Our strawberry plants went wild last year. I didn't know how wild until I started digging them up.
It all started Saturday morning when I heard my hubby get up, get dressed and fire up the truck. I was still asleep because I had stayed up late blogging the night before. Please note that my last blog entry was written past midnight. And on a laptop. So that is why all the non-capitilization and why its a bit hard to read.
Anyway, I heard him fire up the truck and knew he was going to rent a rototiller that we had discussed a few weeks back. I hurried and got dressed. He got home and started the rototiller up. I hurriedly rescued some onions that had come up from last year. Then I started on my strawberry patch.
Last year we started out with 49 plants. 25 bare root Quinalt ever bearing strawberries and 24 Fort Laramie plants that we got at a greenhouse shop for a great price. For a couple of reasons I let them run last year. Meaning I let them make as many new plants by sending runners that they could. I was hoping to end up with about 100 plants or so.
As I dug plants up I realized that I had way more than 100 plants. I introduced the idea of selling the plants $5 for 25 plants on Craigslist. Hubby liked the idea and I posted on Craigslist that I had around 200 plants or so to sell.
My first call was for 25 plants and my second call was for as many as I could dig up. By the time the 2nd lady came I had counted out 260 plants. She was in a hurry so couldn't wait for me to count out any more.
I realized I had a lot more still to get rid of at this point so posted again on Craigslist.
A couple came by for 50 more and then a weird guy came by for 100.
I again realized I still had tons and so asked for it to be announced in Relief Society that I had 200 or so plants to get rid of. One lady took 100, another lady took 50. Then another call from the Craigslist ad for 25 and then another lady took the rest (89).
I kept 225 plants. I hadn't intended to keep so many but hubby built me some large garden boxes and according to the square foot gardening guy its 4 plants per square foot.
Anyway, did you do the math? Its about 900 plants or so. And considering the fact that I didn't count plants that were struggling, and I also included 5 or so extra plants with each order (to ensure that people got at least the amount of healthy plants they wanted).... well the numbers are huge.
From 50 plants to over 900. Who would have guessed?
I made $90 from my Craigslist ad. I didn't charge for the ones I gave to family and friends from church.
This will help us pay for some plants for the garden! I'm even thinking about doing this again. I just have to find the right location. And a loose soil would be a plus since they would be easier to dig up. The initial investment would be buying 50 or so plants. That would run me about $12 or so. So A neat profit without much care besides remembering to water the plants. And a bonus of strawberries!
For some reason I'm full of money making ideas right now. The other thought I have is about getting a rooster. Then my chicken eggs are fertile. Then I buy/borrow another silkie (very broody birds) and keep them busy raising chicks for me. But this idea fails because of the cost of feeding those chickens. But people around here are willing to spend $5-$7 per laying bird. And I could just sell the eggs for ~ 2.50 per dozen before they are sold. But you also have the smell. And we would need a bigger hen house. I also wouldn't want more than 25 birds at a time. So don't know if this one will ever happen.
It sure is fun to come up with all of these ideas.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Projects
Oh the projects that we have committed to right now. Thinking about them makes me tired, but not stressed. That's a good thing. Last year I spent about 4 months stressed out due to trying to put a lawn in, landscaping, and having an outside wedding next door. Helping my parents get their yard ready was stressful. they did most of the work, but I helped out a bunch in the weeding, planting, ideas department. Don't think that is much? You try and dig out bulbs that haven't been dug up and seperated for at least 7-10 years. I ended up with hundreds and hundreds. And I didn't get them all. We ended up with a nice crop still coming up this year. that is ok though. the plan all along was to dig them up (they were so thick that weeding and making the bed look nice was nearly impossible) and putting a normal amount back in this year. The problem was that after all that stress and hard work that when the time came to put them back in we were too tired.
Fast forward to about a week ago. We were talking about the yard and Dad says something to the affect of we need to put those bulbs in soon. they've sprouted because of the leaky roof in the garage. So we pulled out the boxes of bulbs and sure enough they were happily sprouting in their boxes. There were some gross and slimey ones that we couldn't save. But most were just fine. We ended up giving about half of them away on Craigslist. The other half we planted in an out of the way flower bed that is still sort of a holding place until they get back from their mission (leaving in 6 weeks!) and can figure out where they want them.
