Tulips 

Tulips 

Potatoes Planted

Yesterday was just to windy to even try to put down plastic by myself so I planted around 20 more feet of potatoes. I did not have time to do plant more peas. I really need to get them planted before it get too hot. I did take a picture of tulips that had started to bloom. They are a really pretty red color. I will put a picture on this page later that I took the other day.

It is very windy and rained today when I get home so I do not think I will get much done outside.

The Weekend

Well Saturday I got all 150 shrubs planted. I rediscovered stomach muscles I forgot I had. I still need to get the black plastic around all of the shrubs which will most likely take the rest of the week. Tuesday noon to closing I work in the computer lab instead of the counselor support job in the other building so I will be able to get some done in the morning if I am not too lazy and get started early.

Sunday my daughter Kelly cmae in worried the the turkeys contacted Blackhead but I noticed one had diarrhea and the others started eating it. Animals can be so gross sometimes. I put an anitbotic in their water becasue it is likely Coccidiosis. I will check on them when I return tonight.

Sunday I made a lot of food so I mainly cooked that day and was not able to do any gardening It was a wonderful day so I hope it will get the peas and grass growing. We had roast beef, roast lamb, roasted carrot and potatoes, basil sauce pasta, corn , rolls, greenbean casserole, rice pilaf, lemon cake, apple pie and german chocolate cake.

Change of Plans

A co-workers dog is ill so I will be working the night shift instead of the day today. I am trying to get as much laundry done as possible before I will need to leave for work so I will have the weekend free to do other things. The 150 shrubs for the wind break arrived the other day so they will need to be planted Saturday.

The 50 American plums will be planted around the woodlot area to help create a wind break in the north area and also provide feeding and shelter for pheasants and other animals. The Caragana will be planted around the west/east pasture and barn and in front of the house. The 50 lilac will be planted around the house and along the driveway to provide an extra windbreak the house. It is still very wet and overcast so it is going to be a challenge. I might have to heel them in until it dries a little. At least it is not very cold.

The computer lab is so..... slow tonight. I guess most of the regulars when someplace since it is a holiday weekend. I have two using computers right now and that has bee like that for about 2 hours after the group left doing a school project. I have't work too many evenings in the last 6 months when I took the other contract that was full time. It however, went part-time after 6 months due to cut backs so I now work two contracts to get 32-38 hours per week.

Since I did not come in until noon I was able to get a few loads of laundry done so I do not have to worry about it so much this weekend.

I am hoping I will have time to get more straw so I can clean out the chicken coup and put fresh straw inside since they are inside the coup more because I am allowing them only access to the chicken run area. I haven't seen any of the pasture seed growing yet. It might be too cold for the seeds to really grow. I do not know if I will be able to plant more in the garden becasue it will most likely still be too wet still.

The road to our place has gotten horrendous. They have not graded the gravel road for months and now there are huge ruts in the road. I thing I am going to try going the other way because there may be less traffic and tractors that travel that way.

Wednesday

Observe all men; thy self most.

---Poor Richard's 1740 Almanack


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The chicks and ducklings all seem to be doing very good. I mentioned to Kelly that the turkeys will be good eating of pastured turkeys in a few months. She now decided that Seekh, kebab and skewer are now going to be pasture ornaments. It is still up for discussion .

I haven't been able to get into the garden because it is still wet. Hopefully, this weekend it will be warm enought for planting the rest of the potatoes and peas and what else can be planted now.

The fuit trees that I planted seen to be okay. I need to go around and get rid of all the weeds around the pine trees I planted that are still alive. I should be getting around 150 shrubs delivered very soon so I need to start preparing for them, most likely next month from the Kansas Forest Service. I am planting them form wind breaks around the house and barns. I think I am going to rent an augar or post hole digger to at least start the holes.

Another Day on the Farmette

"War does not determine who is right War determines who is left"
(African Proverb)


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I put the chicken on lock down Friday. I caught the three Fayoumi's terrorist in the garden again destroying it. The have the coop and fenced in run now and no pasture access. I reseeded about 1/3 of their pasture Sunday and will do the rest later. It is raining today that that will really the grass grow and also the 20 feet of peas I planted. Once the pasture is green again it should help with the grass is green on the other side of the fence symptom they are displaying now in the spring.

All of the chicks are doing great. The more to the workshop seems to be okay for them as long as the power does not go out.

I am so glad more firewood was cut on Sunday because the temp seems to be dropping again.

Saturday 19 March

Not too much of an eventful day. Worked in my herb garden weeding it a bit. My herb garden one that was designed is is in her book called Herb Gardening in Five Seasons. This 12 x 18 is a design with many perennial herbs. She used a St. Fiacre shrine for her focal point however, I use a globe. The design has two sides or "wings" The left wing is the Culinary area with lovage, garlic, sage tarragon, winter savory, marjoram and I included Cilantro and chocolate mint. The right wing is for fragrance. It has pineapple sage. lemon balm. lavendar beebalm, clary sage and lemon verbena. IN the lower right their is a small collection of tea plants --camomile. orange mint, pineapple mint and pennyroyal, and peppermint.

I did some burning today of some of the tall grass areas too. We also move the chicks into the workshop "Yea". I cannot stand the smell but someone will be around next week in case the electicity goes out.

I made Chicken Boti Kababs today. The girls and I really like them and I would likely have them more often by I forget to start them in the morning's evening before and they need at least 6 hours to marinate. I made some rice and salad to go with it.

I am planning on make corned beef and cabbage again Sunday. I put the brisket in the crockpot for at least 8 hour and it is great. I then cook potatoes and cabbage with the juice to make them yummy. Hopefully I will get some soda bread or scones made. We will then have a cherry cheesecake bar dessert I made this evening.

Oh, the chicken are still escaping and made a mess of my garden.

At The Computer Lab

It is very slow in the computer lab today. Since 8:00 A.M. I have had a total of ten clients. I haven't had anyone in the last hour. I suppose it is too nice outside. A little cool but sunny.

I went looking at other blogs using the next button untill I came to a site that would not let you go forward. The AARP site was not for me. I am not that old. Next was clearpicture.blogspot and I was not able to read JEWMIX's site since I could not read the language. So I got bored. I did find a blog made by Louwen who has a menno joke and history website called Menno Night in Canada.

New Turkeys

I stopped to see if there were any turkeys to take home for one lonely one. I was able to get two more. I could now resist the two blue swede ducks. They are such a pretty bird so I got two of them that were there.

We set up the small sheep tank in the parlor and put the ducks in a box. It seems to be working okay so far. I put chicken wire and towels to prevent any birds from flying out.

I am rather glad that I did not plant the peas and the remainer of the potatoes yet because it is still getting into the twenties at night. It is, however, getting warmer during the day.

I put some of the cabbage I had started down in the basement in my coldframe. I placed the coldframe next to the house and water spigot to make it easier to care for.

Another nice day

It is so nice outside today. I wish I could be out there but in an hour and a half I should be. Well the turkey does not seem to want to stay by itself. It keeps getting out and going in with the chickens and that is not suppose to be a good thing because of blackhead disease. Hopefully, I will have time to drag in a large sheep water container to out them in. I really do not like them in the house but last year I lost a bunch of ducks when a storm came and the electricity went out. The house stays warmer than the workshop or barns. At least they are not as smelly as ducks.

Turkeys 

Red Sex-Linked Pullets 

Geese Eggs and Blue-Green Chicken Eggs

Good Grief What A Day

It is not a good day for me. I am writing this again because what I typed disappeared a minute ago.

The main Ed center manager called the senior counselor here if I was being gainfully employed. They want to cut hours again from 24 hours per week to whatever. I told them they had contracted for 32 hours per week this month and we are suppose to go to 24 next month. When the project manager comes back she is not going to like the hour cuts. It will affect everyone including the employees at the computer lab since we will end up taking more hours from them to make up hours. You would think the ones who contract the hours would know hour many hours they have us come in anyways.

When I went to the computer lab to get the keys so I could open up this Friday they were not there and no one knew where they were. I was really hoping the person who will be working the weekend took them not realizing there was a training holiday and someone will need to open up Friday morining, like me. Yes, she had them so I can stop worrying about keys now.

I got home only to find my two daughters outside trying to put a duck into a cat carrier. It did not look and act too happy. They had forgotten the keys to the house. The day must get better.

Oh no, I get inside and check the chicks and find a dead turkey. I promised my upset daughter I will get more. I hope the one turkey left does not get too lonely. One pullet chick was also missing. I could hear its peeps but could not find it for about 15 lminutes. I found its trail, if you know what I mean. I found it on the bottom rung of a dining room chair. It is amazing how high a little chick can fly.

I think I will now go upstairs put on the TV and fall asleep.

Possum and garden

He does not possess Wealth; it possesses him.

Richard's Almanack-1734



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Well last night something, most likely one of the dogs, left a gift on the porch. It was a dead possum (yuck). I have seen a recipe for cooking one in one of my 40+ cookbooks but that is a(double yuck) for me. I figured it could wait for a burial in the morning but it was not there in the morning. I supposed something had it for a meal.

I was able to get the two fruit tees planted and two berry plants today. I forgot to put on sunscreen before I went out and it got sunny altogether it stayed cool. I hope I did not get sunburn. I came in round two hours later after I remembered.

I also got two turkey and four red production hens today. I fixed the electric fence but the two Fayoumi hens escaped again. Well I thought so, apparently one of the girls turned off the fence. So I am not really sure if it will keep them in the chicken pasture.

