CHICKS, NEPHEW, AND FOOD STORAGE

NEPHEW UPDATE: PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR HIM. HE IS BECOMING VERY DEPRESSED. HE STARTED CRYING TODAY WHICH MADE HIS MOM CRY. WHEN SHE FIGURED OUT WHY....HE TOLD HER HE WAS SAD BECAUSE HE DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD EVER GET TO EAT FOOD AGAIN. HE HAS NOT EATEN ...WELL AS OF TOMORROW IT WILL BE 3 WEEKS. THE LIQUID THEY ARE FEEDING HIM THROUGH A TUBE IS JUST BARELY KEEPING HIM ALIVE. THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO WEAN HIM OFF OF THE VENTILATOR.

I came home tonight after a bout of severe chest pains which I am hoping is simply stress, and had my daughter help me unload the 100# of chicken food and pour it into the holding can. I talked to the guy at Wells Brothers in Plano, and he said with the chicks doing this, he would put them back on crumbles and just feed the heck out of them. So tonight I filled their feeders and let them pig out. This was the first time I found everyone laying down and not asleep but lethargic with full tummies. Lesson learned. Feed them to death until they go into the freezer. It isn't worth taking them off of the baby food.

The evening was very beautiful. Birds were flying everywhere on my property either singing trying to find a mate or having found one, now working on the nest. The bluebird momma must be now sitting as most of the time I only see daddy finding bugs and carrying them to the bird house. I always get distracted at this point. Do they feed momma on the nest?

The rain although being great for my garden has caused mildew in the sweet peas. Too much cloudy cool weather I guess. The tomatos all have flowers since I pruned the lower branches off. I am still pinching the flowers till they get some more size. The pumpkin patch is exploding and so are the squashes. I will need to treat for stink bugs soon as they like this stage.

I cut a whole large bowl of fresh salad, washed it and spun it dry and put it into two salvaged salad boxes that I saved with a paper towel in the bottom.

Then I peeled 5 large bunches of bananas, dipped them into lemon juice and laid them on cookies sheets in the freezer. Tomorrow I will vacume seal them and put them back into the freezer.

Tomorrow or Saturday I will start the first batch of eggs in the incubator. I will have all of my grand kids here to help.

Then I listened to The Survival Podcast. The is a Texas Prepper guy who has some interesting opinions and good information to be prepared for anything and how to get prepared. The first pod cast I listened to was 181 except for a couple in the past and then forgot about. I have been making a habit to listen every night. I have a lot to catch up on though.

going to bed. thank you all for the prayers for sis and her son

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

I got home with about 2 hours of daylight left. I picked up sticks and filled up the mower. I got about 3/4 of an acre mowed and still had light left to rake up some of the cuttings for the chickens, gather eggs (one of which had been chipped..not a good sign), feed chickens, and then sit on the swing with a chunk of brie and a box of blackberries and watch the sun settle on golden on the horizon....then I heard it....

^

rustling on the stuff on the back porch...I snuck back and there he was with his head in a box.

^

I said in my semi-mean voice, "Hey! What are you doing?"

His head popped up...his tail popped up and he "chirped" hello and came walking up to me like I was an old buddie....he's about 7-8 months old and unneutered. He rubbed his head against my leg as if to say he would trade me a mousie for some real food....and of course it is a good trade.

RAIN, FLU, AND A VERY GREEN FARM

Ok after listening to the news on the swine flu, and coming to work and hearing a girl hocking up loogies (sorry!) I am completly freaked out and my hypocondria is kicking in.
^
Boy did it rain today. We got probably 2 inches and I can hear my grass growing. I love this stage of spring because everything is so green. My peas are growing and filling in. Don't think we will get a huge amount. The zuchinni, butternut and pumpkins are exploding. I will take photos when I can fire up the weedeater and mower and get it looking good.
^
The tall weedy grass around the edges of the beds and the compost piles look like trash but the chickens love them when I pull them up.
^
The green herons who are building a nest in my pond are sounding off almost constantly. I am thrilled to have them. Still don't have a huge amount of frogs like we did last year. Don't know why.
^
I went to Kroger and found that they have a special on wines. If you buy 6 bottles of wine, you get 20% off. I bought 6 and none of them were over 5.99 each because a ton of them were on sale on top about that. So I will be going back for more. I am stocking up. They also provided a wonderful cloth carry bag that is re-usable.
^
Also, they have a sale on 2# of the most huge wonderful mouthwatering blackberries for a killer price and no limit. I bought 32#. I will freeze all but 2. I have 16 on trays in the freezer now and will vacume seal into single serving sizes when frozen.
^
Also they had bananas for .39 per pound. when they become ripe, I will dip them in lemon juice and freeze. Once frozen i will again, freeze in vacume sealed bags. I can use those for smoothies, ice cream and more during the lean months or winter.
^
I am keeping my eyes on the small wild blackberries around my property and plan on harvesting those also. If I can beat the birds. I am going to eat the 30 bluberries growing on my new bushes. I will freeze next year or the year after.
^

