So, I've been a baaaaad blogger... and we're moving!

What can I say, other than I'm sorry?

Things have been nothing short of chaotic here.  Summer happened, house renos took over my life, the kids were home, my mother came to stay with us for two weeks (she has advanced MS and needs 24 hour care), then back to school sneaked up on us and the house sold. (Sneaked?  I looked it up to confirm: It is in fact sneaked and not snuck....).

Yes.  You read correctly.  The house sold.

Yippee!

I'm happy to report that we were for sale for one month and one week, which is nothing short of a miracle in today's housing market. We owe a lot of thanks to our amazing real estate agent, Andrea Hughes, and also our hard work getting this place market ready.  I'm going to blog about that in a post very soon, because I think its an area where many people looking to sell could really use some insight.  We've looked at quite a few houses in our search for a new homestead, and it seems many people don't understand the art of market preparedness...

So, we received an offer, accepted an offer and are now in the wait mode, soon to enter pack mode.  We are also in 'find a new home' mode, which admittedly has all but taken over my online life.  It's a little stressful when you don't know where you will lay your head in less than 5 weeks.  Oh, did I mention, we have to be out by October 29th?  Oh yes.  That's a crucial point.  Ha!

So, the search continues.  Something homey. Something we can make a homestead out of. Something accessible enough for hubby to commute, yet something out of the city.  It's out there, we just haven't found it yet.  We will!

So, I'll post more about the city-homesteading things I have been up to.  Honestly, it hasn't been much this year because I had to scale way back to be buyer-friendly, which in our case probably didn't make a huge difference, as the purchaser wants to keep our chicken coop ha ha.  Yes!  The Girls will also be homeless :)  I think our houses's future owner is going enjoy this little homestead in the city.

I leave you with a picture of the Girls enjoying some corn on the cob.  This was an afternoon last week, while they happily foraged around the yard.  There is something very satisfying about watching your chickens grazing contently, chicken butts in the air :)

...

Just Checkin`In!

Wowza!  I looked at the calendar and couldn`t be-lieve how long its been since I checked.  So sorry!  My excuse- insanity.

So the past few weeks have been just that, insanely busy... but awesome.  We got `the sign`up on the lawn.  The one that says BUY ME!  What a moment that was, to put that sign on the lawn.  It was bittersweet.  A combination of a weight lifted off of my shoulders because of all the long hours of work we`ve done to get to that moment, a little scary, a pinch of sadness because our boys have grown up in this house, excitement to be putting that step forward in our new direction.. EEP!  Most importantly though, it felt happy.  Since then we`ve had one offer, however as much as they were in love with our house, they weren`t approved for enough and therefore offered what they could, which just isn`t enough for us to accept.  Boo.  But it was a good feeling that someone else loved it, and someone ELSE will too.

In the meantime, I`ve been working the local farmers market circuit, peddling my wares with a friend of mine.  She`s a phenomenal bread baker, and I`m pretty good at the sweets and whole food treats, so we combined forces to take over the world of flour and yeast... like two super heroes.  In honesty, it gives me a little pocket change, a few hours enjoying the fresh air sans children, and it keeps my face fresh in the market scene.  Something that might be useful once we get our homestead up and running.  It`s also nice to see all of the other local vendors and the delights they are offering. It`s special.

Speaking of the new homestead, we are going to look at some houses tomorrow.  I feel like we are going on an episode of House Hunters.  You know, one house below budget that needs work but as potential.  Another house, at the top of our budget that is pretty swag ( do people still use that word? swag?).  Yet another house that falls somewhere in the middle that we could make work.... Oh the possibilities.  Combine this with the fact that I don't ever want to move again for a very long time (read: old woman moving to retirement living), this is a pretty big decision! I'm excited though.  Hubby has also recently taken more of an interest in actually looking at local listings and putting some of his own input in the matter, so that makes me happy.  Sometimes it's like pulling teeth." Tell me how you FEEL!!"  :)

So yeah, that's where we are.  That place between selling and buying, old and new... I'll keep you posted and perhaps throw you a project tutorial or a recipe super soon!

Chicken Treats, An Ongoing Mission

Bridgette, inspecting the goods.

Things continue to be busy here at the city pre-farm.  We are getting oh so close to listing.  Today was 'help a friend move' day, so we are all pretty bushed, but even tonight we are working away.  Hubby laid the sub-floor for the basement bathroom, which is the last big project left. Yesterday, I installed a door stop, put in a threshold, put some trim up, and finished crack filling the bathroom.  Other small things also continue to get crossed off the list each day.

Amidst all the construction, we still have The Girls, as well as the other pets, to think of.  I like to keep things interesting out in our all-girl sorority coop, so I'm always looking for an interesting idea.  A few days ago, I picked up a wild bird seed bell.  It has domestically grown seeds, so I figured although it isn't organic, even we splurge and have take out once in awhile, so the girls got some 'junk food' too. They Loved It!  They had it finished in less that a day.  It was kind of like chicken tether ball as it swung around and they took turns having a peck.

Today, I was on the hunt for a new treat.  I had seen an idea a few months ago about stringing vegetables and fruit to make a treat garland, so I thought I would give it a try.  I bought some brussel sprouts and radishes, hubby helped by drilling holes through them first, and then I strung them together using a darning needle.

The girls were curious, yet cautious, at first.  Bridgette is always the first to get involved in anything you are doing, and this was no exception.  Once she inspects, the others are never long joining in.

She's such a funny chicken.  She just loves people.  She follows us around like a dog, and loves getting right into the middle of any work you are doing... especially if it involves digging... she loves worm hunting!    Try out this easy chicken treat and let me know how your chickens like it!

Official treat inspector, Bridgette, while  Smokey (behind, left) lends a curious eye and Hawk-Eye (hind, right) poses for the camera.

Rhubarb Blueberry Crumble- Yes, Please!

Gather around, everyone, it's recipe time!  

In my corner of the world we are in the middle of rhubarb season, and let me tell you, I love me some rhubarb.  Its tart, its tangy, it can be sweet and it has so many uses.  It can also be FREE, if you know where to find it.  Otherwise, they are selling it for $2.99 per pound at my local grocer *snort!*.  

**please pardon the following rant, or join me for the actual recipe below**

I'm sorry if you have to buy your rhubarb at a grocer that charges that price for rhubarb.  To me, its robbery.  This is the same place that was selling bunches of dandelion greens for $4.99.  HA!  Seriously?  I have a wonderful crop of my own very, un-sprayed, dandelion greens in my backyard.  I'll keep my $4.99 for dandelions, my $2.99 per pound for rhubarb and up you some blackberries that I'll likely save $5 on later in the season by picking myself.  I guess what I'm saying here is that you need to go spend some time in the wilderness, at different times of the year, and learn where things grow.  Not only are you saving yourself lots of money, they are likely better for you than the same items you may pay for in the store (hello, farmed fiddle heads..really?!?).

...and back to our regularly scheduled recipe post.

There are so many uses for rhubarb and I'm going to do my best to show you some while free-rhubarb season is here.  Today, after washing, cutting and freezing some, I made a delightful crumble.  Here's how:

3 cups rhubarb- washed, and cut into 3/4-1" pieces.

2 cups blueberries- frozen work nicely, but you can use fresh if you have them 

3 tablespoons of cornstarch-  You can substitute this for about 6 tbsp of white flour, if you don't have the starch on hand.  

1 cup sugar- today I used regular white granulated, but if you are opting for a less refined version, you can use one cup palm sugar, which lends a delightful undertone to the dish.

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp fruit juice- you could use apple (unsweetened) or orange.. today I used a dash of pure cranberry I had left over from making kombucha ( I'll be posting about that soon).

