Butterfly,Butterfly and Chickens

I got these great butterfly shots yesterday.


We've been seeing a lot of them here lately.These are actually two matching ones,I couldn't get them both in the same shot.I tried to direct them but they wouldn't listen!

The plant they are on was labeled Texas Lilac when I bought it but I am pretty sure it is a Chaste Tree.

Which by the way is a medicinal plant,good for ladies' problems.I am very interested in folk medicine.I have been trying to learn to identify our native plants and their uses.I planted several medicinal herbs also and plan to do so every year.Today I picked Mullein leaves to dry for tea.It makes a natural expectorant,might come in handy this winter.An infused oil made from it's flowers is good for ear aches.If you are interest in reading more about this useful plant here is a link.

Our little black and gold bannie chickens are forever going broody,even in winter!This one hatched out these little babies a few days ago.

They are of unknown parentage.The little gray one is half bannie,it is tiny and has feathered feet.

She sat on 4 eggs,but only 2 hatched,2 were duds.I don't know how,as much chicken lovin' that goes on back there!But we almost always get a dud or two.




I love these little bannie hens,so does The Boy.They are tame and friendly and great mommas.If you don't have a couple you should try them out.


This is my favorite chicken,Peckahontas.

She is the only chicken we have that turned out like her.I think she is lovely,I keep hoping to get another one like her.She has feathered feet so she has some bannie in her,those are our only feathered footed birds.She is nice and big like on Orpington,but her color is a little like an Easter Egger,but they are a skinny chicken, not plump.
I just know I would love to have a few more like her!
I canned some more green beans and chicken yesterday!That may be what we have to eat all winter,green beans and chicken!Not really.
The Boy has to be at church this morning,he doese the audio booth and has to set up for Sunday.After I pick him up we are going to visit some dear friends.They always load me up on fish!So we will at least have fish to go with our green beans and chicken!

Throwback Thursday

This throwback is not to my past. None of these folks are my kin,that I know of anyway!I love this song and these old pictures are great.I have a thing about old pictures,I find myself searching them,gazing into their faces,looking for a resemblance.I think it is because I have few photos and know very little about my ancestry.I hope you enjoy the video.

Free,Free,Free

I just love that gal over at Broken Teepee,she is always having giveaways! This time it is 250 custom made stickers from UPrinting.Your kiddos would flip out over stickers with their faces on them!Of course you could make labels or business stuff too.If we win it will be,of course,stickers of goats.What can I say,we are goaty people!All you have to do is leave a comment,pretty easy.So just do it already!

Wordless Wednesday

This is our house from space using Google Earth.This was taken awhile back because the boards scattered all over are from when we were building the chicken coop.

Everything Taste Good With BBQ and Other Ramblings

I over slept a little this morning.The sun was just coming up when I jumped up.I went to wake The Boy who,like his Momma,is not a morning person.He preceded to tell me in a gravely,sleepy and deeply hillbilly accented voice,"The animals can wait 30 more minutes."
I told him no, they were hungry, and at that moment Fiona let out a huge bellow and both Bonnie and Clyde began some deranged donkey duet.I said,"See,they are calling you,they're hungry."
He replied in the same sleepy hillbilly voice,"We should just eat them all."
Now he doesn't really mean this,The Boy loves these critters.
I asked him,"Even the donkeys,I don't know how that'd taste."
His response to that was,"Just put BBQ on them and they will taste fine."!!!!!!!!!!!
Ahh..my son!


On the way to the dump this morning we had a long conversation,mostly him talking and me saying no,about how howitzers would make good farm tools.



I did get to can some green beans yesterday!

Talk about doing the happy dance!I have a deep,desiring need to can things.I don't know why.I find great beauty in rows of home canned food.I guess as far as obsessions go it is not a bad one,not like liquor,smokes or making meth in the basement!I don't have a basement but if I did it would be full of canning jars!I can get a little out of hand.I can not pass up jars.The Boy has stopped asking why I have jars in the buggy every time I go to the store.Oh,and old jars,canning junkie heaven!To find even one at a yard sale will leave me smiling for days!There is literally nothing you can not can.I just don't get the same satisfaction from freezing and plus canned food is ready to eat just heat it up.Now that we live so close to the Gulf and it's hurricanes I don't dare rely on electricity to keep my precious home grown food yummy.Hmm..I guess if that huge leaning oak falls on the house during a hurricane it will probably smash my jars too...but it has been there for a hundred years so I am going to live in semi-reality and say it will stay another 100 years!This is why a bad garden year hits me even harder,nothing to can!

Yesterday I had to drive the hour to The Boy's orthodontist because his spacers would not stay in.I asked them to try a different kind but that is supposedly the only option.I find this hard to believe since his old orthodontist used a different kind!Anyway...since I made the long trip for a 5 minute fix I decided to indulge myself some.They have a lot of antique shops so I decided to stop into my favorite one on the way home.Found these great old glass doorknobs.Our house is 101 years old,and looks like it hasn't been repaired in 99 years!These will look great on the bedroom doors.They have old doorknob,but they are plain,probably used to be brass, doorknobs.Glass is so much prettier.

My thoughts on Mr.Tumnus.My heart tells me he will be fine to treat like all our other goats.Thanks to my blogging buddies for telling me of their positive experiences with their bucks.I just feel like he will be OK and common sense wise,he has shown us no aggression,even when Nibbles came in heat.Plus I really don't like the idea of having to with hold affection.

He is so cute,I think it would have been impossible anyways!

Misty Mornings

Our morning started out misty.It looks ghostly and surreal,the animals looked other worldly moving in the distance.



OK,you can't see any critters in these picts,but it is perfect for October!We have had a lot of rain and cooler temps the last few days.After this summer I think the whole earth and all it's creatures let out a collective sigh.Sweet relief!







Here are our new girls,Sweet Pea and Guinness,eating their breakfast.


They are getting used to us and their new home.The Boy scratched on them the whole time they ate this morning.



He also hand fed Mr.Tumnus .



Of course, no scratchin' for him.We don't want him too be too friendly with us,and he is a little...OK a lot stinky!It is hard to find the right balance,we want him to be tame and friendly but not think we are his,don't want a head butt to the knee cap!Plus,he is so gosh darn cute!Oh well, like everything else, we'll figure it out as we go!I guess that is is that way for a lot of folks.So many of us "homesteaders"didn't grow up this way,so we don't have that generational knowledge that come from being in a farm family.


I have no idea how to make the animals eyes not glowey.Hmm..spell check said glowey is not a word.



This is my little Satsuma Orange tree,it has flowers!Yeah,I hope it will make some oranges!I will probably have to brace up the limbs if it does,it is a small tree.I have 2 little Myer lemons that I had to do that to.I call them the "Charlie Brown"lemon trees,one lemon and they bent over to the ground!


Here is The Boy's favorite breakfast,sourdough waffles and homemade blueberry syrup.Yes,I know the waffles are not very brown.He likes them to be soft,probably because his teeth hurt and they are easier to chew.



He only has one pint of syrup left after this one.Not nearly enough to last him to next year.I only canned up 5 pints this summer.I didn't get enough picked.It was just too hot.I planted my own last year ,but they didn't make it through the drought even though I watered them.I will try again this winter and plant some more.
Sorry,not a lot has been going on around here,but since it has been a few days I wanted to post.I think I may get to can some green beans today!This makes me very excited because I didn't get hardly anything to can this summer.If I do I will show you tomorrow.

Garden Update

Well, the garden is looking good.

Yep,I know it has weeds,always does.I have visions of beautiful,magazine worthy, weed free gardens.Never happens,never will either I don't imagine!
It is a race now against cold weather.I will defiantly get some green beans.


The purple hull peas will be iffy,they like warm weather.It has been in the 90's the last few days with night temps in the high 70's but a front is coming today and will drop us to the 70's with night temps in the 50's.

It probably won't last it's too early for those kind of lows.Farmers Almanac did predict colder and wetter than usual for us this winter.

I have always been told tomatoes need night temps in the 60's to make.

That's why I didn't get any this summer we went straight to the 80's at night.I usually can up enough tomatoes to last all winter,sigh...it is going to put a damper on my usual winter fare if I don't get some from these!Of course I didn't get any thing much this summer except some okra and yellow squash.

Me and The Boy can make a meal off fried okra and fried yellow squash!This is the south we take every thing that could be remotely healthy and batter fry it.How can something that taste so good be so wrong!?!
The brussle sprouts I set out are doing good, The Boy is none to pleased about that.


The cabbage and broccoli are struggling with this warm snap we've had.I will have to replant a few.That is if I can find any broccoli,is it just here or is there a broccoli shortage everywhere?I bought seeds for everything I wanted to plant this year but somehow left out broccoli.I am trying to plant things I will be able to save seeds from.I also have some cauliflower seedlings that will hopefully go out soon.
This weekend is supposed to be good for root crops,I did not have a lot of luck last year with these but I am going to plant carrots,beets,parsnips and some onions and hope for the best.Seed is cheap and I figure if I only get a few veggies they paid for the seeds,especially buying organic produce.
This is some white winter squash I hope makes before frost.

I planted pumpkins this time last year on a whim and they made before frost,so I am hopeful.


This is a big mound of fire ants that covered my sprinkler.

Those of you far enough up north who have never encountered these,they are pure evil,the devil's minions.

Here is a beautiful sunset,what a way to end the day!