Anyway, projects. I've decided that we don't really have the money to buy new furniture that is needed. Our old stuff is truly wearing out. We have worn holes in the fabric. So we went over to our local craft store with our handy dandy 50% off coupon and spent about $350 for fabric. 25 yards of it. Cross your fingers for me. The nice thing about this project is that it will keep until I have a lot of time to devote to it. That is why it isn't really stressing me out.
Next project. Screen doors. We need these for bug control. Last year the flies were horrible. This year we decided we had enough money to buy screen doors. Front and back door idealy since the kids are so young and love to leave the door open. We went to Lowes and found that they had reasonably priced screen doors. We were even able to special order one in a matching color for our front door for a small fee. The back door is just going to get plain white.
Next project. We bought and planted 4 fruit trees. this project is ongoing. We still need to buy those tree rounds to put at the bottom of them. But this project is pretty much done. Just needs to be finished up. You may say this isn't a project, but planting trees takes an hour or two if you do it right. So that is a project in my book.
Next project is the garden. We are going for a modified square foot gardening thing. We love so many things about the square foot gardening method. First of all, very few weeds. Last year we were overtaken by weeds by early July. With all the stuff to do for the wedding I gave up around mid July. I just couldn't stay on top of it. Hubby has built boxes. These boxes will have plastic sheeting on the bottom to keep out existing weeds like the dreaded bindweed we have so much of around here.
The dirt you use is actually considered a "soiless" mixture. Basically its equal parts vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. The only maintanence on this soil since it is so loose is to mix in more compost each year to enrich the soil.
I was skeptical but Mom and Dad did this last year. Their plants were beautiful. they grew faster than mine and looked nice and healthy. Best thing? VERY FEW WEEDS! Dad said that most of the weeds were due to the type of compost he used. Another thing we plan on doing is putting something, probably weed barrier if we can afford it, down between the grow boxes. This will keep the weeding to a minimum. HALLELUJAH!
We will have to continue to weed the yellow raspberry plants. that is pretty much unavoidable due to the nature of raspberries and how you want the plants to send up new starts.
The last project that I'm trying to avoid thinking about is Mom and Dad's yard. They will be leaving in about 6 weeks. That leaves us to take care of their lawn. And the grapes. And the fruit trees. And the blackberries and raspberries. And any other things my Mom thinks she needs to plant before they leave like golden raspberries.
I'm not all that stressed because I'm trying to think positively. If we get overwhelmed, I do have 4 other siblings and their families who have offered to help out. And Mom and Dad and us have discussed the possibility of hiring someone from church to help out for an hour each week or something along those lines. We are going to try to do it ourselves first. Hubby wants to do that. But I will be asking for help from the family when I feel it's needed.
Last project. Collect and organize food storage for one year. We've really been working on this lately because of the price of food going up up up. We've got our wheat and a lot of other stuff. We found a food storage calculator on about.com and modified it to fit what our family eats regularly. We don't want to store food we don't eat regularly because then it would go to waste.
We've also added things to our list such as toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant cocoa powder, things that I wouldn't want to live a year without if something were to happen or if we got into a financial bind.
So those are our projects. Overall, I'm not feeling stressed. I feel like we have time. Most of the projects can be put off until we have time to accomplish them. the only one that can't be put off is Mom and Dad's yard. I feel very positively about that though. They are going on a mission. Their house and yard will be taken care of. I just have a good feeling about it.
I am going to miss having Mom to go chat with and Dad to bounce ideas off of. I've really been spoiled by that. The kids love going to grandma's for the toys and treats. I guess we'll live though.
Fast forward to about a week ago. We were talking about the yard and Dad says something to the affect of we need to put those bulbs in soon. they've sprouted because of the leaky roof in the garage. So we pulled out the boxes of bulbs and sure enough they were happily sprouting in their boxes. There were some gross and slimey ones that we couldn't save. But most were just fine. We ended up giving about half of them away on Craigslist. The other half we planted in an out of the way flower bed that is still sort of a holding place until they get back from their mission (leaving in 6 weeks!) and can figure out where they want them.
