Shaping up the main bed for spring.

The main garden is beginning to shape up. At least on paper. It's still a little shabby in real life. The seedlings are still tiny in part of the garden. But other parts are thriving and most of it (again, on paper) is filling in nicely. See!

Only problem is that in real life everything shaded in light green is 'Reserved' space for tomatoes. Empty spots. Of course they've only been empty since the frost that hit us about 3 weeks back but it seems that it's been bare for eternity. LOL. That is where I grew legumes last season and where the determinate tomatoes will go for spring.

Space for 12 plants. Should I mention how many seedlings are growing right now as I speak for these 12 spots? Well, I started a total of 50 tomato seeds...

I have had a few no shows (stupice again...) I'll get to the list in another post - but meanwhile these babies are off to a good start and will be fighting for their chance at those prized spots. :-D

So, let's go on a little tour of the main bed as see what it really looks like. Shall we?

Snow peas are growing well and recently needed a fence to support them. They will soon be climbing the poles for support. Looks like I'll have the first flowers this week!

 In between the two little rows of the snow peas I planted Kuroda carrots. They are happy in the shade provided by the peas. Hopefully soon they will take off in response to the peas nitrogen fixation. A bonus for them both, indeed.

Next is the space reserved for the 6 spring determinate tomatoes. This area held my Eastland Lima beans from May through frost. <3. These little workhorses will be coming back this year for sure and for certain! But for now it is in need of turning and adding a fresh layer of mulch. I'm also planting ground control marigolds when I get it turned and mulched. (Thanks Daphne for the seed!) So far I haven't had a problem with nematodes in the raised bed but I'm not inviting trouble and just a few feet away in the new bed I had a horrible infestation on a tomato just a few weeks ago. :-(

Ah, The poor Pink grapefruit tree, and then the sport reserved for 3 more tomatoes, and wow this is where the garden is really looking rough. Tiny seedlings and the winters frost make it seem bare but if you look close the seedlings are there, just are just lagging behind. They were planted a few weeks before the frost and were badly injured from it. Some were replanted and others have regenerated but it's taken time. It's doubtful that any more lettuce, or spinach will have time to mature this year with the temperatures that we're experiencing. I've not had good luck in the past but this year is the worst yet for bitterness and as the days get longer they will certainly go to seed. Only good thing to come of that is my herbs are fairing very well. Except basil. Cilantro is growing, Parsley, Rosemary of course. That makes me happy.  This is the earliest I've harvest these favorites.

After the Citrus and the bare area is the salad bar. ;-D Carrots and lettuce and radish fillin as fast as I harvest them here.

 

Then the cabbage, broccoli, and leeks (sorry it needs rotated!) a planting of baby carrots and onions finish off the bed.

 

At the end of the bed between the onions is this little dity of parsley that is a leftover from summer. :-) and some radishes that are a couple weeks old.

After you go around the end and come back it's peas! English shelling peas. Guess I'll try to harvest some of the onions that are closest as scallions or green onions to get a little space before they get close to bloom time. I wouldn't want the crop to be compromised because of my frivolity of not wanting to give up a few onion sets.

The earlier planted brassicas are here in the shade, where autumns heat wasn't as harsh on them. They are starting to perform well now, but I'm worried that such a warm winter won't allow the younger plants to mature.

 

That wraps up the main garden. But I wanted to show you whats going on over around the pool pump - 'cause its really pretty cool. :-D I planted out my 'extra' strawberries and they are enjoying the place pretty well. The kiwi vine has officially pronounced spring to be sprung. It shouldn't hurt this vine. It's not going to set fruit any time soon and frost wouldn't really hurt it anyway. It's kinda nice seeing the life come back. In just the few days time since I tool this picture the vine has put on 100 leaves!

