The Robber and The Giant Peach

I was robbed at some point during the morning from my front yard. Someone had the audacity to pluck from my little peach tree, the biggest peach growing. They weren't even ripe yet. This is trivial, I realize that, and someone needed this peach more than I, however there is a feeling of violation and injustice. As it was, the evening winds this year have been brutal on my fruit trees. Blossoms and young setting fruit were whipped off and discarded on my yard, unable to fulfill their fruit destinies. So, when there are a few remaining fruit on my little fruit trees, it is upsetting to see one go. I watch them grow everyday from my window. I check on them and hope for a quick ripeness. And yet, the big one is gone. I searched the street for it's remains, thinking someone bit into it and then realized it was unripe and cast it into the gutter. Then, I can have closure and take it as an offering to the chickens. Or better yet, I would've wanted the numerous birds to get it as their survival is harder than some passerby thinking anything is free for the taking. This is one challenge of having edibles in your front yard. This won't deter me for future garden planning. I will just be smarter in the locations. I will also outfit my irrigation with motion detected, high powered, sprinklers or outfit our cat, Java, with blow darts laced with bee venom, easily harvested from our bees.

Homebrew

MMMMMMM....Beer. I must admit I am not a big beer drinker, but there is nothing as fresh as something you made, grew, or in the case of beer, fermented. We have made four different batches - American Pale Ale, India Pale Ales, Belgian Table Beer, plus an extra IPA. All of this homebrewing has been fun in being able to work alongside Rick and even the boys. Homebrewing, homesteading, and planning the seasonal harvest is addicting - as we are always planning on new ways to maximize what we have, what we are possible in making, and what we are capable of growing. Cheers!

   

Bees Are Buzzing

During the last hive inspection, the bees are doing well, busy making honeycomb and new bees.

I added a new brood box so there is more room to grow. Soon there will be new boxes added for the honey storage.

The 4 D's of Pruning

I was strolling through a local nursery and there was a notice on knowing the 4 D's of pruning: Disease, Damage, Dormant, and Diagonal. It made me think of the movie, "Dodgeball," with the 5 D's: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge. Awesome! 

Stewart - The Animal Lover

Stewart has recently convinced us to let him keep a bunny, Chewbaka. He has promised to care for him and has contractually signed his agreement. Better a bunny than a parakeet or fish that he wanted. He tends to be the one concerned with the raising of the animals and likes to pretend he is part of the flock. When Stewart is upset, I can usually find him locked inside the coop area, sitting on an upside down bucket, crying to the animals. It makes him feel better, so that is okay with me.  




Stewart and Max. Max doesn't mess with the chickens after they pecked him a couple of times. In the event he is left behind in the coop (after trying to steal food scraps) he is usually wimpering in the corner somewhere. We have had Max for a year now and he is a great little dog.   

Stewart and Java. We have had Java for 11 years now. She was adopted as a kitten from the SPCA. She was a fiesty cat when she was younger but is remarkably calmer around the boys and has spared them pain of being scratched and bitten. 

Stewart wanted me to bring in two of our bunnies, Chewbaka and Peter, for a class show-and-tell.

He likes to visit with our hens. He tries to be the one getting the eggs, but Jason usually beats him to the punch. We have since re-done our coop area as this setup was a pain to get in and out of.  

Jason - The Food Helper



Jason helping Daddy to make homebrew wort.



Jason checking on the homebrew process after a week of this sitting in our cabinet.

Jason took this photo of me preparing extra beer bread mix to be stored for a later time. He has helped with a lot of my food storage into mason jars.

Jason learning proper cooking safety to cook his own egg.

He noticed the cat was out of food.

He has been "cooking" and periodically checking on his mudpie. It was raining, but it didnt deter him from going outside.

A Girl and A Gutter

So, the rain has been coming down off and on during this month. I had noticed water collecting on the wrong side of the gutter, and ultimately spilling over the side. I am only 5'3" and needed to clear the debris in the gutter. Rather than climb a ladder while it's raining, I just used a standard garden hoe and gently ran it along the inside of the gutter. With my height plus the length of the garden hoe handle, I was able to stand on the ground without the worry of falling off a ladder. Plus, if something fell, I can get quickly out of the way. Just prepare for the water to gush out from the cleared water downspout. My particular culprit - a mudball. I suspect my sons had thrown it there from my garden.