Countdown to a Simpler Life

New Greenhouse! (And more farm, of course)

2012-01-05T13:12:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

Tim, love of my life, maker of water well sheds, puller of fence posts, walker of Westies, bought me the best gift.

This greenhouse! Isn't it divine? We currently have tomatoes, peppers and squash growing in it. We are planning on starting our seeds this weekend, and in a few weeks, they will be moved into the greenhouse. God, I love that man. Tuesday evening we had a salad with tomatoes growing in the greenhouse (cherry tomatoes). I have about 15 or so more that are ready to pick right now. The plant just keeps blossoming and blossoming. Yum! The large tomatoes are getting closer to being ready to pick and the jalapenos are out.of.control. I think we are having PWs bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese for dinner tonight. Did I mention YUM?

Tim also made the best cole slaw the other day with our cabbage, our onions and our carrots. I love eating out of the back yard.

Speaking of eating from the garden, I made this mashed turnip recipe Sunday. Please believe me when I say it is almost better than mashed potatoes. This is the way we are going to eat our turnips forever.

Now on to the farm ...

We had planned to do quite a bit of outdoor cooking while we were there (and staying in the camper). Well, we know how that turned out, don't we? *shakes head sadly* We did manage to cook outside one afternoon. Did I say "we"? Silly me. Anytime I say "we," blogger should automatically convert that to "Tim."

Yummmm, chili. Just what we needed to warm up on that cold day. My only contribution to this venture was stirring. And eating, of course.

We've decided to have a contractor start right away on building the cabin. We have someone doing architectural drawings right now. We have two contractors bidding on the work (both highly recommended by neighbors). So Tim decided to take 360* photos, some of which are below (and yes, those are my red Wellies that Tim bought me last year!), to give us a better idea of the views based on where the cabin will be situated.

Happy Thursday!

XXOO
Donna

Christmas Trip to the Farm - Things Got Better after the 2nd Day

2012-01-04T13:28:00.000-06:00

We left Houston about 6 am Wednesday morning. We made it to Memphis that evening. Me and Tim, towing our new (to us) little camper. Three Westies in tow. Okay, *they* weren't in tow. They were actually in crates. We pulled into a convenient KOA, and spent the first night in our camper. The first of many, we were sure. See, we were planning on leaving the camper at the farm, so that we had a place to sleep over the next few years, while we built the cabin.

Tsk. Tsk. Plans, splans, I tell you!

We didn't quite make it there with the camper. Or the 4-Runner. *shakes head sadly*

Oh dear. Yoga pants aren't supposed to be hanging from ceilings. No sir, not supposed to be like that.

We seem to be missing part of the stove. And there is a mess on the floor. Pixies?

Humm, was that hole in the back corner always there? I don't seem to remember it ...

Well. Somethings appears to be wrong with the truck, Tim.

Early Thursday morning, about an hour into our day, we were pushed off the road by a tractor-trailer. Quite magnificently, I must say.

Editor's note: No Westies or people were harmed in the making of this accident. Seatbelts on for the humans, crates for the Westies. All beings still had all body parts intact at the conclusion of tonight's episode of "Sounds Like Life to Me" ...

Needless to say, this put a little hitch in our get-a-long.

We regrouped. (Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the kind Tennessee state troopers, the motorists who stopped to helped, and the unbelievably nice tow truck drivers).

We called Enterprise (they really *do* pick you up!). We found a hotel for the night. We toted Westies. They do look a bit disconcerted here, I think. Poor babies.

Things could only go up from here, I think! LOL

And they did!

We called our neighbors, BJ and Michelle. They have an old, extra farmhouse on their land. It's about 1/2 miles from our property. They were so kind to offer to let us stay in it, which we did for 8 days!

We were able to walk to our land and get some work done. Actually, Tim and the little boys walked down the lane, Maddie and I mostly drove (she is getting a bit crickedy these days).

Tim, being the tornado, got quite a bit of work done. He pulled fence posts (about 40 of them).

And he accomplished our main objective. He built a shed around our water well tank.

(If you are wondering why it goes from just started, to almost completed, it's because the photographer was drafted to be the carpenter's apprentice. That's the way it goes on the farm, some days ...)

I think Tim (and the Westies, of course) deserve a break from their hard work.

And because I can never get enough pictures of the farm ...

The apple tree in wintertime.

Our hay (our neighbor cut it for us).

Sun coming through the trees in our woods.

All in all, it was a great trip. I have tons more pictures (of course!) that I hope to share soon.