While I was out taking pictures I went around to see what other signs of spring I saw. (Besides the thermometer!) Here are a few:

Now hopefully that bud on my peach tree is just a single blossom and the rest of the tree doesn't follow. I really would cry if I lost the fruit to a frost/freeze. It's been a long time coming and this is the first year we expect a real harvest. At least this is the first year we are holding out HOPE for a real harvest. *fingers crossed*

Now that the bed is sorted out for Spring - I'm just ITCHING to get the seeds out and get things in the ground. The weather is teasing me and it seems too perfect to wait another 4-6 weeks to plant. Maybe I can find some pots on sale somewhere? LOL I guess it's good that the cool weather plantings are not mature yet. Otherwise, I'd have no excuse not to start some of those bean seeds, zucchini and other warm weather friends!

'Till next time

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 1.23.12

It's Monday again. I'm linking in to Daphne's Dandelions. Make sure you stop by her place to check out what people are harvesting and how they are using stored harvests all over the world!

Today I have a lot to share. I finished the garden clean up and it feels GREAT! Of course staying out of the carrot patch is tough for me and the little bits don't make that easy for me. These little tasty treats are just that. A great little treat in the garden.
 Most of my harvest were simple handfuls of heaven. Bits of broccoli and berries as they ripened.But I also managed to gather a large salad and a few other good things, 2 pounds and change of radish a pound of greens....

oh my - it really was a productive week!

        The garden seemed happy to be giving it's bounty to me. The weather was perfect and I'm pretty sure that had something to do with it. That scares me though, because a lot of my fruit is showing signs of an early spring. I sure hope we don't see any more freezes now. :-(. Anyway. Here are the rest of the pictures!

 

  So, Yes my dehydrator was running a bit this weekend. I dried 8 ounces of rosemary. :-) It smelled rather Christmas like in my home. I have to remember to do that at Christmas instead of after next year. LOL.
Honeybell tangelos stole the show for breakfast, and the grapefruit got pushed to the side for a change (pink grapefruit) the key limes are HUGE this go 'round. and the Meyer lemons are showing a LOT of damage from whatever disease they have (I still think it's greening and need to find out more SOON!)

Tomatoes are turning very fast and it looks like sauce will be made by Wednesday, (forgot to get weight on those I think about 4 pounds right now)  6 ounces of Spinach, 1 pound of lettuce total for the week, GAH didn't weight the carrots again... they get eaten right away. By volume I'll say they weighed 9 ounces because that is approximately what the daikon weighs and about the same volume once cut up.  Considering how many we ate. Green onions 5oz Broccoli 6.2oz, Snap/snow peas 4oz, Strawberries 8oz. Forgot to weight the citrus. I'll measure the remaining and add 6 tangelos 2 lemon and 2 grapefruit worth.

On top of all that we had a very busy weekend so expect a few posts this week if I can get to them. LOTS of doctors appointments, and audiology appointments this week coming as well so hopefully I'll get to put everything down.

 'Till next time!

Barbie~

Instant Oatmeal - and more 'tater talk

*GAG*
I haven't eaten instant oatmeal in so long I forgot how it tasted! I will on occasion mix a bag in with my steel cut oats or in with the mix that I usually eat (it's oats, barley, rye, and flax)
Here is what it looks like:

When I add a bag of the instant oatmeal with a large serving of this I usually use a simple flavoring. Blueberry for instance or banana, cinnamon maybe. I'm not much of one for say the dinosaur eggs or any of the flavors I keep on hand for quick servings for the kids. I like to mix up 2-3 servings at a time and feed both my husband and myself and fruit on top keeps us both full until a late lunch time easily.

However, this morning I was running behind and grabbed a little bag of the instant stuff on the way out the door and decided it would do. I added  it to a bag of plain instant so at least it wouldn't be too sweet. Apparently I was wrong. VERY wrong! Someone please remind me not to do that again. My goodness I can't believe my children eat that stuff. Wait, let me change that I can't believe I ever let them eat that stuff without having tried it myself. Shame on me. I don't think they will like it when I stop buying the sugary stuff, but I know I will feel better about serving it to them when they eat what I've been eating for years. *shudder* GAH - Bad Mommy award to me today! Not only was it terribly sweet (with the package of plain added) but it was nothing but mush! Ewww, who would enjoy that? OK, I shouldn't criticize that part I suppose. I mean I eat hummus like it's going out of style.

