Just another Day on the Farm

I have started writing at least four times and each time it ends up way to personal, somehow, I expect this one will be no different..

One week since my fall, one week since I broke my foot, and bruised up my body.. One week of darn near every single emotion that you can feel..

Grateful- In my strong moments, I feel grateful, grateful for my husband, who took time off work to look after me, grateful that we even in a position that my husband can do so, Grateful for my friends, they have stepped up and helped in so many ways, from friends in the city who not only bought me the air cast but drove it to the farm so that Jason didn’t have to leave my side. Grateful for my fellow farmers around me that are giving a helping hand in so many ways to make sure that my little farm keeps trucking along.. Grateful that my body did not get hurt more, I mean really I could have broken a lot more bones, I could have really been hurt.. I am grateful that is not the case, Grateful that my body is healing itself.. Grateful for my gardens, for my herbs and my knowledge of things that can help support my body and my healing..

See lots to grateful for..

But that does not stop the sad moments.. the pissed moments, this farmgal has a bit of bite in her bark at the moment and she needs to remember to shealth those claws..

The moments of sadness that this has derailed my garden-harvest plans, that this has totally fobarred my horse training, conditioning and riding, I have already missed on horse clinic that was totally paid for, hubby rode for me in a different training session and all my plans for the next two months are done.. even when I do get back to the point of being back in the saddle, both myself and Caleb will need to recondition ourselves into shape..

I am doing excerises in bed, I am using free hand weights, but even so, I can feel my body getting weaker.. and trust me, I am not happy about it.. hopefully in a one to two more weeks, I will feel strong enough to start doing ground work, and I am grateful that typically we can have a extended fall riding period, typically being able to ride pretty regular till at least dec.. and I have even found a close by place that I could take indoor lessons twice a month when I normally am off riding, which is awesome (see another thing to be grateful for) but my grrr moment, I have this awesome horse, that is just sitting in my pasture, he is being a powderpuff pasture pet, instead of getting out and being my number one big guy! sigh.. and when I don’t ride, hubby does not ride much either, so Brandy Girl is just handing out as well..

The garden, o my garden, I am so blessed, what a year for gardening, so many success’s, and a few so-so, and one really big .. fail (but that is a different post) and here I sit right in the middle of canning season unable to stand for any length of time at all and with a leg that needs to not just be rested but keep up and raised..sigh.. I am finally able this week to get to the point of figuring out a set up that should allow me to get some things done, I hope I am right..

Thankfully hubby did get the next seed planting out this past weekend, so other then the fall plantings for winter-spring green growths and other then carry overs for spring harvests and winter seed sowing, the planting for the year is finally at a finish, but now its weeding, harvest and seed saving..

The first week was nothing but rest, sleep and pain.. but this week, well its a new week, today I got 99 percent of the garlic order figured out, tonight or tomorrow, I will finish up a write up for a event I am working on, and I need to work on a permaculture presentation I am going to be doing..

These are things that allow my mind to get worked, not a bad thing, but I still tire so easily.. Night everyone..

Garlic Update, for those that ordered Garlic, just wanted to let you know that they have been harvested this past weekend and are now in the dryer’s, it typically a week to ten days to cure. Have been informed that the bulbs are quite large, so it will be around 5 to 7 for around a pound, give or take a bulb. So until I do pickup, you can still order some if you are interested. Just let me know. Music or Red Russian are avaialble

Overview of the offer..

Hello to my local readers..

I have a chance to get a awesome deal on fresh locally grown garlic, at 8 dollars a pound, (as you know, it a lot more at the local farmers market or at the garlic festivals, you can pay almost double that) there are two kinds available, Music and Red Russian I am personally going to take ten pounds for my own use and preparing it for the rest of the year.. I am wanting to know if anyone else wants some.. kind of a bulk order, bulk pickup deal.. I am willing to work with you, and make a couple different pickup times and spots. The garlic will be ready in two to three weeks so talk to me..

