Early Morning Ramble

This weekend  I'm starting my seeds in their little cups and get as much as I can started.Then I got to figure out "where" to put everything. I have lots of pots and lots of room on the deck.I have 5 gallon buckets for the carrots already. And a trash can for the potatoes. This year it'll be green beans ,tomatoes,carrots,potatoes and herbs.Sounds good right?

Here in the south,the cold has been slipping away and now it feels more like spring. I can actually open the windows and doors to let some nice air in. Last year we bought these small screens to put up in the windows and they seem to work great. Those hords of frogs has moved over to the pond now and not under our bedroom window.Boy they were loud!

As I sit here this morning,clouds are coming in and we are in for some more rain.It's our rainy season here in March and April.I have to watch about planting anything outside because any seeds could rot.Allergies are taking a stab at us,hubstead and myself have gotten sinus problems but I figured it is the weather doing it.I am sleeping under a fan now just to be able to breathe.

This weekend I'm putting on a pot roast with carrots,potatoes and onions.We haven't had one in awhile and I get these cravings for certain foods.Pot roast is my favorite.In mine I add a couple cloves of garlic.Garlic adds alot of flavor to it.

Orion is itching to get out of the house and in the yard.I've been keeping him on his lead so he can wander about in the yard.I have no idea how he is going to react to the chickens once they get here.I think deep down I'll have to keep him away from the coop.He don't like things that flutter and make noise.Also I need to give him a bath,fleas are a nuisance here and also ticks get bad.This year will be a fight  again.But we are going to lime the yard to see if it helps.

I have a friend who sent me some feathers and I made a pair of earrings yesterday from them.

They're Guinea feathers

Other random pics.

Don't throw out those white milk cartons I made garden markers out of mine.

When that ice storm came thru.

We're fixing to get 70 degree weather,hope it stays like that for awhile.I'm itching myself to get in the yard and do some planting.No I don't have fleas and I do bathe hahaha! Yah! we finally got a hot water heater.Soon very soon we'll be able to take a proper bath and shower.Yep we have been without a water heater for over a year now and it's been rough.As soon as hubstead hooks it up and gets it going,I'm hitting the shower.You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. I figure sooner or later,we 're going to have to replace alot of things in this house.This is the first of many.My microwave went out and the dishwasher is on the fritz.I guess they come in threes.We'll see what goes next,but oh well,everything here is old. The truck is running great after replacing the water pump and the tires are holding up.The yard is still muddy but not as much.We're getting rain probably tomorrow so the mud will be there again.We still have to park in the driveway near the road.

I don't about some people but have you ever had a diningroom table to get piled up with stuff? It seems mine stays that way.Of course we don't have alot of places to put things now.Yep one room is a pantry sort of and the other is a bedroom and the small room became an office.Our bedroom is starting to get filled up too.It's amazing how after not even two years here,we have collected so much stuff.My sister-in-law made a comment about that how the house is starting to look"lived in". I try to save and recycle anything worth saving.The kitchen,I have NO room at all.Everything is full. I like to cook as much as I can ,so I collect stuff to do just that.Spoons ,dishes whatever I can get my hands on.I'm looking at some cast iron skillets now.

Ok the rambling is over I think I covered just about everything going on.Have a Happy Tuesday!!!

Still not Dried Out

We are still wet around here and having to park the truck in the front of the driveway.We are getting just enough rain to keep everything wet.Oh well hopefully soon we'll start getting much needed sunshine!

On a better note,I started the tomatoe plants and they are coming up just fine. I also planted the Corsican gourd seeds but they will take awhile to sprout. I repotted my aloe into a bigger pot and the avocado tree is growing very well. I'm interested in seeing how the Korean dark peppers are going to do.Last time I grew these purple tomatoes and although they looked pretty on the vine,the taste was not what I expected. They were somewhat bitter and too acidic. I'm trying something new every year to break up the regular garden variety. Soon,I will be be planted my herbs and other vegetables!

There hasn't been much going on around here,just sitting and waiting until the first of the month to gather all the rest of soil and I have already gotten the outside beds ready for some planting.April is pretty rainy here in the south but come May it goes away and we'll get more sun. I have a few things in the works but will post later on these projects.

Muddy Mess

Well we got through the snow fall and it melted and then we got sleet and finally that melted but the front yard is nothing but a big mud hole so much so that we had to start parking at the entrance to the driveway.Got the truck stuck twice and had to have a tow out of one of them.What a pain that was.NOW we are getting nothing but rain and it's making a bigger mud hole.Oh well what can you do but wait it out until it dries.I am glad the snow is over with.We had a cold and had to have the truck fixed and got snowed in all in one week.It was nasty.

I managed to get up off my rump and start some seeds.I got the gourds started and tomatoes.I'm trying out some Dark Korean Peppers this year to see how they are going to do here.I need to get my carrots started but haven't got the buckets yet.Yes I'm going to try to raise some in 5 gallon buckets.We got a very large rabbit hanging around now.I figure I can put those on the back deck. The avocado trees are growing like crazy and I have 4 cherimoya trees coming up.For all you don't know what those are-

from the smartergardener.com

I figured why not try something new.They grow in California but I don't know how they'll grow here.Will keep you updated.So far so good, I got 4 out of 5 coming up.Don't know where in the yard I'm gonna plant them or if they will do good in big pots.If you're curious look these up online and see how big they grow.

