To my fellow women bloggers......

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men.....

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in..

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they

think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what

makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their

family and friends.

Women have vital things to say

and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Seedling update and homemade chick food

Our tomatoes, early flat dutch cabbage and some flowers are already in need of re-potting.
Top view of some of the tomatoes, we have them at various stages in prep for
ripening in the hoop house. Some of our favorite varieties are Determinate and some
are Indeterminate. Determinate means that the plant has a primary and a secondary
axis, producing a limited supply of fruit/ ripen at relatively same time frame.
Indeterminate has a central axis, growing, indefinitely in length, producing a
succession of lateral branches, bearing flower buds. Indeterminate will ripen
throughout the season.

We'll work on re-potting in a week or so, depending on the weather and will

move them to our small outdoor greenhouse during the day and back in, in

the evenings, or we may hook up our milk house heater and leave them out.

Many of our herbs have long germination times, but they are beginning to

fill in and grow well. We are however again struggling with our sweet and hot

peppers. The seed is viable, we check by sprouting some on a moist paper

towel. So I'm either over watering them or under watering*sigh* I've replanted

them for the second time and pray they sprout.

As we've educated ourselves about GMO's and commercial animal feeds,

we've been on a path of making and mixing our own feeds. Today I'm grinding

our chick feed, this will supply a weeks worth of feed for the small chicks. As they

grow you'll need to increase your amounts Here is what we grind;

2c. organic barley

2c. organic oat groats

1-1/2 c. Painted Mountain Indian corn

2c. red winter wheat

1/2 c. organic flax seed

1/2 c organic sunflower seed

and to this I add;

3-4 Tbsp. granular garlic

2tsp. sea salt

4-5 Tbsp. Thorvin Kelp

1 tsp. of each herb listed; yarrow, oregano, rosemary and basil.
Here is the Painter Mountain Indian corn, we grow each year for ourselves as

as well as for animal feed. Everything added and waiting to be mixed. It smells wonderful! Okay now

don't laugh, but..... it makes their poo smell better too, LOL! Mike even says it

smells like Italian something *wink* You can see the different textures in the grains, some I grind finer than

others for better absorption. They love it and we place a small plastic lid

full of sand and small grit in along with their food and water. We also

begin introducing grated up carrots, lettuce, squash, bread crumbs, etc...

This is when they learn to become beggars*wink*

Some things are worth paying attention to.....

While reading this morning this verse stood out bold;
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Wow! time sure flies when you're having fun*wink*
Last week began with the blessing our our grand daughter, then on
Wednesday Cortney had a the opportunity to help deliver a lamb, all on her
own. Her boss had to run to the P.O. to pick up baby chicks and left
Cortney watching a ewe who was in labor. In just the 15 or so minutes
Annabelle was gone, the ewe birthed a single lamb. It was windy, so when
the hooves and nose presented, Cortney put a jug together in prep for the
mom and baby. She retrieved the lamb, letting the ewe follow along into the
barn and into the jug. Then she cut the umbilical cord and dipped it in
Iodine, and stripped the ewe. When Annabelle arrived the lamb was
up and already nursing. It was a buck and he weighed 14lbs. Annabelle
was so... proud of Cortney! She becoming quite the sheep lady*wink*

Thursday Cortney and I had plans with a friend to make Lye soap. This
was my first time making lye soap and I wanted to watch a pro first. We
made four small batches, using different oils and scents. I brought a
batch of Calendula/ peppermint home to cure for 4-5 weeks. Now that
I've had a tutorial, I feel comfortable enough to try it solo. I need to
watch garage sales and thrift shops for some glassware, wooden spoons
and a small scale for weighing the oils and lye. None of these items will
be used for anything but soap making.

Friday and Sat. Cortney worked for Annabelle in the morning and I got
a call at 10:30 am saying our chicks had arrived, so.. off the the city to pick
them up. Our afternoon was spend getting the chicks settled in, grinding
and mixing their feed and enjoying a short visit from Mike's Mom. Mike's
Mom made a quick trip for the day to see the new Great Granddaughter.
She spent time with Jon, Bobbi, Jaymz and Jayla and then came up for
a short visit before returning to ND.

Our newest guests, 5 jakes came courting our hens. Last year
there were only two jakes that came to coax a hen to come with them.
It's fun to listen to them gobble and our toms return the gobbles.
They've been here two mornings in a row and hang around for
several hours before moving on.

This Jake was brave, he approached the pen and paced and strutted

up and down the fence line. Our toms as you can see are NOT happy

Started working on the hoop house and before we knew it we had

the framework up. Now we need to get the lumber in place next.

I'm going to try to make a trip into the Habitat for Humanity

warehouse to find two storm doors and a couple of small windows for

each end. We also ordered the equipment for 3 ft roll up sides. These

will allow for extra ventilation when needed. I'm so.... excited to get

it up and running and the raised beds done and planted. We'll

be able to have three rows of raised beds, with two walk paths and

room for a couple of starter tables*wink*

Mike showing off! I don't do ladders, so instead handed him needed

items. I'll post more pictures as it progresses.

I can't believe Easter is almost here. Where does the time go? Before

we know it it will be time for Addy to calve, YEAH!!!!

I'll get pictures of our chicks, we only ordered Plymouth White Rocks

a few as replacements for older hens and the rest as meat chickens.

So far all 25 appear to be healthy the thriving, PTL!

Blessings for your week,

Kelle

A beautiful prayer, when all seems lost....

Dear Lord,

I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak.. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer, in Jesus name, Amen.

Grandma power kicking in.... heeee, heeee

Mom( Bobbi) and wide awake Jayla
Her hair is a light brown with red tones and blue eyes!
Cortney is in 7th heaven, a niece and she's hoping to be able to babysit
Jayla and Jaymz. She just loves kids and they seem to be drawn to
her.

Nothing else mattered today, but tomorrow we have laundry to finish
and get hung outside. My wringer washer is down for repairs(oil leak)
but was blessed to come up with yet another wringer washer*grin*
It's square instead of round and works like a charm. Once Mike
gets it resealed and running again, we'll be able to get laundry done
twice as fast.*wink*

Thanks for all the compliments, she is a blessing from God and we
feel privileged to have her. :o)

Thank God for small blessings.... She's here, our granddaughter!

Our precious granddaughter arrive a few weeks early, today! Jayla Rae weighs 6lbs 14 oz.
and was 19" long. Mom and baby are doing well and Dad is so proud!

So tired, it was a long day!
Jayla did show us her beautiful eyes and was quite alert for several
minutes, before falling fast asleep.

Proud Dad, he was so excited!
Big Brother Jaymz, Grandpa Mike and Jayla Rae
Grandma Kelle and Jayla, she's perfect and I'm not just bragging
Aunt Cortney, me and Jayla , so tiny.
Big Brother Jaymz and Aunt Cortney, she can't wait to babysit Jayla!

This sure lightened my mood after the health care vote on Sun.

evening. None of that seems so important right now. We're simply

enjoying our precious gift and blessing. :o)

Speaks for itself...

For those that are Irish, Happy St. Patty's Day!

Myself, I don't really get into all the commercialized holidays, their purpose is to get the consumer to spend $$. We celebrate Passover, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas and not in the commercialized sense, but rather a traditional celebration of what the holiday really represents.

Yesterday was a personal holiday, we observe right along with Birthdays, it was our 26th Anniversary! Now we don't get carried away but feel this is an important day to celebrate. Mike and I don't exchange gifts or even cards but we did receive a funny card from my parents and a really nice one and some chocolates from Cortney. A friend of ours, gave us a truly special gift and very thoughtful too, a music CD of selected love songs, from country western artist she knows we like. We listened to our gift CD on the way into the city and sang along with each and every song, Thank you Ashle'. :o)

Mike took me out for supper, it was a surprise as to where. We returned to an old haunt, well we ate there a couple of times early in our relationship, but they opened in a new second location. It was a wonderful evening, Mike had a nice steak, garden salad and a potato side. I had coconut shrimp and halibut with garlic mashed potato and I chose french onion soup instead of salad. The soup was delicious, but so hot it was almost boiling, so didn't get much eaten before our supper arrived. The shrimp was a real treat and cooked to perfection, Mmmm, Mmmm., as was the halibut, coated with a herb crust, it had the best flavor.
Mike wanted a dessert but by this point I was stuffed, so we decided we'd share a root beer float( in a HUGE mug with I bet 1/2 pt of vanilla ice cream), sure glad we decided to share.

After supper we decided to do some shopping around, just for the heck of it. We ended up buying........ you know we're so practical *wink*............. new bed pillows for each of us, Extra Firm, can't stand soft pillows! LOL! Actually I think our anniversary gift, if you want to call it that, is our new 16x24 hoop house we'll be building in a few weeks! When we do gifts, 99% of the time are something practical, and those gifts mean the most to us both. Our evening was wonderful and we both pray we see another 26 blessed years together.

Seedling update;
Everything is growing well, in fact almost in need of transplanting into the 4" pots. The ONLY thing that didn't come up was our peppers and I think it was because they needed to closer to the heat and less water, so.... I'm replanting them today*wink* With exception of the peppers and the Silentz tomato, we had an average germination rate of 95%, and some of the seed was 2-3 seasons old, so I'm very pleased.
Looking forward to the hoop house and getting the tomatoes, peppers, melons and okra off to an early start. Our plan is to use this from early Spring( growing cold weather crops) through end of Nov. or until it gets to cold to mess with. We don't want to heat the hoop house, other than for a few weeks here and there and we'll do so with a wood stove( barrel style , most likely) We'll have doors at each end( solid ends) and 3' roll up sides. Our objective is to start our season earlier, for ripe tomatoes, peppers and melons earlier, as well as extend our season. I'm excited! We still have our little starter greenhouse, which is more practical to heat, if needed, so will continue to use this as well. *wink*
Well, today is forecasted to be 67-69F and I have three loads of laundry to wash, and hand out to dry. Then my plan is to be outside enjoying the sunshine, we need to clean up branches and sucklers trimmed from our fruit trees. It's also forecasted to cool down for a couple of days, so will attack our dirty house, and have plans to get cabbage buns made. We have three heads of cabbage that need to be used up quickly and we're working on using up carrots and potatoes too. We're still digging parsnip, some we'll let go to seed.

Tonight's supper will be ham, cheesy potato bake, and steamed carrots and parsnips with a dab of butter and lemon juice drizzled over them.

Blessings for the rest of your week :o)

Synthetic nitrogen destroys soil carbon, undermines soil health

New research: synthetic nitrogen destroys soil carbon, undermines soil health
By Tom Philpott

[This is an excerpt from a story originally published at Grist.com]

“Fertilizer is good for the father and bad for the sons.”
~Dutch saying

For all of its ecological baggage, synthetic nitrogen does one good deed for the environment: it helps build carbon in soil. At least, that’s what scientists have assumed for decades.

If that were true, it would count as a major environmental benefit of synthetic N use. At a time of climate chaos and ever-growing global greenhouse gas emissions, anything that helps vast swaths of farmland sponge up carbon would be a stabilizing force. Moreover, carbon-rich soils store nutrients and have the potential to remain fertile over time—a boon for future generations.

The case for synthetic N as a climate stabilizer goes like this. Dousing farm fields with synthetic nitrogen makes plants grow bigger and faster. As plants grow, they pull carbon dioxide from the air. Some of the plant is harvested as crop, but the rest—the residue—stays in the field and ultimately becomes soil. In this way, some of the carbon gobbled up by those N-enhanced plants stays in the ground and out of the atmosphere.

Well, that logic has come under fierce challenge from a team of University of Illinois researchers led by professors Richard Mulvaney, Saeed Khan, and Tim Ellsworth. In two recent papers (see here and here) the trio argues that the net effect of synthetic nitrogen use is to reduce soil’s organic matter content.

Why?

Continue reading this and other stories in Philipott's series "The Nitrogen Dilemma" at Grist.com


It well worth reading, please educate yourself, it's one of the best tools you can have.
Blessings,
Kelle

They're up!

Well the watermelon, Okra, most of the tomatoes, Basil, Lemon Basil, Sage, Anise Hyssop, Fenugreek, Fennel, early and late cabbage and a few flowers are all up. I'm so pleased, because last year we had to replant twice, and still had poor germination. So far the Roma, Pink Egg, Watermelon Beefsteak and Brandywine have about a 95% germination, the Okra has 100% germination and the watermelon( Golden Midget and Sugar Baby) have a 98% germination. The herbs that are up have a 96%+ germination; YEAH!!!!! Now I'm crossing my fingers with the Rosemary and a few of the other new herbs we ordered this season, hoping by next week we see some progress. Our Red Rock Cabbage has not germinated at all, neither have the peppers( sweet or hot).
Early cabbage in the foreground, and Okra, then in background tomato.
Tomatoes, more popped through today!
Callie, snuck into the outside greenhouse and rested her weary bones in a
planter. Lucky for her nothing is planted out there yet! She's not dumb, the
greenhouse was 85F that day!

Casino posing for a not so candid shot, doesn't he look thrilled?
Tuffy posing on top of the oak rain barrels. He loves to jump up onto them.

We've been enjoying the warmer temps., today was 62F. What a blessed day to hang clothes on the line. We've BBQ 'ed twice in the last couple of weeks, taking advantage of the longer daylight and the mild evenings. Tonight we had BBQ 'ed, rib steak, baked potatoes( cooked on the grill), corn( from the freezer) and macaroni and cheese, leftover from lunch. For dessert we each had three scoops of vanilla ice cream( store bought, not homemade :o( ) with chocolate topping.