Now, as for the potatoes. Rich didn't like it when I mentioned the buckets, just like I knew he wouldn't. So, here is what I've come up with. Thanks to a comment by sb158 I got pointed to THIS LINK about growing potatoes under straw mulch. This is a fantastic idea and a way I could actually grow the potatoes out in the front beds (Teehee, you see why this is such a great idea, right?!) in the new planter area that I was looking for something low growing to fill in anyway! So,  I'm officially on the lookout for some clean straw. Around these parts it's hard to find. Usually it's Coastal hay so I will be doing some research to see if the same is applicable to hay as well or if the structure would become too dense and rot out prematurely. Meanwhile feed stores beware - I'm a callin'! I will still have a couple buckets as well I think I can put a few of them behind the pomegranate trees without him freaking out on me. Maybe I can put something decorative in front of them and then plant a pumpkin vine there as soon as the strawberry's finish their thing in 2 more months or so. 

 For the sweet potatoes though I might have to get creative and build a box. I could put it in the playground area against the fence. There are no sprinklers there, but plenty of sun. Watering would only get done Friday and Sunday so they might not grow as well...Maybe I could go soil on the bottom and straw mulch the rest to conserve the moisture.... *sigh* Well - for now anyway it's just dreaming because if the first set of potatoes doesn't get started and under the radar then the sweets won't be growing either. Truth be told He prefers the regular potatoes that can be eaten early and young, but I prefer the sweets and those are much better taken when mature and left to get large and sweet in the Florida heat. He fairs a much better chance at getting what he wants than I do.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Impulse buys...

An impulse buy led me to seed potatoes.

I ran across them at the local feed store. I thought I was smart when I 'only' bought 3 pounds of them. I have been wanting to grow potatoes and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to grow them myself, organically. :-D

There are a few things that most people don't know. Things I didn't know until yesterday when I did a little more research into growing my own 'taters.  The #1 thing I learned is this:

3 pounds of seed potatoes = 50 ft row of garden space.

I only have aprox. 125 ft.

That won't quite work. LOL. Not by a long shot. So I started thinking. Hmmm....

(photo taken from Deb's blog)

Deb over at Paradise Cove grew potatoes in 5 gallon buckets... but I would need 10 buckets for that many eyes...

So I'm guessing that I'm going to be sprouting these eyes and looking for buckets all the while. I'll also be trying to think of a secondary game plan because I don't think I can talk my ever patient honey bear into letting me set 10 buckets around the porch. Especially when I happen to like sweet potatoes even more, and I already told them to put me down for 3 more pounds of another variety. OOPS!

The cost was less than the catalogs, and there was no shipping. Think this goes against my seed purchase? Nope.  Rich happens to like the idea of taters. That is until I tell him about those buckets....guess it's a good thing we'll be eating some of them (as long as they aren't green) so now we can add it to the food bill instead of against the garden tally!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 1.16.12

This post was started Monday. It was even intended Monday, but my Fire was giving me a hassle for some reason when it came to typing in the appropriate space to post here. I have no idea what that is about so I'm going to have to play a little before I attempt to remote post again.

This weekend was a long weekend for a lot of people. Me included. That meant I actually had daylight hours above and beyond normal to get some gardening done. YIPEE! Unfortunately though my hubby was in bed most of the weekend and that meant I had the littles with me when I was in the yard so there are not any pictures to show you. At least not yet. Hopefully those will come this weekend, along with a whole lot more pictures!

More carrots were sown, and some more 'little gem' lettuce (Thanks Daphne!) the tatsoi was transplanted (8) and some of the spinach was moved around. It's doing worlds better now. We did harvest 6 carrots for a snack, a handful of snap peas, about 10 globe radish, 3 daikons, a turnip (accident he was in with the radish whoops!) a grapefruit, lemon, 2 limes and an orange and a few of the green tomatoes from last weeks frost had turned and were consumed with a smile. :-) Weights will have to be added tomorrow because I left the sheet on the counter on my way out the door this morning.

