The 7th Year Itch?

Happy Anniversary

The MOON has circled the Earth 84 times since the day we wed.

Would I do it all again?

Only with him.

"Love wasn't suppose to be about a moment where you looked into a boy's eyes and felt the world spin from beneath your feet; when you saw his soul in all things that were missing in yours. Love came slow and surefooted and was made of equal measures of comfort and respect. A plain girl wouldn't fall in love, she'd sort of glance down and realize she was mired in it. A plain girl knew she loved someone when she looked out ten years from now and saw that same boy standing beside her...." Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Cultivating chickens

The ladies seem to want to help with cleaning the bugs off my windsheild and radiator... this didn't last for long, as I didn't want any extra deposits there!

It felt like such an incredibly long and busy week around here. Our visitors are gone, but we had such a lovely time with them, and we actually went bowling! I bowled a 117, and then a measly 78!

The vegetable garden is doing fabulous. We have beans daily, salad greens, zucchini a plenty, and spaghetti squash galore! There are some onions there… I cleared the tops of the bigger bulbs; half the batch just isn’t growing the same. It’s the oddest thing; everything on the Northeast side of the garden is smaller and sparse. I spent several hours in the garden last weekend, plus with the helping hands of visitors and The Cultivator* it seems like its ready for my week long absence.

However my clematis may not survive my absence. It has a new shoot, since following directions from my mom…but nothing as revived itself. Instead of cultivating wonderful flowers I’ve been cultivating chickens. The ladies have been seen plucking at the flowers, leaves, and displace all my mulch for a personal dust bath! I tried to put up tiny ugly fence up but that proved to be worthless and more work for me to replace the mulch and mend places in the fence so I took it down.

Oh what a nutty bunch they have become since Hen Who Crows demise, they seem to all have found their inner squawk, but thank God no of the other hens are crowing!

We are getting new layers everyday which is downright awesome! Averaging 5 eggs a day, so a little less than 1/2 the hens are laying. We need to install some extra laying boxes in the coop, they actually argue over who is going to be in which box with a lot of sqawking and feather pulling with eachother. We had a fake plastic egg in one of the boxes, to encourage them to lay (I don't know if it worked) but they rejected it this morning and pushed it out of the box onto the floor.

Hen Who Crows, a tribute... a rotisserie

Yesterday was the last living day for Hen Who Crows, as her neck met the chopping block. We did tell her nearly everyday, “An egg a day keeps the hatchet away,” so she was fair ‘game.’

So this is a 30 second tribute video to the beautiful white chicken, which lived 2 years ruling the roost, eating cracked corn and not laying a single egg.

(well having trouble posting the clip... will try later)

As we sat down for dinner we had a few good laughs as we decided the best way to describe her delicious free range, no hormone, no antibiotics, farm wandering, no egg laying existence boiled down to “Fun, delicious and challenging.” Maybe she is having the last ‘craw’ while we ate her meat like a picture from a renaissance feast, with our hands and teeth tearing away the meat because she was one tough bird! So another day is upon us, it is a quiet morning at 4:30 AM My Guy* gets up for work. From my bedroom window I hear nothing, not a “craw’ or a single hen wrestling around in the chicken trying to stay away from the Hen Who Crows as she always bullied the younger hens. I let them out of their coop this morning when the sun was just over the horizon, but still below the trees. The ladies hopped off the nesting roost as if still having the best morning of their young lives, a late morning with a lot of rest. Today will be a peaceful day, and let's pray none of the other hens feel they need to be the dominant bird! I worked little while in the pottery studio last night, and coupled with the butchering of Hen Who Crows I dreamt of beautiful bird shaped pottery with a light grey glaze and a blue trimmed opening with a wispy design near the wing. I wonder if it was a gift from above or if I have seen it somewhere and it’s written in my subconscious?

Fruits of No Labor

Another day went by that I was not in the garden, but instead I was having cocktails with my friends after work. It really interfered with my work-out too, sorry Gee! But we did enjoy spaghetti squash for dinner, leftover beans & zucchini, salad and Gnocchi. ‘Twas my first time trying gnocchi and a challenge for me to cook because I am not so good boiling water… yes, it’s true and I am not exaggerating.

