Something to Crow about

After getting the kids fed, clothed, and out to the bus stop, I get a few minutes to check email and drink my coffee in peace. Well, relative peace. We have two chickens in the backyard, and mid morning they both begin to crow! These are hens, mind you, not roosters. Apparently laying eggs is something worth crowing about.

Sunshine (White) and Midnight (Black/brown) came from the feed store in Kansas, and started laying eggs in August. At birth they were yellow and black, thus the names, pulled from the "rainbow layer" bin by eager little hands. That meant that we didn't exactly know what we were getting, except that they would be female. That's all we need, since hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs.

hey, can't a girl have a little privacy?

I think Midnight is a Black Star or Sex-link, and Sunshine must be a White Rock. They lay identical brown eggs, still small pullet eggs, but very tasty.

Their "Coop" is a modified dog crate. They have a light and a roost, but I think I need to add some height before they will use the roost. They lay in the back, right under the egg door. 

This photo is looking in the egg door towards the chicken door.

Outside the coop is the chicken run. the backyard is fenced and urban enough that predators are not a problem, so the PVC and plastic fencing is plenty to keep them in. There is a roof over half of the 16'x3' run, and the feeder is hung under the roof to keep it dry. 

They really only get put in the run at night so they don't roost over the porch swing. (makes for a messy swing) I generally let them roam during the day so I don't have to buy as much food. They like hunting for bugs and greens.

If I let them out before they lay, they will go back in and lay in the coop. Good Girls!

I suppose if I were to lay an egg as big as my head every day, I'd think it was something to crow about as well! 

Fall

Must be something about the 30th! I just noticed it's been a whole month since my last post. I must do better!

Fall is in full glorious color here in Minnesota. Just looking out the back door brings a glorious palette of autumn color. The trees are turning color, the pumpkin and squash are ripe and the apples are ready to be picked.

I made a bit of a Spring/Fall combination concoction for desert last night, a Apple Rhubarb crisp. I had a pint of rhubarb sauce leftover from spring, and some stewed apples from a breakfast a  few days past. Those went into the sauce pot to warm with a bit of corn starch for thickener. A basic crumble of flour, oats, butter and sugar went in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, hot sauce on top, and all into the oven to heat through.

Yum!

I put some sage, hops, and lavender in oil to steep for a week or two, in hopes of a "Dream Catcher" themed lotion bar in the future.

May all your dreams be sweet, and your apples free from worms!

Trash Cans and Cardboard Boxes

Early this Monday we got new trash cans, the big ones with two wheels that the trucks pick up with mechanical arms. My kids thought it was the most exciting thing since the invention of the cardboard box!

The bins are bigger than most boxes, and don't fall apart when you climb into them! The first thing they became was "transporters"! Climb inside and you can go to Grandma's house in Kansas, then down to Cousins in Texas and back home, no long boring car rides to endure!

The transporters work on stuffed animals too! The bins are so big that the kids can hide in them, hide stuff in them and just have a grand ol' time playing! Too bad we'll have to use them for trash and recycling some day soon!

At least we don't seem to run out of cardboard boxes and empty peanut butter jars around here, since those are the containers of last resort for animal transport/housing/whatever.

Give a kid a cardboard box or two, and a roll of masking tape, and see what appears!

The Big Boat Natural Home, Open for Business

The shop is up! I started with a little show down in Hastings, and followed up with the Annual Blue Heron days in my hometown of Lino Lakes, MN.

Blue Heron Days include a parade, a business expo, bounce-houses, and other fun things. I set up for the Business Expo. I had fun getting all the stock ready, labelled and set up.

Now I'm getting things into the Etsy shop, and setting up shop at Poppy Swap.
Here are a few pics I'm getting up:

 Big Gingerbread boys, ready for little hands and legs, and grown-ups too! This big tin is a good 4 inches across, and has room for all my fun shaped lotion bars.

 Elle's favorite Rosemary scented bar, I like this size tin the best, it's just about 3 inches across.

Sweet little hearts in geranium. These tins are the smallest, only an inch and a half or so, but they hold plenty, and fit in a pocket.

Check out the shop: Etsy, and see what more is in store!

Happy Mother's Day!

I got flowers and breakfast in bed for mother's day! I have been blessed with three fabulous kids, and I love all of my gifts! There are even two more planters of flowers outside! 

It has been a beautiful weekend for gardening, so I got to spend a bit of time outside. I planted beets, carrots, coriander and calendula, put Jonah's sunflower and other sprouts in the garden, and took a stab at the dandelions in the front yard! 

