This has been Different

 Came all the way from Nevada, sage brush. And it smells wonderful.

The rain is coming pretty steady and it's really getting my garden to grow good. A lot better than last year with the infernal heat wave we had. It's been cool and it's 73 degrees right now.  Very cool for June here in the south. But I did notice next week the heat is coming. Thats Ok I got okra that loves the

Echinacea's are blooming and the Gladiolus are full. Very pretty too. I planted a store bought Lavendar and its doing well. I don't normally plant too many flowers but this year I threw a bunch of seeds out and just hope they come up.

Planted carrots and they came up to my surprise. and the early girl tomatoes are loaded. Already have the fall list started and I'll be putting in turnip greens again. Mesa thinks I'm getting the hang of gardening. I've always loved growing stuff but didn't have a green thumb till I got here.

Anyways I'm happy about this year, it has been good.

Well there's a first for everything

 Ok no it wasnt funny but earleir I got a rotten egg. Talk about gagging,that was so dang nasty. But at least I cracked it in a bowl. I guess the girls was getting back at me for telling them I was boiling their children the other night. They are kinniving little snots.

Going Good so Far

We've been getting plenty of rain and everything in the garden is growing really good.I planted tomatoes,green beans,zucchinis,jalapenos(but could definitely use more),brussel sprouts,carrots,spoon tomatoes,bitter melons ,artichokes,amd okra, I planted 4 winged beans cause I really wanted to see how they would do here. Oh and cucumbers. My herbs I planted Yarrow,basil,mountain mint,dill and I still have the lemon balm going. The strawberry patch is going strong already. I'll post pictures when the plants get bigger.

Finally got thru with the new chicken pen,Had a heck of a time getting it. The first one they lost so I ordered a second one and it took me a week but it's put together. The girls love it. Why pen and not free range? There is a huge hawk that flies around here and it has set it's sights on the girls but so far it's been staying at a distance. I try very hard to take care of them. I'm getting eggs every day which is good and they get treats too. I haven't seen any snakes slithering around but kitties keep them at bay. Oh yeah got two black cats now. They're feral but getting tamed. I didn't want cats but after the run in Ollie had with that snake last year I said nope going to keep them around.

I'm reading Tony Hillerman books. I love the southwest.He's a good writer and has many books out. I'm reading Skinwalkers right now and this was made into a movie with Adam Beach and Wes Studi. 

I've been ordering some stuff that requires rechargeable batteries. I got a weedeater( very light for me to handle) and a mini chainsaw( I love it),I ordered a water pump that can either be plugged in or use with a battery, If you ladies out there cant use the bigger ones try these, alot less strain and pain and they came with cases except the weed eater.

ok thats about it just can't wait to start canning!!!

Please feel free to leave comments!

Garden setup this year.

He was 5 years old on April 1st,

this is my bull thistle in the backyard,that thing is huge!

There's a smaller one on the other side.

strawberry patch

radishes,tomatoes and peppers

brussel sprouts

tomatoes,early girls

flower bed

artichokes

carrots and winged beans

Got it in finally, all cleaned up. It was rough while still having to deal with the long haul covid but not as bad as a couple of months ago. Got a tiller and that made things easier except for the Alabama clay we got. It seems just maybe it'll work this year. They said we were going into an El Nino I'm thinking more rain. I still have these bitter melons to put in and I have no idea where to put them.

Ollie is doing so much better but his leg still pops when he runs. He's gained his weight back and he really needs to drop a little. But I'm so happy he's functioning. The chickens are putting out some decent amount of eggs and I'm setting up a bigger pen for them to run around in. I wished I could let them forage but there's seems to be two large hawks that know they're here, So that's out.

Well better get up off my behind and go do some more work. Never things to run out of when you have a homestead.

Almost

Almost lost him

He loves to play with his laser light and on the 22nd of December he played too long. Ended up pulling both his back legs to the point he couldn't walk.And he got a urinary tract infection and he was really bad. Instead of taking him to the vet here and they are horrible people,I doctored him myself with cranberry chews for dogs and CBD oil and it worked great. He's back to his old self and he has become a couch troll.

