Like a chicken with my head.......

cut off....... Tomorrow my Dad and I will take Cortney to camp( 150+ miles
one way). She is so excited and has cameras for plenty of photo ops. She
has to check in by 3pm, so Dad and I plan to do a museum tour while in
Bozeman. They have a wonderful dinosaur display and it changes from time
to time, so it will be fun to see the new exhibits. They also have on sight a
original homestead house that is operational during the summer. They have
a blacksmith, and ladies cooking on the wood cook stove, a person who tends
a lovely garden in the front of the home. I love touring through it, even if I've
it several times already!

Today we're getting laundry done and on the line, packing and baking breads
and goodies for our first Farmer's market on Friday, 4-7pm. I will have some
produce; beets, yellow peppers, small salad sized carrots, salad mix, garlic,
cucumbers, dill, other culinary herbs and possibly raspberries. I need to make
tags for the baked goods, a sign with prices for produce and herbs, get the
table, chair and umbrella loaded in the car. I admit I'm nervous, I'm not a
people person and remembering names is my downfall. I remember faces,
but not names.*sigh*

Yesterday it was cool, into the mid 70's and in rolled the blackest clouds, so I
knew we were in for some moisture. BOY HOWDY! it started with a bang of
thunder, and came down like cats and dogs! It was steady the entire 25-30
minutes it came down. I looked out at the barn, thankful Mike and Jon had
gotten the new roof on and it was coming off the roof in a straight shot, like
an extension of metal to the roof. My thoughts were; Oh! No! Mo's stall will get
flooded, so I put on my mud boots, raincoat with hood and headed out to the
shed for a shovel. I knew I'd have to dig ditches to drain away the accumulated
water from in front of his stall door. I also needed to build a berm up in the
stall door to keep all possible water out.

Poor Mo was locked out of his stall, my Mom cleaned his stall and corral while
I was in the city picking up seals for some cylinders Mike is repairing for a
friend. She shut the top door to keep him out and let the stall air out, well....
I never paid any mind to it, until it started lightening and raining, by then
he was soaked.

After I'd dug a ditch and got the water draining away I built up the berm and
then let Mo into his stall, he was pleased to be inside away from the
lightening. Now that I was sure the water was draining off well enough I
indoors to dry off. My jeans were soaked and even the rain coat leaked
through, getting my shirt and hair wet. I looked like the proverbial drowned rat,
LOL!

Mike called from work and said he was late because they'd been hit as well
and the storage shed, where they keep their twine and fertilizer, the roof
was leaking so he had to move and cover items with tarps.

When I was changed into dry clothes I noticed something on the front porch...
it was a water puddle, which ran across the porch getting some items I had
setting on the floor wet. So... on clean up detail I went. It came through the
screen door and leaked in under the front door. It wasn't a huge amount,
but shows how intensely driven it really was.

When Mike got home he checked the rain gauge, it was reading almost
9/10th of an inch and the evening before we'd had a shower netting us
2/10th. It's a blessing for our pastures, but the garden, which is half
weeded is a sloppy, slick mess! Thankfully we have sandy soil so it
should be dried out enough by the weekend to get back to weeding.

Reminder; Click photos to enlarge*wink*

These are some pictures from this morning, it was misty at first but then
got very heavy and thick. Makes a beautiful picture though.

This is the front of the garden( potato patch) and it was just building in.
PTL! two of my rain barrels are once again FULL! You can see my

jimmy rigged set up for catching it from the gutter. It's not the most

efficient but it works until we can come up with something better.

Bless you in your day. We need to get a move on it to get clothes

washed on the line and dried before another suspected afternoon

storm rolls in.

Beets, Beets, Beets!