Ok, today I made an investment in my self sufficiency. It cost dearly too. But I have put off this purchase for a long time and each time I needed it I wished I hadn't put it off.





It is a Remington 870. Along with this I bought 5 boxes of ammo. The first of many. I almost purchased a used 20 gu Mossburg but there was something wrong with the firing pin. I liked the look of the stock on this also...I know that is such a girl thing to say.


I also purchased a 2 quart Lodge Logic cast iron dutch oven. I would love to buy larger ones but with tennis elbow I think the smaller ones will be better. Also I am not a spring chicken any more. I have to plan for when I am 90 and cooking for the family over the fire outside.


Also, a still air incubator. I know purchasing all the bells and whistle ones...moving air, built in thermometer, auto egg turner.....the list goes on.....would improve hatchability. But I have used this as is before and it did fine. I will buy a thermometer which also tracks humidity. I know that is important for little birds.





So there ya go. I am going to work on hatching my own groups of chicks to see if this will help keep them from killing each other.


I also purchased a deer block to give the meat beasties something to peck on til I finish putting them in the freezer.

SPRING RAIN

I feel almost guilty as I sit in my living room, listening to the sweet sound of the spring rain outside. No thunder or high winds, just sweet rain. Everything is wonderful green.

Guilty because I am sure my sis is already at Baylor with her son and can't enjoy this. Soon we hope though. They haven't removed the ventilator yet but he was breathing on his own for 7 hours yesterday. This is very good. Soon we hope they will be able to cap off the ventilator tube and then he will be able to talk. That is his biggest frustration, he can't talk. We can't understand what makes him fearful and I am sure he feels completely alone.

He loves his mom so much. We can't wait until we can feed him though. He has gotten much thinner than he was and he was really thin to begin with. I wish we could do a fat transplant. I'd volunteer.

Well all the hearts and livers from the chicken massacre are vacume sealed and in the freezer. The necks and backs are cooking on the stove with salt and bayleaves. When they are done I will freeze the broth in ice cube trays and then vacume seal those also.

I really need to buy a pressure canner.

Well the laundry is almost done and the shower is calling my name.

7 EGG DAY

I had 7 eggs today.

LONG FRIDAY

I have been awake since 4:30am. 20 hours. I spent the morning at the hospital with my sister and nephew. I will update more on that over the weekend.

Then I got to work about 11am and put in 8 hours. Got home at 7:45 and decided to weed the front flower bed and feed the weeds to the chickens. That took 1/2 hour or so. Look what I found when I was weeding!!

Have you ever seen a grub so big? It must be the rabbit poo.

When I took the weeds back to the chicks I found that they had murdered another one of their brothers. Their time has come to an end.

I fed the weeds to the adult chickens. Prepped my processing area. Table cloth on the makeshift saw horse table. Shop light plugged in behind me. Fire on to heat the water. Kitchen shears. Cold water in the turkey pan. Everything was ready. Now could I do it?

Well all it took was one more look at the dead meat chicken and I had no problems. The method had been watched at my grandmothers home many times. And although I thought it would be hard, it was not. They are not big heavy birds. Yet right now my tennis elbow is hurting a little.

^

Each bird cleaned probably weighed about a pound. 1.5 max. Here is how I figured the cost of me processing:

^

2.25 hours total process...start to end of shower

135 minutes
10 meals not counting broth and cat food

13.5 minutes per meal to process = $6.07 of my time to process each bird

^

Although I can do this, if I can find someone to process these birds for 2.25 each, that would be much better.

^

Now that I know I can do it if I need to, I feel better.

^

I learned a lesson though. It is pretty tough trying to slaughter and process a bunch of chickens while they are giant june bugs dive bombing you, gettng in your hair and shirt, and landing on the chickens. So I did the skinning outside and when they were all naked, I took them inside to do the rest. Kinda makes the kitchen stinky.
^

Here are my 10 meals. The size of the pieces are smaller than at the store, but one chicken breast at the store is twice the amount of meat we are supposed to eat at one meal. I put two breasts in each bag and 4 leg/thigh combos. I have to tell you though that the leg/thigh is more like a little rabbit rather than a chicken. If I seperated them they would be about the size of wings at the local chicken wing eatery.

Thank goodness for the food saver vacume sealer. it made that part fast and easy.

Now, I have to learn how to make Southern Fried Chicken. I make great garlic mashed potatos, biscuts, green beans, salad out of the garden, and Texas Toast. Ok I am hungry. I sure wish the Advil would kick in soon!

PREPPERS (ESPECIALLY TX) ARE YOU READY?

FIRST AN UPDATE ON MY NEPHEW: Each time my nephew woke yesterday he had a look of sheer terror. He was terrified. This happens sometimes on these drugs. I am so proud of my sister. I can not imagine where he would be without her courage and her strength. She began getting in his face, holding his hand, telling him who he was, where he was, that she loved him, that she was there, but most important what was going on and that he had to help them control his breathing.

By today he was more awake, less scared and was focusing. He commuicated very clearly that he was very hungry. And the crown for my sister?.....He reached up his hand and pulled her to him and kissed her. I can not even imagine the joy in my sister's heart at that moment. Her fear for the past two weeks? She was very afraid that she would never get to say she was sorry for yelling at him. Everything she does for him and she was worried about that. But it was huge. She got to say she was sorry.

PREPPERS!

Have any of you listened to the news today? It sure is not on the front page of CNN. But it is happening right now. A huge group of Taliban soldiers have moved in the valley by Buner in Pakistan. The police and soldiers (what few are there) have given up and holed up. They are just walking in and taking over in a country that posses nuclear weapons.

Ok so I might be a little on the jumpy side since reading One Second After, but this? And good grief, why would I want to listen and read about the lies being old about terrorist interogation when there is something this big going on in the world?

CHICKEN HELP NEEDED!

I BOUGHT 100 CHICKEN PEEPERS AND A PAIR OF PLIERS TO GO WITH THEM. NOT CHEAP BUT AN INVESTMENT I FIGURE IF THEY KEEP DOWN THE CANIBLISM.

HOLY COW DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO USE THEM? MY DAUGHTER AND I WORKED ON TRYING TO GET ONE ON A CHICKEN AND AFTER 10 MINUTES I HAD TRAUATIZED THE CHICKEN AND MY DAUGHTER THINKS I AM CRUEL AND WE NEVER GOT IT ON!

QUICK UPDATE--HEADING OUT TO DO CHORES

ON MY NEPHEW--HIS TRACH WENT WELL AND ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T GET TO SEE HIM AWAKE MY SISTER TOLD ME HE WAS FULLY AWAKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1.5 WEEKS. FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN PRAYING AND SENDING WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

FIRST SPRING SALAD

Here is my first spring salad. Added to it are radishes my dad gave me. They are not hot at all. I added sliced storebought strawberries too, and fresh dill and parsley from my garden.

Did you know that parsley is a perinnial? I didn't know that. I have one pot that has been filled with snow, flooded with rain, and it still keeps growing.

Parsley is a medicinal powerhouse. It is a blood purifier and helps eliminate water. I have used it on my kids when they woke up with pink eye. I would make tea out of it and cool it and when it was just warm, use a cotton ball to wash their eyes out. I didn't understand why they loved it so much until I got pink eye once and used it. It was heaven.

Dill has a use for soothing a tense stomach.

I love both of these herbs. We forget that in the beginning, adding these wasn't always for taste but was for a health reason.

When I get my herbs going well, I will hang a pole in the laundry room and will begin to hang them to dry. I am saving pill bottles and having my parents do this too. I will store my herbs in these and seeds also.

Well I have some house work to do and need to go to bed. Early day tomorrow.

Update on my nephew and sister: He is having a trachiatomy (sp?) tomorrow. This will help the doctors get the vent tube out and get him unsedated which he has to be so he can begin breathing on his own again. Thank you all for your prayers.

SPARKLING SUNSHINE-BLUE SKIES AND STOCK UP

Wow what an amazing day. Except it is a little windy and cool yet. I can't believe how much the grass around the garden beds grew this week.

Still no blooms on the peas though. I will give them one warm week...if it ever gets that warm.

Here are pictures of my stock up cabinet. Still more empty than full.

