after it is painted!

It looks just like bead board!

Now I have space over my cupboards for some displaying of antique items & such! We have some trim work & painting yet to do & it will be completely done!!







A NEW PANTRY IS BORN!!

My husband & I spent a couple of days re-doing a closet into a pantry. Here are some pictures!

From studs to full pantry! WOW! I am so proud of my husband!!

Plowing Day 2011

Every year my husband & I host a plowing day for the tractor club! It is a lot of fun to see all the old tractors out in the field plowing. We had quite a few this year!


I make chili & crackers, brownies, coffee, & this year I made some deviled eggs. The tractor club usually sends meat from their picnic so there is a sandwich to go along with my food!

These are just a few of the tractor pictures I took! What fun!

Come on Over!

Come on over to Untrained Housewife & catch my article on Keep It Simple!!

http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/keeping-it-simple-this-season

It Is Out!!

I have a 9 page spread in the latest edition of the Countryside Magazine! Here is the link to the web site!


http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/95/95-5/learning_is_saving_small_changes_can_really_add_up.html


What fun!

Canning season Has Begun!!

It has begun! I have been canning salsa & potatoes for the last 3 days! It is hot in my kitchen but oh, what joy I get when I see the jars lined up!

I am trying something new this year! I am going to try & dehydrate some of my potatoes & see how easy they are to use.

Along with the canning I have been freezing zucchini to use in the winter months for chocolate zucchini bread! Yummy!

It is a busy time of year here at the farm! I will keep you posted!

Iowa State Fair Time!

Yesterday we went to the state fair! I got to see my friend who makes & sells soaps! She has some great stuff! Here is her website to go over & check it out! I have purchased her plain soap for years as this is the only kind I can use on my face!
www.sudsysoapcakes.com

Love This!

This is an 8 foot farm table-handmade! Wow! It is just beautiful!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Shenandoah-Primitives/172983730078