Yes, as much as we love dandelions around here for jelly, I thought I'd try to remove some of the plants in the front yard, so as to mollify the mono-culture-loving neighbors! I borrowed a digger from the neighbor and over a few days dug hundreds of the little plants, and really probably left the same amount in the yard!
On the plus side, I aerated the yard pretty well!

I havn't touched the ones in the back yard, we need something for jelly!

Sunny Morning!

It's such a beautiful morning after a rainy day, I had to take my breakfast outside. I discovered what might be a new favorite: peaches and cream.

All the bananas were gone, so I grabbed a jar of my mother's canned peaches and a dollop of my favorite greek yogurt. a dash of almond milk and perfection in a jar! Did you know that Oster blender bases fit small-mouth canning jars! I didn't have to dirty the whole blender jar for a couple cups of breakfast.

I love my Mom's canning! Dad buys a case or two of peaches that are just on the edge of "turning", he gets them for a song, I think. ('cept my Dad can't sing??) Mom sits in the kitchen to blanch, peel, and cut the big orange globes of God's goodness, and fills all these quart jars. YUMMO!

Thing 3's lunch of choice is a thermos of peaches and a serving of applesauce. It's time to make a Kansas run soon!

Back in the Saddle

If I could blog straight from my  thoughts and eyes, and bypass the typing and futzing with photos part altogether, you'd have seen many more posts in the last 2 years! But all good things take time and energy, so here goes!

Spring is back in Minnesota with the impatience of a Kindergartner. We didn't get much snow at all this winter, and I could have dug up the garden and planted potatoes in March, when I usually escape the 20 inches of snow in my yard and go to Kansas for Spring! 


The Peas are about 3 inches tall, as are the Nasturtiums, and I just saw the beginnings of my Morning Glories! I've planted Chard, and a few purple beans, but I really need to get the garden going. I want Beets this year, and I'm still looking for purple Potatoes. 

New this year is The Big Boat Natural Bath and Body! I started making bath bombes for Christmas and really enjoy it! I found a great little store in Hastings to consign with. The owner is a massage therapist and my new essential oil consultant. I REALLY can't stand artificial scents, so I won't use them. Instead I find the good essential oils smell better and may have a positive effect on the skin and soul. Now I'm experimenting with solid lotion bars, and I love them!


Ciao! and may your May be beautiful!


Kris

Fresh Raspberries

One of the cabins we've been lucky to visit this summer has a great raspberry patch. Every morning, the kids' first chore was to help Grandpa pick berries. A wet summer and recent sunny days made for a seriously over-productive berry patch.

Of course, being children, the berries didn't always make the trip from the garden to the house. They still reaped at least two gallons of berries a morning. I made two pies at the cabin, and one more after we came home.

It's a great way to start your day!

  Have a wonderful weekend!

 May the sun shine through your windows, and warm your heart with joy!

May your soul be filled by good memories and strong thoughts!

At the cabin

I wish I had more photos, or I wish I could get them off my camera... so more pics to come.

We're at the Cabin, on Serpent Lake in Minnesota. Like 10,000 other lakes, there is water, and fish, and sun. There are 5 cousins, ages 4-10 who are having a blast swimming all day! Two grandparents, now four parents, and two dogs. It's a beautiful time.

The raspberries are coming in, and while the kids are a GREAT help, they don't have the staying power that knowing the price of 1/2 pint of the dry red berries in a store. We picked two gallons today, and made two pies. Jam tomorrow!

The lake water is just the right temperature, and the days have been warm and sunny.

How is your summer?

Summer Fun!

One gift of Summer Vacation in the land of 10,000 lakes is the ritual summer cabin weekend. We are blessed to have lovely family who share their forest-backed, lake-front homes with us. It is so easy to relax and unwind when one steps out of the van to the green-ness of the Wisconsin woods. But, relax does not last long with kids and a lake around.

On your mark

Get set

GO!

Splashdown!

Yes, he's a lab

The Admiral's mobility assist dog, Guido, is a great Yellow Lab, who is a little cautious about going outside in the rain. The silly dog does not like wet grass. And Labs are supposed to like to swim! We took him on a trip to Big Elbow Lake, and discovered that he can swim!

He'd chase that silly dummy in the water for hours if someone would throw it for him.

He did have one little Quirk, if the dummy got dirty, he wanted some human to pick it up for him!