If you want to have some awesome local fresh garlic for use, great, if you want to get enough to put up your own for the year.. this is the perfect chance to do so.. There is a limit on what is available in regards to how many pounds but its a goodly amount and I will notify when I get close to it, this offer went on my facebook first and most folks are ordering in five to ten pound lots, but you can go lower or higher, totally your choice.

I am already getting some questions on how to age and hold the fresh garlic, so we will go over that in a post and then I will do a post on the different ways I am going to preserve it, a good amount will be used in canning and sauces over the next couple months, some eaten fresh in different ways and some canned, some pickled and some frozen.

While I am not growing this Garlic, I personally know the family that is, they are a hard working local farmers, and I want to see this little side line they are working on thrive and grow. I can say this, if you buy this garlic, not only will you be getting local, fresh but you will be helping support a local farm at the same time!

For those of you that are reading this that might be coming to a certain day event on Aug 10th that I will be at, if you want in on this, let me know and I will be sure to bring it to you at that time 🙂

Otherwise, feel free to send me a email if you have it, or just comment on this post..

There is a interesting story to this boy, but the bottom line is he is available for adoption, he is current on his vaccines for this year, has been clipped this spring, is currently a indoor-outdoor kitty. Anyone know of anyone in the Crystal Beach-Fort Erie/Niagara area that might like to give this boy a home.

He can be placed further, and I do have someone that wants to adopt from out west, but lets see if we can find a home close by first 🙂 Feel free to share far and wide his photo and info, he needed to find a few home with the next few weeks, as his current foster home is moving.

These were taken yesterday by marlene a dear friend of the family.. Both Sam and Jessie, his new herd mate look great!

Where one goes the other is sure to follow..

my sexy new boot for the next four to eight weeks, my o my! its been a heck of a week an a bit when it comes to hurting myself. the common factor has been being tired and when tired, not being careful enough, first my finger, I was tired and should have called it.. the I should have checked to see that hubby had moved the non slip mat out of the tub, and I didn’t and I slide with one leg in and one out, banging the crap out of my knee..

Which in turn lead me to being sore and tired and that was what helped me take a tumble on the stairs, which has lead to a couple nice bruises and a broken bone in my foot, which will be in a aircast boot for a good while and a much reduced summer in terms of plans..

Sigh.. current pretty much on bed rest since the fall, hubby taking a few days off work while we sort things out and playing nurse. Later Folks.

Ps. I won’t be out to get the garlic photos but no worries, the garlic pickup and meet greet will still be happening on time

Hello to my local readers..

I have a chance to get a awesome deal on fresh locally grown garlic, at 8 dollars a pound, (as you know, it a lot more at the local farmers market or at the garlic festivals, you can pay almost double that) there are two kinds available, Music and Red Russian I am personally going to take ten pounds for my own use and preparing it for the rest of the year.. I am wanting to know if anyone else wants some.. kind of a bulk order, bulk pickup deal.. I am willing to work with you, and make a couple different pickup times and spots. The garlic will be ready in two to three weeks so talk to me..

If you want to have some awesome local fresh garlic for use, great, if you want to get enough to put up your own for the year.. this is the perfect chance to do so.. There is a limit on what is available in regards to how many pounds but its a goodly amount and I will notify when I get close to it, this offer went on my facebook first and most folks are ordering in five to ten pound lots, but you can go lower or higher, totally your choice.

I am already getting some questions on how to age and hold the fresh garlic, so we will go over that in a post and then I will do a post on the different ways I am going to preserve it, a good amount will be used in canning and sauces over the next couple months, some eaten fresh in different ways and some canned, some pickled and some frozen.

While I am not growing this Garlic, I personally know the family that is, they are a hard working local farmers, and I want to see this little side line they are working on thrive and grow. I can say this, if you buy this garlic, not only will you be getting local, fresh but you will be helping support a local farm at the same time!

For those of you that are reading this that might be coming to a certain day event on Aug 10th that I will be at, if you want in on this, let me know and I will be sure to bring it to you at that time 🙂

Otherwise, feel free to send me a email if you have it, or just comment on this post..

What a awesome busy, up and down week it has been.. in truth I don’t even know where to start.. so you are getting point form, and its going to be somewhat short as my typing skills are being slowed with this chicken pecking LOL

– Broke and or cracked the tip of my ring finger.. as breaks go, its not bad, but its a pain in the you know what!

– Hubby had his first official riding lesson he was kind enough to take it for me on Caleb as I was not up to riding with my finger the way it was. It was a great lesson and both hubby and Caleb did great, for a full write up, see the horse blog..

– We had a little fence issue with week, we had a visiting herd that got out of their fencing and we had a bit of a meet, greet, push shove though our fencing and we found out that Brandy can in fact rear up and come down half inside and half outside the fence.. which leads to the next post

– We have spent a good amount of time adding in a hot wire to the top of the fencing so that both our own horse’s or unexpected guests on the other side will learn to keep to their own area’s and to keep them back off of each other..

-Anything that could go wrong did.. and everything costs.. of course the 300 dollar fencer we had, would not work, of course the new one needed a different gage wire, of course the store would not have more of the same kind of holders, so that we ended up with different ones etc. Of course it was hotter then you can imagine and not only did the heat rise but so did temper’s..

– Got horse napped, to go with a girlfriend to get a new horse, stunning buckskin paint mare, young girl, lots of learning and training needed on her yet but pretty as a picture.. but it took us three hours to load her, good thing my girlfriend is up for the challenge, I will be honest, I want to buy a well broke horse, I don’t mind putting in the miles and working on the fine tuning but I like to buy a pretty rock solid baby.. but it was a great trip, its going down into the record books as a AWESEOME girls trip..

-The garden is lush, thriving and growing and harvests are coming in, more succession planting is been done.. I will get a post and photos up this week..

There is more but that will do for now.. wishing you a great Monday, its a new day and new week!

Ok, I know this is a odd post, but I am going to share anyway..

over the past few years on facebook and in my gardening groups, I have often heard folks talking about garden theft..

In all the years on the farm, I have never had a issue till this year.. LOL

Yup, someone stole about 60 dollars (store value locally) of my Zucchini

Are you rolling on the floor yet.. We have all heard the stories that come aug, these get gifted to all your friends and family, that they get left on the porch etc.

Well, this year, I grew my plants in hills on the very edge of my property facing the road, and on sunday, I sent my hubby out to check on them as we had lots of male flowers, time for the females and he reported back, yes at least 24 plus Zucchini were coming.. figured they would be ready in two to four days.. so on Tuesday, I did walkabout and I just happened to take 5 photo of the hills, and yes in the photo’s there was a Zucchini in each one, in fact there was some in every hill, some hills had two plants producing at the same time etc..

I thought, I like mine a bit bigger so I will harvest, weds or thusday.. went out Thusday with a huge steel bowl to collect my first crop and….

ALL GONE..

EVERY SINGLE ONE of them.. someone had walked down the path and carefully taken each one off the plant, no damage was done it was a clean twist and pull..

by the time I got to the end of the line, I thought, you couldn’t have left me a couple hills..

Then I came in and stewed on this for a number of days, finally shared the story on the weekend and finally read to put it on the blog..

Ok, so I am torn..

A) if you were that hungry that you needed to steal my Zucchini, then take it, and I guess that means everything else alongside the road is now up for grabs, that means you will get beans, squash both summer and winter and more..

or

B) REALLY, you don’t have three feet of ground in your own world to grow a plant yourself.. clearly you like the stuff or you can sell the stuff.. I mean have you seen the price in the stores for six little tiny four to five inch Zucchini, it be wild..

I can’t decide if I should set up my trail cam or just write a note to pin to a tree..

So what would you do, have you had food theft in your gardens, have you found that gardens that grow close to the road is more open to thift. Did you figure out who was stealing your hard grown food, and if so, what did you do about it..