Jellies, fireworks, concert.....not in that order...

I picked up my jellies at the local fair and low and behold all first place except the grape jelly, I thought it was good.....mmmm need to work on that flavor. I entered blackberry, apple, gooseberry, red raspberry, black raspberry. I also entered one of my afghans and it didn`t place , but I thought it was pretty, if I ever get the Baltimore afghan done , it will be entered, yes, I am still working on it and it is very heavy, one day it will be done.

Me and the girls went to Seymour last night to see the fireworks and watch a concert before the fireworks.....The band was called bad habit and they were good....It is a rock band...not the hard stuff....the rock from the 70`s-80`s and few songs from today ( country, like miranda lambert), they put on a good show and I would like to see them again, sometime. It is nice to hear the music that your grew up with. and their sure was alot of children around....then I thought this place needed a clown and balloons,....mmmmmm I should have thought and been a clown there, maybe next year.

The fireworks were good, the youngest was getting impatient though waiting for it to get dark enough for them....but fun was had by all, even the oldest daughter , even though she won`t admit it.

nothing to report here .....

Nothings really going on around here on the farm. I have made some jelly for the local fair, Blackberry, Red Raspberry and Black Raspberry, Grape, Apple and Gooseberry. First time I made Gooseberry. My Aunt gave me some gooseberries...so Gooseberry jelly...I really didn`t want a gooseberry pie or cobbler. I have been picking blackberries or rather dewberries, or both Some dewberries and a few blackberries anyway. Dewberries are just like blackberries, but the vine grows along the ground instead of up. I have picked about a quart so far, the blackberries are just now beginning to turn black a few at a time, wish they would hurry up and turn black, so I could get my bucket full, but all in due time I guess. Bandit ( crazy heeler ) goes along and takes a swim in the ponds along the way, even though they are algae covered ponds.....yuck to me. I did walk around one of the ponds ,while I was in the field checking on the blackberry patch and Bandit did protect me from a few bullfrogs...lol.
The garden so needs to be weeded . I do have Zucchini on one of the plants as well as few green tomatoes, I did see one cherry tomato thinking about turning yesterday. We have gotten some rain, but I still have to water the garden everyday , it seems like and I have gotten into some poison ivy along the way of picking.And pretty soon will be having some green beans as well.

Lavender`s 13 babies are doing fairly well, with a variety of color in that bunch ( chocolate and white, Black and white and grey and white) I think I might keep a grey and white , just to see what color in tunrs out to be. Mascara is setting now and I think there might be a chicken egg or two under her, I really can`t tell as she is setting under some boards and as with the snakes being out I ain`t to crazy about moving things around to see.

Well, that is about it for the day!!!!Everyone out there have a blessed day in which God has made!!!!!!!!

new ducklings.....

Here is a couple of pictures of Lavender`s baby ducks for this year. She hatched a total of 13. The father of these is Chocolate. It surprised me she hatch so many of them considering that Chocolate was gone a few weeks before I noticed she started setting. And yea , no bouts with a snake this year!!!!!

This is a surprise hollyhock that came up in one of my iris beds....I just wonder how it got here, as I don`t remember planting any hollyhocks....I have seeds , but have not planted them.

I just had to throw in this picture of Cricket ....the new cowgirl looking for a horse, lololol

Jelly making again...

I am making fresh batches of jelly again for the local fair. Today I made red raspberry jelly, I made a total of 3 pints. I kinda of cheated in that I didn`t pick these red beauties as I would not know where to find some red raspberries around here, no-one has advertised that they have any , ( note to self , might be good idea to plant some). The local market had some on sale, and hence I bought some just to make the jelly.
They had blackberries as well on sale, but I still have some in the freezer from last year , so I am planning on making a fresh batch of blackberry jelly as well. I might throw in a few dewberries though, as they are beginning to ripen , which means the wild blackberries will be soon be ripen and that means picking blackberries and selling them again, along with some jelly. I soo love to pick wild blackberries....the thorns and the chiggers are sooo fun to deal with. My tame blackberries are just now blooming and forming blackberries on them. I only have about 5 plants of them. The tame ones might be a little bigger , but the wild ones win out in taste to me.

