Wednesday, March 16, 2011

spring peepers!!!!!!

YES!!!!!

we heard them today when the ducks and i were coming in for the night!!!!
spinach is sprouted... i planted some rhubarb CHARD......(36'' chard here we come, i hope)
hawks are out too so ducks are being closely held or followed
ms lilli and ms phoebe are still fighting some but not too badly really
although to hear phoebe tell it......lilli is killing her
i haven't seen blood so we're good

now to change the subject..... this month is my birthday month... i got me a present, one of a few i suppose.
a prefect little milk picture. it's not old, but it sure is pretty. good china is one of my guilty little pleasures... some folks watch soaps or read romance novels......i like china... teapots, good dishes etc......
i have my mom's china, and i think one set is my nonna's but that i'm not sure about...... one of my friends gave me her white china before she died...... i have some of my own, as well as some depression glass. for every day we have corelle, some of which is about 35 years old..... but i do love good china- so this was a HUGE treat for me.
i also collect plates with violets on them, (and red transferware) those i hang on the wall though
so you guys, ok now ..........spill....
what's your guilty pleasure?
***we do use the good stuff too, not as much as we used to but we do use it

now the days are actually getting warm so much so that i let the stove go out
it's giving me a hard time at night lighting it back up
the heat occasionally comes on when i don't get the woodstove going fast enough, because it's too warm to get draft, yet we still need a fire at night

the basement is drying out too...... colette however still refuses to stay in the chicken pen....... so i am feeding her outside of the pen
they aren't laying yet, and i realized that is because for them, it's still late winter
so we'll put the lights on for longer

i am looking forward to gardening/canning- i have to do inventory though.
i know we always need pickles and salsa and vinegared veggies
dried sweet peppers too
and of course frozen beans
i don't think i need cole slaw this year
but i do need to can chicken breast and dried beans
lots of both
i would like to can some elderberry juice as well as maybe apple or some other juice
i also need to investigate canning milk....i know it can be done
i need to do it
just to try
i can butter (always can unsalted butter......there is WAY too much salt in salted butter- water too)
i am thinking i need to can more things like apple pie filling too this year
and peaches....ohhhhhhhhh i am running low on spiced peaches (they are GOOD)

what's everyone's gardening/preserving plans for this season??
ok that stove is looking ready for more wood
so talk to me ok?

2 comments:

  1. I got my seeds planted for my transplants today. Everything except the summer squash, it's too early for them. I have canned a ton the last few years, and really need to re-organize all the canning in the basement. I did 2 sets of shelves this week, moving the older stuff up to the top so there is room on the bottom shelves to put the newer stuff that is sitting in boxes. It is about time to clean out the carrots, onions, and potatoes that spent the winter in the garage. I will probably dehydrate a lot of them, and can a few. For this summer's canning, I mainly want my normal jams and green beans, and tomato sauce so there won't be seeds or skins for DH who can't have them; he can have beets, I usually freeze them because they lose color when canned. I wonder though, if I could peel them with a peeler and raw pack them, if they would keep their color better? I may experiment, because there just isn't much freezer space.

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  2. i wonder if beets will dry well? they should, as i know powdered beet is used as a food coloring.
    maybe try drying some too?

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