Heres the babies-

Cherimoyas

Avocados

Aloe

Those are my plants I got to repot this summer.I have celery growing in a pot in the kitchen.Seems to be doing good but I think it needed to be potted in a bigger pot.Somone said I had a green thumb,pretty good for someone who used to kill everything!

Hubstead is still talking about putting the smokehouse in this summer. I hope he does.I love smoke meat just not alot of it at once.But I thought it would be a great idea for us to build one. And yes the chicken house will go in too.Got soooo much do this summer.Stepping up every year and putting in something new.I love it!

My niece gave me some yard long green beans that I'll be putting in.Hers done really good and she had alot. I think I'm going for the odd this year just to see if I can grow it.My gourds are Corsican gourds and I'll be able to make crafts from them and sell them. I'm trying to balance out for chicken feed and organic stuff for the garden.I can sell stuff to buy supplies I need.I won't be putting in luffas this year unless I can get the trellis built.I wanted to but will have to wait and see on those.I still have a crapload of seeds though.

Well that's what has been going on,dealing with the mud and the snow and rain.I'll be happy when it's all over with! But so far so good!

So Much SNOW!

Yeah we got hit hard,in some places ,we got 11 inches.I like snow but not so much so fast.It came down in buckets!

Back deck

Needless to say the truck isn't going anywhere!

The road out back

When it first started,Orion liked it but after it got thicker,no so much!

I personally have never seen Alabama in so much snow.But this year was worse than last year.Good news though it will melt fast,it's already is melting. We are enjoying it right now.

This weekend starts the planting seeds in containers.I have to set up something in our diningroom for these guys.I'm very much excited with all the new seeds I'll be planting.Hoping Spring will come soon.This weekend it's suppose to warm up to almost 60. The problem I have is that most of our windows in the house face north so it's going to be hard to find a south facing window for the plants when they start growing.I guess I'll have to buy some plant lights for them.

Hubstead an I have come down with a little cold.Fortunately it hasn't been bad.I try to prepare for times like this.I gather all the stuff for at least four days of staying in.We did good this year. Any time time they say snow it's a mad rush to the stores.I did everything ahead of time and got it over with,I like being prepared. 

I guess we'll lazy around today and I'll find something to do.Been trying to keep up with the weather channels and seeing where all this mess is going and what's coming. Everyone stay warm and off the roads if you don't need to travel!

Saturday Updates

My Birthday dinner

The Avocado tree is getting bigger!

Orion is eating a milkbone,he ate two like this.mmmDon't know if genius or lazy?

Mushroom and spinach Puff Pastry

This was soooo good!

2 tbsp. butter

1 red onion,halved and sliced

2 garlic cloves

3 cups open capped mushrooms(I used button mushrooms)

6 oz. of baby spinach

pinch of nutmeg

4 tbsp. double(heavy) whipped cream

8 oz.prepared puff pastry(ok I used crescent rolls)

1 egg beaten

salt and pepper

2 tsp. poppy seeds(or not)

1.Melt the butter in a skillet.Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes,stirring well,until onions have softened.

2.Add the mushrooms,spinach,and nutmeg and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

3.Stir in the double(heavy) cream,mixing well.

4.Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove the pan from the heat.

5.Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and cut into four 6 inch circles.I made triangles out of mine.

6.Spoon a quarter of the filling on to one half of each circle and fold the pastry over to encase the filling.Press down to seal the edges of the pastry and brush with the beaten egg,sprinkle with the poppy seeds.

7.Place the parcels on to a dampened baking sheet(cookie sheet) and cook in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown.

8.Transfer the mushroom  and spinach puff to a serving plate and serve immediately.

These things are great and if you don't want just the mushrooms and spinach you can add chicken strips in and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top.

This Sunday thru Wednesday we are suppose to get ice and snow. I want Spring to come so if we are peaking on winter everything else is downhill from now on to warmer weather!

Friday Update

I haven't wrote in awhile and there really hasn't been a whole lot going on.I have been however collecting containers to start the seedlings in.This year I'm going with the red cups with drilled holes in the bottom.You can get a pack of thirty and I figured right now that was pretty good to start with.I have over 70 containers right now.

The next thing will be getting soil to put into these containers. I have my seed list ready and seeds to get going . I'm planting twice as much as I did last year and this year I'll have gourds ready by fall. The list includes tomatoes,peppers,lettuce,gourds,luffas,peas,green beans,carrots,potatoes in cans,onions and I may try my hands at broccoli  or cabbage,I haven't made up my mind yet.Oh and squash,straight and butternut.
I hope I haven't bit off more than I can chew on this years garden,we'll see.I had a blast doing it last year.I may have to hire some help on this one(giggling)Hubstead works alot this time of year and really doesn't have time to help me.At least when I go to bed I can sleep cause I'll be so darn tired.

My avocado trees are growing really well and the aloe is getting bigger,which soon I'll have to transplant into a bigger pot.Pots yep got to get some more.I'm trying carrots in a five gallon bucket this year.I seen a video on it and it looked like it works well and I can keep the rabbits and deer out too cause I can put them on the back porch. I'm trying this this year with different things and seeing if it works,if it does,I'll do the same next year.

Update on my double Avocado trees.

Aren't they great?

Anyone else got one like this??????