Tenacious

Hello, friends.  The last tenacious bloom of the Mother's Day orchids is still hanging on, which arrived almost 12 weeks ago.  Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!  It recently occurred to me that I've been sharing lots of challenges here, related to the garden, which may lead you to believe I walk around in a blue funk.  I wanted to let you know that wasn't the case.  Just trying to keep things real.  Sure, life and gardens have their challenges, but the vast majority of it is small stuff in the end.  I just sigh, take some deep breaths, and keep on keeping on.  Two quotes I read this week seemed to speak to that.  The first, from Craig Lehoullier, aka NC's Tomato Man:  "Having been a gardener for 40 years, I think it's really important to make it clear that there is no perfect garden, there is no perfect season.  We just have things we deal with.  But, by and large, if we do the right things, things come out pretty well."  The second quote is from  heritageacreshomesteadchas on IG: "Gardening is hard.  It's definitely NOT the easy road.  It's sweat, triumphs, tears, frustration, elation, hope... it's every emotion and all kinds of work rolled into one.  You can only do so much though.  It could be a rainy season, droughts, unexpected frost, hail, pests, you are at the mercy of the weather so much.  And sometimes no matter what you do, the pests destroy. But never in all my years of gardening have I not been taught a lesson...  And sometimes maybe the lesson is to not give up....".  

With temps in the 90's, some blinds were opened only enough to allow in a little light much of last week.  Thankfully, temps are cooling off for the foreseeable future.  I know it's not a good photo, but the sculpture of the woman holding a bird is precious to me, as it was a gift from my Mom.  It's fairly common for me to find deer or wild turkeys in the field, when we're on our evening walk.  Last week, there was an evening when I was surprised to see three deer and a couple of wild turkeys grazing together.  Perhaps a good lesson in harmony, despite their differences.  We recently found out our friend M had passed away, under Hospice care.  He definitely lived hard.  I hope he is at peace now.  His brother is planning a gathering to remember him.  I harvested cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, lemon verbena, stevia, and elderberries.  There wasn't much of any of them, but I'm thankful for it all.  While I was taking the elderberries from the stem, I found I had brought along this young being, so brought her back to where I had been gathering.  

Plants were fed with blended banana and aloe bits, and others were mulched using permaculture methods.  Some with grass clippings, and others with chop and drop or already downed limbs, after being reinspired by a David The Good's video.  I hung laundry on the line, composted the fruit and veggie scraps that didn't get added to the broth bag or given to the chickens, and shredded paper to use in the chicken coop.  Warm up water and dehumidifier water were saved for flushing.  I followed a link where someone mentioned receiving free Breathe Right nasal strips, which J uses on occasion, and they're supposed to be on their way.  The epoxy repair used to mend my muck boots lasted several days.  In the meantime, I bought more Shoe Goo, and since mended them with it.  Food Lion had good sized seedless watermelons for $2.99, so I bought two.  Dollar Tree had 2X2 gauze, so I got some to replace what I've been using on Guinness, who somehow scraped skin off his "ankle", likely around the back of the shop/skoolie build on some metal.

The pups were given baths in the outdoor shower.  J & I put twine on the trellises for the tromboncino and lima beans to climb up.  Knowing I wouldn't choose white flowers, I  assumed the dahlias I mentioned last week must not have been labelled.  While cleaning up photo files, and seeing one of the dahlia bags, I realized they were both supposed to be pink.  One of them, Star Elite, should have been pink and yellow.  The other was two toned pink, though the name is covered in the photo.  Oh well, I guess I can't expect much more from a Dollar Tree purchase.  Isn't life and gardening always full of surprises?!  Have a great week, friends.

Primed For Success

With Joseph working days in another town this week, and heat in the 90's, by the time he got home, he had less to give.  Nonetheless, plenty still got done late in the week.  Before this week, there was a spaghetti of wires.  

 

He placed all the 12V wires in wire looms.