I plan on making a few more varieties as well to enter into the fair. I wish they had an other category , as I would love to enter my root beer jelly, it is a winner at least for my youngest , who won`t eat any other jelly on her pb and j sandwich. i need to see how many more jars I have left.

I am being entertained by her at her this time , playing big sis`s guitar, at least playing with it, lolol. Ok , she is not really playing it like a guitar , but like a drum, lol. It is so nice to be entertained.

No title really.....

Well the I really didn`t know what to title this , so many things are happening and then again not. Our trip to St Louis was uneventful, except for long........... Our first appointment was at 11:30 , but we were by 10:00 and got in early, the next appointment wasn`t until 1:30 ,so goofed off at the hospital...went to the beautiful garden that the hospital has on the Eighth floor, went to look out the window on the 12th floor, then went on to the next appoitment, they told us to come back at 1 pm, we came back at 12:45 and almost didn`t have a place to sit.....seen the people who were to see.......then on to labs, which to just as long.....we didn`t leave the hospital until 4 pm....long day.

Heard of a new ice cream flavor , I don`t want to try...Locust, uhhhh Yuck, but I wonder if they make the noise when you bite into the ice cream...It is made with real locust, lol.


Today is water day at the youngest summer school, I wasn`t gonna send this year , but the oldest can get a high school credit out of the way, so I did send both......that seems so weird saying the oldest is in high school ...where has the time gone, it seems like yesterday she was beginning to walk. she had the choice to take English or Science...she chose Science , thinking experiments and it might be fun...she is enjoying it and has heard that the English has homework, so far the science has no homework.

On the garden , the tomatoes in the bed frame are doing great, I even have a little cherry tomato , green, but there is one on there. I have beans planted there as well and they are doing great. One head of cabbage is doing great the other three not so well, One head is in one bed and the other three are in another bed...I sure can tell the difference ....The dirt in the one head cabbage is miracle grow dirt that I put in there a few years ago...the other bed was just regular dirt., that we bought from a friend who was selling some. The squash is coming up nicely, not blooming yet, that`s all I got to get in so far, the rain put an damper on things,...now every thing is drying up and we do need rain, and I have started watering at night everything in the garden. The tame blackberries are blooming and have a few blackberries on them , that are green of course, the wild ones down the road has quite a few green ones. I guess that is enough of rambling for now.

Boss is a keeper...

I just have to share this story or what happened yesterday. I always water before I feed in the evening and gather eggs at the same time. Well, my hens have been very secretive about where they lay their eggs, since I have been turning out every day to help with the tick problem here ( not as many now). So, I had checked all the usually places and Boss ( new Muscovey drake) starts hissing ( as that is how muscovey talk) in the chicken pen and low and behold their was two chicken eggs , I guess he was telling me hey here`s two, I had just checked in there, but did not think to look outside in the run,...duh.....As I was picking up those two I found another nest outside the pen in the weeds of course, yes I do need to mow in some areas,lol. It is so funn to go egg hunting every day.
Of course, Boss doesn`t let me know where his hens are laying at......lol, just the chicken hens.

new Muscovey Drake....Boss

This is sparkles, from last years hatch. she has not been hanging around with the others as of yet.

Here is Boss with his ladies after turning him out and talking up a storm to them

This is a better picture of him and still talking to them, Mascara, Elizabeth and Zoey

Mascara talking here to Boss.

I had to get a new drake as Chocolate was gotten by some critter that came up in the night and got him, never did find a body. I was needing a new drake to get new blood into my muscoveys though, as all the hens except one were his daughters/granddaughters, so I think I did need one.The New drake is a dark Blue and white and we named him Boss and he is big. My younger daughter calls him ugly when we first got him. The hens directed to what we call the duck pond a few times, I think They was telling him or rather hinting to him he needed a bath, lol. Lavender is not in the picture as she is setting under the porch, which seems to be her favorite place to set , so hopefully next month more baby ducks.