Anyway, projects. I've decided that we don't really have the money to buy new furniture that is needed. Our old stuff is truly wearing out. We have worn holes in the fabric. So we went over to our local craft store with our handy dandy 50% off coupon and spent about $350 for fabric. 25 yards of it. Cross your fingers for me. The nice thing about this project is that it will keep until I have a lot of time to devote to it. That is why it isn't really stressing me out.
Next project. Screen doors. We need these for bug control. Last year the flies were horrible. This year we decided we had enough money to buy screen doors. Front and back door idealy since the kids are so young and love to leave the door open. We went to Lowes and found that they had reasonably priced screen doors. We were even able to special order one in a matching color for our front door for a small fee. The back door is just going to get plain white.
Next project. We bought and planted 4 fruit trees. this project is ongoing. We still need to buy those tree rounds to put at the bottom of them. But this project is pretty much done. Just needs to be finished up. You may say this isn't a project, but planting trees takes an hour or two if you do it right. So that is a project in my book.
Next project is the garden. We are going for a modified square foot gardening thing. We love so many things about the square foot gardening method. First of all, very few weeds. Last year we were overtaken by weeds by early July. With all the stuff to do for the wedding I gave up around mid July. I just couldn't stay on top of it. Hubby has built boxes. These boxes will have plastic sheeting on the bottom to keep out existing weeds like the dreaded bindweed we have so much of around here.
The dirt you use is actually considered a "soiless" mixture. Basically its equal parts vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. The only maintanence on this soil since it is so loose is to mix in more compost each year to enrich the soil.
I was skeptical but Mom and Dad did this last year. Their plants were beautiful. they grew faster than mine and looked nice and healthy. Best thing? VERY FEW WEEDS! Dad said that most of the weeds were due to the type of compost he used. Another thing we plan on doing is putting something, probably weed barrier if we can afford it, down between the grow boxes. This will keep the weeding to a minimum. HALLELUJAH!
We will have to continue to weed the yellow raspberry plants. that is pretty much unavoidable due to the nature of raspberries and how you want the plants to send up new starts.
The last project that I'm trying to avoid thinking about is Mom and Dad's yard. They will be leaving in about 6 weeks. That leaves us to take care of their lawn. And the grapes. And the fruit trees. And the blackberries and raspberries. And any other things my Mom thinks she needs to plant before they leave like golden raspberries.
I'm not all that stressed because I'm trying to think positively. If we get overwhelmed, I do have 4 other siblings and their families who have offered to help out. And Mom and Dad and us have discussed the possibility of hiring someone from church to help out for an hour each week or something along those lines. We are going to try to do it ourselves first. Hubby wants to do that. But I will be asking for help from the family when I feel it's needed.
Last project. Collect and organize food storage for one year. We've really been working on this lately because of the price of food going up up up. We've got our wheat and a lot of other stuff. We found a food storage calculator on about.com and modified it to fit what our family eats regularly. We don't want to store food we don't eat regularly because then it would go to waste.
We've also added things to our list such as toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant cocoa powder, things that I wouldn't want to live a year without if something were to happen or if we got into a financial bind.
So those are our projects. Overall, I'm not feeling stressed. I feel like we have time. Most of the projects can be put off until we have time to accomplish them. the only one that can't be put off is Mom and Dad's yard. I feel very positively about that though. They are going on a mission. Their house and yard will be taken care of. I just have a good feeling about it.
I am going to miss having Mom to go chat with and Dad to bounce ideas off of. I've really been spoiled by that. The kids love going to grandma's for the toys and treats. I guess we'll live though.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
New baby, new trees, spring is here!
My sister had her baby earlier this week. Mom flew out to Michigan to help her out. From the pictures I've seen and the webcam, she looks like such a cutie! She might have red hair like her mother and she has rolls of fat. Her birth weight was 9lbs 1/2 oz. And my little sis did it naturally. Not by choice, in the end she wanted the drugs. But She made it through it and everyone is healthy.
We have had a busy day. We started the morning with a Ward breakfast and Easter egg hunt. That was fun and the kids loved it. Needless to say we've been eating to much candy.
