todays agenda

apparently everyone does have an agenda

here is mine for today

feed store: wild bird seed and a bale of hay
post office: pick up....( i have stuff to go out but lazy ass me didn't wrap it yet)
lowes: builders sand for the chickens and the path to the duck pen, salt for the conditioner, more wood for duck pen
bank: pay the mortgage, deposit check
store: ICECREAM AND EGGNOG

i need to make more cookies.......
bernie ( and me too) have been eatting my sugar cookie angels faster i swear then i can bake them
man they ARE good
but i got to get his trays done and out to his job
enough already with all these cookies around here
somehow it's been harder and longer this year

i got up this morning to thaddeaus sitting on my head
and fawn staring down at me
apparently the woodstove was out ( coals only)
they were not happy

they mounted a protest...........ON MY HEAD

then thaddeaus decided to keep slamming the bedroom door shut
and then racing around the room to finish by jumping OVER us in the bed
so he sorta stomped on us a little bit too

we got the hint

we got up

i got the woodstove going.....and i am waiting for the chimney to heat while i am typing this

meanwhile the cats are staring at the store

listen, i know that cats sleep 27 out of every 24 hours a day
and i know the way to a cat's heart is through the heat of the woodstove
but occationally........ rarely........
i do like to sleep in

would someone inform the chickens and ducks?

duckie disney land

it's been raining
buckets
and buckets for DAYS AND DAYS
the basement is flooded
part of the duck pen is flooded
the yard is flooded.......well you get the picture

i put up the duck pond
it's the smaller kiddie wading pool from kmart
i think it holds like 30-35 gallons total ( on flat ground.....not sloping driveways)

well it is full of rain water.......enough so three little duckies jumped in and took a bath

did i mention that they did this while the temps decided to plummet
and while it was starting to snow
and hail a bit

and that since i had to be there to watch them
i got a bath too????????


and three little duckies did NOT want to get out of the frigid water
soooooooooooooooooooooooooo

i put my poor long suffering bare hands in the water to retrieve the duckies

not once

but THREE FREEKEN TIMES

can you say ' not of sound mind?"
yes i knew you could


i am STILL waiting for my hands to turn back into a more reasonable color


i am expecting that by morning we will have a skating rink out there
and the bucket i left in the duck pen will have frozen to the ground
oye

in 'are you ready for the holiday' news
i am not
it is going to be a halloween christmas this year
long story but
we are going to be hanging pumpkins and spider webs on the christmas tree

doesn't EVERYONE?

til next time


vi

phoebe is fussy

now that all three duckies are laying
it's a race every morning to get to the 'good' nest

phoebe who started first always seems to lose out

this morning she wanted back in
looking for a place to lay her egg
i brought her back in but nothing suited both of us
she didn't like her crate
or the engine stand ( don't ask)
and i didn't agree with under the work bench

so back out
she settled for inside the duck house ( what a concept)
and i picked up lillianna's and cleo's eggs out of the side nest

i think phoebe doesn't like the hay
she likes leaves but they are frozen right now

cleo meanwhile didn't look too good after laying
i got her to eat and drink but she seems to be having a hard time recovering after laying her egg
lilli is fine
up and eatting like there is no tomorrow

i noticed that if they are scared or not feeling well or confused
they are right under my feet
i step on them all the time!


in peep news
the peeps are two weeks old today!!!
yeah peeps!

they are huge
and are going to move into a larger brooder i believe tomorrow
when the new freezer comes i want to take the box for them to brood in
and i want to put them downstairs
they want out of the brooder.....i can't blame them
it's kinda small for them now

i don't want to get too close to them as i suspect a lot of this hatch are roos
i am thinking....out of the 7 i got two hens

possibly three
oye

i put the big girls on 12 hours of light now
so they go on at about 7:30 now
and off at 7:30
bernie won't be feeding them anymore either
i will be

it's so cold out that i brought our little cooler that i keep the extra stuff in out on the deck
the ice packs on the next to the house wood pile haven't quite frozen through......i figure that is cause of radient heat from the house

i will say
we are burning some WOOD

the back pile we didn't burn last year is about down to half
and most of october and november was warm
!!!!!!!!!!!

i finally got a new coffee/spice grinder
i tried it out last night on dried celery, onions and peppercorns
nice powder
i am going to give it a spin with dried broccoli
if it works well
then i got dried pepper skins to do
and a few other things

meanwhile
if we can get the freezer all set up saturday
i will be making cookie dough all next week for holidays
and i will be baking early december for bernie to take to work

til next time

vi

edited to add
gee i live a boring life
isn't it GREAT

again with the no sleep

and yet i am exhausted

i had a nightmare about my sheep and goat

i dreamt that where i boarded them bred them all without telling me
intending on selling the babies

at 3am, all things seem possible so i had to get up
i need to bring them home or at least closer to me in distance
i miss them so much
and when i ask how they are,......i just get told 'fine'

and i feel that it is not appreciated that i ask about them from the person who signs the boarding checks

i know that they are taken care of well, fed etc
and part of me is certain that this dream is a nightmare

but sometimes i wonder as it is really clear to me that i have not been welcome to visit them nor inquire about them over a year now
( this is a whole nother story, which for now i am not up to talking about)

anyone know a place to board 4 sheep and a goat in nepa or northwest new jersey?
i have 2 wethers, two ewes and a doe who is ( when last i heard) dry

i swear i am ready to bring them all home and hide them in the basement

we were to have moved two years ago.......
maybe in 09 we can FINALLY move to a place they can come home to?

well i finally got my van back.......this time it was over a month with no transportation
i did town errands and food shopping for the past two days
today i am starting work on the duck pen near the back door, to replace the temporary pen i put up last week in that nightmare flood
and yesterday phoebe laid her first egg!
i imagine lilliana and cleo will start soon as well

i don't remember when last i posted, but we did end up butchering the drakes
i feel bad about it but there it is
we couldn't keep them all
and i tried to find homes.....no luck
so two of the three are in the freezer and one paid the person that did the butchering

i am tired lately, i think part of it is i am doing my chores, bernie's chores and the joint chores
we also shut off the hoses.....so i am hauling water for the ducks to swim in......
they don't have to swim but i get so much pleasure out of watching them happily take a bath that i am willing to fill the pond by schlepping back and forth with buckets of water
but my shoulders aren't happy
however i think this is going to be the way it is around here
as bernie's fleet is now HUGH, and even though he is getting two more techs he is still busy

i canned coleslaw........wow is that GOOD
i gave some to a neighbor and she gave me three more heads of cabbage to do up
i will give her some jars out of it

i want a log cart, with 20 inch wheels.
since i have to do all the wood and it's up stairs or up a hill either way you look at it here
i can't throw the wood up on the deck as my shoulders are bad again
i have been using the wheel barrow but a log cart i can bring into the house and right next to the stove unload and get my second load
it holds 200 pound per load and can go up the stairs

til next time
and i hope it is with not so depressing a post

a perspective i agree with

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/recolumnists/story?id=53926

this is what i think of when the market 'crashes'
i remember in 87 when we bought this house......right after in october there was a 'market' crash
i remember calling my dad........
'dad, we just bought a house, the market crashed........are we going to be ok'

dad said........
honey the market crashes all the time.....it'll come back
and yes of course.....dad was right
and it did

now dad was born in 1911, lived through the great depression, the crash of 29
and innumerable other recessions.......
he was not a dumb man by any stretch...........
he was right then
and he's right now

vi

Some things are just priceless

Today, as every day…..i went to take the duckies and falstaff out to the duck pen
The girls were jumping up and down in their inside crate to be let out
Falstaff of course was in his crate in the wheelbarrow ready to go down the hill.
Normally I put falstaff in the back part of the duck pen, then carry one baby at a time out to the front part of the duck pen…….talking and kissing them good morning

Today I knew I had to carry 5 gallon buckets of water out to the pen for them to bath, since Bernie turned the outside water off ( due to frosts) and I can’t reach to turn it on.

So I told the girls……………..
Ok TODAY, you all can walk on your own 6 feets

Opened their door and turned to wheel falstaff down the hill……..
I hear flapping wings behind me
All 3 girls are flying to catch up with me……. They landed right behind me
And waited while I put falstaff in his pen
Then single file……one after another walked into their pen

I was laughing so hard at them

But I still had their water to do
So I started back up the hill…..only to hear flying behind me…..
Yup
3 little duckies following me…….

I put them back in their pen and closed the door so I could get their pond filled

After we all bathed………( except Phoebe didn’t wash her wings and remember they splash so much i get all wet too)
I let falstaff out to bath, and took the girls for a walk around the yard…..
We sampled frozen green beans
And fresh berries…..
And some quackgrass seeds
And some dirt
And gravel
ALL of utmost interest to duckies……

When they seemed to have had enough……..we all wandered back to the pen…..
Falstaff took himself to the back pen
And phoebe walked in…… cleo and lilliana hung around the door, waiting to be picked up and carried but ALL went back into the pen

I swear I love them duckies

In other news
I got my first tick of the winter heating season last night………on my NECK
Little bugger didn’t want to come out
I swear he drilled in me 45 miles or so
It was one of them deer ticks…..i hate ticks of all kinds but those are even worse.