Our guests are staying a week so that Polkah-Dot can have surgery. I suggested it because first and far most important the Ark Animal Hospital is awesome, and they absolutely love what they do. Second, veterinary service in our neck of the woods is actually affordable (not cheap). Piper & Michael gifted me a bread book they picked up in town, which is good timing since my last batch of bread was a less than wonderful.

Piper & Michael played some of her original songs while I worked. It's always a joy to have them visit.

I picked some lovely clover (without bees) while taking a short walk with My Guy* and stuck them in a “Rock Pot” that I use to sell in 2006, and I've not really made any since then. Every house that has a child and dandelions in their yard should have one. It should be a staple like flour and butter! I sold them for cheap, cheap, cheap.

This particular one has My Guy’s* name stamped into it.
I pick wild flowers and rocks for My Guy*. If you look at any nook-n-cranny around my house where I sit for long hours (office, kitchen, etc…) I have either piles of rocks or some of my reject bowls filled with rocks that I gathered while walking around the property. I was talking to my mom a couple weeks ago about my rock gathering problem, and it seems it started as soon as I could walk, and seems to have never ended… maybe I should have been a geologist?

The barn wood shadow boxes are made by Tiffany, a local artist & art teacher.

Veggies Galore

I am just so amazed that food can grow from the ground, which sounds so absolutely silly as I type those words, but I grew up in the city where we just bought food.

Above are some of the things in the garden. When I look at the spaghetti squash (lower right) it'll be double that size in a few days and probably ready to pick by the end of the week! It's just incredible. All the years we've had the garden The Cultivator* has done most of the work and just tells me what to weed or what to pick when he needed a hand, but this year I've taken the initiative to be more involved in the day to day care. This week I noticed that the zucchini grows between the flower and the root of the plant, it's just so fantastic!

So in this new 'day to day' care, I have noticed a slue of bugs. This is the first year growing cabbage. What is the little green lava or excrement on the leaves? When cleaned up they appear to not have gone into the head of the cabbage, just outside open leaves. Part of me wants to know, and the other part of me agrees that ignorance is bliss. I know that the first year we tried broccoli and cauliflower there were so many bugs in them that I just couldn't eat them (the dogs and chickens lucked out)!

Our summer meals consists of about 85-95% of foods from our property, and hunting on our property... the more I read about slaughter houses, and pesticides the more happy I am to learn and cultivate home make/ home cooked meals. Last night I made pesto from some fresh basil from the farmers market, along with green beans and zucchini, and salad; all so delicious. I also made some a couple of whole wheat loaves yesterday too, but they were more dense than the last bach... every time is different.

Our guest came back from the WE Fest yesterday... oh the stories had us in stitches through dinner! Sounds like you have to have some thick skin and a filthy mouth to survive, but the super rude get beat up. I think I will never want to go!

This is the sort of support I get from my dogs while I hover and crouch pulling weeds & picking veggies. Every time I move from one chore to the next and they find the next shady spot, by the clothes line, by the wood pile, by the chicken coop, by the garden, by the chopping block... what a glorious life of a dog! The chickens and cats follow us around too... but generally they meander a bit more.

Oh, and don't forget to admire (hehehe) my horrible bush trimming! LOL, the bush under my office window looks like the head of frankenstein! Hoping to have alliums across the front this fall... I've been removing rock for over a month now... have about a 3 x 1 foot area left in front of the big butterfly. Everything is the same color in the front, it really drives me crazy! The old wheels came with the house... and I don't know what else to do with them so they remain. I am making a ceramic insert for the butterfly with our address (maybe), it's a huge piece of metal meant for flowers, but I keep it upright because it looks better. It was a gift from my folks, a nice piece I just haven't found it's permanent home.