Next we came home and relaxed for a little bit. Then Hubby went over to help with changing some brake pads, (he's never done). My Dad and hubby get along well and Dad loves to teach my hubby all sorts of new skills. My hubby really appreciates it as well. He didn't have to many of these sorts of opportunities growing up.
After than hubby went and (after a short course of how to use it) used a chain saw to chop a bunch of wood we got cheap. He had to get it down to a size that would fit our fireplace. Then I guess he stacked it.
While he was doing this I was keeping my Dad and sister company while they changed the oil in their cars. The kids were playing with a neighbors grandson. They traipsed all over our yard and Grandpa's.
We stopped for a nutritious lunch of cereal and milk. Then we relaxed some more and then we decided to plant 4 fruit trees that we bought a few weeks ago. We just finished that. Now hubby is asking about dinner and we are all tired!!!
Oh, and we also put the sheep in with the goats. Dad's pasture had much more grass than ours and we hopefully will save some money on alfalfa by the sheep eating more grass.
So yesterday Hubby called me from work and said that a co-worker whom he had chatted with about chickens had brought in a blue/green egg for him. The co-worker has a rooster. So the first thought I had was, bring that egg home and put it under our broody chicken.
Yeah, this means we have a 50/50 chance of a rooster. Also, we really don't know the breed of chicken. Easter egger, americauna, auracana? Also, it was refrigerated. The hatch rate goes down to 50%.
Oh well. If nothing happens, I can still buy some chicks and slip them under the chicken. She is so cute in her broodiness. She just sits on that nest and stares ahead. That would drive me nutty. But this little chicken is determined.
So hopefully we'll have news on that in the next 20 days or so.
We have had a busy day. We started the morning with a Ward breakfast and Easter egg hunt. That was fun and the kids loved it. Needless to say we've been eating to much candy.
Next we came home and relaxed for a little bit. Then Hubby went over to help with changing some brake pads, (he's never done). My Dad and hubby get along well and Dad loves to teach my hubby all sorts of new skills. My hubby really appreciates it as well. He didn't have to many of these sorts of opportunities growing up.
After than hubby went and (after a short course of how to use it) used a chain saw to chop a bunch of wood we got cheap. He had to get it down to a size that would fit our fireplace. Then I guess he stacked it.
While he was doing this I was keeping my Dad and sister company while they changed the oil in their cars. The kids were playing with a neighbors grandson. They traipsed all over our yard and Grandpa's.
We stopped for a nutritious lunch of cereal and milk. Then we relaxed some more and then we decided to plant 4 fruit trees that we bought a few weeks ago. We just finished that. Now hubby is asking about dinner and we are all tired!!!
Oh, and we also put the sheep in with the goats. Dad's pasture had much more grass than ours and we hopefully will save some money on alfalfa by the sheep eating more grass.
So yesterday Hubby called me from work and said that a co-worker whom he had chatted with about chickens had brought in a blue/green egg for him. The co-worker has a rooster. So the first thought I had was, bring that egg home and put it under our broody chicken.
Yeah, this means we have a 50/50 chance of a rooster. Also, we really don't know the breed of chicken. Easter egger, americauna, auracana? Also, it was refrigerated. The hatch rate goes down to 50%.
Oh well. If nothing happens, I can still buy some chicks and slip them under the chicken. She is so cute in her broodiness. She just sits on that nest and stares ahead. That would drive me nutty. But this little chicken is determined.
So hopefully we'll have news on that in the next 20 days or so.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Broody Hen
We have a broody hen! I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. The weather has been very spring-like around here. Also, the broody chicken is a black silkie. I've heard that not only are they the broodiest chickens out there, they also easily adopt other chickens chicks to raise. So a good combo!
Saturday morning I found the silkie in the nesting box sitting on her egg. I pushed her around and grabbed the egg. When I looked out at the run later she was running around and scratching like the other chickens. Sunday she showed no signs. Monday she laid another egg, but this time just left it in the box as usual.
Later I found her sitting on a Rhode Island Red egg. I grabbed a golf ball from hubby's stash (don't cringe, it was scuffed, so not very desirable anymore) and swapped an egg for a golf ball. I'm going to head out there this morning and check on things again.