So it took a while but with lanacane and needle nose pliers…..
I got a hole in my neck BIGGER then the whole damn tick was
But
He’s out

Thank goodness

However it hurts like hell……..still……..
Today
Oye

Til next time


Ps since I am typing this in word it automatically puts in capitals……no I didn’t suddenly grow longer less painful fingers………

Just so you all know…….

OH no....it REPUBLICAN BARBIE

*******$150G From GOP For Fashions For Palins?
RNC Said To Have Shelled Out At Least That Much For "Campaign Accessories" For Family

This pisses me off big time

i thought we were BEYOND the 'wanna be barbie when we grow up' thing

nooooooooo

so now we got Palin.....stilletto heels and tight red skirts

is THAT the presidential vp picture we want to be sending?

'our vp is a tart'?

OOPS......... mccain drops dead and palin invades VOGUE?

please

didn't we as woman work really really hard for really really long to be taken SERIOUSLY.....and not as a sexual object

or was i mistaken?

early fall for real

well this weekend past we got our first real frost
monday or tuesday we got a killing frost
my poor little garden

i brought in some plants i couldn't bear to see die
an eggplant
a few peppers

i am wondering if i can possibly lift the wood we got out there to make some hoop houses
or cold frames
no use waiting for bernie
he's ALWAYS at work
i tease him that he's got another wife ( his cell phone.......)
AND a whole 'nother family........( his fleet)

i realized last night i need to deal with the firewood hauling in a better way
so i used a luggage cart to wheel in some off the deck
but i am going to have to get the log carrier from plow and hearth i think, with the 20" wheels
that will go up the front stairs
and up the hill from the woodpile

i am so sorry now that i didn't make him stack out front........
he was afraid someone would steal it
i am thinking...........
i'll take my chances

i had to bath one of the duckies in the basement sink yesterday
she was filthy
falstaff was all over the three of them and what a muddy mess they were

so lilianna was the worst of the lot.....she went in the sink
phoebe has me worried as her feather texture has changed.......
softer and not water repellant
lili and cleo are still water repellant so i am wondering about phoebe

now when i go into the pen
the girls gather around my feet and greet me while nibbling at my pants, boots, and inside my boots as well
they don't hurt
they also like to play with the strings on my barn jacket

they crack me up

we have chicks ordered, so soon i will be raising more orpingtons
we don't have eggs!
can you believe this
all the poultry around here........no eggs

now i don't want the ducks laying right now as it's too cold
but i do expect the house chickens to lay

in fiber news
i am knitting leaves.....in browns, deep reds and yellows
i am also knitting a yellow lace scarf to attach them to
there are beads that could be involved as well..........
red ones......
and

if i get to the store ever again......

beads the color of bittersweet berries as well

are you all ready for winter?

i hope so

i still don't feel ready.......but we probably are

til next time

vi

There is a lot going on in the world………

So very much turmoil and uncertainty
I am reasonably sure that once November 8th comes and goes a lot of the upheaval will settle down.
I am also reasonably sure that the next white house will be democratic
I am basing this on a global need for our stock market to settle down…..which historically it does very well under a democratic white house

‘May you live in interesting times”
I don’t remember who said this……wait let me google……AHHHHH it is an ancient Chinese proverb and curse! ( thank goodness for google)

I would say that right now…….THESE are ‘interesting times’
A historic election, showing the inner workings of the collective mind of America.
either way it goes a first will happen

a woman in high power or a 'black' man
( remember this man is biracial, which seems fitting to me......to ease america into the idea of a race other then white in office)

in my personal opinion........
i am not sure which if any candidate is suited for office during these times
but one WILL be elected
and one will serve

i do expect that one will be democrat.........if nothing more then to calm the waters

i am also expecting that this democrat........most likely will surprise a LOT of folks
and MAY actually be effective!
at least i so hope

now along with this
the energy crisis..... brought sharply into view due to heating costs
higher food prices

this hits home to the average american in a way perhaps a problem in a global sense may not
as we have traditionally had relatively reasonable costs for our food
if not our heating

i don't know the answers
i do know for us.....
we put by more food
we heat with wood ( yes there are increased costs there as well but not as bad as oil, which is what we heated with formerly)

however i worry about later......when i am older
as this mostly falls on my shoulders
bernie helps stack the loads of wood
but i mostly have to worry about day to day bringing in and keeping the stove stoked

i also am extremely worried right now about our sheep and goat
due to local zoning
we can't have them here
but also due to the economy and other issues i won't go into
i have a need to move them from where they are
i want them home

or alternatively, and perhaps better long term
i want to move and bring them with me to a larger property
with more room for growing food

this has been keeping me up nights lately

i can't find a solution easily to my livestock dilemma
which in the scheme of things is not earth shattering
i guess i shouldn't hold my breath waiting for "them' to find a solution to the global problems facing ALL of us living on the earth


i can't help but wonder if what we aren't feeling.....is the growing pains of a new possibly united global era and society?

an actual chance at utopia?

naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

never happen

vi

rhinebeck

as always rhinebeck is beautiful
the fall leaves......the hedgerow berries ( i saw american bittersweet, but on private property.....or it would be on my front DOOR right now)

there seemed to me to be a few less vendors this year.....and some of the vendors had a lot less product.....
or maybe i was wrong....but that is what seemed to me

i naturally started rhinebeck with a stop at Spirit Trail where two orphaned skeins followed me home, one mixed yellows/pale oranges in merino lace
and one mixed blues in silk......
how the blue one happened i will never know!........but i got a blue skein to think of something for

golding had more spindles.........i love those one of a kind ones....with the bracelets etc

i saw one in purple that was to die for

i saw Kathryn Alexander Designs kits at Carolina homespun, and if it had not been so expensive..... ($330 for the pullover which i loved) i would have asked for it for christmas, in medium pastels of rainbow colors

i saw the tsock tsarina booth and the 'vintage' sock i lust after......
which i didn't get as it won't really fit over my calfs.....even if i enlarge it
and what a waste as i won't see and enjoy it......
although that heel shaping she has in this sock intrigues me to no end

she does have a leaf only kit which i should have gotten......and didn't ( kick me repeatedly please)
i thought all the way home......
gee i could make those leaves and put them on a scarf or mittens or even a hat so that i could enjoy them.......

i got a hat block for needled felted hats

and i got nordic felted knits

which has a felted coat

i wore my black and gray color work hat......
it was pretty cold and windy and i am so glad i did
i also got a few compliments on it!
which i was shocked about as it is so very quiet for color knitting
nothing flashy about it
but it is my favorite hat

it was horribly cold when we tried to eat out picnic lunch
so we didn't eat much
but the hot chocolate i brought was a hit with bernie
he also liked the brownies i baked him........
but never ate the ravioli salad

if i had wheels, i would have ran to town friday and gotten a wide mouth thermos and brought stew or something as well


for some odd reason we didn't sleep at all the night before......
so we both were very very tired and didn't really recover all weekend
and neither of us slept last night either!

heating season is upon us
sort of late this year
and i am really only using the stove evenings and over night
it's getting up to the 50's in the day so i let the stove go out
it was nice getting home from rhinebeck to a warm house
even though the stove was out and nothing but a few embers were alive inside

the ducks survived the day in the basement but were NOT happy
when we got home
all the girls were out of their pen.......cleo was in the crate with falstaff
lilianna and phoebe were wandering around ( and FLYING occationally) the basement
they were very happy to see me

i have to laugh as they greet falstaff and me about the same way.......
they don't greet bernie like that

i hand carry each girl in and out
bernie said......'why , just put them in the crate and wheel them in and out'
NO WAY

that is the best time
i hold my ducks
i look into their eyes
i kiss them
rub their bills
examine them
watch their feet
and just enjoy them
i live for that.................




til next time

vi

October 15

I was talking to bob ( Azknitter’s) husband. ( for you folks that are fiber people from KR or Ravelry)
Saturday is not only Rhinebeck……
which trish and bob were to attend this year WITH us
But also the memorial service where the organ donor’s families meet the recipients.

I find that so ironic
Bob is going to meet the folks that got a reprieve because of our trish

( if anyone doubts how great our trish is……….. she gave the ultimate gift……the gift of herself to save so many other lives)

Bob and I were talking about this a bit ago
( I am actually typing this in word on October 14, which is why you will see capitalization)
We both discussed how ironic we found it
I said…( being ever so blunt………but that is part of my earthy charm……no?)
‘well trish will manage to be in two places at once……
since she doesn’t have a body to slow her down anymore’

But you all have no idea how I wish she were here with us and going to Rhinebeck
Bob sent me a ton of her things……..
wonderful goodies I always wanted ( specialized tools etc)
But not from trish……
I want TRISH here using her goodies and letting me borrow them

Not a day goes by when I don’t have a billion things to tell her
I would like to hear what she has to say about this……
or that……….

