Trying Hard

I just had to share this picture. This is the celery I planted from a kitchen scrap. It’s trying hard to do something before it’s too late. I started it in water, waiting till roots appeared and then sticking it in the garden late this summer. It has withstood some heavy frosts but obviously it won’t survive in the garden. I will leave it another day or two as the temps are supposed to be up to 71 degrees tomorrow! Most likely it will be our last warm day according to the forecast. It will be a nice day to get the Zebra Grass cut down, the Holly covered, and rain barrels emptied so they don’t freeze and break.

I am exited that we finally figured out a place to transplant the raspberries to. Yes, we have a large yard but I didn’t want them out front where they would be in dry soil and possibly be a mess. I also didn’t want them too far away from the house where they might possibly be “out of sight, out of mind”. Another issue was keeping them from spreading into an area that I didn’t want them. After talking to Daughter #2 about the areas and conditions they like, I came up with an area that will keep them contained but not interfere with another part of the yard. We put them on the edge of a small area of pines behind the wood shed. We took down a couple of dead trees first. I put down cardboard where I want them, laid the plants on the cardboard and covered them with dirt. It’s rather crude I know but I think that in time they will do fine. I’m also sure that I was unable to get all the roots out of the garden where I dug them up so I’m sure I’ll have more starts to transplant next year. Those will most likely end up out closer to the road, under some trees where we can keep them contained by mowing. It just feels good to have them moved after struggling for two years with not knowing where to put them. The fruit trees are all fenced in and mulched, thanks to Hubby and a grandson for their help. I’m hopeful that we may begin to see fruit on them next year. I’m still amazed that the one old apple tree that basically got cut down, produced quite nice apples this year and they grew on two shoots that had grown up from the base of the old tree. I was under the understanding that they wouldn’t produce! Hmm, interesting.

It’s a pink and baby blue morning. Looks like a little rain might be coming. It’s a good day to get some things done in the kitchen. I’m hopefully canning carrots. While I am in the kitchen, it’s always a good time to listen to webinars on the iPad. There is so much good stuff to listen to anymore; so much to learn from others. What an amazing library we have at our fingertips when we’re wanting to learn about gardening or anything. Hubby will be gone most of the day. He is almost done winterizing houses for people in the area. He has only 2 or 3 to do.

We have dried up our Genny girl. It is sad to think that we won’t have milk until Rosey calves but we decided that since she is giving so little milk now, and we will be getting rid of her next month, it’s best to dry her up now. With going to visit our kids in Tennessee and the holidays coming it is a good time to do it. Along with that, our niece that takes care of the animals when we are gone is pregnant and will be too close to having her baby. I really don’t want to ask her to milk when she’s due! It all seems to work out. Soooo, I will not be able to get my lovely cream for coffee or for making butter, cheese and yogurt. The grandkids won’t get their treat of chocolate milk and I will actually have to spend my grocery money on milk! Haven’t done that in a very long time.

Guess I had better get this day going. The days go way too fast anymore. I hope you have a good day and the rest of your week. I find it easy to have a good day when I think of those who are in need, whether it be physically or emotionally. There are so many people less fortunate. It just reminds me to be thankful for all that I have.

Take care and be blessed,

Desarae

Garden Glory!

I know I’ve posted pictures like this previously but I can’t help but marvel every time I see the Morning Glories growing under the grapevines. I just have to enjoy them while I can and share them with you like a bouquet, over the miles.

It has been far too long since I’ve posted but it is a busy time of year. I have been preserving, doing some alterations for a friend, placing orders for birthday gifts, (4 in August and 7 in September!), arranging for Rosey to be bred this month, and we managed to spend Labor Day weekend at the cabin. There’s always little things to work on there. We had three of the four sisters’ families join us for a corn roast while we were there. Amazingly enough, it is quite comfortable for 23 bodies in our little cozy cabin. I suppose it helps that half of the bodies are under 100 pounds. The kids spend much of their time fishing, hunting for frogs, and taking turns going out on the paddle boat. I’m sure they will have some nice memories to look back on. It was also a treat for the kids to be able to take in a County Fair that was within walking distance.

It’s always a challenge for me when we get back home. I like to get the truck unloaded, suitcases unpacked and everything put away so that I can get back into all that needs attention here but it can be hard to jump right back in where I left off. It seems to take me a day or two. I’ve always said, to be gone for one week involves a total of three weeks by the time I mentally and physically prepare to go, take the actual week away and then take several days when we get home to unpack, do laundry, take care of what was put on hold while we were gone and get the household back up and running. It’s all good; however, it certainly involves more than meets the eye. Our next venture will be to squeeze in some Fall camping since we haven’t done any camping yet this season! We love camping, especially in the Fall. It’s so nice to camp when you can enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the cool Fall air around a morning fire. If it’s too cold, a hot cup of coffee while curled up in a blanket it the camper works too! It will be a bit of work getting the camper ready to go and once again, it will take more time than the time we are actually gone but it is worth the effort.

