Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Thanks WBF!

Right now I'm sitting here feeling like I should never eat again! Had a great steak and baked 'tater. However, I will definitely shove some raspberries and whipped cream down my throat in a little bit... I shouldn't... but I will!

OMG - what was I thinking? I just put a whole bunch of eggs in the incubator. Do I need more chickens.....heck NO! But, do I want to sell some chicks - heck YES! I hope I'm not stuck with a bunch of extra mouths to feed....argh!

 

[Denim Deb]

I've been thinking of putting some eggs in the incubator to see if I have any better luck this year. But, since I might be going away the end of February, it's not a good time to do it. Maybe when I get back. (If I go.)

 

[Wannabefree]

OMG - what was I thinking? I just put a whole bunch of eggs in the incubator. Do I need more chickens.....heck NO! But, do I want to sell some chicks - heck YES! I hope I'm not stuck with a bunch of extra mouths to feed....argh!

HEY! I resemble that remark! I got plans for my "whole bunch of extras." Those chicken patties I made the other day were yummy!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's a good point WBF, but I still gotta feed them before they get big enough to feed me and feed is outrageous! (But now, I'm really wanting a big ol' chicken dinner!)

I wonder if I can grow enough 'stuff' to feed chickens...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

TWENTY-SEVEN! I got 27 eggs today - more than I've gotten in ages and ages and ages. In fact, a couple weeks ago I was lucky to get 6. I guess the short, low light, lazy days of winter are ending! (and it's still January...geeze) I did put about 60 eggs in the incubator yesterday- I really haven't counted 'em cuz I really don't want to know. I'll count in about a week when I candle. What I really need to do now is to sell some eggs. I have several folks who like it when I give them eggs, but at $30 for a 100 lbs of feed, I need to SELL some eggs or eat some more chicken!

Speaking of eating chicken - we had some yumalicious chicken soup tonight. I had a bag of legs and thighs taken from some Dorking Roosters that we butchered a couple months ago. Oh my... the flavor of those heritage birds is just incredible...so rich and chicken-y, lol. Also had some Napa cabbage from the garden that I tossed in there too along with lots of garlic and onions.

I've been busy looking at seed catalogs and I'm kinda excited about the possibilities. Isn't everybody at this time of year? I want it alllllll. I have peas popping up. The Sugar Snaps and English peas that I planted, and also the Winter Deer Peas that I broadcast and stomped on in a section of the pig pen/garden. They're allll peeking through. I've never had much luck with peas, but I've also never planted them this early. I usually don't get anything in the ground before March, and I've got a two month jump on that this year!

Need to go peek at my eggies.. One day down and 20 to go...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm so excited! I aways feel guilty when I don't go to work, but today - I'm taking a 'mental health' day, lol. I'm going crazy because I needa get into the garden. We're s'posed to get up to 68 today with sun, sun, sun! I've already tucked a few seeds in the ground and have results, but I need to get into the main garden. Of course, that's where the pigs live right now, bu I can toss them out into the pasture. I had a corner of the garden where I had a couple of windows that I used for cold frames and do you think I thought to take those out when I put the pigs in there? Nope - so now I've got a bunch of broken glass to clean up....sigh....

I want to get some tilling done cuz the pigs also rooted up all my rows and beds that I had...but that's also what I wanted them to do. I wantd total clean up and they did their job. Now, it's up to me to get it back in rows and beds so I can plant. I think I'm gonna have to put up some fencing to divide the garden in half for awhile. It's not quite time to send these guys to freezer camp, so I'll need to keep them off of the half that I'm working in.

We've never butchered a pig...kinda nervous about that. I do have a wonderful neighbor who has offered to help us and I'm really glad about that. Just for grins I called a packing house yesterday to check prices. They want a $40 kill fee and .67cents a lb to do the deed. Now, there is something to be said for dropping off a live pig and picking up a bunch of frozen packages ready for the freezer... but it's so pricey! Maybe we'll 'do' the first one ourselves and if it's soooo horrible we can always take the other one in and have it done. Still at leasta month or so before I have to make that decision. Might be that the weather makes that decision for us - we might be 90 degrees by the end of February here - and if that's the case I don't wanna do it...no stinky pig butcherin' in hot weather...ugh.

One more cup of coffee and I gotta get outside!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

The best laid plans....

So, I got the glass cleaned up from the broken window in the garden. I picked up a bunch of concrete blocks that used to be stacked neatly in another corner of the garden - before pigs that is. It amazes me how dang strong those stooopid pigs are. They took cinder blocks and concrente pavers and scattered them all over the place. How...and more importantly why.... do they do that??? No matter I guess, because I just spent all morning cleaning it up. Next step: get out the tiller and start trying to get the dirt leveled back out. It's just perfect for tilling.... not too muddy and not to dry and dusty.... and then blah.... sputter, sputter, and the darn thing died. It started again,,, sputtered again and died again. Another try... same result. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

I musta put old gas in it, so now I'mgonna have to go out there and try to get the old gas outta it. Guess that's my punishment for kinda playing hookey today.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Stick a fork in me - I'm done!

I'm so tired.... I spent allllllllllll day working my patootie off in the garden. The glass and bricks have been removed, some scrap lumber from previous bean towers and a few left over okra plants have all been burned. Then I tilled, until the tiller stopped tilling....then I fixed the tiller and tilled some more! Woman power!

The pigs have been invited back in and I'm pretty sure they'll enjoy walking/rooting in the soft freshly turned earth. One of the reasons I wanted to get it turned today was that it was like walking on a moon scape. A couple weeks back when it was sooo muddy the pigs had really churned it up. As it dried it became prctically impassable. Clay tends to dry like a rock, so with the pigs walking through there it was nothing but soft valleys and hard as concrete peaks. It made it horriffic for me to walk on and pretty darn uncomfortable for the pigs too. But now it's done! YAY!!

Tomorrow I'm going to divide it in half and I can start planting on one side of it and the pigs can still have the other half for a while longer.

I sure worked up an appetite. With the way the gals are laying out there I need to do something with eggs tonight. I may throw together a quiche or something simple

DH should be home soon and all I want to do is eat something and crawl in the hot tub and rest my weary bones.

 

[Wannabefree]

Sounds like you had a great day! Awesome on the to do list getting done! I love days like that!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It does feel great to get some things done that have been on the "list" for a while. Today's plan is to build at least a couple of raised beds. (if I can get my poor sore body to actually function today!) And, if I can get DH out of bed...grrrr! We're burning daylight here while he's still sawing logs, lol.

It sure does irk me that I'm probably going to have to go buy dirt/soil ammenments to fill them with. I took my massive pile of compost from last fall and put half of it in my big garden and took the other half to my mom. I'm sure wishing I had another big pile. But, I do have some dirt let from the big septic tank install. The instllers thought I was nuts when I wouldn't let them spread it all. Instead, I had them pile up some of it in a corner of my yard and there's some sand left over too. I may try layering some that together and hoping for the best. It'll probably take a coupe of seasons to get that dirt in the kind of shape I want it - but it'll eventually happen.

I hear DH stiring ustairs so it's time to get busy - happy Saturday!