Strangest thing though, yesterday she tried to peck me. This has been the most docile of my chickens. I actually caught and picked her up once! So I'm not afraid to pick her up as much as the others. Now though, I'm considering gloves! Anyway, I just thought it was funny that such a docile chicken was all of a sudden so protective and wanting to be a mother. She's only been laying off and on since December if memory serves me correctly.
Anyway I hope to be able to get some chicks in the next week or so. I'm going to have to get her off the nest somehow and then swap the golf balls out. I've got to get her to graduate to 3-4 golf balls. Then I'm going to pick up 2-3 Rhode Island Reds and an Easter Egger (blue/green eggs).
Speaking of babies... my sister in Michigan is in the hospital this morning being induced with her 2nd child. At the doctor yesterday they did and ultrasound because they thought my sister was measuring bigger than her due date. After the ultrasound, they estimated the baby's weight at 9+ pounds. This freaked my sister out. As it would most mothers!
Anyway, my thoughts are with her this morning. I'm sure she'll do just fine. She had her first baby naturally and I know she will do just fine with this one.
Saturday morning I found the silkie in the nesting box sitting on her egg. I pushed her around and grabbed the egg. When I looked out at the run later she was running around and scratching like the other chickens. Sunday she showed no signs. Monday she laid another egg, but this time just left it in the box as usual.
Later I found her sitting on a Rhode Island Red egg. I grabbed a golf ball from hubby's stash (don't cringe, it was scuffed, so not very desirable anymore) and swapped an egg for a golf ball. I'm going to head out there this morning and check on things again.
Strangest thing though, yesterday she tried to peck me. This has been the most docile of my chickens. I actually caught and picked her up once! So I'm not afraid to pick her up as much as the others. Now though, I'm considering gloves! Anyway, I just thought it was funny that such a docile chicken was all of a sudden so protective and wanting to be a mother. She's only been laying off and on since December if memory serves me correctly.
Anyway I hope to be able to get some chicks in the next week or so. I'm going to have to get her off the nest somehow and then swap the golf balls out. I've got to get her to graduate to 3-4 golf balls. Then I'm going to pick up 2-3 Rhode Island Reds and an Easter Egger (blue/green eggs).
Speaking of babies... my sister in Michigan is in the hospital this morning being induced with her 2nd child. At the doctor yesterday they did and ultrasound because they thought my sister was measuring bigger than her due date. After the ultrasound, they estimated the baby's weight at 9+ pounds. This freaked my sister out. As it would most mothers!
Anyway, my thoughts are with her this morning. I'm sure she'll do just fine. She had her first baby naturally and I know she will do just fine with this one.
pattern corrected
Just wanted to say that I've corrected and cleaned up the pattern that I posted for my church bags yesterday. I must have been in a hurry because when I reread it this morning it was missing all sorts of basic instructions and the handle instructions were wrong.
If anyone has any questions about the patterns, as them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.
If anyone has any questions about the patterns, as them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Crochet pattern for small church bag in previous posts
I just don't want to lose this pattern I made up. Right now its on a random post it.
For anyone who wants to use this pattern - I made these out of 100% wool yarn that I spun myself. (If you don't spin, you can buy 100% wool yarn. MUST be 100%) Then I threw them in the washer (in pillowcases) and filled the tub with hot/warm water. I set the agitation to Heavy duty. Then I turned the washer on and with the lid open let it go through the agitation cycle twice, checking the bags every so often. You leave the lid open so the washer doesn't drain. That would be an awful waste of water if you had to refill the washer.
This is called felting. Basically it shrinks the wool yarn and makes the bag look totally different. Sometimes you can no longer even see the stitches.
Bottom
CH 30 Turn and sc 7 rows.
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Long side
CH 8
SC 31 rows (ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Big fat side
ch 31 dc 15 rows.
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Handle
sl stitch 3 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 22 rows of sc.
sl stitch (3 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For my larger church bag
Bottom
ch 30 sc 52 rows
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Side
ch 31
dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
other side
ch 45 dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
handle
sl stitch 5 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 36 rows of sc.
sl stitch (5 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For anyone who wants to use this pattern - I made these out of 100% wool yarn that I spun myself. (If you don't spin, you can buy 100% wool yarn. MUST be 100%) Then I threw them in the washer (in pillowcases) and filled the tub with hot/warm water. I set the agitation to Heavy duty. Then I turned the washer on and with the lid open let it go through the agitation cycle twice, checking the bags every so often. You leave the lid open so the washer doesn't drain. That would be an awful waste of water if you had to refill the washer.