1 tbsp butter

For the crumble you'll need

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tbsp butter

1 tbsp cinnamon ( or to taste)

pinch of salt

So here's what you do:

Add the sugar, butter and starch/ flour in a pot, then toss in your rhubarb and blueberries and stir to coat.  Turn on the heat and let it cook for a few minutes until the sugars are melty, the juices are flowing and the butter has done its buttery thing.  You don't want to cook the rhubarb through.  Add the lemon juice, the fruit juice, and give it a good stir. All this goes into a deep dish pie plate or similar sized dish.  I like glass, you can use whatever you like.

On top of this you want to add your crumble, which you made by adding all the crumble ingredients together and chopping it, until the butter resembles tiny little pebbles... and it resembles a crumble.

Put it in a 350 degree oven and bake about 30 minutes.  You'll know its done when the smell starts wafting through your home and everyone is following their noses to the kitchen.  Careful though, its super hot and you should wait before eating it.  You know what else is good? Eating it with vanilla ice cream.  Yummmmm bo.

Enjoy!

What are your favourite rhubarb recipes?

End of the School Year Teacher Gifts

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Tomorrow is the last day of school here, and although making end of the year teacher gifts may not be completely related to our journey of city living to country living, I think it`s something that almost all of us encounter at some point in our lives, or we know someone who does!

Holy run on sentence, Batman!

In our home, we have two teachers, and three teachers` assistants to buy for, so spending even $20 per person can get pretty expensive.  With all of the renovations and house prepping going on around here, the last thing we need is expensive.  In order to accomplish this I needed to be resourceful!

First, I went to the dollar store and bought some terra cotta pots.  2 for $1.25, can't beat that!  I also grabbed some of the saucers for underneath at 2 for $1.

My second step was to spray paint them with chalkboard paint.  I already had this on hand from a previous project, so I didn't have to buy it.  If you needed to get some, you could probably buy it at your local hardware store for $4-$7.

When doing this step you need to make sure you are either outside or in a very well ventilated area- this stuff is very strong!  If you are outside you need to pay very close attention to the direction of the wind, because tiny particles can drift quite a distance and lovingly attach themselves to nearby objects.. like your car.  I might have learned this lesson in the past.  Just take my word for it ;)  I did two coats on mine.


Once dried, its time for designing.  I liked this one and thought it was appropriate for teachers. They say `Thank You For Helping Me Grow`.  Have fun with yours!  There's so much room for creativity here!  I used acrylic paints from the dollar store (which I already had, at $1 each).

For the flowers I visited my local garden centre.  I went there looking for a 6 cell package of flowers, so I could plant one in each pot, which would have cost me $2.99... making this project a total cost of about $7.  Unfortunately, they didn`t have any flowers with actual blooming flowers in 6 cell packages, so I ended up spending $19.76 on 5 six inch pots. I`m still happy with the low cost of this project.  If you had to buy the chalk paint, 2 acrylic paints, 2 pots, 2 saucers and a 6 cell of flowers, you could make this gift for two teachers for about $15 including tax.  That's pretty good, considering once the paint is purchased the price for subsequent pots goes down significantly.

Here`s to the end of another school year and the beginning of summer vacation.  I have a feeling (and a hope) that this summer is going to be busy, fun, and full of changes.  I can`t wait!

A Recent Goaty Adventure

I am known for my random adventures.  When I wake up in the morning I know one thing is for sure:  There's a darn tootin' good chance that the day is NOT going to go as I have planned.  Usually this is a good thing and its a positive outcome.  Today was one of those days.  I planned on working around the house, and instead I ended up foraging in the hills for wild rhubarb and getting free lilac seedlings for the future property with my friend Anne, having lunch with my friend Jenn W and then helping my sister with a case of keys-locked-in-the-car.  I didn't come on to tell you about today though.  I wanted to talk to you about two Tuesdays ago and my adventure with Jenn B.

Side note: I have to distinguish between Jenns because there are a few of them. :)

Miss Dot.  Such a lady.

