Hope & The Earliest Blooms

hellebore buds

Hello, friends.  Last week, I harvested some of the red-leaf lettuce.  Garbanzo beans were getting low, so I canned a batch of those.  I emptied a bin of shreds in the chicken coop, which always freshens it up.  We lost our big rooster last week, and then a hen, so our flock is down to nine.  Our rooster died due to sickness, and it's likely a hawk got my favorite little game hen on Sunday, possibly because there's not much protection, with only two tiny game roosters remaining. It's always sad.  J's plan is to not replace any of the chickens as we lose them, with our future plans to travel.  We'd recently been getting around 5 eggs a week, which has been nice, especially with prices as they've been.  A few more gallons of sweetgum balls were gathered for biochar-making.  I'm making new retorts, as the old ones get retired, because of holes in the cans.  

putting scraps on to simmer

Four loads of laundry were dried on the line, during the the week.  It was a bit cold when I hung the first laundry, in the 40's, but thankfully, the week has warmed up beautifully since then, with some days in the low 70's.  I believe I've finished my portion of the taxes, only waiting on documents coming in the mail, and some items from J.  I did much better this year than last, and am happy to have it behind me.  Now come thoughts of seeds and planting.  We'd been neglecting the outdoor freezer, and got a number of things from it last week.  I brought in some of our crowder peas and collards, which made a nice dinner with jasmine rice.  On Sunday, I got three gallon bags of veggie scraps from it, along with five more from the indoor freezer, and started them simmering on the wood stove, to can up broth on Monday.  J brought in some meat from the freezer, so between all of that, it's got quite a bit more room in it now.

One of my favorite long skirts needed some TLC, and I mended it up in a few spots.  I know that western NC isn't as prevalent in the news, as it was shortly after Hurricane Helene.  For those who aren't aware, there are still many washed out roads and bridges, more than four months after the hurricane.  President Trump's first official visit his first week in office was to western NC, where he promised to send some long-awaited assistance, signing an executive order to fast-track road repairs.  True to his word, the Army Corps of Engineers has shown up, to work on this, bringing much needed hope to the region.  The earliest blooms have begun coming forth.  I look forward to their cheery faces.