Gardening with Peter Pan and Rabbits ;)

Have you ever watched the movie "Captain Hook" starring Johnny Depp and Robin Williams? I love that movie! But then again just about anything with Johnny Depp or Robin Williams playing in it, is intriguing. In the movie, one of the "lost boys" ,now grown-up, is looking for his marbles.....a sweet and funny but, sad movie.

It's always been a "little joke" with my family that when I do nutty things, that I have a screw loose or I've lost me marbles! The same in turn, goes when I happen to "find" them.

Well lately I've felt like I have lost me marbles and I seem to be finding them......out in the yard/garden. Have you ever played marbles? I'm not sure if anyone does anymore. I remember playing with my brothers growing up, they loved playing against me because I couldn't get my "cat eyes" to go very far...I don't remember very much about the game except that I usually lost. And in turn I lost my marbles to the best player....
I'm really fascinated when I find them because...really where are they coming from?? No one but me travels these areas...;)
Well, that is.....except for rascally rabbits! I honestly believe I would be harvesting broccoli and kale by now! They mowed down my veggies to the top of the ground. All but one or two made it to grow back, but it's like starting from seed all over again.
I'm not one for sitting up waiting to catch a thief in the act, because all I'd be able to do is shoo it away ;) I lay awake (not being able to sleep) and thought of different ways to keep them out of my gardens....then I heard something tinkling softly outside.... eureka! wind chimes! I couldn't wait for daylight to arrive!


I have raised beds with corner and middle poles/2x2's, for support, doubling as (anything else I can think of to use them for) ;) In this case I used them for stringing up my wind chimes. I realize that some of you will wonder why I didn't just put up a fence around the border of the boxes...I thought of that, but I'm trying to be frugal here! ;) LOL!! I wanted to use something I already had and I didn't want to go out and buy.
Poor little plant :(

I actually even put up a small motion light that I had bought a year or so ago, so if the wind chimes don't work, hopefully the light will ;)
Things are trying to make a come back. We'll see what happens.

Take Care!

TTFN!

Julie

The Waiting Game

Have you ever thought about how much of our lives is spent on waiting? It can be a boring, uneventful time. It can be an exciting or happy time, or it can be a sad time. I don't like to look at waiting on anything as being boring or sad. If you just look at time at a different angle, waiting on it can be quite fun, challenging, kind and knowledgeable.

I spent some time yesterday waiting in a doctors office, I could have read, I brought a book and a magazine with me and the tables were filled with interesting reads. But instead, I chose to listen to my "waiting" neighbor sitting beside me. It's amazing how much you can learn from someone in just a few minutes, without even knowing their name you can understand the kind of person they are. Everyone has a story to tell, we just need someone to tell it to, someone that is willing to take a few minutes to just "listen". I usually sit and listen to peoples stories while waiting in a waiting room. I really enjoy hearing about other people and how their life has been while being here, after all we are only passing through, some believe.

I'm usually not a good listener unless I'm tied to a "waiting" room ;) My days are spent racing and hurrying about trying to get things done, to "live" life. I guess that's why I enjoy sitting still once in a while and just being there to listen. I once met a beautiful young lady, she was so angelic and thinking of her now brings tears to my eyes......we had been sitting and talking and waiting. She was called back to see the doctor and a little while later came out and sat beside me, she had just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time in her life. She was all alone and so very young, her family was living States away. I held her and we cried together, silently and dignified, in the "waiting" room filled with people. She needed someone and I'm thankful I was there. I got the opportunity to meet a very special person.

I also have special people and living creatures all around me on a daily basis, sometimes I just have to stop myself and take a look around to see and appreciate them. Not all of them are human, but I love and enjoy them just the same;)
"Waiting on a neighbor" ...he used to come out to see me when he'd hear me outside.....see that hole in the fence, well he's outgrown it now and his mommy and dad put a log up to it so he and his sister can't come back through or tear the fence any further. I love these two and we still see and visit on the other end of the yard, where it's safer for them. They had gotten so big that they were having a hard time getting back through the hole ;)
"Waiting on babies"
"Waiting on a new home"
"Waiting to grow up"

"Waiting for dry land"
"Waiting on the strength to make it back home"
"Waiting on the next phase of life"
"Waiting for things to be over" ;)
"Waiting on family to come home safely"

"Waiting on good food to eat"

"Waiting on winter to be over" ;)
What are you waiting on? Are you making the best of your "waiting" time? Are you "living" and loving how you live? I hope so, I hope all of you are enjoying life to it's fullest! We were given this opportunity for a reason......Let's make the best of it!