This is called felting. Basically it shrinks the wool yarn and makes the bag look totally different. Sometimes you can no longer even see the stitches.
Bottom
CH 30 Turn and sc 7 rows.
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Long side
CH 8
SC 31 rows (ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Big fat side
ch 31 dc 15 rows.
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Handle
sl stitch 3 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 22 rows of sc.
sl stitch (3 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For my larger church bag
Bottom
ch 30 sc 52 rows
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Side
ch 31
dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
other side
ch 45 dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
handle
sl stitch 5 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 36 rows of sc.
sl stitch (5 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
Friday, March 07, 2008
I'm afraid of chickens
Yes its true. Chickens can frighten me.
Now I'm not afraid of eating chicken. I'm not afraid of their eggs. I'm not afraid of the animal themselves.
What I'm afraid of is when they get out. How are you supposed to catch them?
So there it is. I'm afraid of my chickens when they get out.
Today I was talking on the phone to my sister in Michigan. I was a little late in feeding the animals. I usually feed them around 10 and It was about quarter after. The kids had wanted to play outside and so after getting socks, shoes and a jacket on, I let them. I was wandering around the house as my sister and I talked. I was sitting at the computer when C brought me an egg. Look Mom! I got the eggs! And I fed the sheep.
Well I went to look out the back door to make sure all was ok. The sight that greeted me was a door to the coop open and 3 chickens on their way out. It was kind of cute. A had opened the door to be like her sister. She was watching and dancing around in glee with all of the animals around her. I asked C to close the door and she headed out. She brought me another egg, but the door wasn't closed. She couldn't latch it.
Anyway, that was our morning. It was kind of fun to chase chickens. It brought back the memory of a story mom told about getting in trouble for chasing chickens when she was young. They make funny noises and run around crazily.
I might have to let them out now and again just for the show.
Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of trying to catch them :)
by the way, the way we were able to re-catch them was by leaving the big coop door open (the one we use to access the hen house for cleaning) . I simply herded them that way. When they saw home, they hopped right in and proceeded to eat the breakfast I had prepared for them.
I was just checking on them again and one hen is trying to lay her morning egg.
From what I've heard, we might see an interruption in the egg laying for the next week or so. Thats ok. The entertainment was worth it.
Now I'm not afraid of eating chicken. I'm not afraid of their eggs. I'm not afraid of the animal themselves.
What I'm afraid of is when they get out. How are you supposed to catch them?
So there it is. I'm afraid of my chickens when they get out.
Today I was talking on the phone to my sister in Michigan. I was a little late in feeding the animals. I usually feed them around 10 and It was about quarter after. The kids had wanted to play outside and so after getting socks, shoes and a jacket on, I let them. I was wandering around the house as my sister and I talked. I was sitting at the computer when C brought me an egg. Look Mom! I got the eggs! And I fed the sheep.
Well I went to look out the back door to make sure all was ok. The sight that greeted me was a door to the coop open and 3 chickens on their way out. It was kind of cute. A had opened the door to be like her sister. She was watching and dancing around in glee with all of the animals around her. I asked C to close the door and she headed out. She brought me another egg, but the door wasn't closed. She couldn't latch it.
Anyway, that was our morning. It was kind of fun to chase chickens. It brought back the memory of a story mom told about getting in trouble for chasing chickens when she was young. They make funny noises and run around crazily.
I might have to let them out now and again just for the show.
Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of trying to catch them :)
by the way, the way we were able to re-catch them was by leaving the big coop door open (the one we use to access the hen house for cleaning) . I simply herded them that way. When they saw home, they hopped right in and proceeded to eat the breakfast I had prepared for them.
I was just checking on them again and one hen is trying to lay her morning egg.
From what I've heard, we might see an interruption in the egg laying for the next week or so. Thats ok. The entertainment was worth it.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Japanese Anime
So when I think of Japanese Anime, I've always thought it was wierd little cartoon like shows. Not really my cup of tea.
