Our Watermelon Patch

Our watermelon patch is growing like crazy!  We are so excited since this is our first garden and first watermelon patch!  Our first ripe watermelon weighs in at 15.1 pounds.  Who knew we could grow watermelons?  And there are a LOT of little growing melons hiding  out there in the patch.  Who knows?  We may have to open a watermelon stand! 

                                                           Our first watermelon!

                                                   Another baby watermelon growing!

Too Many Roosters In The Hen House

Yes.  We did it.  We are officially homesteaders now.  We had a visit from a sweet country lady who wanted one of our roosters, which we gave her, and she agreed we had too many roosters in the hen house.  They cause problems.  They peck and chase the hens, sometimes will peck a hen to death, and just cause a ruckus.  And if you're raising chickens for eggs you only need one rooster, and maybe one for a back-up.  Of course we're learning all this as we go.  We mentioned to our "rooster lady" that we would probably try to butcher the extra roosters.  She said we'd better get on it as they would soon be too big to be good eatin'.  She keeps them in her freezer for special occasions such as Thanksgiving, etc.  We have determined that we have one dominant rooster, Silver.  He is the protector and boss of the hen house.  So he is safe....for now.  Another rooster we'll keep is one that Little Ricky named Hannah when she was a baby and was his favorite - but, oops, she turned out to be a he, a rooster.  So she/he is safe...for now.  Ricky decided after the "rooster lady's" visit and advice that we would commence butchering the roosters.  So he built an outdoor kitchen sink/counter for the job.  Of course, this outdoor set-up will have many uses in the future.  Fish cleaning, garden harvesting/washing, outdoor cooking/prepping, and more.  But back to the butchering - I won't go into any more details.  I'll show some photos - although no graphic ones for those who would be offended or are squeamish.  We now have four chickens in the freezer for special occasions.  We have more roosters to butcher but we'll wait for another weekend.  Although it will need to be fairly soon.  Nobody likes a tough old bird.

                                                     The outdoor kitchen.

                                After the humane demise - the boiling water for loosening feathers.

                                                 The de-feathering process.

                                                              Almost de-feathered.

                                                          Ready for the freezer.

Going Bananas

Found a deal on bananas at the local store - got around 25 pounds for $5!  Froze about two gallons for using in smoothies, shakes, and breads.  Then we got to slicing and laying out on the dehydrator trays to create some banana chips!  The chips go really fast around here - the boys inhale them!  Put up about three quarts of chips!  Great, nutritious candy!

Stepping, or Riding Into Manhood

Little Ricky turned 11 just recently and Ricky and I felt it was time and that he was capable of helping with the mowing around here.  It takes an entire weekend to get the place mowed and that's just around the house and the garden and the pool and the archery site and the shooting berm.  So here is a priceless photo of Ricky watching over Little Ricky as he begins his first tour.  Of course this comes after a lengthy lesson on mower safety and operation.

How Many Pints Of Pickled Peppers Can I Pack?

Five.  Quite a long process for just FIVE pints!  Do ya think?  Next time I try my FIRST pickling or putting-away-of-a vegetable from our garden I am gonna have a LOT more to work with 'cause it just seems like a lot of work for such a small amount.  Anyway, it was enjoyable, and this time I heard the popping of the seals on the jars when I was done.  Success!  Well, I think so - haven't tasted them yet.  I think I need to let them "set up" for awhile before trying them.  Anyone know how long?

I had accumulated what I thought was a lot of several varieties from the garden and then pickled them together along with onion and garlic!  Yummo, I hope!

Our Expert Gardener!

                              Little Ricky on his 11th Birthday
                                 At the Library Learning Patch

My city born and raised (until the age of 10) young man, Little Ricky, has become the most knowledgeable amongst us regarding gardening!  We were blessed to find a Garden Club for children in the nearby small town sponsored by the local library and a local chapter of the Texas Naturalist Society and various businesses.  What a great complement to his homeschool studies, too!  And it was FREE!  Each week since February he has been actually doing hands on seeding, planting, and harvesting.  And learning about the variety of vegetables, planting seasons, soil, bugs, bees, and so much more!  He has brought home veggies to share, too!  And he loves it!  He said he wished the class would continue year 'round, but alas, it will be over the middle of this month.  We are thankful for his having such an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in this aspect of our homesteading adventure.  Green acres is the place to be!

Bathtub Gin? Bath Oils?

You've heard of bathtub gin?  Well we are doing bathtub herbs!  Yes, we've planted herbs in old bathtubs found on our property (they were once used for livestock troughs) and they are doing well.  So well as a matter of fact I decided to try my hand at Basil Walnut Pesto, Basil Garlic Infused Olive Oil, Rosemary Basil Infused Olive Oil, and Rosemary Crushed Red Pepper Infused Olive Oil.  Used my own basil, garlic, and rosemary!  It's fun being creative.  Hey, guess you could call them "bath oils" - ha ha!  And I've only just begun.  Our bathtubs are also growing cilantro, sage, tarragon, dill, and we have chocolate mint, sweet mint, parsley, and lemon balm.  I've already made some great dishes using our cilantro - so much so that it is almost all gone - so I planted another round.  My wish is that we can keep these herbs going year 'round - we'll see.  We're thinking of making little "tractor tents" to simulate a greenhouse effect for cold weather.  Big dreams.  Stay tuned.