WOW...That Was Fast!

Seriously!? The looooong weekend was not long enough!  It's Sunday evening and I'm here tearing up newspaper strips to feed my worms watching the "Walking Dead"...now what does that say about me?  I don't watch television very often...PBS and the History Channel...and I do watch Gold Rush and yell at the guys about how stupid (shame on me) they are.  For those of you that haven't read this blog from the beginning I actually own a 5" Keene gold dredge and use it.  No men on my dredge team, just five over fifty old ladies having a hoot of a good time...any way the guys on Gold Rush piss me off...but I love watching the show.  And now I'm watching this Walking Dead program and then sharing with my two boys; who also love the show.  Oh well, I guess I could be doing something less productive: REALLY?? Like what is less productive than watching the boob-tube?  Well, I am tearing up all of the old newspapers to feed the worms so they can poop out castings to enrich my garden that feeds my family...yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Worked in the garden, as planned.  Pulled out the poor zinnias and tomatoes.  Picked the last of the peppers, pulled a huge carrot for tonight's dinner and added celery and potatoes.  The celeriac looks good, the herbs are thriving and the spring bulbs are sprouting.  This time of the year is my favorite for gardening.  No watering, no bugs, no heat stress and lots of leeway when it comes to harvesting.  The lettuces, carrots, kale and chards are sweeter.  The ground is so easy to work.  I just plunge my hand in the moist soil and plunk down a nice transplant...broccoli, a cabbage or cauliflower.  The potatoes I missed in the summer harvest have continued to grow and have gifted me with some lovely *new* potatoes.  The earth smells so good...a mist hangs over everything.  I just love it.  Tomorrow I will be too tired from work to do much more than feed the chickens and gather the eggs, but by Wednesday I will have caught my second wind and will be able to actually go sit in the garden with a cup of tea and not feel like there's just too much to do to be lolly-gagging around.  I look forward to Wednesday...and the coming weekend with the garden.

Tomatoes Before

Tomatoes After

Celeriac

Carrot

Pulled Out The Poor Zinnias, Too

Peanuts! Yes I Grew Peanuts! Now What?

Harvest: Peppers, Carrot, Celery, Green Onions
New Potatoes...Looks Like Stew For Dinner!

Thanksgiving Surprise

WISHING ALL A FRUITFUL AND JOY FILLED

THANKSGIVING!

I'm very lucky...the last two years my daughter-in-law and youngest son have hosted Thanksgiving.  I will be bringing mashed potatoes, deviled eggs and "pumpkin" (butternut squash) pie.  I'm looking forward to this afternoon's dinner and being with my immediate family and my daughter-in-law's family, too.

This morning, as I was putting the finishing touches on the deviled eggs I noticed one of my black Wyandottes had a couple small dark sparrows dogging her...I'd never seen that before...so I put on my glasses and stepped out on the deck to get a closer look...by golly...my hen had two tiny little chicks!  Several weeks ago I noticed one of my hens was missing. I forgot to shut the gate the night before and I figured a coyote or feral cat got a hold of her and she was chicken dinner...I really wanted to kick myself.  She was one of the ten new hens I'd raised from chicks and I really didn't want to lose her.  Well, surprise! surprise! surprise!  Two new chicks to add to the flock!  Gosh I hope they are not roosters!

Surprise!!

Mommy and Tiny Babies

I've been way too busy at work. Thank goodness it's slowed down in the garden and the *home-front*.  I have plenty of canned goods, meats, and food storage to get us through the winter..I don't have time for grocery shopping.  I've been organizing the inventory at the school's kitchen, doing an accounts audit, and some major deep cleaning.  I have not been hired as the Head Cook...I am still the substitute assistant cook...they have not posted the Head Cook job availability as of yet...but they will, and I plan on applying.  In the meantime, we have discovered a number of things had not been taken care of for a very long time...so we've rolled up our sleeves and are getting to work.  I for one am very grateful for the extra few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday...I'm beat.  I'm working on a new inventory control computer program that is easy for each of us to work with.  I'm using the Microsoft Office Access Program and so far it looks pretty good...just takes up too much of my time at home.  The program should save us quite a bit of time in the kitchen...the record keeping is overwhelming...I don't get to spend much time in the kitchen cooking.  I have implemented a mini self-serve salad bar and a mini self-serve fresh salsa and nacho bar.  We are incorporating more local fresh fruits and veggies and soon we'll be doing more scratch cooking...baby steps, but we're on our way.

Friday I plan on devoting my day to the garden, planting my new citrus trees (lemon, lime and tangerines), moving my apiary to the southern end of the walnut orchard.  I plan on planting several trays of transplants, too...lettuces, onions, kale and celery.



Broccoli, Cauliflower and Lettuces Fenced
to Keep Out The Feral Cats!



The Last of the Zinnias and Tomatoes
Waiting Four Our First Hard Frost!



Time Is NOT On My Side

I'm getting old...I hear myself saying every day: "I was going to do ___________, but I just ran out of time."  The new part time-couple days a month-job has turned into a full time every day job.  The head cook left.  The gal that has worked in the kitchen for 8 years is not able to handle a management position.  I've been put in the position of managing the cooking, inventory and government reporting...yikes!  I'm enjoying every minute, but it does make for a long day. 

My Fall/Winter garden has been planted, but I'm not fussing over it like I did last year...no time.  I put on row covers to protect from frost and netted to keep the chickens out if they escape their chicken run (I have a couple ladies that need their wings clipped...no time.).  I'm picking lettuce, pulling carrots, beets and onions daily.  The hens are laying like crazy: over a dozen a day!  I did freeze 10 dozen eggs for use in the Winter when they aren't laying...if that happens...last Winter I still was getting four to five eggs a day.

We are finally cleaning out my mother-in-law's home.  It's been over two years since her death and my husband is finally ready.  The whole family (those here in California) meet at the house and start packing boxes...it's taking forever!  Every piece has a memory and a story: OMG!  My husband and one son want to hang on to everything...the rest of us just want to keep a few things and get rid of the rest...needless to say, it's been a test of my patience.  Today I'm driving up to my cabin to defuse and relax...the rest of the family will continue to pack up.  My friend Paula will come up late Saturday afternoon and we'll cook, laugh and talk...and watch some great old movies and a couple BBC Mystery series.

No pictures for this post...my camera has died....