The beautiful bride!

Ok - obviously I've been neglectful in my blogging. I have excuses I promise! :) September and October have become akin to the April I had this year, which was busy let me tell you. I was on the interview trail during April, so much so that I was only "home" 17 days out of the whole month. Yowza!

September was chock full of meetings, fields days, Mom's birthday (the big 6-0), more meetings, beef harvesting (butchering), the Lost Rivers grazing Academy in beautiful Salmon, Idaho and the wedding of an amazing lady to an amazing guy! I was home for half of the weekends in September. Again, yowza!

Turkey number 1 of 3:56 lbs of meat overall.

October has been a bit more laid back than September - I'll be home three out of four weekends. Ha! Meetings, coaching team members from Idaho's state 4H livestock judging team, again with more meetings, a full week of new employee orientation in Moscow on the University of Idaho's campus, poultry harvesting, and my first evaluation as a UI Extension Educator are all on the docket for October. By this time yowza might not cover it. :)

However, my freezer is full, my pantry is going to be full once I get all the produce I picked up in the Yakima Valley canned-up, I've gotten to visit with my equally as busy brother and sister-in-law and parents. My girls (goats) are bred and in 4.5 months the babies will arrive, milk will flow, cheese and yogurt will be made and the bottle feeding of day-old calves will begin. My other girls (dogs) are very happy I'm home (and so am I!) that they want to cuddle all the time. I get a temporary roommate in December (I'm hosting a local ag student teacher).

I am very thankful for the opportunities I've had to re-establish relationships with friends and family, as well as begin new friendships with people in the area. As busy, and a yowza, as my life gets, I enjoy it. But I need a nap! ;)

Chickens...Clucking Brilliant!

If you've been keeping up with my blog you know I've had wretched luck with chickens this year! So I decided to bite the bullet and buy one of those per-fabricated coops online. The Chicken Saloon received my business and shipped "The Corral" in a timely manner. Everything arrived intact and all the parts were there. Yippee! The FedEx guy brings me wonderful things. :)


This is supposed to house 3-4 full-sized chickens. I always like the animals to have plenty of room so I've got only two chicks in there. Later on I might add one more hen, probably a banty. I like it for the nest boxes and it looks like a little barn. Cute! Those are some happy little hen chicks. I'm looking forward to seeing those beautiful Silver Laced Wyandottes and their yummy eggs, hopefully in the spring! :)

We've also ad some bad luck concerning dogs. Yotee got away from me the other day and went to chase cars. He was hit by one which didn't slow down or stop to see if he was still alive. I was not happy about that! What if it was their dog? Wouldn't they want someone to do that for them? Anyways, Yotee came out of it with only a tibial fracture and will be in a rigid splint for roughly 8 weeks. He just had his wrappings changed and is now sporting a hot pink right, rear leg! He is ashamed. This is a picture a few days after it happened. That's the new guy, Kooper, in the background. Yotee's a bit crabby at the moment, but they play and have fun when they can. Kooper is currently upstairs barking at himself in the mirror...see what I'm working with? :)

We had our first hard frost last night, which is one whole month PAST the average frost dates for this area. I have to say I've enjoyed it immensely, but alas, winter is definitely on its way. *sigh* I decided to clean-up my little garden since there won't be anymore growing weather. I had a pleasant surprise at the amount of food I was able to get. I'm already planning on what I want to do next year. *teehee* What you see here are parsley, chives, rosemary, pumpkins, and tomatoes. Pretty good haul for being a bad year and learning how to garden in a whole new climate! Kinda proud. :)

And look at all food for my goaties! Glorious because they really, really like their forages! They're not really sure how they feel about the pumpkin plants yet, but I'm confident it wall get eaten! They love green things to eat! :)

I was able to mulch my strawberries before the frost. Thanks to purchasing a "bale" of cedar chips for the chickens, I ended up with a ton of extra and put it to good use!


I did way better with the pumpkin growing than I thought I would and now will have some for decoration at home and work. I'm hoping they ripen up though I have no idea if that will happen. Anyone out there know?
                                
                                                  Happy Fall Ya'll! :)

The Ups and Downs...

So we've had an interesting time lately here at the Muddy Manicure. Depression relapse, tibial fractures, disappearing chickens and house training new puppies have reared their ugly head recently!

I suffer from clinical depression and recently had a relapse that lasted the latter part of the summer. This caused me to spend a lot of time traveling between Montana and Washington to visit family. I also suffer from seasonal affects disorder and "clicked" into fall and started to feel sooo much better! :) I was feeling some of the warning signs but hadn't realized how far the depression had progressed. During this time I came to the conclusion that I will never beat the depression; I'll just have to pay closer attention.

Once I surfaced from the relapse, dad and Scott came over for a guided antelope hunt. They teamed up with Toby Werk from Blue Heaven Montana and Scott filled his tag immediately. It was a good hunt and everyone had a good time!

As a result of the hunt, my dad misplaced his really expensive binoculars. He requested me to head out to the gut pile to see if they were left out there. So I headed out yesterday and took my pups with me. Yotee came with me to scout out the gut pile and instead of behaving he took off the 1/4 mile to the highway and got hit. He ended up with a tibial fracture and I thank goodness that Dr. Schmidt in Chinook was able to take him on. He came home today and is a bit more mobile than I thought he'd be, but it's obvious that he hurts pretty bad.


For those of you who have been keeping up on the chicken escapades I have news. The goose (who thinks it's a goat) is the only bird left from the original group. I purchased an order of 5 silver laced wyandottes from Cackle Hatchery. They arrived happy and healthy and were doing great until my mom's wiener dog ate one. Then the next trip home two more chicks drowned in the water bucket.

So I am now down to two chicks and I caved and bought a pre-fabricated chicken coop from Chicken Saloon. It cost me a pretty penny but I'm hoping it will preserve the chicks I have left. It's called the "Corral" and it turned out pretty cute. I gave myself a blister putting it together but it was way easy to put together by myself and came in good condition!
 
I ended up with a new puppy when Lil Guy was run over. Sad day! I miss him! I now have Kooper who was one of Karen's puppies that she wasn't able to keep. He's a pretty good little doggie but he's no Lil Guy! :) I'm luck y that he was pretty much house trained but having been in a crate most of his life, I'm finding that I'm having to teach him how to be a dog. It's an interesting experience for sure!

Well that's all folks! Enjoy the dregs of summer! :)

Update-a-palooza!

I finally had a harvest from my garden! I'm not really sure if you'd call it a "harvest" but I got two small tomatoes yesterday. I was so excited I couldn't even wait to take a picture! I just wiped 'em off on my t-shirt and popped 'em in my mouth. Yummy! They tasted amazing! I think these are called Tom Thumb tomatoes but I can't remember the variety for sure. I've still got the seeds so next year I'll pay more attention. I've got a couple more orangey-red small tomatoes again today!

There pictures to the right are my Amish Paste tomatoes. This is a new variety for me and I'm noticing that they take a while longer than regular varieties to mature. I'm hoping they get nice and red soon! :) Also, sorry it's a sideways photo! LOL

This is my Three Sister's bed. It contains two varieties of corn (Yukon Chief and Orchard Baby), Small Sugar pumpkin's and Scarlet Runner beans. They are all doing well and the pumpkin's have left the bed and are crawling all over the yard now! The runner beans have produced a hand full of beans which I will be picking as soon as I have enough for a dinner. The corn have a few baby ears on them which hopefully will be ready to eat by the middle of September!

Sorry again for the sideways aspect...think of it as abstract. Abstract is art...right? LOL This is my soap box...literally! The soap that I made and highlighted in an earlier post has finally cured and was ready to be wrapped. I went the freezer-paper, scotch-tape and marker route. I wanted to get all fancy and creative but didn't want to spend the money it would take to do it that way. This works great and now I have a lot of soap and one more batch to make and cure.

So remember my last post about the coupon extravaganza? Well I have started my mini-stockpile. I have also started a list of when to stock up on certain things, like in June you should grab pickles and condiments.I'm already planning some more couponing and price-matching at Wal-Mart. I'll keep you posted!