Well, the beets are coming along fine. We have two varieties, OP(open pollinated) reg. round beets and Egyptian flats. The rounds are big enough for canning and the flats are big enough for steaming to eat. We try to avoid sugar, even organic raw sugar and instead prefer natural foods, like honey as our sweetner. The first recipe uses honey and you can substitute in honey, just 1/2 the amount of what the recipe call for in sugar. Beet pickles 1 gallon small beets 1c. honey 1 long stick of cinnamon 1 Tbsp. whole allspice 1 qt. vinegar Cook beets with roots and about 2 " of the stem left on, in water to cover. Cook until tender, dip beets into cold water and slip off the skins and slice to desired thickness and size. Put beets in a large preserving kettle. Combine other ingredients, pour over beets and simmer 15 min. Pack hot into sterilized jars. Cover beets with boiling syrup and seal. Process 10 minutes( for pints) and 15 min. for qt. in a boiling water bath. Pickled beets 2c. sugar(1c. honey) 2c. water 2c. vinegar 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp. whole Cinnamon 1tsp. whole cloves 1 tsp. whole allspice ( tie up spices in a cheese cloth bag or place in a large tea ball) Boil until tender and slip beet skins. Cut beets to desired size. Cover beets with pickling syrup and simmer for 15 min. Seal hot into sterilized jars. Water bath in boiling water for 10 minutes. If you use qt. then add 5 minutes longer to the time. I use this recipe for golden waxed beans and carrots too. Harvard Beets 5-6 small beets( sliced and cooked, skins slipped) 1/2c. sugar or 1/4 c. honey 1Tbsp. corn starch 1/2c. cider vinegar 1/4c. water pinch of sea salt Bring to a boil until thickened, pour over cooked beets, serve hot but are also good as a cold summer side dish. Enjoy!

Happy pickling everyone! We'll be bust tomorrow canning beets, and making concord grape jelly from juice we canned last Fall.

Look what we picked today......

and there are several more that are beginning to turn, YEAH!
These are from the garden, not the greenhouse. We're getting 2-3
a day from the greenhouse as well. I told Mike I know what's for dinner,
BLT's on fresh homemade whole wheat bread, with bacon from
pork we raised and lettuce and tomatoes from our garden. Other than
the wheat, yeast, oil and salt everything else came from our farm!

Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but wanted to show that several of the maters

are nice sized, that is a 1c. measuring cup.

Remember you can click on the photo to see larger version. This is

the barn roof finished. See what I mean about the paint job, being

in need. Well it's been in need for several years now, but it's really

noticeable now! We have some siding to replace and then we'll get to

painting!

From the corner of my parents front porch
Updated picture of the three chicks, they're growing quickly and it

appears they are all poults( future layers), YEAH! The first batch

there is one for sure rooster, *sigh*

Today we're taking advantage of the cooler weather, our high today is

fore casted to be in the mid to high 80's. That is cooler than the high

90's and 100F yesterday.

Well must get going,I have laundry to finish and help Cortney weed in

the garden. She's practically got it weed by herself today!

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Are spikes stiil in style????

If you didn't know better....

You'd think I was in the loosing side of a bad fight. The bruises from the heifer calf are now at that green/yellow stage, so ugly and now I have a pretty good gash in the top/front of my head. Let me explain what happened, it was truly an accident...... Jon, our Ds, was gathering up three sheets of 12 ft long steel roofing to hand up to Mike, who was on the barn roof. I'd been talking a bit with Jon while he drank some cold water I'd brought out for each of them. I stayed where I was while he lifted the steel, maneuvering them so he could hoist onto his shoulder, then WHAM!!!!! I was seeing black and bits of light and felt a bit disoriented. I remember saying to Jon," Hey, thanks for hitting me in the head" He stopped and said," Mom I didn't just hit you did I, I thought I hit a fence post?" Nope it was mom's head. I asked if it was bleeding, you know how it always feels like it's bleeding even if it isn't. He looked at my head and quickly said," yes it's bleeding, I'm sorry Mom" At this time Mike asked what happened and Jon relays the happenings, as I head to the house to see for myself. Once in the house I see a pretty good gouge with minimal bleeding but the most upsetting part was the pile of hair on top of my head, and it was all loose, as in cut! Yes, part of my bangs was literally cut off by the metal sheeting, now I have spiky, stubble( okay "Small Farm Girl" you can stop laughing!*wink*) I'll post pictures of the stubble patch, although you can't see the wound, because when I cleaned it the blood washed away and I have a thick coating of Comfrey ointment on it. Poor Jon, he kept apologizing to me, he really felt bad . PTL it hit me on top the head and not more to the left, it might have seriously cut my face or even severed my left ear. We now chuckle about it and Mike is always telling me I'm hard-headed, well.... it's a good thing!*wink* Jon also made a good point about the hair loss, much of it was those pesky grey hairs, LOL!!! I'll get pictures of the now completely finished barn roof tomorrow, it looks wonderful! Mike and Jon did such a nice job. Makes a wife/mom proud. :o) Praising the Lord the injury was minimal and that Jon and Mike were safe throughout the roofing of the barn. Blessing for your day

The roof progress.....

Poor Mo is pouting, Mike and Jon moved the ladders so he can't bother
them anymore.

East side of the barn, metal installed minus the ridge cap and gable

end pieces which will be go on last. Looks so much better, but now the

paint job is in dire need!

Mike attaching the cross members on the West side of the barn. He got

got 80% of the cross pieces installed before the heat got unbearable,

so he packed it in for the afternoon. An early start in the morning and

he and Jon will be working on the shady side of the barn until well after

3pm. We're praying it's all finished by then. That leaves the 16x24 ft

add on roof for our firewood storage and extra hay storage.

It feels good to be getting the much needed problems areas

taken care of this year. Little by little it's all taking shape :o)

What's up on the farm?

Hooray! Mike's on vacation! He's already getting started on the barn.
Tomorrow Jon is coming up to lend a hand( or two*wink*) Yes, Mike
is wearing a harness. It's tied off to the tractor on the opposite
side of the barn.

The pitch of the barn roof is fairly steep and as you can see it's a long

fall to the ground. I'll get pictures as the get the metal on and then a

final picture. When this is done we still have 7 ton of hay to get home

(when second cutting is finished) and build the add on roof to the back

of the barn, for firewood storage as well as extra hay. Somewhere in

before the weather gets to cold we're planning to get the barn and

outbuildings painted; RED, of course*wink*

This is an updated shot of the first planting and second planting of corn.

You also can see the cucumbers, bush beans, rhubarb, and asparagus

( bottom right). We have cukes that are pickling size, but we aren't

making many pickles this season. We can and grow certain crops

every other year.

The Kentucky Wonder(OP) have literally gone wild! I've never had this

many climbers. I pray they produce as well as they've grown.

These are absolutely my favorite flower; single, old fashioned

hollyhocks. This season we have light pink, medium pink, dark pink,

peach, white and burgundy. I'd love to find a yellow to add to our

collection.

If you go back a few blogs you'll see a picture posted of our comfrey,

I'd harvested it. I can't believe how quickly this has come back, looks

like another bountiful harvest coming up shortly, PTL!

Here is our front door and screen door all freshly painted. They were

an ugly brown, now a crisp Timberland Green. My plan is to get as

many of the windows, in need of scrapping, sanding, priming and

and painting done this Summer and Fall
.

From a distance, you can see, if you click to enlarge, that I still need

to get the trim above the door painted. I don't like ladders, so need

to haul out a sturdy chair and get it done!

This is the outside entrance to the basement/pantry. It was peeling

and looked awful, looks 200% better with two coats of fresh paint.

The door( you can see part of it to the left of the photo) leads into

our mudroom/laundry room.

This door is inside the mud/laundry room and it also leads to the

basement/pantry. I took this picture to show the color that will be on

the upper portion of the walls, above the tongue and groove cedar,

which will be 4 ft., from the floor up. As I grow older I get bolder

with my color of paint choices. I like this color and will get a couple

of shades darker for the trim around the window and doors.

What do you think, be honest, I have a thick skin*wink* I know green

isn't for everyone.

Pictures of family visit and a preview of Cortney's graduation pictures

Braden meeting ole Bessie. He wasn't so sure he wanted to pet her.
Mike is massaging Bessie's old hips, she loves this and will stand for
hours letting you do it.

Mike's baby sister, Missy, Braden and Cortney showing them one of

her Americana hens. You can see the turkey toms showing off in the

background.

Braden decided he'd feed Bessie a alfalfa"cookie" Button was acting

shy and stood in the back of her stall.

Mike and Missy in the kitchen mud/laundry room doorway.

If you look in the background you can see the cedar wood we put on the

ceiling in the mud/ laundry room. This cedar( tongue and groove) will be

4 ft up the wall. This room was supposed to be finished before

summer kicked in and then life happened*sigh* It's my hope to get

mudding, taping, sanding, priming, painting done so Mike can finish

the cedar and all the trim work. The pine flooring will need yet another

two coats of varnish and it will be complete.

Cortney, sporting a new hat from her Auntie, Missy( Mike's sister)

and Jon
Another good picture Mike's Mom shared. Notice Jon is standing down

one step, he's 6'1" tall

Cortney sporting some makeup, very natural looking. It's just supposed

enhance your natural beauty!

This is our choice for her graduation pictures,graciously take by

my Aunt Linda( BTW. her blog is Grasshopper Viewpoints)

Although we feel bad she was so pinched for time, stopping

here in route to Kansas to spend time with family and then take

a trip to Paris with the eldest granddaughter. She did a beautiful

job, don't you think?

The flowers in the background are those on our root cellar.

This and That updates.....

Good morning everyone! Okay where to begin? Yesterday I finished all the irrigation of the garden, and got a good portion of the orchard and yard watered(via sprinklers) I also scrapped,sanded, primed and painted the first coat of paint on our front door, it was in much need of TLC. I also scrapped,sanded and primed the door leading directly into the basement from outside. I also weeded a bit in the strawberry patch and discovered it was to dry, so put a sprinkler on to soften up the soil for weeding. Late afternoon yesterday the phone rang, thinking it might be Mike I ran to get it. When I answered it was the lady from a Young Adults Retreat(YAR) camp Cortney has attended the last two summers. This year they had an increase of new campers and asked that previous campers step down for a summer, so the new campers could attend. Well.... Cortney understood and put up a brave face on, against disappointment, but deep down was disappointed. The lady said they'd had a cancellation and Cortney was first on their stand by list, so.... she gets to go to camp on July 29th! They'll spend 10 days in and out of Yellowstone National Park. She's due to return from her Grandma's in ND on Monday or Tues., we'll get her clothes washed and she'll have to kick in and help with weeding again( it's a constant battle) and then she'll be off for another 10 days of fun! Today's plan, is to paint a final coat of paint on the front door, get the first coat of paint on the basement door and weed in the strawberry bed. I have the pump running for a bit early today to finish watering yard and orchard, but it's fore casted to be in the high 90's so will shut it down by around noon, otherwise it all just evaporates anyway. I need to get our whites in off the line and hang out some jeans I'd had soaking. Maybe I'll get some mudding and taping done too! Maybe, being it's Sat. I'll take a nap*wink* Mike will be home early today, as the whole town shuts down for a yearly celebration, beginning with a parade at 10:30, garage sales, street vendors, duck races, smash and go car derby and whatnot. He's on vacation next week and will be working on getting the metal roofing installed on the barn. Monday he's got some gutter to remove and some prep work to do before installing the roofing. Tues and Wens. Jon, our Ds, is coming to lend a hand. Jon isn't so sure about the steep pitch of the roof, but Mike has a harness and will get it all set up on Monday. They will be installing 1x2x12' as a grid work for the metal to attach to first then getting the metal on and fastened down, the ridgecap and gable edging installed to finish it off. We also have plans to add a covered area( metal roofing) onto the back of the barn for our firewood storage and extra hay storage. We're hoping to have enough time to get a good start on that before his vacation runs out. Of course it might be nice to get away for a day to actually relax a bit while still on vacation*wink* Well, I need to move sprinklers one more time and get going on the second coat of paint for the front door. Blessing for your day. P.S. I don't have to cook anything for supper, we have plenty of leftover steak fried rice and leftover Moosetracks ice cream* grin *

Here are the bicep bruises. I'm afraid the bruises on my chest are in an
an area inappropriate for pictures, but they look just as ugly! These will
get worse by tomorrow and talk about sore!

