Skunked! How to remove the smell from your dogs!?

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Just another day on the farm


The house has a whiff of skunk..  I have company coming next weekend and so I have a week LOL to try to air out/clean the house.

On Friday Night the hounds headed out the door to do evening chores with Dear Hubby and Dezbot headed for towards the outdoor rabbit hutch’s and someone was waiting for her.. Marie was following closely behind

Dezbot took the hardest part of the hit, getting some on her head, neck and flank (I am guessing she swerved), I think Marie just caught a bit of extra from the air more so then a hit.

There first bath was a hard scrub of a mix of Blue Dawn Dish soap/Baking soda. I use a cup of baking soda and about 2 tsp or so of the original (that is important) basic blue dawn in a pitcher mixed and dissolved and then after the dog is well wetted, poured in sections on the dog and well worked in.. Allow it to sit at least 2 to 3 minutes.

They will help stripe the skunk oils from the coat and greatly reduce the smell you will be dealing with.

They need a solid good rinse, you do not want that baking soda left on them 🙂 Once you have water running clear with no soap left, then mix regular a jug of 50/50 percent vinegar /warm water.  I made up about 10 cups per dog and then slowly pour and rub this warm mix over the dog, please be careful to not get this mix in their eyes/mouth

It give it a little rub in, around 30 to 60 seconds will get it done.. then give them a fast rinse with warm water and done. The vinegar rinse is important for a few reason’s, if any baking soda got left it will help cut it, it will help get the last of the soap out, it will change the ph of the coat and it will help cut the scent.

Dry the coat with old towels and wash them right away, I recommend crating your dog afterwards (if its crate trained) or limiting its ability to run around the house 🙂

If they got it in the other parts of the house. that’s a lot more tricky, I had to head to town and get a skunk order removed that was safe to use on my couch as I do not want to use the mix above on it.

There are many recipes on the net and I am sure many of them do work as well. I just wanted to share what I have found works well for us and its made with common pantry things.

Very low cost but effective.

What is your favorite way to deal with this? Got a funny story about the time your dog got skunked?

 

Posted in Critters | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

No buy November Part 3 A

Posted on November 24, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

Nov 20th

Tuesday was a good morning wake up and lots of energy and it was a baking day. Fresh Bread loaf, Black Pepper and Cheese Buns and Blueberry crisp (which hubby devoured)

The rest of the day was spent on a putter stuff, I got the rest of the prepped pots planted with seeds, I worked on the house a bit, and shoveled again..  I took up a few more tiles.

I read though one of the cookbooks I am to review and tried to find a recipe or two to try.. I could not find a single thing I wanted to make.. It’s beyond basic.. I will try to read it again later this week and see if I can find something in it that will catch my eye. good thing this one was a second-hand buy  I think I will send it back to the church basement when I am done with it or re-gift it.

Miss S had to be locked up tonight after supper to get ready to go for her spay.

Nov 21st

Up early, to early but we had the chores and getting ready to hit the roads early as we needed to get Miss S to the vets for the first appointment of the day.  It had snowed all day Tuesday lightly and then it just kept on going over the night, As I had done the deck I can honestly say that we had an extra 4 an half inches of snow arrive in 24 hours.

Leeloo is missing her momma so she is very interactive with both us and with the other purrpots, She was hunting Patrick, he is a very good boy with her but no one puts up with her nonsense in the same way as her mother does. She has some big! paws to fill to get as fluffy and as sweet as Patrick is 🙂

We needed new wiper blades and winter windshield washer, I also got a gallon of paint for a room in the house. All those three count as approved buys as they are house/farm/vehicle/critter needs.

However I must own up that I did buy an interesting plant that was a clear.. NO

I own it, I bought it.. I had never seen one before and I might not have been able to find it again if I had not gotten one when I did. I will put it in the over spend a list to the end of the month.

I did already have the pot and soil for the transplanting so that was all still in the rules 🙂

We almost got stuck driving out of the driveway in the early morning, Ok, we did get a bit stuck to be honest, I had to get out and push! So we knew that we had to clear the driveway.

My mom had gotten Dear Hubby a snow blower for his birthday early in the year. It was the day it came out of storage and got its first run.. It worked like a charm, it was fast, it was user-friendly, it was lovely.. It took a three-hour job and turned it into a 30 minute job on the big long lane and front walk. (I am still shoveling the deck, steps and so forth). I look forward to trying it out myself on the next snow fall.

The wind was blowing cold and hard, it was very interesting to see the new pattern that are showing themselves in drifting and so forth with the new open yard and the missing tree’s.

For Nov, the deeper cold has arrived, it’s going down into the -20’s tonight with clear sky’s and a big old moon hanging in the sky.. it’s just going to be colder.  It’s strange to look up and think, it would be warmer if it was overcast..  Still a good check on our cold preps before the truly deep cold hits.

Nov 22nd

What a cock-up of a morning..  first its cold out there at -26.. layers and the big winter boots.. the truck didn’t start, time was spent with the charger, and the jumping cables and finally it was called..

Instead of hubby taking the truck to where he catches the bus, and I have the car for the day, I had to drive him and I will need to pick him up. It was not the way that either of us wanted to start the day!

Still to tell the truth the drive was lovely, the roads were cleared and dry, the snow and spruce always lifts my spirits. Got home and ran the hounds, even the farm dogs went brrr and were fast on their bathroom and came dancing up with shaking paws being lifted up and down. No one is quite ready for this this cold yet.  I will leave them in while I do more shoveling and snow removal this morning.

 

I watched the lights come on for the grow area and smiled at the site of all these little wee sprouts lifting their heads and I puttered on a few other plants while sipping a fresh hot tea.. I took in the beauty of these cheerful flowers..

We have often had issues with the one sink area getting froze up and needing help on a thaw and I have to admit that I went in and turned on the taps expecting a issue despite the fact that we had done the repair work on this and watched in delight as both hot and cold poured out..  NICE! hopefully this will still be the case when its in the -40’s.

LeeLoo is nine weeks old today and that ever changing eye color on her is so interesting to me?! She is in grow mode for sure and is starting to get that “longggggg” look that all pre-teen kittens get, I am a touch sad to see her losing that “wee baby” pudge they all have on milk belly.

The house feels like its getting a way from me, I get one thing done and two more crop up.. so I hope to get a bit more order in things today. I have thawed out a big bag of raspberries to make a another crisp as the first one was gone in two days and I didn’t have that much of it. I also pulled grated zucchini to make a nice loaf with it.

Got the shoveling done and then had a rest.. good thing I set the alarm because I dozed off and then was up and got ready and headed out to the vets to get Miss Sofie. She was very happy to see me and ready to come home.

Her surgery area looks great post 24 hours after her spay and she is chowing down on food/having a drink. I know its a long time between the time we take it away and before they get home to eat but its the best for their system before and after they go under.

However there was one interesting thing.. She appears to be really like to “hold” on her number two.. now I knew she didn’t use the litterbox before I took her in and I did tell them that..  I was warned to keep a eye on it if I could as its possible that she could be a delayed girl in that way and it can be a “possible” issue as she gets older. I am honestly not sure how to keep a eye on it for a cat that does it busy outside.. I think once she heals better, I will start giving her belly a feel and try and learn.. empty, normal and “full”

Its so pretty outside, the sun is shining hard which is lovely in the house, its warm in the sun beams but its a total flip the moment you step outside 🙂

Nov 23rd

Stumbled across a available pup that I am looking at, just need some more info from breeder.. and we will see..

I had not really planned on adding another hound for a two more years.. and I really wanted to add a male and this is a wee girl.. hubby just laughed and said red heads all round then dear!

Up way to early as hubby said someone parked just down the road, turns out they broke down and needed a tow but by then  I was up and going.

Its Black Friday sale and I have my list and checking it twice.. its a short list and we will see, I am REALLY hoping two massive cookbooks will finally go on sale at least 40% off, I have been drooling over them but at 60 plus a book, that is all I have done.

Hubby did his research and add one single thing to the wish list, he has wanted one for years ever since his last one broke. I truly hope it goes on sale. He has been working so hard doing his job plus covering and acting at level above him plus the farm while I have been sick with the flu. I figure some of his many! hours of overtime pay can go to this.

The day moved on smoothly, made a lovely BBQ Beef with mashed and green beans, got my seed potato’s order done.. more on its own post later.

Then the quiet Friday evening went sideways… hubby went out to do chores and sudden appears with the hounds and went.. we have a problem, the smell hit me like a rolling gag..

Baths, and cleaning, eyes burning, can not the smell off my hands perfectly..  o my, o my..

That’s all folks ! A great way to start the weekend..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in No Buy November | 9 Comments

Friday Rambles around the Table

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

Come on in, kettle is on.. I am on an Earl Grey Tea kick at the moment and I have taken to making a full pot of it at the time. I have been using some of my more fun teapots just cuz I can!

So what caught your eye in the news over the past week? Did you put the news to the side if you are in the states and focused instead on your Thanksgiving?  Are you doing Black Friday Shopping?  If so are you doing it online or in person? Did you make a list and if so, will you stick with it.

I have my master list of things that we know we want to add to the farm and I do watch sales to try to get them at heavy discounts if I am buying new.. Many times I can find them second-hand and that is an awesome way to save money and often buy things when they were built-in heavier formats.

It’s a balance act, as somethings repairing the older versions is beyond my ability or skill set and or the new version is just so much more improved, lighter in weight, or use less gas etc.  Its like food processors, the hand crank are the ones that go forever but so much extra work to make the food.. where the food processors are so much faster, but I have burned out a few motors in my day in my more bulk cooking/canning.

I want to talk about food this week, two things hit my radar this week.. both will affect most folks in their kitchens,  just in different ways.

First lets talk about the “fresh” item, that is of course Romaine lettuce. Yet another recall and in this case, they are asking everyone to stop eat Romaine and or any Romaine Salad’s or Salad Mixes that contain it.

The reason is of course yet another E-coli issue!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/lettuce-e-coli-contamination-1.4913956

This is the 3rd Major recall in 2018.. they reach for cross spreading from farm animals/birds/wild critters. So its being hit at the grow stage typically from the water source, then once it in the plants even at a lower rate, the very way it’s handled, packaged (when you buy pre-cut, the Romaine gives off sugars that help it grow in the bag (yum) give it lots of time to grow.  The best thing.. washing makes NO difference and its eaten raw!

But really we also need to look at the “new” waste water that comes from the treatment plants that is being used to grow crops..  I understand that they want to use “cleaned” grey water to grow crops, I do the same at times here on the farm, I have been known to collect grey water and water my fruit tree’s or low to the ground soft fruits.. What I do not use grey water is when its going to touch the produce that we will be eating!

But here is the bigger catch, they are trying to take “black” water and treat it enough that it becomes grey water and that is lot harder and there is going to be failure prone. However I want to turn this on a different angle..

Do you think having fresh “soft/summer” greens available all year round is going to become a thing of the past or the very wealthy, or do you think more folks will have small home green growing centers? in their homes. Do you think we will see more smaller growers take up the market locally.

Or do you think we will go back to eating more cabbage and other root veggies in winter salads?

All right lets switch from a luxury food that provides little calories and compared to most other foods, very little health punch that in truth could easily be replaced in meal planning and talk about one that is much more staple.

The Potato..

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-potato-harvest-weather-conditions-1.4896189

I listened with interest when they talked about the fact that we are down massive amounts of potato’s all across the country.. all-weather related.. the potato’s in many case rotting in the fields or rotting in the bins..

https://www.producer.com/2018/11/squeezed-harvest-causes-potato-shortage-in-manitoba/

I am calling it now folks..

  • We are going to see a potato shortage over the coming season, not just until new potato season but right up into full harvest next year!
  • We are going to see higher costs on the potato’s in the store but we are going to see a lot of very poor potato’s in quality being sold
  • The little potato company is going to rise its prices and take more of the market because they will be one of the few ones available that will not be effected by this but will certainly take advantage of it.
  • You can expect ALL frozen potato products to inch their way up in cost over this one.

Do not think this is only effecting us!

https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/european-drought-emsland-highlights-damage-to-potato-crops-dramatic-cost-increase.html

Europe is having issues due to weather/climate in this regards as well and they are down 25% overall but really hit hard in the bigger potato’s yield that are needed for French fries

05 Sep 2018 — The European potato harvest will be at a historically low level this year and present a massive challenge for growers, processors and their customers. Due to the crop failures in potato fields, some of which were total failures, the availability of potato products will be significantly reduced. According to the Raw Materials Procurement Department of the Emsland Group, potato fields of the contract farmers of the group are in dire conditions.

The German Association of fruit, vegetables and potato processing industry (BOGK) expects that the potato harvest in Germany and Europe also made light of the situation in July.
Farming and potato processing industry experts explain that at this current time the crop is expected to be reduced by a minimum of 25 percent; large potatoes, which are necessary to produce French fries will only be available in small numbers or in the worst case not at all in many areas.

So normally I would tell you that we have our own potato’s in the cellar but our potato patch go turned into mashed spuds when the whole garden was smashed by a high hoe due to work that needed to be done.

Thankfully we have a local potato farm just down the road and at the moment they do have large 50 pound bags of spuds available at this time.. (I expect that they will sell out sooner than later, last year was the first year that when we went in the spring, they were sold out months before the next harvest)

So we will be buying in bulk for canning, cooking them, and cooled and stacked and stored in the freezer, plus hash browns put up and putting a couple hundred pounds into the potato bins in the pantry.

If you have a local farm, you might want to check on their status and think about stocking up while you can if you need to boost your put away amounts while you have the chance now.

The second things I am going to say, if you have land to do so.. might be a good idea to order in seed potato’s, and want to include some earliest in that order so that you can get them on the table a lot faster than the fall harvest storage ones

I did some fall potato planting and then bedded them down for first early’s if they make the winter.  Otherwise, it will be a seed potato year. I will start some true potato seed on a few as well.

I have used these guys for years and been very pleased with the seed potato’s that I get from them.. I have never had an issue to date (hopefully that will continue to be the case)

https://www.seedpotatoes.ca/

I see that they have a number of sold out kinds but still lots of good ones to pick from!

Will you be growing potato’s in 2019?

If you have to replace potato’s in your meals, may I ask what you will replace it with?

Posted in At the kitchen table, Friday Rambles | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

The Home Made Pantry Book Review

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

So this our first of the book reviews, I grabbed this one-off the pile and started flipping and then sighed.. it was so basic.. I mean BASIC.. how to make butter, how to make a beef stew, how to make pancakes and cornbread..

I can not lie, I just looked at the pages, struggled to find anything that would challenge me and I then put the book down with a sigh!

I came back to it the second time and did a more in-depth look at it and read a few of the recipes.. They are solidly written, they use basic food and spices, things that I believe most of us would find in our pantry’s.  They are easy to make.. nothing hard about these recipes.. they are straight forward and would give a nice homemade result.. Tons of pretty pictures in this book.

Still I didn’t find a single recipe that made me want to dig in and getting cooking or baking. Instead I made homemade Blueberry-Ginger Crisp and Black Pepper and old aged Cheese buns.. Neither of which are in the this cookbook.. or any cook book for that matter.  They came from my own mind and my own hands..

AT this point I was worried that I might have to give a poor review on my first book so I grabbed it again with a cuppa earl grey with a dried orange slice throw in and settled in to read. Not the recipe but the full-page of her story..

That is where this book started to shine for me! Page after Page got turned over and I started to smile and laugh.. The joy of new recipes for someone who has never milked a cow and worried about the first time she made yogurt..   The lifting of her spirit when she learned she had the power to make these foods for herself and her children.

O yes.. that was the tipping point.. the book gets a solid 3.5 out of 5 starts.

The perks of the book.. its lovely to look at, its one of those eye candy cookbooks, if you like them and I think all cooks do to a point. It’s very detailed in how to make things. The food is simple, healthy and very easy to make.. All good things for new cooks or those who are learning how to do things that have always been bought..  how to make your own sour cream or cream cheese or butter etc.

But the truth is it shines as journal for me more than it does as a cookbook.. I enjoyed getting to see cooking, baking and making though a set of fresh eyes and a new voice.

The downside of the book

Cost, New at 30 dollars Canadian (I got it at the second-hand shop for .50 cents) it’s very costly for a cookbook that only has a very basic recipe every two or sometimes third page.  Its light on recipes, big on words/story/picture.

It’s not a challenging book at all. Do not get this book if you are already a good cook or homesteader.  Its suited to someone who is JUST learning 🙂

So I would like to point out that I DID NOT get anything for this review, the thoughts are my own. I bought the book myself etc.

I know that I said I would cook out of the books but on this one that is just not going to happen folks..  lol

 

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged | 6 Comments

Frosted Fern: A Christmas Mystery Plant

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

Sitting nested in among the Christmas Cactus and the Pontetta’s was this new little plant to me.. The frosted Fern!

Frosted Fern

This wa a new to me plant.. its cute for sure. I can see the appeal, its got spruce like green bough’s and these cut white tips that look like they are carrying a dipping of snow on the ends.  Like many plants at stores, it was being looked after but not well.. it was overgrow in its little pot, deeply in need of a drink to its bone dry soil. It was also on sale.

I wanted to scoop all four of the little guys up and bring them home with me.. but like most things moderation is much better and given that I had no knowledge of this plant or what kind of care it would need.. I stood there wavering.. shoud I or not?

After picking it up and putting it down again.. I sighed and went.. the love of plants got me again and one of them came home with me.. I had it all wrapped up in plant cover to help it going from store to house and then I transplanted it into a much bigger pot, watered it well and started looking for information.

The best that I found was from Laidback Gardener.. a truly outstanding blog!  I have put a little of his advice here and then linked to his site for the rest of it.

