Hunny Bunny Haven

The Rainy Season

2012-02-04T16:00:00.002-06:00

We're having some heavy rains in our area for the past few days. I'm not complaining at all. I know when July gets here I'll be wishing for rain.

William is still working on the chicken yard. He's doing a great job but gets frustrated because it's slow go. The fence is between eight and ten feet high so as to keep out most predators. All, maybe, except the flying ones. But we haven't had too many hawks around in the last couple of years. We seldom hear an owl either.

Our two rabbit does had kits last week. One had nine and one had five. The one that had nine lost all of hers even though we've made a new bed for her and the babies. The brown one (Cocoa) lost two of hers. She still has three live babies. It's disappointing but at least we have three living. That's better than what we've been getting our of their deliveries. Usually, none live.

My stepfather gave us his two does and a buck. Both does are bred so we're hoping that they will give us some babies. William had to rework some cages for the does but we have them taken care of. I wasn't too keen on getting more rabbits but William seemed to like the idea so we have three more to add to the three we already had. If they don't produce, we're going to have to get rid of them. Food is too expensive to feed pets. We need some young ones to put in our freezer and to sell. All we can do is try.

We haven't begun gardening yet. It is getting about that time. We have a chicken tractor with two hens and a rooster that we're moving around to the raised beds and letting them eat the chickweed that springs up every winter in our garden. They've done a great job and have fertilized the beds also. The hens are laying too. Now those are the kind of animals I don't mind feeding. :)

We are planning to try to root some roses, forsythia, gardenias, hydrangeas, snowball bushes and anything else I can find in the yard that I think I can root. If we can get a good many of them to root, we plan to take them to a flea market to see if we can sell them. That is something we need to do when we come home from our visit with my Daddy's brothers and sister.

Along with the flowers I may plant some herbs and see if I can sell those also. It will be something for me to do and maybe we can make a little extra money with it.

Well, that's about all that's going on at Hunny Bunny Haven. I hope you all will come back again soon. Thanks for stopping by.

It's Been A While

2012-01-22T18:23:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. Winter time kind of throws me off my regular routine. However, the temperatures have been in the low seventies in the last few days and it feels like SPRING. I don't expect to keep these springlike temperatures very long but they're nice while they last and they make me want to garden. :)

William bought me a small greenhouse last week. He has it set up and ready for me to start seedlings for our garden and flower gardens. I want to find a nice size container and plant some mixed lettuces so we can have fresh lettuce from our own garden (or greenhouse garden). We can have salads from one pack of seeds for a couple of months if I plant every two weeks. Salads at the grocery store are expensive and the lettuces wilt and become mushy after a couple of days. YUCK!

We still have our chickens and the ones we ordered last spring are laying. We should be getting almost three dozen eggs each day but we're getting anywhere from ten up to fifteen eggs a day. It's keeping us in eggs as well as our children. That's a good thing. Eggs are expensive at the grocery store and chicken feed is expensive too. I'm glad we're not having to buy eggs during the wintertime.

William has retired from teaching. He's staying busy outside (on the days he can get outside to work) He's working on a fenced yard for our birds and building nests for the rabbits. He has both the does a nest built but my stepfather is giving us some more does so we have to build nests for them too. The does will be bred when he gives the does to us. We'll have babies running out of our ears if all four does deliver. But that's alright too. I can taste the rabbit stew or rabbit hash now. Yummmy...

I will try to be more faithful with my blogging. Thanks for dropping in and I hope you come back again. :)s to you all.

Veggies Still Blooming

2011-11-09T19:19:00.002-06:00

The zucchini are still blooming. There's a few blooms on the yellow squash but that's all....just blooms.

We've had some temps down near freezing. The low temps didn't seem to hurt the squash but they did a number on the cucumbers and green beans. Those plants are withered.

I guess the garden season is over for us this year. I was lazy and never did get the greens planted. I am thinking of putting some flower pots in the south window of the kitchen. I may try my hand at growing lettuces, kale and chard inside. It's not going to hurt to try and if it works then we'll have fresh greens and if it doesn't work then I'll know next time to get busy and plant the seeds outside.

The animals are doing good. No more varmint invasions since the guineas were killed. We've have some o'possums come prowling around but they didn't leave. All the predators will soon be hibernating and then maybe we can sleep a few nights without the baby monitor.

Since the time change, Mr. Rooster is all mixed up. He crows at three-thirty every morning. Then he crows around four-thirty and finishes out the "Wake-UP" at five-thirty. I guess he wants to be sure he's crowing at the right time. LOL

Veggies Getting Ready To Harvest

2011-10-07T19:30:00.002-05:00

I checked on the garden this morning. There were two zucchini ready to gather, tomatoes were ripe and the green beans have small beans on them so I'm looking for beans to be ready to gather about Monday or maybe Tuesday. I think we will have a vegetarian dinner one night next week using all fresh, homegrown veggies.

Tomorrow morning we plan to dig the sweet potatoes. I'm hoping we'll get a few to put up. I only put out eighteen slips so I'm not expecting a lot of potatoes. I'm excited that there's potatoes out there. Our first try has rewarded us with some sweet potatoes at least.

I'll have to make a picture of our sweet potato crop so I can post it here on the blog. Now you all don't get too excited about this. LOL

Varmints have killed some of our birds. Some animal killed all four of our young guineas. Hurt my heart. They were so pretty. I was looking forward to raising some to sell next spring. We still have two but I think they're both hens. :(

We found a skunk in the ducks' pen Wednesday night. He's no longer living but his smell is going to be around for a while. Fortunately, I had the monitor on and heard the ruckus. None of the ducks were injured/killed.

That's all the excitement we've had around here lately. Other than the skunk William caught in the live trap. I appreciate you coming by to check us out. Come back any time.

What's Going On Around Here?

2011-09-28T21:50:00.002-05:00

First I have a confession to make. I never got the greens planted. It may be too late now as we have temps in the 40s forecast for the weekend. I guess I can wait and plant the seed next spring. The day I was planning to plant the greens rain came and came hard. That stopped the planting for a few days.

Another excuse I'm using is that I've been really busy with taking care of all the paperwork that we inherited when my MIL passed away September 3rd. It's been like a maze trying to get through all the bills, insurance policies, etc. I'm still working on it and I know that I have several more weeks before I'll be finished.

On another note, the green beans are loaded with blooms. We should have fresh green beans in the next few days. The yellow squash are beginning to produce and I found some small zukes. Both squash and zucchini are full of blooms. I wish every bloxxom would produce fruit.

The cucumbers have blooms also. I haven't found any cucumbers yet but if we don't get a frost there should be some soon.

The jalapeno peppers are hanging with red peppers. I don't have enough sweet peppers to make pepper jelly but when I go to the grocery store I plan to buy some to use for the jelly. I love pepper jelly on a sandwich.

William and I are trying to decide if we want to sell our animals. I got an offer one day last week but it wasn't near enough to pay me back for what I paid for the ones I bought. I can't do that. William suggested waiting until spring and then trying to sell them. I just hope that the critters don't come calling and we lose a lot of them. This happens most every fall. I hope the pens are reenforced enough to keep the varmints out.

One more thing that is about to take place is our oldest grandson is being deployed again. He flys out this Saturday for more training and then it's off for another tour. There's going to be a ceremonial send off Saturday for his unit. We plan to go. I know it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to him but I want to see him before he leaves. He's a fine young man and I'm so very proud of him. Still I wish he didn't have to go.

That's all I have to say for now. I've been wordy enough, don't you think?

Greens, Greens, Greens & More Greens

2011-09-17T16:29:00.002-05:00

We have the bed ready to plant the fall greens.....Turnip Greens, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens and Kale Greens. I'm thinking there'll be some good eating around here this fall and winter. Good and healthy!

Now, I have to carry myself out there and get the seeds in the ground so they can be watered in by that rain in the forecast for next week.

This a short post. I have to get to work. Thanks for coming by. :)s to you all.

The Latest Block For A Forum Quilt

2011-09-13T20:53:00.002-05:00

I had planned to have the quilt block sewn and sent off by September 3rd. I didn't know that my Mother-In-Law would pass away. We thought she was getting a little better. We were wrong.

Anyway, William and I have been busy taking care of things that have to be taken care of. I wasn't sure if I'd even get the block sewn. But I did! It's mailed and should be there tomorrow. I like the colors in this block. It's hard to see the bluish/greenish color in the center square but it's there. :)

This block is called Squares In A Square:

I'm glad that I had time to finish the block and get it mailed.

Fall is in the air!

2011-09-09T21:13:00.002-05:00

The temps have been much cooler the last few mornings and evenings. It feels so nice to walk out on the porch in the morning. Think it's time to start to have coffee every morning out in the hide-away. It will be nice to sip coffee and look at the plants and smell the aromas of fall. :)

The yellow squash are beginning to put on some fruit. I got one this afternoon and there's another almost large enough to pull. I saw several more on the vines so it won't be long we'll be having fresh squash again.

The zucchini plants are healthy but haven't started blooming yet. I hope the frost will hold off until we can gather some zukes too.

The green beans aren't looking very healthy. Neither are the cucumbers. I don't think the seed for cucumbers were viable this year. We're not the only ones having troubles with growing cucumbers this summer.

The Taladega tomato plants are loaded. Unfortunately we only have two plants. There should be enough to have tomato sandwiches until frost. Yummy. The Marianna's Conflict have several tomatoes on them. We pulled a ripe one and made sandwiches.

The birds are growing. We still have to make a pen for the young guineas. Or we may just move the game hen and Easter Egger roo into the large pen and put the guineas into their pen. At least for a while.

We need to go rabbit shopping. I have to call Mr. Irons to see if he has any breeder rabbits he would like to sell. If we are going to put any young rabbits in the freezer we need to get busy. It will soon be chilly for butchering outside and I'm not going to butcher rabbits in my kitchen. OHHH YUCKY...

As I said nothing much is happening around Hunny Bunny Haven at this time. We will get busier in the next couple of weeks but until then...I thank you for dropping by and hope you all will come back soon.

One Less Chore Waiting To Be Finished

2011-08-21T17:27:00.003-05:00

Today the turkeys moved into their new home. Now they have a pen to run around and fly around in. They didn't seem very happy about the move at first but when I went back out to check on them they had adjusted well to the new surroundings.

We need to build a tractor for the young guineas so they can go live under the pine trees and be extra "Tickanators" for us. They are loud little rascals. The two older ones we hardly notice they're around but those four younger ones can be heard all over the place. They sure make their presence known. LOL

The young pullets are molting. I hope that means they'll begin laying in a few weeks. I'm eager to start gathering the eggs. It would be nice if every one of them would lay every day. We'd get two dozen eggs just from them each day. There would be enough eggs to sell once the younger hens' eggs are added to the Buttercup hens' eggs.

I can be like my Grandmother Rushing when the younger hens begin to lay. I'll have my cookie jar with the egg money in it. :)

The green beans are bowing up out of the ground. We still don't have the other bed planted. I was hoping to get that done this weekend but sometimes there's changes made to our plans. This was one of those weekends. Maybe we can put some greens in the other bed. Turnips would be good! So would collard greens or kale.

The tomato plants are blooming and there's some small tomatoes on them. I hope the frost holds off until about the middle of November. I'm probably hoping in vain but it doesn't ever hurt to hope.

That's about all that we having going on around here. Thanks for dropping in. Please do come back for another visit soon.

Early Morning Gardening

2011-08-17T13:35:00.003-05:00

The temps have been cooler the last few mornings so it's been easier to get outside to work. This morning I hoed and fertilized the yellow squash, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes. Then I planted a four foot by twenty foot bed of bush green beans. AND then it RAINED!!!! Perfect timing.

We still have another bed to get ready to plant more green beans. I'm hoping that we will have fresh beans until frost and that I'll have enough to put more in the freezer or can some of them.

When the rain stops I need to gather the peppers. Sure wish I knew someone who would take these peppers. I've already put some bell peppers in the freezer and canned jalapeno and cayenne peppers. We don't need anymore pickled hot peppers but I guess I will can them because I don't want them to waste.

There you have it! All the exciting news from Hunny Bunny Haven. :)

Hot and Dry!

2011-08-14T16:27:00.002-05:00

It's still hot and dry here at Hunny Bunny Haven even though we did get some rain last week. It takes a lot more water for raised beds than rows. At least that is my thinking.

The cucumbers and zucchini are up but the yellow squash didn't come up very good. I saw two plants out of the six hills we planted. In the morning will be replanting time.

William pulled up the pole beans (Louisiana Purple Pods) and the tomato vines that had died back. We're (or I'm) going to plant some Blue Lake bush type green beans in both beds. I talked to a lady at the county agent's office and she said according to the info she had bush type green beans can be planted through August and produce before frost. We should have four thirty-six foot rows of green beans. I hope they produce good and I can get some more beans put up for winter.

William and I are talking about going back to rows instead of the raised beds. I love my raised beds because they're so much easier to work but it takes so much more water to keep them well watered and raised bed do not produce as large a crop as rows do. If we decide to go back to row gardening, we're going to till up the garden and cover it with leaves and chicken/rabbit manure. Then we will cover it with black row covers to rid the area of weeds (I hope). If we do this maybe next spring we will have good, soft, pliable soil instead of the hard, clay, gravel laden soil we have now.

We have the pen almost ready to move the turkeys and the guineas into. The door is ready but has to be hung and then we will move a rooster and hen we have into that pen, clean out the pen where those two chickens are now and then move the turkeys and guineas into the old chicken pen. The pen that the chickens are in at this time has a tin top on it. The turkeys won't drown when it rains in this pen.

Life is knd of boring here right now. It's too hot to do very much outside. At least I'm getting the inside chores caught up. I'm looking forward to cooler weather of which some is supposed to be coming into our area next week. The night time temps will be down in the low to mid sixties. About a fifteen degree drop for nights. The temp should be a lot lower in the mornings when I get up so I can get outside and do some work before it gets too warm.