Ever tried to take a picture of your own bicep, it's on my right arm and

I'm right handed. I had to use the bathroom mirror to see if I had the

the camera in the right spot and if it was a clear enough picture.

I just thought I'd share, not much else new, picture wise, to show!

I'm still here, missing Cortney and her help; ALOT!!!!

Good day, I'm still here, but with Cortney in ND with MIL I'm doing a three person job alone. I had all these plans of painting, mudding and taping and more priming and painting, but with all the regular chores, the garden, yard and such I simply don't have the time, nor the energy to do anything else.*sigh* Yesterday Cortney's Dexter heifer was acting like she wasn't feeling up to par, then I saw her poo! It was very watery, so in the house to round up some yogurt, Carbo Veg.(homeopathic treatment for stomach upset) and Yarrow. I also grabbed the thermometer to make sure she didn't have a temp. Her temp. was normal, eyes bright, just acting sluggish and loose stools. So..... I filled a 30cc syringe with yogurt, now mind you our other cows like this, so no problem giving it, but since it was evident something didn't agree with her she DIDN'T want the yogurt. Okay she weighs approx. 800 lbs and has horns and a temper too. So I tried to hold one horn and insert the syringe but she wasn't having any of that! Next move I grabbed her around the neck and stick in the syringe and did get the whole 30cc in her mouth and held her head up so she didn't spit any out. Now she's ringing and switching her tail and dragging me around the little corral. I again get her in the neck grip, but she's wise now and drops her head, when I dropped to insert the next syringe full she bounced back up hitting me with a horn in my bicep , then my chest, across the chest and into my jaw, Owwweee! It was worth it as I dosed her another 30cc. Okay, now I bruise easy and I KNOW I'm in for some ugly bruises. Thankfully she wasn't trying to be mean just trying to get away, otherwise I don't think I'd have faired so well. The last 30cc of yogurt went in by backing her rump into the corner, holding her right horn with my left hand and quickly sticking the syringe into the corner of her mouth, all the while VERY aware of her horns. Success!, the last dose given, although, Button is thoroughly mad, switching her tail and trying to get away from me. I decided to give her some time to calm down, before giving the yarrow ball and the Carbo Veg. Twenty minutes later I went to check on her and went in and simply pet her and rubbed all her favorite spots, she was relaxed enough to slip the Carbo Veg( are tiny tablet, that instantly dissolve) under her front gum, with out her even realizing. The Yarrow ball, well.... she wasn't happy and did manage to spit a portion of it into her water, which is okay because it simply made Yarrow tea. I pet and consoled her a bit more than went onto cleaning the barns. I checked her an hour or so later and she was upset and wanted out to be with Bessie, so I let her out. PTL! She began grazing her way down to Bessie's location and an hour or so later I watched her drink a good portion of water from the trough. She still had very loose stools, but was grazing and chewing her cud. When Mike got home around 5:30 pm, we went out to bed their stalls, and give fresh water in their buckets. We then had to herd Bessie and Button in for the night, Button was romping and trying to get "Grandma" Bessie to play, great sign and I breathed a sigh of relief. Once in their stalls, Button laid down and began chewing her cud, another sigh. This morning she was perked up and back to her normal temperament, stools are not as loose but still looser than normal for a cow. I'll keep an eye on her today, I guess she ate something that didn't agree with her, or had a bacteria that was trying to start something, thankfully we caught it early and nipped it in the butt, so to speak*wink* I should get pictures of my bruises, they are awful. I've often wondered why some people steer wrestle, now I know it's because they are either daredevils, or plain ole' crazy! Horns hurt! We're going to pick up Addy( our Dexter cow, Button's mom) tonight. PTL, it looks as if ole' Abe did his job the first time. Come end of March beginning of April( I haven't counted it out yet) we should be blessed with a baby Dexter, YEAH!!! Besides the first Dexter to be birthed on our farm, we'll have milk again, Double Yeah!!!! Well I am going to try to get some painting done and some mudding and taping today, between moving water in the garden and yard, cutting lettuce, mustard, spinach and thinning beets and fixing something for supper. I have two tenderloin pieces in the frig, and we haven't had steak fried rice for a while, so think I'll get a pot of brown rice simmering. We'll have salad and some pickled( beets, pickles, dilly beans, etc...) items to go along with this. When it's hot nobody seems to have a good appetite, but fried rice is always a hit and I love the leftovers. Better get a move on, moving water*wink* Blessings for your day, Kelle