If you do not want to read more then here are the highlights

  • No direct sunlight needed or wanted
  • Water at least twice a week, well drained soil is best
  • Ideally place in a spot with your best higher humidity or consider putting a tray with pebbles under it that you keep a bit of water in to give that little plant area extra moisture in the air.
  • Will Grow up to a max of a foot high and foot wide but in house averages six to eights inches normally.

via Frosted Fern: A Christmas Mystery Plant

Among the plants sold during the Holiday season, the so-called “frosted fern” is certainly the most mysterious, because not only is there is so little information about it, but most merchants don’t even seem to know what to call it!
You see, this plant is not a fern at all, but what is known as a spikemoss (Selaginella), a primitive plant not really that closely related to true mosses (bryophytes) either, but rather to clubmosses (Lycopodium and others). So you could call it a “fern ally”, but still, it’s neither a fern nor a moss.

Posted in Life moves on daily | 17 Comments

No Buy Nov -Week 3a

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

Nov 16th

Snow, finally the snow arrived and the first shoveling happened, I am in charge of clearing the deck and the steps, but I have to admit that I did not feel up to it and hubby did the first snow clearing of 2018.

Its a quiet day to be honest, getting ready for a putter weekend, hubby asked me to make sure it was just us this weekend, a good choice as we have had company pretty much weekly for a bit (which has been fun) but great to take a weekend off.

A bad coughing day and fever off and on most of the day which has made layering needed.. I know its me and not the house.. cold/hot

It was a writing day for me, I was just in the mood to write and put down over 3000 words in different blog posts, some posted and some coming.

Nov 17th

The farm cats are in their full fluffy winter coats but little wee Paris is just starting to grow in her winter coat, I expect she will need to wear a extra coat if she wants to spend much time outside now that its getting cold..

I had put out sticky mouse traps in a few places, I have not seen any mice or signs but its fall and its the time of year they tend to come.. I hear whining and clunk, clunk and there is my wee paris, both front paws stuck to the glue, hopping along with the disk..

Ok, I will admit that I laughed, I mean come on.. but then I rushed to her help and needed to trim her fur on her feet, I was able to detach her and then trim the hair, then washed her feet in warm soapy water and well rinsed as I didn’t want her trying to pull and then eat any tiny bits of glue or get bits stuck to it on her feet.

She was very good about letting me give a helping hand, so then I decided it was a good day to trim all the dogs toenails. man, Dezbots grow so fast, thankfully they are white so easy to trim compared to black ones.

Hubby did the town trip and got the required things we needed for a few more of our farm projects over the next two weeks, we have so much per pay day set to the side that is for farm work/repair/winter prep etc. Its truly amazing how fast that budget goes and how little comes home for it..

Still each project does matter in the long haul. I did not do much, just the basic’s to be honest and I napped twice.. I really want this fever to break.. but I did have my first 15 min of fresh air. I bundled up tight and it was so lovely to get out in the sunshine.

We had maybe a hour or so of sunshine though the day otherwise overcast and I enjoyed every minute of it 🙂 Early to bed, hubby spent his extra time working on a new short story.

Henry has a deep sleep box (tote) filled with straw in a pen inside the little barn, he still has some trouble getting his own share at the bigger cat feeders so he gets his own feed dish to eat in piece and I am happy to see that he well settled. He is a very good hunter of the barn he is in. We have decided that for the winter, he will have the run of the barn during the day for hunting, time to play and etc, but in the evening, he goes in his pen. He has it all figured out lol..  He loves his pen, its got his people cuddle chair, his ledge on the window to look outside, his sleep box and his own private feeding spots.

He runs to it and waits for you to get there.. lol.. Cats can certainly be creatures of habit.. given the amount of purring coming from him, he seems good with his new routine. Still he is happy to get out and hunt as well.

Nov 18th

O my gosh, I got to sleep though the night and no fever! WHOOT! you have no idea how excited I am that I got a full nights sleep without waking up a number of times.. I did cough lots after waking up and getting moving.  I felt great and got busy.. only took 45 min of work to have me sweating and tired..

It was such a good tired.. hubby and I got the working corner sorted and moved around and got the plant stand set up.. I am so excited to get the trays cleaned and then filled and picking out seeds 🙂

Hubby was able to get the snow fencing up on his own, while I had a bit of a rest and did a load of laundry and had a visit with mom.

After lunch, it was time to bundle up and take advantage of the sun, the lack of wind and get some outside things done outside, we got siding snapped back together, we got new foam liner into the windows to help block drafts. Hubby got a new liner up to block any drafts on the deck door.

I had just enough energy to ask hubby to bring in my ten gallon fish tank that we got when we have “bright eyes” the turtle and hubby uses it each spring when he saves tadpoles and raises them up till they climb out and move into our yard.

It took a good scrub and then I got it set up and moved Blue Bruce the fighting fish into his new digs.. so much room.. the fish bowl the plant seemed huge and Bruce was big.. lol.. now the tank seems very empty, I do have nine snails and one fish.

I have done my research and at some point I will get a few more plants and a few more aqua critters to fill up the tank more.  You have to be careful on what you put in with a Batta fish as roommates.

Hubby still had get up and go but I was pretty much done for the day. I went to bed very early.. hubby worked on taking up tiles in the one room so that we can get them off the floor and get floor repaired and new lino installed in this room.

Nov 19th

Well, I had gone to bed before 8pm and I woke up when hubbies alarm when off at 4:45 am and have been awake since, I am sure I will need a nap at some point today. Still I had a amazing sleep.. I think I am finally on the mend. (Nope, while I did lay down to rest, I did not nap)

It snowed overnight and there is just a inch or inch and half of snow on the deck/steps to clear off today.  Its to keep snowing off and on all week long is what they say.  I need to pick a book to start reading in list of books to review.

Excited on the savings we have done over the first part of Nov..

We have reached our goal of setting the “house/grocery/allowance” weekly budget to the side  and we have saved enough to cover Miss S spay and after care. The nice thing about this is that we did not need to touch savings to make this happen, we just tightened our belts and eat out of the pantry/off farm.

I can’t say that we have been ultra frugal this month in some ways, we did get the big Christmas present that had been on our buy list, we did order in the thermal curtains on the black Friday sale prices.. They were on a very good sale with free shipping.

However we have reached past our first goal for extra savings, so I do take that as a win! If we save enough to reach the second goal by the end of the month, it will be a full success regards of our little setbacks.

I had found this pretty lady/planter in the fall at the second-hand store for .50 cents and today I potted up the baby Aloe Vera plant into her basket. I think its cute.

Got three tray of soil set up for the grow area, cleaned the trays, pots and tops, prepped the soil, sorted the seeds and I planted out the salad micro-greens.

So far I know I will be planting..

Herbs
Chives
Green onion bulbs
Garlic
Pea’s
Pumpkin Seeds
Maragold’s

I think I might start slipping a sweet potato as well, just get some vines going for potting up and growing by the big living room windows..

I think I am going to do four to six pots of pumpkin plants that will be transplanted out into bigger pots that will run along the half wall in front of the side window. I hope that there will be enough light, otherwise, I might have to set up another light row somewhere else to keep them growing. Will keep you posted on how it goes.

I also spent a goodly amount of time on a reno project, its slowly coming.. Its friend visiting tonight/game night as its Monday 🙂

 

 

 

Posted in No Buy November | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Spider Plants “repotting”

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

Spider Plant “Chlorophytum comosum”  

It’s a favorite plant of mine, I have always liked this ribbon striped grass like plant since I was a child. It is easy to care for and very hard to kill to be honest. It can be grown in indirect light. It can be set on a shelf or hung in a basket.

Now I have to admit that the smaller younger plants look great in their smaller pots and will add a great texture and color to lots of spots to pick from in your house.

The big plants to me look better in a big old hanging pot so that you can see the flowers and the baby spiders it will make to the best advantage.

The plants are fast growing so you will need to re-pot them up until you get them to the big size you want and then you will need to do select trimming to keep them at that size.

I was very pleased to re-pot these two up today. They have doubled in size since I got them and I can’t wait till they send out their tiny white flowers an decide that they might like to produce a few babies.

They do need a well-drained pot, (none of these no hole bottom pots you see at times now in the store) when it comes to your spider plant, please get a pot that has a drain hole to it. Having said that, they don’t like to have wet feet and so its a good idea to let them dry out a bit between watering

If you let it go to long, you can get little brown tips on the ends of the leaves, don’t worry just tip them off and they will keep on trucking.  They are a hardy plant for sure.

Spider Plants are on the top ten plants to have to help clean your air on the Nasa list of plants they recommend to clean air quality in a enclosed space.  I think I would need a lot more plants but every little bit helps right 🙂

Do you have a spider plant? I bet your grandmother did! What is your oldest plant? Do you or have you gifts baby spider plants to family and friends? Its a great starter plant for kids rooms.

 

Posted in frugal, Garden | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Odd Bits Sunday

Posted on November 18, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

How is your Sunday? Good I hope, I wish you the very best

I have worked many a sunday in my day so I know that not everyone has the day off but if you do, I hope your chore list is short and you get some down time with family or friends doing something you love.