The grandkids started school this week. It’s a bitter-sweet time when babies get old enough to go to school. They get so excited and feel so “big” yet can easily shed the tears of apprehension when the actual day comes. I remember my first day of school. I don’t know what I would have done had I not had a cousin in my class to cling to. He was my rock that day. Of course when the day is over, the pride of making it through is all over their faces. Babies they are; I don’t care what anyone says. They’re babies. They’re my babies!

Well, the day is calling. Lots to do as usual. I hope you are having a beautiful September. I appreciate you stopping by and reading my ramblings. I will hope to writ again soon.

Happy Fall!

Desarae

Beauty in the Sky

And what a beauty it was. We were coming home from Daughter #4’s house. We had been watching the clouds and observing a couple of possible Eagles. When we left it began to sprinkle. By the end of their driveway, it was a downpour! A few miles later it began to brighten and a full double rainbow appeared. It is an amazing sight; one we never get tired of seeing.

I’ll be honest, not that I haven’t been before, I’m struggling with time management right now. It seems the weeks are going so quickly that I am feeling as though I’m not getting things accomplished. I bring this up often enough that you may think I’m a workaholic. I’m truly not. I may be a dreamaholic, I’ll admit. Sorry for the spelling. It seems I often spend Mondays doing your common household things like laundry, phone calls, payments, orders, checking on my elderly parents, etc., etc. This past Monday, I did managed to clean the milk parlor which was really needed. Tuesday I watched grandkids, did some cleaning and had a neighbor stop over for a needed visit. Wednesday was spent helping pregnant Daughter #2. She had an appointment so I watched kids and did cleaning that I know is getting difficult for her. Yesterday, I went to town. I could have waited but with a baby coming anytime in the next couple of weeks, I figured I may not be able to go for a while. That brings us to FRIDAY! AGAIN!! Hubby will be home today and we have our tractor driving grandson here with us so it’s going to feel more like Saturday. They will attempt to take a big broken limb out of the Willow Tree. I may need to help with that since it’s not going to be easy. I’m hoping to spend the rest of the day in the garden since I have not been able to get out there and it needs attention.

It will be a nice day for doing anything outside since it has been cooler and is only supposed to be 70 degrees today. I’m glad the night was cool. I was able to open things up and let the cool air fill the basement. This time of year the pantry gets warmer than I like so the cooler temps are appreciated.

Rosey is doing really well at coming in the parlor after we are done milking her mamma. She gets a very little bit of grain as a reward. She no longer fidgets as we handle her and touch her udder in the attempt to get her ready for milking some day. It will be time to breed her here in the next couple of weeks! I’m a little nervous as it will be her first pregnancy and our first experience with a first time heifer.

Not much else seems to come to my mind so I’ll wrap this up. The cows await and I suppose there will be a couple of guys that want breakfast before they get outside to work. I do want to thank those who have ”liked” recent postings and I hope that as we head into yet another weekend, you will enjoy whatever you find yourself doing, whether it is work or play. One more month of summer! Enjoy!

Desarae

What’s Today?

…..seems to be the question of the week! Since Monday was a holiday the week was not only shorter but seemingly very mixed up.

Tuesday and Wednesday Daughter #1 and I helped Daughter #2 do some sorting, rearranging and cleaning in preparation for the new baby coming! When you have a large family, clothing is always being grown into, grown out of, needing to be passed on to a friend or relative, taken to a resale shop, or any other number of possibilities. So while most of the kids’ clothes were already sorted and in totes, dressers needed to be changed out before they were put in drawers, in storage, or in the car to be taken away. Daughters did that while I kept laundry going, cleaned wherever needed and tried to keep the kids under wraps. The nice thing at the end of both days was being able to go to Daughter #4’s house to eat in the evenings. They have been moved into their new house now for a couple of weeks and have much room for large gatherings. And we are a large gathering!

Yesterday, Hubby wanted to go to one of the rentals up north to figure out why the washer is tripping the breaker so we went up and back for the day. We took two of the grandkids with us. Being up there made it feel like it was Sunday for some reason so who knows what today will feel like! I knew the week would go fast.

Today is a day to catch up and try to be ready to spend the day tomorrow outside. I am afraid the garden is going to need more work than I will have energy to do. I don’t like being gone so much that I am not able to keep up with weeding however, it usually isn’t as bad as what I fear.

The grandkids spent the last two nights with us so they love to get up in time for milking. They enjoy brushing Genny and Rosey. Rosey’s head is finally big enough that we can keep her in the stanchion to desensitize her to being handled. She is in training for when we begin to milk her. Hard to believe that she will be old enough to be bred in the next couple of months. She is definitely smaller than Genny so being bred to a miniature will for sure produce an even smaller calf than Rosey herself.

The young chickens have been put in the chicken coop to be introduced slowly. They are still in their cage for a couple more days. It is interesting. These birds are Black Sexlinks and Brahmas. They have eaten twice the amount of food as the last chics and have use half the amount of water! Hopefully that won’t continue for long!

I must close. Do have a blessed day. Thanks for reading and I will be back before long.

Desarae

The View

Good Morning! Thank you to those who have commented or ”liked” a recent post. The last few days have been busy but very pleasant. Temperatures aren’t the warmest for those who are spending their time at the beach but it has been absolutely beautiful. Cool nights and warm days but not too hot.

Hubby and I took a quick trip up to one of our rentals to take a patio set up that was given to us. The picture is of the view from the Mackinaw Bridge. These are the freighters that are common in the straits and in Sault St. Marie. These ships are massive so you can imagine we are quite high up on the bridge for the ship to look this small. It never gets old to look at this view. We marvel at it everytime.

Things are calm on the homestead. Our grandson mowed the pasture for us Saturday. The cows are enjoying the cooler days. The young hens are growing and will be ready soon to introduce to the older birds. It appears like this next week will be a good week to be working outside without getting too hot. I’m hoping I can make a dent in the ”to-do” list that I always seem to have. There’s always more to do than time and energy permit but oh how the desire is always there. Every year I tell myself how much I need to work at getting more done in the Spring so that I’m not so behind in the summer. Hmm, that hasn’t worked out as well as I had hoped but I will keep trying.

I brought milk in this morning for making cheese curds. I haven’t done that in a while so it will be a nice treat. I am also feeding my natural yeast starter in hopes of making bread soon. Maybe on the weekend. It is amazing to me that bread can be made with so few ingredients and taste so good. Yeast, Flour, Salt and Water is all that’s necessary and the great thing about it is there are no chemicals or preservatives in it! There are few things more satisfying than making food that has not been adulterated with the things that processed food contains.

Laundry awaits, milk is heating and this grandma has young ones coming over this afternoon so I had better get busy. I hope you have a pleasant day and may you enjoy the work you have to do. Enjoying work seems to make the leisure times much more rewarding and enjoyable.

Take care and I will post again soon,

Desarae

Lazy Rainy Day

There are times when a lazy rainy day is greatly needed and this is one of those. It began to gently rain last night around 10:30. It seems so good as the ground has been so dry and dusty. It must have rained a good amount by the looks of the driveway and it is supposed to rain all afternoon and evening. It is foggy this morning and when we stepped out to go milk, the smell of the air was wonderful. It’s a beautiful morning for a second cup of coffee and a blog post!

I’m a list maker so today’s list is all about doing what can be done on a rainy day, of which there’s never an end to the list! I have been trying to finish up the last details of the rentals; hemming curtain panels, fixing odds and ends, making a picture frame, etc., etc. Yesterday I was able to hit a couple of resale stores and found a pair of bedroom lamps. I love finding good used items for a good price. I can’t imagine having to pay full price for everything we’ve been buying. We couldn’t do it.

I haven’t shared as much as I’d like lately which seems to be the way it is in Spring. I haven’t done well at writing much about the homestead here but things are going well. Our Jersey girls are doing well and really enjoying the new grass over hay, although they do eat both. Hubby would tell you they eat everything in sight. Rosey, being half miniature Jersey and half ”small standard” is really a nice size. She won’t be bred till late summer or early fall. Genny won’t be bred again so we will just keep milking her as long as we can. She has been such a perfect cow. I hope her girl is the same when it comes time for her to be milked.

The new hens have been introduced to the other hens and are adjusted to their coop. Hubby and grandson cleaned out the coop a week ago or so. Now it’s time to think about culling hens that aren’t laying. This grandson pictured is the one who has always been Papa’s sidekick. From the time he was 18 months old, he would go with Papa and I, never once being concerned. The day before his fifth birthday, he drove the tractor for the first time and here we are, watching him learn to mow with the big mower! He turns 11 this month! In the past six years, he has done a lot to help Papa. He has helped clean the barnyard and spread manure. If it means driving the tractor or bee truck, he is all in. He can even switch out the implements. He is very interested and listens to instructions with such calmness. The other grandsons are following close behind.