I do have these few pictures for you. We also harvested this oh so yummy jewel. I think KNOW this was every ones favorite harvest this week. I do remember the weight of this harvest. 9 ounces. It was quite a bit smaller than the Pomegranates from the grocery store but considering it's winter AND it's only the second one from the bush I think it's a success. It was wonderful... No pun intended! We are all anticipating the next fruit that will come, but the sill tree is in flower now and the second tree is dormant so I think we will have a long wait!

Here is the final haul of just pecan halves. The rest are 'pieces' and are not as valuable for cooking. (supposedly) I use pieces for things like pancakes and waffles, but these halves are what is needed for pies, cookies, candies, chocolates, dipping, and sugaring.

There is 21 pounds of pecan halves. Market value is $230.  YIKES! The pieces are already in the freezer and are an additional 15 pounds their value is another $120. We have already consumed 8 pounds!

Someone had asked about the packaging. I use the upright foodsaver like this one:

It has a few options the older foodsavers don't have that I simply can't live without. A wet or dry option, an option to seal without suction (the bottoms of the bags for instance) the option to seal containers, and a few other ditties, like holding the bag roll, and having a cutter and a slicer on board! LOVE this machine. HATED my first one. The upgrade was very  much worth the money. I still need to freeze the wet ingredients and things like green beans before trying to seal them from the best performance, but for the safety of the food that is what is best for it anyway.

This type of seal allows me to keep those pecans in my pantry for 18 months, or in my freezer for 2 years... not that we would be able to keep them that long, but if we needed to we could. Staples like rice that does normally last a year can last up to 5 years. It's amazing how  much it can extend the life of you food - not to mention that bugs simply can't find you food. That is a major bonus when you are talking about pantry staples. Being able to open only a pound or two or an item instead of being forced to open a larger container and letting some of the product going to waste is a great benefit as well.

OK- I'm off to get caught up at work. (And get caught up on my planting diagrams!)

'Till next time!

Barbie~

OCD.

Sometimes I can't turn off my brain. Like today.

I can't help but think in circles, and it stinks.

This is the circle right now:

Everything is brown from the freeze. It rained yesterday. That means the ground is ready for seeds again. I need to order seeds. I can't order seeds, I need to plant the seeds I have. I WANT to plant the seeds I have. I want to protect the seedlings I have and the seeds I plant. So I want to install a couple pieces of PVC and a little fabric dome to help keep frost off those precious babies, but I can't do that because I'm stuck at work - where everything is brown... from the freeze.

OYE>

And each circle I seem to pick up something new. A new thought or idea that sneaks in and weasels it's way into my mind. A list to make (supplies I need! Seeds I have! Space to put those seeds!) or a task to compete. It's such a viscous cycle. Never so viscous as right now though. It's almost 'Spring' here. It's only a few short weeks away from our last frost and there is manure to purchase and top off my beds, and a cattle panel to get for my tomatoes (grrr...the new fining committee for my HOA has set $100 A DAY FINES this year!) there is that whole row cover thing I want to do. Then there are the new plant markers I made yesterday...they aren't helping anything just begging to be put into place. I've also been staring at my  planting diagrams spending time dreaming, and for that matter scheming as well. I am nearing a physical ache to get into my garden and DO.

Plant diagrams are nearly empty right now They will be full again soon!

And to make matters worse my poor hubby will be laid up this weekend so I'll have to be away from the house with the kids so he can rest alone. It's been planned for a long time but that doesn't make it any easier. It makes my brain worse I can tell you because now I've got household things that need done on top of all the outdoor things I would enjoy getting done. Laundry, vacuuming, bathrooms that don't clean themselves, dishes that are piling up, and the kitchen to FINALLY reclaim from the pecan fest of late. (YEAH!)

I think I'm going mental.

Maybe I've already gone.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Havest Monday 1.9.2012

The first Harvest Monday of 2012. Linking in with Daphne's Dandelions of course! Well, not for everyone - but like every other year I tend to start hings out kind of slow. I'm usually in the deep woods of Alabama - just like this past year. I kinda like it there so it is a good place to be. :-D

I don't have a lot of pictures to show you for all that I got in because it was a massive undertaking and I was running around all crazy like. but these two pictures sum things up pretty well. Here are the green tomatoes, radishes, limas, hot peppers, and bell peppers!