He sanded all the sheet metal on the driver's side and back, in preparation for priming.   After sanding, he wiped it down with acetone.

We taped off the areas that we weren't going to prime, then he primed it.

Next up, the front and the passenger side.

Garden Experiments & Braiding Onions

Hello, friends.  Some new things were tried in the garden this week.  I'd read that you can use citrus peels as traps for pill bugs in the garden, then just pull them up and dispose of them.  They even showed a photo of them swarming on an orange peel.  That "hint" was a total bust.  I then made up a yeast and sugar mixture to feed the cucumbers.  It's too early to tell if it makes a difference, but I'll report back.  While in town to deliver soap, I stopped at the Habitat thrift store, and picked up two stainless steel pots with lids  for $5 ea., and 4 bamboo dessert/snack plates .25 ea.  These items were all picked up for the skoolie.  I also picked up a lovely botanical tray for $1, and glass jar with metal lid for $3.   I harvested cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, oregano, and figs.  A neighbor gifted J two large bags of corn, and a large bag of cucumbers and yellow squash that they grew.  The corn was frozen on the cob, and some of the cucumbers were shared with my sister, and J's son.

When I went to the farmer's market this past week, I asked about a rosella hibiscus, and one of the vendors told me she'd bring me one this week.  It's a bit of a stretch for me to go this time of year, with having to clean up, put makeup on, and drive an hour round trip.  When I went back this week, specifically for that, the vendor had forgotten.  She felt so bad about it, she insisted I choose a plant to take with me, and I chose a thyme.  She also told me where she worked, where she was planning on picking the plant up from, which happened to be basically across the street from where I had to deliver soap the next day, so it was a happy ending.  It's late in the year to be planting it, but this year, I'm going to try a container, and bringing it indoors for the winter.  I also picked up yellow squash seeds, as we'd used the last of them on previous planting attempts, a butterfly weed, Baby Joe pye weed, and zinnias, which I had no luck starting this year.  The squash seeds were planted, along with the rosella and a lemongrass I picked up at the farmer's market, again in a container, and the zinnias in a bed at my shop.

I fed all the tomatoes, squash, and kajari melons with nettle and comfrey tea.  Lots of japanese beetles were hand picked, and fed to the chickens.  A worm found in a tomato was given to the chicks, and one made a feast of it.  Blueberries were picked for the last time early in the week, and the remainder left for the birds.  The dahlia tubers found at Dollar Tree in the spring were not identified as to color.  While I'm happy to have my first dahlias growing well, they both turned out to be white, which was disappointing.  Now I know they seem happy here, I'll try more colorful ones in the future.  I went through Swagbucks for some business purchases, for 2% cash back.  On a cloudy, coolish day (83F), I finally planted calendula, dill and black eyed susan vine I grew from seed, and the thyme I was gifted.  J's son came to do some work here, putting cardboard and straw mulch around our newest berry patch, and creating a small bed next to the pond, for moisture loving plants, which J and I planted.  He also weed whacked around the pond.  We're happy to have had help with these jobs.

I suppose we harvested our onions later than usual, as there were little to no stems to use to braid them.  They're not pretty this year, but the braids are hanging in the basement, with the rest in a hanging basket and box.  Four of the yellow squash plants were poking up Sunday.  The cabbage seeds I planted eight days ago were old, and none of them are up yet.  Saturday morning, I heard a distant sound as soon as I woke up.  My first thought was a cow, as there are quite a few in this area, though it didn't sound usual.  I kept hearing it, once I was in the garden, and at some point, I thought I discerned a voice a few times, and began thinking it was someone in distress, calling for help.  After going back and forth with what I thought it was, I couldn't stop thinking about it being someone who needed help, and called 911.  It was at least 30 mins. before they arrived, and it was obvious they didn't take it seriously.  There are so many farmers in the area, I worried someone might have gotten in trouble with a piece of equipment.  There has been at least one in the neighborhood who met his end that way.  After hearing it for another hour, I got in my car, and tried to pinpoint it.  My last stop was at a neighbor's field a half mile away, where they were working, and I found out they had sold calves the day before, and the mamas were bellowing, which satisfied me enough that it was what I was hearing.  It was stressful for a bit, but it's good to have a happy ending.  Here's to a calm and peaceful week.