Two Tuesdays ago, I got a call from Jenn B.  She asked me if I was interested in going on a morning adventure with her and of course my answer was yes.  I'm always up for adventures, the crazier the better!  

Todays' adventure: visiting a small goat farm.  I'm actually not sure if you would actually consider it an actual 'goat farm' per se or a goat homestead, but its is the cutest hill side farmstead, run by two of the nicest women you'll ever meet.  They have 14 goats, chickens and on this particular day a beautiful horse arrived to pasture on their hilly fields for the summer.  I'm not going to name names or actual locations because I haven't asked if I can go into such details, but it suffices to say that when you pull into their yard it reminds you of a quaint hillside in Italy or Tuscany, except when you turn around you are looking at one of the most amazing views of water, hills and valleys.  To wake up there every morning. Seriously...

These ladies are locally known as the goat ladies. At one time they actually made and sold various goat milk products, such as soaps and deodorants and let me tell you, they have the sweetest little herd of goats, all with the cutest personalities and who all love their mommas very very much. If there is an injured goat that is down on its luck in the area, you can be sure they have probably been contacted for their expertise or have it there with them for rehabilitation.  

They actually don't have their property fenced in like most goat related articles you read say is absolutely imperative for owning goats.  Their trip is actually very content staying right there.  How heart warming is that.. seriously?!  

Neat and educational fact:  A group of goats is called a herd or a trip!

On this day it was raining, so they were all hunkered down in their goat sheds keeping dry and warm, but I had the wonderful privilege of meeting them all.  

They also have the sweetest little flock of banties with a few banty frizzles thrown in.  I love their feathered feet, which gives them a hip bell bottom look.  So fashionable, those chickens!

The hip chickens.

I'm excited to be going back to visit them again soon, on a sunny day.  More pictures to come and hopefully I'll be able to introduce you to the wonderful ladies who love these sweet little goats so much.  Let's just say this friendly little tribe of happy little goats solidified my decision to have some on our farm.  

Oh, who am I kidding (haha...punny), I was going to have them anyway... :D

Chair Planter Project

Renovations have been in full swing here at the pre-farm.  I've been taking pictures as I go along, so I can show you some updates.  Sometimes I remember to take 'before' pictures, other times I get half way through it and then remember.  That's sort of what happened with the chair planter project.  This chair has been sitting in my garage for about two years, probably longer, waiting for a project.  I'm great for snagging awesome pieces of furniture for a future project.  I'm also great at not exactly getting them done.  I can't help it, I LOVE a great piece of old furniture.  They just scream POTENTIAL!  I actually recently sold a lot of pieces, so I could de-clutter the garage.  I'm sure when we getting settled I'll build up my inventory again in no time. I think I can hear hubby groaning from here....

So, the chair planter.

I wanted it to POP, so I picked out a fun, cheery colour for the project.  I have a small side table in a similar colour in the house and I often get complimented on its out-of-place quaintness and how it is just... happy.  The exact colour I chose for this chair planter is Thai Teal by CIL.

This is where I  REALLY wish I had a before picture. It was a dark stained wood, with caning in the seat, that was in need of repair.  The first step was to get rid of the caning, which my son B did for me.. and he did a great job :)  Secondly, it needed to be sanded to rough up the wood, so the paint would hold on better.  This was a messy job, let me tell you!

After the sanding, came a wipe down and then it was on to my favourite part- the painting!  This chair had a lot of small detail, so it look a lot of dabbing to get in all the little creases.  I also had a visit from a honey bee... which was great!  Luckily, he didn't land on the wet paint.  He just hung out for awhile and then continued on his journey.  I sure hope to have some bees when we get settled!  More on that later... I could take up an entire post with my bee thoughts. Buzz Buzz!

I ended up doing three coats on the chair, to get it completely covered.  I was so happy with the outcome!

 Now, a chair planter isnt a chair planter without some plants, so off to the local garden centre I went!  I`m a regular there, so when I wandered the isles for about half an hour they didn`t call the police- BONUS! :)  I ended up bring home some Sweet potato vine and a Vinca varigated vine for cascading over the front, some Euphorbia Glitz, some petunia, a Black Eyed Susan Vine for crawling over the back of the chair and Angelonia because its taller and will stand up behind the others.  The pot is simply one I had in the shed from a past year, which just happened to be the perfect size for sitting in the hole (where the caning had once been).  If you are doing a project like this, make sure to pick a pot with a small lip that is just bigger than the hole, so it sits down in the hole, but holds itself up.

Even though this wasn`t on my list of required projects to finish before listing the house, I still thought it was important.  As I said to B when he asked why I was buying MORE flowers instead of working on the house: you want to create a welcoming, happy feeling when you are selling.  Not only can I take this chair with me to our new house, but its going to make people feel happy when the walk into this one!

Potato Tower Project!

The past couple weeks have been busy.  Last week I finished up at my 'day' job for the summer, so preparing the house for sale has ramped up into full gear.  Today was day eight of painting.  Eight. Days.  I love painting, but I have to admit that I'll be happy to see the end of painting, at least at this house and for a little while.  I'm sure when we get moved to our country farm home I'll start again, making it our own.  I'm hoping to have a sign on the front lawn within two weeks. Yippee!

Aside from painting, I've also been working on getting the outside ready.  I figure if the outside got planted, then it would have time to grow and fill out some while I'm working inside.  Luckily, (or not so luckily?) the weather here has been less than summery, so I don't feel like I've missed out being inside so much.

As part of my outside work, I decided I would try my hand at a project I've seen here and there on social media these past couple of years- a potato tower.  With downsizing our raised bed garden to appeal to potential new owners, there wasn't a lot of room left for planting potatoes.  Those buggers take up a lot of room!

This, right here, is Exhibit A.

>>Insert perfect opportunity to try potato tower here<<

Now, I didn't want it to cost of a lot, because I've been spending a lot on paint and things to get the house ready, so I decided to use materials we already had on hand, and see how it goes.  We had a few pallets I had salvaged a few years ago behind the shed, so they were perfect candidates for the main frame.  Woohoo!  FREE!   I also wanted something that I could 'hopefully' bring with us, so using four full pallets was out of the question, because that would be one HUGE potato tower.  Yay for potatoes, not yay for the poor people who have to at least TRY to move it when the time comes.  Solution?  Cut those suckers in half!

Once cut right down the middle, we just screwed them together, to make a box.  See exhibit A.  Now, we couldn't leave the bottom open, because moving it would mean losing all the potatoes out the bottom, so we screwed a piece of wood that we had lying around to the bottom.  Viola!

For filler I was torn between a lot of dirt, a combination of dirt lined with straw or straw lined with dirt.  Since I had more straw than dirt, I opted from option 3.  I basically just layered it:  Base of straw, covered with dirt and compost, distributed seed potatoes, and added more straw. Repeat.  The only additional thing that I did was to add a random piece of hosing down the middle.  I figured this would help get water down to those bottom layers, to keep everything well-watered.  Do you remember my sweet potato slip post from a couple of months ago?  Those pretty little ladies were also included in the potato tower, even though they aren't even technically related to the Russets and Yukons that I planted in there as well.

WHAT is this, you say?  Not related?  That's right!  Not even cousins.  Sweet potatoes are related to morning glories, in the Ipomoea genus (say whaaaat?!?!) and potatoes belong to the nightshade family.  Mind blown.  You're welcome, and that concludes today's biology lesson.

You should most definitely try your hand at a potato tower.  I mean, why not?  I'll periodically update you on how mine is coming along and I'd love to hear your updates as well.  Let me know what works for you.

The Great Chicken Escape

The Girls move like a herd.
One is never too far from the others.

Last week hubby and I had to attend a two day conference in a city that was about an hour away from home.  Since leaving two kids overnight, especially during the week, isn't always the easiest thing to do, we enlisted the help of our faithful babysitters to help us coordinate.  They watched the kids in the morning and took them to school, and picked them up from school, and we would come home for supper and leave again the next morning.  Repeat.