The other day I found out that a book I quite enjoyed, "Howl's Moving Castle" had been made into one. I thought that sounded great!
...until I watched it. It was awful in my opinion. If you hadn't read the book you would probably like it. But It was so far from the book...in fact they changed the whole story. At the end they had changed so much that it was pretty much a different story altogether.
But the person who told me about "Howl's moving castle" had also recommended 2 other anime's. "Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away".
"Castle in the Sky" awful. I couldn't get into it.
"Spirited Away" on the other hand caught my interest. It was interesting, imaginative and fun. It starts out with a family and their child moving to a new place. They get lost on the way their and find a building with a tunnel going through it. They go through the tunnel in a spirit of exploration and find themselves spirited away to another place altogether. They are trapped and the parents are turned into pigs before they realize it. The story is how the child is able to become strong and courageous and save them all.
So I searched YouTube for more.
I found "My Friend Tortoro" Yet another one I enjoyed. The story of another family moving to a new place. This time without the mother (in the hospital) and 2 daughters with their father. The 2 daughters befriend a forest spirit named Tortoro. It is fun and light and enjoyable. The Mother in the hospital storyline for the most part is ok. The girls are just sad not having their mother with them.
Now for "Grave of the Fireflies". A very interesting storyline. When I think of anime, I think if imagination, lightness. A cartoon for goodness sake. This show is the most depressing show ever. Everyone dies. The Mother, Son, daughter. And not all at the same time. One and then the other, and finally the other one. Sad and depressing. But if you don't mind a good cry, watch it. WWII and the mother dies in a bombing leaving the son to care for the 4 year old daughter. He does all he can but she manages to die of malnutrition. HE then follows from depression, malnutrition, etc.
This show did however make me very thankful for certain things in my life. For one thing I am grateful that I have enough food on my table. My husband has a good job and we are able to save money.
Also, I'm grateful that we have not had to endure a war here at home. Can you imagine air raids in the middle of the night. Every night. Food Scarce, people scared and stressed out.
I just want to say how thankful I am that I and my family live at this time. In a place where there is peace and we are free to buy food at the corner supermarket and grow more in our back yard.
Anyway- on to less depressing subjects.
Yesterday hubby and I were able to go down to the local Lowes and buy nice bareroot fruit trees. They were selling all sorts of trees. From fruit to landscaping trees. If you need trees, buy now. Priced from $15 - $30 they are going fast.
We bought 2 Honey crisp apple trees. Sweet and delicious apples for eating. We had intended to only get one, but it needed another to pollinate it.
We also bought a nectarine and a peach tree. We are still talking about where to put them. The nice thing is that we don't have to decide for sure until it gets a bit warmer. The trees are nice and dormant and we probably have another month until they have to get into the ground.
So this makes 50 strawberry plants, 20 golden raspberry plants, 1 huckleberry, 2 Marionberry, 1 blueberry bush, 3 pie cherry bushes, 2 apple trees, 1 nectarine tree, and 1 peach tree. Do you think we have enough?
I'm actually really excited about having so much great fruit to freeze, can, and make jam out of. Oh and eat. Can't forget the eating part. In fact for all the low to the ground fruit, A will most likely find and eat it all. I think I need to educate her on poisonous berries. If only she will listen.
While Mom and Dad are gone on their mission we also get to care for 15 blackberry bushes, 10 raspberry bushes, 4 peach trees, grape vines, golden raspberry bushes, 2 apricot trees, 2 granny smith apple trees, 1 nectarine, 1 plum tree, 2 pears (?)... I'm actually uncertain of all the different types of trees in their orchard. There are around 12 though. Lets just say that I'm glad their is a lot of family close who can be called on to help out on the consuming part. And hopefully the harvest and care part also.
I guess we'll see. I'm just leaving myself open to asking for help from the ward if necessary (I'm hoping that they'll see it as service to help care for the yard of a couple serving a mission). And if there are not enough people in my family willing to eat some of this stuff, I'll ask the ward to help out too. Maybe that will provide help for a family that wants to can or something. We'll see. The nice thing is that next summer my sister will be here to help out with all of Mom and Dad's fruit.