TTFN!

Julie

Hawks

Can you see him/her? It's a youngster......just sitting, looking, thinking, scoping.....such an awesome creature.
If you click on the picture you should be able to get a closer look. It sat and let me take pics.

About a week after taking the above pictures my husband and I came home and drove up to the chicken pen to unload feed. My heart sank when I looked over and saw this hawk in the pen! Feathers were everywhere and I just knew it had killed my last little banny hen. But, to my relief it had caught and killed a dove. My pen fills with birds in the mornings and evenings with all sorts of birds. They come in to eat with the chickens. I didn't have my camera so I took the below pictures with my cell phone...a horrible substitute.
I tried to catch it, I do NOT recommend anyone to ever do this! I had something to throw over it but it's beak and tines tore right through into my hand. I let it calm down and blocked the door so the chickens wouldn't get out but was able to coax the hawk out the door. To this day we have no idea how it got in.

A beautiful bird! An awesome bird! It was so sweet to be so close to it.Hawks are protected, so please don't kill them, after all, we for the most part are in their territory and they are predatory animals. They don't kill for the fun of it...just for survival.

Until next time!

TTFN!!!

Julie

Gobblin' Gobblers

School is out this week in most places, so if you have children at home and nothing for them to do, here is something everyone can enjoy making and eating!You will need: Old Fashioned Creme Drops (Bon-Bons) or you could use Chocolate covered cherries, striped cookies, candy corn or Indian corn and chocolate frosting.
I give everyone their own plate with a dab of frosting and a spreader so there's no fussing or waiting turns.

Take a cookie and turn the striped side down for the base. Dab a small bit of frosting on over the hole and place a bon-bon over it.

Next put two little dots of frosting on the bon-bon front and back. Place a cookie striped side to the bon-bon then put a piece of candy/Indian corn to the front, and there you have your little Gobbler!

These are so cute and extremely easy to make! My sons made these every year for Thanksgiving when they were little.

These Little Gobblers decorate the table, are fun to make and eat!
HaPpY ThAnKsGiViNg!!!!

GOBBLE, GOBBLE!

TTFN!

Until Next Time!

Julie

Rooster Spur Removal

For months now I've had a dilemma. I have a rooster that I really like, he's kind to the hens and he was good daddy roo to the few eggs that made it to hatching over the spring. However, he had spurs that eventually killed one of his favorite hens. I didn't know that she was wounded or hurt in any way. I only have one hen that will come up to me and let me pick her up and that still has to be her choice. I don't have a habit of chasing them down to pick them up for examination, UNLESS they give me reason to do so, ex. limping, or just acting lethargic....at any rate, they just haven't warranted that to happen. The evening before she let me know something was wrong I was in the pen with them feeding them, they were all around me and she seemed fine. The next morning is when I saw her lying alone and she let me pick her up, that's when I knew something was wrong with her, but by then it was too late. Upon examination I saw where her thigh had been cut (by a spur) it had healed but it was a nasty scar, still sore to the touch. I waited till dark and put Domonique (my roo) in a pen to himself. I didn't know what to do, I had thought about putting him in the freezer, but it's still so hot. My husband doesn't like *putting things in the freezer* when it's so very hot outside. I don't blame him......at any rate, I would let Domonique out for about an hour each evening to be with the rest of the flock, after all it wasn't his fault he lost his favorite girl, he didn't know he hurt her. So over the next few weeks I started feeling sorry for him and looked for an alternative way to deal with the problem. There isn't much on the net about spurs, I found a few about cutting them but you have to be careful of infection or cutting them to close to the quick. A spur is a lot like a finger nail. I did find two videos on youtube about removing the spur completely but temporarily. That's what I wanted to do!Here they are! My husband removed them while I held the roo. It was sooo simple, easy and no harm to him at all! He didn't even flinch! I videoed the last one being removed but it won't download on to my blog :(
It was a little blood but not much at all. I dabbed some purple violet antiseptic on each spur and put him back in his pen for the night.