Thanks for dropping in. I hope you'll come back again soon. :)

Second Summer Garden Going In

2011-08-02T22:48:00.002-05:00

William and I planted yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet basil and parsley Sunday afternoon. After we got the seeds in the ground a good rain fell. I'm hoping that the rain will bring the seed up quickly.

The soil won't stay damp long though. Not with the hundred degree temps we're having now. Every day this week the temperatures are supposed to reach 99-100 with heat indexes between 110-115. Today the heat index was 108 degrees.

Enough about the heat. It's going to be around for a while. Back to the gardening.....The squash, zukes, cukes, peppers and tomatoes should produce for a while before it begins to get cool here. I would still like to make another planting of green beans but we don't have a bed made for them and since school has started I don't look to get a bed made for them.

I'll be happy if the squash, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes produce a good crop for us.

We should be seeing some baby bunnies arriving in the next couple of days. Everything is set up for them. I hope that the temps aren't so hot that they won't live. We're not having very good luck with raising rabbits. It would be nice to have at least ten to go in the freezer for this winter. I guess we will just play the wait and see game. :)

The turkeys are growing so fast. They are about ready to move into a new pen. The guineas will probably stay in the brooder for a while longer even though they have grown quite a bit also.

I was checking the turkeys out Sunday afternoon. I think we have one tom and maybe the other four are hens. That would be very nice. We could raise some for the freezer next spring.

I'd love to see our freezer full of homegrown turkeys, rabbits and chickens. Throw some deer meat into the mix and we'd be set. Another game of wait and see.

We haven't had rain in two days now. There is rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday. If it doesn't rain in the next couple of days I will need to water the ground that is newly planted so it will remain moist enough for the seed to sprout and come on up.

That's life here at Hunny Bunny Haven. It's kind of lonesome around here since William has gone back to school but we're looking forward to Christmas break when he plans to retire. Yipee!!!!

It's Been Raining And Raining!!!

2011-07-29T22:01:00.003-05:00

We have gotten rain ten out of the last fourteen days. That is a good thing because the ground was thirsty for water. However, the ground is getting so saturated that the bean supports are falling over.

All the plants are looking green and are blooming again. We have hundreds of blooms on the peppers along with hundreds of pods of peppers. That is the Jalapenos and Cayennes are loaded. The banana pepper is beginning to bloom again. The bell peppers still aren't doing much. But the newer plants are beginning to bloom ...just maybe they will produce some to go in the freezer.

The asparagus beans are doing a good job. They are giving us more beans on those thirteen plants than the four rows of Louisiana Purple Pods altogether.

The birds are doing well and growing. The ducks and geese have been enjoying all the water that's fell from the sky. The rain has been keeping the pools filled for the geese and ducks to play in.

Our two rabbit does are supposed to kindle in about another week. I hope they have a good number then we'll have young rabbits for winter stews.

Nothing much is going on around here other than the rain.

I hope to get the squash, zucchini and cucumbers in the ground next week if weather permits. Also, the winter onions are coming on. They're spreading all over the place. I am thinking of thinning them and putting them in the freezer.

I hope you all are doing well. Do come back to see us, ya here? :)

The Days Are Winding Down

2011-07-20T21:43:00.002-05:00

August 1st is coming upon us way too fast. That's the day the teachers have to report back for school. The teachers begin on Monday and the students will start on Thursday. I've gotten so use to William being home every day so it's going to be lonesome here without him.

Good news is that he may get to retire soon and then he'll be home every day if he doesn't get tired of staying home and decide to go back to work. LOL This morning we took a trip to Jackson to check on his retirement. Everything is looking good for a Christmas time retirement.

A little rain fell this afternoon. More of a sprinkle than a rain. I hear thunder in the distance now so maybe we'll get a good shower before the night is over. I hope so. If it doesn't rain tonight we'll have to water the garden in the morning.

The turkeys and guineas are moved into the large brooder. They were not too excited about being moved. They huddled up in the corner like scared little rabbits.

William and I gathered the pepper this afternoon. There's a large plastic dishpan of cayenne and jalapeno peppers. I think one of my nephews is going to come by and get it in the morning. I hope he will. I don't need this much pepper and I hate for it to waste.

I am supposed to be keeping two little girls next week. They're not so little anymore. One is twelve and the other almost ten. Also, one of our granddaughters is coming to spend a few days with us. We always look forward to our grandchildren visiting. This one likes to get into the breadmaking, gardening type activities. I enjoy teaching any of the grands skills that can help them along in life.

William and I are planning to pick more figs in the morning. Also, there is a yard sale that he wants to check out. We also have to get the food for his birthday party we have planned for Saturday. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

It's been another hot day today and the weather forecast is predicting even hotter days next week. This hot weather has been rough the last few weeks but in a few months I will be wishing for some warm weather. Just watch and see. LOL

Chores Are Getting Done Even Though.....

2011-07-18T22:21:00.002-05:00

The chores are getting done even though it's been hot and humid here for several weeks. I will have to say the temps didn't get past 79 yesterday but it was still very humid. The skies have been cloudy for several days and that's helped keep the temps down some but starting tomorrow they're supposed to get back up to 98.

We have picked figs two days and I've got them in the freezer for later making of preserves. I'll wait until the temps drop some and William is back in school then I will get busy canning the preserves. YUM, YUM....homemade fig preserves!!!!!

We have gotten the rose bed weeded as well as the hosta bed. No weeds in either of them for now. The Red Dynomite Crepe Myrtle is transplanted and plans are to get the Natchez transplanted tomorrow. We put the red one where we can see it from the living room window. It is such a beautiful color!

Tomorrow I'm planning to prune the roses and give them some fertilizer. Maybe they will reward us with another flush of blooms. Then I will give them another trimming in September and get blooms until frost.

Also tomorrow I plan to move the turkeys and guineas into the larger brooder. The turkeys are flying up on the little roost in their brooder and when we lift the top of the brooder they try to fly out. We lost one of our young pullets like that so I want to move the turkeys before one of them escapes and we'll only have four.

Also, in the morning I have to check the green beans and the peppers need gathered. I wish I knew someone who would like to have some Cayenne peppers and some Jalapeno pepper too. We are overrun with these two and the others aren't doing too much producing. I'd love to have lots of the bell peppers to put in the freezer to use this winter but so far they're refusing to cooperate. Maybe the new plants will give us plenty to use this winter. Also, the new plants are red and yellow peppers. That should look pretty in stews.

Today has been a busy day and tomorrow is looking to be busy also. I'm ready for a good nap. Thank you for dropping by. Come again any time. :)

More Pepper & Tomato Plants

2011-07-14T20:26:00.002-05:00

William stopped by the County Co-Op this morning and picked up two more bell pepper plants...one red bell and one yellow bell, four banana pepper plants and three tomato plants.
Late this afternoon we transplanted them. If we can keep them watered and some kind of insect doesn't get them, we will have peppers and tomatoes until frost. :)

William also finished the pen for the goslings and moved them into their brand new home this afternoon.

I heard thunder all around us this afternoon but we didn't get any rain out of the clouds. We did get an inch of rain yesterday but when we were digging holes to transplant the peppers and tomatoes the soil was dry a couple of inches down.

This has been a very hot and dry summer. Rain is still in the forecast until Saturday so maybe X (fingers crossed) we will get some more rain.

That's about all the news from Hunny Bunny Haven for the day.

Too Hot For Much Of Anything

2011-07-12T21:11:00.002-05:00

The weather has been hot, humid and dry. The temps have been hovering around 100 degrees with a heat index close to 110. The humidity has been between 90 and 100 percent and we've had lots of thunder but no rain. This makes for terrible conditions to work outside. So I have stayed inside most of the time.

Yesterday I did finish transplanting the tomatoes. Two of the plants I transplanted a couple of weeks ago had died so I replaced them with the two left in the pot. I probably should have left them in the pot because those were growing better in the pot than the ones I put in the ground.

William has been getting up early to work on the pen for the geese. He has it almost finished so the goslings will be moving into their new home in the next couple of days. They are growing like crazy. I may have to change Zacheus' name. He's almost caught up to Goliath. I may have rename Zach to G-Junior. LOL

One of the young guineas died. Now we have four guineas and five turkeys in the brooder. I'm thinking when the goslings move into their new home we will move the guineas and turkeys into the bigger brooder. We have a pen ready for them when they're old enough to move out of the brooder. They're growing some but not as quickly as I expected.

I've been trying to figure out what to plant in our fall garden but I haven't come up with a plan as of yet. I think we're going by our local Co-Op tomorrow to see if there's any tomato plants and bell pepper and sweet banana pepper plants still in stock. We have plenty of time for these to produce before frost.

The sweet potatoes are growing. I really hope they're making potatoes and not just vines. We'll be disappointed if that bed of potatoes doesn't make us some sweet taters. :)

That's about all that's going on around here. We get up every morning, feed and water the animals and then try to stay cool for the rest of the day. After about ten o'clock we check the animals about every two hours and then it's back to the A/C.

I hope that you all are staying cool wherever you are. Remember to drink plenty of water if you're working outside in the heat. :)

More New Hunny Bunny Haven Residents

2011-07-01T19:22:00.003-05:00

Today while we were grocery shopping our neighbor brought five newly hatched turkeys and five guineas over. Since we were not at home he left them at my Mom's.

I wanted to order some poults but yesterday was the last day to order from the hatcheries. Also, I didn't want 15 turkeys and I didn't know anyone who would split the order with me.

I'm glad I didn't place the order now. I have the five I wanted. They are two dollars less than the hatchery poults and I got five free keets to boot!!!! Ten birds for $20.00 is a deal, I think.

The new birds:

The guineas will teach the turkeys to eat and drink. This is according to our neighbor. I hope they all survive and I have at least one hen out of the five.

Now we are set to raise our own birds (that is if there's a turkey hen). We shouldn't have to order more birds for a while. Unless we order some the last of August to put in the freezer for this winter and I am seriously considering this.

I would like to buy some quail and raise quail for our freezer too. But it's a little late for that this year I'm thinking. Gives me something to look forward to come next spring. Maybe by then we will have a pen to raise quail in. Just thinking. :)

The Young Pullets Have A New Home....

2011-06-28T20:11:00.002-05:00

We moved the young pullets from the brooders into a pen this morning. They seemed to be enjoying the space......That is all except one and she was running the fence and flying around like a bat.....A Ding Bat that is. I told William there has to be one crazy one in every batch of chickens we order. I hope she settles down before she breaks her neck.

At least they have more space to run around and fly around. The brooders were getting pretty full the way the chicks are growing. Now they have a good sized pen to move around in and a house to get into at night.

The goslings got to move into a larger brooder after the chicks vacated the space. I noticed they are beginning to get feathers so maybe it won't be long before they can go to their own pen.

We have some pepper plants that are wilting and dying. William pulled some of them up this morning and he said the stems down near the roots were brown and dry. The leaves have spots on them as do any peppers on the plants. It is really disheartening to get the plants to producing and then have them die. Most all of the banana peppers have died and two of the bell peppers. The Jalapeno and the Cayenne seemed to be doing great and have loads of peppers on them. Guess I need to get in contact with our county extension official and see if he can give me an idea of what to do to keep the rest of the peppers from dying.

That's the extent of our day. Nothing too exciting going on. Well there was one exciting happening today....It RAINED!!!! I hear thunder in the distance right now so maybe we'll get more rain tonight. I sure hope so. :)

Goslings

2011-06-26T18:27:00.006-05:00

The goslings are growing and eating up every thing they can find. I pull them grass and break it into little bits to feed them. By the time it's put into their bowl, it's gone. Maybe that means they will be good weeders for the garden. :)

When I went to make the picture this afternoon, Mr. Goliath fell out of the pen. I caught hold of him and he got loose from me and ran. I turned to catch him and stepped on his foot. I thought I'd broken his leg but fortunately it's not broken. Even though he is limping...Of course with someone like me stepping on a little goslings foot it's a miracle he's not maimed for life.

The picture below is from June 7th when they were a couple of days old.

This is the pictures I took today. They're over in the corner because they became scared when they both tried to run out of the pen.

Another picture....They're gobbling down the grass.

So far they are doing good. It won't be long before they'll be ready for a new home. They will probably live in one of the pens for a while. That is until the garden is fenced around it and they have a house that I can close at night. I've already told Santa what I want for Christmas and my Honey what I want for our anniversary and for my birthday. I have to get my order in early so he'll have time to think on it and then get it done. LOL

More Rain Today!!!!!

2011-06-22T19:08:00.002-05:00

We had more rain today. The good soaking kind of rain sans any thunder or lightning. That's what I'm talking about! I'm a wuss when it comes to lightning. I don't like thunder either but I know that thunder won't hurt me nor do damage to any of our property. Lightning....Well that's another matter.

We mostly had a stay in day today. I had to go for blood to be drawn for an INR this morning and we stopped by Mom's for a visit with my stepbrother. The animals were fed and watered. I gathered a few green tomatoes. That's the extent of my activity for the whole day.

Just In Time

2011-06-21T13:19:00.002-05:00

I got out early this morning and gathered the peppers, asparagus beans, okra and blueberries. Then I came inside to do some inside chores.

William and I had checked the map on the Weather Channel before he left for a school workshop this morning. The map showed rain all down Texas and Louisiana. Me being the smart thinking person that I am (AHEM) figured that we'd have to get rain today.

With that thought in mind I picked up the pot of tomato plants (you know the ones I was going to transplant a couple of weeks ago but it's been so dry) and carried them to the garden. I reworked the bed, dug the holes, put the plants in and watered them well. I got 8 plants transplanted into their new home. I think there's three more plants that I will put out in the next day or two. But to make a long story short....About an hour and a half after I got the plants put out the rains came. It's been raining for an hour or so but the good news is there's rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. YAY RAIN!!!!!!! :)

Our garden is at a standstill because of the dry weather....Well everything except the peppers and I picked a dishpan full of peppers this morning. Bell peppers, hot banana peppers, Jalapeno peppers, Cayenne peppers and sweet banana peppers. I'm going to put them in the freezer for seasoning soups and stews this winter.

The temps have dropped since the rain moved in. According to the computer the temp is only seventy-six here right now. That's quite different from the ninety-eight we had yesterday. Also a pleasent respite. :)

The young chicks are growing like weeds, the ducks are almost grown and the goslings have taken a real liking to me. So much so that Goliath tries to eat my finger when I feed them grass clippings. LOL Now if we could just get our garden to grow like the new birds are growing we'd be in business.

There you have the latest news from Hunny Bunny Haven. The best news is the rain! :) Thanks for dropping by and do come back any time.

Being A Lazy Bum.....

2011-06-18T21:11:00.002-05:00

Or being smart? I picked the blueberries early this morning. The temps were already warm but a breeze was blowing between six and six-thirty this morning. That's when I picked the blueberries and that was the last time I ventured outside for the rest of the day.

The temps have been up near a hundred today. It's been hot inside the house so I know it's really hot outside. William has been outside several times today to see that all the animals had water.

He loves to be out in the heat. Not me. I like hugging an air conditioner. LOL At least being close enough I can feel some cool air every once in a while.

Today I did some preparation for William's Father's Day meal. I made cornbread for the dressing, cooked chicken to go in the dressing and then mixed the dressing together and put in the refrigerator. After I finished with the dressing I made a pound cake to carry to my stepfather for a Father's Day gift to him.

I did the inside chores and actually cooked three meals today. So I guess I'm not really a lazy bum. I don't enjoy the high temperatures. Nope, not one bit. But I won't complain very much because a couple of months ago I was saying just the opposite. I couldn't wait for summer to get here because I didn't enjoy those cold temperatures. Nope not one bit. I'm just like most people.....Can't be happy with what I have. :P

The Garden Is O.K.!!!

2011-06-17T18:39:00.002-05:00

One of the first things I did this morning after getting out of bed was to look out the back door at the garden. Some of the peppers were leaning a bit but nothing dramatic! Even with the winds we had last night no plants were damaged. That my friends, is a good thing. :)

I had planned to transplant the rest of the sweet potatoes slips and the Mariana's Conflict tomato plants but William had other plans. He set fire to the pile of limbs and brush in the pasture area and there's been so much smoke that I have stayed in all day. Maybe the smoke will be cleared out by tomorrow and I can get all the rest of the transplants moved tomorrow afternoon.

I noticed that the asparagus beans are blooming. We should have some of those "LONNNNNGGGG" beans in a week or so. I cut these beans and dump them into boiling water for a couple of minutes, then they go into a ice bath and out of that to be dried off. After I get the water off them I put them into a little olive oil and garlic and sautee them for a few minutes. They're delicious cooked this way. They still have a little crunch to them and the olive oil and garlic give them a great flavor.

William pulled some green tomatoes this morning. I will be making green tomato BLTs for lunch tomorrow. YUMO!

Nothing exciting going on today. Just the same old, same old.....Cook, eat, wash dishes, cook, eat, wash dishes, cook, eat....well you get the picture.

Tomorrow I will be getting food prepared for William's Father's Day dinner. Roast turkey breast, dressing, peas, corn, mashed potatoes (or potato salad) and strawberry pie are on the menu.

That's it for the day. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and all you fathers will have a happy and blessed Father's Day. :)s to all of you.

And It Rained.................

2011-06-16T20:32:00.002-05:00

Then it rained some more. The rain fell for almost three hours with no letting up. :) There was a lot of wind in the thunderstorm that came through. I am not brave enough to look at the garden. If the wind blew it topsy-turvy I don't want to know. The old saying "Ignorance is bliss." is true in this situation. I'm going to enjoy the fact that our garden got some very good watering and leave it at that until the morning. :)

I'm so thankful for the rain.

Goings on....

2011-06-15T21:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we moved the goslings to the brooder. They are doing good. They're even eating better. We still have a light on them but with the temps as high as they have been the last few days I'm not sure if a light is needed. We will leave it on for a few more days to be sure the little rascals have enough warmth. If the temp gets too high the brooder is large enough the goslings can get away from the heat of the light.

William removed the old squash vines to the compost pile late this afternoon. Then he reworked the bed. Tomorrow afternoon we plan to transplant the rest of the sweet potatoes into that bed.
We'll have an approximate total of sixty square feet planted in sweet potatoes. While that's not very large it's more than we've ever planted before.

I hope the sweet potatoes will produce enough potatoes for us to eat this winter. We enjoy baked sweet potatoes but we don't eat them every day nor every week. A bushel of sweet potatoes will last us all winter. Keeping my fingers crossed.

That's it for now. Thanks for dropping by.

Rain, Rain, Sweet Rain

2011-06-14T12:30:00.002-05:00

Late yesterday afternoon a thunderstorm blew through with some high winds. We had several plants in the garden blown over. Two pepper plants were laying on the ground and some squash were blown up BUT.....we got rain.

The rain fell for about an hour. It wasn't the hard, washing, running off kind of rain but the good, soaking kind. Our garden plants look so much happier today. :)

This morning we gave all the garden plants some food. That is all but the sweet potato plants. They were just put in the ground one day last week so I want to wait another few days before feeding them. Let them take time to get their roots growing.

William is outside at this very moment building another brooder. This time it's a brooder for the goslings. Yep, it's time for the little stinkers to move on out of here. I hope they will do alright outside. We will keep a light on them since they still don't have any feathers although the heat index here is over a hundred degrees. May be a good idea to turn the light off during the day and put it on at night time.

Back to the garden, I think the squash have about done their do! The plants are getting yellow and there aren't any squash on the vines. It's about time to pull them up to compost and plant something else in their place. Just not sure what I want to go into that bed yet. I may plant the rest of the sweet potatoes there.

I will wait until about August and plant some more squash, zucchini and cucumbers. They'll have time to produce before frost hits us. If things go right we'll have fresh squash, cukes and zukes until the last of October or middle of November. Sounds good to me.

That's all the goings on around here. I hope you all are staying cool. Come back again, O.K.?

Only Two Goslings Now.....

2011-06-10T15:35:00.002-05:00

This morning one of the goslings was a little droopy. I checked it out and couldn't see anything wrong with it. A few minutes later I went to check on it and it was dead. :(

I always feel so bad when we lose one of our animals. I know it happens but I still feel responsible. I wonder what I could have done differently.

One of our little chicks flew out of the coop a couple of nights ago when William was giving them fresh water. We searched all around the place and couldn't find it. I figured the poor little thing was dinner for some critter. BUT....yesterday when we came back from Meridian the chick was in the roosters' pen. Now it's safely back with the rest of the chicks. :)

We found one gone astray and lost one. I guess that's the way life goes.

Our Newest Hunny Bunny Haven Residents....

2011-06-07T18:45:00.004-05:00

I had talked with a man last year about buying some goslings from him this spring and then I reminded him a few months ago. Today he came over and asked if I still wanted some goslings. He said that three had hatched out a couple of days ago and I could get the two I wanted. After he left I called him and told him I'd take all three if he'd not promised the extra one to someone else.

This afternoon the three new residents of Hunny Bunny Haven arrived. They are so cute. They make me think of powder puffs. LOL

When I called him to tell him I'd take all three, I asked him if he'd be interested in some of our extra roosters. He looked at them when brought the goslings over and he's taking enough roosters to pay for the goslings. A good trade makes me happy!

He told me that he has some turkey eggs in an incubator and if they hatch that he will sell me five of the turkeys. I would love to get them and keep a tom and hen to raise my own turkeys from now on. The other three would go to Freezer Camp.

If I can get the turkeys from him then I'll have all my birds. Well, unless I can find someone who will sell me some quail. I'd love to raise some quail to put in the freezer but if I don't find the quail then I'll have all the birds I've been wanting. We have chickens, ducks, geese, guineas and then the turkeys.

As The A-Team's Hannibal Smith used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together." Now if I can talk William into buying a calf, pig and some goats. Our farm will be complete. I think.

Sweet Taters Are Planted....

2011-06-06T19:31:00.002-05:00

Finally! I was waiting on some rain but none has appeared. We got some of the slips in the ground late this afternoon. We put plenty of water around them so maybe they will be alright without rain for the time being. Rain will come......One day.

I'm going to pull the beets and put them up. Then plant some more sweet potatoes in the bed where the beets are now.

We've never planted sweet potatoes before but these were given to me by my stepfather to plant for the slips so if they don't do well then we're only out our time and energy. I'm hoping that we'll be able to harvest a few "taters" any way.

The green beans are making good. We will pick them again tomorrow morning and then I am planning to can them. I may have to go to my Mom's to get her to help me but I will get it done one way or the other. :)

That's the news from Hunny Bunny Haven. I hope you all are staying cool. I'm sure trying but it's a job what with temps almost hitting the 100 degree mark and heat indexes over 105.

Is This Purple Enough?

2011-06-01T21:48:00.002-05:00

I made a quilt block for a homesteading forum quilt. I didn't get the fabric until late and this is what I put together. The pattern is Churn Dash. It's just pretty purple!

I'm not too sure about the fabrics that I've put together but the block has to be back to the mailer by June 15th. I'm going to send it like it is and hope that it won't blind the person when they open the envelope.

Memorial Day Tributes

2011-05-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

It is in memory of Joshua Shane Ladd (died in Iraq 2003) and Matthew Stovall (died in Iraq 2003) and all the other men and women who have paid the ultimate price through out the years to keep our country free that I observe Memorial Day 2011.Both the young men mentioned were with our Philadelphia National Guard and were deployed in October of 2002. Josh was the grandson of my precious friend Mrs. Gladys and the son of Debra and Randy Ladd. Matthew was the son of Ernest and Ellon Stovall. I knew Josh from the time he was born and he is sorely missed. I never knew Matthew but I know that there is a emptiness that will never be filled again in the Stovall family.Without young men and women like the ones I've mentioned we would not be the country we are today. Thank you to all our military people for the job you do to keep the people of the United States Of America free. I appreciate my freedom and I know that "Freedom comes at a terrible price. Freedom isn't free."

The Ducks Have Moved To Their New Home!

2011-05-27T14:21:00.008-05:00

William finished the new duck pen and shed this morning. We moved the ducks into their new home this afternoon.

They were scared silly when we put them down. Goofy things. They have a nice shed to sleep in at night, a play ground for the day time and their own swimming pool.

We put some of them into the pool when we carried them into the pen. They've never been in water before and they were so funny. They came out of the pool as soon as we set them in it. They will discover how much fun the pool is and it won't take long before we will be filling that pool several times a day.

I think we're going to close up the front of the shed so the ducks can be closed in at night. That will give them double protection from predators.

A garden note: The plants in the front were watered this morning. I hope this will help the zucchini to start producing and will be a pick-me-up for the hosta bed.

The garden is cared for another week. All except pulling weeds as they appear and gathering squash.

The Jalapeno peppers have a few small peppers on them. I hope I can have some Jalapeno by next weekend.

When I was fertilizing the cucumbers I saw a few tiny cukes. In a few days they will be ready to pick. Cucumber sandwiches sound good to me!

That's our Friday here at Hunny Bunny Haven. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Memorial Day! Please remember the reason we celebrate Memorial Day and also remember if it wasn't for these men and women we would not be the country we are today!

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together!

2011-05-25T16:31:00.004-05:00

Our plan was to have fresh vegetables and that is what we're beginning to have. We've gathered a few yellow squash this week. They've been so good. There's just nothing like the first fresh vegetables of summer.

Today when I was watering and feeding the ducklings and young chicks, I noticed a lot of blooms on the cucumber vines. Now I'll be cucumber watching. Cucumber watching goes along with tomato watching and pepper watching. I'm already doing the tomato and pepper watching.

The green beans have buds on them. We should be having blooms very soon and then VOILA...fresh green beans.

The potatoes are blooming. Maybe the potatoes will be ready the same time the green beans are ready. Green beans and little potatoes....I can taste them now.

The zucchini are blooming too. In fact most everything in the garden is beginning to bloom except the okra. It still has a long way to go before it's big enough to bloom The okra was the last thing we planted.

Fresh vegetables make enduring the heat and humidity of the south worth it. I know I could have vegetables if I lived in the northern part of the United States but the growing season isn't nearly as long as what we have here. I'll just wipe the sweat and keep on keeping on. :)

One thing I enjoy most about our garden is that there are no chemical fertilizers nor chemical insecticides on our vegetables....Just healthy, wholesome food.

I probably sound food crazy but I'm really not. I enjoy having foods I know are healthy for my family.

The ducklings and chicks are growing like gang busters. The ducklings will have to wait until next week to get into their new pen. William had to have a little surgery done on his shoulder to remove an infected cyst. He has to stay inside out of the heat and humidity for a few days. That's what he's supposed to do....getting him to do it is another matter.

I hope all of you are safe from the storms. I'll be looking forward to your visit again very soon, :)

The Chicks Are In Their New Home

2011-05-20T21:53:00.002-05:00

We moved the chicks into the outside brooder this afternoon. They seemed to be settling in pretty good when we left them.

They're sort of skiddish. I don't know why they are because they've been around us every since they arrived. But I can walk up to them and they take off running and trying to fly. I read about people who have chickens that sit on their shoulder, fly into their laps or come to them when they go outside but all we've ever had run away when we go around where they are. I guess we're just scarey. :)

Next week we plan to finish up the duck pen and get them ready to move into the pen. They are about to out grow their brooder. William opened the partition between two brooders to make more room for the ducklings but there's still not enough room for all the ducklings.

I don't know if they will be warm enough unless we put a light in the pen to keep them warm. They still don't have feathers. They've got a few tail feathers and that's it.

We are going to get the raised bed ready to plant the sweet potatoes next week too. The sweet potato seedling are beginning to run so it's time to get them in their own bed.

Well, there we have the updates on Hunny Bunny Haven. Nothing much going on today.
I've had a song on my mind this afternoon...."It's summer time and the living is easy"....I don't think so. It's summer time and this is the time of year that we are busiest around here. Even though today was an easy, summery day. :)

Some Chores Are Out Of The Way

2011-05-19T12:50:00.002-05:00

This morning I worked in the garden. The Asparagus Beans are hoed, the okra is hoed and thinned to where there are only two plants in a hill, and the peppers are hoed and dirt pulled up around them. The rest of the plants in the garden are too large to get the hoe in between them without breaking the plants.

Tomorrow morning I plan to give all the garden plants another drink of "Manure Tea". It will need another drink in about two weeks. I'm hoping that because I'm being so nice to the vegetables that they will in turn be nice to me by rewarding me with a big crop this year.

Yesterday I planted some Marianna's Conflict tomato seed. If they come up (some of the seed are about five years old) the plants should be ready to put in the ground by the middle of June.

The Marianna's are going in the front yard with the zucchini. I want to save some of the seed this year so I'm keeping them away from the other tomatoes.

Aside from gardening this morning, I cleaned the brooder so the little chicks can move out of the house into their brooder. We will get that done this afternoon when William gets home and can help me get the light set up to keep the chicks warm.

I fed the ducks this morning...AGAIN! They are most likely out of food again by now. I will check on their water in a little while. They are growing like weeds but then again they should be....They eat like "oinks".

There it is....my morning in a nutshell. Well the outside work anyway. Thanks for dropping by. Come again now, ya hear. :)

The Newest Citizens Of Hunny Bunny Haven

2011-05-15T14:11:00.003-05:00

Several weeks ago I ordered 25 Araucana/Americana baby chicks. Thursday I got the call that they had arrived to the post office. They are eating, drinking and growing and that is what I want.

For the time being the chicks are living in the house with us. The temperatures have dropped down to the high forties and the low fifties for a few days so to keep the little things warm they are living in a big plastic tub with a light on them. When the temps go back up then they will go to an outside brooder with the light on to keep them warm.

I had actually just cleaned their tub and changed the paper but they didn't care. They started dirting the paper as soon as I put them back in the tub. I'll just throw the paper in the compost bin and let the extra fertilizer make the compost richer. :)

Another picture of the lil darlings.

The Araucana/Americana is my favorite breed of chickens. Not because of the colored shells but because they have continued to lay throughout the winter. I'm hoping this batch will start laying before winter and will keep us in eggs all winter. May be I won't have to buy eggs for Christmas baking again this year.

That's the happenings around here. I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday wherever you are. :) .

Walking Around The Garden

2011-05-11T09:30:00.002-05:00

I took a walk through the raised beds this morning on my way to feed the ducklings. The asparagus beans are all coming up. The other vegetables are growing but there's no blooms on any of them yet. Maybe it won't be long before I start seeing the promise of fruits from our labor.

The green beans have taken to the stakes and are "moving on up" as George Jefferson liked to say. LOL

I would like to get the Marianna's Conflict tomato seed in some soil today. I don't know if that will happen or not since I seem to have a case of "The Dragging Around" today. I'm going to try to get at least this accomplished.

After I get these seeds in the ground that will be all of the planting that we plan to do. Even though, I would love to have a patch of field peas but William says there's no where to plant them and he's not planning to prepare a space for them. I guess we'll try to buy peas at the Farmers' Market this year.

I did forget that we still have the sweet potatoes to put out. That's something we need to get ready this weekend if the weather permits.

Anyway, the garden is coming along and I'm looking forward to the fresh vegetables. That's it from Hunny Bunny Haven for today. I hope you all are having a warm and sunny day wherever you are. :)

A Husband's Gift To His Wife...

2011-05-09T13:43:00.005-05:00

We planted hostas in a pine thicket near the road. Well, unfortunately as one ages the less one can do therefore I wanted the hostas moved closer to the house in order to keep them watered and fertilized as they need it.

For Mother's Day my wonderful husband took a shovel and dug an area by our front porch to put the hostas and some ferns. He worked most of the day on Saturday before Mother's Day getting the flower bed ready. Then he helped me move the hostas and ferns, raked pine straw (and clean all the limbs and pinecones out of the straw) to put around the hostas.
The east end of the bed is in the morning sun but not the afternoon sun. The larger of the hostas (in back) is Sum and Substance. We may have to move some of the other plants as this one grows because it can get as large as five feet across.

This is the middle of the bed. The turtle was given to me for Mother's Day several years ago by Trinity. Trinity stayed with me in my daycare from the time she was three weeks old until she started to school. She is also the Goddaughter of our daughter Sandi and her husband, Richard.

The west end of the bed wraps around to the steps. It also has the lighter colored (or varigated) hostas since it gets a little more sun than the others.

This is why I say that I don't want expensive gifts but I do require a lot of "Elbow Grease".

I thank you Sweetie for all your hard work and your willingness to work in flowerbeds. I know that I am blessed. :)

Getting It Done

2011-05-06T19:32:00.002-05:00

I think...Finally. I got all the vegetables fertilized this morning. All except the okra since it has just come up and there is a lot of rabbit manure in that bed. I missed the zucchini also but will get them fertilized in the morning while I work in the flowerbeds again.

The garden is looking good. I pulled weeds while I fertilized this morning.

I'm ready for some blooms to start appearing on the squash, tomatoes and greenbeans. A few on the peppers would be nice too.

It's been a little busy around here for the last few days. I am thinking it will get more busy in the coming weeks. At least I'm hoping that's so.

In the morning I plan to get the bed for the hostas tilled and move the hostas into it. I think that getting all this done will make a wonderful Mother's Day present. :) See I'm not expensive but I do require some "Elbow Grease". LOL

A Quick Catch Up

2011-05-04T19:46:00.002-05:00

The green beans are stuck. The okra is up. The bed is ready to plant the asparagus beans but the ground is too wet. The ducklings are growing like weeds and eating like pigs.

The baby chicks are scheduled to be here on May 11th. I can't wait for them to get here. I still have a lot of outside work to do on the flower beds but we had rain on Monday and Tuesday. I'm hoping to get more work done outside tomorrow. No rain in the forecast and no storms in the forecast.

That's all that's going on here at Hunny Bunny Haven. See y'all later. :)

What A Beautiful Day!

2011-04-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

Today William and I worked on the flowerbeds. With all the rain we've had (I'm not complaining about the rain because we really need it) the weeds and grass had gotten out of control. There's Nut grass every where and pulling that stuff up is like pulling teeth.

We got one of the beds cleaned. I want to get the soil loosened up so I can sow some zinnias, marigolds, cosmos and some other annuals to brighten up the spot by the fence. There's gladiolas, day lillies, correopsis, sedum and some wild flowers in the bed but I want some that bloom all summer.

Tomorrow after church, I want to get all the manure around the veggies and finish up the bed for the asparagus beans. I would like to get them planted tomorrow afternoon. If not tomorrow, the seeds need to be in the ground by Monday at the latest.

William put cages around the tomatoes today. I hope that they are sturdy enough to hold the plants up. I would be very disheartened if the cages blow over and take the tomato plants with them. What with the weather we've had in the last few weeks that is a possibility.

That's it for our day. Doesn't sound like we got very much accomplished but we did!!!!

Saturday: A Day For Working

2011-04-23T20:52:00.002-05:00

I got up early this morning. Got the animals taken care of and then I pulled weeds from around the beets. After pulling the weeds from the beets I hoed the squash and cucumbers then I washed and hung out the sheets and dish towels. Did all this before William even knew it was daylight. I'm a good wife. ROFL

I've been cooking and cleaning to get ready for our company tomorrow. There's three fresh strawberry pies in the refrigerator and a big bowl of potato salad. Also, a pint of homemade ranch dressing is in the frig. All I have to do tomorrow is bake the ham, cook the veggies and make the green salad.

We finally got the okra planted today. I let the seeds soak in some luke warm water and they were already sprouting before they went into the ground. We should be seeing the plants within a week.

It's about time for me to get some rest so I'll be ready for tomorrow. I hope you all have a blessed Resurection Sunday. :)

Good Friday A Good Day For Working

2011-04-22T21:27:00.002-05:00

We got up this morning and went to the grocery store. We left the house a little after six o'clock. Got that out of the way early. Grocery shopping isn't one of my favorite chores but eating is one of my favorite things to do so had to buy something to eat.

When we got home we moved those stinky little ducks to the outside brooder. We have them where they should stay warm tonight. I hope they don't get too warm.

I went to see about them about seven tonight and had to change out everything in the brooder. They had everything wet and nasty. They are growing like weeds.

William worked outside today. He put handrails to the steps on the front porch, finished digging the bed for the asparagus beans, cut some weeds growing on the west bank, dug holes to put up the frame for the swing and I'm sure there's more but I can't remember everything he did. He doesn't stop to rest....Only to eat and get some water.

I worked in some of the raised beds today. I pulled the weeds from the tomatoes and the green beans. I plan to pull dirt up around the greenbeans and then lay the soaker hose in the bed tomorrow. After I get the hose put down I want to put some pine straw in as mulch. I hope to get all the beds worked tomorrow.

The okra seed that I tested for germination had a good germination rate. Eight out of ten seed sprouted. So I know the seed are good that I saved from last year's okra crop. I'm planning to get them planted tomorrow morning.

We got the pen ready for the rabbit that is supposed to have her kits around the twenty-sixth. We will put her in the pen tomorrow. The nesting box is ready for her and the babies.

I bought plastic eggs to hide Sunday afternoon. They're stuffed with candy and one has a little extra in it. I have larger eggs with little stuffed rabbits, candy and some moolah stuck in them for each of the grands. I'm looking forward to seeing our children and the grands that get to come. I wish all of them could be here but when a person has a job they work when the boss says work or they don't work at all.

That's about all that was accomplished here today. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I plan to make a potato salad and three strawberry pies for our lunch on Sunday. I want to get the ham ready to go in the oven also. That will help with all I'll need to do on Sunday morning.

I hope you all have a good weekend and a blessed Resurection Sunday. :)

A Quack-Quack Here And A Quack-Quack There.....

2011-04-20T11:48:00.004-05:00

Not yet...Mostly peep-peep-peep. The ducklings arrived this morning. All ten are alive and healthy looking. They're eating and drinking good. Good enough they already have their brooder wet and have food all over the bottom of the tub. That's what ducks do. Make a mess but they are so cute that I don't mind the mess. They also supply us with lots of eggs to bake with.

Duck eggs make cakes and bread very rich. I love to bake using duck eggs. The eggs aren't too good to eat but they are edible. They're just a little tough.

There's ten babies. They will be grown before I know it.

Enough about the ducklings. Time for some garden talk. I checked the zucchini this morning. All four hills are up and looking good.

The green beans are up too. Most every hill came up. The beans are in a four by twenty raised bed. There's four rows of them in the bed so if all of the seed come up and the beans grow, we should have loads of green beans this summer.

We still don't have the okra nor the Asparagus beans planted. Maybe we can get that done this Friday. William will be off from school then. We will be doing some work in the yard if weather permits.

That's all that's going on here at Hunny Bunny Haven today. All except Sakura is not too happy with our new additions to the family. I think she's a bit jealous that I'm making a to-do over the ducklings and she's not getting all the attention. She'll get over it. I want her to get use to the ducklings being around so she won't be chasing them.

That's it for the day. Have a great day y'all.

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose.....

2011-04-19T13:51:00.007-05:00

Or is it? I walk around our yard with a camera a lot. Can you tell? I'm posting a few more pictures of the roses blooming in our yard.

The beauty on the top is called "A Mother's Love". This rose was given to me for Mother's Day several years ago by Lisa (My daughter), Todd and Meagen. It's a beautiful peachy color and it blooms each year no matter how neglected it is.

Second picture: This is the arbor that is over the walkway to our front porch. This rose came from Doctor Dirt (Leon Goldbury). He thought it was Prosperity but then he came back and said that wasn't the name. I don't know the official name...I just call it gorgeous and smells so good. It's always covered with blossoms every spring and will have a few blooms on it all through the summer months.

Third picture: I have no idea what the name of this rose is. The rose was here when we bought the place. Every few years we cut it back almost to the ground and it rewards us for several years with pretty purple blooms. There's just one thing about this rose, the thorns are like daggers. I don't touch it, I just enjoy it's beauty.

Bottom: I don't remember what the name of this rose is either. William bought it for me about fifteen years ago at a big box building supply store. For several years it didn't do much but this year it is making up for those years. Not only does it have large white blooms on it, they smell heavenly.

There's more but I won't bore you all any more with the flowers blooming in our yard. I love walking around looking at them and snapping a picture or two or three or fifty. LOL I hope you all enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I enjoy making them and as much as I enjoy the beauty of the rose bushes.

A note about the vegetable garden. I walked through the garden this morning and the greenbeans are beginning to sprout and the cucumbers are coming up. I haven't checked on the zucchini yet but I'm hoping when I do I will find them sticking their little heads up out of the dirt too.

We're supposed to get some rain tonight and tomorrow so maybe the rain will bring the seed on up out of the ground.

We still have the Asparagus beans, okra and sweet potatoes to plant. But as cool as it's been the last few days I think we have time.

Thanks for dropping by again. I hope you enjoyed your visit and y'all come back now...ya hear?

Something New Every Day

2011-04-18T22:11:00.003-05:00

Every morning when I look out the front or back door there's something new blooming. This year there's a bloom that I've never had before.

Several years ago...about seven years, I think....William's friend, Robert brought me a peony to put in the front flower bed. Each year it would come back up but nary a bloom. This morning I looked out the window and there it was in all it's beauty!!!!!

Gardening of any kind, vegetable or flower, takes patience. Several times I've come close to digging this plant up and composting it. I'm sure glad I didn't.

A Day Filled With Sunshine.....

2011-04-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

And a raised bed filled with pepper plants. This morning I set four each of sweet banana, sweet bell, jalapeno, cayenne and hot banana pepper plants in a large raised bed. The earth is rich with organic materials and still good damp from the rain on Monday evening. I'm looking forward to loads of peppers from these plants. I pickle peppers and dice peppers to freeze each summer. If I have enough peppers this summer I may try canning some pepper relish. The squash have grown almost two inches since I worked around them getting the soil lose around the little plants. Some of the tomato plants have jumped at least three inches. It's a big change each morning as I walk through the raised beds checking out the plants and looking to see if any of the seeds planted are beginning to come out of the ground. Spring is a very exciting time for me. I love to get up and walk through the vegetable garden in the cool of the morning.

The Garden Is Started!

2011-04-11T12:03:00.003-05:00

The radishes are getting ready to harvest. This morning I pulled five nice size radishes up to add to a salad for our dinner tonight . The beets are growing. I used the hoe and pulled some dirt up around the beet plants. I'm hoping for enough beets to put some in jars for William. But I've decided that I like beets too. I didn't think they were good but I've been eating some recently and they're good. Beets are low in carbs and calories. All the squash are up now. I hoed around them this morning. I will need to put some more rabbit manure around them in about a week or maybe some manure tea. I checked the tomato plants that William and I set out Saturday afternoon. They are looking good. Some of them look like they've grown two inches already. Tomatoes....fruits no words can describe. To describe tomatoes as delicious leaves so much unsaid. LOL Can you tell that I love eating tomatoes? This morning I planted green beans (Louisiana Purple Pod) in a raised bed that's 4' x 20'. I planted four rows of beans so that's eighty feet of green beans. That should be enough to can some beans and freeze some too. We have soaker hoses now that we are going to put around the green beans and the tomatoes. The hoses will make keeping the plants watered a lot easier than trying to water them from overhead. After I finished planting the green beans (and resting for a few minutes) I planted twelve hills of cucumbers. There's six hills of burpless cukes and six hills of pickling cucumbers. Cucumbers rate almost as highly as tomatoes with me. Lastly, I planted four hills of zucchini. They're planted in the flower bed in the front yard. William made a new bed with mown leaves, rabbit manure and peat moss along with the dirt that is mostly clay. I'm hoping that this new bed will produce a lot of zukes this year. There's room in the newly worked area to plant some more tomatoes. I'm planning to put the Marianna's Conflict there. I want to save some of the seed of these tomatoes so if planted in the front they will be away from the other tomatoes and won't cross pollinate. Rain is expected late this afternoon . That should be a good thing for the newly planted seeds and on the already established plants. I'm feeling good that the vegetables are now in the ground and that we should be enjoying them in a couple of months. We still need to get some pepper plants....Jalapena, Sweet Pepper, Cayenne and Sweet Banana peppers are what we usually plant. Okra will be the next vegetable I'll plant. I have a 4' x 16' bed that I'm planning to put the okra in. I may plant a couple rows across the bed and then in front set out some eggplants. After we get the raised beds going we need to till an area to plant the sweet potatoes and Asparagus beans. These beds will be about ten feet by ten feet each. I love spring time!!!!!

A Few More Spring Time Blooms

2011-04-09T13:09:00.014-05:00

Running rose on arbor,

Martha Gonzales Rose.

Mutabilus Rose,

Purple Verbena.

Miss Gladys' English Dogwood

The Miss Dorothy Iris.

Most of the flowers I have in my yard are from friends. The purple iris is from a dear, sweet lady named Miss Dorothy. She gave me the iris and it didn't bloom for serveral years. The year she died the iris bloomed. It's bloomed beautifully since. Each time I see that deep purple blossom I'm reminded of what a a precious person Miss Dorothy was. She'll live on in the blooms of the iris and of course in my heart.

The English Dogwood (or Mock Orange) and the purple Verbena were pass-along plants from a friend who I miss every day. My Miss Gladys gave me these plants. There are so many plants in our yard that she gave me that I can see her everywhere I turn. The blooms bring a smile to my face but I still get teary when I think about not being able to share these blooms with her. She was like a mother to me and I will always miss her.

Some of the roses I bought from a man who calls himself "Dr. Dirt" and does he knows how to raise plants! There's no mulch, no straw, no artifical dirt and no weeds growing in his garden. The plants are healthy and vigorous. I love to walk through his garden with him. It's been a while since William and I have visited Dr. Dirt. It's about time for another visit.

The roses, Mutabilus (has different color blooms), Martha Gonzales (Burgundy red blooms and a very small plant) and the rose on the arbor (Pale pink blooms that smell like old timey roses smelled) all came from Dr. Dirt. I've had them for several years and they are still as healthy now as when I bought them.

The yellow squash finally came up. They've been planted at least two weeks. I suppose the temps got too low for the seed to germinate. Five of the six hills I planted came up. I guess I'll replant that one. :)

I hope you all enjoyed your walk around our yard as much as I do. Come back to see us anytime. :)

Spring Blooms Eternal........

2011-04-07T20:27:00.008-05:00

Or at least for a little while.

These are pictures of some of the flowers now blooming in our yard. I love this time of year! When I feel a little "blah" I just take a walk around the yard and look at the Creator's handiwork.

The bright and cheerful rose is a Lady Banks rose given to me for Mother's Day a few years back by Lisa, Todd and Meagen. It's in full bloom and like a "blob" of sunshine in our front yard.

The little flowes are called Rain Lillies. We discovered the plants in our daughter, Lisa's backyard after their home had flooded. When the water receded the lillies came up in abundance across the yard.

The Japanese Snowball bush ( which has grown into more of a tree than a bush) is another Mother's Day present given to me by Mark, Janet and family. This is the only snow that I like in my yard. LOL

Springtime has come to our little homestead. Even with temps down to thirty-five and frost yesterday morning (Wednesday, April 6th) the flowers still bloom profusely. I can't help but smile when I take a walk around our yard.

Meet Fred And Ethel

2011-04-04T12:43:00.004-05:00

This is Fred and Ethel (so named by William because guineas get all excited about every little thing like Fred and Ethel on I Love Lucy). Of course, this couple hasn't been grumbling or fussing. After all they have their brand new home with a screened in porch in which they are privileged to live.

There's plenty of food and water along with all the ticks they can eat. They don't have anything to grumble about. :)

Also, there's not been any unwelcomed visitors so far. Even though when I went out to make the pictures a stray cat was lurking about. He decided he didn't want to hang around with the guineas if I was going to be visiting.

Other things going on at Hunny Bunny Haven are: Sweet potatoes are bedded for "slips" to plant later on., the duck pen is coming along and the new raised bed is ready to plant tomatoes as soon as the temps decide to be spring like.

The night time temperatures are supposed to dip down in the thirties again Wednesday. I don't expect frost but want to be safe so the tomatoes will have to wait until this weekend.

That's about all that's going on around here. I hope spring has come to your neck of the woods and I hope it stays for a while.

A Little Gardening, A Little Getting Ready For Summer And

2011-03-26T19:16:00.002-05:00

a little getting ready for the new birds coming to live on our place.

This morning I took my winter clothes out of the closet and drawers and put the spring/summer clothes in. I'm ready now for spring to fully arrive. I will admit to leaving one sweater in the closet just in case the weather turns cold again.

After taking out clothes and putting in clothes, I went outside and we reworked a bed where I planted the yellow summer squash. I planted six hills of squash. If they do good then we should have plenty of squash.

I didn't plant the zuchinni yet. I think I'm going to put in three hills of zukes in my flower bed. I think the plants are beautiful to look at so they should look good in a flower bed.

When I finished planting the squash I took care of the rabbits and chickens. After this I set down and watch William work on the chicken tractor that we're going to put the guineas in. He's almost finished with it. He has to build them a shed to go into at night so they'll be protected from the elements.

Other than this I haven't done much today. Just a few general household chores. It's been too pretty to stay inside very long at a time.

William did cut the back yard. It's full of hen bit and chickweed so after he cut them down we fed them to the chickens. You'd thought we were serving caviar. LOL

While I was outside "watching" William work on the chicken tractor, I did sort of decide where to plant everything. I hope we can get the tomatoes and peppers in the ground next weekend.

We need to rent a tiller to till an area to plant the asparagus beans. That bed is going to be about 10' X 10'. Instead of making a raised bed we're going to make rows for these beans.

That was my Saturday. Now I'm going to watch t.v. with my honey. Unless he's watching a basketball game and then I may just go to bed.

Spring Break Is Over....

2011-03-20T20:02:00.004-05:00

Our accomplishments for last week are: Loafing on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Wednesday and Thursday we finished the 4' X 16' raised bed and got it filled with soil, built two brooders (one for ducks and another for the geese I plan to order), a chicken tractor framed out just waiting on the wire (this is going to be for the guineas), a pen pretty much done for the ducks when they are old enough to go into a pen, the laying hens' pen cleaned and new bedding put in it, leaves rakes up and put in the compost, and all this was done without any mishaps. YAY!

We got in some "Moon" watching last night (Saturday), had company for lunch today and a visit this afternoon, from my friend, Leaesa who went and moved off to Kansas and her mother, Miss Clara.

It's been a nice week. I hate to see it end. Wish William could retire and be home every day.
Maybe one day. :)

This Post Is Not About Gardening.....

2011-03-10T20:32:00.002-06:00

But it’s about the seeds we sow…….

This afternoon I watch a rerun of Little House On The Prairie. This episode was about an overweight man whose daughter was ashamed of him. He heard her telling the mother she (the daughter) didn’t want any of the children in the town to know that the man was the girl’s father.

He in turn left and pretended to be gone to work for the railroad until he had an accident and needed surgery. The girl overheard a blind child read an essay the child had written about the overweight man. The essay was centered on the man’s kindness and gentleness and love.

The daughter realized how foolish she’d been and went to the man’s room (where he lay in a coma because of the accident and later surgery to save his life) and apologized to her father and asked him to live not for her but for the other children who loved him.

This television show set me on edge for you see I’m overweight and I deal with people making comments about my weight quite often. Comments such as “I don’t know why any man would want a fat woman.” or a comment about another person gaining so much weight that they’re “nearly as fat as you are.” or saying that they’d never say anything about one of my daughters being overweight and in the next breath ask “Have you seen _____ lately? She’s gained so much weight you wouldn’t know her.”

These comments hurt. They cut to the core because you see at one time in my life I was underweight. I starved myself to be thin so I’d be “attractive” until I became ill with a lung disease that was treated with high doses of steroids.

I gained a lot and I do mean a lot of weight during this time in my life. I’ve never lost the weight. I lost all but five pounds at which time the lung disease became active again and I had to be treated again in larger doses of steroids and for a longer period of time.

If any of you know anything about steroids you know they affect every part of the body. I have asthma cause by the steroids, I have arthritis caused by the steroids and I have fibromyalgia that there is no known cause.

I guess what I’m trying to get across to everyone is: Do not criticize another person unless you’ve walked in that person’s shoes and know what lies behind the way the person looks.
Most of us would never make a comment to a person about a large scar on their face, a birthmark that was visible or thinning hair or lip hair or anything else that a person may have that makes them less than perfect. Why do any of us think it’s alright to make comments to people who are overweight.

Before making a comment to another person about their body size maybe we should all go look in the mirror and see if our face or body is perfect.

Did It Rain?

2011-03-09T08:14:00.006-06:00

It came a gully washer. The lower part of our yard has a river running through it.

William checked the rain gauge and it showed 2.75 inches since yesterday morning at 8:30 until about 6:30 this morning.

We need the rain but I'm hoping that it soaked into the soil and didn't run off into somebody's pond. LOL

Still looks like more rain could be on the way. Then the temps are supposed to drop to freezing again. But with sunny skies.

Spring Didn't Sprung!

2011-03-07T08:16:00.003-06:00

I may have gotten a head start on gardening but now I may have to start over. We've been having wonderful warm temperatures here in East Central Mississippi for the last two weeks. I planted some cole crops and some came right up but........

The temperature dropped down to freezing last night so now I'm afraid to look at my little plants.

I didn't know the temps were supposed to drop like that until ten o'clock last night....too late to get everything covered.

I guess this is one of those "Live And Learn" situations. I'm hoping not too much damage is done but as William said if it is "We'll just plant over." Thanks Honey for saying "We".

To Brighten Up The Day!!!

2011-03-02T10:07:00.006-06:00

Not that this day needs any brightening what with the sun shining brillantly. It is nice to look out the bedroom window and see the deep purple blossoms of the Japanese Magnolia (or Tulip Tree).

I enjoy seeing the yellow and white of the daffodils and forsythia blooming next to William's goldfish pond.

These vivid colors do brighten my day! I love the first blooms of springtime!!!!!

Radishes Are Peeking Out Of The Dirt

2011-02-28T21:46:00.003-06:00

A few of the radishes are sprouted up. I'm hoping for more to come on up. But at least we have some spring veggies growing in the garden again. The new cycle of growth has begun.

It's That Time Of Year......

2011-02-26T17:07:00.002-06:00

Or at least I hope it is. Time to garden! I've planted some radishes, carrots and beets. I had the radish and carrot seed but we had to look three different places before we could find beet seeds.

Our county co-op didn't have any of the beet seed....Go figure. William finally found some at Lowes. He bought three packages so if the ones I planted this afternoon don't come up at least I have more seed to replant. :)

We bred our white rabbit this afternoon also. We bred her once (or thought she was bred) but no babies. If she doesn't produce this time I think we'll be looking for another buck.

I've put the brown (Cocoa) in with the buck a time or two but she's not interested in being a "momma" even though she was pregnant when we got her.

We weren't sure when the kits were due and she had them while we were gone to our family reunion and she killed them all. Bad Momma!!!! I'd like to breed her again since I know she's fertile just to be sure the buck is.

It has gotten warm enough here for the kits to survive if born around the last of March. We're almost out of rabbit in our freezer. One more package and that's it.

I'm getting an order together to order more "Easter Egger" chickens, some ducks and a couple of geese. Maybe a few turkeys and some guineas.

William has never wanted the guineas but I think I've talked him into making a chicken tractor for them and putting them out under the pine trees and let them feast on the ticks that are so rampant under those trees. Maybe, I've talked him into it. I'll just have to wait and see.

It would be so good to have some more animals other than chickens and rabbits. Geese for the garden, ducks for my enjoyment and their eggs, guineas for tick control and turkeys for the freezer or canning. Sounds good to me.

Yellow Is The Color Of Hope....

2011-02-20T12:54:00.003-06:00

that spring really is just around the corner.

Finally, the daffodils have begun to bloom. Even though the grass is still brown and the leaves haven't started budding on the trees. The daffodil blossoms bring a surge of hope that spring is coming.

The daytime temperatures have been in the mid seventies for the last few days with night time temps in the middle fifties and today it is forecast that we should reach eighty degrees. Perfect weather but WAIT!!!!!!!!!! Wednesday night the temps are supposed to drop into the thirties again.

Oh well....it's wonderful while it lasts.

I wish you all sunshine, daffodils blooming, warm temperatures and hope!!!!!

Today There's Blue Skies Over My Head....

2011-02-15T13:51:00.004-06:00

but this is what we woke up to last Thursday morning (February 9th).

This amount of snow may not look like much to some of you northern people but believe me....It's a lot for our East Central Mississippi area.

While getting snow in this area puts a kink into everything....driving, work, school and most everything else....it does add a lot of moisture to our drought ridden soil. For that I am thankful.

I'm still looking for spring. Everyone around here is thinking the snow last Wednesday night and Thursday morning is our last real cold....I'm just smiling and thinking....."NOT!" There's still plenty of time for a couple more snows to fall and maybe more.

I remember about twenty-five years ago the ground was covered with snow on April 6th. It's a long time until April 6th. So we shall see just what the weather has in store for this little town in East Central Mississippi.

I've learned this winter to "roll with the flow". What will be...will be. There's nothing we can do about the weather.

Even though I'm not crazy about snow it did get the children a day off school (the teachers had to go in but later ....Poor William), put moisture into the soil and it was pretty to look at.

If Variety Is The Spice Of Life.....

2011-02-05T10:56:00.002-06:00

People living in Mississippi live a very "Spicy" life....Weatherwise anyway. Since last Saturday we have had one day that the temps were in the mid seventies and beautiful sunshine, three days of clouds and temps in the sixties, one day of thunderstorms and heavy rain, one day of sleet that covered the ground, another day of cold, freezing rain and today we have a sprinkling of snow.

Here we can pretend we live anywhere in the world from the tropics to the Artic!!!

That's wintertime in Mississippi.

Now summertime is another story...Living here in summer is like living in a sauna located in the Sahara Desert!!!!! Hot and Humid.

Even so, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather live. Variety is a good thing. I reckon it has to be since there's nothing I can do about the weather. :)

The Daffodils Ain't Got Brave Yet!!!!

2011-01-30T23:12:00.004-06:00

William and I worked in the yard most of the day Saturday. The daffodils haven't begun to poke their heads out of the ground yet. There must be some more really cold weather coming soon.

Saturday was a beautiful and warm day. Temps reached the mid-seventies and the sun was bright as any spring sunshine could be. However, today is a gray, rainy day with mid-fifties for high temperatures.

We did get a lot accomplished on Saturday. I planted a big bed of wildflowers mixed with some older flower seed that I've had for several years. I don't know if they will come up but if they do then we will have all sorts of pretty flowers in our front yard this spring and summer.

The bed that I planted the wildflowers in also has some daffodils, day lillies and Black-Eyed Susans in it. It should be a sea of color when they all start blooming in the spring and summer and possibly on into fall.

William hurt his back working on the flower beds. When he sits down he can hardly stand up. He will be seeing a doctor in the morning if everything goes as planned. He's been in misery all night Saturday night and all day today.

Even though the daffodils aren't brave enough to start showing up, the forsythia and Japanese Magnolia are brave little soldiers and are marching right on into spring with the buds popping out up and down the branches of the bushes.

That puts a smile on my face for I look forward to the first flowers of spring and it won't be long before they're HERE!!!!!!

I See Signs Of Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-28T15:00:00.002-06:00

Sakura (the pooch) and I took a little walk around the yard this week. There are signs of spring. OH YEAH!!!!! The Forsythia is budding. The Japanese Magnolia has huge buds on it and the snowball bush (or tree as it's tall as the house is high) has small clusters of buds on it.

We didn't check the Daffodils. I need to do that in the morning while I prune the roses. If the Daffodils are poking their little heads through the frost burned grass then I'll know that spring is well on the way.

Another way I know spring is coming is.....I have itchy fingers. The sun is shining so pretty today and that makes me want to dig in the garden. I think I'm going to order some English pea seeds and plant a bed of those. William loves English peas and he really likes fresh ones much better than those canned things we buy.

While I'm sure we will have some more bone-chilling cold there's hope for warmer days. I've seen the signs!!!!

Where Am I?

2011-01-15T11:53:00.002-06:00

The deep south has become the Artic! Snow has fallen twice already this winter when we usually go several winters without any sign of snow. The temperatures have dropped into the teens with windchill factors in single digit numbers. So I'm asking where am I?

I ask this because Chicago, Illinois has temps warmer than East Central Mississippi. Therefore I scratched my head and wonder "Should I move to Chicago or move further south? Much further south?"

After a good deal of head scratching I've decided to hang around this area for spring is just around the corner and further south is hotter than here in East Central Mississippi and Chicago is hot in the summer time too.

I'm trying to look on the bright side while hoping this cold weather kills the ticks and chiggers (better known in Mississippi as Red Bugs) and there'll be less scratching of the whole body this spring and summer.

No where is perfect, although beside the atipical weather we're having at this time, East Central Mississippis is pretty dern near it. Just sayin',

Snow???????

2011-01-07T22:42:00.002-06:00

According to the weather forecast between four and eight inches of snow is coming our way. Not the pretty white stuff of which lovely pictures are made of but SLUSHY, NASTY stuff of which slipping and sliding and wrecks are made of.

Global warming? We've had two winters of global warming so far. The winter of 2009/2010 was dreadfully cold with snow and sleet. Now the winter of 2010/2011 looks to be the same.

We're stocked up on peanut butter and bread. Got the gas tank full so bring on the sleet, the ice, the snowy slush. We're ready.

That Little Stinker

2010-12-29T23:09:00.002-06:00

Very early (about 2:00 a.m.) Tuesday morning our puppy was barking and barking and barking and....She just kept on barking. William got out of bed to check on her. She was looking out the back door so he opens the back door to see what kind of varmint was causing so much aggravation to the puppy.

When he came back to bed he said, "You'd never believe what was out by our garbage can." I guessed a deer. He said "No. A skunk!" I asked if he shot it and he said "NAH!! That thing would have sprayed everything." Then he said, "I backed into the house as quietly and as quickly as I could."

Now my William is over six feet tall, a rather large man and has size thirteen feet....The mental picture of him backing quietly and quickly brings a giggle every time I think about it. Even at two o'clock in the morning.

The little Stinker is still wondering around some where in our area. I just hope neither of us walk up on it while it is out strolling.

One Word

2010-12-12T16:30:00.000-06:00

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Beginning To Feel Like Winter....

2010-12-11T16:16:00.005-06:00

Cold temperatures moved in last week. Nighttime temps dropped to the teens with the daytime temperature rising into the forties on most days. A couple of days the temperatures hovered in the high thirties.

We still have veggies in the garden though. The collard greens, green onions, kale, rosemary, chives and even the mustard greens are still surviving even after the low temps. The cold only makes the greens sweeter.

However, today we have temperatures that have almost reached seventy degrees. Instead of having the heat on five grates we have the front door opened to get some fresh air in here.

Springtime hasn't returned. It's only a respite for a day or two. Monday morning we are supposed to hit the teens again.

It's nice while it lasts.

Gray and Dreary Day!!!!!!!

2010-11-18T12:22:00.002-06:00

We've had rain since last Sunday. Today is another gray, dreary day here in East Central Mississippi. That, my friends, is a good thing.

Some people get depressed when the sky is cloudy and gray. Not me! I love cloudy, rainy days. I can watch all the food networks while I knit and not feel a bit of guilt.

I've made eight toboggans and three ear warmers. I'm working on another ear warmer and then will start another toboggan as soon as I finish it up.

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop" doesn't apply here! My hands are most always busy. No time for idleness in this house. :)

The holidays are coming up. We are planning for a houseful on Thanksgiving day. Three of our children are supposed to be here along with the grandchildren, my mom, my stepfather and one of my sisters.

There'll be plenty of food, chatter and laughter. I have so much to be thankful for that there's no beginning and no ending to my blessings.

I wish everyone a blessed Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas season. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

I Don't Want To Give Up.....

2010-11-11T09:53:00.002-06:00

So while out with Sakura (our Shih Tzu) I checked out the green bean teepee. I found some green beans hiding on the inside of the vines.

While the night time temperatures have dropped into the twenties for several nights, these beans had not been touched by the cold. I picked the beans and we had fresh green beans for our dinner that night. Even had leftovers. :)

I love the surprises I find in our garden even if it's almost the middle of November. Delicious surprises by the way.

Jack Frost Came For A Visit....

2010-11-07T13:48:00.002-06:00

Ol' Jack Frost came for a visit the last two nights. He sat amongst the collard greens turning them sweet and tastier. Tonight for dinner we are going to see how sweet the collard greens have become. I am pairing them with baked sweet potatoes, cubed steak with gravy, one of the last three cucumbers from the garden and a tomato that I pulled last week when I thought Jackie Boy was going to visit us.

William has been watching the collard greens for weeks. He made a comment about how big they'd grown most every time he went outside. That is a lot folks for my hubby goes in and out dozens of times a day. LOL

I hope that he will be happy with the meal he's getting for his dinner tonight. He's waited long enough for the greens to be ready!

It's A Rainy Tuesday In Mississippi

2010-11-02T10:36:00.003-05:00

The rain started falling about seven-thirty this morning and here it is after ten-thirty and there's been no let up. Rain is falling hard enough that a person would get soaked in short time but not the washing kind of rain. Just what we've been needing for several months.

The temperature is comfortable. I have the front door open so I can hear the rain dripping off the eaves of the house. The sound makes me want to cuddle back under the covers and snooze but then I'd miss hearing all that wonderful water falling from the skies.

Today is a good day for watching t.v. and knitting for a while. My heart rejoices!

Don't Forget to vote, today. It's your privilege!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Hate To Admit It.......

2010-10-28T20:30:00.006-05:00

But I know I have to. Summer's coming to a close. According to the weather forecast for Friday night and Saturday morning, the temperature is dropping to a cool....er cold thirty-one degrees. That means FROST!!!!

This morning I gathered all the green tomatoes, the peppers, the cucumbers, the larger of the pear tomatoes and the last of the green beans.

The tomatoes are larger than the ones we grew in the earlier part of the summer. It sure panged me to pull those tomatoes from the vines. I wanted to let them ripen on the vine but it is not to be. I will wrap them in newspaper and put them in a box to ripen.

The squash plants have several small squash on them but the squash aren't as big as my pointer finger. They would be good salad fixings though. It would be a good idea to pick them tomorrow morning before we leave for our day trip.

All good things must come to an end. I've realized that I must say goodbye to the summer of 2010 and the fresh vegetables we've enjoyed from our garden but nowhere is it written that I have to like saying "Goodbye".

'Tis the cycle of life! Seasons come. Seasons go.

What have I been up to?

2010-10-27T18:07:00.008-05:00

Sewing and knitting!

I knit while I'm watching t.v. and sew in between household chores.

I saw Martha Stewart make the baby changing pad on one of her programs several months ago. It's easily put together and will make nice baby gifts. There's a pocket on the pad for a diaper, wet wipes and a pocket for diaper cream. For the front I chose a colorful fabric and the backside is made of a hand towel. It can be folded and tied to fit into a diaper bag.

They're convenient to use when a mother needs to change her baby in a public bathroom. I love the idea of having the pad to lay the baby on instead of putting the infant on the bare changing table.

Laying the baby on a bare public changing table doesn't seem sanitary to me. I've seen many moms laying their tiny babies down on those cold, plastic, dirty changing tables. May be I can keep one of the pads with me and make a gift of them when I see a mother about to put her baby on a dirty table. :)

I will have to admit that the knitting is not done with needles but with a hoop. The hoop gets the job done and it's quick.

The little caps were play time. I made one and gave it to three year old Emmy Kate (the baby in our family and my great neice) for her baby doll. It IS getting cold you know.

The adult size caps I'm going to donate to a homeless shelter or the Salvation Army. There's plenty of people out there that can use a warm tobagan.

On an aside note.......WE HAVE GOTTEN RAIN three days in a row and from the forecast there's more on the way now. There was a tornado warning a few minutes ago for two counties southwest of us. The storm was moving this way although the tornado warning has been lifted. Thank God for the rain!

Rain Sneaked In During Early Morning Hours....

2010-10-25T22:40:00.003-05:00

Sunday afternoon the rain came down for less than five minutes. I thought that was all we were going to get but early this morning the rain came down again. This time we got around a half inch. All the plants look happier.

More rain along with some thunderstorms are in the forecast for the next three days. I'm hoping that we get at least another half inch.

I've always taken for granted that the rain is going to fall, the breeze is going to blow and the garden is going to grow but it doesn't always happen that way. We're over twelve inches short in the rainfall category this year. The temperature was close to 90 today and there was no breeze blowing. The garden is still growing though. That's a good thing.

There's Just Nothing Like It!

2010-10-16T22:31:00.003-05:00

I can't think of anything better than fresh greens cooked in a black iron pot with bacon to season them. Mustard and turnip greens grown without insecticides or commercial fertilizer. I know they are healthy eating.....well maybe they would have been healthier sans the bacon for seasoning but you only live once. :)

Add to those fresh greens a piece of chicken that is oven fried and a baked sweet potato...A sliced cucumber and hot peppers on the side rounded out the meal. That's what this southern gal calls a gourmet meal.

The pear tomatoes are ripening. I picked four on Thursday and had them with my scrambled egg on Friday. They had a good tomato taste for it to be so late in the season. When I was gathering the greens this afternoon I noticed there are a few more ready to be picked. Being the good wife I am, I'll let William have these.

There were a few yellow squash large enough to gather today. I sliced them and a couple of potatoes and an onion then stewed them down for dinner tomorrow night. I gathered a handful of green beans for our dinner also.

While I was in the garden I pulled a green tomato to slice and fry for our breakfast in the morning. I think we will have a bacon and fried green tomato sandwich.

We are enjoying the last of our bounty before the cold sets in and the veggies are gone. I'll miss running out the back door to gather fresh vegetables for our meals but I can begin to dream of the coming spring when the cycle will begin all over again.

The Morning After....

2010-10-13T15:45:00.002-05:00

the rain was just as I expected. The greens look like they grew six inches overnight. The kale is big enough to pick along with the turnip greens and mustard.

I'm going to wait and pick the turnip greens and mustard over the weekend. I'm hankering for some more good old southern food. I am thinking there will be the mixed greens, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, hot peppers, cucumbers and some of those pear tomatoes that are ripe on the menu for Saturday dinner.

The Jalapeno plants have a lot of peppers almost ready for picking. The plan for these peppers is to chop them and put them in the freezer for making salsa a little later on.

I guess I'd better get into canning mode if I plan to make the salsa, barbecue sauce and some jellies for Christmas gifts. Christmas will be "snuck" up on me if I'm not careful.

Today is sunny with a few white, fluffy clouds floating around. The leaves are turning on the oaks, sweet gums and elms. Fall is in the air but the temperatures today don't feel like fall. It's a bit warm outside today.

We finally got the propane installed for this winter. We had the house plumbed with two outlets but as large as the heater in the living room is we probably won't need another heater. That is unless we have another winter like last winter.

Life is good around Hunny Bunny Haven. Thanks for dropping by and please do come again. :)

RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-12T18:24:00.003-05:00

Sweet, Blessed Rain!!!! The first rain we've seen in at least six weeks and probably longer. So long that I've forgotten the last time we had "good" water fall on our garden.

Rain has been falling for at least thirty minutes. We're predicted a half inch but you know what? A half inch is better than none! I can't wait to see our garden in the morning!

Thank you Lord!

No Frost.....

2010-10-08T18:00:00.004-05:00

Yet!

We had some fall nearing winter temperatures this last week. One night the low was thirty-six degrees.

The vegetables in the pictures above are why it would be nice if the frost held off for a few more weeks.

We have some nice looking tomatoes that are still very green. It would be wonderful if these tomatoes could ripen on the vines or at least get mature enough that I could bring them in and let them ripen.

My youngest daughter gave me her prediction today. "Mom, these tomatoes will NOT be ripe before frost." Thanks Li...Just what I needed to hear. LOL I'm hoping that she is wrong too.

There's a good crop of new Jalapeno peppers on the vines. I'm hoping they will mature so I can chop them to go into salsa later on this winter.

But whatever comes that will be what comes. Nothing I can do about the weather. Maybe Ol' Man Winter will stay away for a few more weeks so Jack Frost won't come calling.

If there's frost in the forecast I guess I can pull the green tomatoes and we can go on a green tomato binge. We can have fried green tomato and bacon sandwiches, fried green tomatoes and grits or a plate full of fried green tomatoes.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-10-03T13:37:00.003-05:00

Our garden grows because we keep it watered! Still no "good" water for us and it's not in the forecast for at least another week.

The vegetables are doing o.k. so far. That is everything but the kale. I think the bed we planted the kale in has a little too much sand and the water drains away from the roots too quickly. We could water this bed three or four times a week and it wouldn't be too much.

The armadillas almost destroyed the collard bed. They dined most every night in that bed. One night they rooted several of the collard plants out of the ground so William put some newspaper and pinestraw around the plants. That didn't stop the varmints. When we went outside the next morning they had been rooting again.

As you can see from the picture, we did solve the problem. William took some wire from old rabbit cages and cut it into strips. After he laid wire around all the plants it stopped the armadillas from dining on the bugs and worms. That wire plus a shotgun put a stop to those pesky rascals.

Our temp is supposed to be down to thirty-nine tonight. The high temperature is supposed to be seventy-two for tomorrow. I'm still hoping that our tomatoes, squash and cucumbers will get another week or two or three....at least a month of growing and producing.

From the weather predictions it's looking like the Naked Ladies know thier stuff. I have my fingers crossed they're wrong. There's some pretty tomatoes on those vines and it would hurt to see them ruined by frost but they're still too small to pull.

That's about all that's going on around here. I hope I can soon post about some of that wet stuff they call rain.

Thanks for dropping in and do come back soon.

Fire That Weather Guy!!!!!

2010-09-28T23:03:00.004-05:00

I was watching the ten o'clock news on one of our local t.v. stations and that silly weather man said "Dry the rest of this week and there's no rain in sight for next week either." I say FIRE THAT RASCAL.

We need a weather guy that can do better predictions than the present weather man can do. We need a weather man that can see some rain in the forecast for several days.

Oh, well. Guess I'll drag out the hose and water the garden again. We've watered it until it's producing so it would be foolish to stop now even though we may have to float a loan to pay the water bill next month. Those fresh veggies are worth it.

But couldn't that weather guy pretend he sees some rain in the forecast? At least that would give us some hope. Think I'll call the station and make a suggestion. LOL

A Tease Is A Tease Is A Tease!

2010-09-25T16:08:00.003-05:00

We received a "tease" of rain today. William put all his equipment back in his shop and came in telling me "It's raining!" I was so excited but before he could get seated in his recliner the rain had cease to fall and the sun was once again shining brightly.

That is what I call a "tease". However, according to the "weatherman" rain is in the forecast for the next three days. I am hoping and praying that that "weatherman" is right or I may have to fire him!

Some parts of the country are flooding, some parts are so wet that the homesteaders can't get their fall gardens in the ground and then there is our part of the country that is so dry that when we try to work our raised beds the dust is like a whirlwind, even with deep watering every week and sometimes twice weekly.

It is not for me to understand and I'm very glad that is so because I do not understand why some people get too much of what we haven't gotten nearly enough of this summer.

That's all I have to say today. Well except, my computer will NOT stay online. So if I don't post for a while you will know that I THREW THE DARN THING OUT THE BACK DOOR!!!!!! OR PUT IT IN THE GARBAGE WHERE IT BELONGS!

How Dry Is Dry?

2010-09-21T15:28:00.004-05:00

How dry is it here? So dry that when we walk across our lawn it crackles under our feet. We need rain so very much.

We're keeping our garden watered but we can't afford to water the yard and the garden. We had to keep our priorities in order. It sure is hard to see my roses looking so bad and all the other flowers turning brown for lack of water.

I should have planned my flower beds more carefully. Instead of placing them around in so many different areas, I should have placed them all together. We could have kept them watered if I'd planted them all closer together. But NO, I had to place beds all around the front yard. It would cost a fortune to keep them watered.

When the weather cools down, I'm going to rework all the beds and bring them closer together. We can put grass where the old beds were.

Maybe, we'll get some rain in the next few days. I'm praying we do!

Do Naked Ladies Tell The Truth?

2010-09-18T12:44:00.003-05:00

Last night we were at my Mother-In-Law's for her 86th birthday get together with her children and some of the nieces. One of the great-grands came in with a flower they'd picked for Mamaw. It was a Naked Lady!!!!! According to legend (some swear it's fact) thirty days after the Naked Ladies start blooming we will have our first frost.

Do these ladies tell the truth? This is the middle of September. Are we going to have a frost here in East Central Mississippi by the middle of October? I hope not!

There's small tomatoes on the vines. The squash and zukes are blooming, the green beans are full of blooms and the cucumbers....Well, what can I say about the cucumbers? Maybe, that they're loaded with little cucumbers and with blooms. A frost in the middle of October would bring all this bounty to a sudden halt.

I am going to bet that the Naked Ladies are telling untruths this year, To be on the safe side, I'm going to hedge my bet with some white row covering to protect those tasty veggies that will still be maturing. That's just in case the ladies know something that I don't know.

Since my Mother-In-Law lives southeast of us, I decided I'd better check on my Naked Ladies....Yep, they're there, standing tall and dancing in the breeze.

We'll see if they speak the truth or not. I am marking on the calendar this date and will wait to see...............................

The Weather Report....

2010-09-13T17:11:00.002-05:00

It's a beautiful day here in Philly today. The temps were down to around 60 this morning. The sun came out and it's been shining brightly all day. The temps are in the high 80s but it's comfortable outside. The skies are so blue that you can see forever. The leaves on the trees are still green and the green of the trees against the blue of the sky is breathtakingly beautiful.

There's no one who could paint a picture this beautiful except for the Master Painter! He has given me a day to enjoy and enjoy it I have. :)

Sakura and I took a walk around the garden beds this afternoon. I think every mustard and turnip green seed I planted must have come up. There's a sea of green in that bed. If we can keep the bugs from dining on the tender greens we should have plenty greens for eating this fall and winter.

The kale is coming up, too. I didn't have a lot of kale seed but there's a good stand of seedlings so far. I see some kale, potato and sausage soup in our future. Yummy!

While we were outside, I gathered some rosemary and oregano to make a rub for the roast chicken we're having for dinner tonight. Fresh herbs makes every thing taste better.

There were two cukes ready to be snatched off the vines, also. I plan to use them for dinner tomorrow night.

I guess I have had a case of thread drift....I went from the weather report to a garden report but good weather and a good garden kind of goes together as far as I'm concerned. We can't have a good garden without good weather. Don't you agree?

I'M HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-11T15:43:00.003-05:00

I'm hungry!!!! While that's nothing unusual it's what I'm hungry for that is unual for me. I want some good old fashion southern food. You know, like blackeyed peas cooked with bacon grease in them, corn fried in a black iron skillet with butter, salt and black pepper, mashed potatoes, fried chicken with gravy and biscuits and a hunk of cornbread on the side. To top off the meal I want a fresh slice cucumber, some green onions and hot peppers (Cayenne or Jalapeno, doesn't matter as long as they make me sweat.).

I would be having sliced tomatoes with all the other goodies but there's no tomatoes in the garden.....No ripe ones any way. A few small green ones but they're not large enough to fry so tomatoes are out for this meal. :(

I don't usually want this kind of food and I usually eat very healthy with whole grains and low carb veggies due to the fact that I am diabetic. Yesterday and today I have been craving some good old southern cooking.

It's cooking right now. I don't think there will be cornbread but biscuits are a big MAY BE! The rest is a FOR SURE.

I took the veggies and the chicken from the freezer and then went to the garden for the cucumbers (yep there are cucumbers ready to eat...YIPEE), green onions and the peppers.
I will eat today and be good tomorrow.

Everyone deserves to "Pig Out" every once in a while. Today is my "Once In A While." I hope the food taste as good as it smells. YUM, YUM!

The Rain Came

2010-09-08T20:18:00.002-05:00

A nice shower anyway.

Yesterday, William and I got the beds worked up with new compost in them. I planted the kale in the smaller bed and the turnip greens and mustard in the bed where we had green beans earlier.

William turned the water on this morning before leaving for school. Then the good water came late this afternoon. We should see little greens coming up in both beds in the next few days.

I'm not sure if we're going to plant any other fall crops such as beets, carrots or radishes. I want to plant some lettuce but will wait for a few more days because of the temperatures around here are still running in the 90s. That's much too hot for lettuces.

I'm satisfied now that we have the greens in the ground. I hope they will come up and grow off so we can put some into the freezer before a big freeze.

If we have plenty of greens I want to try Alex's recipe for Turnip Green Stew. It sounds pretty good and he says it makes a big pot so I can make one big pot and then freeze some for later.

It's kind of dull around here at this time. Fall is on it's way.....I think but Summer is hanging on for dear life. She's not giving up without a fight!

Labor Day is for......

2010-09-06T19:47:00.002-05:00

Laboring. This day has been a regular Monday except for one thing.....William is home.

When I got up this morning I made breakfast, did a load of laundry, made the bed, make homemade barbecue sauce, made three pies, put the cole slaw together, put the meats we bought in bags and into the freezer, wash dishes two or three times, got the ribs on the grill and then into a crock pot, bake the sweet potatoes, transplanted the collard plants, put William's lunch together for tomorrow and I still have work to do. Is this why they call it Labor Day? LOL

I'm just thankful that we have the opportunities we have to work, the foods to cook, clothes to wash and beds to make. I got up with the silly assumption this was a holiday. ROFL

Oh well, we do have twelve collard plants in the bed and one bed is almost ready to plant the kale. I will try to get that done tomorrow along with fertilizing the green beans, cukes, squash and tomatoes.

Then if I'm not too pooped I will get the turnip green planted. I know I was going to do that Saturday but we went to see William's Mom instead. A good reason for not planting is visiting.

I gave the cucumbers a good going over this afternoon and there are several small cukes on the vines. One is what I will call gherkin size so it'll be ready for slicing in another few days.

The latest tomato plants are looking good. They've grown and look sturdy. Now if they'd get busy blooming. A few of the plants do have blooms but I'm selfish.....I want all the plants to have blooms and tomatoes and to hurry up with them. :)

One day this week I want to gather the basil and rosemary to go in the dehydrator. It will be nice to have my homegrown herbs for seasonings this winter.

After I gather the basil and rosemary I will get some chives and oregano along with the few plants of sage to dehydrate.

Herbs in the dehydrator should make the house smell yummy.

Time to get back to work. I hope you will come back again real soon.

Cucumbers!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-03T21:22:00.003-05:00

Well, cucumber, then. The cucumber vines have loads of blooms but blooms were all I could find until....There it was...No longer than the first joint of my pinky finger....A baby cucumber!

The even better news is after I found the cuke it came a shower to make it grow. I'll be watching that cucumber like a hawk. :)

Now if the squash would grow and start blooming or better yet make some squash I would be a happy woman!

I wanted to share that there are some cukes on the vines now. There's hope. Lots of hope since the temps were in the high 80s today. I think it will be a while before ol' Jack Frost comes to visit us.

There's Blooms On Them There Plants!

2010-09-02T21:10:00.002-05:00

I took a little stroll around the raised beds this afternoon while I gathered some Cayenne to go with my dinner. Some of the tomatoes are blooming and there's buds on the green beans.

The old pepper plants are putting new blooms on since we gave them a good dose of food and tied the stalks up.

The squash are growing this time around. So far nothing has decided to have the plants for dinner. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any grasshoppers in the garden for a few days. Guess they must be trying to move the ants out of their homes so the grasshoppers will have a winter home. BOO HISS....

Another thing that has helped the garden is the showers we've gotten in the last two weeks. Good rain water always makes the plants happy.

A meal of fresh squash, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and some green onions around the first of November is looking very inviting. Wish y'all could join us.

The Latest Around Hunny Bunny Haven

2010-08-30T14:58:00.002-05:00

While I like to add pictures to my postings there won't be any this time either. Photobucket doesn't want to load my pictures anymore and the blogger loader will stick them in one spot and either they won't move or I'm not holding my mouth right. The news today will be without pictures.

This weekend on Saturday we got the peppers all fertilized again. Then it rained right after we put the fertilizer around them. That is a good thing. We're hoping that they'll start blooming again and we will have fresh peppers until frost.

I picked all the peppers ready to be harvested Saturday afternoon. Sunday I cut the stems off the peppers, cut the pods into quarters and put them in the dehydrator. This morning I had good, crisp peppers ready to be broken up for pepper flakes or ground into powder. The red Cayenne is going to be the flakes for our winter stews and soups and the Jalapenos will be ground into powder for seasoning stews, chili, or rubbing into meats.

Saturday we planted some more multiplying onions to fill the bed where some onions are already large enough to use in salads. When the bulbs we put out on Saturday come up we should have a good size onion bed. We use a lot of green onions in cooking. Maybe, I should say....I use a lot of green onions in cooking.

The cucumbers are blooming. I saw some blooms this morning when I went to the storage building to get the dehydrator. Our early cukes dried up and died so we're looking forward to fresh cucumbers in the next two to three weeks.

I planted the long, burpless ones earlier but planted the pickling type of cucumber for fall use. I don't know if we'll have enough to pickle but that would be an added bonus if we do.

The okra we planted for summer dropped it's leaves and died, also. There are two stalks of okra that came up volunteer. One stalk is producing. I cut six pods of okra off that one stalk. That's almost as much as we harvested from the whole bed of earlier plants.

I'm of the thinking that just maybe okra is not a good raised bed crop. The two stalks that came up on their own are scattered about the garden and they look healthy. Next spring we may need to make a bed that isn't raised for the okra.

We have some late blooming flowers around the yard. There are some bright, red Cannas blooming both in the front and the back yards. A Rose of Sharon is covered in big purple blooms in the back. Over the front arbor a sweet smelling rose is blooming. The rose is a barely pink color but the fragrance is what Heaven must smell like.

There are some blooms on the roses in the rose bed. This coming weekend I plan to prune those roses and give them a little dose of food then watch for their last burst of blooms before it's too cold for them to bloom.

Yesterday morning (Sunday) it was raining when we got up and rained most of the morning. A good, slow, soaking rain that has made all the garden plants, flowers and the grass stand tall.

That's about all the goings on around here. Thanks for dropping in. I hope you'll come again. :)

Everything's Moving Slowly Along

2010-08-24T14:44:00.002-05:00

Things have been moving slowly around our part of the country. I haven't felt well so that's been a good excuse to stay inside away from the heat.

We did get the old tomatoes limbs trimmed off and the vines tied up once again. We still need to rake the old mulch out, fertilize the tomatoes and put new mulch around them. Then cross our fingers that this will work and the old vines will once again become productive.

We've gotten the newer tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and green beans taken care of and are now waiting for them to start doing their job of providing us fresh veggies for fall.

The greens still are not planted. The temps are running in the 90s. This leads me to believe that it's still too hot for turnips greens, mustard, Kale, Collards and lettuces to survive the heat. I may be wrong but I'd rather wait for another week or so than have to replant.

We've gotten several good rains lately. They did the garden a world of good. They also made this old soul feel better.

That's about it around Hunny Bunny Haven. I'll be reporting in again when I'm feeling more up to par and can get out the camera for some pictures. Come again, y'all!

'Til We Meet Again, Aunt Betty

2010-08-16T15:06:00.006-05:00

I never knew my Aunt Betty very well. I remember some things about her when I was little. I remember starting to a new school when we lived in Louisiana. It was the same school she went to so she showed me to my classes. I was so scared and remember crying but it was comforting to know there was one person I knew there.

We moved back to Mississippi just a few days after school started. I don't remember seeing her again for a lot of years later. In fact around 45 years went by before I saw her again.

William and I decided I should visit my Louisiana Aunts and Uncles so I asked Aunt Shirley if she would get Aunt Betty to come see us. When we arrived, Aunt Betty was waiting to see us and she spent the weekend visiting with all of us.

It was so good to get to see her and talk with her about her children. She has seven children and their names all begin with an R. I've never met any of them and probably couldn't remember all their names......Rocky, Randy, Robin, Reed, is as far as I can go.

That's sad to me. These people are my first cousins and I've never met them. Nor have I ever seen pictures of them. Some of them aren't too much younger than I am. Then again, maybe they are quite a bit younger than I am after all I'm only seven years younger than Aunt Betty.

We got to see her on our 2009 trip to Louisiana. We talked a lot about gardening and raising animals. I was so surprised to find out that she had a love for both.

She looked a lot like my Grandma Teasley. She had a quiet way about her just as Mamaw Teasley did too. She favors my Daddy too. Aunt Shirley says that she and Daddy were just like Mamaw Teasley in their kind, low-keyed ways. :)

Aunt Betty was a hard worker. She worked to support her children by waiting tables. That's a job! Not that I've ever done it but I know standing on your feet all day is tiring because I have done that.

When we went to Louisiana this year, Aunt Betty was putting peas in the freezer and also she was having problems with her legs so she wasn't able to come to Uncle Max and Aunt Jackie's home for the lunch get together.

I thought about going to see her while we were in LA but never even mentioned it to William. Now, I'm sorry I didn't go because the opportunity won't come again.

I won't be able to sit across the table and talk while she eats tamales. Nor will I get to give her another hug...Not here on earth anyway. I will miss her when we go to visit our other aunts and uncles. There will be an empty place at the table from now on.

We should take every opportunity to see those we love, to spend time with them and if we don't know them very well to get to know them and what their lives have been like. Learn all we can about those we care about for one day memories will be all we have.

Aunt Betty, I'm sorry I didn't know you any better but I can say what I do know about you.....I love. Until we meet again....

I hope there are tamales in Heaven!

Twenty-Five Year Anniversary Celebration

2010-08-15T16:18:00.004-05:00

The day Sandi was born is one of the four greatest days of my life. Two of the other wonderful days is when Mark and Lisa were born. The fourth was my wedding day to William.....Of course I have to throw in the days that our grands were born as being great days too. :)

I always wanted my children to have the best they could have. I don't mean by this that I want them to have a BMW to drive or Gucci purses or shoes. I mean I wanted them to have a spouse who would love and cherish them. Take care of them and do it willingly not because they had to but because they love their mate.

Sandi found that in Richard. I've never worried as to how she would live. He's always supported her and done the best he could do to care for her.

I couldn't have chosen a more perfect life partner for Sandi and I didn't even choose him. :) She did all the choosing herself...In fact they chose each other and I'm very glad they did.

On August 3, 1985 Richard and Sandi pledged to love and honor one another until death did them part. They've kept these vows honoring one another for twenty-five years.

In this day and age there's a lot of couples who never make it twenty-five years so yesterday (August 14,2010) they were honored with a 25th wedding anniversary celebration with friends and family gathering to celebrate with them.

Friends decorated the fellowship hall of the Philadelphia Church God and enough food was provided to feed an army. Everything was beautifully decorated and the food was delicious.

It's wonderful to not only have each other but to have friends and family who care enough about you to come and celebrate with you. They received some very nice, thoughtful gifts also. Everything from cash, gift certificates, poems written in their honor all the way to spray to put on when they go deer hunting to keep Sandi and Richard from smelling human. LOL

They've had 25 years together and I wish them at least 25 more years together and more. I pray that God will continue to bless each of them and their marriage.

All this is not to say that there's been times they disagreed but they've always worked things out between themselves.

We've been blessed with good daughter-in-law and sons-in-law. I'm not saying they're perfect...Their mother-in-law isn't perfect either but I'm saying they're perfect for my son and my daughters.

I don't want to think of my life without all of them in it. God bless you both, Sandi and Richard. Marriage is a work in progress and you two have proven it's worth the work.

Cookout Celebrating William's 63rd Birthday

2010-08-10T14:29:00.003-05:00

On July 23rd William celebrated his sixty-third birthday. On July 24th he celebrated again with a cookout and several family members. Unfortunately a lot of the immediate family members couldn't be here. None of the grands got to come. They were missed and we had to eat their food. ROFL

Here's the birthday boy all decked out in his party clothes. :)

This is about as partified as he gets! Anyway the party was VERY casual.

Sharing some Grandma/Granddaughter time. Mamaw Roberson and Erica Duncan in deep conversation.

William's Mother-in-law....That would be my Mom. My stepfather is to her right and that is all the pictures I have of him. I made two others but something went wonky in the camera so there were no pics of Dub.

Another Daughter, Sandi (on the right) and my Sister, Carolyn posing for the camera.

Sandi's husband Richard...Our son-in-law. Aw man, he's a really great guy! :)

Our niece, Daphne Freeman smiling pretty for the camera.

Shane Freeman, Daphne's Husband and our preacher man nephew! Another really great guy!

The next three photos are pictures of little Shanelets. :) These young men are Daphne and Shane's three boys, our great nephews.

Ethan trying to keep his mouth closed because as you can tell he has a mouthful of burger!

That's Timothy standing to the side.

Timothy you can cover your mouth but I know you have a hunk of burger in there. You can't hide it from me! :)

Benjamin with a happy smile. Does this grin mean he's had enough burgers and chips? Or is he trying to get a bigger piece of cake? Either way it's a smile I love!

We missed those who couldn't be here but we had a good time with those who could come. William loves having family around him. That's one of the things I love about him. Not to mention the fact that he's good at the grill too. I didn't have to do very much cooking for this get together and that makes for a more fun party....at least for me.

Food, fun and family. That's a true party.

Gremlins? Gnomes? Or....

2010-08-09T14:37:00.003-05:00

Those six inches long black and red grasshoppers? They're not really six inches long but they eat like they are.

I planted some yellow squash and zucchini seeds a week or so ago. The seeds did their job and germinated to the nth degree. That means most all the seeds came up. I checked on them every day or so and they were growing. I was looking forward to fresh squash until frost...

But....some kind of critter decided the tender shoots were too tasty to leave where they were planted. I went out to see how much the plants had grown and they had completely disappeared. No sign of anything ever being planted in that bed.

Not to be out done...I replanted this morning. If the seeds come up and critters get them again it will be too late for planting squash in this area for late fall eating. I will have to keep a close watch on the plants when they stick their heads out of the dirt.

We have been blessed with a huge crop of black/red grasshoppers this summer. They are guilty by association as far as I'm concerned. I try to stomp them but no matter how hard I stomp on the varmints they hop off with me in hot pursuit. It takes several stomps to do them in!

We have removed the old tomato vines, the okra stalks and green bean vines from three beds. We have to get them reworked and more compost added to the dirt then......It's turnip green planting time.

I'm going to mix the turnip green seed with mustard seed and sew a bed with those. Another bed will have kale in it. The third bed will be collard greens.

William couldn't find any collard green plants so he bought seeds. I need to get them in the ground this week so they'll have time to get a good hold on growing before it turns cold. They should come right up what with the daily showers we've been getting. Not a lot of rain but enough to keep the ground damp and perfect for sprouting the seeds.

That's enough rambling for today. I'm ready to get the fall garden going and can already taste those greens with a big ham hock cooked in them. Cornbread, green onions and pepper sauce will round out the meal. "Yum, Yum" as Grandpa Jones used to say.

One more thing....I have pictures of William's birthday get together that I have to download and then I'll post pictures here so y'all can see his party attendance. Family members were at the party.

Thanks for coming. Come again any time. :)

Good News!

2010-08-04T15:28:00.002-05:00

We got more rain this afternoon. Two times in three days! Now, that's good news!

There's still some thunder in the distance so maybe we'll get more in a little while. Rain makes me happy!

I'm off to start dinner for my hungry husband. He got to leave school early today and he's a Starving Marvin! Have a great afternoon!

Today Has Been A Hot One But....

2010-08-03T21:24:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to say I braved the heat and went outside to pick some tomatoes and peppers. I can say it did not take me long to get all I needed gathered and get back inside. :)

All the vegetables that I planted this past week are coming up. They didn't look so good in the hundred degree heat out there today. They did get some good water late yesterday afternoon so maybe they'll be okay.

I think I need some shade cloth to go over the new plants while it's so hot. I don't know where to find any shade cloth here in Philly unless Lowes carries it. I will call them tomorrow and find out since William is planning a trip to Lowes tomorrow afternoon.

In the morning I'm going to pick all the little knotty green tomatoes on the oldest vines. I think there's enough to make William some Chow-Chow. At least we'll be using the tomatoes instead of letting them hang on the vines for stink bugs to eat or to rot on the vines.

After I get all the tomatoes off the vines, I'm going to pull the vines up to make a space for some collard plants. The bed may be large enough for the collard greens and some kale. I'll have to wait and see after I get the tomato plants out and get the bed ready to reuse.

The tomatoes we transplanted a week or so ago are growing and looking healthy. I sure hope they will produce some fine tomatoes. The other two tomato beds are about to burn out and it's just too early to give up fresh tomato sandwiches yet.

Life is moving slowly around here. It's just too hot to do anything else except to mosey along. I'm going to "mosey" on out of Hunny Bunny Haven tonight. Thanks for dropping by. Come again any time.