The Latest Skoolie News

This past week, Joseph installed the driver's side windows.  This means the only window left to place is in the bathroom.  We're still figuring out exactly where that one will go.  Of course, he put in many more rivets.  So many, he ran out of them, and is waiting for more to arrive.

He also began installing rigid foam insulation, starting with the bedroom.  He's planning to place batt insulation inside trash bags, and place it in the wall spaces on the sides.  The reason for the bags is to ensure that condensation won't cause deterioration and mold in the insulation.  In recent evaluation, he realized the freshwater tank we had planned to place under the bed is too large for the space.  He's pondering what he wants do about that.  On a more positive note, he found that the two armoires we bought will fit perfectly between the door and the bedroom wall, so that's a plus.  Have a great weekend!

Mid-July On The Homestead

Hello, friends.  For the second year now, the squirrels have been pulling and eating the green hazelnuts off the tree, which means we'll have little to none when they should be ripe.  There are such an overabundance of squirrels here, it is a real challenge to harvest many fruits and nuts.  With several days of rain recently, many varieties of mushrooms have been popping up.  I was delighted to find many chanterelles, and gathered quite a few, though small ones.  Soon after this photo, the cinnabar chanterelles also began showing up.  They've been added to sloppy joes, pizza, and a veggie scramble.  My hemp purse finally bit the dust, with the strap breaking while I was in town.  I purchased another style from the same company, which in itself wasn't frugal, but the original was one I purchased for a field bag as a Hospice nurse, then used as my purse for many years.  When it began to have holes, I did some creative embroidery, which gave it another couple of years.  There were new holes, and the strap was frayed, so it was time for a new one.  Hopefully, this one will also last many years.  

While in town for an appointment, I dropped off soap at a gallery, and stopped at a thrift store, where I found two canisters for my shop, and a small stoneware bowl.  All were half off, so total spent was $6.  At the grocery store, I bought honeydews for $2.99 ea., organic nectarines 2#/$3.49.  Instead of $2.99, the organic celery was $2.69, which was a nice surprise, and instead of  $4.49, J's bread was $2.79, so I got two.  A $5 reward went towards my purchase.  I stopped by Dollar Tree for a few things, including some more lentils.  From the garden, cucumbers, lambs quarter, blueberries, onions, basil, and oregano  were harvested.  I've found a gluten-free pizza crust I've been enjoying, adding whatever vegetables are available and Miyoko's plant-based mozzarella.  It's so nice to have that pleasure again. It's not exactly the same as "real" pizza, but it works for me.  

When I recently glued one of my muck boots, I tried using the hot glue gun.  Sadly, that didn't last the morning.  So, this time, two part epoxy was used again, which lasted several weeks last time.  I went by a farmer's market, and bought organic tomatoes, yellow squash, and hand cream.  A woman there promised to bring me a roselle hibiscus next week, so I plan to go back.  When J picked up an item for the skoolie, the woman gave him a comforter to cushion it.  She then asked if he'd like the sheets that matched it, which had never been used.  They're queen sized, so I washed up the comforter, and we've bagged it all to donate.  I pulled a bag of our cow peas from the freezer for a dinner, made rice and a cucumber salad.  A simple summer meal.  Blueberries and blackberries from last year's garden were used to make a pie.  A blogger friend suggested Random Acts on the BYU channel, which I was happy to find I had access to, on our Roku TV, and have made a note of it.  