Searching for the Baby River

We went north last weekend, searching for the headwaters of the Mississippi. Lake Itasca is the Official Beginning of Old Man River. There is a fabulous state park there, and one short afternoon picnic and walk was just enough to convince us we'll be back.

The kids were enthralled by the little waterfall at the beginning of the stream that becomes the Big River. I think they walked and waded and stumbled across the river 15 times! J. was the best and the fastest.

The Admiral and I watched, I got my feet wet, but couldn't balance on the rocks.

Where are you going to explore this summer?

The Best Birthday GIft!

My father came to visit from his home in central Kansas, two or three gardening zones ahead of Minnesota. He's also got 3.5 acres and a lifetime of farming and gardening to draw upon. His contribution to my birthday dinner was 7 quarts of strawberries.

Fresh from his garden. Judging from this picture he took the morning he drove up, I don't think he'll miss those 7 quarts. There are more to come. My family thought that the fresh berries were almost as good as the fresh rhubarb crisp we made from our local spring fruit. J liked a bowl of berries with a little cream on top.

What's you favorite spring garden treat?

15 Days of Rain

Will do wonders for your garden, and your grass, and the weeds! The snow peas are about 4 feet tall, and blooming like crazy. I planted a yellow-podded variety. Pretty, I think.

In between the pea trellises are new cucumber plants, they are starting to bloom, even though they haven't gotten their vines yet.

Other things are doing great, mint, chives and cilantro. The basil is being slow. One potato plant is huge, the others are pretty small. and then there are the mystery plants. Did I plant them, did the kids plant them, what are they exactly?

Summer Vacation!

Summer Vacation started yesterday. I think we started off right, a trip to the Library and the Park!

The Library was packed with families, mostly younger kids, but lots more than normal. M and J used their own library cards and we came home with a very heavy bag of books. I need to dig out the wheeled backpack for my library bag. We even got started on the summer reading program. I love starting the summer with a pile of books!

There is a nice park just behind the library, and it was filled with kids as well. We went around the corner to another park, and had fun playing until it started raining

How is your summer starting?

I'm a Guest Greenie!

Come on over to Sweet Greens!  I'm the first Guest Greenie to post with Jeannie for a whole week! Today's post is all about Lasagna Gardening!

The Admiral

I may be piloting this big boat around, but I have a great Admiral! We visited his cousin's house on the lake for Memorial day. As the sun went down over the water a few of us got in the boat and did a few rounds on the tube.

It was a great evening, rounded out with S'Mores! What's your favorite campfire treat?

VIctoria Day

I got to visit my N for his Victoria Day holiday! What a joy to be escorted around Vancouver by such a fabulous host. Even if he did tend to ride off ahead once in a while!

This shot of the constantly moving tour guide is in Stanley Park, and on Victoria Day there were loads of people. People sitting, picnicking, walking, riding, skating, just enjoying the day outdoors.

Our favorite site was Capilano Suspension Bridge A really wonderous park just outside North Vancouver..
The trees were HUGE! Of course, this is coming from a girl living on the edge of the prairie, where trees are generally stunted. This coastal rain forest was a really vivid green that can't be captured on film, or in pixels.

This place rivals one of my all-time favorite destinations; Muir Woods. The trees in California are a little bigger, and the undergrowth a little thicker, but I loved the feeling of height here in Capilano. What is your favorite outdoor destination?

All that and a cup of tea

Chai, sweet, spicy, and way too often found in a hermetically sealed box.

This weekend my mother and I found a lovely tea shop near my favorite thrift store, Hidden Treasures.
Tea Source has two locations in the Saint Paul area. One on Cleavland near Ford Parkway, and one in Saint Anthony Village. Lovely shops, with more types of tea than you can imagine. I thought it smelled great, and enjoyed a cup of Pink Iced Tea with real hibiscus leaves. Karkaday for you who have been in the mid-east.

Note; These are not Hibiscus flowers, they are Azaleas, but they are pretty and they are pink, and I have no hibiscus blooming in my yard.

Mother had a nice cup of Chai, with a real cardamom and a much fuller spice flavor than one can get from a box. We found the secret: A separate spice mix, steeped in sweetened  condensed milk, to be added to the fine Assam black tea. We bought it, and what a great way to make tea! You won't burn the milk, and all the flavors are real!

Next challenge is my own spice mix. (Especially since I'm sending the Tea Source tins home with mom)
I know there will be cardamom in it, and probably ginger and cloves. What are your favorite tastes in tea?