After all these months……
the loss of trish is even greater then before
I could pretend before that she was on a trip or something

So the excitement of Rhinebeck is bittersweet with knowing my friend……
who SHOULD be with us there
AND planned on being there with us
Will be there in spirit……….
And she better BE there in spirit……..
sitting on my shoulder……


You hear that trish?

Or I will haunt your ass in heaven………..
rest in peace MY ASS
I will nag the crap out of you…….
and burp in your heavenly EAR………


I loves ya kid…….
and I so very much wish that you would be walking Rhinebeck with us

Your friend

Vi

Rhinebeck is Saturday!!! tis that time of year!

I am planning a picnic lunch
I am thinking……. Ravioli salad
Chicken salad on homemade rolls
I am thinking of maybe a fruit salad for desert
Oatmeal cookies
And brownies
Maybe pumpkin muffins or pumpkin roll?
How about some gator aide
And water
And what else?
Something else to drink and nibblies……….
What for nibblies…..???
Bernie won’t eat trail mix
But what else is there
No candy
Ewww

Ok my Rhinebeck shopping list is books this time
Mostly books that have felted jackets/ coats in them
I probably will get them from knitpicks as that is cheaper
But I would like to look at the books
I have visions of a nice felted wool coat, with needle felting on it
Maybe flowers and vines? A couple beads here and there?
A STATEMENT coat for my little round body
Or maybe a colorknit hat or mitten kit……..

I need to get some cash as well I think……..about 30 bucks? Maybe 40
OHOOHOH I finally found my ball winder
Actually BERNIE found it for me
Isn’t that wonderful!
Mine is a royal………. It’s red and white!
I think the new ones are turquoise now

Of course there will be a stop at Spirit trail………
I am thinking that is the highlight of Rhinebeck.
I hope I can afford a skein of silk……..
you know it will be some nice reds/russets etc…..

I wished I could have a golding spindle or one of them new square spindles
But probably not…… it’s ok though I don’t NEED it…………
I have almost everything I need…….fleece, a wheel, dyes, yarns……..needles and tools
So it is really just the visiting and seeing what’s new and all…….
And TRADITION………. Let’s not forget that
The TRADITION of it all
Oh and maybe……….. a doughnut……..

sometimes i just can't be bothered

i recently ran across a yahoo group that sounded interesting to me
i joined............

i tried to participate in discussions.......

only to find out that the owner was a super control freek, who didn't appreciate ANYONE other then herself answering questions
asking was ok.......you had a 50/50 shot at her answering you

but ANSWERING was next to murder in this group

needless to say i quietly backed out..........
and left

what is it about the net and about people that brings this out of them?

i don't get it

what is so wrong with a free exchange?

i often wonder about people who do things like this......do they realize how they look to outsiders

do they realize that their innermost insecurities are out there for all the world (who cares to bother looking........most don't give a shit) to see

the more i see things like this the more i tend to like my animals
they shit on you.......you can compost it for the garden
you sort of know where you stand with them

if they like you
they stay by you
if they don't they tend to bite you

there........

simple

honest

straight foreward..........

there is no mistaking their meaning

thank goodness for simplicity............



til next time

vi

golden days and blue eyed duckies

well indian summer is here
farewell to the warm weather and biting insects.......( yeah like i will miss them....my eye is still swollen from that bug bite)
i am taking the duckies and putting them in the moveable pen during the day
today i am going to move it down a bit, and they will have fresh graze

it is such a pleasure to see them now

i find myself going out there when i need a break from work
they waddle up to the pen gate and wag their tails and bob their heads

all three want thier hugs and kisses

i can pick them up and cuddle them and kiss them

sometimes i pick them up to eye level facing me
and they look into my eyes in amazement

they are very gentle for the most part
just watch your fingers if you feed them berries
they are pretty good.....but i mean.......COME ON

BERRIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

all in all sweet little ducks

they are appearing to be named

lilliana for the one that is the most mom oriented (also has the most carunkling as well)
cleo for the middle one......
and phoebe for the more standoffish one that is coming around though
oh and she has a booboo on her bill......... we don't know how she got it

i wish you all sweet and tame blue eyed duckies......

they will sooth your soul

vi
til next time

little duckies ....you're the ones.......***

*** to paraphrase the muppets.........

ok so.......we got three little tame duckies now
good little duckies
makes going into the duck pen....... fun but a bit hazardous to the duckie's toes
as they are UNDER me all the time now
nibbling my muck boots
or my crocks
they even try to stick their heads down INTO my muck boots and sit on my toes
and they LIKE it
oye

they are a lot of fun now
it's a good distraction for me as the garden is now winding down
but that didn't stop a ner'do well bug from biting me on the eye
i am a mess
i am also on benedryl cause if i don't take it
i can't SEE out of my swollen eye
damn bug

it's getting colder out
we potted up a few pepper plants.....and an eggplant
i want to bring them up
meanwhile we also planted some garlic and onions
(that would be how i got bitten on the eye)
i have more to go
i am slowly giving the beans all to the duckies now
beans, stalks and leaves
i also gave them some of the pattypan squash
it makes it a bit easier to see the end of the garden

i sooooooooooo want a hoop house
and my sheep and goat home

i ordered more chicks
margeruite is staying ( she is going to lay again....she crouched for the 'rooster' today)
but i think regretfully that henrietta and dulcette's days are numbered
i need stewers
and eggs
they aren't laying

i think the duckies are going to start to lay shortly
i was hoping they wouldn't until spring but it looks like the sweetest one was looking......she sat in her mother's nest

wood is getting stacked.......slowly
i also hurt my finger......split my nail down from the tip
it's hurting bad
so i sort of stopped for a bit
i was also helping bernie do wood saturday
but i better think of starting up again shortly
tomorrow i need to can some celery/onions
and freeze broccoli
and some beef
i was so sick today
i didn't do anything but juice some crabapples i picked off a tree down town
jelly really quick tomorrow

i would really like to have part of my garden hooped
i could then extend the season at both ends maybe
i would also like a greenhouse
i could put these peppers and the eggplant in there
and the pattypan squash
or a zuke
and maybe a tomatoe

i am going to start lettuce and such in the house in window boxes in the windows......out in the 'cold' living room

it's too hot in here with the woodstove

anyway
my little duckies are endearing themselves to me
they are so cute
they greet me as if i am a duckie too
and they wag their tails

good thing we don't eat the girls huh?

vi
til next time

what skills do you have to barter with?

Currently the web and the lists I am on are full of worry and fears over the financial market here and abroad.
The news daily has word of the bail out
People are either for or against it
Some people are worried that “The End Of The World As We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI) has arrived

I don’t think so
However, as part of Bernie (although reluctantly on his part) and my ongoing quest for more self sufficiency, I was thinking of what barter-able skills we both have.

Here is a partial list of mine
Cooking from scratch
Canning
Gardening
Some animal husbandry and I can milk but it’s been ages
Butter churning
Sewing ( and pattern/clothes making)
Knitting
Crocheting
Spinning
I also tell a good story and am a born teacher
Dog training
Herbal medicines
Soapmaking
Baking ( including bread)
Dehydrating
Wood stacking
Keeping a woodstove going

What I would still like to learn
Shoe making!
Leather tanning
Bee keeping
Horse breaking
dry curing meat
brine curing meat
how to build an underground root cellar


and what other things would we have to barter with?

maple syrup from my sugar maples
eggs from the ducks..... and some duck meat (done for this year......)

i need to refresh my chicken layers so no chicken eggs right now....soon though

i do have two ewes ......tunis ewes
i would need a ram but each one of my ewes should twin........although i wouldn't count on that
and they can be kept on pasture, as they are thrifty

my wethers would have to go
and my goat......well......she's going to be three now....and not bred yet
so i imagine that she will be dinner unfortunately

what would i barter for?

a broke to pulling draft oxen or draft cow
and grazing land

fruit bushes and trees

and a non electric well pump

wood for the stove

salt

sugar


it's interesting to think about this
what would you do?

i do NOT believe that the end of the world is coming.....nor total economic collapse
i do think some rough times are coming
if they aren't here already
and i also think that we collectively need to start paying more attention to the basics..... food shelter energy
but on a very personal and local scale
a return to victory gardens
putting by food during the growing season OURSELVES
being more responsible for our selves

so again i ask you

what would you do?
what skills do you have
what would you like to learn?

duckie names..... weather change......

well it's that time........( haven't we had this conversation before?)

the duckies are to be named

i suppose that is the ritual of ownership or relationships or family ties even

naming............. giving a name,........... recognition

whether it's naming a child, pet or just labeling a person as 'my friend'
the saying of that seems to mark the occasion, and relationship as important,
setting it off in your mind as an individual worthy of thought and consideration.
making it real-er somehow

it would seen to be a primal urge
which links us back to our first ancestors that walked up right and gazed with wonder on the world around

we have whole ceremonies surrounding this
naming of ships with champagne
naming of buildings with ribbons
naming of children with religious ritual

now...... i come to the naming of the duckies
for us it signifies ......'you are staying here'
for we did not name the boys, nor the ones leaving

now it is clear they are staying.....the time for naming is here

now forgive me for being so philosophical today.....
i was up at 4:30 am reading a book a friend gave me
it's rattled my brain i finished it at 8am......
and it is still stuck in the corners of my mind

i found myself wondering ............. how many stories in life do not have happy endings.....where all the ends are woven in...... neatly trimmed up and presented

i know in my life....
some things just ...........ended
abruptly in some cases..... and i was very grateful for that
but still no lessons learned
no insights
no explanations
just..........
events strung out with no connections

then there are some things that are gloriously connected..... light blazing laser lights which are amazing to see

today i wonder how come i am not on my farm yet

i am not quite sure why no

i know the economy, and housing market etc....

