More Bread

Two more loaves I just had to try. The loaf on the left I kneaded and the loaf on the right I just wanted! Budum tsk! 

That was Andy's joke yesterday. He thought he was pretty funny with that one! 

Anyway, the loaf on the left I hand-kneaded and the loaf on the right I used the mixer's dough hook. Pretty sure I'll be using the mixer from here on out. We haven't tasted it yet, but both girls were excited about it. Evan kept calling it "actual" bread. It looks really nice, but maybe it'll just deflate like the turkey in Christmas Vacation when I cut into it!  We'll have to wait for cinnamon toast to see how it tickles their taste buds. 

Longest worm ever!

Evan and Matilde insisted they take photos of the worms that came out to play last night. They were loving them!  The photo below was just one of the many pictures of worms I now have on my phone. :) 

Evan couldn't believe how long they were. Matilde wanted to feed them to the Donnas, but big sis wouldn't let her because these were too special. 

Pear Blossoms

So beautiful....

I don't remember blossoms last year.  This tree is quickly becoming my favorite. 🍐

And in she goes...

One more night with Adam. 

Strawberries, strawberries everywhere!

The strawberry plants are still growing wild and free both in the planter boxes and in the hanging planters. They all look like they will produce wonderful fruit. We just cannot wait!  Now our only concern is our main predator....Matilde! She gobbles them up every chance she gets. We'll have to keep a watchful eye on that little strawberry sneaker. 

Breeding like rabbits?

Three empty nesting boxes are not exactly what we had in mind when we started with this venture. Our rabbits aren't breeding the way we have heard that rabbits breed. It's frustrating, but we are hoping something happens soon. The does keep building up their nests, so we wait. 

Worms

We bought even more worms to add to our vermicompost bin. Luckily, red wriggler worms love rabbit poop and coffee grounds, so they should be in heaven in their new home right about now! 

Power Ranger Thursday!

The Red Rangers' visit to SWEL Preschool today was another fun experience!  I was able to explain to the children that there are chickens that lay eggs and chickens that we eat. Matilde blurted out, "We all had chicken for lunch today!" Perfectly timed!  It made it so much easier to explain after they all realized it was CHICKEN. We did have one request for an egg layer to visit, so Donna may be making a trip to the school next week. The kids were also able to feed the Power Ranger/Ghostbusters some chicken scratch. 

It's nice to share this fun part of our lives with Matilde's classmates. It really opens conversations with parents about the importance of knowing where their food is coming from, and the kids are really enjoying watching these birds grow!  

Seed Trays

These seed trays were a little different than those we have used in the past. They started as little disks. We added 10.5 cups warm water and they expanded upward. The soil is encased in a weird net sort of fabric. You tear it back to reveal the soil. 

We planted more than a few seeds to get our growing started!  We are a little late, but we do have some starts to be transplanted as soon as the beds are ready to go. Hopefully by this weekend. 

Still Growing

This lone plant is still growing strong!  It's from the salad mix that Andy dumped out in the box last fall. Matilde yanked the other plant that survived thinking it was a weed, but I was able to stop her before she pulled this one too! 

Pears!

I love this time of year!  I love the smell of the rain and watching all of the signs of new growth. It's a new beginning and it happens all on its own. 

Our pears are forming big buds and in a year or two those buds will be pears!  We are excited for our new planting season!  We will be planting in bulk this year. It seems to be the best idea for us. We took a look back at what we harvested and what didn't grow well and went from there. Safe to say pumpkins and melons are out!  Potatoes are in and they will have an entire box to themselves this season!  We will send more photos as we start planting!  

What are YOU planting? 

It doesn't take much...

This little plant sprouted in our boot scraper. It was a nice surprise to see this little bit of green reaching up through the muck. Weed or not, it doesn't take much for a seed to come to life. 

TIMBER!

There goes the rhodie! We needed to remove it in order to make room for the pea & bean trellis. I'm so glad it's gone. Those bushes are gigantic and they make me sneeze! 

Papa's little helper

Matilde helped Papa scoop out rabbit pellets to fill the feeders.  She is such a big help when it comes to her animals! 

It's Power Ranger Thursday!