Now, our babysitters are now 19 and 21 and more like sisters or aunts to our boys, like little sisters to me, and have come to my rescue more than just a handful of times. They are very used to our pre-farm and all of the animals that come with it.  Sophie, our un-protector dog, Binx my sweet panther cat, Mittens the fat lazy cat, Taffy the barn cat ( or garage cat, awaiting her barn..) and 'The Girls' outback- the hens are the current residents of our pre-farm (and our newest cat, Cotton, who I will tell you all about later).  They have to handle all of the animals when they are babysitting, to some degree, with the exception of The Girls (chickens), that is... until now.  With us leaving so early, we figured B (our oldest) could handle his usual morning chicken duties, as he does every other day.  We left for the conference and B would feed and water the chickens.

Fast forward 6 hours.  We are sitting in an amphitheater, lecture style, listening to the speaker when my phone vibrates- a message from Em (babysitter):

Em: How many chickens do you have now? ( knowing as recently sold one)
Me: Three.  Why.....
Em; When we got home from school your chickens were out of the coop, in the yard.  But there are only two of them.  B must have left the door open.
Me; Oh no!
Em; L and I are going to go for a walk to see if we can find the other one.

So, time passed and I sat in the lecture theater, an hour away, worrying.  I then posted on a local lost pet facebook group in hopes someone would see her wandering around.

One hour passes.

Em: So, B walked in from school and went outside and checked your coop.  The third one is back.

She was in the coop, up on the perch the whole time. Such a relief!  I was also very happy that Bridgette and Hawkeye, who had spent the day grazing in the backyard, love their home with us so much that they didn't leave.  It makes my heart happy that they are content here.

In chicken relationship news, as posted before, Not-Ewe was sold last week.  She was picking on the others, seemingly a new chicken each week, and I had had enough of the unrest.  She went to a local organization for under privileged children that is starting a small hobby farm.  They free range in large areas out there, so she should be happier.  Since her departure our little hen sorority has been so peaceful.  Bridgette's laying had never waivered with Not-Ewe's nasty behaviour, but I had noticed a small decline in Hawkeye and Smokey's laying.  Now that Not-Ewe is gone, everyone is consistently laying an egg a day, with everyone taking a one-day break about once a week. I'm so impressed with my lovely little egg layers!  I have been asked if I am going to get another hen.  To that, I'm just not sure yet.  I would love to get a hen that lays green eggs (as we currently have brown, pale cream/pinky, and blue) but honestly I'm afraid to disturb the peacefulness we have right now.  I guess time will tell.

Fiddlehead Chowder Recipe: It's Not Spring Without It!

Where I live, it isn't spring until the fiddleheads uncurl their sleepy heads from the damp earth where they grow.  These spring time delights are not only really good for you, but they are a favourite treat in these parts.  Good for you?  Um, yes!  "New research indicates that Fiddleheads have twice the antioxidant value of blueberries, with the added benefit of the full spectrum of fatty acids.  Not even fish oils can equal the Omega power of fiddleheads! -fiddleheadheaven...  That's pretty amazing!

If you are interested in trying this out for yourself and you are fortunate enough to live in a part of the world where they grow wild, I am going to post some information below the following recipe to help you learn where you can forage for these seasonal delicacies.  That's right, you can feed your family this healthy green for FREE, less the time you spend hunting for it.  If you still live in these parts and would rather enjoy them without hunting, they ca usually be found at any local produce stand, corner vegetable market or grocery store.  So, without further ado....