XXOO

Hugging my husband and babies and very thankful someone was watching out for us,

Donna Lynn

November Garden in Houston

2011-11-27T18:40:00.000-06:00

Maddie: Mama, we don't live in Houston.

Me: I know, Maddie. But most people don't know Katy.

Maddie: There is a great big mall here and busloads of people come here everyday.

Me: Fine. November Garden in Katy, then. WEV!

Lots of things growing in our garden now. We are very fortunate in our extended growing season here in Katy (coughHOUSTONcough)

Things are growing like gangbusters here, still.

In no particular order ...

Here we have in order:

Artichoke
Tomatoes and basil
Black Krim tomatoes
Cabbages
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Great Grandson of Basil
Greens
Jalapenos
Oats
Onions

XXOO
Donna Lynn

Hey - go check out the new cabin plans!

Carriage Garage Doors

2011-11-06T19:27:00.000-06:00

You may remember that our garage door just collapsed one day. Kaput. Bye-bye. Gone. We decided to build some carriage doors and skip the traditional garage door with a garage door opener.

It's 99% finished (Mr. Henry just has to do a few finishing touches on it).

I've also been busy this weekend ... canning marmalade.

And for my gratuitous Westie shot ...

XXOO

Happy Sunday!

Donna

What's growing in the garden now?

2011-10-29T20:49:00.002-05:00

The miserable summer is finally over. We've gotten a bit of rain. People are nicer. Dogs don't bark quite as much. Grass is greener. Flowers are lifting their heads up again. It's finally fall in Houston.

We love a fall garden. It's our favorite time of the year.

We have 125 onions planted. The grapefruits this year are so sweet they don't even taste like grapefruits!

Happy Saturday night!

XXOO
Donna

We've hired a hermit for the Farm

2011-10-27T19:56:00.000-05:00

We put an ad on Craig's list.

Wanted: One hermit. Not a Hermit crab. Not Hermits who have crabs. Must be good hearted. And quiet. Must like Westies. And goats. And cows. And chickens. Must be willing to chase bears away from the bee hives. Handy with a wrench and a hammer. Small cabin will be provided. Along with the occasional dinner. If willing to work in the gardens, garden produce will be shared. Same rule applies for firewood. Uni-bomber types need not apply. Please call or text 832.317.farm. References will be required.

I couldn't believe the response. We received more applicants than you can shake a stick at. It was quite interesting.

One person asked if we were firm on the non-uni-bomber types. Ummm, yes. Quite firm on that one. Next!

Another asked if the farm had dirt on it. He was allergic to dirt and couldn't risk sneezing. Well, thank you for applying! We will keep your resume on file in case there are any openings that fit someone with your qualifications.

We had a troll apply. I didn't realize there were still trolls around (hello Shrek!). He had experience under bridges, but said that he couldn't work in the daytime, as he turned to stone when the sun came out. Well, Mr. Troll, most of our hermit work will be done during the daytime hours. I'm so sorry.

Then there was the Elf. A Keebler Elf. He wanted to know if there was a hollow-tree in our woods. Tim was afraid he would start baking cookies and burn down our woods. Thank you Mr. Elf, perhaps at some time in the future.

Me: Tim, how on earth are we going to find the right hermit for our farm? This is just crazy.

Tim: Don't worry. I'm sure that the right person will apply. Just keep looking.

So on and on we toiled. Then one day, out of the heavens, a resume fell from the sky and landed on my head.

The person was perfect. Kind. Skilled in the emergency medical response arts. Quiet. No crabs. Likes Westies. And cows. And goats. And chickens. Might be a bit short on farm skills, but willing to learn. Willing to chase bears away from bee hives. Reads Mother Earth News. Ready to get the heck out of Southern California.

So we hired my brother, Joe. He's moving to the farm with us (about two years after we move there).

I'm so happy we have our hermit.

XXOO

Donna Lynn Brunson

It didn't even seem like work to me

2011-10-17T20:04:00.002-05:00

Probably because Tim did most of it! LOL

When we first went to the property, way back in March, it had recently been bush-hogged. When we went back last weekend? Yeah, it was bush-hogged no more. There were saw briers the size of oak trees. And the land took its toll on our arms, legs, and on Tim's nose.

So we stood together. Looked at the land. Looked at each other. Intertwined our pinkies and SWORE, on our pinkies, to take.back.the.land. And so we did. At least on a very small, 5-6 acres out of 33.5 acres, scale. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. And it was a blast.

Tim worked his behind off. Just like always. I've never met or known anyone as hard working as he is.

What did I do?

I pretended to mow and clear land. Okay, actually, I did the best I could. I had saw briers chase me. And stick to my hair. And clothes. And pants.