I also got the ducks out of the chicken coop and into their own coop in the fenced orchard. They are very messy birds. I got 13 geese eggs last night and two this mornings. I already blew them out so I should be able to start decorating them this week. I need to come up with a better way of blowing out the contents. I use those baby nose cleaner suck out all of the snotty yuck things and it is time consuming.

Saturday

World Leader Notable Quotables

“The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.”

Queen Victoria
Queen of the United Kingdom, 1837-1901

“Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.”

Vaclav Havel
Last President of Czechoslovakia, first President of the Czech Republic

“Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you're aboard, there’s nothing you can do.”

Golda Meir
Prime Minister of Israel, 1969-1974

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.”

Jawaharlal Nehru
Prime Minister of India, 1947-1964

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1940-1945, 1951-1955

“Be ready when opportunity comes. Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.”

Pierre Trudeau
Prime minister of Canada, 1968-1979



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I just went shopping today. It is always a day event since I live 45 minutes from any city. I got another pear tree, apricots tree, strawberries, a blueberry and a raspberry plant. I some got pea seeds since they need to be planted now before it gets too hot here.

I got an email from my bother with this parable so I am going to put in on the bolg.

A woman's parable

One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting
close to a river, her thimble
fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord
appeared and asked,
"My dear child,
why are you crying?"
The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen
into the water and that she
needed it to help her husband in making a living for
their family.
The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up
a golden thimble set with pearls.
"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, "No"
The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a
silver thimble ringed with sapphires.
"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.
Again, the seamstress replied, "No."
The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather
thimble.
"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, "Yes."
The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave
her all three thimbles to
keep, and the seamstress went home happy.
Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her
husband along the riverbank,
and her husband fell into the river and disappeared
under the water.
When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked
her, "Why are you crying?"
"Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!"
The Lord went down into the water and came up with

Mel Gibson.
"Is this your husband?" the Lord asked.
"Yes," cried the seamstress.
The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!"
The seamstress replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It
is a misunderstanding. You see,
if I had said 'no' to Mel Gibson, you would have come
up with Tom Cruise.

Then if I
said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my
husband. Had I then
said 'yes,'
you would have given me all three. Lord, I'm not in
the best of health and would not
be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S
why I said 'yes'
to Mel Gibson."
And so the Lord let her keep him.
The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies,
it's for a good and honorable
reason, and in the best interest of others.
That's our story, and we're sticking to it.

Morning Discovery

Dear God, let all my hours be thine. Whilst I enjoy the light. Then shall my sun in smiles decline and bring a pleasant night. ~ Amish prayer

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When I went out this morning to feed and water the animals I noticed a lot of holes dug in my garden beds. the Fayoumi hens must of got into the garden again *sigh*. I will need to get out to the chicken pasture and make sure the electric fence is working so I can hopefully keep them in.

The geese are laying again. I need to sneak into their hutch and grap their eggs so I can clean, blow them out and then decorate them.

Well, anyway here is another joke I found.

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Top 10 reasons for being glad you're a Mennonite
Jerome Bagget (Issue #1)

Large gene pools are so darn impersonal

Church leaders took a dramatic step forward in the cause for womens' rights by affirming that head coverings need not be worn during the swimsuit competition at the Miss America pageant.

Menno Simons could easily have kicked Luther's and Calvin's butts.

Completing one's education without ever experiencing sex ed taught by an 80-year-old nun claiming to be "married to Christ" greatly increases the possibility of having a healthy sex life.

Can't find a good three bean salad at any restaurant anywhere in the U.S.

The fellowship at the annual Amish-Mennonite Oktoberfest never strained by a nasty hangover.

Who can dance to rap music anyway?

Church leaders plan to remain true to the traditional stance of military non-involement by prophetically declaring all Mennonites to be gay or lesbian.

The excitement is really building around the upcoming motion picture starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGinnis about Mennonite ethnic diversity entitled Whiteness.

Over 600 songs in the new Mennonite hymnal and not one of them is Kum Ba Yah.

March Spring Like Weekend

No man ever was glorious, who was not laborious.

Richard's Almanack-1734

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We had a very spring like weekend and I was able to get the garden ready for planting. I put a picture of it on this blog. Nothing growing yet so it only looks like dirt. I got 10 feet of potatoes and about 20 more to put in. I am trying new types this year and will see how they do.

I transplanted onions plants to one area since I rotate the type of plants in the different beds each year to help prevent insect and disease problems. I have been gardening this spot for about two years and the soil is already starting to look very good.

Since I am not from Kansas I still have a learning curve to grow vegetables here.

I also took a picture of one of my Fayoumi hens. They are rather strange as chicken go and almost wild. They are the only chickens I have ever seen going wading in water.

Raimi

Fayoumi Hen

Vegetable Garden 

Spring Day

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:27-28)_______________________________________________________________________



It is so nice outside today and I am still here wishing I was out side. Boy, could I get things done. If you read the weather report today it reads as 70 degrees today. Here is the weather report.

Spring