Here is my weekly photo of the Red Ranger "Power Ranger-Ghostbuster" chickies. I don't know who enjoys the weekly preschool visits more. The teachers or the students! I didn't get a photo if them in the box, but that is my goal. So you can see just how big they are growing from one week to the next. 

Snacks

Here's Adam nibbling off a bit of carrot. He moved quickly, but I snapped it as best I could. 

Getting back on track.

The Donnas are laying again! 

Bartering for beef!

This was 2lbs of the tastiest, leanest ground beef we've had in a long, long time. One of Andy's work buddies recently slaughtered his cow and was selling his beef. Andy bought more than a few pounds and we hope to maybe present our rabbit meat for barter. 

Now, we just need to get these rabbits to breed like RABBITS!  We paired them up again over the weekend. Cross your fingers! 

What's up, Doc?

Rabbits really do love carrots!  It's not Bugs Bunny nonsense. It is a healthy and simple treat for rabbits and their people. :)

A video of my (other) girls.

My app will not allow for videos to be posted. :( You'll just have to settle for a picture instead. 

I couldn't pass this up!

It reminded me of our weathervane and the photo that got it all started! 

(Plus, this bird smells like a ripe strawberry field on dreamy June day.)

The Power Rangers, 3 wks old

We have been invited to share our Red Ranger broilers with Matilde's preschool class on a weekly basis. We dropped in with them last Thursday because we were so excited about having just purchased them hours before school started. The kids were excited to see, hear, hold, and smell them!  Matilde's teachers asked us to bring them every Thursday so the children can see how fast they are growing. Miss Amy said the kids are learning about living things right now, and it would be a perfect complement to their current curriculum. 

I just don't know how to handle not bringing them in after their 12 weeks are up!  Andy suggested a bowl of fried chicken!  Terrible!  

I love watching sweet little Tilly's reaction to her friends who have never seen live chickens. It is so normal for her to live with these animals that it didn't occur to her that others do not have chickens at home. A couple friends asked if they are the mommies that lay eggs and Tilly candidly replied, "No. These are the ones we eat."  

This is our normal. :) 

Green Onions

These puppies are really taking off!  They have been batted down by the hard rains lately, but they are growing pretty tall. 

Anyone notice Evan pulling weeds in the background?  I hadn't noticed that until I was ready to send it to all of you. What a big help that was! 

Harvesting the Rain

We have found that harvesting rain through barrels and buckets is the most efficient method of watering our farm animals. We collect the run off from the barn and fill the Power Rangers' water feeder through the spigot. The Donnas have water cups that fill from the same barrel when they peck at them. The rabbits have a self-watering bucket, but it is currently hooked up to a city water spigot. It has a mechanism that works like a toilet float and fills when it gets below a certain point. (I hope that's not a permanent solution...)

We hope to find a way to collect more runoff to recycle in the garden and to somehow water the lawn with our wasted bath water and dish water, but the waste from inside our home is a continuing discussion whereas the garden problem can be remedied in an afternoon of brainstorming. 

The amount of water wasted inside and outside a single family home is outrageous!  We're just attempting to make a difference on our tiny parcel. It's a bit of work for some things, but worth the savings in the end. 

If you have ideas, please share!  

Hard at work!

Martha Washington

aka Miss Piggy

Here she is. She was very curious when I opened up the hutch to photograph them. Lady Bird ran to the back of the cage and good ol' Mrs. Washington just about made a break for it!  They've been busy making and then immediately destroying their nests, so we aren't exactly sure if birth is approaching or not. The calendar says it should be anytime, but their actions tell a different story. 

An AZ Tomato

I love getting photos of what others are up to!  Here are a pair of photos of Aunt Laurie's tomato plant about a month or so apart. That plant is huge! I can't believe (well, I guess I can given your location) you have tomatoes growing in February! Way to go!!

What are YOU growing? Send me a pic! 

Feeding the flock

Alfalfa, Timothy hay, and chick starter. 

I think they'll all gobble it down. The grasses are for the rabbits. I thought if we mixed them together we may lose less of the yummy leaves from the alfalfa.

Ps- The bunnies are nesting!  It's only a matter of time before they are inundated with babies!