~ Taste Testers ~

Yesterday I made strawberry jam , my little helpers were taste testers. They got to lick the pot clean , so to speak. I put a dab on their spoons and let them lick'em clean , the jam has been kid approved.Curious J didn't like strawberries at this age , but he does now.

Curious J and Little Bob White (new nickname for baby brother) will be staying overnight with us tonight. It will be the first time I've kept the baby overnight , hope he sleeps (LOL). I gave him a new nickname last week , his coos sound just like a Bob White bird ~ it's sooo cute.

~ Have a Blessed weekend ~ JoyceAnn

~ Memorial Day around the Homestead ~

We had a very busy weekend , two birthday celebrations. One was Saturday afternoon for my nephews daughter and a cookout on Sunday for my SIL'S 40TH birthday.

So Monday we spent a quiet day at home , working. I did laundry and worked in the garden. Dh worked on the chicken coop , it's finally coming together. He's moved the building 3 times , has a bobcat and loves to use it (LOL).

I hung out the laundry on the clothesline , Dh made the clothesline last year , he attached it the pool deck , it serves two purposes. I can hang out clothes to dry and it's handy in the summer months for swimsuits and beach towel drying.

I planted more tomatoes yesterday and mulched the spaghetti squash.

How do you like Mr. Something to Crow About ~ I created him a couple of weeks ago , he has a bottle of Vitalis in his pocket. Each day I squirt some of that awful smelly stuff on him , it was given to my DH on his 50th birthday as a gag gift. I'm using it to hopefully keep the deer and crows away until the plants are large enough to add red pepper pods to them.

Seems to be working , haven't seen any deer tracks and all the seeds came up. Guess they don't like the scent of vitalis either.

~ Green Blessings ~ JoyceAnn

~ Ms. Dogwood ~

Gemma inspired this post , I was reading her blog about trees. Thought I would share our favorite tree , this Dogwood grows very close to the house. We've discussed cutting it down , but our hearts won't let us. It's close to the house and we're afraid the roots could

cause damage , hopefully it won't get much larger .We moved here in "85" , my youngest daughter was 2 then , she loved swinging from that lower limb. Now Curious J enjoys swinging from that limb , a couple of weeks ago he broke one of small limbs. He played with that limb for at least an hour , and was telling us he wanted to be a TREE.

Friday evening I was walking Little Missy around the yard and I introduced her to Ms. Dogwood , although she's just 6 months old , she'll be swinging on that tree before we know it. I can see her and Sweet Baby J both hanging from that limb , such a sweet vision especially in the Spring when all the violets are blooming underneath it.

So Blessed are we to have this Special Tree ~ Ms. Dogwood

~ Hope you're Blessed with a Special Tree ~

JoyceAnn

~ Being Green ~

It isn't easy being green ....................................................................

I made this journal card last week and it reflected all the things I had been doing that week . I had been busy raking leaves up for mulch and getting some areas ready for planting.

I made my first batch of laundry soap last week . It seems to be working pretty well , but I think I will had some essential oil to the next batch. I've got to get use to ..... No Suds .


~~ Hope your weekend is wonderful and full of things you enjoy ~~

JoyceAnn

~ 100 Foot Diet Challenge ~ Weekly Meal

Leaf Lettuce ~ Homegrown

Chickweed * Dandelion Leaves * Violet Leaves ~ Wild Herbs/Backyard

Carrots ~ Local owned Grocery Store

Red Onion ~ LGS

Bell Pepper ~ LGS

Ranch Dressing ~ LGS

Feta Cheese ~ LGS



Brown Rice ~ LGS

2 cups Red Clover Blooms ~ Wild Herb/Backyard

Butter ~ LGS



Baked Chicken Legs ~ LGS



The meal was delicious , the red clover rice was really good. It was the first time I ever made it , but I'll definitely make it again. I got the recipe from this website http://prodigalgardens.info/june%20weblog.htm#Red%20Clover .

~ Blackberries are Blooming ~

Last night I was working in the garden , mulching the pepper plants , I noticed along the backside of the garden the wild blackberries are blooming , they're beautiful.
I have 3 jars of blackberry jam left from last year , we opened a jar Sunday and had it on our toast. I've found a recipe for Blackberry Coffee Cake and I'm looking forward to fresh berries to make it with.
I hope to go our local strawberry field and pick berries this weekend. We have eaten all the strawberry jam from last year , most of my family prefer it to blackberry. I like both and enjoy having different jams , depending on what I'm eating.

~ Green Blessings ~ JoyceAnn

~ Harvest Time ~

Today I harvested some Red Clover ( Trifolium Pratense) blossoms. I plan to make a red clover infusion. Since these blossoms are fresh I will add a cup of the blossoms to a quart of water and let it come to a boil , turn off the heat and let them soak overnight. In the morning I will strain and refrigerate. Red Clover helps build strong bones and may prevent cancer. It reduces serum cholesterol , so its good for the heart. My family has a history of heart disease , so this is a herb I need to study and make use of everyday.

I also gathered some wild greens for a salad tonight , a few dandelion leaves , violet leaves and some chickweed. I will toss these with some leaf lettuce ( pictured below ) , harvested from my lettuce bed near the compost bin. I'll add some carrot , red onion, bell peppers and some of those red clover blossoms.

I plan to make the salad dressing from garlic , lemon juice and olive oil.

Yum ~ Yum , I'm getting hungry ~ time to head for the kitchen.

~ Green Blessings ~ JoyceAnn

International Compost Awareness Week

This week is International Compost
Awareness Week. I started composting about this time last year. I used my first batch of compost when I planted my garlic back in the Fall. The smell of the first compost won me over , it was sweet smelling and looked so dark and rich. Composting takes care of my food waste , leaves , grass clippings and vacum cleaner bags , full of dirt . Composting can be intimidating , but it shouldn't be , nature does it naturally and will help you complete the task , even when you don't have the correct balance of greens and browns. It may take more time but eventually , you'll have beautiful sweet smelling compost too. I didn't add manure to my first batch of compost , but I've added a rabbit to my homestead now to provide manure for my compost . I hope to have chickens in the next couple of weeks , their manure will be added too.

I'm also trying vermicomposting with red wriggler worms. Why should we buy fertilizers , when nature provides it practically ~ Free ~.

* Salad Garden *

This year I want to grow as much food as I can to preserve and have plenty to eat fresh. My DH's garage was calling me to look at the space it provides , over the years , the leaves had built a natural compost bed beside the building. I raked the top leaves away and found some beautiful black dirt.

I've planted a * Salad Garden * in this area , cucumbers , cherry tomatoes ~ roma tomatoes , leaf lettuce and spinach. It's closer to the house and near the water hose , so I'll be able to water regularly and pick fresh as needed.

I'm planning to help me my daughter's start a * Salad Garden * at their homes also. It's such a wonderful feeling to gather everything needed for your salad right outside your door and you can't beat the taste.

Do you plant anything outside your backdoor , near the house for easy excess or special beds for certain needs ?

~~~ Green Blessings ~~~ JoyceAnn

~ Spring Beauty ~

Sharing some Spring Beauty ~~

~ Green Blessings ~ JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Meet Ms. Jazzy ~ * ~

Last week , I heard my uncle was trying to find homes for some baby bunnies. So friday , I had to make a trip to the grocery store for my Mom and decided I would drop by and bring one home. She's cute as can be , Curious J and I decided to name her Jazzy. Jazzy will provide manure for my composting bin.

We finished planting the garden saturday. My Mom , 2 daughters and I planted corn , greenbeans , squash/3 kinds , peppers/5 kinds and some cantaloupes. It just about completes the garden except for the tomatoes and we're waiting for those to get a little larger.

Curious J spent the night saturday , we watched the Bee Movie sunday.

It was pretty good , but I don't think Curious J liked it to much , he did enjoy some parts though. We had a Bee parade afterwards with his bees he had collected from McDonald's , we found a bus , elephant pull along toy , jeep , and a couple of other riding toys to put the bees in and lined them up for a parade.We talked about how bees make honey and colored a picture of a bee on some flowers. This was our Earth Day celebration , a little late but I think Earth Day is everyday.

~ Hope your weekend was Blessed ~ JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Victory Garden ~ 100 Ft Diet Challenge ~ * ~

I found a wonderful website yesterday , it's called Path To Freedom . Check it out , ~http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/01/06/100-foot-diet-challenge-launch/.The 100 foot challenge is to prepare one meal each week from homegrown , locally grown , organic or local owned store foods.

I already have the Victory Garden , so I will soon have lots of veggies. The reason I decided to do this challenge is because I want to start eating more local grown meats and organic when possible , this gives me the push to get started. I do shop a locally owned grocery store , no wally world for me except on rare occasions when I have to go there because I can't find some items anywhere else.

There are many great reasons for having a Victory Garden , you don't have to worry about food security , the food is more nutrious and we reduce food miles , fuel and energy dependence.You'll save money , get some exercise and have less packaging going to the landfills.

My first meal challenge was lunch ~~~~ Wild Foods Salad

Leaf Lettuce ~ Homegrown

Chickweed ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Dandelion Leaves ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Violet Leaves ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Red Clover Bud ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Carrot ~ Locally owned Store

Onion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked chicken ~ Locally owned Store

Ranch Dressing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm trying to add more herbs and wild foods to my diet. Hope to get my herbal garden started soon. If you think you don't have enough land for a garden , I really encourage you to visit Path To Freedom.

~ Green Blessings to Everyone ~ JoyceAnn

~~~ Worm Tea ~~~

My composting worms are doing great , they've started to produce worm tea aka worm pee. The great thing about worm tea , is you can dilute it with water and pour on your plants to make a organic plant food.

I was beginning to wonder if they were going to produce any , they're also producing babies , I found a very tiny one as I was adding some food scraps.

I've been busy in the garden when I don't have the grandbabies. I'm really excited about the garlic. It should be ready to harvest in a couple of more months.

Curious J will be spending the night with us , we plan to watch the Bee Movie and learn about honeybees in honor of Earth Day. My GrandDaddy raised honeybees , I remember watching him empty the hives and enjoying that fresh raw honey , what a treat ! I'm thinking about getting a hive or two in the next few years. I have found a local producer until then.

~ Hope your weekend is Blessed with Honey ~

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Reuse those Laundry Bottle Caps ~ * ~

Curious J has wooden blocks that were made in China , he loves them but I decided I needed to get rid of them , because of the lead paint scare. I have been saving the caps from my laundry detergent bottles for awhile , wasn't sure what I was going to use them for but knew I would think of something.

One day I was doing the laundry and added a cap to the collection , the idea came to me , they would make great building blocks.When Curious J came to spend the night with me , we tried them out. They were a hit ..... he loves them. These are safe to have around the grandbabies too , no small pieces.

I won't have anymore to save , since I will be making my laundry detergent but my daughters and my mom are saving them for me. So , save those caps for building blocks.

Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Blackberry Brambles ~ * ~

My grandma covered all her flowerbeds , veggie beds and anything else she wanted to protect from cats , dogs or other critters with dead blackberry brambles. I planted a small bed of lettuce beside the compost bin , my cats think newly dug dirt means a new litterbox. I remembered what grandma did and tried it , works great , maybe it'll keep the rabbits away too.

I've added 3 frog huts to the garden , rent free and all the bugs you can eat! Can't beat that deal ~ I think I'll make a little sign to add to the new homes.

~ Happy Gardening ~ JoyceAnn

~ Jack Frost still Nipping ~

I'm so glad I've been patient with the garden , we had frost last night. I hope it's the last frost of the season. So far I've only planted the cold weather plants , so didn't have to worry about them.

The tomatoes are tucked away in the basement , growing strong. I started my cherry tomatoes and some beefsteak tomatoes in trays a few weeks ago. This was my first try at planting seedlings and they seem to be doing well.

My Mom and I also made a hotbed to start some homestead tomatoes in last week , it is covered with windows , so we didn't have to worry about the frost. My Dad always planted homestead tomatoes , they are small but so flavorful. They are my favorite too , along with cherry tomatoes which were my Grandma's favorite.

I had to venture out yesterday to pick up tax work , so I went by the local greenhouse and bought peppers. I purchased 12 sweet bell peppers , 6 jalapenos , 6 hot banana peppers and 12 Cayenne peppers. All the peppers are tucked away in the basement too.

Things have been busy around our little homestead , DH finally got the shed moved that we are going to use as a chicken coop. Now we need to get the fencing up and the nesting boxes made.Hope to get it finished by next week.I can't wait to have fresh eggs to eat.

I'm trying to pick the best location for a herb garden , hope to make a spiral garden. I did get some cilantro planted beside the well house last week , gotta have cilantro for salsa.

We've had lots of rain , what a blessing it has been. The garlic is growing stronger , I've got to add more fish emulsion sometime this week.

~ Hope your week has been Wonderful ~ JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Harvesting Dandelions ~ * ~

I'm starting my wild herbal studies again , my first herbal ally is dandelion. I will be doing an in depth study of dandelion. I'm going to try some recipes and make some medicinals. I have started a new blog for my herbal studies , the link is on the left , if you're interested.

We had more rain over the weekend , so the garden looks good. I hope to plant the corn , greenbeans and squash soon. My Daddy always told us , it was time to plant the corn when you hear the whip~poor~will calls, haven't heard them yet.

I've been reading alot of gardening blogs and have found some wonderful gardening information ,that I plan to incorporate into my garden. One blogger does everything she can to attract toads /frogs , to help with bug control. Such a wonderful common sense organic idea , I've overlooked. I will be adding some frog huts and boards to my garden. I have one frog hut , my DMIL bought for me many moons ago. I have used it in my herb garden for decoration purposes , but I will be moving it to the veggie garden. I also read about digging a small trench and laying a board over , this gives toads a place to hide from predators and gives them a place to get out of the heat. She also recommends a small fish pond near the garden to attract frogs/toads.

~ Hope you are Blessed with many toads in your Garden ~

~Love & Hugs ~ JoyceAnn

~ Nana's Pride & Joy ~

The Grandfathers and the Grandmothers are in

the children~~~ teach them well.

(OJIBWAY)

Little Missy and Sweet Baby J are really growing , they'll soon be 5 months and they're quite a handful. I enjoy keeping them each day and being blessed with their smiles and coos. They really are my Pride & Joy.

~ In the Garden ~

I've been busy in the garden this week , my Mom and I planted two types of broccoli and 8 cauliflower plants on this week. I 've never planted cauliflower but my YD bought some to try , hope it does well. We had rain last weekend and what a blessing it was to the cabbage we planted last week , they all look great.

I saw one onion that had sprouted and the spanish onions that I planted from seed are starting to come up.

I fertilized the garlic with some fish emulsion , if the rain continues to fall each week , it should do well.

With the food prices rising , I hope to grow and preserve as much as we can this year.

I plan to get chickens soon , if we ever get the chicken coop ready. It rained last weekend and we're suppose to have rain this weekend too. Hubby is working 10 hours a day and doesn't have time to work on it during the week. Maybe we will have a dry weekend soon.

~ Hope your weekend is Blessed with whatever makes you HAPPY ~

~ Love & Hugs ~ JoyceAnn

~ Looking out my Window ~

Awww ....... Spring

Beautiful trees in Bloom

Berried Bushes

Azaleas starting to Bloom

Tree leaves Budding .......

Such a wonderful time of the year !

~ May your Day be Blessed with Blooms ~

JoyceAnn