"That Sesame!" I find myself saying that a lot. I was working tranquilly in my office once in awhile stopping to watch the beautiful hummingbirds feed outside my window, when all of a sudden a blur pops up from the window pane below. That stinker Sesame using her paws to snatch the hovering birds and eat them up. I tried to rescue the little bird but Sesame runs faster than I do, so by the time I caught her, the little guy was dead with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth like a cartoon, or Gene Simmons! I had to take down the feeder to avoid more carnage.

We all went to visit T today, Pipes wanted to see her sheep, and I wanted to give her cabbage and the baby bunch I made on Saturday. Anyway they have a nice garden so we were garden chattin' and I learned how corn is pollinated, and that you mound potatos and clear onions... good info. I will have to check into our onions tomorrow. T cans her green beans, she said they are still soggy that way...I am still thinking about what to do.

We later went to town for dinner at a 'mongolian' restaurant... we had more laughs about the crazy festival where they drove the golf-cart taxis. The conversation went to movies then The Butterfly and the Diving Bell, then to his naked body floating scene, to a package delivery I received that ended up being a peep show too. We laughed so hard about perverts, bad deliveries and small packages!

Saturday night baby crafts

Doesn't it seem like everyone is having babies but me? Oh well, I just love making baby gifts so it makes it all a little more fun (vs. sad and depressing).

I came across this 'Baby Bunch' on Martha Stewart when I was searching for alliums, and they had a how to video. I watched that sucker about 5 times and attempted to make my own, it's a little harder than it appears! This Baby Bunch a onesie, socks, bib, t-shirt, hand mitts, and a hat, with dark blue, yellow and red fake flowers... now the flowers are really cheesy because they were cheap, but I am thinking they'd get tossed so it doesn't really matter right?

Anyhow, changed it up a little and dropped this is very bright bunch it into the green bowl I posted last weekend, and stuck the Gerber spoon, fork, knife (green and blue handles pictured below) poking out the edges. It a little obnoxious, but I usually give pottery, fork/spoon and bib, and knitted cap... so it's a little more special.

Rattle, tat-tat... after that oh so cute felted flower rattle I had to make another. So here is the mushroom I finished tonight.

Friday I finished the switch plate. I have sketched out several designs to paint, I wanted to see how my ideas translate onto pottery. This one didn't turn out as I pictured it, but now I know what to do different. I do love the colors... Looking for a little input, anyone?

I had coffee with Jill, one of my favorite peeps in Park Rapids. We met prince charming there too... well Jill knew him, I only recognized him from the opera. I told My Peanut* "I met Prince Charming today" at dinner and he didn't seem impressed or threatened, maybe it was the big grin on my face (because I thought I was being cute). I did admit to the gentleman that I can't stop singing the Agony song... so darn catchy. If you haven't a clue what I am talking about check YouTube for Into the Woods.

Frog Relocation

I was dipping pottery in my (basement) studio when I heard Farm Boy* tell me there were a bunch little frogs in the sump pump. We're not sure how they got into the house but in any case... he was going to move them into the swamp. The next evening I went down to take a shower and there were 2 frogs with me! OK, I love wildlife probably more than the next guy... but not so much in my house. Immediately that evening 6 frogs were relocated, and next day 3 more were relocated into the swamp.

I have yet to posted anything about our home projects at the farm, but this is the bathroom....

It has been under construction since October 2007. As old farm houses built in the 1940's go it has one bathroom, so I feel very fortunate that we have a shower in the sauna (where the frogs were)! The new tub is cool, jets and all, but for everyday I like a shower. We have marble wall tiles and slate floors to install... they will be awesome and complementary to the HUGE sink we bought.

About the sink, it's perfect for the 2 of us. First of all I have to quote one of my best friends Jess after getting married herself, "Sharing is soooo hard!" This sink solves all our problems, seriously... ok, well really close. One of the reasons I don't really invite people over... you have to have long arms to reach the TP.

When it's a completed project it will be really awesome. then it's on to the closet, the floors, the office, etc...