My baby chicks are coming in the mail this week. I ordered 5 hens from Cackle Hatchery and I picked the Silver Laced Wyandottes. A post will follow when they arrive! I'm headed home for the last week in August through the Labor Day holiday. It'll be nice to be home for a bit and do some catching up! Well that's about it for my updates. Have a great day!

A Goose And Two Goats Walk Into A Bar...

Good intro huh? :) So the coons have prevailed and all my chickens are now raccoon poop. Bummer for sure! Now all I have is my goats (which are doing great!) and my goose. Still not sure if Gooses is a boy or a girl but "he" now thinks he's a goat. I feel bad because he must be lonely but if thinking you're a goat keeps you from being eaten by raccoons then who gives a damn right?!?

I have gone back and forth on whether or not to get more chickens, finally deciding to repopulate. I want to be able to have chickens for several reasons but mainly I like watching them be chickens. I also like watching my goats be goats. It all calms and relaxes me! What can I say? I have an affinity for animals.

So in an effort to thwart those damn raccoons I began researching enclosed coops because I will have my chickens! I'll let them free range during the afternoon/evenings while I'm home. But holy-moly-cow those pre-fab coops are REALLY expensive. I mean we're talking the cheapest one is close to $350 plus shipping. I then thought I'd make one and quickly on the heels of that thought came a reality check that I simply don't have the tools needed to construct such a structure. However, I knew what I had in mind from searching Google images.

After some thought I realized I know a soon to be unemployed, soon to be college student (who always need money) who will have some time on his hands. Enough time to construct a coop like this. So my brother is going to take a few pictures I found him online and make me a coop for my chickens. Oh yeah, I totally ordered new chicks as soon as he confirmed he'd be willing to do it. :)

I had to do some searching around the online hatcheries because most have a minimum order of 15 or 25 chicks. Now I know I have a 100% mortality rate on this place but I don't need that many chicks! So I looked around and stumbled upon Cackle Hatchery which has some amazing specials for small orders. They call them "City/Town Small Order Specials" and you can pick your chick's variety and sex or just have an assortment sent to you. I've never used this company so I will report in on the procedure and quality.

I ordered five Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. And I think they are some of the prettiest chickens out there. My mom likes her Buff Orphingtons and Black Austrolorps because they are friendly, but I think if you handle the chicks enough when you get them they will grow up friendly. A perfect case of nature versus nurture!

I am determined to successfully have at least three hens to get my eggs from, eat bugs and be a friend to Gooses! Coons be damned! :)

A coon hunting I will go...

Remember these guys? Cute huh? I started with 10 hens, 2 turkeys, 2 geese and 1 duck. They all grew well until the goats showed up and then I lost 1 turkey and 2 hens...squished by the goaties. Forgivable. The remaining birds were doing well, going through a bit more feed than I was expecting but well all the same. They were large enough to run outside for a supervised amount of time, then they were large enough to stay out all the time.


One day they started to mysteriously disappear! I initially thought it was my resident feral cats, so I started feeding the cats. However, the disappearances continued. Then one evening I saw something blob-like moving out in the yard. Running to grab my glasses I identified the culprits. RACCOONS!

I was unknowingly feeding (chicken feed, grain and unwittingly my birds) a family of raccoons. Oooo my temper got the best of me that night! I let the dogs out and ran outside yelling and flapping my arms, making a general raucous. I'm sure the neighbors were entertained. There mama and four babies scurried away and weren't much of an issue for a bit. I went about my business and was able to travel home for an extended weekend. The evening I pulled in my driveway there those damn coons were!

I kind of kept an eye on everything but wasn't seeing any missing birds until the spilled grain ran out. I bought a garbage can and put my grain in there with the lid bungee corded closed. This apparently sparked a revenge mentality in the coons, who then ate 2 of my remaining hens and my only duck! Oh hell no those lil bastards were not going to eat my entire fowl investment! Those birds were expensive!

So for the last two night I have been camping out in my TrailBalzer with "Old Betsy" otherwise known as my .20 gauge shotgun. The first night right at dusk the family appeared (minus mom who is MIA). They knew I was there because they curiously inspected my vehicle from a distance. They were kind of cute but I felt no remorse taking them out. Farm life at its best...you have to protect your investments.

I had a successful night that first night. I killed one for sure. I'll spare you the details but it took two shots. That's what I remorse about. If you are going to kill something, humanely with one shot is the best way to do it. I'm pretty sure I wounded one enough that it will eventually die, and perhaps another one. Three down and one to go...ok maybe two.

Unfortunately last night was not as successful. I stayed staked out until it was too dark for me to comfortably shoot. Sometime during the night I lost 2 more hens. I am down to one hen and one goose. I will be placing an order for more hens and a coop to keep them safe. I hope the coons don't decide to eat the goats next.

I'm thinking a spotlight might be a good idea too so I can get the remaining coons. :/

Shave poochie poochie...

I know, I know...*hangs head*...I haven't written in a while. Bad Samantha. Bad! However, I intend to make up with an update with pictures and an interesting story.  :)

Setting: Early morning (OK maybe not too early) June 30th on HWY 87 between Havre and Big Sandy (that's less than 50 miles from my house).

I am headed home to Washington to help my dad with cherry harvest and since I will be gone for over a week I have decided to load up the posse and take every one with me. Interesting, no? I had purchased two rabbit cages for my birds and had under taken the painful assembly process. The night before I am set to leave I place the large dog crate and two rabbit cages into my TrailBlazer. I also have tied the four tires (minus rims) onto the roof of my rig. I have been preparing for the journey for two days and was super jazzed to leave early in the morning. I packed up and got everyone loaded (oh yeah it's as much a travelling shit show as it sounds) and head out for Havre (breakfast stop, duh) and home.

With breakfast at McDonalds taken care of, the two goats, duck, goose, eight hens, three dogs and I (crammed into the TrailBalzer) are on the road. I notice I'm experiencing some major wind resistance due to the tires...I topped out at 65 mph. I think, "Crap! This might take longer than I'd hoped." As I'm toodling along at my whopping 65 mph I hear the sheet metal of the roof flexing. Hmmmm...probably just normal for having crap tied to the roof, I think. Boy, was I wrong! All of a sudden the flexing stops and a massive POP! happens and in my side mirror (because my rear view mirror is block by goat cage and goose head) I see two of my tires go bouncing and rolling down the roadway. Double shit!

Thank goodness there was no one any where near me on the road. I pulled over, untied and removed the two remaining tires from the roof and shoved them in the one available space (the space behind the passenger seat which was supposed to be for the dogs). I then pulled a U-Turn and went off in search of my two missing tires. Luckily they were easy to find, so I hauled them up from the barrow ditch and began shoving and praying!

With a fair amount of determination, stubbornness and sheer luck, I was able to shove the two remaining tires into the rig. Now I have zero visibility for my rear view mirror and there is a serious lack of air flow. The 12-hour drive went well after that. I stopped about every three or four hours to water everyone and give the dogs (and me) a potty stop. I also put the goats on a leash and let them stretch their legs at the rest stops. People loved it!

Once I got home, my mom and I immediately set about getting all the animals out, housed, and fed and watered. While we were doing this my dad was trying to get the tires out. The good Lord was with me on the tire thing...dad had to use a pry-bar to get the tires out. The return trip was much easier (if not easy on my wallet) because I am now in possession of a new-to-me 2-horse trailer.

Anyway, the girls made it home safe and sound. Aaaaand here they are....

Goatie (standing) is now 4.5 months old. My guess is she weighs roughly 25 pounds. I'm still debating whether I will be getting a boy Goatie to make babies, but I won't have to make that choice for a while since Lala is just a baby. Lala is 3.5 months old and is about the same size as Goatie but she hasn't caught up in the poundage area yet. I know she's grown some but I can't really see it that much yet.



The birds have taken up residence with the goats because as you can see there are a few birdies missing. Something (probably my resident feral cats) started eating them, even during the day. However, since I put them in with the goats not a one has disappeared. Yay! I guess the 5-foot fence thwarts even the wiliest cat.

This is my "boss" chicken. Isn't she pretty? My hens are Barred Rock (this chick) and Buckeye (the red ones), I think. Then there is my one goose and one duck. The duck is for sure a hen (she quacks) but the jury I still out on the goose. I'm working on a good way to tell...it doesn't honk, kind of has a hoarse cheeping sound. I will for sure know if it lays an egg! :)

And as an added bonus, while at home in Washington Yotee got a haircut! He looks kinda like a lion because whenever the clippers got any where close to where hair remains he fuh-reaked out! So I just left it and now I call him my "little lion." :)

Productivity is an amazing feeling...

I have had one productive weekend! The new additions - Bug & Spatz - required a new living environment because they squished a baby chicken and a baby turkey. So I took all weekend to build their pen mainly because I ran out of energy to do the physical work. On Saturday, I drove the T-posts and ran one roll of wire. Then I had to make a Big-R run because I needed more posts and wire. The pen cost more to construct than the friggin' goats did! LOL After I returned from Big-R with my fencing supplies and other various sundries I finished the third side of the pen but just plain ran out of oomph to do the rest so I relaxed for the evening. This morning I moved my old chicken coop and took the front off to create an A-frame house for the girls. I also had to make a run to WalMart today to purchase a tarp, carabiners and some bungee cords because the girls needed some shade! So by 3 pm today the girls had a finished home with shade, a tub for their feed and mineral block, and had been vaccinated to prevent goat diseases!

One thing I do wish I had taken the time to buy (and I still might buy it) is this great book called, "How to Build Animal Housing." It looks amazing! I also recently purchased Storey's guide to raising dairy goats and a self-sufficiency book. I am excited for them to arrive!














I woke up this morning with some serious sun burn! I'm still not used to being this far North meaning a higher UV index. I checked yesterday and today's UV index - it was 8 both days. Out of 10! No wonder I burned...I had bug spray and no sunscreen on. I did buy some Banana Boat this weekend though and will be sure to wear it!


I also did some planting of my containers. I planted my little BBQ with cucumbers - the Bush Crop variety. I planted my wheelbarrow with zucchini and I chose the Black Beauty variety. In my 4' by 4' raised bed I planted two varieties of corn (Earliglow & Orchard Baby), two hills of pumpkins (Small Sugar), some Six Nation heirloom dried beans, and a mix of marigold seeds everywhere! They are an excellent bug repellent and pollinator attractant. I have several lilac bushes in my yard and they are blooming like crazy! I picked some and put them in a Pace salsa jar - don't laugh it's the closest thing I had to a vase - and put them on my kitchen table. Gorgeous and they make the house smell great!

I stared a small herb bed near the house and am hopeful that I can keep it growing well into the future. I brought some Libson Bunching onions from my mom's garden and planted small Rosemary and Onion Chive plants that I bought at Walmart. I also planted some parsley and basil from seed. The parsley is coming up well but I had to replant the basil since there has been such cool & wet weather. Here's to hoping it comes up!

I've mentioned  how my dogs are my kids right? I always make sure they are spayed and

up-to-date on their vaccinations. June marks their annual vaccination time. I gave them a 7-way that covers parvo, distemper and Leptospirosis to name a few. Yotee did OK but didn't want to come to me so I could pet him for a while. Lil Guy did great but he didn't want to get his shot which resulted in a cat and mouse game for about 5-minutes. I tricked him by coming in to the mud room then nabbed him! :) Ruby on the other hand did not do too well. She struggled big time, had to be stuck three times and bent the needle but she got her shot! She must have struggled enough to make me hit her muscle because she's limping around and in obvious pain. So I called my resident farm vet (my mom!) and we decided to give her an aspirin and I started icing her neck. She's now resting comfortably!

Next weekend I plan on getting the chicken coop's outside run built! I love warm, sunny weather and the ability to be outside being ultra productive. This evening I let the goats and chickens out to run a bit before they got put back in their pens. As they grazed, I sat back and reflected how peaceful and content I am here. The middle of June will mark my one-year anniversary of being a Hi-Line resident. I am thankful for the chance to work at a job I love and with people who are great! All in all it's been a difficult but amazing year! :)

Mental Health Friday....

I took a mental health day today - I am very glad I did so! I went grocery shopping, which I desperately needed to do. I had no food in my house! Next time I think I'll shop more frequently instead of running out of everything before I go to the store. I used a bunch of coupons while I was at WalMart and while I can't say I saved a super whole bunch I was able to save around $10....better than nothing right? I picked up stuff to make the following recipe for creme cheese chicken enchiladas. They are auh-mazing! I found them on another blog called Homemaking on the Homestead; I find a lot of great things here! You should totally check it out! So here is the recipe and my comments:

Creme Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

* 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken meat, cut in to bite size pieces (I shredded my chicken)
* 1 medium onion, chopped (I diced mine)
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 8 oz. creme cheese, softened & cut into chunks (I took it straight from the fridge)
* Milk to thin sauce (I used some of the table cream I bought for this recipe)
* 2 teaspoon chili powder (I used more)
* 1 teaspoon cumin (I have an allergy to cumin so I omitted this and used paprika instead)
* 1 cup salsa (I bought a regular size jar of Pace Picante sauce and used the whole thing)
* 12 corn tortillas (I didn't use this many but I would suggest doing so)
* 2 cups shredded cheese (I used more just because I wanted them ooey-gooey & cheesy)
* 1 cup cream (I bought "table cream" and just eye-balled everything)

In a large frying pan cook chicken, onion & garlic in the olive oil. (Here's where I shredded my chicken meat then added the onions & garlic.) When the chicken meat is fully cooked & the onions are soft, add the creme cheese. (I used a wooden spoon & paring knife to divide up the cheese.) Stir to mix everything together while melting the creme cheese. Add a little milk to make the sauce a gravy consistency. (Here's where I added the table cream instead of milk.) Add the chili powder, cumin and salsa. (Remember, I didn't use cumin but feel free to use it in your recipe.)

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. (I forgot to do this but didn't have any problems with sticking) Lay half the tortillas in the pan. Spread half the chicken mix sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle half the cheese and salsa over the chicken mix sauce. Repeat the layers. (I got two layers in my pan.) Pour cream over the top. (I just eyeballed about a cup of table cream all over the top of the enchiladas.)

Bake at 375F for 30 to 45 minutes, until the enchiladas are golden brown on the top. (I am at roughly 2500 feet in elevation and only cooked the enchiladas for 30 minutes.)

I served my enchiladas up with some Uncle Ben's 90 second Spanish style rice.

I would also suggest some good re-fried beans and a salad but I was too hungry from making the enchiladas and just plain impatient to try how a new recipe turned out to make more than the rice! :)

I truly enjoyed my meal! I am going to save another serving for diner but the rest is going into my awesome new Tupperware and the freezer so I can have lunched for a while. Yummy in my tummy!

Totally gone! ;)

Making a home in the mud...

So once again I beg your forgiveness - the rain has made my desire to write null and void. However, we had 65F and sunny today so here I am with some writing ambition. :) I know the title of this blog entry is interesting to say the least but all the rain has resulted in standing water, massive flooding and mud, mud every where!

I have done some updates around the Muddy Manicure. I planted the window box with lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomato plants and my one surviving eggplant. I mainly keep the window shut because it's still quite cool here at night - around 40F, sometimes lower. The cold frame concept really works well up here in the harsh climate of North central Montana.

My strawberry bed is thriving!

The big one's are the geese.

I have also watched my Homesteaders Flock grow. My chicks now have feathers and so do the turkey's. The duck and two geese are still peach-fuzzy; who knows when they'll get some feathers. I took them "swimming" every day while they were in the house. I had to teach them but they got the hang of it and love to swim. While dad and brother were out over Memorial Day weekend they helped me move them outside into the coop. I will be adding on the "run" part on later when the birds get big enough.

Today I picked up my newest addition to the Muddy Manicure - two baby Nigerian Dwarf doelings. I haven't named them yet and would welcome name suggestions. They currently weigh around 19 pounds and the breed standard says does grow only to be about 30-40 pounds. Currently, the two babies are out in the chicken coop since there is a heat light out there but I'm hoping shortly the nights will warm up enough to keep them outside. I plan to do some intensive grazing with the girls around the outbuildings when they're older.

Sorry it's sideways - I'm lame ;)

              
 The girls were born on March 7th and their breed is a recognized dairy breed so if I do decide I want a dairy goat one day - BOOM! already got two! :) I'm thinking that the girsl would also be useful for my 4H kids in case any of them want to show something at the fair but can't afford it. Other than that they're just going to be spoiled goat pets! :)

Sorry it's sideways again!

Spring is making itself known around the Muddy Manicure and the Hi-Line. My container gardens are doing really well. My bathtub has Walla Walla sweet onions, yellow onions, shallots and Scarlet Nantes carrots in it. They are doing awesome! The pig feeder planter is chock-full of yellow onions and they have been loving the rain and cool weather. Too bad I'm not! :)  They've rocketed from a dried up set to beautiful green, alive baby onions! Gotta love it! I need to get a bunch of other stuff planted but some of them I'm going to have to buy like the squash. I'm going to get peas and corn planted this weekend. The weather and package planting information should be just about right. Here's to hoping it doesn't rain like the dickens this weekend!

I'll leave you with a parting photo that brings a smile to my face and thoughts of spring followed by summer to mind. The lilac bush closest to my house has begun to bloom! :D

Soapy Tables and Chickens...

So sorry to be tardy on my post...I've been busy! I got a bunch of extras from my mom when I was home; strawberries, Libson bunching onions, mint and Lilly of the Valley. I also purchased Walla Walla sweet onion starts, yellow onions, shallots, garlic and raspberries. I have planted the Walla Walla's, yellow onions, shallots and raspberries; all except the raspberries went in the tub (my cast iron garden planter) with carrots. I read in Carrots Love Tomatoes that onions and carrots do well so I thought I'd give it a try. The raspberries went along one of the fence lines and the strawberries went into my small strawberry bed. I planted the mint in two places near the house but I'm not sure how well it will do. Keep your fingers crossed. :)

I recently got my Homesteader's Delight order from McMurray Hatchery. I was super excited but kind of unprepared for the 'lil critters. They took up residence in my bathroom for a day and a half and it's taken me at least that long to remove their poo from the floor! I moved them to a big box I snagged from work and they have since taken up residence in the mud room with the heat lamp keeping the snuggly warm. I received 10 hens (tentatively identified as Black Austrolorp and Buckeye), two geese (absolutely no idea what kind), two turkeys (one bronze, one white) and two ducks (again no idea on the variety). Sadly one ducky "went to the other farm" not long after is arrival on Crazy Woman Ranch (my pet name for this quasi-chaotic place). He will be missed. They all got to go outside for a bit today. The geese, duck and turkeys have imprinted nicely and I've been handling them all multiple times daily to insure they don't get mean when they grow up. Also, I figure the little 4H kids could show them at the fair this summer.

Honey Lemon Soap

I have made two batches of soap from my purchased bases. One is honey lemon and the other is goat's milk and oatmeal. The honey lemon was the first time I tried to make this stuff so I tried it out and it lathers-up really well and smells wonderfully like sunny spring honey. I added extra honey to the mixture from my home neighbors Hibbard, Massey & Hibbard. They soap is kind of sticky but works great! The goat's milk and oatmeal is still curing in the form. I will cut it next week and wrap the honey and lemon bars. If Zurich has a Farmer's Market this year I'll be taking soap and various other things.

Base Unfinished

Another project that I started a while ago was my round, oak kitchen table. I have since finished the sanding process, assembled top and bottom and applied two coats of stain to the table-top. I will be putting another coat of varnish on the table and then it will be ready to use. A recent antiquing trip provided me with three beautiful and mismatched chairs for my set. I also just bought a pine buffet which should arrive at the end of the week. I am slowly amassing some nice things and it makes me happy. :)

Table Top Unfinished

Sideways Semi-Finished View

Well the Beagle is outside in the dark barking at who knows what and my chicks are peeping away. They want their mom to come check on them. By mom I don't mean me, I mean the Beagle. She truly thinks she's their mom. While the baby turkeys were outside today she tried to play with them Beagle style - I had to put the kaibosh on it but it was still cute!

Have a great night!