Fiddlehead Chowder Recipe

 2-3 pieces of bacon (the secret to every good chowder, IMO)-1+ c. Fiddleheads ( I usually use a lot more)1/2. c. white leek ( or onion in a pinch)1/4 c. green onion1/2 c. Mushrooms (optional. Shiitake for a woodsy taste)1/4 c. butter1/4 c. flour1 c. broth ( I use chicken usually)3 c. milk ( or 1/2 cream, 1/2 milk)1 tsp lemon juice1/8 c. cayenne pepper ( or to taste)


Salt and pepper to taste

Cook your bacon to crispy. Mince it up. Add and melt butter. Add all of your veggies, chopped up, leaving some of the smaller fiddleheads whole. Sauté. Add broth. Simmer. Add flour and cayenne slowly to avoid clumps. Add milk. Simmer until thick. Add lemon juice.Voila!

This is a favourite in my household, even the kids love it and ask for seconds and thirds!

So, you want to hunt for fiddleheads?  Great!  There are a few things to know:

Fiddleheads are Ostrich Ferns, or for you scientific folks who prefer the scientific name, Matteuccia struthioreris.  They grow in damp, rich soil areas and grow in clumps.  They should be picked when still tightly curled and washed thoroughly and cooked very thoroughly before eating.  There are a few different types of ferns that grow in the same areas that fiddlehead ostrich ferns grow, so one sure way to identify the edible fiddlehead is by their stem:  If it is perfectly round, like a straw, it is NOT an ostrich fern.  Ostrich fern stems are 'U' shaped, with the indent on the inside of the stem.  They also sometimes are covered with a brown papery covering.  This covering shouldn't be used to definitively identify them, however.

If you don't have time for a chowder right now, why not boil them and enjoy them with butter, salt and pepper.  Some folks enjoy them with a little vinegar.

Good luck and enjoy!!  

An Update on Things That Need Updating

I know it's been over a week since my last update, so I wanted to touch base with you to let you know how things are going here on the city pre-farm.  I've been busy, so I'm tired, so bear with me if this isn't the most thought out and perfected post.  I warn you now, before you proceed, do so with caution because there are bound to be grammar, spelling and other random mistakes.

Small raised garden bed, hooped but not yet planted or covered

So yeah.

As I was saying, things around here have been busy juggling the normal everyday work, kids, family... trying to keep my house from becoming a complete disaster....  On TOP of that, I've been slowly working on getting things done to get this house listed.  Hubby has been working long days and into the evenings, so he hasn't been able to contribute much to the effort.  The past two nights consisted of crack filling the basement bathroom reno and I foresee sanding in my future tomorrow evening.  I actually thought that would be done tonight, but after a week of chilly rain and fog, the sun decided to peek out this afternoon so I jumped at the opportunity to get the garden under the hoop house planted.  I'm happy to say that it's done, although it is most definitely not the best thought out plot and is is oh so much smaller than I'm used to.  I'll show you pictures either tonight or another post reeeeeal soon.  I guess saying that its been planted should have come after the update saying that I successfully moved it last week.  So yeah, I did that too.  Hubby helped, but I did it. hahahaha.  So now the chicken coop is where the garden was and the garden is where the coop was.  Believe me, its better this way.

In other news, our newest resident, Hawk Eye, is doing well.  After a week of being somewhat picked on by Not-Ewe ( but no feathers plucked, no blood drawn) things have finally settled into place and pecking order has been established.  It was actually interested to watch.  When I first posted about her joining our flock ( although I do prefer to refer to them as my herd...) I had mentioned that she wasn't being overly friendly to Bridgette.  Well, that quickly changed.  Within a day, B became her best bud and she basically followed her everywhere, making sure that B was between her and New-Ewe. It was somewhat comical to see.  Smokey? She just couldn't seem to understand what all the commotion was about and stayed neutral.  I'm very happy that they are all now happily cooped up together (har har).  It's like they woke up one morning and everything had just clicked.  I'm happy- they're happy.

Well, my eye is starting to close on me in protest, so I dost think I shall sign off for the night and bid you all adieu.  I want to post soon to give you a great chart I've been working on, on complimentary plants, so watch for that coming your way soon.  Until then, me and my one still-co-operating-eye say Good Night to you all and may your gardens be planted soon.