Now it's time to say good-bye...
These are the final days for the Hen Who Crows. We've put up with the not so rooster craw she does, and have been feeding her for 2 years. I heard some old quote recently "The hen who crows lays no eggs." I thought it was a euphemism for something... maybe it is and I just don't get it, but for me it is what it is and it's she has not provided one little egg, and she is NOT a rooster.


The garden is doing wonderful, except those plants that just didn't want to grow this year... 'you know which you are (spinach and watermelon).' We've harvested a wonderful head of cabbage, which made it's way into my crockpot for a traditional cornbeef n' cabbage meal. It seems that will last us until Sunday at least!


The pipeline company was doing some low fly bys this morning, so I went out to see the plane and saw a fabulous and rather large deer, which reminds me of why I love it out here.


Note: *101 names for my husband (all very nice).

another sunny day

A hodge-podge picture so you can see the entire scene I had from the house stoop. We have not lost a chicken this week, and so I am very happy. I am currently working on the deck... it's just too nice not to! Thank God for wireless!


Monday we had a couple guests arrive, Piper, Michael & Polkah-Dot. They are working the We Fest and Polkah is staying on the farm for her own little vacation.


They could not have come at a better time! I was getting prepared for a Paint Your Own Pottery gig with Family Campers at Northern Pines Resort and had 39 painters scheduled. Oh man, the fun, frantic, festivities ensued without a hitch thanks to my super-artist-friend helpers.


So after such a busy day I used my $10 off Coupon at Beagle Books and picked up Skinny Bitch. Read 1/2 of it, nothing new there that I haven't read anywhere else. It's all just stated with such extreemely rude language that it's hard to get into it. Once I got past that, they are funny ladies.

I spent a little time teaching myself a silly song on the guitar so I can play it for My Man* while camping.

And for the next 3 days we'll be glaze firing 44 pieces of pottery.

Anyhow, it's another sunny and warm day in Minnesota... the kind that makes you wish you didn't have a job, just a good pair of sunglasses, a camera, a big floppy hat and a blanket spread on the grass... with a good book.

a random August weekend

I went to the NLO Into the Woods production on Thursday night. It was great! I hadn't heard of the Broadway theater production, but they used fairy tails from Brothers Grimm. I was so caught up in the catchy, witty lyrics that I forgot to listen to The Violinist* playing too. Oh my I just have to say that the princes singing the 2 duets about 'Agony' is hilarious.

A complete set; I finished my knitting hat Friday night while I watched the news. It’s still a little big but I will add felt liners to the mittens and brim of the hat… and now I have something for myself for winter. Excuse bad picture of me... it was late at night waiting for My Peanut* to get back from NLO.

Saturday breakfast provided by our wonderful little Gold Stars. Then I was off to mowing the yard with the hand me down, time saving, riding Husky that my father gave me last summer. Oh, what a relief! The yard still takes 3 hours to mow, and of course that doesn't include what Farm Boy* mows with his MF tractor, but the old JD riding mower use to cause me lots of problems (steering wheel breaking off, screws falling out while I was mowing, engine parts coming lose, etc...) and this Husky mows well.

I felted coasters too this weekend too, I like that each is a little different. I did them all with roving wool and a needle.

I was cleaning the kitchen Saturday after making dinner for the family, and decided a hammer is the best solution for these 2 blue pottery blue pieces that have been setting around reminding me of my last glaze firing failure. I really should check into mosaics!

As I was typing the above, there was an incident in the yard... I got there packin' in time to see this pile of feathers and the chicken running back out of the woods. One dog was on the trail of the pesky fox, the other decided rolling in the scent of chicken feathers was more fun I guess, stinker (but the poor guy needs some surgery)!

So my coffee and me sat out in the yard watching, admiring the lovely Day Lilies by The Mechanic's* shop. These flowers take no maintenance... nor did I plant them, they came with the farm.

The shortest row in front is what I started stacking last night and finished this morning after coffee. The Logger* will be cutting more tomorrow I am sure. We are about 1/2 way ready for winter with the amount of wood split/stacked.

Well, I best get into the garden, since I discovered it doesn't weed itself.