The top holds sugars, a glue gun and bottles for home made liquid laundry soap.

The next shelf has wild dehydrated onions, chips and gum...

Canning salt (which needs to be moved to the bottom with the canning jars), pickled eggs and onions, evap milk, oils and shortenings, canned fruits, coffes and misc canned items.

Next holds paper towels, tissues, tooth pastes, soaps, Q-tips, deodorants, shampoos and conditioners,

and cat foods,

Bottom shelf holds canning jars and washing soda and borax--I planned on making a large batch of laundry soap tonight. We will see how it goes at the hospital today.

You can see many empty plastic bottles which I have saved and will use to store my homemade laundry soap. One thing I don't have yet on the shelves is water. I need to store inside at least 50 gallons of drinking water. Still working on a water storage system.

Here is the pumpkin patch. 8 plants are up and healthy looking.

These are zuchinni I think. The wind has blown all my markers away.

The rear tomato plants are looking great. I hope they produce a lot.

The sunflowers are doing good...crooked but good. And look at the beautiful red clover like wild flower. I need to look up what kind this is.

I have started a book on CD called One Second After. On my way from the book store, to feed horses, I stopped at Kroger to buy canning jars. While down one of the long isles, all the power went out. It was pitch black and everyone started screaming, laughing, talking loud, yelling for their kids. It took a full 15 seconds or more for the emergency lighting to come on. I just held my purse tight and waited. The emergency lighting started up but was seriously pulsing. About 2 minutes later the lights came back on...checkers were calling for managers...people were laughing.

But since I just bought this book it made me wonder what we would do if this was it....if there would be no more power.

Yesterday I read another blog that stated he would unhook the battery and ground the car so it would work after an EMP.

But it made me come home and look at my shelves. Am I ready? Will I ever be? Water will be my main issue. I seriously have to begin collecting rain water.

BOILING VINEGAR AND SPICES AND MUD

First an update on my nephew: The doctors tried to reduce the ventilator so that he could start to breathe on his own. This is way harder said than done. He panicked and had to be sedated again. They will try again tomorrow. Please pray for God's strength to pour into my sister. This is taking it's tole on her badly. Again, I have not had to watch my child go through this. I feel that God is the only one who can meet her where she is. He lost a child too. "The" child.

Ok, I have discussed with Jayden..the fire pit digger....the new plans for the fire pit. If it is shaped like a banjo...we can build a fire in the round part and then pull the wonderful sizzling mesquite coals over to the handle part to cook out burgers. He is all in. He found his shovel and started to work. We will see how it turns out. Right now it looks pretty bad.

Tonight I took 2 dozen eggs that I boiled this morning, peeled and cooled, and and packed them into 1 qt jar and 2 pint jars.

I used the following recipe:

DARK AND SPICY EGGS
1½ cups cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon mixed pickling spice
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke or hickory smoke salt
2 teaspoons salt

But I didn't have any liquid smoke so we will have to see how it turns out.

Here is what I remember from my childhood in WV. I loved pickled eggs. Mom always made them after easter. But she made them with the liquid from her pickled beets. So to me pickled eggs were always purple.

I still remember seeing pickled eggs in PA when I moved there...in clear vinegar! So wrong!

MORNING COFFEE AND SOAP

I am sitting here drinking a hot cup of coffee....a leather candle is burning in the kitchen....Lion King is playing on the tv and a discussion is going on between father and son about the circle of life.
*
I just took a long hot shower in my favorite soap in the whole wide world. Herb Garden by Hidden Haven Homestead. I love this soap. I got my soap order in the mail yesterday.



*
It is gray and gloomy outside. There are supposed to be more rain showers today. The grand boys are going to their mom's work this morning. I have to go to work, and to Baylor Hospital and then somehow in there fit in the Greenville Home and Garden Show and Earth Day Celebration.
*
Tonight I am going to boil all of my surplus eggs and shell them and make a batch of pickled eggs. I haven't decided yet on a recipe to use though.

Tonight or tomorrow...depending on how muddy it is....I have some more rail road ties to move to the garden for another raised bed. Since the front tomatos look so bad I will plant a few more out back. The bermuda grass is killer. I need to add a thick layer of newpaper under it to kill off the weeds.
*
I also need to hang a couple more more hummingbird feeders today. I hope the sun comes out.