Oopps!!!!!

That is what I get for typing the recipes in when I'm tired. Hey, the recipe that was titled"Zucchini Relish" now reads correctly, it is a salsa, not a relish, sorry for the mistake.

For zucchini relish I use the Blue Ball canning book's sweet relish recipe and sub in zucchini for the cukes.

Again my apologies and I pray nobody made this thinking it was a relish. * blushing*

Canning recipes, some of our favorite.

End of the Garden Relish
3c. chopped cucumber
3c. chopped cabbage
3c. chopped onion
3c. chopped green tomato
3c. chopped sweet pepper
3 c. chopped green beans
3 c. chopped carrots
3c, chopped celery
2Tbsp. celery seed
4Tbsp. mustard seed
3 Tbsp. turmeric
4 to 4-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
5c. sugar ( although I cut this back to 2 c. sugar and 1 c. honey)

Soak cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, onions and tomatoes in salt water( 1/2c, pickling salt on non iodized to 2 qts. water) overnight. Drain and rinse. Cook carrots and beans in boiling water until tender; drain well. Mix cooked and soaked vegetables with the remaining ingredients and boil 10 minutes. Place into sterilized jars and seal at once. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Makes 9 pints

Zucchini Salsa

1-1/2 c. diced celery
4 c. chopped zucchini
10c. diced tomatoes
6-8 jalapeno peppers( chopped fine)
304 green peppers, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1/2c. cinder vinegar
1/4to 1/2c Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. non iodized salt
1Tbsp garlic powder or 2-3 fine minced cloves( more if you like garlic)
2 tsp oregano
2c. tomato paste

Boil 1/2 hour stirring often Add 2c. tomato paste and boil another 15 minutes. Hot pack into sterilized jars and water bath for 20 minutes. Makes 6 pints

Pickles Carrot sticks

2 lbs carrots
1-3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1-3/4tsp. whole mustard seed
1-3/4tsp. dill seed
7 garlic cloves
1 bunch of mint or 3-1/2 tsp dried mint
2-1/2 c. cider vinegar
2-1/2 c. water
3 Tbsp. sugar or honey
3 Tbsp salt( non iodized)

Scrap carrots and cut into sticks. Pack vertically into sterilized pint jars. To each jar add 1/4 tsp mustard seed, 1/4 red pepper,1/4 tsp dill seed,
1 clove garlic and a large sprig of mint or 1/2 tsp dried mint.
Bring water vinegar and salt to a boil, pour over carrots, seal and water bath for 10 minutes.

Basil Green Beans

4 lbs green beans
1-3/4 tsp crushed red pepper( I leave this out)
3-1/2 tsp, whole mustard seed
3-1/2 tsp dill seed
14. cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bunch of fresh basil or 3-1/2 tsp. dried basil
5 c. basil vinegar( you soak fresh Basil in cider vinegar for a week to 10 days beforehand)
5c. water
1/2 tsp. non iodized

Pack beans vertically into clean sterile pint jars. To each add 1/4 red pepper,1/2 tsp. whole mustard, 1/2 tsp dill seed, 2 cloves of garlic and a sprig of fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil.