During the last couple of days I managed to make a couple rounds of cheese. I had purchased a Cranberry & White Cheddar cheese a few weeks ago and decided to try to make it myself. I think the results are going to be just fine! I am able to age the cheese in the wine cooler I found second hand so I’m excited. I also made a Garlic & Dill round. This morning I am making yogurt.

Well, the day needs to get underway. We are going to be visiting my father this evening so I will try to get a full day in before having to leave. It’s hard to believe my dad will be 89 years old soon!

I have enjoyed all the visitors and the ”likes” that have been posted. I hope you find this day to be a great start to the weekend. I look forward to next time.

Desarae

Sunny Sunday!

What a beautiful sunny day! Hubby has been gone this weekend working on a rental home that we bought to supplement his retirement. He and a son-in-law are preparing it for all new paint and flooring as well as new interior doors. That means I’ve been holding down the fort by myself. Thankfully the weather has been great. As I stepped out the back door this morning to go milk the Jersey queen, the first thing I heard was a Cardinal. What a refreshing sound. Before I got very far, I scared four deer that for some reason had bedded down last night under our huge pine trees near the driveway. I’m not sure why they chose to sleep there but they certainly left in a hurry when they saw me coming.

The cows have spent the last couple of nights out in the pines behind the pasture since the temperatures have been warmer so it has been nice that they are not dirtying the barnyard up quite so much. That means not so much mucking which is nice for me!

Since Hubby and son-in-law are gone, I invited Daughter #2 and her girls to come for breakfast. We had French Toast with real Maple Syrup. We enjoyed a relaxing morning and when they left for naps I cleaned up. I had ordered some wooden crates from a man who makes them so I ran out to go pick them up. I’m hoping they will work well for storing root crops in the pantry. I did some straightening up in the pantry yesterday. It needs a little more work but it’s coming along.

Finally I emptied sap. It was running well today. I think it should turn out to be a good week for it with temps cool enough at night and above freezing during the days.

The picture is of a Pine Grosbeak. I’ve not seen one of these here before but he has been here for a few days now and he has a couple of females hanging around so maybe we’ll see more of them before long. I was amazed at how close I got to them and they didn’t seem to be to concerned.

Well, I’m going to close this. I shall return but before I go I’d like to welcome a new follower and thank you for reading. Hope tomorrow brings a nice start to a good week!

Desarae

Little Peeps!

Can you believe it?! Chicks in March! I stopped in to Tractor Supply for something else and as I neared the first part of the store I heard that wonderful sound that in my mind means Spring! I didn’t plan on buy chicks this early but as I looked at them I decided there’s no reason not to get them now. By late Spring they should be ready to be put in with the other hens and they can enjoy the outdoors. I only bought four so I may get more later but for now this will increase the flock or should I say, keep the flock at a doable size. We will need to start keeping track of which ones are presently laying. There’s no reason to keep hens that don’t earn their keep! I bought Barred Rocks. They are known for being good consistent layers. Hopefully they will be laying by the end of the summer. The grandkids will be excited when they find out we have them.

The weather has gone from freezing cold to unbelievably warm, literally overnight. I’m not sure we will get much Maple sap this year. It is supposed to be cold enough at night though so we might be ok. As I went around the yard checking the trees yesterday it was too warm to have a coat on! There have been many times where we are tapping in April and it’s quite cold. I do hope the warmth is here to stay. What snow we had is leaving very quickly and will certainly be gone by the end of the day or so. It is such a wonderful thing this morning to hear a Robin calling out as the sun comes up.

Every year that we have such an abrupt thaw I can’t help but remember the fun we had as kids. We would go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and play in the rushing water that rolled over the knolls. We seemed to get more snow back then so the waters were actually quite deep. Now the same area is completely grown with trees so I’m sure it doesn’t receive the sunlight it used to, to melt so quickly.

The cows haven’t adjusted to the time change yet. As the sun comes up, I can see them lying out in the pasture under a tree. Between them and the back yard is a deer grazing as if she is just one of them; not!! It’s nice to see it’s warm enough for the cows to be comfortable out there. They are really shedding their winter coats so I am assuming any more cold weather won’t last long.

I must get my day under way. I’m thinking it is a good day to get the pantry in order in between laundry loads. Warmer temps make me think of a million things I might do!

Have a productive day!

