Keep'on Rolling It

The machinery is hard at work around here. 1000's of bails of hay are sitting in the fields ,up our road when I went for my walk this morning. Long range forecast is nothing but sunshine. Great news for us here with haying a grain season upon us. How fortunate we are. My rain barrels are full and we had enough rain in June to get us through a dry spell. However I see on the Net that we are the fortunate ones.

What We Have Been Waiting For

What we have been waiting for?

Farm produce other then strawberries and lettuce!

The snow peas and beets are now being harvested.

 I picked 12 liters of strawberries today and made jam out of 9 liters.

Then I picked 9 liters of snow peas this afternoon.

And then began the beet rows, I just brought in a handful as I'm not ready to pickle them yet.

Our grocery bill will start to drop dramatically now, that the garden is in full swing.

The tractors are just a humming out here.

Last night well past mid-night.

Temperatures are cooler, and it is windy out so the hay dries in the fields, rather then raking it and wasting more petro.

Today while in the garden I was hating the sounds of machinery, but we were in the city this evening and the noise there with concerts and cars.

I'll take the machine hum anyday.

Tonight there are coyotes howling and deer just walked down the lane toward the garden!

Unconnected

Unconnected to the real world.

Its just that time of year!

Our real world!

Youngsters' Socks

Last night I completed these socks for the 4 year old.

They are re-purposed socks.

Orginally they were socks worn by the 16 year old,

but she tore a hole in them on the bottom,

so I un-wove out,

wound the wool,

and made these!

The pattern is still in perfect form.

Yo-Yo Pillow

The heat of the day kept me inside today. 

A little housework and then some sewing. 

I completed the yo-yo pillow I was working on.

It is on a 16 inch square pillow form.

I am quite pleased with the finished product.

Thunderstorms and Dogs

We had quite a violent thunderstorm last night, bringing in a warm front we will want to forget, I'm sure. I feel the warm air this morning bringing out the trash. Yuck! But terror struck me when I went out to do chores early this morning.

My 15 year old wolf/Shepard is being left outside at nights anymore. For different reasons. One: he was sleeping in the barn the last 14 years but has taken to taking the barn apart board by board. Two: I had him in the mudroom but he took to pooping in there. Now he is outside and one thunderstorm and he torn the screen, broke the storm door window and pooped all over the back porch. I swear if I had a gun this morning.............!

So I washed the porch, and will have to dismantal the screen and window and replace it all. A costly repair because I haven't the time ,at this time of the year to do it all myself. I will get the hardware store to do the window and I'll do the blasted screen this afternoon.

Darn part of it all. He was sound asleep in the barn this morning!

Good news is that I slept last night pretty well. My cold is still with me, but I feel the edge is off.

Jump Start Today

This cold kept me up all night long. When I layed down I flooded, then coughed. When I sat up it was in my chest, which was uncomfortable but doable. So I sat up most the night, knitting and writing, reading my Bible chapters for this week and anything else near the bed. Dearest was up and down all night chocked up,but at least could get it out.

 So when it came time for morning chores I did them, made him his lunch and made a chocolate cake , steamed three batches of spinach and put them to freeze and am cooking up  a turkey roll in the large toaster over I have out in the mudroom on top of the freezer so as not to heat up the house. When the cake was done a turkey roll went in. That should feed us through our heat wave this week.

By 8am eldest daughter called. She was coming to pick berries. She only has today off work. This was fine except usually her pickin' means me makin' her jam. She is so afraid it won't set. Oh she starts off with good intentions, like hulling and putting the berries and sugar to cook but when it isn't done in 20 minutes she finds things to do rather then cook down the berries. So far today she has come, picked and left. Perhaps to bake a cake for her berries.

So little one and I went down to the field to pick some with eldest daughter. Keep her company. Littlest one always picks the smallest berries. You can tell her to pick dark red, larger ones but she likes little ones, green or pink! Needless to say some in my basket goes right to the chickens!

So this morning I am cooking down two batches of strawberry jam at the same time. The rain has begun. this is a good thing as it will keep me inside to get much needed work and sewing done. Perhaps a nap as well.

Hay & Garden

The fields this morning.

The garden this afternoon.

I pulled out three rows of spinach. It is now washed and ready to be steamed for the freezer.

I picked three rows of snow peas. We ate some tonight.

My first zuchini came out the garden as well.

All the celery I thought I lost to bugs has come back. Thank-goodness for Marigolds!

I did a lot of weeding this afternoon. the garden is looking good, with the exception of Earwigs! I would need not just a few tubs of beer to drown them but rather a whole brewery!!

My first rose ever ,opened up today. It is a climbing one, which I hope to trail over one part of the garden in a few years time.

My cold still well and thriving. I am worst today then yesterday.

It is going to start getting hot tomorrow, so after supper tonight I brough all the fans out the basement and washed them up.

Maude ( not real name). She looks kind of like this whenever she is outside. She takes reactions to the sun in her eyes.

Strawberry Season

I just picked out first strawberries this morning. 

Three, 3L baskets. 

One for eating, one for canning and one to give away.

Now the kitchen work begins!

Little Socks

I have been knitting in doctors offices and on the road while away from home this past week. I finished these two nights ago. A pair of re-purposed socks for my youngest.

Mom had knitted socks for herself with this yarn, but they were huge, big enough for an elephant my 4 year old would say. So Mom one day said, take the socks home and make something with the wool. Not colours I would have chosen. So I knitted these little socks 10 child  for next winter.

Because the wool is re-purposed and the wool split in areas, the coloured strips do not match row for row on each sock. I could never sell these because they are not perfect, but the little ones feet would never know.

Mid-week

beautiful garden by my in-laws

Forget the Jones'. Just trying to keep up with things here, has been awful!
My house is in a terrible state of uncleanliness ( to me anyway) and the yard needs weed trimming, garden weeding and produce removed from it and new plants put in. Hay was cut last night after Dearest came home and shall lay there until Friday when I shall (flip it) rake it and then one of us will bail it and bring it in, which is a family venture as it is small bails to go in the barn and takes many hands to bring it in.

The flip side is, both Dearest and I have head colds! It began Monday night for me, after cutting lawn for 5 hours and then stacking firewood for another 1 1/2 on the same hot day. It is now completed but I was so tired that night. In bed right after night chores. Tuesday was the worst. The weather wet and thunderstormy. Power went out a few times and I was suffering with chills and a stuffy head. But Wednesday I did very well in the city looking after my folks. I felt better as the day went on and did well until bedtime. This morning it feel more like allergy issues then a cold. It isn't stopping me from cleaning house. Just an excuse.

girls by a horticultural garden

Back in January I became a Vegetarian. For me no meat, I still ate dairy as after all that is my livelihood. However I am anemic and in need of red meats or alternatives. So I began eating some red meats each week really disliking it.

I have been doing a lot of research on Heart Health Lifestyle eating and still am convinced that I need to go an alternate way of eating. My Dat had a 4x by-pass when he was in his 50's. My Mom has been on heart medication and is an insulin depended diabetic with kidney problems. Two of my brothers are diabetic. I believe that I need to make sure I don't fall into any of these categories. Lets face it I'm not getting any younger. Golden years are around the bend and I want them to be golden, not stricken with health issues.

At Great-grandparents house on the Lake Shore, picking stones for my garden.

So beginning this week I am going on a 21 Day what is called a Jumpstart Heart Health program and see if I like it. The recipes are all written out for me, for 21 days. I will not be eating anything I don't like, and no fish. I shall just make something different the days recipes call for this. Also I will not be eating a lot of cooked breakfasts because I eat my breakfast while most are still sleeping and a large snack at 8;30am. This heath program has little sugars, oils, and no meat or dairy. We shall see how it goes. You will find some of my posts related to this subject the next little while.

No not the 'time out' log. Just some peaceful watching the water

Other nice news is, Dearest has bought us a second car. I have been without one for 8 months now. Really I didn't mind, but it meant a lot of planning. I like to keep the stroller, and car seats ( blasted things!) and grocery bags in the car, but with using only one car and his forever hockey games to play, it meant moving items in and out the car all the time. Now I am free to go anywhere ( on a gas budget)which is handy. I am thinking of getting hanging basket flowers today. Still haven't done that. The baskets are ready but no soil or plants!

The car is a 2001 Toyota Echo.

Really good on gas. It has  small engine and a great commuter car. However it was really dirty inside when we got it from a dealer friend. It was cheap but still! So after chores last night I rented a carpet cleaner for the grocery store and spent 2 hours cleaning the upholstery inside from ceiling to floor.
It is obvious smokers owned this car at one time. It was disgusting. It was still damp when Dearest left for work, sitting on a blanket on route in! The sunshine will dry it. But a lot cleaner and smells much better.

One of my smocked bonnets

Since I have the carpet cleaner here, I thought I would clean out "my" car as well. One of my jobs for today.

The teenager has exams starting next Wednesday. Since she is on-line schooled here from home, I have to drive her to the nearest distant learning school which is 1 1/2 hours away. None of her exams are the same day! All four different days which means lots of driving and time away from home, with the little ones. We will bring picnic lunches and do some touring of the area as she write the exams.


So there is the catch-up.

boardwalk to great-grandmas

A Woman's Day

Morning barn chores over. The grass is terribly wet this morning. The humidity very high. It is going to be a stinking hot day today. I think the weather man said 34C (90F). The issue being, we are not use to this. Heck the storm windows are still on! So it hits us hard. Would be one thing if it were just heat but the humidity makes you feel gross.

Haying is well underway. These rows will be bailed today and then no cutting until Wednesday because of thunderstorms coming in ,sometime today. Then clear skies. Great for making hay!!!

When I woke this morning I had a list that out numbers the hours that I have in front of me. I really dislike when things get like this. Funny how all winter you twittle your thumbs, thinking about the 'glory days' of summer, but when they come. Groan!!!

The garden needs weeding.
The spinach needs cutting and steams and out in the freezer.
The lawn needs cutting ( 5 hours)
Strawberries near ready
Vacuuming, and dusting
laundry
freezer needs defrosting
high school exams next week
and these are all the major issues............

Last week I spent the whole week helping out others. Elderly ladies, my folks, my in-laws, my kids, and grandkids. Sometimes my title as mom/daughter goes a little too far. I question how on earth I could ever work? I guess everyone would have to rely on professional help?

This week I need down time. Time to get things here on the farm in order and happy for me to enjoy ,rather then frustrate me, so  much that I don't know where to start on my list.

Today lawn cutting. It will take me up until noon hour.
Then in the heat of the day vacuuming and dusting and supper made.
 If the weather holds out hay will be bailed tonight. But I shall keep my eyes on the clouds all day. Any chance of rain up there and those five rounds will get bailed mid-day

Life Here

Its been a week since I posted. Life sure gets busy this time of year!

Last weekend we had a lot of rain. Actually everyday this week we have had a shower of one sort or another. There was a good day earlier this week in which we got 22 acres of hay cut and put in plastic. The garden is all up. Bugs have gotten into my celery and I have about half left of what I planted. I purchased some Marigolds yesterday to try and counter act the problem. Today I shall move the celery all into one row to make room for something else in the second row.

The woods looks like a jungle. The laneway needs taming. All the flowering bushes have lost their bloom and need trimming back. It all just seems so over whelming.

Water got in through the roof of the chicken coop. My girls are unhappy at present and my laying is half of what I was getting. I need to get some dry shavings in there.

Today we are canning blueberries. Not from the farm, actually from the states, but at such a deal at the grocery store. I bought about 8 pounds and shall make jam out of it and freeze some for baking throughout the winter. Our local blueberries although nicer, fresher tasting in a months time are always a lot more expensive. I have failed to be able to grow my own!

The strawberry field looks fantastic. We need some warm dry weather now for the berries to come. Two more weeks and I shall be canning daily.

My yo-yo pillow is about half done, but I have not been able to sit still for over a week now. Too much to be done.

Life in this neck of the woods.