"IN THE RED"

 

 

 

Well,

Today was the first day back to school. Back to early mornings and early bedtimes. For the most part things went off without a hitch. I was half expecting to have to drag bodies off the mattresses, but it wasn’t necessary.

 

The boys didn’t seem excited or disappointed. I guess they had just resigned themselves to the fact that summer break is over and once again, it is time to hit the books.

 

 

 (Yes, it is that dark when the first farm hand...erm child gets on the bus)

 

 

 (And then there was light!!)

 

 Snazzy New Kicks.

 

Once I got the boys off to school, I went out into the garden to do an early morning watering. I did my daily inspection and took care of whatever needed tending.

 

The plants are looking much better after shifting some of them to shadier spots and a good watering.

I am beginning to see some color in the garden. The theme seems to be red:

 

 

 

 

 

 Things are looking better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even my potatoes are starting to bud:

 

 

And speaking of red, that is where these school lists seem to putting the old checkbook. I have two supply lists to take care of this weekend. I went into my stock-up bin and was able to get a few things out of there, but with three of us in school, obviously I have not been replenishing it enough. Therefore, it is time for a stock-up while some of the things are still on sale.

Also it is time to re-stock my meats and some smaller items. I cannot believe that it has already been a month since I stocked the freezer. There are a few meats still there, but not enough to last for more than a week. I love stocking up. Some like a day at the spa, I stock-up!!

There is just something fulfilling about a freezer, a pantry, and shelves all stocked  with food and other necessities.

 

I got both my Algebra and History books on yesterday. Two books were 190 dollars and one was used!!!  Thank goodness that we can use a portion of our student loans in advance to get our materials.

 

Then there was the car trouble yesterday that fortunately I was able to take care of. That was an episode all in itself.

  

Today was a big day for paperwork too. Let me tell you, I HATE PAPERWORK!!!! But, it is a necessary evil so I knocked it out while the boys were at school. I got bills paid, filed away necessary papers, filled out the various school forms for the children and organized the remainder of the bills by due date. It was a BIG relief to see the basket go down and finally empty out.

 

I am thankful that summer will soon be ending, but I am going to miss the ability to not to “have” to be somewhere as well as a more laid-back schedule. I have to start going over my Algebra and getting my things prepared for school now. I am still under the “Math” 8 ball, but am just going to dig my heels in and do the very best that I can.

 

Back to school always reminds me of the closeness of fall and things quieting down. This year for me, it brings the addition of planning my fall crop and a harvest of things already planted. Academically, it means a fresh start and further achievements.

 

I will miss the lazy(more like hazy, crazy, humid) days of summer but it is time to say goodbye and head back to the books and a fresh dose of reality.

 

Till next time……

 

"Busy Day"

Today was a busy day on the homestead. I started the day by washing clothes that took up three lines to hang out. I made a huge skillet of pork for pork tacos, and I had to do some tinkering in the garden.

Some of my plants are wilting!!

 

 

 The temperatures have been absolutely brutal. I am trying not to over water, but at the same time, I don’t want them to dry out either. The worst hit is my pepper plants. This one is basically dead. First, it started to wilt, then upon closer inspection, I realized that bugs had eaten through the entire root. I will probably lose it. Two of the other started to wilt as well, but not as bad. I moved them to a shadier part of the growing area and hope that it will do the trick. I love these little veggies and would hate to lose them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the half-dead plants that I got from Wal-Mart, well after working with them they look like this now.

 

 

 

The mosquitoes are also bad. Even after putting on Deep Woods Off, they still ate me up!!!

 

I still am praying for some rain or something to cool things down. This has really been one of the hottest summers ever.

 

Tonight was also Open House for the kiddies. Of course, no one thought to turn on the air. I can just imagine how hot it will be for my youngest son during recess. I hope the teachers at least keep the children hydrated if possible. I know that last year they gave them small cups of Gatorade and sold it for 75 cents a bottle. I’m planning to make sure that extra drinks are in the lunchbox.

 

The High School was almost worse than the grammar school. No air, too many bodies, and CHAOS!!! But, we made it!!

 

I am not ready for school to start back for any of us. It seems as if we just got out and already it is time to head back. However, I am thankful that for the most part we had a good summer even when some days weren’t as pleasant as others.

 

Well, it’s time to get things settled for the night. Tomorrow is haircuts, school lunch, and supply shopping. I’m tired already.

 

 

Till next time.

 

"Still Living and Learning

 I spent another day in the garden. I had quite a few things that I wanted to work on. As usual, the day was brutally hot, so I put on a bandana around my head, a small hand towel on top of the bandana, and my straw hat on top of that. The towel not only helps to block the sun, but it helps to keep the creepy crawlies from going down your shirt. But I digress

I started the day working on my compost. I added a few more things to it, I turned it, and then I wet everything down and put the top back on it to cook.

 

 

 

 

After that, I worked on cleaning out the main gardening area. I decided to put the raised bed inside the fenced in area as it gets better sunlight and is not exposed to Pumpkin and or “Peter Cottontail’s” spawn. I saw a small bunny sitting in the very area that I had the raised bed. It was small enough to squeeze right through the fence. I tried to sneak up on it to take a picture, but it was too fast. That or I am too slow.

 

After hand-pulling weeds again, I raked the dirt over a few times to loosen up rocks and anything else that needed to be removed. I then put down a few pieces of black fabric weed material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I placed the raised bed in its new home, I then filled it will soil and some compost and the put the grid on top.

 

 

 

 

I started filling it in with some of the seedlings that were more than ready for transplant.

I also replanted two of my pepper hot pepper plants that were not thriving at all. After carefully inspecting the soil, I found bugs at the base of one and the other was obviously not draining as well as it should have. I am hoping that in the new soil they will come around. I put in the two of the pumpkin plants and filled the back row with beans. I rigged up some netting so that I can hopefully train the bushes as they get taller and stronger. I won't add anything else until later for fall planting.

 

 

I

 

I also planted a container of beans in the other area against the fence. I hope to train them to grow upwards depending on the fence for stability.I am going to have to keep a close eye on them to make sure that the birds don’t feast on them.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the baby watermelons making an appearance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I am so excited to see them growing!!!

 

 

However, I think that one of the most important things that I did today was to refocus some misinformation that my children became privy to this weekend.

 

Apparently, it is the belief of some, that the contributions that a woman makes to the household are meaningless unless there is a paycheck involved. It is of no merit if she cooks from scratch, cleans, does laundry, handles the budget, shops frugally, raises the children, cares for the pet, does as much home and auto maintenance as she knows how, religiously brainstorms way to keep more money in the home than goes out, and also goes to school. No, according to the opinion of some, these are the things she is “supposed” to do. I wonder how many women these days would accept that line of thought and still "willingly" do those things? Granted, today prices are high and two paychecks are better than one.But isn't it just as important and helpful to work hard to make sure the money is distributed properly? Also, granted is the fact that I am aware that I am not employed. However, I am working on it. In the meantime, I do the things that I do without contest as my way of contributing to this household, until I can fully contribute to a household of my own. No, what I do might not “earn” me a paycheck, but at the very least, I think it should earn me some respect.

 

Still, I plan to lead my children by example and to involve them in as much of what I do as I can. Today I started with this:

 

 

 

 

 

I want my children to know that all work should be valued no matter what it is or who does it.  Moreover, if living as a unit, everyone should contribute and everyone’s contribution should count. At least that is the way “I” think it should be. But hey, I’ve been wrong before.

 

Till next time…..

 

"All in a Day's Work"

I am old  tuckered out tonight. I spent over five hours working in the garden today. It was brutally hot. I almost abandoned the idea of working outside today, but when I got started, I just couldn’t stop. I had several projects that I have been needing to get to and just went full tilt.

One of the first projects that I worked on was re-potting some plants that I had bought  at a buy one get one free sale. I think the brutal temps have forced the vendors to get rid of as many plants as they can. And because I am a  idiot “Plant Whisperer” now, I just think that I have to take home all needy plants and nurse them back to health. I have turned my planting table into a “Plant E.R.” These are my medical clothes:

 

 Here are two of my patients: One came back to life a little after repotting and water. The other one, well, we'll see what happens.

 

A second project is the continuation of the flower section of my Chill Center”. I really would like toturn it into a nice little area that I can go to think, write, and maybe even read a little. I just love to go and look at the flowers, view their progress and think of ways to improve it. I am still trying to figure it out, but for now, it has gone from this:

 

 

To this:

 

 

 I hope to periodically add some more flowers, and hopefully the ones in the long boxes will start to grow.

 

 

My third project was to put together my raised bed. It was very simple, but until “my” brain can decipher the instructions, it is just like a foreign language to me. But….once I do comprehend what I see, I am good to go. Here are the various stages of this project:

 

 

 Now all I have do is to is fill it with the soil and put in the plants. I might have to find another space to place it in the yard. It is suggested that it be placed in an area that gets at least 6-8 hours of sun per day. It is also suggested that this place not be near trees which it will be if it remains in this spot. I will have to re-configure a few things before I put in the soil.

 

Using the manual screwdriver to put in the screws with hands still sore from hours of sketching, coloring, cutting fabric swatches and freshly cut from yard work yesterday was no fun. I went inside to get the battery-operated screwdriver only to find that both rechargeable batteries were dead. When I asked about the batteries,  I was met with a very condescending, cavalier attitude. I was tired, and hot, and had throbbing hands. Cavalier and condescending were a dangerous combination with which to approach me. Rather than go farther with it, I just went back to the manual screwdriver. I figured ten to twenty is way to long to be away from the kids, the dog, and the garden for pre-meditated assault and battery.

 

I also washed linens today and hung them on the line. As I worked, thefreshly washed scent from the linens was incredible. The smells brought back so many memories of my summers spent with my grandmother when I was younger. Every Monday was wash day and one of my favorite sights were the white sheets hanging on the line. I can smell the bleach and detergent just thinking about it. Line drying is absolutely one of my favorite things. Because I am country as hell  it brings back so many fond memories of the times in my life when I was able to be a kid and felt safe.

 

I love the many lessons that I learn from spending so much time playing in the dirt. I don’t know if anyone else remembers the commercials back when “Do It Yourself Home Perms” were popular. Well today, I almost stumbled (stumbled being the operative word here) upon another “Do it yourself” entity. Mine would have been called: “Do it yourself Hysterectomy” courtesy of these:

 

 

You don’t wanna know.

 

Overall, it was a good day, and the tired that I feel is a good tired. I worked on projects, saved plants, built a raised bed, hauled soil (with assistance) and worked with various tools. After a nice meal, and a nice hot bath, the only tool I want to see now is the one that will open this:

 

 

Till next time…

 

                     

 

 

 

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"Reflection"

 

 

 

 

"We are distracted from many things in life by fear, which stops us penetrating into places where the heart wants to go. Not to be scared and to be faithful to oneself calls for real courage. The heroes... are truly brave: they are afraid but they surpass themselves and aim at that place where there is no room for fear."

~Andrey Prikotenko~

 

* The entry below was written on Tuesday, July 30th.

 

Today,

I realized just how important it is to realize the small pockets of beauty that we have in our lives. I finally get the old adage to: "Stop and smell the Roses". Far too many of us are so stressed out by our lives that we don't realize that we aren't living them but are truly just going through the motions of doing so. I think that I fall into that category much of the time.

 

I went outside for just a bit to gather my thoughts and to just breathe for a minute. I went over to the new flower garden, and to just peer at the beauty of the flowers sent a certain calmness my way. I just stood and took in the majesty of the flora. From where I stood, I looked around at all that I had been doing the past month and a half and how with just a little faith, and lots of effort, I had begun the transformation of my backyard into the beginnings of  a long held dream.

 

While gazing at the flowers I thought of my mother. My mother loved flowers but was always afraid that she couldn't or didn't have the know how to do certain things. She projected that realm of fear on to me and to my siblings. There was very little encouragement for us to try new things, to take chances, or to just live. Most of my memories of my mother are of her being sad, scared, and unhappy.. This was her lot in life up until her death, last November. My heart ached that this was all she knew about life. Somedays, it still does. I know and always knew that this wasn't and isn't what I want for myself, or my own children.

 

Sure, I'm a novice and most of the things that I have done  have been done from the seat of my pants. But I know that I would rather not know what I am doing and still go for it, than to just think about it. I want to reap the small surprises that come from my efforts. I am no longer satisfied to to remain  just an observer through my thoughts, wishes, and dreams.

 

From early childhood I have always had a lot of responsibility placed upon my shoulders. I have always had to make the best decisions, the right decisions. So many other people have always depended on me. It meant always having to be on, to stay on top of things, to always be in control. But if nothing else, this garden has taught me that I can't control everything or make everything alright. That sometimes no matter how much care and effort you put into things, sometimes they just won't grow,  they just won't thrive. So you have to count your losses, take the lesson and re-plant.

 

Gardening/Farming/Homesteading, whatever you call it can be an arduous trek, but but you won't find one  more fulfilling.Sometimes it can be overwhelming, sometimes you ask yourself; "What was I thinking?" But mostly, you are in awe of the beautiful bounty that rests only a few steps from your reach. Such is the same for life.

 

As I stared at my flower bed, my vegetables, which I  consider my "little pockets of peace", I am reminded of the importance of clinging to the simple things, and remembering that sometimes we can fail to see the blessings because we are so focused on the bigger burdens. I am reminded that I have to fight tooth and nail to find the small pleasures, even when the larger, more unpleasant things loom.  I just want to be happy, and  to find peace. I'm not looking for an easy life, but I am going to require of myself, to promise myself that I  build a  a life that is full of the things that are important to me. I have neglected doing that for long enough.  I think I owe it to myself. 

Ahh, Clarity.

 

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A Little Catch-Up"

Well, I'm finally back to writing. I had a stressful few days doing making up work for a class. I had forty-eight hours to turn in a project and study for a test. Let me tell you, DON'T try this at home folks. It was a long, arduous, forty-eight hours, but I am proud to say that my hard work paid off, for I got a 100% on my project.  I guess no sleep makes me more creative..hmmm, who knew, but I digress.

I only got a chance to step into the garden a little bit at a time. But that was then and this is now and I am happy to have the work behind me  and the chance to get back to my "little piece of heaven".

Things are looking nice and green on the Homestead. There was a nice, hard, long rain last night so the plants got a good watering. The plants in the propogation area are ready to be planted.

I really have to stop saying it and really do it. I have just been so very, very, tired these past couple of days. I think that I am mentally constipated as well. Next week, my boys are back to school and then I follow the week after. Being on campus yesterday was just a reminder of how hectic things are going to be. But that is life and it is too short to not take the bad with the good. But back to more important things.

There is some growth in other areas of the garden as well:

The cantaloupe is growing so long that I had to put it on a table so that it wouldn't just be on the ground.

I had to elevate the watermelon as well.

Even the peppers are finally starting to make their appearance:

All in all, the vegetables are not doing that bad.

Look at the flowers:

 

Back inside, I decided to do a little cooking. That is always good for mental constipation. I decided to partake of my favorite vegetable: Bok Choy.

This isn't from my garden, but it will be. I have seeds and those babies will be dirt bound once the weather cools off.

 I turned it into Chicken stir-fry. There is actually some asparagus, carrots, red bell pepper and yellow squash in there too. Guess the bok-choy just covered it up.

But one of the best parts of my day was finding this ready for me outside. ::Starting up music and singing to the "Miss America Theme Song:: "Here she is..........

 Yes, my first  ready to eat baby of the season. She's red, she's ripe, she's beautiful. I love her.  Hold me. I just stared at her for a while. I took in her majesty, her awesomeness. So overwhelmed was I by her presence that a few seconds later........

 I sliced her up and put her in a sandwich...what? It's a tomato for God's sake!!!!( not much left when you share the small dear with others who want to partake of the first fruits. Darn, those selfish farmhands of mine!!!)

 Seriously, there is nothing better than growing your own food, and realizing the true fruits of your labor. It feels amazing. I can't wait for future progress.

Till next time.

 

 

 

 

 

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