It's almost that time to start in the garden and I got alot of work to do. This year I'm starting to winter sow,putting seeds in milk jugs and let them hibernate til they're ready to come up. I hope this year it won't be as hot as it was last year. So far right now it's wet and cold here (Alabama) and getting colder. But it feel good compared to that summer last year.Im going for Mountain Mint and Artichokes. We'll see what happens.

I'm doing more woodburning and starting to do windchimes'

This is just one of the 5 I've done. I've had fun with them,

I'm in the process of doing a long purple one and calling it purple rain

 

My outside one.

I'm going to do more of them for around here. Some of the beads are acrylic others are glass. The wood I'm using is Maple .

Candle Holders

These were fun.

Well I think I'm all caught up. Ollie is walking and doing good,Spring is around the corner and everyone is doing great so have a great evening and will post some more later. Oh you guys can leave me a message on here at the bottom.

Autumn is Here

these are what I'm making now

 It was so dry here this summer,I was exhausted trying to keep up. now that fall is here and the leaves were so pretty and the air cooled down I'm beginning to feel like my old self. Winter is knocking on the door and I love it.

I am making these

New stuff these are tea light candle holders. I woodburned them myself..

Another suncatcher.

This one is purple. I have enjoyed making these and have a big one to put on the porch. I'll post it when I'm done.

Yeah my ancestors are from Ireland and Scotland' The top one means Ireland forever and the bottom is Scotland forever. 

I can't believe I could do canning this year, but I did it. I've already opened some of the food and it was fantastic.

I've kept quite busy trying to fix up this old place and it's slowly coming together. It's been hard on me since I had that covid and I'm trying to keep it together. But boy it's hard. I really would love to go back to Texas but now NO,it's been really scary there and I'm too old to try moving again. I'm still looking to trade this doublewide for a singlewide but haven't found anything yet. My Ollie(the dog) has been such a joy to have. He keeps me laughing and on my toes.

I just checked outside, and it's pouring rain and feels so good. I wished we had this stuff this past summer. Come Spring I'm hitting that garden full force. The only thing I got growing right now is turnip greens. I found some seeds on Etsy that have just the tops not the turnips. I was doing really good on my diet but now I fell off the wagon and burned it and roasted marshmellows. It's my fault but the will power is gone. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and now here comes Christmas. Joy. Well I'm going to enjoy the rain,hope everyone has a decent evening.

It was a Long Hot Summer

 I am so glad this summer is over with. It felt like it would never end. The garden didnt do anything because of the relentless sun and no water. I tried to keep caught up but the covid I had last year really messed me up. I feel like I'm walking thru mud just to get around not including my lungs hurting. I did get the girls thru all this heat,they didn't like it one bit.

Then there was the bird flu and I had to keep them in most of the summer. which did not make me popular.Nor did they understand,I felt so bad for them. Then one morning I walked out on the back deck and the big hawk was no more than 15 feet away. I almost lost it but he has been cleaning up the armadillo problem I was having.

THE FLUFFY BUTT HUT

My chicken coop.

I put the white plastic on top to reflect the heat and it healped keep the rain out too. Speaking of rain,this September it has rained here only twice. I'm hoping we'll get more.

He has gotten so spoiled rotten.

I do miss Orion,but at least he isnt hurting any more, 

I did managed to get some Malabar Spinach planted and some sweet potatoes and peppers and jalapenos. Those have done quite well but the rest what a flop. I also got a canner and have been learning how to can things which I never thought I could do but I am! The fig tree has gotten huge and the muscadines did very well. The blackberries were in abundance and so were the strawberries. Odd how some things will do good some year and others not so much but I think the heat had something to do with it. 

These are all the Hibiscus bushes I got . So freaking pretty!!!!

This was
 where the blackberry bushes were and still are.There were so many of them.

Im into woodburning now.

Well I guess Im somewhat caught up for now. Its cooling down and feeling like fall here. Glad you could stop by and now since I have a laptop maybe I can keep up. Have a great evening!