hippychick's adventure to sustainable happiness

feeding fall garden goods

2009-11-09T12:41:00.007-06:00

lemons cheer me - their look, feel, scent, flavor, shape size, texture and color.lemons and me, we get along just fine.the improved meyers are ripe and ready. i trimmed off a good number this morning then juiced half of the harvest which is now stored in a glass jar in the fridge for quick and easy usetwo handfuls of key limes proves the full harvest this year. that's not bad for a tree planted

dark of the morn milk n' honey

2009-11-07T08:49:00.009-06:00

the summer honey has been jarred. the fall honey harvest need wait a week more.there is cheese in the making - the curds cut. today's attempt is an inoculated blue. the inoculated curds are a beautiful golden hue. i have no idea how this round will eventually turn out. we are in pure experimentation mode.the batch of whey produced a beautiful white pint of riccotta now chilling in the

weekend plans shift

2009-11-06T15:19:00.004-06:00

this weekend will now be dedicated to helping my students move forward and to gain deeper knowledges in a time crunched process. deadlines call, the work is not simple and so i have decided to shift plans to that of mentorship. regrets? not a one. the payoff will prove far greater than the investment.

make your own pasta!

2009-11-06T06:53:00.004-06:00

you will need - 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour ( i use whole wheat) - 3 large eggs - 1 teaspoon salt -if using a food processor - place flour and salt in processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds. with processor on add in one egg at a time until the mixture forms a ball. if too dry add a bit of water. if too wet add flour 1 tablespoon at a time.remove dough, pat out into a thick pancake sized patty and

plans for the saturday - not too long away

2009-11-05T08:14:00.006-06:00

plans for the one day off this week - saturdaymore homemade pasta - this last batch is so amazing that i'm eating it for breakfast! think what you like - better to have the whole day to burn it off i saymake cheese - i have three gallons of raw milk to play with - woohoojuice lemons - mmm mmm mmm i love lemon juice in almost everythinganother round of pesto - this a purple savory mix of basil

la la la lemon

2009-11-03T20:04:00.003-06:00

i was gifted todayi noticed a small lunch sized paper bag in my mailbox and wondered and wondered... what could it be?who could it be from?is that paper bag in the proper mail box?it was it wasand with note and kind words and allwhen opened i announcedoh lucky me!lovely lemons threei adore lemonsi feel lemons give lifethey are fresh, spirited fruitsfacti was recently asked what i would take if

happiness au natural

2009-11-02T07:42:00.006-06:00

never underestimate the beauty of a simple sunflowerthe pollen and the nectars from the flowers feed this small community in our own creature populated neighborhoodpapayas set flower similar to those found on citrus treesnow it's up to these little creatures to set papaya fruits. it might prove too late in the season for this year but one never knows.

moments prior to sun's set as the moon grows full

2009-11-01T17:24:00.006-06:00

a good day today. many tasks accomplished. weather perfect throughout the whole of the day for outside chores.the pile of leaves and shredded tree trimmings - once here now is gone. in truth, all of it has been distributed about the yard laying out new paths in areas. once prone to mud - they are now four inches deep - soft and pleasant under foot, upon one's knees or even when one is

up before the sun

2009-11-01T07:19:00.014-06:00

here we are november already and the rooster is crowing out back while the ladychickens are testing out flight and take off routines. the chilly mornings rev everyone up including myself. i have been up for hours already this a.m. i am caring for the neighbors pups and kitty creatures so i was over early to make sure they had an opportunity to get out of doors to sniff and search and explore

glorious days ahead

2009-10-31T11:24:00.007-05:00

the glorious days are upon us. crisp mornings with warming sunny afternoons. these are the days folks live for in the central texas area. these are the days i thought might not ever come this year. and the sigh of my relief is great and the comfort in the cool is deep and i find great joy in the wearing of a sweater and vest.another great glory is that these are the days for seasonal greens.

jived! jived! i'm feelin' alive!

2009-10-27T10:45:00.003-05:00

it's a clear blue sky of a daythe temperature is hovering near 55˚fthe air is crisp coolit feels great to be wearing a sweater, boots and cushy socksthe creatures are playing, flying and jumpingand everything is green, flowering and growing steadilyit's a day for jivin' jivin' feeling so alivin'cheers!

sweetest of sweets makes a tough day most beautiful

2009-10-26T17:27:00.006-05:00

thank youmommy carathank youdaddy christhank yousweetflower hazelyou have made auntie m so happyi love thee tree(as great-grandpa would say)

it all depends in how you look at it

2009-10-25T09:51:00.011-05:00

the morning's harvestthis a half plus dozen eggsbeans for lunchyummyi planted out another patch of greens this morning - a simple task really considering that most lettuce greens prefer a surface seeding - throw them down - water them in - doneit's a beautiful morning - good light - comfortable temperatures and a slight breezeit's a good day for light outdoor tasksthese are the days i relish

the rising hour

2009-10-24T08:17:00.010-05:00

wee taters from the soil - just a few from the tippy top layer of soil - little sweet things - enough for a tender fresh lunch - now slowly roasting in a simple foil wrapthe days have cooledtoday's morning is crispthe fall flu caught me for a start this week but as it comes it too goes. a fresh start to more carefully choose the foods that go in the body.today i will keep things simple - a bit

hippychick's first honey

2009-10-19T09:56:00.006-05:00

amazingso very beautifuland with light passing through...ahh* * * * * *the numbers are in...total harvest - 24 lbs of dark rich honeyequal to8 full quarts plus a half pint of honey(all this from a single shallow super - oh my!)* * * * * *enough for family gift this holiday seasonlovely* * * * * *next year - who knowsmaybe even more this year - there is still timei want to play it safe with the

hippychick honey yup yup sustainable success

2009-10-18T14:52:00.013-05:00

a harvest indeedsuper dark honeywoo hoo and a big yee haathe harvest is not huge huge huge but kind enough in light of the brutal summer the bees recently survived.i pulled seven frames from a single shallow super. the second super was not yet fully capped upon further inspection so best to let the bees finish up the process and to allow the honey to mature before any further robbing.it looks

hippychick honey? maybe maybe

2009-10-18T09:33:00.001-05:00

i plan to make my first attempt to harvest honey this afternoon - fingers crossed it goes well.woo hoo! this is very exciting.

2009-10-16T19:41:00.004-05:00

climate change - blog action day - central texas

2009-10-15T14:25:00.017-05:00

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -today is blog action day - the topic - global climate changein this vein i present, as one voice, a series of links leading you to information relevant to climate change in from voices in central texas, greater texas and to the universe beyond.The top 100 effects of Global Climate Warming at center for american progressClimate Change, Carbon

sweet morning

2009-10-12T10:33:00.009-05:00

the skies are yet a pale slate blue and there is misty moisture in the air. and excellent day for the rubberydubbery boots. the chickeny creatures are out and about scratching away for gold and other such wiggly creeping crawling goodies. the wet brings the worms to the surface, seconds pass, a scratch or two then with an excited joy they are quickly gobbled down.get ya protein here! we got

2009-10-11T10:53:00.009-05:00

still life of an urban homesteader's kitchenit is early sunday of the first weekend home in a great long while and there is rain falling lightly in the autumnal light. the nights are growing longer, the chickenygirls are laying a few less eggs of late. the skies have been cloudy, been protected from the wilds of outer space by a thickened cottony cover.the sun has peeked through in bits and

pretty pretties about the place

2009-10-11T09:56:00.004-05:00

taming wild kittens and other odd uncertain beasts

2009-10-10T19:34:00.007-05:00

it's been a lumpy bumpy few three plus weeks of near to non posts due to a certain unexpected unwelcome "mess with your mama's health" beast. this beast visited my mama and sapped her of her energy, her verve, her strength but certainly not her will for a length of time. the moment i learned of the beast, i set travel to mama to assist her as i could in defeating the beast. the beast fought

anticipation

2009-10-08T10:20:00.014-05:00

sweet tatersi adore your blushed ruby stemyour pale violet floweryour fresh toned variated greensbroccoli-occolisunlight and dew on you temp my wantinggrant me patienceas i await your sweet flowery heads made fruity by the season's first frost

2009-10-07T16:16:00.002-05:00