CHORES AND PICKLED ONIONS

I got home about 5 tonight from the hospital and knew the weather is getting ready to turn rainy. So I decided to get outside chores kind of done. So I mowed for a couple of hours, and on the way up the steps I noticed how messy it looked around the front spigot where so many of the wild onions are growing. So I decided to pull a bunch up to dry some more. I ended up with an armload.

I came in and ran a sink full of cold water and soaked them clean. Then I started to trim the roots off. I dicovered that if you trim the root off, then squeeze the head of the onion at the base where it narrows...the neck?....a tiny pearl onion pops out! This is completely cool. So I cleared all of them of their pearls and filled two pint jars full along with some of the buds, mixed up a sweet pickling solution.

Now with the boiling solution in them they are sitting upside down for a while and then I flipped them up to seal. I will date them and add them to my shelf. I still have to dice the green parts and put them in the dehydrator.

My daughter cleaned the living room and her room, bathroom and the boys bedroom getting everything ready for them to come for the weekend.

*

The thunder is getting worse outside and it is starting to rain. I have not fed the chicks yet. I will wait for a break in the rain. I did load everyone up on long grass and weeds.

*

I lost another meat chick. They are killing the gently giant white ones I guess because they won't fight back. I will begin to put them in the freezer next week.

*

Can anyone tell me if they have to age several days before I freeze them?

1:30 am and I am awake

This doesn't surprise me.
*
My son is leaving for Afghanistan in half an hour. I was so worried that he would oversleep I didn't sleep. My daughter had closed at work and had just gotten home.
*
So she and I sat on the porch and waited for him to call us. While out there I took an empty Gatorade bottle and began catching june bugs. I have about 25 ready to be chicken food in the morning. I believe I am going to make this a tradition. I may string the power cord again and put up a light in the older chicken house so they can catch them on their own.
*
The fun went out of it when I found one inside my shirt.
*
Flash got out so I can't go to bed until he comes in. Yes I am a worry wart. But that was a BIG owl the other night. Since he is white it would spot him fast.
*

SPAM AND BLACKBERRIES

I have said it before...Spam is the worlds most perfect meat (type product). I love this stuff. Tonight I had Spam lite (had a coupon for the single serving kind which made it free because it was on sale) and also on sale are HUGE blackberries. So that was dinner.
*
I just got home from grocery shopping. I got to coupon shop with no distractions and saved $54.28. Best coupon deal: I had a $1 coupon for the purchase of 2 tubs os Smart balance...I bought them and they were on sale on top of that. Then I found two coupons there were good for a free pound of Smart Balance Sticks with the purchase of a tub of the Smart Balance butter. These were $3.75 each and I got two of them for FREE!! They freeze well.
*
I was pretty happy since a lot of it went on the stock up shelf. I love Kroger. They always carry washing soda and borax so I can make home made laundry soap. That is one of my goals this coming weekend (if it is quiet). I have been saving screw top 1/2 gallon milk jugs which a friend at work is giving me and any plastic container about that size with a screw top. I am going to make a large batch of laundry soap to add to my shelves. I got two large containers of Ivory soap since I use this instead of Fels Naptha. I like the smell better. I will post more during the making.
*
I also purchased frozen items which I need day to day but also bought some things to see how they taste and how long they will freeze.
*
It took me 6 trips to the car to get everything so I haven't even gone out to check the chickens yet.
*
Cool thing: While I was unloading the car, a very large owl floated by right overhead and screached loudly. I had been wondering what was making that noise. It was dark but at least I got to see how big he was.
**Thank you all for your prayers: I will update more when I know more.
*

Coming to grips

I am sitting in the dark in front of the fire, lap top on the picnic table. I took a few turns around the orchard with the mower knocking down the highest weeds, fed and watered everyone, and then decided there had been enough rain to burn down the fire pit. While sitting here watching the flames, I am doing a lot of thinking about my nephew.

I want to yell at him to fight, to get through somehow to him and make him know how important he is to us. I am afraid I didn't do that while he was awake. I hope I get another chance.

I am sure his mom is sitting at home right now going over and over in her mind the last 24 years. Did she do everything she could to make sure he knew this? His father is sitting at the hospital right now thinking the same thing. Both probably wishing they could change a million things just like me.

I am glad my daughter got to play online games with him often. Almost daily they would touch base online in some part of World of Warcraft. They looked different there, but they still were friends and cousins.

I remember leaving their home one day about 6 years ago...before he became ill....he was playing online one of these games, there were 2 other boys sitting around him and my thought was simply..through him these two will find Christ.

