Sunday, November 3, 2013

Triple Creek Farm, November 2, 2013

There has been a crispness in the air, fall rains with not always gentle winds are bringing down the many leaves, all around me there are signs of the ending of our spring and summer growing season.  It is time to remove the growth from many of the herbs, mulch them and cover with large nursery pots.  During the winter my garden looks as if I am growing pots and I always have a crop failure.  I place the pots over the plants I wish to save, pour a five gallon bucket of mulch over the pot, let it flutter around the pot and secure it is place for the winter.  This will keep the roots of my plants alive and warm.  My pineapple sage has been with  me for 2 winters and after this winter I hope I can say 3 winters.

IN THE KITCHEN

The garden was gleamed by Mr. Bootsie.  He picked may butter beans, we shelled and processed them for the freezer.  Each time something is added to the freezer there is question of where is this going to go.  I made a pot of cheesy broccoli soup, the broccoli came from the freezer and I used the space for some ground beef.  Now,  I have to work on using what has been stored for our winter use.  This is a must for I have always been a little laid back using what is in the freezer.  I have lots of veggies to make stir fries  and I must make my plans for our meals earlier in the day, I like to have things in order when I start to cook and not wonder what I am going to add.  Mr. Bootsie has decided it is fun to chop onions and grate cheese.  He is always willing to help do these chores so we can move on to other chores.

ON THE FARM

Splitting wood, mulching the herb garden, cutting a new trail through the woods to the mail box, these are some of the chores we have worked on this past week.  Along with mulching the herb garden I am taking out lots of lemon balm.  Let me share with you, I planted the lemon balm to help with run off and it did.  I was pleased, my run off problem was solved and I did not thin the lemon balm, this fall there has been a tangle of roots and I have spent a number of afternoons digging them out.  The girls in the coop have been pleased as they are finding things in the roots and they love the leaves.  The vegetation for the goats is changing.  They are not interested with the leaves from the trees as they are changing colors are becoming very brittle.  We will now be cutting down holly and pine for them.  Saturday morning, we went and picked up a load of hay and straw.

IN THE COOP

Molting, I think we are going to be molting for quite a while, some of the girls have shown no interest in loosing their beautiful feathers.  I would like to get this over before the cold of winter settles in but I have nothing to do with this, I just have to wait it out.  The blending of the flock is going along quite good.  All of the girls are starting to eat from the same bowls, they are quite mean about pecking when it comes to food, I do wonder if it bothers me more than it bothers the chickens.  They get loud and run off but it just a few seconds they have returned and are eating from another bowl.  I have one who will not fight for food, I do make special arrangements for her.  In the evening before roosting she is given a bowl and put by herself, she seems to enjoy having a quiet place to eat.  The little peeps are still displaying some difficulty getting on the roosting poles.  This week has been quite an improvement.  The little roo has stopped trying to crow but on Saturday morning he made 2 attempts.  He is growing and becoming a beautiful bird.

IN THE GARDEN

Most of the garden is brittle and brown. I did mange to find some climbing spinach under covers which looks really good.  Every garlic and walking onion set I planted came up.  My garlic sets came from the spring crop, I go through my cloves and pick the largest, use these for sets, the smaller cloves are used in the kitchen.  I planted regular onion sets I purchased and they are doing quite good.  These will all be mulched before the cold of winter comes in.  The plants in the  tunnel are starting to show growth.  Chickweed is growing and the girls are having a bucket of chickweed several times a week, the ducks enjoy this treat.   We are starting to pull out the annual beds and prepare the soil for the winter.  I like to have as much ready for the spring as possible.

IN CLOSING

I have found myself wanting to take long walks in the woods and explore our farm.  I took the goats out for a walk one evening this week and we went to a creek they had never seen before.  Don't worry they did not try to cross.  I am finding bird's nets in the trees after the leaves fall.  There are turkey tail mushrooms growing on the downed trees.  I want to cut some trails so I can roam through my woods.  I love finding the gifts Mother Nature has left for me.  I think I may be able to find more wild flowers if I can get some trails through the low lands.  The Canadian Geese are coming in every night while I am putting the girls to bed.  They "honk, honk, honk" their way to the pond.  The flock is getting bigger each year.  There are 2 large deer which spend the evening in front of our house, eating from the herb garden.  We are lucky to have all of this nature around us.

Enjoy your week, Thank You for stopping by,  I look forward to our next visit!!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment