Gardening progress and baby chicks

My elbow is almost back to normal.  It's so nice to be able to use my arm without that constant bone pain.  What a relief!

We had chicks hatching this past weekend.  They started on Thursday morning and the last one hatched on Saturday.  They're so cute.  Little balls of fluff.  And when they're not sleeping, they're chirping and looking for something to eat.

Chicks in the brooding box

We have 14 in all, 7 Rhode Island Red (the darker "brown" ones), 3 Brahma Cochin (yellow) and 3 mixed (Copper Maran and RIR).  The RIR chicks are destined for some friends.  The others will be additions to our flock.

When chicks are very small, you need to put rocks in the water dispenser so they can't drown.  I have only had that happen once, but it's very sad.  I hate seeing a small death that could have been prevented. 

I really dote on my babies.  I check on them often.  The brooder box is located on our back porch.  That way they're safe from predators and out of the weather.  Depending on the weather, they'll stay on the porch for 2 weeks or so.  They have to be able to regulate their own body temperature and large enough to withstand any exposure before I move them to a larger cage. 

If their mama had been taking care of them, she'd protect them and they'd nestle into her plumage for the next few months.  Until they're too large to fit under her any more.  But I don't have any plumage, so they have to be protected from the weather by my cage location and a lightbulb.

It's been fairly wet (thankfully), so it took us awhile to get the garden planted. 

I started our seeds in yogurt cups and had them on the back porch next to the brooder box.  They got a good start.  And so, yesterday, we got them all in the ground.

Seed starts and brooder box

I got all our seed for this year from Baker Creek.  They are nice folks.  The catalog is beautiful, and full of information!  http://www.rareseeds.com/

We're growing several varieties of squash and melons, 2 varieties of blond cucumbers, 2 varieties of red heirloom tomatoes, carrots, beets, okra, asparagus, onions, garlic and potatoes.  I'm sure I'll find a few more things to stick in the garden because I still have room left!

Garden before planting

The little section on the upper right that isn't plowed is the asparagus bed.

Garden after planting

Notice, the asparagus bed is now center left.  The tomato in the foreground is a small yellow that I overwintered in the house.  The plant in the pot in the background is a red chili that we've dug up and overwintered every year for the past few years.  It's not toooooooooooo hot.  Just right for our family.

The boxed in area is for the carrots and beets.  I'll be planting marigolds and nasturtiums along the border, as bug deterrent.

Last week when I was out taking pictures, a small garter snake was checking out the garden.

Can you see him?  Green  and yellow in the center of the picture

 My husband and son had seen it earlier in the day.

Our landscaping is looking very nice.  I "stole" the tomato cages my husband made last year and have them around my peonies.  We won't need tomato cages for some time yet, but I need to get those peonies staked before they start to bloom.  We can make more tomato cages. 

Peonies with commercial cage support

The lilacs are getting ready to bloom.  I love the smell of lilacs.  At my parent's homestead, 2 large light purple bushed had grown together to form a "cave".  My aunt and I used to play in there and pretend it was our fort.  Our dog Herkimer would be forced into playing in there with us.  Those are fond memories for me.  So when we bought this property, I got 4 different colors of lilac and planted them in a square.  Now they will form a nice space for someone else to cherish (who know, I may be the one crawling in there!)

Ok.  That's all for today.  I'll discuss more gardening, landscaping and chickens as the spring and summer progress.

Go outside and enjoy the beautiful day!

Egg custard and veggie garden plans

My first task for this morning is to make my men some egg custard.  John LOVES custard.  And since we get 5 eggs a day, custard is NO problem!

The recipe I used is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook... you know the one.  Page 254.

This is a very simple recipe.  Before you begin mixing the ingredients, set your oven to 325.  You also need a pie pan & 6 custard cups.  I put my pie pan on a baking sheet.  Now, put the custard cups in the pie pan and pour boiling water around them.

Egg Custard (flan)

3 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
nutmeg and allspice to sprinkle on the top

In a large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients.  Pour into the custard cups, sprinkle with nutmeg and allspice.  Bake for 40 minutes.

Here's the pictures from this morning.

Doesn't that look yummy?

I'm also planning our garden.  John and Josh tilled the garden over a week ago, before the snow.  If the weather cooperates today, it will get another pass and I'll get the "root" veggies" into the ground.  Here's what we're planning to plant this weekend.

Sweet potato

Blue and red potatoes.  Red and yellow onions.

Walking onions.  I've never seen any plants like these so I thought I'd try them.

Carrots, beets and cabbage.

I also want to get some seeds started for transplant later.  Here's the list.

Flowers for the flower beds and around the garden for insect control.

Plants for the herb garden and on the patio.

And of course, lettuce for salad all summer long.

We love big tomatoes.  Okra is a necessity.

Who could live without squash?

Or cucumbers?

And a nice, ripe melon is HEAVEN!

Our garden didn't do as well last year.  It got too hot, too soon.  Our hottest day last year was June 28th when it was 111F!  Holy moly!  We were in "severe" drought all summer, and I believe we're just finally out of it.  It's been a very dry 12 months.

Northeast walkway and garden in background.

This picture was taken last year on March 31st.  The garden is in the background.  Notice that the onions are already in the ground and the soil is DRY?  The peonies were blooming already.  The peaches were DONE blooming.  It was 86 degrees that day.  Simply amazing.

Josh had just come to live with us that month.  My brother-in-law Joey and his wife Lisa were also living here then.  We had a house full. 

Joe tilled the garden and got the onions planted.  Lisa had lots of plants started in pots for a sale were were going to be in at the Hardy Gym.

In 2011, we had floods.  The Spring River didn't flood as long as some of the other local rivers.  The Black River and the White River were still over flood stage when we took a trip to Georgia for the 4th of July.  In fact, the Mississippi was so high that weekend, we were concerned we might not make it back on time!  We have a long growing season here.  This tomato was still blooming in October.  Notice Curly Joe our lavender guinea behind the tomato?




 We had a pretty good garden in 2010, but for some reason I don't have any pictures of it....  Hummmmm.  I think it's because my grand daughter was here all summer.  And I hurt my back that summer.  That was rough.  So I wasn't outside as much, digging in the ground.  But our homestead still looked pretty good that summer, as you can see from this picture.

Tammy and Ariel catching tadpoles in the "pond".

I know we had beets and carrots in the garden that year.  Ariel helped me dig them up and eat them.  I remember she really liked the Bull's Blood beets.  They're very sweet.  She even asked me, "Can I stay up late and eat beets?"  WOW!

Here's the garden in 2009.  That's the hickory tree that fell in the garden (I discussed this in my last post).

John out standing in his garden.

And the veggies we got that year were excellent.

Late winter flowers

The weather here has been on a bit of a see-saw.  Cold, warm, cold, warm.  One day we had a high of 31.  The next day it was 51!  That confuses the birds and the bees.  And the flowers. 

Our daffodils and hellebores are peaking through the mulch.  I haven't had a chance to take pictures yet this year, but here's what they looked like last year....

Helebore by the den window

I love the color of this hellebore.  I hadn't ever grown any before.  But I planted them in 2011, and here's what they looked like that first early spring.

Daffodils by the west door

This hellebore is right next to the purple one.  The 2 colors really compliment each other.  I'm really happy with the way these plants have thrived.






All the daffodils around our house have been transplanted and redistributed from those that were here when we bought the house.  We have several different colors, some doubles and even some that are very tiny white and yellow.

Tiny white and yellow daffodil

I love this little flower.  I've been looking for a small figurine of a fairy that I can hide in beside it.

Tiny double daffodil

These found these tiny flowers in this spot when we started cleaning up that first spring (2006).  I love the way they're placed in amongst the rocks.  It's very picturesque.  It makes me smile.

Trillium

 

This trillium is also a new flower to me.  I saw some in a catalog and thought I'd try them.  I really like the soft purple color...  Can you tell I like purple?





Back in 2010, I decided to handquilt a square as part of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's (PDF) Awareness Quilt that was to be displayed in Scotland in that fall.  So, I sorted through my fabric stash and selected all my batik fabrics.  The background is a lovely sky blue.

My Parkinson's Awareness block

I cut each petal and leaf separately, then used matching embroidery floss to stitch it down with a blanket stitch.  I didn't have an exact design or layout in mind when I started.  I just let each piece of fabric "talk" to me and tell me where to place it.  It was a great project and I really enjoyed doing it.
Here's a picture of the work in progress.  See it there behind my leg??

And here's what the quilt looked like on display.

I was honored by PDF, and was featured in their 2012 calendar and their Parkinson's Creativity project.  Here's the PSA (public service announcement) they provided on the subject:

Williford Resident’s Artwork Selected for Parkinson’s Charity Calendar

 

New York, NY, December 13, 2011 — Williford, AR resident Penny Teem is one of 13 artists whose work was selected to appear in the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s (PDF) 2012 Creativity and Parkinson’s calendar. Her quilt panel entitled, “Flowers of the Field” is featured in the month of April, which also is recognized as Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

Ms. Teem, a Navy veteran, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s seven years ago. She has been creative since a young age; she began sewing and knitting at the age of nine. In recent years, she began creating quilts using applique, a technique of using smaller pieces of a fabric to create a design on a larger background. Ms. Teem says she that when she is quilting and keeping her hands moving, her Parkinson’s tremors seem to stay under better control.

PDF’s Creativity and Parkinson’s Project exists to explore, support and encourage the therapeutic value of creativity in Parkinson's. So when Ms. Teem she heard that the project was creating awareness quilt for Parkinson’s, she was eager to contribute her talents.

Her quilt panel was chosen from 600 others to be featured in PDF’s annual print calendar, which is distributed nationwide to nearly 20,000 people.

Ms. Teem said of her experience with creativity, “In a way, being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease was a blessing. It changed my life for the better because it gave me the life I wanted. If my hands are going to move, I wanted to focus them in a positive direction and do something creative with them. The saying ‘Flowers in the Field’ inspired me to create this quilt. Many of us have Parkinson’s but the disease is different for each person. Like a flower we are similar but we are all unique.”

Robin Elliott, Executive Director of PDF, said “We thank Ms. Teem for her contributions to the Creativity and Parkinson’s Project and applaud her for having her artwork selected for the 2012 calendar. Her works, those of the 13 other individuals featured in calendar and the more than 270 in the online gallery, have inspired those affected by Parkinson’s who come to PDF looking not only for information, but also for hope. At PDF, we are hopeful that by creating for Ms. Teem works and those of other people living with Parkinson’s; we can begin a conversation about the reports of beneficial effects of creativity.”

Those interested in learning more about Ms. Teem’s artwork may contact the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation by calling (800) 457-6676, emailing info@pdf.org, or visiting www.pdf.org/creativity.

About the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) is a leading national presence in Parkinson’s disease research, education and public advocacy. We are working for the nearly one million people in the US who live with Parkinson’s by funding promising scientific research while supporting people living with Parkinson’s through educational programs and services. Since its founding in 1957, PDF has dedicated over $90 million to fund the work of leading scientists throughout the world and over $37 million to support national education and advocacy programs.

Homesteading is hard work

When people hear the term "homesteading", what do they think of?  Someone moving from the "city" to the "country", putting in a garden & some herbs.  Getting some chickens....  Canning and dehydrating, making pickles, baking bread...  Tilling the garden.  Hoeing the garden.  Watering the garden.  Checking daily for bugs (cabbage worms & tomato worms).  Working on an old house.  Cutting and stacking firewood.  Working on roofs, replacing windows, fixing walls.  Laying walkways.  Buying a tractor.  Felling trees.    Getting a "farm truck".  Believe me, you DON'T just move from the city into the country and become a "hobby farmer" without a willingness to do HARD work and get lots of blisters and an empty bank account.

So, I'd like to do a photo history of rehabilitating our homestead.

It started with finding our dream house on the real estate MLS service.  We were living in Northern Georgia and it was John's dream to move to Arkansas.  This required several trips just looking at property until we found what we wanted.  And here's what we found.

12 sided oak log house on 42 acres

Notice the outbuilding in the back?  That's where John set up his workshop.  There are 2 rooms (one with a wood heater).  And there are 2 horse stables.  And a space for hay storage.  The hay storage became a general storage room, mostly for large appliances and lumber.  The larger stable became the "garage" for tractor, lawn mower and golf cart.  The smaller stable is more general storage (think chicken wire, ply wood...).

The interior of the house had been totally stripped in 2000 by the DEA following a drug raid.  I understand they were prepared for a bloody shootout with the druggies and even had a TANK here.  Heck, the house IS 6x6 oak logs...  A real fortress. 

There's an addition/den and enclosed "patio" also.

Den with driftwood

The driftwood was immediately removed and helped fuel the fireplace & burning the knee deep leaves around the place.

So, as I said the interior was totally stripped.  We had the kitchen counter, 2 toilets and a claw-foot tub.  There's also a cool 70's style freestanding fireplace.  And the main feature of the house is the fact that it's built around a ROCK.  In fact, that's how our "farm" got it's name.  When we were closing on the place, the title company kept asking us for the name of our "ranch".  Ranch??  What ranch??  Well, it seems that in Arkansas, if you own 40 acres or more; it's a ranch.  Oh.  OK.   So, our "ranch" is named Big Rock Farm.  Because we have BIG ROCKS.  And we're only going to grow BIG ROCKS.

Anyway, here's what the interior looked like.

You can't tell from this picture, but there's a very large hole in the wall between the sink and the toilet.

The sink wasn't there when we purchased the house.  But we did find in out in the pasture behind the workshop.  So, John (being the very handy guy that he is) installed it!  I'm so glad I married a handy man... 

That makes me think of Red Green... But that's a story for another day!

So here's the Big Rock. 

We found a very nice woodstove out in the yard, under a tree.  It's only got 3 legs.  As best as we can tell, this woodstove had been installed ON the rock - thus using it as a thermal mass.

 We've since talked to some people who knew the people who actually built this house & they told us that the woodstove was indeed ON the rock.  And that was the only heat intended for the whole house.




Here's what the great room looked like.

Here again you can see the big rock.











And now for the den.

Here you can see the freestanding fireplace, the threshold into the enclosed "patio", and the clawfoot tub.  We put the wood flooring down.  We got it locally, from the recycling center.  We have the same flooring in the great room.







We had no landscaping.  No garden.  Holes in the walls, no ceiling....  And we were happy!

Laying out the border for the walkway and flower beds

 We found bricks lying around everwhere.  So, I started laying them out for the border for the flower beds and the walkway I wanted to lay.

Where the druggies had their "garden"

We wanted to have a garden, but we didn't know WHAT the druggies had been growing in their "garden", so we took all this fencing down and tilled the ground.  And then we just left it, to become part of the yard.








And now, I'd like to show you what 7 years of work have completed.

Our main walkway and flower garden.

The Big Rock with propane heater.

Dining/kitchen area.

While John was busy cleaning out the workshop, I started laying the stone walkway from stone plied around in the pasture.  I think it came out pretty well.










We invested in a propane tank and 2 propane heaters.  One went in the den/guest room.  And the other went on the Big Rock.  I really like the way it looks.










The kitchen island was a dresser we found out in the workshop.  We repainted it.  It had no top, but the piece of butcher block was also lying out in the workshop.  And so, we had a complete kitchen island.  I bought the reconditioned hoosier at a local antique store.  And I painted the entire great room in the same color scheme to tie everything together.

Living area with our handmade loom

We turned one corner of the great room into my "fiber corner".  I have my weaving loom (which John and I built) and my spinning wheels in this part of the room.  Sadly, because of my health issues I decided it was time to stop weaving.  Happily, I was able to pass the loom on to a dear friend who is using it.  That's a good thing.  And John's handiwork is still being used by someone who loves it.

Bird cages

We turned the old dog kennels into big cages.  We have Rhode Island Red chickens, Brahma Cochin chickens, guinea fowl and bantam chickens.  And sometimes we have quail.

John in the garden

And, here's the garden.  This picture is from 2010.  That hickory tree has since come down in a wind storm.  It did hit the fence and the roof of the small outbuilding just to the left of the garden.  But that tree provided a lot of firewood and lumber.

Anyway, that's all for today.  Hope you liked looking at the pictures. 

We've done alot of work.  But we've loved it!