Not a lot new going on, just catching up on chores and cleaning the house. Yesterday we picked up our Azure Standard order and today I had to put it all away and reorganized the downstairs pantry. I'm still suffering from sticker shock, it's been over a year since our last Azure Standard order and let me tell you their price increased! Somethings not so much, but other things were ridiculous increases and I simply refused to purchase those items. Most of what we purchased was basic pantry items; honey, organic raw cane sugar, dried beans, liquid soap( castile), vanilla beans, sea salt, etc..... While I'm glad to be restocked I'm not looking forward to paying the bill. It could be worse, much worse if we eat a lot of prepared food items instead of cooking from scratch.

Potatoes are holding up well and we're eating them as often as I can include them in a meal. I am looking into canning the little potatoes and possibly dehydrating some sliced, but found out they turn a brownish grey. I'm going to try soaking them in lemon juice or cider vinegar water first before dehydrating. I'm still canning pickled carrots and am looking into a carrot relish, to make the best use of the remaining carrots in the cellar. There are still 3 heads of cabbage to be used up, as well as approx 20lbs of onions, maybe more. I'd like to dehydrate some of the onions, but need to do it outside. Then I'm going to try to powder them in the blender, for use in soups, casseroles and as seasoning in dips and dressings.

Some of the beans I ordered from Azure were organic pinto beans( 10lbs). Some I put in a container for storage and approx. 5lbs are soaking to be pressure canned tomorrow, this way they are so handy and can be made into refried bean dip, enchiladas, tacos,used in casseroles and soups.

We're expecting 25 White Plymouth Rock chicks on the 24-25 th, these are going to be raised for meat and as replacements for older hens we're going to cull for soup hens.

It's getting late and 5:30 seems to come quicker and quicker so will bid you all good evening. Blessings to each of you in this new week. :o)

I'd like to refer you to a blog of interest......

The blog is; http://kyhomestead.blogspot.com/ Now New Kentucky Homestead is currently offering a give away, but we feel that the blog is full of wonderful, honest, practical/ useful information. By all means add your name for a chance to win the Maple syrup, but also take the time to read through the posts, you won't be sorry. The post (below), is from their give away post.


Now is your chance to not only sample but to enjoy a jar of fresh, 100% natural, homemade maple syrup! This is not just any syrup, it is special grade syrup made from the sap of South-Central Kentucky maple trees. These trees were grown sustainably and organically, happily enjoying life while growing in the fertile soils and clean air of Kentucky with plenty of fresh water and sunshine. After being gently tapped, sap from the trees was collected and then boiled over a real wood fire in order to concentrate the sugars and highlight the maple goodness that typifies real maple syrup.

One lucky winner will receive a jar containing approximately 20 ounces of select grade, organically grown maple syrup. To enter the contest and have a chance to win this fabulous prize, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Those who have already commented stating their desire to be considered will automatically be entered. All comments for entrance must be received before I finish my chores and breakfast on Monday morning, March 9, 2010 (I might sleep late, or I might not, so no definite time will be stated). After I have finished my chores and breakfast, I will randomly select one entrant as the winner of the first New Kentucky Homestead maple syrup giveaway. The winner will be announced Monday morning immediately after the drawing.

If you want to increase your chance of winning, then refer someone to my blog. If someone leaves a comment stating that he/she was referred by you, then I’ll enter your name an additional time for each referral. That’s it. Good luck!

It's finally thawed enough to....

dig parsnips! My Dad and Mom cooked theirs last night
and said they were the sweetest parsnips they've ever had.
We're having ours tonight;steamed with pork chops, homestead
potatoes (cooked with onions and a healthy portion of garlic), and
steamed carrots.


Our seeds are started, we'll be looking for sprouting in a week or so.
We run a heat lamp, because our house tends to be to cold.

Callie, sleeping in HER chair, covered up and cozy for the night.
I think this is called a Gerber Daisy? Cortney got it back in Sept.

for her graduation. Isn't it perdy? Make it feel like Spring*wink*
This is another plant Cortney got and it's on it's second time

blooming since she received it in Sept.

Well... off to hang laundry on the line. The sun is shining and the birds

are singing and I'm getting a serious case of Spring FEVER!, LOL!

March has come in like a lamb, so holding my breath, it will most likely

go our like a lion. Now to hold myself back and remember it still

freezes hard until mid May.

Blessings for your week, may it be filled with productivity and

good weather.

"Organic" abuse, it's everywhere! This speaks for itself.