but still i wonder why?

i feel in a holding pattern
at times

which has made me determined to NOT stop doing
even if it has to be here........

because i can't see putting my life on hold waiting for the farm
so
i do here
i plan on putting in fruit trees
because three years ago i wanted to
i held off because we 'were going to move'
we're still here
those trees would have been bearing now

if we move........ok i will replant
but i am determined now
not to wait....not to hold off
to take whatever i can with what i have here

to make as much as a farm here as i can
it may be the only farm i ever get
or
it may be the preliminary to the farm of my dreams.....
i don't know
i wish i did know
but i am determined............ the picture of the life in my head......

i want it
and it doesn't matter where i am

i am intending on living it


on that note
here is a list of some of the duckie names i am thinking of


phoebe
psyche
valentina
bia
bianca
ortensia
cordelia
octavia
luciana
candida
aldora ( which is cool as it means 'winged gift')
damiana
immacolata
liliana



til next time

vi

ahhhhhhhhhhh October!!!!

welcome october
happy happy october 1st everyone

today it is raining
on and off

i found our woodpile uncovered and the wood was getting wet

to celebrate october though
i plan on roasting a fruit stuffed pork loin
i know i really should wait for the weekend and serve it with baked acorn squash
and scalloped yukon gold potatoes.......or should i roast them with garlic and parsley?
but i may just do it today anyway
happy october and happy hump day?



i got some dried peach slices.......and i think i will soak them in some cherry juice left from making danish cherries.....
then add THAT all to cornbread stuffing
and stuff the pork loin
how does that sound?

i wish it was a bit cooler in a way
i could start the woodstove
but it's not
which is good for the garden
as there are some plants i would like to lift
oh well

happy october everyone
doable?

rubber duckie in the rain..............

well it's raining
i believe it is a hurricane or something like that but up the coast so we are just getting a lot of rain
and slugs
can't forget the slugs

the duckies are not too happy with all the rain
apparently even duckies have a limit as to the amount of dampness they can happily endure

today one of the girls jumped on my sweet little baby girl duckie

bernie took her and put the mean one in with falstaff.....who proceeded to jump on HER

guess payback is a bitch

so as you all heard, one of the duckies is the SWEETIEST thing in the universe
she comes running up to us
'pet me pet me'
and we do
it's them blue eyes
she is so sweet and so gentle...... she takes tiny berries from your hand without hurting you
that duck is getting a pension and diapers and may just come in the house to live

i love that duck
i need a NAME for that duck.....no?

she's got more karuncling on her face then the others.....scared me that she was going to turn into a boy
but she still is sweet and chirpy not raspy and ungainly

and she has an egg bulge developing
so she is a she
thank goodness

cause i do so love that duck

now
in other news
bernie had some rough news, he's got to replace the timing chain in his truck
so in the mean time
he's got MY truck and i am..........well........

without

i think seriously i need a horse and buggie
this is getting out of hand
i NEVER have wheels!

oh and thems of yous that are watching
he has not gained an oz
he's still about 125-135 and got me frantically worried
but he's burning about 4500 to 5000 calories a day at work
and not replacing enough of them

i am going out of my mind

he's getting cookies with extra nutrition in them
deviled eggs and cheeses for breakfast
extra milk and cream and butter for suppers

i don't know what all else to do


in garden news
my one zuke that i thought was my beloved san pasquale........turned out to be a yellow zuke!
and NOW it's got zukes on it?
NOW?
it's the end of the season!

oye
i so would love to hoop it and the pattypans and the peppers

instead i am going to dig up the eggplant and some peppers and put them in the house in pots
we'll see

i am also going to put the one big planter in the house with lettuce and spinach
and maybe try for another one with chard?
it will be cool enough i think in the living room

now that the truck needs a timing chain.....
i am thinking that the hoop house and freezer is not in my future

oye

well ..........we'll see

til next time

vi

a favorite duckie, and ramblings

one of the babies that stayed, is such a sweet little thing.
we suspect that is the one that falstaff doesn't like
she comes over to me and crouches for me to pick her up and pet her
i love that duck
she is going to be a house duck i think
after this entire summer of duck raising
which wasn't easy btw
( i lost some weight ........most i suspect i left on the hill out back every time i fell)
at least ONE duck is a sweetie

in fiber news.....the socklet is coming along
i feel like knitting now!
i guess trish really is slapping me up the side of the head
i also feel like sewing etc
but i still miss her horribly........

so many times i just want to call her and tell her 'hey look at this'
or 'hey what do you think of that'


in gardening news.......
i am thinking of lifting about 5 pepper plants....... cutting them back and putting them in buckets to either keep inside or try and winter over to plant out again next year

a lot of folks ( me included!) didn't know peppers are actually perennial plants
and if i can keep them over the winter that would get me a huge jump on spring and next years peppers for some of the late season varieties

i would also like a hoop house/coldframe/green house

part of my garden woes this year were due to a colder then normal august
it was more like late september

so a hoophouse or tunnel would have moderated that

one of the members on my canning group suggested a cattle panel hoophouse
another one suggested roll up sides.....
i am going to certainly look into that

that cattle panel hoop house also has another thing that is intriguing about it
one of the websites i have had occasion to visit......keeps their CHICKENS in it over the winter.....along with the plants ( separated by wire so the chickens can't EAT the plants)
they also keep the chickens above a 'worm pit'
so the wormies get the droppings
as well as the stuff pulled off the veggies
the chickens get a few wormies now and again
the veggies get the castings
the chickens add to the warmth of the winter hoophouse
all is happy in the world.........

i would like to do that
and if i can figure a way to make it predator proof.....i just may try for it

it doesn't look too hard to do by myself

maybe with a bit of help from vicki......
cause bernie doesn't have time

i am concerned about the economy,
i do think however it will get better once the elections are over

i think the unsettled effect that always goes along with the elections is heightened by not only the ethanol/corn problem and the weather
but also by the immensely historic times we are living in
a black man/or a woman in the office

hmmmmmm

i wonder what the founding fathers are thinking now

i can just see them sitting around some colonial drop leave table in heaven....with a glass of rum and a clay pipe.......(or some claret)

watching us and debating on the outcome


i wonder if they are ok with the directions we went in?

i guess they are as the most important thing i think they tried to insure was freedom

total freedom

til next time


vi

it's FALL ........FINALLY!!!

fall and spring are my two favorite season.
but fall holds a very special place in my heart
i have so many wonderful memories of fall leaves
of coming home to our fireplace lit
apple cider from Tice's farm
mom's red kidney bean soup

the colors of fall are amazing and phenomenal
the SMELLS of fall are lush, decadent and intoxicating
add that sort of crisp snap to the air
and a cozy sweater while raking leaves..........

what is not to love?


unfortunately Tice's cider is no more ( it really was the best cider i have EVER in my life tastes, i would love to know the varieties and % of apples that went into it)

and we have the woodstove, as we don't use the fireplace......( the cats would just think it a HUGE kitty litter box anyway)

but i still make mom's bean soup
and i still rake leaves in a cozy sweater

now leaves are used as duck bedding and shredded for the garden
THEN leaves were burnt

anyone remember that smell?

i fear this fall will be less colorful then falls past
we went down to stockerton saturday to pick up new gaskets for the woodstove door, and on the way back i commented to bernie about the colors......... it looked more like november then early fall

my big sugar maple turned in AUGUEST.....( the 280 year old one....the others are still green) and it was much redder then other years

i am still finishing up the winter stocking
still have some meat and more veggies to get

we got 200# of potatoes although no leighighs this year.......figures......
they are the VERY BEST bakers i have ever had
but it appears to be a good year for potatoes as the russets aren't bad and neither are the yukons .........the yukons better be as we got 150 pounds of them
the last 50 are baby's and i got them for 7.50 for the bag....
i had planned on canning them
bernie plans on making parsley potatoes with them

i think i will leave him a couple pounds but i plan on canning them for soup

now if you are a fiber person

i have what could be an announcement to make

i have started knitting again i think, i am just done with the toe of a toe up sock
in regia 'clown' on size 1 needles.....( i know....2-3 but i don't like loose fabric on socks)

we did a break in fire on the woodstove and i picked up my needles.....that and it's been COLD here at night

i can just hear trish now....... ( she approves i think ........what do you all think?)