Note: *101 names for husband

it's a beautiful morning

I just wanted to post the picture I see in the morning while I am working from my home office.

try, try again

This is my 3rd go at knitting something for myself... the first 2 hats were too big and you would think I would just buy a pattern. I think it's more about being lazy than too cheap. I tried to shrink the hat so it is a shade different now... figure it'll all match in the end.

This is my 2nd attempt at whole wheat tortillas. The first time I ground the whole wheat berries and it was not fine enough. This time they tasted wonderful even though they are not perfectly round. So now we're set for breakfast burritos homestyle! The Cultivator is buying me a stone mill to make the flour easier. So excited about a flour mill, you'd think I was getting a Red Ryder BB Gun!

Well I am off to knit my hat while my 2 loaves of WW bread are baking.

the good egg

We decided to try a new laying chicken breed this year, the Gold Star. Seems they lay about 1 month before the rest of the hens. It was just in time too, we actually had to buy a dozen eggs last week. We had older pullets, but we also have a fox who discovered the food supply, and ate all our layers, except one hen... but she doesn't lay eggs, just crows like a rooster (figures the fox didn't take her!). We call her Hen Who Crows and she may be dinner this summer. If she's going to crow like a rooster, she should protect like a rooster would too!

I posted about my sad Clematis the other day. My mom replied to my post by email: "Clematis' like to have the base covered with mulch/pine needles, etc. Water so that it is once a week but let the water hose on very low trickle and let it soak for SEVERAL hours. Cook roots and warm leaves. Don't cut the dry stems as they will probably recover with manure and then mulch and move water. said to put some manure on it and put the water on a trickle for most of the day." So I went to the barn Saturday and got a bucket of dry manure and followed mom's directions... we'll see if it perks up.

Our beans are growing well, which is awesome because they are my favorite. I know The Cultivator doesn't like when they are frozen, but I was thinking of blanching and freezing some so I can enjoy during the winter months. I will have to do some research on this.

I made a couple stops this weekend on my weekly grocery store run: the farmers market, the book store and the flourist.

1. I met a woman who will breed her goats to sell us a few in 2009 (awesome!).
2. Checked with the flourist on Alliums, to see if she was ordering them this year. She said September order. I am planting bulbs this year after seeing them in Ave's wedding... oh so wonderful!
3. Picked up a copy of David Sedaris' new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames... hehehe, so funny.

This week I'm going to the NLO show to see The Cultivator fiddle.

ML's atoms

Brainstorming about my friend ML... and 9 years of friendship.

When someone says, "Life Decision" they are most often only making the choices that alter the type of human existence they will be experiencing… your heart is burned at a much greater magnitude. Just know that He has a plan for you Sunshine.

I think since you’ve been feeling so terrible that your happy atoms are somewhere in Ireland walking the coastline wishing you could join them.

Felting

... Thanks Laureen for showing me how to felt, now I have yet ANOTHER hobby that I absolutely am loving and not sure how much time I can spend to create the things floating around in my mind.

...and at least this is a flower I won't be destroying.

Status on my Clematis... not so good. I watered it yesterday and the vines that had grown up the topiary (and actually bloomed this summer) are dried and dead. There are some leaves at the base still green, I will get some dried manuer and try and make it better.

Garden by the pottery studio

This will take quite a bit of vision for you to read this and see what I see, and even more time for me to pull it off, did say 5 year plan? ...maybe it'll be more like 10 year plan.

Ok lots of work to be done but lets not get side tracked... we're garden planning! The picture below will eventually be the front of the pottery studio .

This area is 55 feet wide x 29 feet deep. Windows and a door will be on this face of the building. I want to start here and keep it fairly natural with stone and grass walkways... but clean and short. So here's what I had in mind...

Research to be done:

What type of flagstone, other flat stone or as I was reading in Mother Earth News recycled concrete...

Do I need to put something under each stone or just dig down so they lay even with the ground?

Do the flowers I want to use grow in my zone 3a/b, Spacing the plants/flowers in the beds? (list below)

Work to be done (not including building work):

Remove rail road ties from feed lots fences.

Move bus (oh quite a sight)

Pull weeds & thisle

Level Ground

Flowers, plants, grasses I have my eye on:

Queen of the Prairie,Hostas,Allium,Miscantus Sinensis,Lambs Ear, Euphorbias

I am starting with the smallest flower garden I want, first of all because I have to still keep up with farm chores, but also so there is more chance of survival of each of these areas I want to plant.

Hops

We moved to the country to live in nature and create a self-sustaining lifestyle. It will take a lot of work and a long time to feel like we’ve actually reached our goals. But I definitely feel like The Cultivator was the right man to have in this life adventure…

Here are the hops he’s growing for his beer brewing:

Grow and Cook Foods

The Northern Lights Opera Company is putting on Into the Woods musical for the next couple weekends, so The Cultivator is playing violin with them.

Anyhow, Tuesday was the only day he has off this week so we had planned a date night in town. As it got closer to time to go into town, I suggested we spend time in the garden weeding together. It was nice to have conversation while in the garden… sort of "cultivating our relationship" and then he brought in the tiller. Genius, he finished the ½ of the garden that I didn’t get to over the weekend in 1/3 the time!

What is your favorite garden tool?

Mine is this rake:

And I think if I had a good hoe it would probably save some time, ours is seriously dull. I watch The Cultivator use one and it looks so effortless, but when I use it I feel like I am going to throw out my back. A little hoe training could go a long way.

I know I talked about no experience in the garden. So while I watched the news after dinner there was a commentary on renowned Chef Alice Walters. She was teaching kids to grow and cook foods. This is kind of lifestyle changes I am trying to incorporate into my life (and the purpose of moving to the country), and exactly the kind of experience our children should have.

One last thing , my overgrown radishes are woody… it was dog gluttony as I tossed them over the fence.

Good Titles

Hazards of gardening...

Things that eat me...

What the bug...

Heap of compost...

To begin...

The Cultivator* has 2 green thumbs which I feel makes up for my lack of one. Right? (Note: *101 names for my husband, all very nice names)

My goal with this blog is to spend more time researching plants & flowers in the upper mid-west so I can plant a backyard flower garden. Target date 5 years. I’ve bought a magazine Cottage Gardens.

I won’t bore anyone with all the plants I’ve killed mostly unintentionally (those pesky ferns The Cultivator had before we married).

We also have a vegetable garden, which I confess I just don’t know much about either...

Stuff like:
When is a tomato ripe enough to be picked?
How often do you pick beans?
How can you tell when tubers like beats and onions are ready to harvest?
How often do you weed a garden? (when The Cultivator starts getting frustrated is my clue)
*Note- I've been lead to believe that you don't weed until things come up initially.
How long should I water for?
If it isn’t doing well is there something I should do to help it?
What if your seed never sprouts?
Is it legal to shoot the birds eating your bean sprouts?
When I pick spinich do I pull the whole head like lettus, but cut swiss chard?
And those darn strawberries… I waited too long to plant them and watered dead stumps for 2 weeks. What a waste!

Besides the vegetable garden I have kept 1 clematis, and 1 peony alive for 4 years. I have 2 house plant for about 8 months now, and a Peace Lily I bought in March it's touch and go though, I think I need to repot it. But how do I know how big of a pot?


Anyhow after hearing a bit of complaining about my lack of participation in the garden on Friday night, I spent the weekend weeding. I was getting the grasses close to beets, when… oops I pulled up one, then two. Ok, so I will move on and get the big stuff, leaving the less established plants alone.

Then I happened upon a strange a row of nothing, hmmm and another row… and I am thinking to myself this leaf kind of looks like a pepper, but since I planted the pepper plants 1 row up I know I am wrong. Then I spot 2 plants, no idea what they are but I weed everything except those. Then the row past that is odd, it’s not marked with the usual stick, and it’s sort of random. I decide to pull it and see if it looks familiar out of the dirt. Yep it’s an onion… duh. I sort of thought it was familiar looking. So I quickly stuck it back in the hole from which it came and went inside to work in the pottery studio.