It was probably the most fun I've ever had LOL. I want a tractor. A big one.

I might be in love with John Deere. And green has always been my favorite color.

XXOO

Donna Lynn HB

We bought the Farm

2011-10-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

Doesn't that sound ominous? Usually, when you say someone "bought the farm" - a funeral is soon to follow. However, in this case ... WE BOUGHT THE FARM!

We flew to Virginia last Thursday (okay, in the interest of truthfulness, we flew to Charlotte, spent the night, then drove to Wytheville). We had the closing on Friday and by 3 pm we were here:

See that apple tree? The one that looks likes it's 50 years old? That's ours. *nods head* And it even has apples on it!

For a horribly neglected tree, the apples were incredibly sweet! I brought home six pounds and plan on dehydrating them tonight.

We also have about 13 acres of this:

I spent way too much time walking in the woods and not working. But Tim didn't complain a bit. I want a little gazebo in there. And we will have picnic dinners and wine.

Here is a view looking up from the apple tree to the top of the hill, where we will build our first cabin (I promise to update the cabin tab with the latest/greatest layout soon.

I am in love with the farm. I didn't want to leave. In fact, I thought about sleeping here:

The hornet's nest inside made me think twice. Also the fact that I didn't have anything to sleep on. Or a flashlight. Or a rifle in case of bears. We slept at a hotel instead.

We were quite busy in our 3 days there. It wasn't all fun and games (well, actually it was fun and games, to us, but that doesn't make for such a great story). More to come.

XXOO

Donna Lynn

Pruning Grapevines

2011-10-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

It is time to clean up the grapevines.

It hurts.

Way down deep in my soul. I have a hard time cutting down or pulling up anything that is still nice and green. Anything that is green and growing has a pass in my book. I hear all the plants in my head.

Grapevine: Look, Donna. Look at my nice green leaves.

Me: Stop talking to me! You are a grapevine and you don't actually talk. Dangit. *lalalala get out of my head!*

Grapevine: But I am so nice and green! In this nasty summer have you ever seen so much green?

Me: Tim!!! Come see! The grapevines are telling me they don't need to be cut down right now.
Tim: You are such a city girl. Those grapevines aren't saying a word. Hand me the pruners.

So down the grapevines went (much to their disappointment ... and mine).

Notice the little helper in the right rear?

Here the little helper again!

It's a good thing Maddie helped, because I'm not sure we would have got it all done ...

My job was to strip the leaves and smaller branches. Let's just say that my nails are still green. And yes, I do garden in a dress. I am in a dress about 90% of the time I am at home LOL. It's hot here.

Oh look! Another helper! I'm so glad we have such good farm-hands.

So what did we do with all the vines that we stripped? Tim made a wreath.

Not bad for his first time. (And look! Another helper!)

He also make kindling for our upcoming cold winter ...

Although, Google tells me that grape wood is prize by people who smoke/grill meat. We might just try that out.

We worked til after dark. We were tired. We were dirty. So what did we do?

The end of a perfect day.

XXOO

Donna

Fall - Houston Style

2011-09-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

Someone turned on "Fall" and forgot to tell Houston. I'm sure it's not the first time.

Brrriinggg. Brrriinggg.

Houston: Hello?

Mother Nature: Houston? This is Mother. We have a problem... (sorry!!! I couldn't resist!)

Houston: Yes, Mother, what's up?

Mother Nature: Look, I love you and all, but you have got to turn off this heat and turn on the rain. Haven't you looked at the calendar? Any more of this disrespect and you are going into time-out. For a long time. I don't care how old you are or how big you are now. I will whoop your butt, mister!

Houston: Ahhh, mom! I'm trying, I promise!

Meanwhile, in Katy, we have planted some of our fall garden.

Tim planted cabbages on September 10th. They were babies.

Here they are tonight! (Sorry, it was almost dark when I took this photo, so it's not the best)

He also planted some Black Krim tomato seeds ...

Here is one of them today (transplanted to another pot). I think we might just get some more tomatoes!

The peppers that we started last February are still going strong. They seem to be able to take the heat. God bless them. Can you tell it was getting darker and darker as I took these pictures tonight? LOL

I love these peppers, they have given and given and keep on giving. We use them almost every night and have at least 6 quarts of peppers in the freezer. Everyone hug your peppers tonight (love ya, Pop!)

The greens that Tim planted a week ago are coming up like gangbusters ...

That's turnips in the front left, spinach in the back left, broccoli in the right back and collards in the right front. I'm thinking the turnips are going to have to be thinned. Like really thinned. Like totally thinned.

Tim also decided to plant some random squash. Some leftover random squash seeds from a random package. Not even sure there were even ten seeds left in this random squash package. Very random. (Why yes, I am a child of the 80's. How can you tell? Totally randomly speaking, that is.)

I guess the seeds were happy to be planted.

As for our old stand-bys, the grapefruits and the great-great-great grandson of basil? They are doing quite well, thankyouverymuchforasking.

XXOO

Donna Lynn Huete Brunson the IV (okay, not really the IV. But I am Donna the II. Just ask my mom. Donna the I.)

ps. Yes, we are still in a drought.

pss. Yes, we have to water like crazy.

psss. Yes, our water bill is almost as high as our power bill.

pssss. Yes, it is worth it.

Warm Cucumber Soup?

2011-09-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

Who knew there was such a thing?

The internets knew, that's who!

Our two late-planted cucumber plants are producing like gang-busters. And, while I love cucumbers, I can only eat so many cucumber salads. Or cucumber spears. Or cucumber sandwiches. So I was on the lookout for new cucumber ideas.

I found this recipe on All Recipes. It looked pretty good. I could get down with some cucumber soup. While the original recipe looked good, I didn't have some of the ingredients. Like Farina. Or green onion. Or tarragon. Or chicken broth. Humm. Modifications are definitely in order.

Below is the modified recipe

Ingredients
4 cucumbers
1/2 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube (shhhh, don't tell anyone!)
salt to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried dill

Directions

1. Peel, seed, and chop 4 cucumbers.

2. Cook the chopped onions and garlic in the butter until soft. Add the chopped cucumbers and the wine vinegar. Pour in the water and add the bouillon (shhh). Salt to taste, and add dill. Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cucumbers are soft.

3. Put the soup into a blender or food processor, and puree it.

4. Taste the soup for seasoning. Pour the soup into bowls, and eat with homemade bread.

I know this soup sounds different, perhaps even a bit odd. But it is quite delish! The vinegar really makes the soup special. AND ... it freezes well. You could have a taste of your garden this winter when there is snow on the ground. Not that we get snow here in Houston. Actually, not that we even get rain here in Houston. The Gods of Rain have decided to pack up and go play elsewhere. I'm starting to think it will never rain again.

Back to happy thoughts: Try this soup with your over-abundance of cucumbers, you won't regret it.

How much is your garden worth?

2011-08-31T20:40:00.000-05:00

Tim and I did an interesting experiment last night.

Okay, wait. Who am I kidding? I was playing on the internets and Tim did all the work. When I get home from work I am toast. I want wine, doggies and gardens. I don't want to do math, or spreadsheets or speak in complete sentences. And if it's a Monday? Don't even expect a grunt. Just keep my glass filled and no one will die.

Tim, on the other hand, has unlimited energy. Mow the grass when he gets home? No probs. Turn over a garden bed? Sure thing. Cut a cord of firewood? Yes ma'am. Solve the world's financial, energy, food shortage, national security, poverty and homeless issues? He's got it.

So yesterday when I told him that I've been thinking of adding up the monetary value of the veggies we've been growing, he thought it was a good idea.

So he did a spreadsheet. After spending about 2 hours on research, he came up with the following:

According to typical grocery store prices, we've grown about $700 worth of veggies through the end of August.

We can assume that if we had priced them as organically grown, the price would go up, as would have purchasing them at a farmer's market.

What's really striking to us, however, is the fact that we know exactly how they were grown. What's been put on them (nothing), what's been fed to them (water and natural compost), how many hands have touched them (two. Though we are not quite sure about squirrels or lizards).

We have no fears of e. coli. Or chemical contamination. Or human-borne pathogens.

We haven't added in the extra water cost these past few months due to the drought in Texas. I've decided to consider it a wash, because of the peace of mind we've gained from knowing what we are eating.

I should also mention that we have grown all of our plants this year from seeds (well, not the grapes, of course ...) Oh, and a great big shout out to my sister, Danielle, for all the seeds she bought us this year. Our successful peppers, onions, patty pan squash, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, and probably something I am forgetting, are all because of her generous gifts!

Tim's boys gave him eleventy billion fall planting seeds for Father's Day. We can't wait to plant them (please, dear God in Heaven, allow the temperature to go back to normal in Houston. And please let it rain. Amen.)

Good night. Hug your veggies tonight.

XXOO

Donna

What our drought looks like (with the stirrings of hope for rain)

2011-08-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

Maddie: Mama, why are you so grumpy?

Me: Blargh

Maddie: Mama, what does "blargh" mean?

Me: Muffin, I am just plain grumpy. Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. *stomps feet*

Maddie: Mama, I heard that it might get cooler soon! And we might get rain.

Me: *giving Maddie a great big bear hug* That's the best thing I've heard for a month!

It's been the summer of records. Record drought and record temps. I feel so sorry for those that actually depend on their farms for a livelihood.

We've had some sad days here at Brunson Farms.

We pulled up the black beans this past weekend. We had already pulled up the soybeans. The pods on the soybeans were about 30% full. So, 70% empty pods. :(

We've tried to keep the stuff in pots alive, but it's pretty much a losing battle.

As is trying to keep the grass alive. We keep watering, but it's not so pretty.

There are a few things that are doing well!

The horseradish is going like gangbusters. It's in a front garden bed with auto sprinklers and a great big shade tree.

The basil and cucumbers are hanging in there (these are our second planting of cucumbers).

We've pulled all the stuff that was getting burned up/not growing. Tim's mixed in dirt from the black barrels and we are prepping the beds for fall.

The pots have been fertilized and are ready to go. Notice that the grapes are hanging in there just fine? They love heat and no rain.

Tim buried the strawberry pots in hopes of keeping them more moist. We've replanted a ton of peppers there. The bed to the right has had dirt from the black barrels added and we are waiting to plant cabbages there. Maybe in about 6 weeks.

The courtyard is also hanging in there, but the creeping fig has some damage and will have to be cut back.

We've picked about 3 lbs of cucumbers off the new plants (in fact, we ate two of them for dinner tonight!)

And the Thai peppers are drying out nicely. They are going to be ground up and used as seasoning.

I've been really discouraged these past several weeks. I'm not able to get out in the garden every evening (it was 110 tonight when I got home at 6:00 pm). Things are dying right and left (we lost all of the lavender plants) and I feel wasteful with the amount of water that we are using trying to keep every thing from dying. I'm very worried about the chickens.

So, blargh pretty much sums up how I feel. Blargh.

On an encouraging note, however, we are forecast to have a break in the heat by the end of the week. With a 60% chance of rain.

I've crossed all my fingers and toes, and I'm teaching the dogs how to do it, too.

XXOO
Donna

It's almost Fall.

2011-08-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

Wait a second ... who am I kidding? It was 108 degrees at my house tonight when I got home at 5:40 pm.

Maddie: Mama, I'm hot.

Me: I know, Muffin. I'm sorry. The a/c can only keep up so much and it's almost 80 degrees inside.

Maddie: Mama, what can we do?

Me: Grab the little boys - I'm researching rain dances on Google right now. Meet me in the back yard in 10 minutes.
Meanwhile - back on the farm ...

These girls (and I love my girls. They are staying moderately cool in this heat with the use of the water mister. Best $12 we have ever spent) make the best dirt.

Here they are, taking a dirt bath in one of the garden beds.

Tim cleans out their coop and puts the chicken litter/vegetable compost here:

We have 4 of these black barrels, courtesy of oil-field leftovers. The compost cooks here for 6-8 weeks (the black color helps and lately we have had to add some water. You know, since it hasn't flipping RAINED since March ... but I digress.)

Tim takes some of it out, and adds it to our garden beds.

He mixed it all in, and now this bed is ready for carrots. In about 6-8 weeks. If we make it that long without melting from the heat and no rain. I don't have my hopes up.

Maddie: Mama - I got Zekie. Tucker said he was going to stay inside in the a/c. We are ready for the rain dance.
Cross your fingers and pray for rain.

XXOO

Donna

How I spent my summer vacation

2011-08-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

By Donna Brunson.

We had a little excitement here a couple weeks ago.

As is typical on a Sunday, we gave the dogs a bath. We also cleaned out the garage. Somehow or other, the barrel that we have holding our garden tools got scooted forward a little. Somehow or other, the rake ended up wedged in the garage door track (can you see where this is going?) Somehow or other, our garage door ended up like this: (this is not our door, but a photo from the internets. I didn't have my camera ready for the tragedy ... but as a stand in, it tells the story perfectly.)

Garage doors are heavy, if you didn't already know. Tim made me back away from under the door, while he held it up and tried to figure out what to do.

We have a very nice neighbor across the street, Keith, who saw this tragedy unfold. He came running, and between the two of them, they managed to cut the tension cables and more or less (okay, less) managed to stand the door up in the doorway. What was I doing during all this? I was standing around wringing my hands praying that no one ended up with a broken bone (or broken neck, or broken head).

They wedged the door up, and Tim put up a board inside and securely nailed it, so that it wouldn't fall and squish a dog or a human.

Then what?

We called Mr. Russ Henry, the maker of all things better, the fixer-upper of our house, the person we'd love to take with us to Virginia to work on the new house.

So now the front of our garage looks like this: (hey - I know what you are thinking, this is a work in progress, I tell you!)

See the post in the middle? That's new. Why do we have a post in the middle? Well, two reasons. We needed to square up the roof (this house is 26 years hold and it was sagging a little), and we needed it to do this:

Again, this is a picture from the internets. We are building carriage doors similar to this, without the windows on the top. Ours are still being made:

This is one of four doors total, two on each side of the post. The inside will be painted the same color as the house, with the trim being painted a lovely color called "English Saddle" from Behr. In fact, Mr. Henry is also going to re-do the trim on the house in the same color.

Never a dull moment!

Happy Sunday.

XXOO
DLB

Take a look at the new cabin design

2011-07-31T19:01:00.000-05:00

On the cabin page. With our new land purchase, Tim's been busy designing and re-designing our small cabin plans.

I think it rocks :-)

Happy Sunday night!

xxoo

Donna

Follow the yellow brick road ...

2011-07-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, actually, it should be "Follow the Sandstone Brick Road." Please forgive me if I take a bit of license. Because this is my blog, and I can.

So there!

Tim (love of my life, maker of my dinner, fixer of my coffee, designer of my cabin) has been working in this HORRENDOUS heat to finish laying the pathway from the patio to the dog yard. He did a fabulous job!

Look at the top of this picture, to the right. See anything? Yup - that's Tim's woodpile. He *says* it's 1.5 cords, but I am betting that it is closer to 2. And I'm always right, of course. Just ask me.

Another view of the path. Isn't it beeeuuuutttiiiifffuuullll?

Our weather, to put it mildly, STINKS right now (this is a family blog, and while I want to use much stronger language, I won't). It's hot, it's humid, and there is no rain. All in all, muchosucko weather.

We have a few things growing.

These are cubanelle peppers (from seeds that my sister bought for Tim!). Very prolific. They just keep producing and producing.

My bell peppers (in the back yard. We have some in the front flower beds, too).

Thank goodness for soybeans. They grow through all this nasty heat just fine.

And last, but not least, I'm adding this picture just because I love it LOL Tim found this frame in the clearance bin at Home Depot for $1.99. It's aged nicely on the fence with the grapevines ;-)

Happy Hot, Dry, Wishing It Was Fall, Monday.

XXOO
Donna. Lynn. DonnaLynn. Lynn. Donna

Goodnight.

Sounds like life to me ...

2011-07-20T20:45:00.002-05:00

Living. Traveling. Working. These things interfere with blogs. How do I know this? I just looked at the last date I posted here ... Good grief. It's almost like I am saying that I "have a life!"

Hee hee.

Let's see. What have we been up to?

Oh yeah! We bought some land! In Virginia! 33.5 acres (yes, it is the same land that we offered on back in March. Why do you ask? And yes, we came up in our offer.) We looked and looked, and walked and walked, and hiked and hiked, all over Virginia. Okay, not really *ALL* over Virginia. But in several counties. Tim got a few ticks. I got lots of scratches and bites. And what did we decide?

We determined that the land we loved in March was still the land we loved. We loved the neighborhood. We loved the neighbors (and we have met quite a few of them). We loved the view across the valley. It's a National Forest, so the view will be there for a while. We won't one day wake up to a view of skyscrapers, or broken down cars.

We loved our neighbor's chickens, and cows. We loved the other's neighbor's children tugging on my shirt to show me their sand castles (made out of mud LOL). We loved the retired couple up the hill, and their talk of the bee colonies that had so much trouble this winter. All in all, we loved it.

And then they accepted our offer! Loose ends are being tied up, and our closing is set for October 7th. And just think ... in 4-5 more years, we will be living there LOL

On to what is happening here:

Hummmm ... something is wrong with this picture!

We caught a Blue Jay eating our pears. I don't think he was the first, nor will he be the last. At least 10 pears were pecked at/damaged. *sigh*

We picked some of the more ripe pears, and will put them in a paper bag to hopefully ripen a bit more.

We picked about 5 lbs. If they ripen by the weekend, I might make pear butter. Or just eat them with some sliced cheddar cheese. And a nice white wine.

Our front yard food experiment is moving along.

We planted some giant bell peppers here, along with some jalapenos. We have pepper-palooza in the back yard, btw. Just like last year, our pepper plants keep giving and giving!

Right now we have a slow garden. Peppers, okra, some tomatoes that might produce in early fall, TONS of soybeans and a few random other plants.

XXOO

Donna

The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn ...

2011-06-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, not really. I don't have any sheep, nor do I have any corn. As for cows? Nada.

However, I do have a husband that is fast asleep (or at least, mostly asleep). Why?

He pretty much finished the firewood today. By 10 am it was 86* with a heat index of 98* - and that sort of heat zaps you. And then he gardened for a couple hours. Well, so did I, but I am better at taking breaks and drinking cold tea. But we pulled up almost all of the tomatoes, trimmed back the grapevines, planted black beans, and pulled up the scraggly cucumbers and planted more. And then Tim cleaned the chicken coop. AND he rode his bike to the grocery to get me bay leaves so that I could make pickles. Is it any wonder that he is crashed on the sofa?

We made 2 pints of green tomato pickles, 3 quarts of refrigerator pickles, and a quart of frozen peppers.

Speaking of peppers, we have a ton.

Our soybeans are coming along, too.

Bitty, baby, little edamame! Yum. We are going to plant another bed with soybeans tomorrow (after I go to Wabash Feed Store and buy some more seeds at lunchtime, that is).

Isn't this a beautiful pear?

I don't think these darned pears are EVER going to ripen. They are starting to turn a blush color, but are still HARD AS ROCKS. Good grief. They will probably turn ripe in the morning, send out the bat signal to all the birds in a 100 mile radius, and be pecked to death by the time we get home from work. Such is life on the farm.

Yesterday morning Tim rescued one of the sunflowers and brought it to me (and yes, I *was* still in bed, why do you ask?) He doesn't call me Princess for nuffin!

And here is the love of my life, giving me attitude last night.

*Melting*

XXOO

Happy Sunday,
Donna Lynn

Sunflower Murder!

2011-06-23T16:22:00.000-05:00

Something is wrong.

We came home to carnage.

Heads were chopped off.

Living things were destroyed.

Something climbed up the sunflowers and toppled them over. Then ATE them. This is like a Freddy Kruger movie. Or something equally as scary.

Maddie: Mama! We will hunt for clues! Come on boys, let's go!

Maddie: Mama, Zekie found something. We think it was a squirrel. :( And we think he will be back.

Me: So do I Muffin, so do I ...

XXOO from the scene of the murder,

Donna

Chickens are Velociraptors

2011-06-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

I'm always struck by the similarity between my chickens and the Jurassic Park velociraptors.

Clever girl ...

Okay, they are actually quite nice chickens. No cows were harmed in the making of this blog post. I promise. /Jurassic Park movie reference.

It is so darned hot here. Today we had a severe heat advisory. It was 97 degrees, with a heat index of 108. *sigh* We have had almost zero rain since March. I don't see how my girls can take this heat for the next four (or so) months. We already have their coop covered with shade cloth, which is supposed to lower the temp 10 - 15 degrees. I think it helps, but I'm not sure it lowers it that much. And the girls hate the heat. Eggs were coming at about one a day. If that. Every once in a while we might get two. I don't blame them! I wouldn't want to lay eggs in 108 degree heat, either.

This past Sunday, we bought a mister for them. Not a *mister* as in, hey, mister, HOW you doing? No roosters for us.

But a mister like this ...

And let me tell you ... it really helps. I got in the chicken coop with them to see if it helped, and I was quite cool. In fact, I almost froze to death! Tim had to get me a sweater.

Fine! Stop yelling at me. My nose is now as long as Pinocchio's! I must say that at least it wasn't hot in there. And that's saying a lot for Southeast Texas, in late June, in the middle of a drought with no rain in sight.

We got three eggs from them today. And I think that says a lot.

Everyone do a rain dance for Texas, please.

XXOO
Donna Lynn Chicken Mama Brunson

Posting Comments problem?

2011-06-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

I've been told by several people that they've tried to post comments, but blogger won't let them. I tested and had the same problem. Researching it, blogger suggested clearing all cookies and deleting your cache. Hopefully this will help.

But, I must add that I have now had many fun email conversations that I wouldn't have had otherwise!

XXOO
Donna

Dogs like tomatoes? Really?

2011-06-14T22:03:00.001-05:00

Damn those dogs. They really love tomatoes. I actually said this tonight ... "THIS IS NOT A BUFFET!" And here I thought I would never channel my mother ... Hi Mom! Love you! Mean it!

Maddie: Mama, we're hungry

Me: What do you mean, you're hungry? You eat all the time and get lots of good food.

