FarmerDenise's journal - full on harvest time = busy, busy, busy

[FarmerDenise]

Hey FD

Your garden is beautiful .

My DD will being going to Sonoma in the fall....isn't that somewhat near you?

abifae, we have spent years building the soil up. We also happen to be on the site of an ancient river bed. The soil around us, even at my house just 3 blocks away, is nasty adobe, we call it Sonoma concrete: mud in winter, solid as concrete in summer.
Our plot here has lots of gravelly stones and is a great texture for gardening, especially since we have spent the last 10 years adding lots of chicken litter and other organic matter to it. Now that we have the goats, we have one more source of soil enriching material.

We also find ancient indian stone tools, mostly broken arrowheads, but now an then we find something more intruiging, like a stone with a whole drilled through it or a scraping tool. It makes it more fun to be on the ground pulling weeds, when you know you might find a cool treasure like that.

 

[TanksHill]

The garden looks amazing!!

 

[valmom]

Beautiful garden! I am jealous of so much actually flat land.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Thanks everyone. We really are blessed to have this lovely spot of land. SO realizes that he is lucky to have this, but he doesn't really get just how fortunate he is to have this spot in this particular place on the planet.
We have a great mediteranean climate, a super large lot ( a little less than one acre of flat, fertile land) in a small city, close to a major metropolitan city (San Francisco), close to snow country (Yosemite etc), the ocean, lots of lakes and a few rivers, an existing well on the property, and a local society of enlightened people.

Although we wish our bit of land was more outside the city and that the house was more .... lets say it is falling apart a bit...and cumbersome as a farm house... but it has it's charms and other plusses, as long as it doesn't fall down on us

and let us not forget, that we mostly have some pretty darn good neighbors!

 

[abifae]

abifae, we have spent years building the soil up. We also happen to be on the site of an ancient river bed. The soil around us, even at my house just 3 blocks away, is nasty adobe, we call it Sonoma concrete: mud in winter, solid as concrete in summer.
Our plot here has lots of gravelly stones and is a geat texture for gardening, especially since we have spent the last 10 years adding lots of chicken litter and other organic matter to it. Now that we have the goats, we have one more source of soil enriching material.

We also find ancient indian stone tools, mostly broken arrowheads, but now an then we find something more intruiging, like a stone with a whole drilled through it or a scraping tool. It makes it more fun to be on the ground pulling weeds, when you know you might find a cool treasure like that.

That is great!! Colorado only has soil when you build it up, for sure!!!

 

[framing fowl]

Thanks for taking time to share your garden photo! Lovely!

Missed you around here, sounds like you've been busy. Enjoy the time with your GS!

 

[FarmerDenise]

I keep wondering how those pioner women did it! I only have the grandbaby for a few hours a day and 3 days a week and I cannot get much work done on those days.

There is so much stuff that needs doing and isn't getting done. I have ripe cilantro and mustard seeds that need picking. I missed out on the lavendar, it is in full bloom now. I have three 1/2 gallon jars of venison both in the refridgerator that needs to be canned properly. More stuff needs planting and other stuff needs harvesting and processing.

And even though I feel better than I have in my younger days, somehow I still don't get much done. Or at last it feel like it. Well parts of my body just don't work as well, while others work better

We have been on "kidding" watch. Blossom's official due date is 07/16-07/20. This being all a first "kidding" for all of us, we are a bunch of nervous nellies. My way of dealing with that, is to research, research, read and take notes. I LOVE youtube. I watched a whole mess of videos. I have talked to our vet. I have 3 goat books and read their kidding info (each is different), I have my "midwife" kit ready, and we all check on Blossom umpteen times day
I have started taking her for walks around the property 2x a day to browse. I feed her seperately from Flower and guard her, so she can eat in peace.
Today I bought some kelp, to give her more nutrition. It will be good for all the animals. We started taking kelp after the Japan earthquake and I have been wanting to get some for the animals. I would post some pics, but my camera was acting up yesterday. I'll see if it is any better tomorrow

Our garden looks great and full of promise. I will be busy.

Tonight I am making a stew with homemade venison sausage, last years frozen peppers and tomatoes, this years' onion, garlic and zucchini and basil. To be served over organic wheat pasta, with a green salad from the garden and homemade dressing and garlic bread given to us by a neighbor.

Now I have to give the critters their evening meal.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I just picked 4 big ripe peaches. Now I have to make some ice cubes, so we can have smoothies later. They smell wonderfull, the peaches, not the ice cubes.

We are just taking it easy today. Doing little bits of work here and there, but mostly just hanging out, enjoying each other's company.

I picked a bin full of mustard seeds earlier today. I plan on cleaning them while watching tv later.

Now I am off to move the meatballs to a fresh bit of ground. They sure are stinky!!

 

[TanksHill]

Your day sounds like it has been wonderful.

We are doing the same here today. Work a bit, laze a bit. It's such a beautiful day.

You sound VERY ready for those goat babies. How many do you think she will have??

Dinner sound yummy.

g

 

[framing fowl]

Your meals always sound so delightful -fresh, simple, and full of flavor!

Can you believe Blossom is so close? Remember when you first got your goats and this seemed so far off?