PLANTING PEAS

I DECIDED TO POST SOME OLD PICTURES I HAD TAKEN BEFORE THE GRANDCHILDREN WENT BACK TO COLORADO THIS SPRING. HERE IS EMMA WHO DROVE THE 'JOHN DEERE' OUT TO MY GARDEN TO PLANT PEAS JUST BEFORE THEY LEFT TO GO HOME. SHE LEARNED FAST--SHE'S PRESSING THE SOIL DOWN AFTER PLACING THE SEED!

 

ME WITH THE PACKET OF SEED, EMMA BUSILY HOEING!

 

THE HORIZON (WEST) FROM THE BACK OF MY GARDEN. THIS TIME OF YEAR THIS SAME PICTURE WOULD BE BLOCKED BY CORNSTALKS AND MORNING GLORY VINES (SEE PREVIOUS POST). BUT I LOVE THIS PICTURE. EMMA HAS A REAL LOVE FOR PLANTING, IT SEEMS. LAST YEAR SOPHIE HELPED TOO, BUT I THINK SHE WAS TAKING A NAP WHEN THE PEA-PLANTING PICTURED ABOVE OCCURRED!

DOESN'T EMMA LOOK HAPPY? ACTUALLY THE PEAS PODS WERE THE BEST THING IN THE GARDEN SO FAR THIS YEAR, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE POTATOES. I HAVE A HARD TIME GROWING THINGS IN ABUNDANCE. I GUESS IT'S OUR SOIL. BUT IT SEEMS THAT WHATEVER EMMA PLANTS COMES UP BEAUTIFULLY! WISH SHE WAS ALWAYS HERE AT PLANTING TIME! WISH THEY WERE ALL ALWAYS HERE!

BLESSINGS, LORI

ONLY A FEW DAYS LATER......

I went out this afternoon on another berry-picking expedition, forgetting all about the nest I found a couple days ago (see last post).  Suddenly I was looking down at this newly hatched bird, completely wet and without feathers.  Or so it appeared.  About five hours later we went out and took this picture.  His first downy feathers had now dried and fluffed out and he was eager to eat.

His nest mate still hadn't hatched yet at 7pm. I expect to find another hungry mouth peeping out from this same nest next time I pick berries! Blessings, LORI

THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL....

Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Matthew 9:37

Look what I found while out harvesting the vast amounts of wild black raspberries in our woods and fencerows! Suddenly I came upon this little nest (wren?). Later I went back to take these pictures and saw Mrs. Wren leaving the area in a hurry. I am so blessed to live in the country and get glimpses of these little treasures that go unnoticed by the fast-paced world. If I hadn't been up close in the thickets, this little gem of a site would have been missed. It was carefully hidden way back at the edge of our woods in a bramble of berries when I happened upon this nest.

The scripture I cited above became so real to me as I tried to harvest the berries the last two evenings. The ripe berries are so thick it is humanly impossible for one person to pick all of them. I found myself leaving many behind, becoming choosy and gravitating toward only the largest berries to save time. I felt really bad that so many other berries were left to dry out and be wasted, but I simply had no one to help me harvest. Jesus words are so true. The harvest of souls out there waiting to hear the Gospel is great! We need more laborers (equipped Christians) to get out into the harvest fields and start sharing the good news!

 

The above picture is me standing on our back deck after my first berry-picking expedition Wednesday evening after work. I got almost 5 qts., as you can see and that was all from one fencerow. I left two or three other prime areas untouched. Do you like my outfit? It included a tight-fitting bandana under the straw hat, long, baggy pants and hunting boots as well as the long-sleeved shirt. Picking conditions are not friendly. Thorns, bugs, spiders, mosquitoes, possibly ticks, poison ivy, uneven ground, etc, etc.

Here are the berries on my Mom's kitchen table awaiting their "bath." I picked almost as many on Thursday evening too.

Look what berry-picking does to your hands! My fingers and nails are still stained this morning after two separate rounds of picking the berries. Harvesting is hard work!

Here are the berries dripping through the homemade jelly bag. I place an old cloth diaper (never used, of course :)), over a large kettle, secure it with clothespins and then the cooked berries drip overnight and strain through the cloth to make a clear liquid for jelly.