Hubby and I are in slow mode, well I am slower then him, as I tire so easy but we got the work table corner area all sorted and tidied up and moved to a new location for a number of things.

The reason for this was that I really wanted to get my two tier plant growing rows set up and going so that I can start radishes, micro greens and Salad Greens to go with my sprouts.

The mirror got a clean up and got put behind to help reflect the light back to the plants rather then hit the wall. This is a very sheltered area of the house and draft free. The plants will do well here.

Then we needed to get the snow fence up and around the storm garden to be.. aka the new pond LOL right now its a big hill and a pond. It certainly would not be safe to have that unmarked in the winter snow.  While its not that deep, its just not worth any risk.

At that point, we needed to do a little storm repair while the sun shined and it was only a calm -10. In the last high winds some of the siding up high had popped out of its track and while it was loose it was holding in current place.

Still if the wind hit it just right, it could have come off and so up the ladder hubby went while I bundled up wearing a very thick scarf wrapped around my head and ears stood on the end and handed things up and down the ladder..

One of those silly little things that take two people and time to get ready and then takes no time to do itself 🙂

Then we took a look at the two big windows that were drafting, we had planned on doing something from the inside but the issue is that we can not put a film on, the hounds like to bounce up to the windows and bark like mad when folks come or go.

So we had a good look at and went, I think we could do a thick foam insulation from the outside that would make a huge difference if we pushed it into slot just so.. so the next two hours was spent up ladders, working with foam.

Success, as soon as I put my hand on the inside a noticeable effect.. wonderful!

As I have a good amount of time where I am down resting, I researched thermal curtains and did a bunch of work on figuring out what we work best for us and give us both sun/heat blocking in summer heat and had PROVEN thermal blocking in winter.

I finally tracked down a company that had done tests and had real numbers to show and they happen to have a amazing sale on for black Friday.   Hubby and I went over the numbers and decided to go for it.

The data says they are able to reduce heat loss at windows by 25%, now that might not seem like much but it would add up over time.

Decided on a Rust color for the living room and a sage green for the bathroom. Now we see how long it takes for them to get here with the postal rolling strikes in effect.

Well, hubby just got excited that his battery is fully charged so off we go to put up new insulation on the door frame for the deck door..

Posted in At the kitchen table | 3 Comments

Nicotiana Rustica – Aztec Tabacco

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Just another day on the farm

I have ordered in a new kind of tobacco to me, it’s often called the Aztec Tobacco and it has a crazy high rate of nicotine. The average tobacco has 1 to 3 percent, this plant on average has 9 percent.

Now don’t worry I have not suddenly taken up smoking.

This plant is coming to the farm for me to use as a naturally grown and produced  on farm pesticide.  I already make a drench from Rhubarb Leaves for some uses and I have used tabacco for other uses on the farm.

Its a very old remedy with a lot of fork lore around it and on the other hand I have seen it in action, I still remember seeing chaw being used to help heal a eye issue on a horse in my teens. It worked quite well, I remember wanting to know why? The answer was.. because it does..

So many of the questions asked as because So and so tried it and it worked so he told me and I used it and it worked..  (of course those type of things did not work all the time and thankfully today we can call the vet and get help)

Still there are two very proven ways that tobacco does help in.. one is as a spray that can be used in the gardens and when used carefully and with thought, it can help clean out worms in certain critters.

Like all things when plants are grown in the real world, amounts flex from plant to plant and trying to figure out doses is always tricky and we learn as we go.

Still I am excited about adding this new plant to my farm, the native bees will love the flowers, guests will think its a pretty plant and very few will even know what it is to look at and me?

I have something new to learn and work with that will ideally give me a useful product in the end..  Win-Win

Do you grow Tabacco in your garden? if so why.. if not.. why not?

Posted in frugal, Garden | Tagged | 13 Comments

Friday Rambles “Winter has arrived”

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Just another day on the farm


Hello, come in.. Put your boots on the melt tray and let me shake out your coats and such. Would you like a hot chocolate today? It just seems right for this first snow storm of the season to offer hot Chocolate, but if you prefer grab a cup of coffee or I can make a pot of tea?

Ps, that reminds me that I need to get my basket of washable floor slippers so that I have them ready for guests.

The first snow storm at the end of 2018 has arrived, we did not get much really, not sure what the fuss is about, its only four inches! with a bit more in drift here on the farm but I know they got a lot more in other areas and Its a Massive Storm that covered many states and province’s  in Canada.  They say that we are not done yet that more snow is on the way yet so maybe it will be more in the end.