Desarae

Sweet Endings

First, before I say anything else, let me thank those of you who ”liked” a post recently and my apologies for the picture in the last post. There are times when things change concerning the how-tos of blogging. The frustrating part is, this blogger doesn’t know why! I’ve always been a little suspicious of this carrier for reasons I won’t go into but have stuck with it just the same. The picture would not edit properly and little did I know, rather than show you the whole picture, it only loaded the top half, the only part I didn’t intend to be seen. You were supposed to see Papa pulling the grandkids on a sled behind the bee truck. My apologies again.

Today’s picture is of the homemade donuts we made which was a first for me! At least I don’t remember making donuts unless it was a very long time ago. The kids thought they were great and yes, they weren’t half bad!

Today, I write with concern we have been having over our deer Jersey girl, Genny. She had her 10th birthday in February as I may have mentioned. We had decided last August when Rosey was born that we would not breed Genny again. She is older and it is getting too hard on her. We don’t enjoy pushing animals beyond what is healthy for them and this girl is really slowing down. We have noticed over the winter that she is getting slower and this morning when we went out to milk her, she seemed worse than ever. So, we will watch her closely as it is supposed to warm up over the next couple of days. We hope warmer temps will help her perk up but if not I may be calling in the vet to find out what’s going on. Maybe arthritis? Ugh; this is the part about having animals that is hard. I don’t like to think of an animal being in pain.

The sunshine is beautiful this morning but we are supposed to get several inches of snow. Not really what we want at this point but then it is still March. The deer are foraging the yard as we wake up to tracks all around. Yesterday we saw a Bald Eagle which we assume may have found a carcass of something.

I finally got a small wine cooler for a cheese cave! I picked it up last week. The one that was given to me before was not repairable so I had to find another. Fortunately I didn’t have any money into the other one. This one is a little smaller which is just fine. I don’t need a very large one. I will let you know how I get on with aging cheese! I made fresh cheese curds last Thursday but those get eaten without aging.

Sorry this post is short and not too interesting. Seems our winter life has me slowed down even in the way of creative writing. I will hope to be back soon. Thanks for reading! I do hope you are doing well and that you are seeing your winter draw to a close.

Take care,

Desarae

Last Hurrah!

Well, no one ever really knows but according to the forecast, this is probably one of, if not the last time the kids will be able to be pulled around the pasture behind the bee truck. They had a lot of fun and got really wet! We had three grandsons over night Friday. Saturday morning we took the boys to a friend of the family’s house for one thing but came home with something we weren’t planning on. We were given about 30 bags that are used for tapping Maple trees! We are so excited because these are much nicer than buckets but we didn’t really want to spend the money on the bags when we have buckets we currently use. With the bags you don’t get rain, deer, insects, etc., in the sap. And wow, they are so much easier to store! They are considered disposable I believe but the bags are so thick that I will be washing and reusing them. Very exciting.

The boys were up at 5:30 not wanting to miss a thing. They had fun in the barn while we milked. They held the roosters for a while. I keep hoping they will remain friendly not only to each other but to us; however, wisdom says always keep your eye on them. Later in the day we added another grandson and three granddaughters to the mix for the afternoon and evening. Card games, forts made of blankets, bottomless pits and playing house for the girls. All good memories hopefully to be stored in the attics of their minds. The house was quiet when they all left and sleep was sweet last night.

It was pouring rain this morning which we were expecting but it was a morning to put the Yacks on in order to be able to walk on the ice rink going to the barn. Since the driveway has been frozen for some time now the rain could only flow like a river on it and it polished it even more. Unfortunately there was too much water on the frozen ground to be able to soak in so it has started to come into the milk parlor. Hopefully it won’t get any worse. We don’t really want a flooded work area. It was nice however to have a cleaner cow. I was tempted to go back to the house and get some shampoo to put on her back before she went back out in the rain. Cows can be unbelievably dirty. The ground is poking through in a few spots. When we walked by the camper coming in from the barn, I had the thought of ducking in, turning on the fireplace and snuggling in while listening to the rain on the roof. Then I came to my senses 🙂 Needless to say, today is a day to stay home, stay in and try to get some reading done. It is very windy so it may help to dry it up. I’ll just stay in my comfy chair and see if I can’t get my garden plans finished.

I have some things ordered that will need to be planted in the yard when they arrive and I want to plan exactly where they will go. I also need to decide where some transplants will go as well as an asparagus bed. It’s always a challenge to figure out the right location so that things get the right light, the right soil and so that they are protected from two legged creatures that mow grass! I’ll leave that one there with no further comment.

Have a great finish to your weekend. I appreciate you visiting Four Sisters Farm.

Desarae