One has.....the other is still wandering.

My sister has Stuey and Vader...her dogs who love her. She has the most amazing friends...a bunch of them. She is blessed with a job that will keep her busy, and she has a family who loves her. Yet this is her only child. Selfishly I want Michael to fight harder for his mom. Because she has fought so very hard for him.

But it is selfish. He is crippled. When he wakes (I am optimistic) it is hard for him to get around, and he is dependant on his mom to take care of him. It is selfish of me to want him to stay and live this kind of life...when his next life is one without any sickness or weakness. No sadness. And one that he will get to spend with his Lord.

Yet I want (need) him to fight. If it were my son....I would need this. If it were me I would hope I would fight with everything in me. And yet be ready to go with God says it is time.

Will I be ready to let him go then? I don't think so. If he were my own child I know I would not. I don't think I have ever known well someone who has lost a child. I don't know what to expect with my sis but for right now I still am praying for God to provide the strength he needs to fight and the same for his mom. Thank you all for your prayers.

POST FROM BAYLOR HOSPITAL IN DALLAS

JUST A QUICK ONE. MY NEPHEW'S EYES WERE OPEN WHEN HIS MOM GOT HERE THIS MORNING BUT ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE. THEY FOUND BY X-RAY THAT HIS LUNGS HAD NOT RE-INFLATED AS WELL AS THE DR THOUGHT THEY SHOULD...A QUICK CHECK FOUND THAT HE WAS LAYING ON HIS CHEST TUBE AND KINKING IT. (DEAR GOSH)..WITHIN 1/2 HOUR OF THE DR FIXING IT THE LUNGS HAD EXPANDED TO FILL HALF OF THE SPACE THEY HAD HOPED. THIS WILL GIVE HIM MORE O2 GOING INTO HIS SYSTEM.

I JUST GOT DONE SITTING BY HIS BED AND TOLD HIM ALL ABOUT THE DINNER THAT HIS FAMILY JUST BROUGHT UP, THAT WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER DINNER WHEN HE GOT HOME, HOW THE CHICKENS ARE DOING, ABOUT THE STORM LAST NIGHT...EVERYTHING I COULD THINK OF TALKING ABOUT. I WANT HIM TO REMEMBER ME TALKING TO HIM.

THE NEXT X-RAY SHOWED THAT HE IS RESPONDING TO THE MEDS AND HIS LUNGS ARE BEGINNING TO CLEAR SOME. THEY ARE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL THEY CLEAR FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND THEY THEY WILL BEGIN TO TRY TO WEAN HIM OFF OF THE BREATHING MACHINE. THEY WILL KEEP HIM SEDATED DURING THIS.

MY PRAYERS ARE FOR MY GOD TO WRAP HIM UP IN HIS ARMS WHILE WE ARE UNABLE TO...TO PROVIDE TO HIM STRENGTH THAT MICHAEL IS TOO WEAK TO FIND HIMSELF...TO CONTINUE TO FILL UP MY SISTER SO THAT SHE WILL NOT "RUN DRY" AS EVERY DAY SHE GIVES SO MUCH OF HERSELF. THAT FILLING UP CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD.

I KNOW ALREADY THOUGH THAT GOD IS ALREADY DOING THOSE THINGS. BUT YOU KNOW ME....I HAVE TO ASK. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR PRAYERS.

JUST A QUICK NOTE

I have been at the hospital since 7:30, came home to feed and prepare the home for the upcoming storms tonight, and am heading back to Baylor. 6:30 call this morning told me they had put my nephew on a ventilator and may not make it through this one. Prayers would be appreciated.

Thank you all
Tracy

SMOKEY DAY!

West TX wild fires are raging! We took the kids out to the lake to picnic and before we left the smoke came rolling in from the west and blocked the sun. By the time I got home I was right ahead of it. Can't open too many windows because of it. You may not be able to tell from this pic but the sky is tan or light brown.

The fires are too far away with a lake in between to be dangerous to us, but right now my throat and eyes are very irritated. I am also staring to cough.

Well the people where I keep my horse (and the rest of my belongings) brought a trailer full of my stuff. Note the white kitty in the window waiting to come outside and pee on the trailer.

Also, they brought my pull behind trailer for the tractor. The tires must be fixed but I bought it off of craigs list for $25!!! This is a $300 trailer. Boy do I have lots of plans for this.

