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I am very very excited about this development! We've been planning this advancement in our mini-ecosystem for a long time, but it has just now begun to come to fruition. Today, we got our package.  The seed. Crickets!!!!!!! Aren't they cool?! I know what you're thinking.  No, i really do.  You want to know WHY i would be happy about 1000 quarter inch insects in my home.  That's a good question.  Lemme splain. You've seen me toss around the term, "food sovereignty," right?  My husband is in love with that term, by the way. Ideal food sovereignty is when we don't ever purchase any food product for us or our animals.  We produce everything we need right here.  That's the ideal.  Every little thing is another step toward that ideal. You've also seen me mention our chickens.....once or twice...... *** Rabbit trail ***  recently, at a family get-together, we were playing a board game.  At a particular point in the game, the...

I have a few things to tell you today. But first things first. It's Daddy's birthday!!!!!!!!!! A big kiss for your birthday, Daddy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DADDY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Today, my dearly loved father turns 65 years young.  He looks great, doesn't he? He didn't answer the phone when i called to tell him that i LOVE him and that i'm happy he was born. So i had to do on-line, in front of everyone.  Haha! I'm guessing he's off doing something ministerial.  Daddy has never been one to let something like his own birthday get in the way of being where he's needed for others.  What a wonderful trait. Daddy, i love you more than i can tell you, and if you're not doing it right now, i really hope you take the time to celebrate your life today.  It's definitely worth celebrating.  You are a blessing to many many more people than just me.  And you are a great great great blessing to me al...

Over time, people within a plan start to learn wherever everyone best fits in.  And gardening is not my specialty.  But thanks be to God, my husband has four green thumbs, which are quite a conversation starter at parties - but i digress. I showed you our outdoor garden, the first one to produce any fruit, that James started this year in the spring.  Well, one of the wonderful things about living where we live, is that if you plan it right, you can produce something , all year round.  My darling has been studying what can be produced when - and all the exact times to do what.   And now he has started an indoor seedling garden in my living room. Tomatoes Lettuce I like this one. It looks like a Dr. Seuss land in miniature. Okra. My darling gets especially excited about OKRA. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though.  Our spring garden, though humble, is producing some yummy fruit.  Mostly cucumbers and cayenne peppers.  So last evening, ...

Sometime last week, i told you that this week would be filled with mowing. Well, Monday arrived (that was yesterday), and i knew the mowing needed to be done. But i was conflicted. While the yard needed very much to be mowed, multiple gallons of free produce, stashed in various parts of my kitchen and living room, threatened to rot and be wasted if they did not receive my immediate attention. I was still conflicted. Then i heard the weather report. It turns out there's a wanna be hurricane in the gulf, named Alex.  Alex is set on sending storms our way for the foreseeable future, meaning rain every day.....for a while. Thank You, Lord, for making my decision for me. I had prayed for focus.  Then i had it.   Forget the grass (and weeds and whatnot).  Get this food put away! So yesterday, i finished shelling and freezing the peas; i finished blanching and pitting and freezing the peaches; and i got back to the original business of these poor, never-...

Earlier today, i ate a piece of toast.  On that piece of toast, i smeared a thick layer of spicy pear butter.  Spicy pear butter made from pears that i, personally, harvested, boiled, peeled, cored, sliced, cooked, chopped, spiced, cooked some more, and canned. That's nice. It's a particular satisfaction.  And it tastes really good too. It would have been a great satisfaction if i had eaten it on bread that i had baked with butter i had churned from milk i had milked from goats i had raised.  But still, it was pretty nice.  One day, i'll get to do the goats and milk thing. But for now.... For dinner, we had purple hull peas that we picked, shelled, froze, and i cooked on the stove.  That's pretty nice too. After dinner, i packaged the chickens that we raised, fed, and butchered.   One day soon, we'll have some of those, probably with some purple hull peas.   That will be one more step toward a really nice kind of satisfaction. I will prob...

I've been talking about it all this time. It was a little anticlimactic. The alarm went off at 5:00 this morning.  Some of us got up at that time.  Others didn't. After a busy week of VBS and making cobbler for belated Father's Day and getting in late and sleepy last night and staying up to order various items online, my kitchen was quite a mess.  Besides that it needed to be clean because it's bad to cut up chicken on top of cobbler makings, we were also expecting possible company/help with slaughter. All that to say, i got to work early. It didn't take too long to get things spic and span in the kitchen while my favorite slaughterer got ready outside. Here he is threatening the unsuspecting subjects of today's event. In case anyone is about to call some animal rights authority, please note that these chickens were only confined to that small space for their final confinement and for ease of access for slaughter.  Up until then, they roamed and j...

Just now, we ordered this All American Pressure Canner made by Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry and this Hova-Bator Incubator There's so much excitement! And tomorrow's our Summer Slaughter. Woohoo!! And now i have to go to bed because Summer Slaughter starts early in the morning. Stay tuned!

Today was my last day at Vacation Bible School for this year. I had a great time. The event is set up like so: All the kids meet in the auditorium every morning, where they are kept busy with skits, films, Bible stories, praise and worship, and ridiculous games.  After they've nearly been worn out, the children older than five get to choose between several different elective classes.  Each child can choose a different elective each day. My job was to teach the elective cooking class. What a hoot! I had quite a blast!  Ironically, there were lots of boys in my class and very few girls.  That ratio fluctuated day by day, but 3 out of four days i had 10-12 students, mostly boys. On Monday, we made fruit and yogurt smoothies; Tuesday was Caterpillar Biscuits; Wednesday, Banana Pops; and today, Granola on a Stick.  As much as was possible, the kids got to create their own dishes, with choices of toppings and ingredients and plenty of opportunity to make...

Today, my mom sent me a recent picture of my Mormor.  I think she looks so beautiful with her white hair.  Mormor will be 92 years old next month.  This smile lights me up.  She's one of the most kind-hearted women you could ever meet.  I love her so much! That's all i have to say today. Oh, and this picture wasn't really taken January 3 2008.  That camera is confused.  

Incidentally, it is also my pear pickin' hat, my blueberry pickin' hat, my fishin' hat, my campin' hat, and my when-in-doubt-and-it's-going-to-be-sunny-and-sweaty hat. I think it's very funny looking, but it does the job wonderfully, and when i realized today that i have a pea-pickin' hat, it made me laugh, so i made James take this picture.  Honestly, i just asked him, and he kindly obliged.  Semantics.  I know i'm silly.  Isn't that why you read? Oh, and here are the peas. This an 18-gallon tote.  You might remember it from the pear-pickin' day. Hubby and i had the grand wisdom to pick these peas in possibly the hottest part of the day. About the time we were leaving was probably the time when we should've been coming.  It was crazy hot and sweaty, and my pea-pickin' hat did its job in a big way. Thankfully, i am being refreshed by a wonderful drink.  After i canned a couple quarts of peaches today, i had some peachy juice...

Yesterday's Father's Day phone call to my beloved daddy was interrupted, so we continued it today, during which my daddy sweet talked me into writing more often....well, at least that's why i'm writing right now.........i'm exhausted.  I don't think i would normally be writing if my dad hadn't told me how much he loves to read what i write.  I'm so easy. After getting home from day-long family festivities at 10-something last evening, i did my evening chores and then got up extra early this morning to do my morning chores before leaving for VBS at 7:15.  Thankfully, VBS only lasts until noon.  It was a blast, and i had a lot to do when i got home. First, more chores.  Hot animals need water...not a difficult chore, but necessary. Then it was to the mile of peaches lying splayed on my counter.  I don't really think peaches can technically be splayed , but you get the idea. I blanched and peeled and pitted and finished with those peaches a few ...

This morning i prayed that the Lord would make today a productive day, which includes giving me drive and energy to complete the tasks in front of me.  He answered my prayer (with a yes), and i feel like i got a lot done today.  Leastwise (that's the funniest expression) i worked all day, from 5:45 this morning until just now (which is 10 pm) with short breaks for things like eating. I still have most of those pears from last weekend sitting in my living room - many of them still ripening - others just waiting for me.  These particular pears - keiffer pears - take much longer to peel and slice, etc., than you might expect.  On Friday, i did a batch that resulted in about one quart of pear butter.  Oh, and it's delicious! Today, i did another batch.  I cut about half of today's batch (about a quart and a half) and put it in a syrup to use for pie filling in the future.  The other half i saved in the fridge to be mixed with plums to make a pear/plum ...

In May, i started a new Bible-reading plan that takes you through the Bible in chronological order.  Pretty cool. I found this plan at www.biblestudytools.com .  The site lets you set up your own account, and it has lots of great study tools to use.  One of those tools is an online Bible reading plan where you can check off your progress as you go.  Also, you can pick pretty much any translation of the Bible right there on the screen and read it in a different one to get more understanding.  And if that doesn't do it, you can switch over to the "study" tab and study all the Strong's Concordance references.  It has a lot more tools than that, that i haven't learned to use yet, but i'm enjoying it.  And it makes it very easy for me to be faithful to daily Bible study, sitting right here in my favorite chair, in front of my computer, and i get access to tons of giant books that i don't have to lift. But this wasn't meant to be a plug for biblestudytoo...

What's with all the not-writing?  Right? I'm not sure.  Having a little brain bog, i guess. I thought i had something very clever to say several days ago, and after i read it, i couldn't publish it.  It wasn't clever.  It was a little stupid. What's bogging up my brain? Good things, really. On the weekend, we collected 20 gallons of free pears, one gallon of free blueberries, two free chickens to add to our June 26th slaughter, and a shopping basket full of hurricane/random emergency supplies that weren't so free. These are all really great things, and i'm very thankful. But i got bogged down on getting everything put away (we have a pretty small house, you know), and while i'm working out those kinks, i'm having a hard time with creative thought. In addition, i just sent 42 fertilized eggs to work with my hubby - which are to be traded to our customer for a large amount of fresh catfish (more stuff to put away). Abundance is wonder...

There i go again, looking for other people's blogs to read, finding nothing, and then realizing i haven't written anything lately either.  So here i am. I think i have a about a hundred blog posts in my head every week, about every little tiny weird little happening, and then i think a little further and realize that my every moment and thought is probably not good reading. Oh well. I guess it must be time for farm updates, and maybe i'll think of something interesting to say. Rhodie, my red broody hen, hatched 9 beautiful little chicks yesterday, all of which will go to live elsewhere tomorrow.  Poor Rhodie. I have two more broodies warming pine shavings (as though it weren't hot enough around here), and i have no place to put them to let them brood.  This is because my meat-destined chickens need to use the brooder to get fat so we can bring them to their destiny on the 26th. I'm feeling kind of special about having a set and calendared date for doing ...

You know how they say that women have some astronomical number of words they need to use in one day,while men have some tiny fraction of that number that they will use before they shut off for the day? I don't know the numbers.  What i do know is that there is a common conception that women talk a lot, and men don't. I know you've heard this. Preachers and comedians, alike, make jokes about it. It's on sitcoms.  They write books about it.  Whatever. I know this concept is out there, but i simply don't relate. I don't have the conversation gene. I think that maybe, a few generations ago, the women in my family tree might have had the conversation gene. But when my mother was born, my grandfather's anti-conversation gene was so strong that it all but collapsed the any hint of talkativeness among women in my family.  O.k., just me and my mom. It's not that we don't like people. It's not even so much that we don't want to talk...

Goose has found a new home!  I am so pleased!  I know i told you this yesterday, but it really happened, and i am so very pleased.  Especially because for a moment, i thought it would not happen. After i was contacted by a lovely woman who wanted my Goose, i isolated him for easy collection.  I told you that too. What i didn't tell you is that this morning, i wanted him out of the brooder. This is because my darling Little Mama is hatching today, and i didn't want Goose mucking up the beauty. So i collected him from the brooder and put him in a bird cage that was, frankly, a little too small.  Nevertheless, i put some food in there, surrounded it by random boards to darken it a little, and he sat down and was relatively calm.  Then, when i got the all important phone call that Goose's new mistress was arriving imminently, i decided to make sure Goose got a good drink before his ride to greener pastures.  The drinking went fine, but then, i though...

A couple of days ago, when i was writing this post over on Chicken Chat , i realized it. I realized that 3 weeks have finally almost already passed, and it's time to have a hatch! Hatches are great! And with this particular hatch, i'm going to make a little money, get my broody hens back to laying eggs more quickly, and prepare for our big summer slaughter (i'm sorry; that's just the way it is). Also, i'm very pleased that my lowest-on-the-rooster-pole rooster, Goose, is not (provided and Lord willing these people come tomorrow) going to have to be part of the slaughtering party. This is Goose.  He has been saved from the dumpling pot several times now. First, he was scheduled to be butchered about 4 months ago, when he should have been looking about like he is now.  But, alas, Goose was very slow to mature and was still too small and gangly, and we didn't think he'd be worth it.  This, incidentally, is also when he got his name.  He was all neck...

Sometimes, when it storms like that, and it really did storm, i tend to lie in bed, periodically look out the window into the dark, and nervously beg God keep the forest from falling down on our house. But last night, i didn't do that.  I looked outside (i have no idea what good it does to look out into the darkness, but i do it anyway), but i was never nervous.  I had the most perfect, restful peace.  God is so good.  Sometimes i strive for peace when my nervous flesh gets in the way, but this time, it was just there.  Perfectly still and beyond understanding. I am thankful for all the rain.  We really needed it.  Though i am disappointed that i won't get to mow today, i'll get over it.  I am sure our garden is loving all the moisture. I really enjoy mowing.  I don't know if this is a disorder of some kind, but i really like it.  And God has blessed me with a yard that is just the right size to make so that i could mow every singl...

Bounty.  I love bounty.  I love the look of bounty.  Isn't it nice! Last week, one evening, my fruit picker went to spend time with friends and came home with bags and buckets of fruit!  Woohoo!  One of his friends has fruit trees bearing fruit that he is apparently not interested in.  Lucky me.   We got all these plums. And this little pile of peaches. Delicious! Today, i spent most of the day skinning and pitting these fruits and putting them in the freezer.  The plum juice is super dark red, and it stained every little imperfection, scar, scratch, or anything that it touched on my hands - a really dark purple.  This particular color of dark purple, incidentally, looks a lot like dirt.  Haha.  Oh well.  I'm about 2/3 of the way finished, so there's no point in getting hysterical about making my hands look clean at this point. I tried to take a picture of my filthy looking hands for you, but the picture didn't come out ...