We're so excited our first tomatoes are starting to turn!  Soon...  All laundry was dried on the line.  Banana peels and aloe bits were blended, and used for fertilizer on our plums, and a few other plants.  I cleaned the chicken coop, and gathered spearmint to strew on the floor, and add to the nest boxes.  J cleaned up the garden, and planted seedlings of zucchini, tromboncino, butternut squash and eggplant.  These are all sturdy seedlings, so we hope we'll have better luck than the ones we tried earlier.  Hummus was made with our home canned beans for lunches.  My sister has rented a lake house for a few days, and I'll be heading there Monday to enjoy a relaxing day with her.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

The Skoolie is Enclosed

 

This week, Joseph got the last of the sheet metal hung, so the bus is now entirely enclosed again.

The driver's side, with Guinness photobombing.  Joseph soon wants to prime the metal, to keep it from rusting.  The actual painting will happen towards the end of the build.

On the left is the small washing machine mentioned in the last post, with it's rolling dolly alongside.  A Dr. not far away died, and his family was gutting his office.  They listed the cabinets on Marketplace, free if you removed them, and Joseph took them up on the offer.  They're very simple, with solid wood doors, but otherwise particle board.  We think they'll serve our purposes well.  

In another Marketplace find, Joseph found this marble.  A nurse had it, who worked at a hospital I worked at 20 years ago.  Maintenance was tearing out the marble from a bathroom in the hospital, and offered it to her.  Otherwise, they were sending it to the landfill.  She brought it home, but never used it, and sold it to us for $75.  There are two large pieces, enough to do the shower floor, vanity countertop and some back splashes.  As I'm typing, he's gone to pick up doors for the storage boxes that will go along the bottom of the bus.  You guessed it... another Marketplace deal.  

Summer Harvests

Hello friends.  We had a quiet 4th, which was just what I was hoping for.  I did animal chores and harvested lettuce, made lavender lemonade, watched a spiritual talk, read a little, helped J on the bus a few brief times, made a simple dinner of steamed potatoes with a large salad, and watched Outlander.  Speaking of Outlander- since the first disc, it's become quite a bit less tame, with significant violence, brutality and gratuitous sex.  I've pondered stopping the series, but then each time, there will be episodes with none of these, and for now, I've just fast forwarded through these parts.  I really enjoy historical fiction, and am intrigued by time travel, but just don't want to fill my head with those things.  I guess I'll see what future episodes bring.

For a dinner, I pulled last year's zucchini from the freezer, gathered herbs, and made Barbara Kingsolver's Disappearing Zucchini Orzo.  Having an abundance of bananas, I froze ten for future smoothies.  The banana peels, along with aloe bits, were blended, and a number of fruit trees were fertilized with the mixture.  I went through Swagbucks for an online household order, for 4% back, and used a 15% off code.  Lettuce, oregano, basil, thyme, lambs quarter, chard, blueberries, a few blackberries, and the first four figs were harvested.  With the recent rains, mushrooms are popping up all over.  The majority are species I'm not sure about, but I gathered the first two chanterelles, and a reishi mushroom, which I promptly dehydrated, and will use as medicine in some manner.  I haven't decided how yet. 

 

While in town to buy groceries, I dropped off four boxes of donations.  Savings at the grocery store were avocados .49 ea., pineapple 1.79, and dogfood $6 off.  An $8 reward went towards my total, and I earned another $5 reward.  Laundry was dried on the line.  A batch of golden paste was made for the pups.  The last of the store bought onions were used, and I began using our recently harvested ones.  We're eating lots of salads, trying to use up all the harvested lettuce.  I washed and prepped enough for a few salads at a time, which makes it easier to put together a salad.  Having heard about the USPS rate hike for first class stamps, I went to the P.O. when passing by, and purchased two sheets of stamps.  Over the weekend, I found 18 horn worms on the tomatoes, which is a record here, one I'd rather not have broken.  But, all were given to the chickens, for an excellent protein boost.  I'm finishing this post up Sunday evening.  Due to one of the pups, I was up somewhere between 3 1/2 and 4 hours last night, and am a bit muddled.  He is fine, and just made bad choices yesterday.  I will end here, and wish you all a wonderful week.