Combine vinegar, water and salt and bring to a boil. Pour over beans in each jar, leaving 1/2" head space, seal and water bath( full rolling boil for
10-12 minutes)

Dilly beans

2 lbs trimmed green beans
4 heads of dill weed
4 cloves garlic( peeled)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-1/2 c. vinegar
2-1/2 c. water
1/4 c. canning salt of non iodized

Pack beans into hot jars( vertically), leaving 1/4" head space. to each pint add 1/4 tsp. pepper1 clove garlic and one dill head. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a full boil. Pour over the beans, leaving 1/4" head space, removing all bubbles with a fork or butter knife. Seal and process pints and Qts. for 10 minutes in a full rolling boil water bath. Yield 4 pints





Apple Pie Filling( canned)

3-1/2 c. sugar( we use unprocessed cane sugar or 2-1/2 c. Agave syrup)
1c. Cornstarch
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt( non iodized)
10 c. cold water
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
6-7 Qts apples, peeled and sliced

Pack apples into hot jars. Blend sugar, cornstarch, spices and salt. Add water slowly mixing with a whisk. once mixed cook until thick and bubbly. Stir constantly to keep from scorching. Remove from heat add lemon juice. Pour over apples, making sure juice goes to the bottom of the jar, adjust to remove all air bubbles. Seal and process for 25 minutes in hot water bath or 10 minutes @ 10 lbs of pressure. Makes 7 qts.

It takes 4 of these 25 gallon tote buckets to fill our wheelbarrow and....
we hauled 11 wheelbarrows full of weeds out of our garden,
now you do the math!
Sure wish there was a market for weeds, because we sure had a
bumper crop, especially if sold by the pound!!!*wink*

Reminder: to see any of the photos larger, just click on photo.

The bush beans are in the foreground, pole beans in the background.

The pole bean rows are 16 ft long( those are cattle panels they grow

on)

Our second planting of sweet corn( foreground) and obviously

our first planting of sweet corn in the background. These rows are

50ft. long( divided by a walk path)

Cantaloupe row
Onions, peppers( not weeded yet), carrots and to the far right...

tomatoes. You can see our Concord Grape arbors in the background.

Beyond the tomatoes are cabbage, pumpkins and potatoes.
Early Flat Dutch, Early red, and Late Flat Dutch.
Deer damage, so...... it begins! Plans are in the works to get the

solar fence charger and wire around the melons, corn and possibly

the tomatoes.*sigh* Not only do deer graze, coons and skunks help

themsleves as well. *Grrr....*

This will be our second growth of Comfrey, I cleaned out the old

overgrown stalks. Harvesting the prime leaves and flowers for drying.

This picture is weird( the battery was low) but will give you an idea

just how thick the bindweed was in this end of our herb garden.

The visible flowers are that of our Sage.

See photo below for the, "After"

Now, that's better, whew! Pictured is Sage, Parcel, Yarrow and beyond

is Anise Hyssop, Comfrey and Borage.

Our large Elderberry bush( we have a smaller one by our back patio,

loaded with blossoms. These berries make the richest jam and jelly.

We've been told they also make wonderful wine. I make a tinture

using both apple cider vinegar( for one batch) and Vodka for another.

These berries are super immune builders, and help you to kick a cold

or flu quickly.

A close up of the elder blossoms. I'm thinking elder-blossom fritters

and elder blossom, chamomile tea or elder blossom-lemonade.

The "Salad" garden, minus the Garlic and the Egyptian walking onions

( spring green onions). We're moving the spring onions to a new

location, they seriously needed to be thinned anyway. My friend, Irene,

shared those with us two seasons ago, all the way from TX.

They overwinter nicely with a nice layer of mulch. I thinned enough

to share with several other gardeners in our community.

The lone sunflower! A bird must have planted this,

my bet is a Canary Finch, as they love our sunflower

patches.

Blessings for the remainder of your week and into your

weekend.