Take Control Of Your Life

For the most part I have doing most of these things for years. I have watched neighbors get in the car to do something, come back and then get in the car again. I guess I an more a home body and do not like shopping that much. If I had the money I would have someone to shop for me. After about an hour in a mall or a store I pretty much had enough.

Time Savers


I am not sure of this but it might work very well in large cities. I am not sure in the area I live because were I shop they do not have the double coupons and such but it might be worth the checking out for others. I used to use coupons more but now they expire so much quicker and a lot of the products are ones I do not use since I do not eat a lot of processed foods. I you look at my other blog you will see the recipes I use which are for the most part simple, easy and not too expensive except maybe the chicken breasts.
Lakenvelder Food Blog
Grocery Game

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY............

THE GOOD
THANKS ROSA
DRESDEN CHURCH
THE BAD
HORRIBLE BOMBING


THIS IS REALLY UGLY
Assailants behead Indonesian
Girls

Fall Mid-West Garden Planning

I was planning to get a lot of the garden cleaned up before winter this weekend but I was called in to work this weekend. So now I am planning to make up a new spreadsheet for my garden and maybe my chickens. I am thinking of ordering more chicks than usual and then raising then to almost pullet size (when they start laying) since some people want chickens but do not want to deal with the chicks. I need to determine cost to see if it will be worthwhile.

For the garden I first need to convert my wild dreams into actual bed count. For example, if I want to grow so many potatoes how many beds will I need still want to grow enough to have a market garden and for home usage so I will be able to be at home more to take care of the family instead of working in a office so much but so far it has been just a dream.
Here is the plan so far for columns in the spreadsheet. I will end up with a number of spread sheets and so far these are the beginning of my plans.

A = crop
B = unit in question
C = average yield per 30' foot row
D = quantity wanted each week
E = number of weeks of distribution
F = total yield needed
G = total beds needed to grow for season

CROP PLAN

CROP UNIT IN QUESTION YIELD PER ' 30 FEET QUANTITY WANTED PER WEEK

NUMBER OF WEEKS WANTED TOOTAL SEASON YIELD TOTAL ROWS NEEDED

TOTAL BEDS NEED

It is important to have a plan but to be flexible for weather and all of the other impoderables of being a gardener, like the rabbit? that loved my tomatoes this year. I want to have more than needed.

Once I have the crop plan set I will need to make another spreadsheet for the field plan. I will cut and paste columns A & I and create a spreadsheet to represent each field. Each row will represent a bed in a field.

A = field prep
B = planting date
C = crop
D = Variety & seed #
E = notes
F = planting dates ( I double crop some things)
G = crop

I can plan planning dates and varieties using this and rotations if needed.

Master Plan or Filed planning sechlude
Copy an paste columns A, B,C and E onto new spread sheet. You can sort this spread sheet by planning dates for planning schedule. It can be used to decide what needs to be roto-tured and what should be seeded.

Seed Order

Sort master plant and insert some more columns to make a buying plan.

I am planning to purchase a loop house and so I will new to make a spreadsheet sheet to do this especially if you want to know how many flats you will need.
.

Sweet Potato

This sweet potato was grown in the same area I live in and weighted 16 pounds. I wish I knew this person so I could some suggestions on growing them here. The article mentioned they had good soil and used this certain type of fertilizer. I have added a lot of compost and manure to my soil so it is getting very loose and I try not to walk on it since I use a version of the French Intensive method. Well I guess I will try again next year and see what I get.

Turkey

Turkey in pen doing good today. I will let it run around in the yard on Saturday when I can watch it.

Hump Day

feelings renewed again today that I never had before I met you...........

I've Dreamed of Loving You for Many Years

I've dreamed of loving you for many years,
Loving you each day and night, each hour,
Loving till you flow into my tears,
And I into the garden where you flower.
Of course I must be me, as you are you,
But just as bushes planted side by side
So intertwine one cannot tell they're two,
We will through love and time be unified.
So have I dreamed, though we have been apart
So long that I of life with you despaired,
Holding wounded hope within my heart
That through these frozen years it might be spared.
The world is a redaction of the dream.
Our greatest pain deep longings shall redeem.

End of a Long Day

After work I went to do my weekly shopping at the Grocery Store and Farm Store to buy food for all of us animals. I came home and the girl's had tried to start a fire in the woodstove and had smoked up the house, so I got that under control.

Made dinner and straightened up the house a little and then went out to feed the animals. I could not find one one of the turkeys so I called and asked the Border Collie to find. It is out of practice and ended up looking for chickens instead. I found it after hearing it call in the tall weeds and had the girls bring a cart. We loaded her up and took her into the barn. I found no injuries and do not know while it will walk walk but it is eating. It's feet were never normal anyways. We ended up separating it with a heat lamp in another pen from the others. I will be checking on it this morning and after work. Hopefully, it will be okay.

Update this morning

It was standing up looking okay. I think it just got lost and tired and did not want to walk any farther.

We are having a Supervisor flying in from Virgina today so it should be very interesting. Already one of the supervisor from another company has asked me what is wrong with my manager today. Just Stress!

Surprise Blooms

Flound these Blooming and I was very surprised.

 


Rotten Tree found by Eastern Cedars. We will cut this up soon to use for firewood and get the branch that fell on the cedar off. We usually have plenty of trees that are old and we can cut down rather that the trees growing good. 

 

Can filled with twigs 

Collection of Twigs from woodlot

 




I spent about one one this morning collecting twigs from the wood lot. I only had to go to the begging of the lot to collect the twigs becasue their are so many. This save one having to chop kindleing and keeps me from an emergency room trip after I hit my thum with a hachet while making kindleling. Not fun!!. I got about three load and we put them in trash cans in the basement. 

Girl's Birthday cont'd....And other things

Found an internet site www.prettypartyplace.com to order some of the birthday supplies for the girls. I was able to order a Dragon Piñata and some theme plates, cups and things. I got some of those nasty Bot's jelly beans with flavors such as vomit and grass at the book store in the mall. I will mix them in with the regular Jelly Belly beans to make the guess the amount jar. Most of the time I bake a cake but I think I will order one this time in a week or so.


I started getting some bedroom decorations so after the bedroom is drywalled I will have some nice things to decorated the bedroom. I am so tired of the nasty look I have now with the paneling and the ceiling panels. I want my beauiful Boudoir back.
www.domestications.com



I am hot right now because heat is on at work and it is about 85 degrees outside. They have dates they set the heat and turn off the heat so you always have a few weeks each year you are uncomfortable. So of course we are now getting record heat for this time of year.

Duck Cont..............

This evening when I came hoem the Duck was okay, unless you know the which bird it is you canno tell. Now one of the dogs eye needs attention. Sometimes if it is not one think it is another.

Duck

Checked duck this morning and it is doing great. Will put with others later.

End of the Day Sunday

Went to a restaurant for my daughters birthday with their Grandmother and had a great time. Came home and started putting up the animals in their coops and the barn. I found one duck that was not able to get out of the pool and was suffering from hyperthermia and exhaustion. So I ended up taking it inside to heat it up in a bathroom with a heater and blow dried it. It can now stand up and is not shaking anymore but is too weak to walk. I will see how it is tomorrow and will put it in the barn or back with the ducks tomorrow depending how it is doing. It might need a little time in a pen by itself to get its' strength back.

Sunday

Not much going on around here. Mom flew in Friday so we have been doing the what is going on in Ventura talk. Sean and Raimi came over this morning and will meet us tonight at a restaurant for Dinner.

I just went out to the barn and poultry area and put fresh hay down for their bedding and put a light in with the chickens so the egg production will go up. It always goes down in the winter if you do not have lightning. I will put the timing light on later so they have about 12 hours of good light a day.

Crazy Turkey

I arrive home last night to see a big blood puddle near the porch. Oh, no what happened now. So I call all the dogs and they are find. See the two cat and they seem find. Suddenly Kelly comes out saying, "Don't worry about the blood it was a big rat". Apparently the cat caught a rat and was eating it there. Now if only it can be trained to clean up after itself.