Zekie: Mama, we want tomatoes.

Me: What? Westies don't eat tomatoes.

Zekie: Ummm ... Mama? We love tomatoes. Give us some NOW!

Mama! We want tomatoes!

Mama! Please give me a tomato. Pretty please!

Mama! We are begging you. Don't you see our tongues hanging out????

Ummmm ... tomatoes. We love tomatoes.

Thank you, Mama! We feel so much better now!

;-)

XXOO
Donna

Preserving the Harvest

2011-06-12T20:49:00.000-05:00

First of all, please check out my page called "Joe's Photography" - I've added a couple of *really* cool pictures.

We've been busy here. Tim spent 5 days on location in South Texas. And I had an epiphany. It takes two people to make an "urban homestead" work. I could do it all by myself, if it wasn't for that thing I call a "job" ... the one at which I spend 40-ish hours a week. Don't get me wrong, it pays for my dirt/chicken/growing vegetables/compost/homegrown carrot addiction, for which I am very appreciative. It just siphons off my time. I am extremely fortunate in that I like my job very much, and I work with people that I like very much. *on my knees, giving thanks for being so fortunate*

Well - let's get on to the homestead. And what's happening around here.

I love sunflowers. LOVE them.

Timmy planted these for me. And now you know why he is the love of my life!

For some reason, our lemon tree has decided to put out more blossoms. We don't know why (maybe the heat? Extra water?) Anyway, we have have about a dozen lemons about this size, along with a bunch of new baby lemons.

I've let the tomato tally get out of control. We've had a bunch. Okay, maybe a lot. FINE! We have had a plethora! (Thank you, Tim! He suggested plethora.) I've frozen 3 quarts and we've eaten more than I can remember. This is my best tomato harvest ever (Tim has had better, but he's been doing this longer LOL). Last night we made a homemade tomato/basil bruschetta, which had everyone licking their fingers. Yum.

Tim cut up about a pound of peppers today and put them in the freezer.

Our freezer is getting full of our harvest (and I love it). The cool thing is that we USE this stuff. We put frozen cilantro into our salsa. Frozen basil into our pasta sauce. That is what I appreciate about growing what you eat. Not just growing stuff that grows well where you live. Grow what you love to eat. Onions, garlic, basil, tomatoes, squash, mint, dill, peppers, etc. We grow them, and love to eat them. Our grocery bill for veggies is pretty much zero. We buy the occasional cauliflower.

I picked some of the grapes yesterday and finished picking them today. (This is not all of them, we got about 6 2/3 pounds (and the birds got about the same amount :-( )

I squished them the old fashioned way (no, not with my feet! I used my hands and a potato masher!)

Doesn't look very appetizing, does it? At least, I don't think so. The juice has to sit in the skins for a day, then tomorrow I will siphon it off. We'll see how this year's wine making will go. I don't have high hopes, but I have perseverance. It might see me through. Okay, who am I kidding? I have no perseverance, and I am the most impatient person on earth. There is no hope for this wine. *snort*

And last but not least, here is a gratuitous picture of my girlies. They are not giving me a lot of eggs right now. I blame the heat. Really, would you want to lay eggs in this heat? It was 100 degrees here today.

Happy Sunday Night, y'all. And go Mavericks! (Sorry Austin!)

DLHB

Blackberries

2011-06-01T19:58:00.000-05:00

Our blackberries did quite well this year. This is our second year with blackberries in the ground, and they were one year old when we planted them. Last year, I don't even want to talk about. *shakes head in grief* We had probably a couple dozen blackberries. The birds got probably around a couple dozen blackberries. Damn those birds!

This year, we had a new plan. Bird netting. And boy, did that turn out well!

This year, we had some of the largest blackberries I've seen.

We've picked about a pint a day. I was eating them every day, and freezing what I didn't feel like eating.

After I froze about 3/4 of a gallon of berries, I thought I'd make some jam. Squished down berries don't have quite the same volume as whole berries. In fact, I was quite surprised that my 6 cups of berries only made 3 cups of mushed berries. Sigh.

Add 2 cups of sugar, and cook until it jells. And stir, and stir, and stir.

By the way, don't ever try to make banana bread and make jam at the same time. I promise you, you will need to take the bread out of the oven at the exact same time that the jam needs constant stirring. And your arms are only so long. It's hard to reach the oven and stir the jam at the same time. Don't ask me how I know.

Yum, yum, yum. I might use it in a cobbler. Or cookies. Or slathered on a biscuit (along with a slab of butter, of course).

Happy Wednesday,

xxoo
Donna