AND bernie found my BALL WINDER!!!!!!!!!!
i haven't seen that in 25 years!
it's fine and works great so i am please....... it sure beats handwinding 1800 years of lace weight no?

even though i adore my pink ivory wood noste

so with that in mind......rhinebeck here i come

oh and Bob sent me 2 bags of alpaca lace weight from trish
so that is like 3300 yards
i have no idea what she had in mind for it
maybe a shirt?
i won't knit me a shirt with it, as i suspect i would need a tad MORE then that
sooooooooo
the question is........ 3300 yards....... what on earth should i make
it has to be something i finish.....
cause it will be my momento from our trish

vi

ps: i baked bernie pumpkin muffins yesterday, defrosted the last of last years pumpkin pulp ..........

now it's time for THIS years pumpkins
i think i am going to dry them this year

til next time

warning......not for the faint or soft of heart

sharon the chicken died, on her third birthday

i had bernie put her in a box and i took her little corpse outside
bernie was to have put her out back so she could rest in pieces
(we live on rock......no underground burials.......not without explosives)

well he went out this morning to open the duck crates and discovered that sharon is no longer in her little box

i doubt highly that she resurrected and went her little chicken way

i believe something got a free dinner last night
which is ok
it's natures way

however that does point up a problem i have with the poultry right now

the predator battle

now predation is never easy on a flock owner.....nor is it pretty

serafina was ripped apart savagely
there was blood and feathers and entrails all over the place
and covered by flies as well........


we have it somewhat under control right now
but as the weather cools down........
as the assholes continue to blast and build on the mountain behind us......
as prey population moves on due to habitat destruction.....

the facts will continue to be ......... the predator battle

you can't blame them

there is a nice fat WARM poultry dinner, just clucking.....of chirping behind that thar FENCE

and they gotta make a living too
they have a family to feed.......
little hungry bellies no?


but not MY birds

so now we have to think about hot wire i think for the inner duck pen
and when the chickens go out
as they MUST

we need to get hot fence for them as well

probably solar assisted




the jackass neighbor has one of them wire cage/pen/storage thingies for the small BBQ propane tanks such as you see outside of walmart etc........

i think that would be a wonderful inner predator proof poultry pen


now.......where do i get one???



vi

oh and ps

i am looking for seeds for an ORANGE pattypan squash...............

in america if possible

if anyone knows drop me an email please?

thank you all ever so much

patty pan squash is a very good thing

i harvested about 4 small (3-4 inches) yellow patty pans
if you haven't tried a patty pan

listen
slice it into some hot olive oil with a bit of sauteed onion, some sweet red peppers, a bit of garlic and a final sprinkling of kosher salt

cook the patty pan until it is slightly brownish on each side
oh and i also added fresh green beans cause that's what i picked today from the garden

this is heaven

believe me

even bernie who 'hates' squash had a HUGE helping
and
ATE IT ALL

then suggested a hoop house so i can get my stuff in earlier and hopefully keep it longer

today i harvested a lot of peppers
no where near the amount i had hoped to get out of the 30 plants i had out there
but at least enough to make a few jars of either salsa
or peppers and onions for meats

i also started to harvest the wonderberries......so unfortunately have the birds

this season was a disappointment in the garden

i know i am not alone in feeling that way

between the cold.....
the rain
my being ill
trish dying ( see trish it's all your fault)which threw me into a real depression,
THE DAMN DUCKS FROM HELL
then the colder then normal august
well.......

we have a terrible garden this year

canning season was a disappointment as well
i couldn't get any produce in quantity or of QUALITY enough to can
and the garden was late......and no where near as productive
the ground hog ate a LOT of cabbages on me as well
i hope the brussels sprouts do well

but i think the leeks are not going to
nor do i think the cabbages will every get a nice sized head on them


In family news
my sister in law colleen got her dog off galveston island
and she is looking for a place to rent on the mainland
her home is totally devastated
she couldn't even salvage clothing
they have truly lost everything
they had small rental houses that they had lived in, fixed up then rented
they are also devastated

they worked so very hard to fix these little houses up to rent with the idea that once they retired, they would sell them.....that was their retirement fund

it's all gone


in chicken news
i am so sorry to report that sharon the chicken has died
today is their third birthday as well
we don't know why,
we think it was a retained egg
we at first thought she was broody
but when we couldn't break the brood....

the other girls appear fine
the ducks are fine as well

(knock on wood)

so we'll see
i put her outside in a box

since there isn't actual dirt to bury her in
( the construction up the mountain blast all day long cause it's ALL ROCK)

we will put her out for the fox and other animals

it's natures way anyway

so she will rest in peices like her brother larry the chicken

i am going to have to get some more laying hens though
the ducks will start soon
and i will be selling the eggs i can't use

i would like a laying flock of 12 if i could
then i get a dozen, more or less a day......and i can sell what i don't use
which will FEED the laying flock of 12


well we are off to sleep.......

til next time

vi

i think it's time for winter.......no?

i think i am ready to settle down to the rhythm of the woodstove

the twice a day hot stoke, and the every couple hour add a log......

to chicken stock simmering, and bread baking,
yogurt making, and even schlepping water to the ducks

i want to knit and spin again.....i can't believe i am starting to want to do that.......
i haven't really touched any fiber since trish died.
( except that swatch for jen at spirit trail)


i am by nature a bit of a hermit, i don't tend to stray too far from home. ( Georgie will be laughing her ass off about now and shaking her head yes)
so as the weather starts to chill and the leaves start to fall
i want to stay in as much as possible

which brings me to one of my secret joys of winter.......
planning the next garden!

THIS year (2009) i plan on elderberries!!! ( 10 plants oughta do it no?)
and blackberries ( probably 10 of these as well)
blueberries ( well these and cranberries you can NEVAH have too much of )
cranberries
and peaches!

(as we all know......peaches and nectarines are food for the gods.... grow as many as you can...........and then send them all to me!)

along with the small garden fruits i started to grow last year

as always i keep hoping that the real estate market picks up and we can sell and move on

i miss the sheep and the goat and want them home


in other news...........

colleen found their dog.....ALIVE
however her homes are all destroyed
she's basically homeless
thankfully she has insurance and fema is there helping
and of course she has us and raymond's family

i have a surprise for her, i have all the photo's she's given me of the kids etc......
she is going to be really upset when the realization hits that the pictures are all gone
the mementos are all gone

this much i can do for her

she is also probably not going to come up this fall as planned
soooooooooo

in keeping with the halloween traditions of our family
i am planning on sending a box of goodies to the kids
and to her and raymond...... i figure by the time it's halloween she'll have an address
even if it's a rental on the mainland

btw
today i think i am going to can tomato preserves
i got a LOT of tiny yellow cherries and the larger black plums
i was originally thinking salsa as i have enough jalapenos harvested
but maybe not huh?

i will decide i imagine...... when i finally get in the kitchen today

til next time

vi

ps: fiber folk......( you all know who you are)
i need an idea for a gazillion yards of a heathered brown/gray sport weight alpaca..... (20 skeins)
part of AZknitter's stash so it needs to be memorable

all is not well with my sister in law

it looks pretty bad for her homes in galveston.
she's trying to get in to see the damage
basically she is apparently homeless

i told her to come home here
bring everyone and just come the hell home
we will sleep on the floors if we have to
but everyone will be safe

i don't think she will be making her planned on visit in october this year
i haven't seen her for a while so i am going to be bitterly disappointed
but she doesn't even have a roof over her head or work clothes or a pillow to sleep on
so i more then understand

i just wish they would all come home

in other news

the DUCKS from hell

falstaff has taken a dislike to one of the ducks........
he's tormenting her
poor little thing hids in the back of the duck pen behind the coop
soooooooo
starting tomorrow that is going to be addressed
falstaff is not going to be happy about it either
as i am planning on Xpening him in the middle of the larger pen

bernie is feeling better from this cold or whatever he had.....

( damn him.....i get something and i am dyink for a month......
HIM....... a few days of sniffles
OR
if it's really bad...two days of fevers and then he's fine
doesn't seem right does it?)

the leaves are turning up here...have been since august
so naturally my garden picks THIS time to actually decide to produce
huh?
what happened to july and august?
NOW you decide beans and pattypans are a good thing?
55 day beans and 60 day pattypans......... took what? 95 freeken days?

yeah right

however the wonderberries are starting to ripen......and it is good......


vi
til next time

duck pens, snow loads and gardening thoughts

we spent the day re-roofing the duck pen

since the demise of my serafina
i haven't wanted to let my ducks stay in the pen
so every single day i would convince falstaff to go into a tiny crate and i would schlep him into the basement

surprisingly he did this willingly!

the three remaining babies too***

ok they are on their second night in the duck pen BUT
we have roofed over with fencing......wire fencing
and they are in crates........
with the doors against solid walls

and the radio going

i have a few more things to do to the pen to feel that it is 'safe' again

including a better woodend inner coop


the roof looks really wanky.....like them crazy roofs on the houses from that town in california
i am hoping it holds a snow load
i think it will


in looking around my poor garden
i realized that again i didn't get the paths covered and that let a lot of weeds grow
next year or maybe during the winter
i plan on putting down cardboard and newspaper and then some sort of mulch
bernie talked about raised beds but i am not holding my breath

i am thinking however
my friend joey used what looks like a swing set....but is not for upside down tomato growing
i think i am going to lift that idea
without tomatoes in the ground.....i can devote their bed to garlic and maybe eggplants

the other thing is
i want a hoop house
i would LOVE a greenhouse with under soil cables for heat for my beloved peppers
but a cold hoop house for winter greens would be ok too

i have decided to put in elderberries
at least they are native
they will give me a lot of fruit
i won't (maybe) have produce envy............

what's not to like? the bird stains on the cars?
please we got them anyway ( i want to know WHERE them buggers are getting thos berries from anyway)

i would also like blueberry, cranberry, blackberry and peach
sounds like a reasonable array no?

i thought so

til next time
vi



*** we had the boys processed on friday night, it's not a good feeling but it is what had to be done
i could not find homes for them
i did try
so
instead of a life in a tiny cage which is what would have had to happen
they lived a great life for 4 months and then they will go to feed us

hurricane in the gulf

my sister in law lives on galveston island
or maybe by tomorrow........it should be past tense?
lived?
she owns a few properties.......one she lives in the rest she rents.
they are modest dwellings for modest people
(actually she lived in each house, fixed it up, bought another fixer-upper, and moved....then rented the house she just moved from)

they evacuated and went up to huntsville tx
where my neice (her oldest daughter) is going for her masters degree

i keep trying to talk her into selling all the properties there and moving HERE

we will jointly buy a farm and she can open a B&B while i get to have my animals..... garden, preserve.......
spin, knit and make dolls
( and hopefully blog about it all)

i am thinking....... she may have no choice in the matter after this storm


in other news

i have butchered the drakes
more accurately, i have had them done

no one believed i would actually go through with it

well i did
i feel bad
but i was also resigned to it

i did however back out on the chickens

we couldn't keep the drakes, they were horney and fighting
they spent a very happy safe and protected joyful 'duckling hood'

and were either doomed to smallish pens alone........ or
the freezer

they are in the chiller now...... they await the freezer

i figured it was a quality of life thing at this point

i tried to sell them
no luck
so their life force is now in heaven
and they are going to feed us

i am shocked that i went through with it as well

but let's face it

i eat meat

nameless chickens, pigs, and cows

these will not have a name but they will not be unknown


i do believe...........
i have finally grown up



vi

Halloween movies 2008!

THIS is the link to last years halloween movie post

i don't have tv anymore so don't know if there are any other goodies that came out in the past year

anyone know of any?
nothing GORY
nothing so horrorific as to get you sick or scare you......(like the 'halloween' movies)

i swore i would add to our dvd collection but the most i got was sleepy hollow, and that was because the vhs ate the tape so i got it in dvd


i have to do something as my beloved and FAVORITE sister in law is coming for halloween
and we should so do a movie night
with popcorn and cookies

no?

tis the season


vi

OH be still my heart!~2 posts in one MONTH

i hope i found my way home now............

after yesterday's rain, and boy did it rain
i looked out today and expected dry pavement
silly me
the ground is still soaked
my laundry is still dripping!

the drakes need to be taken to the processor this weekend no later
( i sent an email to our attorney who is a duck hunter to see if he'd be willing....haven't heard back from him, then discovered....i sent it to his old email address!)

ok fixed that


now where was i?

ok vintage cookbooks

that's what is going on around here for interest lately

the older the better
vintage war years with rationing tips a plus
vintage war years CANNING books are always welcome

i am slowly trying to set in a hedgerow of fruits, i figure it couldn't hurt at all
starting i believe with barberry, which we have growing all over the place
(grows wild here for me..........EVERY thing grows wild here for me, mock orange, rose of sharon........ barberry)
i want to add cultivated blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and cranberries....
currants
gooseberrys
seaberry
honeyberry
elderberry
and maybe some grapes
bernie keeps killing my wild grapes off on me .......maybe if i put in cultivated ones?

all this is because i don't know how long or when we will get to move
so we need to literally bloom where we are planted

besides i think that the berries will add immeasurably to our life and to the property and maybe even to the wildlife in the area

not to mention all the juice and dried berries i will be putting up

and CRANBERRY sauce by the bucketfulls......

ok i didn't say i could stay long
the ducks need to go out

til next time

vi

long time no post

hihi my little neglected blog

i sort of forgot you in the rush of spring, duckling raising,
gardening
and mourning trish

i see you waited patiently for me
i'm glad to see you

let's see

i am just getting over a 'change of season' cold...it's a nasty one
i was out getting the duckling in with a temp of 102.8
(no, no one would help me, so i am not going to let the raccoon get them like the raccoon got my beautiful serafina may she RIP)

the drakes and two stewers are being processed i think this week

my truck is again on the road

potatoes are up to 15.00 a bag and no leighighs

my coffee pot dad gave me over 21 years ago bit the dust....i got the same one but the 2008 model, it was 1.99 more expensive then what he got me
i like it

Colleen is coming for halloween


the garden is finally starting to bear
but no where near enough
we had groundhog issues, drought
cold cold august.......
it's warmer now that it is september
the garden didn't do much
beans even didn't do as well as they should have and we are waiting for the cabbages
i hope the ground hog doesn't get any more of the brussels sprouts
i put in 15 and i think there are about 5-8 left

garden notes for this year are as follows
* prep most of the beds in the fall
* get a lot of veggies into containers also
* plant earlier
* use hoop tunnels and cold frames
* milk gallon cloches are also a good idea
* make the damn trellises over the WINTER
* don't listen to bernie about the tomato ARBOR, now i can't FIND one tomato
plant under the mess of the heirloom tangle
* fish emulsion is your friend
* start peppers EARLIER and tomatoes LATER ......peppers in january
Tomatoes in APRIL
* cabbages need to go out EARLY and get some really EARLY varieties
* start the sluggo a few days before planting
* start the nasturiums a few weeks before planting
* add flowers

i know everyone is feeling the rising prices of food and gas and well......just about everything.
i am seriously hoping that after this election, some things will calm down
i saw somewhere on the net that traditionally gas prices go up during the campaign and calm down (not return to the prior lows however) after the deed is done

i also understand the oil companies are showing an obscene amount of profit
bad for us
good for thier investors no?

i have decided to put in fruit bushes and trees here
as at this time it doesn't look like we will be moving any time soon

jackass hisself has left
mrs jackass was at first 'hosting' numerous men
then there were odd smells coming from there
acetone, ether, chlorine, pinesol, and a weird cat piss smell
i called the epa and also asked through back channels for the cops to look into this

the smells stopped

the big dog was clipped by a car
they got little yapper dogs there now

but for the most part now
things are relatively quiet

they were making damn sure i had nothing to call the cops on



that was this summer
how was your summer?



til next time.....which i hope isn't too far away


vi

just dial direct

i tend to have dreams
not in the martin luther king jr sense.....( although i do have those type as well but we are talking about sleeping dreams)

anyway, i tend to have dreams that either are real, happen or furnish me with some sort of information i need

this morning i was woken up three seperate times by dreams from a person i haven't heard from in 4 years
the last dream was disturbing, as it involved one of the kids

so i tried to call. the number has been changed
ok
i emailed

i am waiting to see if daemon mailer kicks it back
i wouldn't be surprised


this all leads me to thinking about just how interconnected and yet unaware we all really are

and about that old attribute called 'the sight'

yes i do have 'the sight' and i have always had it
although at times through my life it's been a bit ragged and perhaps needed glasses
i think everyone has it
cops use it daily
as do successful buisness people
and a million other living things

but now while i try and brush the aftermath of the last very disturbing dream from my mind, i can't help but wonder about this attribute

i can see the use, but also why can i not use it like the tool it is obviously ment to be
why do i not have more control over it
my sister in law thinks we aren't ment to have that sort of control over it
but i think we should
like any other tool no?

ok anyone else out there have the use of this attribute?

please by all means let me hear from you all


vi

the search for ancestors

Apparently every late winter to late spring I get the urge to find my past
Last year I found my paternal grandmother, her family, my paternal grandfather and part of his family and my dad’s siblings
I found a few of mom’s side

This year is apparently the year of the maternal grandfathers

I went looking for my mom’s mom, and her father…….. and I found HIM and HIS father
As well as a couple of his siblings
I don’t know my mother’s mom’s maiden name……BUT I have the information to get her death certificate as well as my mom’s birth certificate
I am still looking for her fathers mother……whom, apparently I am named after as was she…… but there is some confusion about HER mothers name….i could also be named after her but I am not sure

I keep talking to my ancestors while I do this
Asking them to cut me a break here………….. let me find SOMETHING of you all
I also ask them to send me 3 million dollars in a winning lotto ticket but that is besides the point…….

( well it IS the least they can all do no?)

meanwhile, I have cousins and such out there……..from both sides……
first cousins on my mom’s side
my cousin stevie romano and his sister anita romano…….. their other sister marie may still be alive as well….
I don’t know if my uncle jack had kids……. Or my uncle carlos but I think they both did……
They would be covino…. Carlos’ would be in California
Uncle jack’s would I imagine be in NY state

It’s sort of addicting
I almost have enough to start searching in italy if I wish to
But the garden is about to be opened for spring…….
Canning season started more or less….( ok so it never really ends does it…..canning season or gardening I mean)

I will be getting too busy to search through websites for ancestors…….
I am I realize one of the lucky ones……my people came through ellis island and rather recently at that…… I can find a lot of them
(except my mother’s paternal grandmother and my maternal grandmother….for some reason the gramma’s aren’t ready to be found yet)
anyway…… I am happy I am back on the net…… Bernie said a new computer is soooooooo in my future……. When I see it…..i will believe it
if I get a new one…….DSL is also in my future….
How about THAT?

Ok till next time

vi

What a nightmare
It all started a few months ago, my internet service provider overcharged me by a month and a half
Without thinking I paid it.
Then they told me……
‘you don’t have to pay us, we’re paid up’
ok
I didn’t pay them for the months of the overage
Then without warning they shut me off!
At the pole, not even at the office!

Huh?
Wait I paid you, I paid you too much……….
I went to a friend’s house got online, and paid them
Apparently I STILL paid them too much as now they owe me money!

I tried to call them, the customer service people I got on the phone were……to be polite, complete and total idiots

And didn’t CARE that I had over paid, that they had told me not to pay them

And my emails…….my accounts were all wiped out!

Without a word to me…no warning

She said to me ‘we called you’

I said…….i NEVER got a call

Well we called you

Ok……………………………………( you do NOT want to know what I was thinking at that point……let’s just say, it wasn’t anywhere near polite nor politically correct)

And since I pay my bills on line and you wiped out my account……how could I even try to see what was going on?

Now Bernie said to me…….just pay them or whatever and get the internet back……..

Ahhhhhhhhhh……………
No

I wouldn’t have minded the snaffoo if the customer service wasn’t so freeken flippant about it all
But I have had it with this isp
The email box has been messed up for two years now……it’s on their end……
Finally one tech said……’try changing your password, as it’s on our end’

Next began my adventures in outsourced customer service to foreign countries.
After speaking to goodness only knows how many Indian from India accented people……who did not apparently know how to deal with a computer with Win98SE, nor could they understand WALL phone filters,
NO NIC card…..i have firewire……
Rest assured they were mostly very polite
and tried really really HARD to give me 'american' names
the funniest one was 'ummmmmmUNDY'

i asked him to spell that...... ANDY
hahahahahaha

his accent was so damn thick i KNEW that if ANDY was his real name.....he was a total gonner

and btw, he didn't know what the hell he was talking about as i had been given a test access number/username and password to see if i could use thier system.... ( aol.... shame on aol)
and it didn't work.
UMUNDY told me that they didn't do that kind of thing.....

the guy right before him did

oye

Well except the sleezy from peoplepc, who kept telling me without the code he couldn’t give me the discount.
And kept having to ask his manager…….

I was put on hold for I swear three weeks……

Ok I found an American based company……local even
They aren’t as cheap as the foreign based companies
However, they spoke ENGLISH, and they HELPED ME
And we are now connected, even though it’s dial up….it’s faster dial up
They helped me over a glitch in my system too
Lovely woman that had me laughing, ( ok so I tried to give her a duckling too)
And in approximately 10 minutes, I had internet service….. with a SMILE and a person who actually understood English AND was helpful AND polite AND did what she said she was going to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


What a concept


vi

we soooooooooo have to stop the foreign outsourcing

so i am paying a bit more for my internet......i think it's worth actually having service that i can understand and that is helpful

happy tax day

April 14, 2008

A few random thoughts

My lettuce is up…..i can’t wait for the first of our salads
( I think I posted how I make them prior to this)
I want to expand the garden which I have often spoke of on this blog
Over and over I think

I also want to move
So the sheepies and goatie can come home…….

Now I put in a bunch of different lettuces and other green salad type plants, I go out daily and speak to the seedlings in the buckets on the deck.
I remember my momma going in the yard in the spring and harvesting dandelion greens, and I am doing that too……but I am giving them to Serafina……after all she is expecting………sorta

Bernie is late tonight,
I am having a sort of menstrual period, not a totally normal one….but all the symptoms and none of the red blood
It confused the hell out of me for a while….. I was all weepy again…..which isn’t really like me, unless my heart is broken ( I still cry over trish, damn I miss her)
I am a bit depressed as well. It’s probably just a reaction to the past few months, and the loss of my friend.
And I am very very tired.

You would think that this would be covered in the owners manual….or at least in a service pack or something…..ANYTHING…. damn thing sneaks up on you and whomps you over the head like bricks

We paid our taxes today, all year I worry and sweat over paying them. For 2008 I will only have to worry about local…….not state and local anymore…..
That will help me a lot

I have to decide on firewood, I think we ended up using 5 cords give or take….
I suppose that is what I will replace.

I want my grain mill already…… oye
I got my wheat and barley and hopefully soon my oats. I got rice put in, ( I have to put the second sack in the freezer this week, then dry can it)
I am hoping for a goodly amount of meats to can soon, and I hope as always for an abundant harvest
Plus that hoop house to grow and harvest veggies through the winter…that will help me a LOT
With that and the root cellar, and the canning shelves….. not to mention the stuff I dry, we should be in good shape…..
YES I am thinking of NEXT winter already……
I also need to find the time to make soap in the next few weeks
Right now however, the garden has me totally absorbed. We put manure and compost on two beds, and covered one with tarps and one with black plastic.
I have 5 more beds to do like that yet…..
Possibly 6
I am going to put some mini hoops with clear plastic over some beds to get a bit of a jump on the tomatoes and peppers, as well as some pumpkins and zucchini I think…. I wonder if the eggplant would be happy like that early?
I can do that over a couple of beds actually…..not the beans and cucumbers……or the broccoli’s, cauliflowers or cabbages of course…..

Thankfully……. While surfing the net over the years……I downloaded a LOT of information to cd’s
I have been taking this no internet time to quietly go mad……. To spend my time going through all this information. There is a considerable amount
But I am enjoying it to a point….. I will be really happy when I have full time internet back however

Thaddeaus has gained back all the weight he lost while sick…… he is now again a solid hefty little boy. You can feel almost three vertebrae in his back, and he’s got a nice covering over his ribs
My boy is solid again AND still has fur! Thousands of curlies…….
What a good boy he’s been too, ok…….so he really hasn’t been a good boy…..i mean he is THADDEAUS PEABODY….. but he tries
Sorta………..
Occasionally……………..
When he’s hungry…………..
And I got fancy feast………

Oh ok so he’s really a bad boy…….but we love him
He’s happy tonight as I got the woodstove on again, it’s to go down past 30 overnight

Well that is the most of the news……

Til next time

vi

some posts while i was gone

Blog post for april 5 08

I am,

Without internet

It is a long story, but hopefully in 5-10 days I will be again with internet
I will be on dsl.

So I am typing this in word……which keeps capitalizing things for me.
I just type and it inserts capitals!

Now while I am waiting for internet, I am planning on moving my seedlings on to larger quarters, hardening some off, adding more little starter pots ( mainly cottage garden flowers now)

As you all know if you saw my previous post with the pictures of the 3 week old seedlings, I have a green thumb.
And I got a bit heavy handed with the bachelor buttons, as well as the columbines, but hey, I CAN tuck a plant here and there if I need to……. After I plant the main cottage garden bed
Or I can nursery them over on the deck
OR I can even sell some if need be

I so wish for a greenhouse
And a cold frame hoop house

I discovered little finches eating my freshly sown lettuce and mache seeds…..one of the down sides of having bird feeders up and full of seed

Now back to the vegetable garden in the making,
As I repot the tomatoes into larger containers, I bury them deeper…..and put them into the windows.

There is no longer room under my lights I use to start the seeds and grow the seedlings with.
Very soon EVERY window will be crammed full of pots of tomatoes, cabbages, hollyhocks, marigolds, peppers and leeks………….
Very soon I will be rigging my sort of greenhouse/cold frame hardening off thing out on the deck
I use saw horses and narrow poles to drape plastic drop clothes on…..and nightly bring in the more tender plants

I had hoped for a hoop house and cold frame this spring so all the work and fuss of doing the sifting of the plants wouldn’t be happening but that is life

And I have finally come to a decision of what to plant on the fence that is a problem……..STINGING NETTLE….. an extremely useful plant
Although it is also an extremely defensive plant as well.
I could use the nettle, it’s excellent as a pot herb as well as a wash for hair and skin
It will make good fodder for the poultry well wilted.
And the attraction against the fence is that any one stupid enough to trespass where it grows will get stung and a nasty rash………no trespassing……no rash it is as simple as that, yet it is a very nutritious green….. so nettle it is

On to other news
Calpurrnia was sick again……. 24 hours of vomiting. I used that probotic paste last night on her that the vet gave us last time, and sure enough no vomiting over night….none so far today.
I made her ‘fancy feast’ soup. Which is exactly what it sounds like… a smallish quantity of fancy feast in a larger quantity of water, warm……….
It is good to keep them hydrated when they are like this.
The vet and I can not figure out what this is exactly but they seem to be susceptible to it when the seasons change.
Thaddeaus remains furred! We are so unused to seeing him with a full coat on…..he reminds me of those weird Victorian supernatural people that look all wooly like sheep…..
So far he is still relatively short haired, but it looks like it will grow in long, and it is very very CURLY fur…….
Ah…….. what a laperm should be…..

Now one last thing, today ( actually tonight at I think 11pm) is new moon….
And a good time to plant things that grow under the ground such as onions and potatoes, beets, turnips, parsnips, and carrots.
It’s been dampish and raining off and on…… very good for the peas I planted the other day, as well as any of the lettuce or other greens that the finches may have left to me

I still need to get the spinach in…the first sowing didn’t take for whatever the reason.

I think in two weeks I will be getting three more large barrels for the deck….. and get the small planters and such out of there, cleaned up and replanted with rosemary, lemon grass, vanilla grass, and maybe another patchouli, ( I miss my patchouli) I also have a packet of cat grass seeds so I will plant that.

The cat NIP bucket is alive….i checked the other day, the cat nip is coming up, and I need to remember to move it on and divide it, as this year is a year for drying herbs.
A LOT of herbs
I have four or five sages to set out, which I like to dry whole leaves from, and also make kitchen wreaths. ( Trish you really should have stayed with us longer….you would have loved some of this stuff I do)

Well that is more or less the state of my herb garden, my life, and my furry family at the moment. BTW, bernie’s birthday is Tuesday. I doubt I will be on the net by then but you never know.

I will tell you all, I miss the internet, I miss my friends, I miss the unlimited wealth of knowledge that is found there at the stroke of a key.
And while I am not too fond of modern life. The internet I have to say…..even with it’s faults, makes it all worthwhile

Til next time

vi



April 6, 2008
We have a little visitor………..

Life is such an amazing experience.
And it is brutal in it’s down from our point of view.
This morning, Bernie came down to find a tiny baby squirrel dead on the front lawn. From the looks of him, it looks like he fell out of the tree looking for his momma, as he is a bit too little to be out of the nest.
I went out to see if the little guy was indeed dead.
He was
I turned him over, to see if there were puncture wounds or something……. Nope
And he was stiff. ( and a boy too)

While I was out there I heard a racket up in the tree above….. in the squirrel nests that has been there as long as I think we’ve lived here.

An even tinier baby was trying to come down the tree.
I was a wreck watching this baby, sure at any moment he would slip and fall to his death as well…..
He came down the tree
He climbed back up part way.
It was a lot of effort for a little guy like him
He rested a while and started back down.
I called Bernie out

When the baby got to the bottom of the tree he went around to the back and sat there for a few moments.

I called him to come to me as I was so worried about him
No parents around
The baby started to wobble over to me
And climbed my pants leg
Looking for food
I sent Bernie for a towel and the baby gratefully burrowed into it
We fed him he was starving
We got to the pet store for milk replacer
We kept feeding him
We warmed him up
He is very thin but he is a fighter, he’s now out in his little birdcage with his warm towel to burrow in.
I go and feed him often
He likes the heavy cream much better then the milk replacer mix
( goats are like that too…..can’t say I blame them huh?)

I hope he makes it
I think he’s about 6 weeks….
Marilyn went on line for me, ( as we have no internet until the dsl thing comes)
And from what I told her………… we figured 6-8 weeks…. As his eyes are open and his tail isn’t a rat tail…it’s starting to bush out.
But he is definitely tiny and not eating on his own yet……
He maybe will think of a seed but believe me….he’s looking for a teat most of the time

Meanwhile, it is bernie’s birthday observed.
As Tuesday is his real birthday, we are observing it today sort of
The celebration food got side tracked while I was feeding the baby
And Bernie is such a guy that he ran up to the pet store and spent $20.00 that we could NOT afford for the replacer milk

I am still laughing about that baby coming right over to me and climbing my leg

If my folks could talk to you all right now…..they would say
“of COURSE the baby climbed HER leg…….every sick, homeless or hurt animal for 100 miles finds their way to her door….’

( mom said that about Bernie too when I was going out with him……’ the dogs are getting bigger….this one is over 6’ tall’)

but this little baby was determined…….. my leg was going to bring him to a place where he was warm, fed, and safe………and so it did huh?

Wish this little one luck please…… I hope he grows big and strong….and becomes a happy and WILD squirrel out back

Vi

Updated, we lost the little guy which broke my heart


April 13 2008

Ducks, ducks everywhere.

Serafina the sly little duck……….. has hidden her nest

I had been asking Bernie if he could see eggs in the duck house….
Nope

I sort of poked around….nope

Well the other day, I found the nest…….
A gagillion eggs in there too!

Damn duck

I went into the pen Friday morning, with food for the ducks, water and my egg gathering basket.

I went around the back of the duck house where I had found that nest full of eggs…….
Serafina peeked around the side of the duck house…..she looked up at me
She looked down at her nest
She looked back up at me

I went out with an empty basket
BUT
I told that duck……….

She can’t KEEP them after they hatch…… in a 9 X 19 pen…… two ducks are more then enough

Oh man

We are going to be over freeken run with ducks

She is a sly little duck

vi

cream, white, pale peach and violets

i have spring fever

BAD

really BAD

i am about to go to town and get a gallon of cream paint, some white paint and a quart of pale peach and start painting anything dark in the house

such as the mahogany teir table, old frames

old wooden dressers

chairs

piecrust tables

bernie

my workbench in the studio.....

and then grab a brush and paint violets........... all over EVERYTHING

you can never have too many violets you know

( and violet china makes me weak in the knees.... royal albert, lefton, hammersly, oh my)

i want to replace my over sink light with something cream, and covered with violets as well.....

can you tell they are my favorite flower?

i don't know WHY people think roses are the epitomy of flowers....

it's really the violet....

so fleeting

so quaint

and so modern all at once

they are refreshing in a way roses can never be

but then

i am bias

i heard there were chickens that didn't lay eggs

i was down talking to my ladies today,
they are still on vacation from laying, as is serafina

at one point, i heard henrietta announcing...... that normally means there is an egg for me to get
i went down
all four chickens lined up and looked at me
i felt like i should hang numbers around each of their necks
they looked like dangerous and wanted chickens

all frozen in the line up.......
just looking at me

hello chickens, i said to them
.............

they beep beep beeped at me, then boop boop booped at me
and started to come see if i brought them any pumpkin or cat food
or something they could eat.....

i petted each one of them
including surprisingly SHARON
who is very standoffish

their combs and wattles are nicely red....
they crouch like they are supposed to

but still no eggs

i think they may be on strike


next we will be known as

the home of the striking chicken

wonderful

just what we all needed

vi

postscript:
i was sort of futzing around in the living room today......
and i found a birthday card from last year.... from our trish
i didn't expect that and it caught at my heart
i am still reaching for the phone to call her
and today would be 4 weeks

i still can't quite get my mind around this
but as you all can see
i am getting on with it

planting snow peas

and mixed greens, along with a few lettuces.....

it's warm out, and raining

on and off.

i had to replant the greens and spinaches as the last planting got frozen on me

so today i went out and did snow peas and the mixed greens

i still need to plant the spinaches

in the house i continued to plant seeds, these are for a cottage garden

hollyhocks in shades of apricot, peach, pale rose, pale gold, and creams

foxglove in apricots

bachelor buttons,

dianthus-cottage pinks

columbine mixed shades

some of my seeds were old but had been kept in the fridge so we'll see

i am about to start transplanting to larger pots for the veggies

and to start to move the little guys outside for a while each day to harden off

i wish i had a greenhouse and a cold frame so bad

i am also thinking of putting in a climbing rose on an arbor that will frame the front windows

as well as espaliered fruit trees against the stone walls of the house

now is the time i really could use help, someone to help me move the seedlings out and in

someone to help put an arbor together, someone to help me dig the holes

but it's just me, and occationally bernie

the fruit trees i am thinking of to espalier are as follows:

peaches and apricots against the south side of the house

cherries on the north side of the house

i am considering a hedge of blueberries as well possibly.....

and cranberries for ground cover

i have a feeling that even though we are wanting to move, with the market such as it is

it will be a while...

may as well do what i have to do just in case we do have to stay here longer then i would like

also, i figure the person that would buy this little cottage in the woods, probably thinks similar to me......

and would WANT the cottage garden as well........

so cottage garden it is

now i want to point out an anomoly......

see that picture of my birthday card from bernie?

see the purple line in it?

i took the picture of my sheep card, and then that one.....that one was RIGHT NEXT to my sheep card, then i went on to take pictures of the little plants i am growing for the garden

in NO other picture is there a purple line...........

and when i checked the picture later under photoshop......i saw a LOT of 'noise' on both edges....

i have no explaination.....

so i will leave you all with that little mystery

and i will keep my opinions on it to myself.....

however

you all feel free to comment if you would.....on what YOU think that is

til next time

vi

ps: not a bad birthday either btw, no presents but that's ok i got the cats gifts, and it was a nice day