Last night while putting up the animals one of the darn turkeys bit so hard I started bleeding. I do not like killing animals but that was the closest I got to burchering an animal in a long time..

Yep,it was one of those nights.

Monday

I will not be able to get much done today after work do to the rain. Since I have most of dinner finished I might start the rice and then go work in the barn cleaning for an hour or so. I suppose I will decide when I get home tonight. My hours have been changed around today and Wednesday so I have to do some adjustments to my what I can get done.

Very Busy Day

I am still finishing up the garden before winter comes. I harvested all of the broom corn and regular corn I let dry on the stocks. I put the dried corn into the chicken scratch can. I planted all of the tulips in the south and north sides of the house. I planted the two new Daylily plants on the south side of the house. I then divided Irises and planted some in other areas. Next I weeded the herb garden and rock garden.
At least it is pleasurable to weed the herb garden because of all of the wonder scents you smell while weeding from the Southern Wood to mints.

New stove in place. This stove puts out some heat! 

Stove put on tile ready to be connected 

Tile Job Cont................

Tile Work 

Just need to do a tile trim and decide if it will be tiled to the top, rocked or dry walled. The ceiling will have to be redone before any more can be done..

Basil

Basil potted for winter 

Herbs

Bay leaf, cilantro, parsley and curry plant potted and inside for the winter 

Garden Shed

Chicken coop converted to shed 

Lakenvelder Rooster 

Cleaning Shed

I spent most of the morning cleaning the shed that used to be a chicken coop. It only took about an hour to clean out the old hay and sweep it out. Other than shelves it is now ready to put the garden supplies in. I now will need to get the drip irrigation dry and out of the garden one of these days.

Pumpkins 

White Superior-fosteriana tulip 

The following are some of the bulbs I just purchased to plant this week for spring.

Batterina-lily flowering tulips 

Spring Green- Viridiflora Tulip 

Pumpkins

A pumpkin is just another member of the squash family but it is a vegetable that is more versatile than any other squash. Because of this they deserve their own spot in the garden. You can use them in soups, muffins, pies cakes and save the seeds for a snack. Few crops are as easy to grow as pumpkins. The biggest problem I have in my area is squash bugs. I just had to decide they were worth spraying insecticides for since I have not come up with a reliable organic method here in the Midwest.

Geranium 

Petunia 

Pelargonium 

Pelargonium 

Pelargonium

It is always a hard decisions every fall of what to do with my pelargoniums. This year since it has already started to frost and they are flowering it is an even harder decision. Should I take them inside,do cuttings or just throw them in the trash.

Pelargoniums are perennials that endure light frost but do not survive hard freezes. The common Pelargonium is a what is commonly called a geranium but is not a true geranium. The true geranium is a annual or perennial that can survive winters. I have a bed of these next to my side porch and they are very nice but do not have the big flowers like the Pelargonium.

One nice thing about pelargonium is that they do well in pots and you can grow them in sunny areas of the home. I have them in pots on and around my side porch.

So the debate goes one in my head with this saying. Waste not, Want not.

Lakota Squash and Broom Corn

Lakota Squash and Broom Corn 

This is the first year I have grown these. The broom corn did very well. The Lakota Squash did not do so well. I might have started it too late in the season and they need a long growing season. They normally are more orange so I do not know why this one is green with orange spots. I plan on using it for Thanksgiving.
Cooking Instructions

Winter Care for Herb Garden

We are getting a mild frost this Thursday so that means I will need to get my herbs that cannot survive winter temperatures cared for. My herbs in pots will have to brought inside or put into a protected area for now such as my garden shed. Some of the herbs growing in the garden will need to be dug up, potted in a pot 2”wider than their root ball and taken into my garden shed or indoors.

Some of the herbs can be frozen or dried which I have already done some of them. The cilantro is an herb that does better if frozen in oil. So I will puree the cilantro with olive oil and then freeze then in ice cube trays or bags. Some of the plants I will need to divide such as my sage and marjoram plants.

It is also time to do cuttings on my Hyssop, Southernwood, Lavenders and Curry plant.