Tally is: 7.5 ounce lettuce, 9 oz radish, 6lb 8oz tomato, 5oz greens, 9oz bell pepper, 6.75 oz hot peppers, 1lb lima, 4oz english peas, 2oz snow peas, 2.5 oz green beans, 4oz herbs asst

This is only half the pecans on my counter right now. AND I still have another  gallon bucket to finish off. I was truly hoping to finish them this weekend but other more pressing issues seemed to find themselves being taken care of.

Like this! WOOHOOO! (I may have been jealous of someones)

Now, it's only a el'Cheapo visquean over pvc and I'll be lucky if it last the rest of the winter and is able to be put back together next year , but for $69 it was a gamble I was willing to take. I'll gladly take that chance so that I don't spend 2 hours not steam cleaning my carpets again like I had to do yesterday after hauling out the coconut trees again. YIKES! Realistically all I need it to do it to hold an extra 5-6 degrees in for about 7 hours over night and that should easily be accomplished with a single strand of C-9's on the floor of the greenhouse. It's inside the pool screen enclosure which will make it convenient for pulling the larger pots into and out of as well. Not to mention now my seedlings can go out there on the shelves with the lights under them... ;-)

So needless to say that the tomatoes that were pulled out of the garden this weekend have replacements that have been  started and will be occupying the greenhouse by next weekend. Actually I started an entire flat. I figured why wait the extra 2 weeks to start my Spring seedlings they may take a little longer to grow out there after all. But not having them in my kitchen is a serious bonus!

In addition to this project the beans were all pulled along with the tomatoes. Well. I didn't have the heart to pull 2 of the tomato plants. The stems were still green so I cute them back just to see. I don't have much hope but I'm willing to try.

I lost a lot of my lettuce in the freeze as well so I really want to replant that but I'm afraid to do so right now. Trying to nurse so many itty bitty plants at once seems like I'm asking for trouble. If they all make it I get the feeling I'll be scrambling for space and then that is a whole other trouble.

Guess you won't hear a whole lot of harvest from me for a while. Everything is either small or dead or dormant at the moment. Strawberries are the only thing even trying to produce. Hopefully I"ll have them by the buckets soon!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

'The Property'

Over the past year I've had a few questions about 'The Property' in Alabama. Who owns it and why we are there so much. Why we work so hard there and why we call it 'ours'. So this post is all about the property. I have some aerials (luck you!) taken about 2 or 3 years ago - courtesy of Google!

This is the property:
It is located in Barbour county. Southeast Alabama. It's over 100  acres and it's an old peanut farm. I wish the picture could show the real terrain. It's hilly and craggy and just beautiful... but I do have some old pictures I can dig up somewhere to show you those. Of course it would help if some maniacal beast hadn't broken my external hard drive (TWICE!) but, I digress. I'm sure I can find SOME photos. ;-)

Anyway. the outline in orange is what our family owns. That doesn't mean me. That means my parents. I don't stand a chance at inheriting a dime, but this - this is worth far more than money to me. AND - this year (OK -2011) my parents and I made sure that was taken care of. The property is now entirely mortgage free and in the will to myself and my children, and their children. THAT means no one can turn key it. No one can turn around and sell it in 300 individual plots to the highest bidders and make it some development. Not in my lifetime, and not in my children's lifetime.

You know what that makes me? HAPPY! :-D SOOOO HAPPY!  *Doing the happy dance* 'Cause I just hit the frikkin lifetime Lotto. The Lotto for my kids- and their kids!

OK back to the property. The swirly patterns are the areas that have been planted (6 or 7 years ago now) in trees. This has been turned into a tree farm. The easiest type of farm for my parents to take care of going into their retirement. A wise decision if you ask me. Not only for them, but for us as well. It allows us to continue to be able to care for the land and the fields on a nearly quarterly basis when we can get there.  They just need to do a few things here and there and hire someone monthly to run out the tractor and either till or spray. (fields only, not the trees) Low cost and low upkeep.

LOVE IT!

There are several key features here I'd like to point out so I'll do some close ups...

This is the homestead. The silver building with the brown stripe is the barn... hmmm - Let me pull this into photoshop. I'll be right back.............................................................

.

                          Bet you didn't even miss me, did ya?
OK - so This picture might explain things a little better. The Barn, the Main House is my parents place. It was built in the late 1800's. They revamped it about 2 years ago. I posted some pictures about it. They did a great job on the place and literally went board by board so they could keep the majority of the same wood original. They did replace the glass but kept a lot of the old doors and locks (they don't REALLY lock but you can see by the aerials it's not like there are many people around to worry with. LOL. Our place is a trailer that we've put a real roof on and siding over the front so it looks, well - more like a house. But, lets get real it still looks like a trailer. Our intentions are to keep it for as long as it last being shut up all summer the way it is. We'll then build a small cabin with a loft for the kids to sleep in. Meanwhile we'll be doing some repairs to the trailer as the first signs of deterioration are fast approaching from the heat. The cheapo particle board cabinets that came with it are warping and will need replaced soon, and that is only the first of the repairs that will start.

Anyway-  The purple circles are the main pecan trees. There are several more- but those are not harvested regularly as they are too far towards the woods or in a gully, etc. These trees are the ones we get our pecans from. We only get our pecans AFTER the harvest. We don't take from the main harvest as it isn't our property and there are usually plenty that come down after the main harvest. This year we got 72 pounds!!! There is still 2 of the trees that are usually our late trees that have nuts on them that will continue to provide for the them if they want to get out there and make a few more dollars. ;-)

The blue fluerdelies? (Oh, WOW I butchered the spelling)They are the areas for open foraging. Blackberries, plums, persimmons, and a few other things like may haw and huckleberries. We used to hay in here but with no livestock any more it just doesn't make sense. Besides I really enjoy the berries there and now that we go and package for the freezer when we are up in the summer my parents are glad to have them too.

Other points of interest that help manage our herd and our/our parents lifestyle:

Of course when the picture was taken the fields weren't fully in. Right now the corn is all down and the wheat is all bent. The rye is brilliant colored and the brassicas are just happy to be cool. 

Adjacent to our property is 300 acres that belong to a generous man who also believes in managing land for wildlife and replanting when possible. We lease his property from him for a minimal amount each year and in return he allows us to use some of his trails and streams and to hunt during season. Its a win-win situation as he needs access to his landlocked property and the easiest access is from our entrance.

So the areas you see shaded in pink are the areas that we 'lease' from him. Once a year we have a meeting sign a paper and shake hands. he hands 'us' money for use of the road, 'we' hand him money for use of his fields and all is right with the world. I love neighbors like that. Additionally, he doesn't even live there. Gotta really like that! So, in the entire picture you see is my place, my parents and one other home that belongs to a military guy. He's quiet and rarely seen, if he's ever home. He's got 3 horses.

The cows that resided across the way on the old Peel farm recently moved. I miss them. When I'm there that is. I loved hearing them and seeing them. It's kinda lonely with no 'neighbors' mooing from the front door or while I'm making dinner. (across the street)

Random pictures:

 





As for those 72 pounds of pecans? (massive subject change because I ran into the pictures) They have completely and thoroughly taken over my life and my kitchen... UGH. I'm about SICK of them. Not sick of eating them (yet) but sick of seeing them and of cleaning up after them. Sick of cracking them, picking them, roasting them and picking up after them....

My husband is completely obsessed and won't stop. I see his point. I do. I mean, I don't want to waste them either but - REALLY - there isn't even room to eat dinner on the table any more. And my counters are covered, too. I'll save that picture for Harvest Monday since it's been so long. Off to try to make a birthday cake for my honey - Guess I'll sprinkle some pecans on top!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Herd Management (Or HUNTING)

There are pictures - be warned.

We processed 4 more deer. My freezer is officially stuffed. It's a great feeling to have so much food waiting for us. Oh, and a brand new freezer so we should have no problems with losing anything this time!