The Skoolie Door & Windows

 

Last week, Joseph attached the door, cut holes for, and fastened all the passenger-side windows.  

He fabricated the lower step and some rain gutter.  He made the step so that it can slide in when we're traveling down the road.  It's much easier for us and the pups to get in now, though McNibs is still a bit leery.

Before I posted this Friday, I helped Joseph hang all the sheet metal on the driver's side of the bus, until he got enough screws in to hold them in place.  He's riveted some on the bus this week, and still has plenty of screws and rivets to work on to join it all.

His bargains of the week were a new on demand gas water heater purchased on sale, and a small portable washer used only once he found on Marketplace.  The woman he bought it from had a tiny house and nowhere to keep it.  She said it was just easier to go to the laundromat.  He'll turn it into a permanent one for the bus.  That's it this week, folks.

Homestead Summer Days

Hello, friends.   The gardenias and magnolia have been blooming, with such a sweet scent.  After using up all the nettle tea on the tomatoes last week, I started another batch of comfrey & nettle tea.  I don't really have a plan for making the teas, but just use whatever plants are most available, which sometimes includes adding weeds to the mix.  I harvested lettuce, lambs quarter, parsley, oregano, cucumbers, mulberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  We'd noticed curly tips on some tomatoes and lambs quarter, with unusual veining, which looked different than anything we'd seen before.  I asked if anyone else had something similar, and got several positive responses.   Photos of mine and others were sent to the Extension agency, but no sure answer was given.  He suggested we get a soil sample, which we may do.  It's been cooler than average, not especially dry, and we haven't used any outside inputs in the garden this year, so it would seem to rule out those possibilities.

I planted zucchini and tromboncino seeds in pots, and a potato in an empty feed bag.  For some reason, the potatoes are not thriving.  At the foot of the solar panels, they get plenty of sun.  We've watered them as needed, and fed them.  We're wondering if the soil we got locally for the grow bags is the culprit.  A neighbor told J he feels the soil is overly rich this year.  We've gotten various products from this supplier in the past, and he's supposed to offer the cleanest products in the area.  I'm not sure if I should try feeding them with weak nettle & comfrey tea soon, to see if they'll put on some growth.  I gathered flowers, to make a bouquet for our home.  Bluebirds have taken up residence in a birdhouse at the corner of our garden.  My presence has startled them, so I haven't been able to observe their comings and goings yet.  Our little chicks are all doing well, spending the days outdoors with mama hen, in their little yard.  

GF bread ends were made into bread crumbs.  Laundry was dried on the line, except for one load, after the forecast changed for the day.  I blended up banana skins and aloe bits in water, and fertilized plants with it.  After finishing a library book, I began reading one of my free Kindle books, which I'm enjoying.  For a dinner, J requested egg salad sandwiches.  I made a big salad for myself, using our lettuce, cucumber and sweet potato.  I harvested almost all of our onions.  The few that still had standing leaves will remain in the garden a little while longer.  We've gotten plenty of rain, with close to 2.5" in the gauge.  I added homegrown blackberries, mulberries, pawpaw and figs to a smoothie, trying to use up some of last year's frozen fruit.  The sole partly came loose on my muck boots.  I don't know if it's the same boot I mended previously, but if it is,  it lasted six weeks, and another bit of hot glue is easy enough to repair it.   Hmm, I believe I used two part epoxy last time, so I guess we'll see how well this does.

I'm happy to report I've managed to thwart the pill bugs with this round of summer squash, at least so far.  Interestingly, on the morning all 12 were up, I found a number of pill bugs wandering on the wall next to them.  I've got the pots on top of a barrel, near to but not touching the wall.  That makes me think the plants must give out some sort of chemical that attracts these bugs to new sprouts.  The bugs had not been there prior to these sprouts, and were gone again by the time I took the photo, later in the day.  With that success, I planted winter squash, butternut and Lady Godiva.  It's rather late, but I wanted to give it a shot, now that I found a workable method... I hope!  Wishing you successes in all your seasonal endeavors.