Elderberry, here's a sign..

 Only am getting a few moments back at the house and trying to get done as much as possible! The last few days have been blustery, cold, windy.. cabin fever set in about 10 minutes after the rain began. The wind has been sending patio furniture flying, eradicated any chance to catch up on laundry, and making for some very misbehaved poultry.

 I may need a sign soon, if only to warn the drivers as they go down the road..

 "caution! Assless chaps and nude chick(ens)"

 Maybe a series of signs..

 "Slow chickens"
 "seriously, they aren't very bright"

 The guineas have handed many a rooster their tail when confined in the coop for more than 6 seconds past when "they" think they should be out. Hence the "assless" chaps. 

 Guineas get first dibs on everything, regardless if they like it or not. Apples, corn, and the occasional Sprite melon have been on the daily afternoon menu. I cut the apples up and throw them everywhere so everyone gets some. The guineas like it best when I hold a piece, so they can peck at it. Some days they have good aim, some days it is like wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress around a pack of wolves.

 I'd probably be less fond of them if they didn't come racing out to me every time I go outside. My minions... they are greedy, feathered, flighty and feeble minded.. and really darn cute. Up close, guineas remind me of Dr. Suess.. and a horror flick at the same time.

 Anyhow... elderberry is well into their season. I'm trying to grab up what I can, mainly to plant them later. The seeds can take up to 2 years to germinate. 

 The berries can be dried for use later in teas and such. Personally, I like them in jam best. Back when I could consume sweets.. we used to make a syrup from elderberry and black caps. It is lovely over pancakes... or mixed into 7-up or Sprite. Often we'd have cottage cheese with sliced canned pears and drizzled with the berry syrup.. or doused over ice cream. Oh man... I miss sugar.

 If you dry the berries, the seeds can be stored for over a decade. Elderberry usually start producing at about 3 to 4 years of age. The fruit sets on first year wood. It is an understory shrub, but one that exists more often along the edge of a forest, or even along streams. They can handle full on sun, but appreciate a bit of shade. 

 They are a shrub that defies juglone producers.. like black walnut. There are several cultivars.. and a native red elderberry (do not eat this one..) that is not edible. Most of the dark fruited wild ones seem related to European strains in this area of the Midwest. 

 While not a very long living shrub, the fruits are fairly rich in antioxidants. They have a history of several medicinal uses, but I like them for their taste. They were one of the things we would snack on as kids as we romped around outside.

 Hoping to get some more time soon. Hope you all are doing well.

of coops and cages

 The apple saplings are settling in very well as are 2 of the 3 plums. The cherry are trying.. and we are hoping they hang in there. The pears and apricots didn't break dormancy, so I will see about getting new ones. I think Arbor Day has a guarantee so I'd just have to cover shipping for the replacements. The elderberry are doing well, and so is the hazelnut.. but they were smaller and the location has a good amount of clay.. so we have to check them daily as well.

 Just the 2 forsythia and red maple left to plant...  of the trees/ shrubs anyways. Still a lot more planting left to do in the garden.

 Today we make tomato cages and hunt the old barn for wood. It's in the 90's and the ever lovely humidity abounds.

 Did I mention we don't have air conditioning? Whee. 

 The birds.. must.. move.. out. I admit I totally hovered over their cuteness in an over-protective way. They are feathering out now, and honing their escape skills. The guinea keets in particular are like Houdini.. with feathers.. and fluffy butts.

 This morning for example... while on the "throne".. I had the bejeezus scared out of me. You see.. the toilet paper is on a metal stand, with a rack on the bottom for a few extra rolls. This rack never gets refilled unless I do it.. and well.. too darn tired to have loaded it up the other day. Anyways, when I reached for the paper.. it moved. I had assumed my kid or husband was last in there and left a long tail on the tp (you know what I mean.. unrolled by about 10 inches). 

 Keet Richards was on the rack happily unrolling the toilet paper. I hadn't realized they escaped.. yet again.. from the "further reinforced.. by gosh these birds will not escape now" containment extras my husband created.

 He created the lid when during his shower he had 4 little guinea visitors perched on the shower curtain rod. They had wandered over to say hello and look out the window. Curious little buggers get into everything. The first lid didn't work... as demonstrated by Kate the white keet hanging out in the cupboard. She keeps trying to get into the cupboard because there are shiny things there... and  cotton balls are EXCITING. MUST... RUNNN... with cotton baaaaallls!! 

 So off we go to check out and sort old planks from the ancient barn. Not much left to work with as the elements are now able to nail the wood from 3 sides.

 Buffalo gnats are also a problem.. I worry they could kill my little peeps.

 Off we go.. wish us luck finding enough decent materials to get these birds their own home.

Peeps out. 

Still planting..

 Sprite melons went in today.. so did some Anaheim peppers, 2 different bush beans, some sort of gigantic sunflower seeds planted and still a ton to go. I still have 2 dozen + tomatoes to transplant.. somewhere.. I moved them to the small farm as something at this house is devouring them. (A caterpillar is the something.. and the small farm garden is literally surrounded by birdhouses.. each sporting a very hungry family.)

