Monday Melange

A little of this, a little of that, not much of anything, yet LOTS.

A Monday surprise:

 Jalapeno blossoms in February!

and, no, it's not whitefly on those leaves- I checked after I looked at this pic!

 The plant is loaded!  I counted at least 10 blossoms and lots of new growth.

These blossoms are on our potted jalapeno.  We have had this same plant in a large pot for going on 5 years now.  It is an amazing thing.  It has a trunk!  Every spring we haul it outside, pot and all, and every fall we bring it in.  It is currently living in K10's room since he has a bright West window.  It seems to like it there as it has spent the last two winters there and has done well.  He does a good job of taking care of it- watering it when it needs it- so I haven't looked at it for quite a while.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was blooming.

Below is today's arrival:  Biodegradable 'plastic' mulch.

 It is an Italian product made from corn- which seems odd to me that something like this wouldn't be produced here in the US considering how much corn is produced here.  Anyway, we will be giving this a try this year.  It comes in sheets 54 inches by 33 feet.  We have such a huge weed seed load in the garden still, even after two years of cultivation, that it is a constant struggle.  Of course, it was an entirely a new bed and before that had been a barnyard for 50 or more years, then allowed to go fallow for a year.  The weeds took over and we've been fighting ever since.  Last year, I used newspapers and grass clippings for mulch but we ran out of newspapers for the size garden we have.  We got several packages of this stuff but we're still saving newspapers for the rest of the garden.  I'll let you know what I think of it at the end of the season. It apparently is supposed to break down in 90 to 120 days, depending on weather conditions.

And finally, a photo of J16, just because.  She is feeling better.  And check out her 'locally grown' t-shirt!

But, I'm saving the best news until last.  All of the counters came in today at the store and the counters and cabinets will all be delivered tomorrow morning, along with the new subflooring and tile backer boards.  WOO- HOO!!  Finally! One less thing to worry about.

Ick

It's 29 degrees F and thunderstorming outside.  Guess what that means?!

ICE

I hate ice.  I would rather have a foot of snow than a 1/4 inch of ice.

Hopefully this will pass quickly, although the forecast is calling for freezing rain followed by sleet changing to snow overnight.


I am SO ready for spring.

First sprouts of 2011

 Yeah, they're hard to see.  Above- parsley- gourmet mix from Cook's Garden, below- the first leek from Botanical Interest.

I was so excited to come home last night and see these.  I was doing the happy dance in the kitchen.  Since they are now up, I have moved them in under the grow lights- the kitchen window,while a southern exposure, is pretty cold and it has been cloudy and snowy lately.  I want then to grow healthy and strong.
I was at work today- nothing too exceptional.  This means that I have next Friday off. So, that means baking a birthday cake for K10 (soon to be K11!) and packing boxes from the kitchen.  We are two weeks from kitchen week and there is lots to do before then.  I have been doing some cooking ahead and putting stuff in the freezer- ground beef for burritos and some pulled pork (I made a double batch on Friday).
J16 is feeling better today.  She missed all 4 days of school this week due to influenza.  Tons of fun- especially since this is the end of the trimester and she had finals and projects due.  sigh...  However, K10 is now our wounded child. I don't know if he slept wrong, moved wrong or what- but he's got a stiff/sore neck and is moving slowly.  It is better now than it was when I got home so hopefully by morning it will be better.
It was snowy and miserable all day today.  Ugh.  I'm ready for spring- even if it means mud.

The chick order is in!

I placed the order with Meyer Hatchery today.  I wasn't able to do the rainbow assortment.  Even though it doesn't say that there is a minimum number, evidently the minimum is 25.  We DON'T need 25 hens!

So, I went back to our original list: 7 hens and a rooster.  They are as follows:

Rooster- Welsummer- V says we have to name him Eddie... I guess I can live with that.

Hens- one Welsummer- they lay dark reddish brown eggs sometimes with speckles

one Columbia Wyandotte

one Barred Rock

one Golden Laced Wyandotte

one Silver Laced Wyandotte

two Ameraucana/Easter Eggers- they are the ones who lay the blue/green eggs.  The hens aren't all the same color and each hen will lay it's own specific color of eggs.

The little ones are scheduled to arrive the first week of May (first date all the varieties we wanted are available at the same hatching).  Plenty of time for us to finish the kitchen and get a good start on the coop.  I had a 'duh' moment last night when I was thinking of what to keep them in while they're in the house.  I was thinking cage... it has to be big enough so they aren't overcrowded as they grow...  it needs to latch... what I need is an animal cage of some sort.  DUH! We have the old dog kennel in the shop from when Ticket was still in his chewing phase and V and I were both working outside the home.  Considering that he is a very large dog, it is a very large kennel.  Of course, we will have to put some hardware cloth on the lower part of it to keep kitty paws from reaching through to snag an unsuspecting chick.  And, it is tall enough that we should be able to hang our incubator light bulb from the top and have room to raise it as the chicks grow and don't need as much heat.

Things are falling into place...

Now, if all of our counter top pieces would arrive.... they aren't going to deliver anything until it is all here and we're evidently missing at least one piece of counter.  AARGH... at least we still have time.  The cabinets and most of the counters are already waiting at the store for delivery.

I'm getting impatient to get started.

An unexpected find

This afternoon, I had to run an errand in the hospital.  While I was out and about, I stopped in at a book sale.  The hospital occasionally has book sales as a benefit for the children's hospital.  The books are always reasonably priced but, usually, there isn't much there that I want or need.  But today, I was surprised.

I picked up this new, revised copy of Rodale's Organic Gardening for $14!!  Believe it or not, this is a book that I didn't actually own before this.  Oh, I have quite a bit of knowledge but I never had THE book.  Now, it will grace my shelf of reference books for the homestead.

I'm hoping/planning to order our chicks tomorrow.  We've upsized our order a bit and are now planning to get 7 hens and a rooster.  We've selected a spot for the chicken coop and V has agreed to help us build it- so J16 and I won't be on our own.  I explained my design ideas and V thinks it will be quite doable.  We will have a raised 8x4 foot coop with a fenced run.  I'm not sure of the dimensions of the run yet- we'll have to work around the raised bed for the strawberries.   We will need to keep them in a run since we have waaaay too many predators around here to let them free range.  We have dogs from across the road, coyotes, foxes, hawks and the occasional eagle.  We will also have to contend with the hungry raccoons and skunks.
I am really looking forward to this, as are the children.  We've wanted chickens since we moved here and now, I get my wish.  We had chickens when I was a child- both a laying flock and we raised meat birds as well so I have absolutely no illusions that it will be labor free.   I have promised V that I won't make him clean out the coop since this isn't his idea.  And, LOL, we don't even have the chicks yet and we've already got people asking if they can have eggs!
As far as the chicks go.  I've got an idea for a cage I'll have to build to keep them in the house while they're little and while we build the coop.  We will definitely have to have a latching lid on it and be dog and cat proof.  I'll keep you posted about progress.

Chickens??- UPDATED

I got sent home from work yesterday and am home again today.  I'm still coughing and am running a temp- which is a no-no when you work at a hospital.  The children were all home yesterday and J16 has caught my malady and is home today as well.  sigh...
But, J16 and I spent the afternoon yesterday on the couch looking at chickens and chicken coop designs.  The idea of getting chicks regardless of V's opinion was growing in my head.  J16 and I decided that we would be competent to build a coop and run on our own if he won't help us.  But, miracles never cease!
Last night at dinner, I asked him point blank what is wrong with chickens.  Well, he hemmed and hawed a bit but ultimately indicated that as long as they don't poop all over the rafters and heater in the shop and were pooping where they were supposed to poop that he has no objections to them.  WOOT!!  So, more chicken coop planning is on the table for today. One of the local feed stores sells chicks every spring, several varieties so we can get a mix which is what we want.  Of  course, they are straight run so there is no knowing what sex we would be getting.  I will have to explain clearly to the children that if we end up with an overabundance of roosters that they will have to be 'thinned'.  We are hoping to get 5 or 6 hens.
In house/construction news, the cabinets have arrived at the warehouse.  The counters have shipped and should be in by the end of the week. As soon as everything is there, it will all be delivered.  Hoorah!  I was starting to get worried that things would arrive late.  But, now things are falling into place.
And I'm thinking that the lumber and doors from the old cabinets could be useful in building a chicken coop....
Ah, the homestead grows......

WOO HOO!!  Update that title to CHICKENS!!  We got the official go ahead from V to order some chicks.  We may actually order them online since we can request more breeds and have them sexed so we don't end up with all roosters.  But we want at least one rooster- the barnyard wouldn't be complete without one.

An Urban Homestead?

Do we qualify as an Urban Homestead? (gosh, I just love saying that forbidden word... Urban homestead, urban homesteading, urban homestead... oooh, I'm gonna be in trouble now, LOL!)
Today is the Urban Homestead Day of Action. The day to take back possession of the term that defines so many of us. But, having moved from the city to a 5 acre plot of land, do we still qualify as urban homesteaders? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, yes, we do- or at least we will. We may not currently be within city limits, but looking out across the highway in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees, you can see all the lights of the suburban subdivision that is so near. The farm just to the south and west of us has put 40 acres of land up for sale for another subdivision (sigh). There is the 'Moss green eco-village' office park planned for just down the road. It doesn't matter if we are urban at the moment... give it a few years and we will be again.
We started this journey while we were still living in town, it was a fabulous location and I still love the house. But, the postage stamp yard and the regulations of living in town weren't conducive to the type of life we wanted to live (restrictions on animals, compost bins, etc). Hence the move to our lovely acreage.
We are still building our dream. The progress is slow but sure. I ordered another red currant bush (to replace the one that died after V ran into it with the mower- oops!) and cranberries! We're planning to build the greenhouse this spring and I'm looking into possibly building a hoop house as well. I'm still working on V about chickens. He is adamantly opposed to them (bad chicken manure experiences in his past when we moved here). But, there is a local feed store that sells chicks in the spring. I wonder what he would do if I just came home with some.....
The orchard has been planted, the strawberries look lovely under their straw mulch (I peeked on Saturday) and things are taking shape. Will this area ever be truly urban? I sincerely hope not. But I will always consider myself to be an Urban Homesteader. We live on an urban homestead. We are urban homesteading. We are urban homesteaders.