I hope to get to the actual jelly-making today sometime after I weed the garden, put the wash on the line, and cut out play dresses to take to my granddaughters! Busy day! 

Remember the harvest.....it is plentiful! And though the harvest conditions are tough and it can be hard work, the rewards are sweet! Blessings, LORI

A VISIT TO THE SUGAR BUSH

What a wonderful time we had last Sunday afternoon! We took the granddaughters to a county park east and south of LaGrange, Indiana for Maple Syrup Days! Here's Emma posing at the entrance to the "Sugar Bush,"--better known as the woods.

Papa and the girls enjoying the crispy cold, but sunny afternoon!

Emma and Granny sitting at the front of the horse drawn wagon that took us for a ride into the "Sugar Bush" where we learned all about the process of tapping trees and making syrup. The wagon even stopped out in the woods and the guide took a pail off the tree and let us dip our fingers in to taste the sap!

Emma and Sophie sitting outside the Sugar House where gallons and gallons of sap was boiling down. The steam cloud inside was huge and venting through a cupola in the roof, but the smell was wonderful! Sophie is finishing her second maple syrup sucker.

Granny and the girls next to a maple tree. This Sugar Bush is filled with 600 or so pails just like this one--a traditional type of pail with cover. Plastic pails are used in some areas, such as the roadside I photographed in a former post. The sap runs best when the nights are below freezing and the days sunny and warmer than 32 degrees. The morning before our tour, the guide said every pail in the woods was overflowing!

Papa and the girls sitting on bales of straw near the Sugar House.

People dressed as pioneers were boiling sap down in this cauldron. We came home pleasantly scented like woodsmoke and sweet syrup steam! The girls tasted cotton candy made from maple sugar and ate maple syrup suckers shaped like maple leaves. But most of all, they loved the horse drawn wagon rides. Since we were some of the last visitors of the afternoon we actually got to take two wagon rides through the Sugar Bush! Wonderful memories and an awesomely educational field trip! I thought of God's great provision and all the various types of sweetness He blesses us with (like little grandchildren) as we rode through the woods! Blessings, LORI

MAPLE SYRUP TIME

Our rural county roads are lined with sights like this right now. Many people are tapping the maple trees this time of year. I'm almost jealous of the tree-tappers. I could easily live my life in the old-fashioned, homesteading, country manner. Problem is, no one else in the family is all that excited about such an endeavor and that lifestyle takes the cooperation of a whole household. When I hear of someone who is raising goats or sheep, I dream of my own flock. I've only been able to raise the chickens so far--a job not requiring the help of more than one person.

Every year when I see the trees tapped it reminds me of my childhood when one year my parents decided to tap our maple trees and boil the syrup down for a science project for me. I will never forget all the work (mostly on their part!). But I'd love to try it again!

My favorite reading often consists of homesteading magazines and historical non-fiction. This time of year I'm beginning to miss my garden and long for the satisfaction of new green sprouts coming up in neat rows. I just thought this picture typified spring and after the snowfall this week--we could use some thoughts of spring! Blessings, LORI

JUST SAY CHEESE!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to make cheese? Well, I have. So I tried it. I used a simple recipe for Farmer's cheese requiring no special ingredients or tools. I was amazed at how easy this was!

FIRST PICTURE: The curds just after I took them out of the cooking pan. I am using my old jelly bag for a cheesecloth--it's not dirty, just stained from years of making black raspberry jelly!

SECOND PICTURE: Me squeezing the excess water out of the cheese. It's kind of like dry cottage cheese at this point. In fact, I can imagine using this same recipe and adding a bit of cream or something, skipping the next few steps and making cottage cheese. Don't know for sure if that would work or not, but I 'd like to experiment with it.

THIRD PICTURE: A nice loaf of Farmer's Cheese. This is a very mild tasting cheese, much like mozzarella. I enjoy it and treat myself to a chunk of it about every day.

There are no pictures of the last step, but after we gathered the curds into the loaf we pressed more water out by placing the cheese between two slanted cutting boards and weighting it with an iron skillet. About an hour later, we had some nice cheese!

I saved the whey--water that was left after the curds formed. I used it to make bread the next day and honestly, it was the nicest bread I can ever remember making and the family says so too! I guess there are a lot of uses for whey and I am also using it to water my compost pile. Very interesting experience with cheesemaking!