Ode to the deer that shall feed us - and OH DUDE to Mr Snuffy himself. The man that is so awesome at making so many of these cuts taste more like food found in fine meat markets all over the world. That man knows his stuff. Summer sausage, Italian sausage, Savory sausage, smoked sausage not to mention the regular cuts of cubed steaks, back straps.... Our family will be well fed.

First a nice strapping young buck - I believe this is the deer that we erroneously thought was a barren doe. We do get barren does and they need culled from the herd. I took one last year - but this year it turned out to be a strapping buck with a bad temperament for fighting. He broke one antler off entirely and the second antler was shattered and only had about 2" left. This is my son's second deer - and the first deer that he took by himself. It's a pretty big step, and a VERY big responsibility. One that I know he's a bit young for, but so far he has done well.

This very small doe was taken late on a warm morning.

And this older doe has served our herd well.

While it was a bit of a shame to see that buck didn't get to fully mature, it was a good lesson for my son. Mistakes are easy to make. He'll be more cautious in the future when he takes an animal. One thing that he sees during the management of the land and herd(s) is the continuous cycle and how difficult it can be. It's taken us a full 8 years of hard work not only putting out food for them, but plowing the fields and maintaining water sources and protecting them from predators (as much as possible) as well. Our initial herd was a minimal 2-3 does and whatever buck would wander onto the property. Holding them was near to impossible, especially the bucks. Now we see them (20-30) every trip and know without fail that they are raising their young here. Our fields now also hold fowl, and with good game management we've also come up with a system to feed the pigs - AND keep them away from the deers main food source as well. Very important. Turkey have moved in as well and provided us yet another food source for the Spring. It's been a rough road but one worth traveling and we are so glad that we've been able to share our management skills with our son and now our daughters as well.

The people that owned the property just 10 years ago over hunted it, over farmed it and nearly decimated the land entirely. They left it with trash piled everywhere. It took a full year to remove the trash alone. We still find odds and ends of trash here and there (in the deep woods) each trip. We have reclaimed the land for the wildlife and for ourselves! I am so glad for this. Our entire family is now benefiting. I'm able to give meat to my brother and to neighbors who are in need. To my parents who purchased the land but are unable to keep up with it, and for friends who say 'Eww, I wouldn't eat deer' and then gobble it down. :-D (I really love that part!)

Top off great hunting with good farming and WOAH NELLY! I'm in love. So my resolution for 2012? To set my goal for retirement and get some plans in place for the land. Nothing more. Nothing less. Live cleaner - Live towards my goals. :-D

'Till next time!

Barbie~

BRRRRR.....

Well, THAT just really sucked. (Pardon me, but it did!)

I spent an hour and a half last night twining lights around plants and trees. Trying desperately to save my beautiful Barbados and Brazilian Cherry trees, Strawberry guavas, Pineapple guavas, tomatoes, the yearling avocados, mango..... and sometime between 1am and 6 am (the only hours I slept) the breaker popped. Yup. No joke.

Not only that, but we went from 'Frost' to -get this - SEVEN to ELEVEN hours of HARD FREEZE. Say WTH? The temperature plummeted even 3 counties SOUTH of me. That never happens. OK, well it rarely happens. That is about as rare as snow in Miami.

*GROAN* I may as well kiss it all goodbye. Hundreds of dollars of tropicals are giving up the ghost as I type. The sickest part is that I kept these plants alive last year and now they are out there with BUDS on them. It made me sick to my stomach to see all the buds on the cherry trees and the orchids last night as I was preparing them for what was surely going to knock most of the buds off. Now I'll be more than lucky, I'll be a Lotto winner if they live.

As for tomatoes, and peppers and such that I expect to be gone. I'll pout when I have to pull them up knowing how much life they had in them just yesterday but it's expected when you garden in January that you'll lose those things some times. I'll simply restart my tomatoes and peppers and start preparing for the first Spring planting this weekend.

Off to sulk away the rest of the day. If you need me I'll be curled in a ball until Spring. Someone wake me when it's time for the next tropical plant show and I can go spend more money trying to grow things that don't make it past 2 years around here. *sigh*

'Till next time.

Barbie~