 We attacked the area behind the polebarn. The grass is waist high and full of massive rocks. The rocks we can move will go towards building a retaining wall.  The retaining wall is to rebuild the side of the house where the AC unit is. Erosion soon will claim the AC unit if we don't get it done this year. 



 Wax beans go in tomorrow and scarlet runner beans. Jalapenos and thai peppers need to go in.. and butterbush squash. At some point the next section will be tilled for melons, squash and other vine crops. I plan on tossing some cosmos in with the squash and possibly a bit of wrought iron for fun. I really want to get the Hubbard squash going. A massive squash like those could hold over my husband and daughter for a week. (They can get around 40 pounds.) Squash and sweet potatoes are something we never get bored of having.



 I didn't get a chance to check on the pole beans, tomatillos and eggplants. They should be ok. My time working was repeatedly interrupted by tick removal.

 6 keets... I need like 600. Speaking of which they are flipping out over some food right now. 

 Guinea fowl are able to forage up to 90% of their feed in the summer. Some use broody chickens to hatch them. Should my flock survive that is probably what I would do. Somehow for as much as we know and for as much as we have made things fool-proof... you can't beat a good hen.

 I'm beat (I must be a bad hen lol.) I'm not even sure if this post made any sense! The ticks have me wigged out. I got 8 of them on me in under an hour. I kill every one, but still everyday I get about 20 on me. None have attached yet, but it is unnerving. 


 Ticks generally need to be attached for a whole day before transmitting anything to you. Use pointed tip tweezers, get as close to the skin as possible, then steadily pull them off. You don't want to pinch their bodies as it will essentially make them empty their stomach contents into you  (higher risk of getting something like Lyme's disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.)

 It sounds like escapees from the brooder box again. I'd better check on the gang. Take care all.

Transplanting.. still at it

 Trying to prep new ground, take control back of overgrown everything else.. we've been working hard. 

 So far we have 50+ tomato plants in and they seem to all be doing well. We just put in 30+ eggplant and broccoli was also in. Sage, flat leaf parsley, dill, more chives.. all planted. Mishap with a ton of basil and I have to restart a new flat. I got some ancient tomatillo seeds to sprout so those are now in the ground. I have a bunch from last year, but those tomatillos were very sweet and very pineapple flavored. Not what I was looking for!  About a dozen pepper plants are in and I need to transplant out a bunch more. Pole beans are in.. hoping to get the "pole" part of that crop in today.

 Today I am attacking the next section. Cucumbers, melons, squash.. I have to get them in.. they should have been planted like, last week. Next sowing of beets, kohlrabi, turnips, dill also needs to be done. Also 4 more varieties of beans have to go in. Those 4 will go through the taste test and if we like them, then I will save the seed to do large plantings of it next year.

 We haven't had a moment to get to the other farm. I can only imagine how high the grass is... and the fields. I need an army just to keep the decorative landscaping in control. 

 Still on the list to do.. attacking the raspberry canes, rose bushes, grape vines. The "I'll get to it at some point" list involves a chainsaw and a LOT of dead/ diseased/ etc trees. 

 I'd love to use the laundry lines too dry clothes, but we have a lot of birds that have made nests in the little birdhouses along the fence and then every light fixture has a swallow's nest. They like to use the lines as perches. They are getting rather gutsy too. They are using our efforts to their advantage. When we till.. they hang on the fence and swoop in when we are 10 feet away if they see a bug. I toss all of the grubs into a tray and when I go to grab some water.. they move in to dispose of the grubs.

 And somewhere in the midst of all of this my husband has his own additional list (I am more than happy to help if I can!).. that includes building a coop, building chicken tractors, installing 2 new toilets, painting trim on 2 of the houses, fixing and cleaning the gutters of 2 of the houses, re-fencing the dog run, building storage for the pole barn, making trellising, hanging new drywall.. to name some of it.

 Still no luck finding a job yet. As well the horrid situation of our place in CO. We sent copies of the keys to the place to a friend, and they didn't work. He can't get into the house. The tenant disappeared. So far he hasn't filed a forwarding address so the utility companies can't make him pay. That also means we can't turn the utilities on there to get the place taken care of unless we pay his bills. Really hard to tackle that when you don't have the finances.

 For now.. doing as much as we can with what we do have.. and hoping for some good luck. Really hoping.. lol because the japanese beetles out here are a force to be reckoned with.. also why I am grateful we were able to get guinea fowl.

 Alright.. back to work I go. Almost done at this place and time to go to the other. I have developed an insatiable taste for dandelion greens. I don't know what it is about them... but the ones growing in the less desirable locations.. rocky, dry, poor soil.. are more mild flavored. I found a recipe for dandelion fritters (flowers dipped in a slightly sweetened beer batter) but have yet to try that. The greens I have been going nuts on.. but my husband and daughter like it better when mixed with swiss chard to mellow it out a bit. Me.. give me a vat of it and a pitch fork and I am good to go.  Really young dandelion can go into salads.. a little older leaves you can cook. The "old" leaves are fibrous and much more bitter.. and for some reason those are the ones I am hoarding. lol. Today I will sautee up a few pounds (like all greens, they shrink down a lot when cooking).. in garlic and olive oil with crushed red pepper flakes, a pinch of sugar (helps tame the bitter), salt & pepper.. and a hit of lemon juice.