I found it very interesting that “normally” we get 6 of these storms a year.. want to guess where we are at in 2018? 11 and counting..  and let me tell you if you live on the east coast of Canada, they are getting even more.. they are from what I can see averaging at least two a week for the past month at least.. never-ending storms.

While the cold has arrived here, I am watching and praying for those effected by the fires and I have not forgotten all those effected by the hurricanes. I am so sorry for those that have been effected including folks I have known online for years.  A dear friend of mine lost her home in the “camp fire”..  I am so sorry.

You have heard me blog before about the damage done with now confirmed Six tornado’s touched down in the Ottawa valley and across into the Quebec side of the Ottawa city area.

Katrina made this video public and I think its very important to put a real voice and face to some of the things I was talking about in terms of finding ways to help folks. I am glad they reached their fund-raising goal and that they are getting help but I also want you to here in her own words just how many more little things there are.. how the system is set up for a bleeding out on a thousands tiny cuts.

I was watching the news last night and they had a number of owners from this “weather event” talking about the coming cold, the coming snow.. the fact that they still have holes in roofs, holes in walls and more. That if they can not get things at least patched, they will be forced to move out of their home due to the cold.

I agree, a blue tarp will not keep out the cold/snow.. and in many case’s they are not allowed to even try to fix it in a more temp way as they are waiting for insurance to do so, or in the case of some of the folks, they are waiting on land lords, who are waiting on insurance and contractors.  It was talked about  and I agree.. those with the skills are working full-time and more if they want to be.. they are working!

I am honestly worried at the amount of folks I am hearing about that are going into a Canadian winter in holiday trailers or campers. It can be done, I know this. But honestly a small wood cabin with a wood stove would be better than a camper in many ways but that is a lot harder to come by close enough to drive to work or where the rebuilds will be done.

I have to admit that I am also surprised at how many folks say, we will rebuild. I say this because of the Fort Mac Fire. I know that a lot of folks never came back, I would like to know the data on this. If you are a home owner or land owner, what percent rebuilds and what percent of renters stay or move.  I wonder if there is a difference.

In the case of Fort Mac if you believe the news about 25% of them do did not go back, they found new jobs, new homes, new places to settle and they were talking in the news that two years later some people are still waiting on their rebuilds.

Which bring me to the question, are those rebuilding, building with an eye to climate change? I know that most folks having lost their home, do not want to have a eye on what could come.. they are in the moment, in the now!

BUT whatever you want to call it.. climate change, climate instability  or use whatever words you want.. it’s here.. it’s not coming guys.. it’s here..    Everyone wants to point at the big things and they are there.. happening world wide.

The truth is for most of us, it will be the little things. So many little things that change

This snow is a month early.. four weeks of our extended fall, gone.. Four weeks of our extended uncover grow season.. gone. Four weeks that normally prime butchering time.

I know, we need to be able to enjoy the small things, we need to love our families and friends, and we did joy in our lives..

I mean Christmas is coming.. and one of the points of why pagan tradition started was to give thanks, spend time with family and friends in a joyful way as you put the growing/harvest season to bed and feasted on the things that would not hold all winter but which where plentiful at that time.

However! They knew that hard times where coming, winter was hard time and expect it will this year for many folks across the world and in many ways the same was then..  Proper shelter, Warmth, Enjoy Food/Water and Illness.

So lets not close our eyes and lets not panic.. Both of them do same thing.. they freeze us.. they hold a person in place..

I say..

Keep them open.. see the big picture (you don’t need to stare it down, just know its there  and willing to keep open mind about it)

And go into it with them wide open and willing to change and learn and flex and Adapt!

So my challenge this week is work on something that needs to be done to help combat the cold.  We have been working on this for the past weeks. It would be nice to tell you that we got it all done ahead of time but life is busy and the farm is busy and there is always a list waiting to be done and juggle.. throw in sickness and hubby working major overtime and the juggle gets harder.

So here we are, needing to still things..

  • We will get a new liner on the door to prevent drafting
  • We will get plastic up on the outside of some of the outbuildings to help prevent drafts in buildings while still allow light in (we do this every year) but I want to a touch this year
  • We will do the inner plastic in the house on at least one or two windows that are not as sealed as they should be.
  • we will run a test on power back and confirm that its working correctly and use it for a day

I will keep you posted on how it goes!

So I will give it over to you dear readers.. what is one thing you can do this week that helps you with something weather related in your home? Be it an apartment, or condo, be it in the city or country..

What is one area you would like to improve on? can you work on it, or it to big or to late in the season? if so, is there something smaller that you can work on?

 

Posted in At the kitchen table | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments