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

Research, planning and strawberries

I have been researching up the wazzu people! Not only did my last two classes before I start my Master's project but I am researching varieties for putting in a mini-orchard up here, chicken coup designs, greenhouse designs, and more. I am also trying to get some raised beds planted as soon as possible because I have garlic coming that needs to be planted this fall. I am also trying to build a couple cold frames so that I can have some greens and carrots throughout the winter.

One thing I've learned really quickly is is you want to eat week up here you have to grow it and can it yourself. So thank goodness when mom and dad come over they are bringing vegetables over so I can make spaghetti sauce, salsa, butternut squash soup and sundry other things. I am so thankful for this because there was no time for my container garden to grow!

I am making plans for more permanent growing structure. I found a great, small and cheaply built, greenhouse. I am hoping to construct it this spring and use it all season! I cannot stand not having fresh vegetables but I am REALLY missing the fresh fruit so I've gotta get some growing up here! There are varieties that will work because hey if Canada can do it so can we! :) I also have an idea to create a hedge/boundry line along my sidewalk and pitiful patio with all the strawberries I have. It could turn out pretty cool looking if I can get my sprawtberries to survive the winter.

I am going to finish putting a run on my chicken coop so I can be ready come spring for my girls and then I can have eggs and then meat in the fall. But I might figure out a way to insulate the little house I built so I don't have to chop any heads. Don't get me wrong I can chop their heads off, it's the smell that comes from the scalding and plucking process that grosses me out. I am toying with the idea of getting a milk cow and starting a milk cooperative. There are some ladies in the area who would be down for it and then we could have beef in the freezer from the calf. Could work...hmmm.

I had 23 people show up, or rather stick around, for my gardening clinic. This is a huge change since I have done two events and not a single person has showed up. Needless to say I almost started crying in happiness when I saw all those people waiting there for me! :)

I finally got Internet at the house - about damn time I might add! My net book showed up the same day the Internet did. However, the FedEx guy left it with neighbor Hillary, which is turns out I have two! One I've made friends with but the other I've never laid eyes on. Guess which house it was at. I stopped buy and grabbed it quick since that Hillary wasn't present. I can now do my homework at home instead of at work on a Sunday afternoon.

I am still arranging my office; however, the two extra desks are out and I have put up my pictures on the walls. Now I just have to find a place for all those ribbons and trophies. It's going to be a challenge but I want the kids who show up to realize they can accomplish things if they try.

Well, I'm off to do some more research on the MSU Master Gardener's program. Have an excellent day!

Silent Sundays - A Homemade Strawberry Planter

So I thought I'd take Sundays and use photographs to highlight something I am doing or working on. Here is this week's Silent Sunday topic - a strawberry planter.

I took an old, rusted-out single hog feeder and had Scott cut slots to slide the license plates into. We had all the plates laying around from our plethora of vehicles and bent the plates inside the pockets so there are no welds on them. It took little more than an hour to complete the construction, and another hour to fill and plant it. I have two day-neutral varieties (TriStar and Seascape), as well as three ever-bearing varieties (Quinault, Sequoia and Hecker). Looking forward to those yummy berries! :)