FINAL ASSESSMENT: I enjoyed this process and would definitely do it again.

I am currently enjoying lettuce from my own garden as well as new potatoes. My pea pods are almost ready and a few strawberries are appearing. It's been fun to make lots of home food these past few weeks with the bounty of gardens and laying hens. I'd like to be more self-sufficient, but it does take work!
BLESSINGS, LORI

COUNTRY COLLAGE--Weekend scenes from our house and our new property!

Though a bit blurry, this is a campfire-grilled tribute to our favorite lifestyle!

Rhiannon holding the campfire treat--a bag of popcorn from her employer!

A hen party at the amazing squash-growing compost pile!

Rat-killing attempt in the chicken coop--second night in a row!

The first egg of the year!

Mom snipping beans while we sat around the campfire.

Where I think the house should sit at the new property!

A picture of me standing between the two tracts of acreage we recently purchased.

One of the "fence gates" at the new property.

A big, old apple tree on our new property!

This morning Clint preached at a small church nearby. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the goodness of the Lord's outdoors by having a campfire and taking a trip to our new property where Clint had recently cut paths with the tractor. Beautiful day! I hope your Sunday was restful and enjoyable as well! Blessings, LORI

A MICHIGAN NOVEMBER

GIRLS DRESSED TO KILL (Deer, that is)!


Welcome to November in Michigan! The opening day of the deer hunting season (gun season) fell on a Sunday this year. Instead of having the annual deer camp yesterday, our cousins hosted the event today. This is a picture of my husband's cousin, Gloria, on the left, our daughter, Rhiannon in the middle, and Abby, another cousin on the right. Don't they look cute? I am the only girl in our immediate family that doesn't hunt. Even my daughter in law got a license last year. But since she's 8 months pregnant, she is not hunting this year. We all gathered for the Deer Camp festivities in Gloria and Charlie's very comfortable pole building, complete with woodstove and bulletin boards of former hunting successes. We had a huge carry-in meal of delicious foods and lots of fun and fellowship around the table. Someone brought a venison noodle casserole that was scrumptious! I am not a venison fan, but this was enough to make me want to can some if we get a deer. Venison will be welcome to many Michigan families, especially this year. Our state is hard hit with the economic downturn, more so than many other places and this year's hunt will help many families stretch an already strained food budget.

Instead of hunting, I prefer to stay home and knit the warm items that the hunters need. Clint talked me into knitting and felting a sweater for him a few years ago. It was designed specifically for hunting. I chose a green/black wool and made a huge oversized sweater. It has a front placket with antler horn buttons. I felted it to a perfect fit for him and am still amazed that it turned out right! Felted wool is virtually element-proof! He says it's one of his best hunting garments for the very cold days.

I was thinking today about November as I took my walk. I used to really love this time of year, but for the past couple of years we have had kind of "trying" Novembers. There's been sickness and other things to deal with. I began to dread the early darkness of the time change and the increased indoor time that I used to love so much. I was reminded to try to enjoy the particular beauty of the season for what it is instead of complaining and dreading the soon-coming winter.

November in Michigan is pretty in a unique way. The sight of a faded red barn against the deep blue-gray, cloudy skies is like something from a painting. Scenes like that are abundant in my home area. Rustling cornfields and brown leaves add to the picture. The colors of nature this time of year always remind me of hand-dyed wool! The whole landscape reminds me of my favorite hobbies! It makes me want to knit. By the way, I started a pair of self-striping socks for Emma last night and they are going together rapidly. So cute and so tiny!

I got the privilege of hanging out a freshly washed load of sheets today. The cold air and stiff breeze will make them smell wonderful! This is a blessing of country life.

I received a phone call today from a friend who just finished reading "The Fields of May." She was urging me to let her know as soon as "A Sturdy Fence," and it's sequel are out. Another cousin mentioned to me today that she finished the book as well and loved it. I was thrilled. Especially since I plan to get the manuscript for "A Sturdy Fence" over to the publishers before this week is out! That was a real boost!

Today I am thanking God for the little November blessings that we enjoy. More spiritual insights and thoughts coming soon! Blessings, LORI