The other day I found out that a book I quite enjoyed, "Howl's Moving Castle" had been made into one. I thought that sounded great!
...until I watched it. It was awful in my opinion. If you hadn't read the book you would probably like it. But It was so far from the book...in fact they changed the whole story. At the end they had changed so much that it was pretty much a different story altogether.
But the person who told me about "Howl's moving castle" had also recommended 2 other anime's. "Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away".
"Castle in the Sky" awful. I couldn't get into it.
"Spirited Away" on the other hand caught my interest. It was interesting, imaginative and fun. It starts out with a family and their child moving to a new place. They get lost on the way their and find a building with a tunnel going through it. They go through the tunnel in a spirit of exploration and find themselves spirited away to another place altogether. They are trapped and the parents are turned into pigs before they realize it. The story is how the child is able to become strong and courageous and save them all.
So I searched YouTube for more.
I found "My Friend Tortoro" Yet another one I enjoyed. The story of another family moving to a new place. This time without the mother (in the hospital) and 2 daughters with their father. The 2 daughters befriend a forest spirit named Tortoro. It is fun and light and enjoyable. The Mother in the hospital storyline for the most part is ok. The girls are just sad not having their mother with them.
Now for "Grave of the Fireflies". A very interesting storyline. When I think of anime, I think if imagination, lightness. A cartoon for goodness sake. This show is the most depressing show ever. Everyone dies. The Mother, Son, daughter. And not all at the same time. One and then the other, and finally the other one. Sad and depressing. But if you don't mind a good cry, watch it. WWII and the mother dies in a bombing leaving the son to care for the 4 year old daughter. He does all he can but she manages to die of malnutrition. HE then follows from depression, malnutrition, etc.
This show did however make me very thankful for certain things in my life. For one thing I am grateful that I have enough food on my table. My husband has a good job and we are able to save money.
Also, I'm grateful that we have not had to endure a war here at home. Can you imagine air raids in the middle of the night. Every night. Food Scarce, people scared and stressed out.
I just want to say how thankful I am that I and my family live at this time. In a place where there is peace and we are free to buy food at the corner supermarket and grow more in our back yard.
Anyway- on to less depressing subjects.
Yesterday hubby and I were able to go down to the local Lowes and buy nice bareroot fruit trees. They were selling all sorts of trees. From fruit to landscaping trees. If you need trees, buy now. Priced from $15 - $30 they are going fast.
We bought 2 Honey crisp apple trees. Sweet and delicious apples for eating. We had intended to only get one, but it needed another to pollinate it.
We also bought a nectarine and a peach tree. We are still talking about where to put them. The nice thing is that we don't have to decide for sure until it gets a bit warmer. The trees are nice and dormant and we probably have another month until they have to get into the ground.
So this makes 50 strawberry plants, 20 golden raspberry plants, 1 huckleberry, 2 Marionberry, 1 blueberry bush, 3 pie cherry bushes, 2 apple trees, 1 nectarine tree, and 1 peach tree. Do you think we have enough?
I'm actually really excited about having so much great fruit to freeze, can, and make jam out of. Oh and eat. Can't forget the eating part. In fact for all the low to the ground fruit, A will most likely find and eat it all. I think I need to educate her on poisonous berries. If only she will listen.
While Mom and Dad are gone on their mission we also get to care for 15 blackberry bushes, 10 raspberry bushes, 4 peach trees, grape vines, golden raspberry bushes, 2 apricot trees, 2 granny smith apple trees, 1 nectarine, 1 plum tree, 2 pears (?)... I'm actually uncertain of all the different types of trees in their orchard. There are around 12 though. Lets just say that I'm glad their is a lot of family close who can be called on to help out on the consuming part. And hopefully the harvest and care part also.
I guess we'll see. I'm just leaving myself open to asking for help from the ward if necessary (I'm hoping that they'll see it as service to help care for the yard of a couple serving a mission). And if there are not enough people in my family willing to eat some of this stuff, I'll ask the ward to help out too. Maybe that will provide help for a family that wants to can or something. We'll see. The nice thing is that next summer my sister will be here to help out with all of Mom and Dad's fruit.
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