First ....lots of hay rides. I better stock up on gas cans. Next picking up sticks and trash around the farm, hauling in all of my tons of veggies out of the garden, hauling rabbit poo compost around the garden and fresh rabbit poo to the compost pile, hauling leaves to the compost pile, ....etc etc etc

The wind stays between 25-40 mph and is drying everything out. I have to water the garden daily.

Tonight will be a lazy night. I watered everything, and will work on doing laundry and cleaning my bathroom, bedroom and kitchen and playing on the internet.

Hope yours is cool!

ONE DAY LATE PLANTING

Ok I got in after dark yesterday and although there was almost a full moon, I was very tired and didn't feel like moon gardening. Do I missed the moon time for planting these plants by one day. I wonder if it will matter?

My dad swears that he planted the sweet peas on time while I was gone but they do not have blooms and they should by now.

Tonight I planted 2 more tomato plants (forgot to write down the names--I will get them tomorrow), one tiny thyme plant with the teeniest leaves and a creeping kind of shape..it should grow over the edge of this cinder block. Also I planted two curry plants, the two stevia plants, catmint, pepper mint, marigolds which I still have not transplanted all that I started, and also planted cantelope and zuchinni.

Then I built a pumpkin patch. I think it will take over the garden. So will the squash plants if they do good.

Then I watered the blueberries, the apple trees, the oak tree out front, the swiss chard and mesclin lettuce, the front tomatos and peppers, and ghe dill and varigated thyme out front. I have 5 strawberry plants coming up. I have never planted these so I have no idea if they will do anything. If they do it will be next year.

FROSTY BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Last night, knowing it was going to frost this morning, I covered all of my plants with newspapers. All that is except my sweet peas. For some reason (senior moment?) I forgot to go back out with a large blanket and wrap them. But my cilantro and basil still looked a little frozen. We will see if they survive. I left for work late because I couldn't leave the covers on, and I couldn't remove them until the sun was up.

Work was work....

Then this evening I was going to meet a good friend Ron at Braums and pick up burgers and then go to a near by park to let the dogs enjoy some fresh air. Well I got to Braums early and right next door there was a very cool nursery. I am so excited. Wonderful healthy herbs were 1.99 each and they had 2 Stevia plants. I got them, and assorted others. I will write more about them tomorrow. But here is what I saw when I walked in.....

Now this is has meaning to me. When I was a child, my parents would take us several times a year to the Kissimmee FL area to go to Disney and to visit family who lived there. One of our favorite things to go see was Gatorland. It was and is my favorite part of that area. But WAY back then, when you were leaving the park, they had a tub full of baby aligators that they sold for $1 (I think)...I always got so mad at mom and dad for not buying me a pet alligator. Knowing me, that aligator would have been loose in the creeks and rivers of West Virginia within the month....there would have been stories and legands built around it and all because of me.

Mean Mom and Dad!!

SAVAGE LITTLE MEAT BEASTIES

Dear gosh I can't wait until I get these beasts into the freezer. Their food went low today and I come home to 3 bloody chicks who won't let me catch them. After dark I will need to catch them and put Vicks on their wounds. ALSO one of them jumped out and is running around the yard. I will need to try to catch him after dark....ALSO Nugget, the one in the house has got to go! He tips his water over on purpose and then cheeps loudly until you fill it again.

April 13 they will be 8 weeks old. I am going to feed the heck out of them until then and will kill one to see how much meat is on them. I don't think I can afford to feed them this way. Next time I will need to put them in a chicken tractor (or tractors) so that they can have a run to move in and eat grass and bugs. No wonder the mega chicken producers have tried to "build" a faster maturing chick. They need to kill them before they get it in their heads to kill each other.

Freeze warning tonight. It will get down to 30! The girl at Cold Antler Farm says exactly what I feel about April...I will not repeat it but will let you read it for yourself.

I am going to go clean my dirty kitchen now and pout.

END OF THE WEEKEND...KIND OF

I am sitting eating dinner, and resting. As soon as the Advil kicks in I will take a long hot shower with tons of conditioner to get the tangles out. I couldn't not work outside today. Yes 30 mph winds are VERY annoying, but the sky was blue and it was cool enough not to be hot no matter what I did. Here is what I got done this weekend:

Friday:

burned the huge debris pile

planted 2 granny smith apple trees

Saturday:

Baylor Hospital

dinner with sis

Sunday:

mowed 2 acres

trip to Home Depot for potting soil, herbs and seeds

4 trips to the back part of the field for railroad ties and telephone poles

cinder blocks and rocks...left one big rock out in the field because it kept

breaking the tow rope

pulled a million weeds in the area where I wanted the new raised bed

fed them to the happy chickens

rolled the telephone poles in place

moved the cinder blocks in place

added 3 huge bags of moisture retaining potting soil--seems like when I add this things grow

planted 2 cilantro and 1 sweet basil

I just don't have it in me to plant the seeds I got. I have 2 more days to get them in the ground in the right moon sign. I am going to plant pumpkins, canteloupe, cukes, zuchinni squash, orange hubbard squash and speghetti squash. I want a huge pumpkin patch

Here is the tow set up....old extention cord and a very tough tarp. I can't believe how well this works.

At this point even my finger tips are sore and it hurts to type so that will be the last update of the day.

WINDY COLD DAY

Well the wind is roaring again today. 30-40 mph. And cold as a cold front moved through the area last night. I may try a new church today. It is already almost nine though and I have a stress headache and am worn out. I may wait until Easter sunday. We will see when the clothes come out of the dryer.

Here are pics of the grand boys in OK fishing and playing with snakes.

All are fed and watered outside. I had a fire in the stove earlier but let it die out. I will probably need it again tonight. I will watch the weather closely as they are calling for freeze warnings.

After I feed horses I am going up to see my newphew at Baylor and then will come home and try to mow. I don't like to work out in the wind when it is this strong. It takes forever to get the tangles out of my hair. Even if I tie it up.

I will need to water the blueberries and the apple trees today. I wish I had gone ahead and burned the wood in the little fire pit so I could clean it out and dig it bigger. I am going to Home Depot today to look at the herb plants and while I am there I will look at a grate that I saw there once that I feel can be used for cooking over an open fire and also a cover over my burn barrel.

If so I will buy two of them. Cooking eggs and potatos for breakfast.

Long Hard Day

My plans today were basic...Home Depot, plant seeds, feed horses, mow, mow, mow. But I got a call from my sister. Her son had been sent home from the hospital yesterday only to not be able to get out of bed today screaming in pain. The ambulance took him to Baylor Dallas and we followed. All day at the hospital only to be told that there was no further break in his back, only additional pain. They kept him for pain therapy but will probably need to be in a rehabilitation hospital. One that deals with broken backs.

Got home right at dark. Looks like the neighbor behind me might be having a party tonight. Gonna be loud.

Got some pics of the grand kids in OK. They are visiting their other grand parents there this weekend. Will have to load them tomorrow. Too tired tonight. My sister is my hero. She deals with stuff like this all the time along with her cancer treatment.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

For anyone who knows me well....namely my son and daughter....you know that I at times let my life be led by fear.

I am afraid to try new things for fear of failing.

Etc....

One of my fears is having an outside fire on my own. Last year with my new fire pit I overcame that fear.

This year I overcame an ever bigger one. I burned the debris pile all by myself.

And what an amazing evening it was for this. Light breeze. Beautiful sky.

I also did something else all by myself which some of you would think is silly but I did it. I planted the two focal trees in my orchard. Two granny smith apple trees. Long after I am gone these two old trees will be producing green apples and a place for children to climb and daydream.

5:15 AM and waiting for my hair to dry

I just watched an online KTVT news video. FT. Worth schools have started gardens that the kids will maintain. The teacher interviewed said she wanted to teach the children how important self sufficiency is and how to grow their own food because so many people don't know how.

Amen sister. Either I didn't have the patience or my parents didn't, but I wish someone had taken the time to teach this to me. Since both of my sets of grandparents are gone, I feel as if I have lost a source of survival information. I hope more schools are doing this. I am glad to see Patrice's church beginning this.

1st GRADE SPRING SING

Got a call today from my daughter. My grandson's first grade class had a program tonight. I remember hating these when my kids were little, because of the heat and crowds and sitting in tiny little chairs, but at the same time loving watching their shining little proud faces showing off what they had learned.

No different tonight but we got there early and got 2nd row seats. I need a new camera. But we loved it. After the preliminary plug from the superintendant asking for a "yes" vote for a $84,500,000 bond at election time, the singing began.

Still daylight when we left and I was home by 8:30. Now I have to go out and feed and water in the dark but it was worth it.

Here is J showing off his missing tooth.....

Daughter and D being goofy.....

And since I don't have permission to show the singing I am going to post the only pic where everyone is moving and blurred...thought this one was pretty cool....