How we did it:

He was already in a pen, which I highly recommend (it reduces his stress) (and yours);)

One person can do this but two makes it easier. Hold him with both feet in one hand (if you're alone)

Take a pair of pliers and gently place them around the spur. Twist firmly, but gently, ever so slightly back and forth. This shouldn't take but maybe two to three slight twists back and forth. You'll feel a *give* then finish with the twist. It comes off so easy! I was so thankful! Now I get to keep my roo!
Be sure to keep him separated for a day or two because the spurs are very tender. You'll even notice him stepping softly ;) Almost like having real long finger or toenails then having them cut real short.
He's fine...grooming himself ;) I let him go back with the girls the next afternoon, after checking his spurs and making sure he was healing okay. Now that I know how to do this properly and pain free, (for me as well) ;) I'll be able to it again, without worry.

Until next time!

TTFN!

Julie

Do You See What I See?

I went out this morning to look the yard over before I cut the grass, but I was quickly sidetracked ;) Beauty and serenity engulfed me. I posted on my other blog (Buzzinhoneybeez) about the honeybees and bumble bees I found on the grass blooms and wanted to post these other beauties on this blog.

I was lying in the grass taking pictures of the bees when this little creature caught my eye. Can you see it?

When I was a youngster we called them "Walking sticks" I remember being so scared of these things....we were told that "they will spit in your eye and blind you!" I used to be petrified of them, our "Praying mantis", one of our most beneficial creatures of the garden!

I don't know if our "elders" meant for us to be so afraid of them that we would just leave them alone or if they themselves believed their "tall tales". I do know that a lot of "kids" were so afraid of them that they would kill them. I get a bit flustered at parents or adults that don't take the time to learn about the things in this world that we "need". Nature is so off balance because of our "lack of knowledge. So many of us just take for granted that what someone tells us is the truth. It's sad because if we believe them we become part of the lie.

I am so thankful that I had sons to teach....but more than not, they taught me. They taught me that life/nature isn't so scary. They taught me to read up on the things I just knew would kill them if they touched it! ;) They taught me that I need/have to go outside with them to make sure what they find/get into won't harm them ;) And in turn I learned that outside is a wonderful place to "bee".

We have become an inside generation......computers, TV, games......no one gets outside to explore life any more. We need to educate our kids and be educated by them! Get them outside....AND don't be afraid of a little bug! Read up on it...you'll "bee" surprised at what you learn! ;)

Have you learned from a child today????

TTFN!

Julie

Crockin' Peanuts

I found a great way to cook peanuts, thanks to an idea from a friend. I'm sure there's a recipe out there on the internet some where but I didn't want to sit to look. I tend to get side tracked and never end up looking for what I started out for anyway.
I bought peanuts for a super good price yesterday and wanted to try them in the crock pot and I will never fix them any other way! These are so good and not to mention the easiest way ever!I wanted to try different flavors so I divided them up. Just enough for about four to eight people. I rinsed them well, although they weren't really dirty or sandy. Poured them into my crock pot, put in enough water to cover them (they float so don't try to literally "cover" them) ;)
I added my spices, turned on high and left them for the day. They were perfect! I sampled them from time to time so they wouldn't get to soggy. Be careful and don't add to much salt, especially if you use spices. For some reason I didn't use near the salt I have to use cooking them on the stove.
The first batch I used McCormick Roasted Garlic and Herb spice mix. I love this stuff. When I'm in a pinch and don't have time to run out and clip from my fresh herbs this is the next best. I've used this in my homemade cheese too and it's awesome!

These peanuts are huge! I have small hands but even at that, they are big.
I can't tell you exactly how much spice I put in because I rarely measure, but if I had to say...it would be about 1/8 of a cup. Salt in this was probably 1/4 tablespoon.

Use your imagination, if you like to cook, explore with your ideas. Peanuts are good cooked with different spices and flavors.....

Try them and let me know what flavors you come up with and how they taste.

The batch I have in now is with red pepper flakes and powder.

TTFN!

Julie