Oh... did I tell you my strawberry plants are growing and blooming? and my chives have started to come up.. and... *yawn*

Guest Blogger: An Unexpected Path to Enlightenment

I struggled with the name of this post. I thought about naming it "Financial Analyst Turned Girl who Wanted to be a Fiber Artist", but I feel this story is about so much more.  I decided on the name, not only because it's the term I jokingly use to describe my friend's transformation, but because I truly feel that is precisely what happened to my dear friend!  I think enlightenment can encapsule many different things, but truly learning what makes your soul happy is definitely on that path!

Followers, meet Sarah.  We've been friends since grade two, been through each other's highs and lows, are often mistaken for sisters, I call her mom 'Mom' and she's pretty darn cool. I asked her to write a guest post for me, about the last few months of her life and how sometimes things happen for a reason.  Read on, folks, read on....

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It was early December of 2014 and I was sitting at my desk at work when, out of nowhere, lightning struck. I thought "Hmph! New Years Resolution: Save money, be an adult." I started thinking about how this goal could be obtained when I came to the same conclusion I've always come to: Do as much yourself as possible. I was brought up in a household where there was nothing my Dad couldn't fix and my mom baked (store-bought cookies were a rarity in my house growing up) and used to make all of our dresses for special occasions. My parents didn't have a lot of money but we never went without because my parents were resourceful and imaginative. I guess it's rubbed off on me. I've never been afraid to at least try to do things myself, but I didn't want to just take on a project. No, I wanted to make real changes to my lifestyle that were feasible in the long run and helped my proverbial bottom line. 

I started brainstorming with my friend Tash (proprietress of this blog, amazingly enough!) about how this could be accomplished. First one the list: bread. I eat it, I like it, I had no intentions on ever giving it up. It costs so much when you compare it to homemade! And do you know what's in it? I don't. It's a rhetorical question. "The least you can do is try to take an everyday staple and determine what you're putting into it" was my train of thought. Now, I have made it from scratch, spent the day baby sitting it, and it's beautiful, but for a girl about town like myself (haha), I wanted to keep it simple. So yes, I use a bread machine. Don't judge me. I buy the most local ingredients possible and it makes my house smell divine. Although this was a NYR (New Years Resolution), I started before Christmas making my own bread so that it wouldn't be a huge shock to my system. I haven't looked back. I know what I'm eating, and I'm helping support some local businesses at the same time. There is a lot of debate about yeast and bread machine yeast. For the sake of perfection, and if time allows, by all means, nothing is quite as cathartic as making your own bread by hand, but if that isn't realistic, I'm going to go out on a limb and say using a machine to make your own bread is just fine. Progress, not perfection, daaahling.

On to the next thing. Paper. Towel. I love paper towel. I love feeling like a total grown up buying those huge packages at Costco. I'd go through one package a month, approximately. I swore by it. See, I have 3 dogs, there are messes sometimes. I thought there'd be no way I could go without My Precious. My mother told me to start using rags. I didn't want to put them in with my towels and clothing though. Grody. So I got a little trash can I put under the sink. When I've used a rag, I throw it in there. When it's time to wash them, they go in on their own, I wash em, reuse, wham bam thank you ma'am. For counter top messes and the like, I use cotton dish cloths knit by myself, or my mom, and I'm still working through the stash of freshly-knit dishcloths left by my grandmother when she passed.  That'll be 20 dollars per month, please! 

When it came to laundry, I spared no expense. It was Tide Pods and Fleecy all the way and my clothing smelled so pretty. I live on my own. I don't have children. You could say I was playing fast and loose with the laundry stuff. Well, there's a cheaper alternative. That's right folks, do some Googlin' and you'll quickly learn that you can make your own detergent that works just as well for a fraction of the price. Oh! And you actually know what you're putting into it. Fabric softener, you ask? I made dryer balls out of 100% local wool (check out Sarah's Page here!). They last for 2 - 3 years. The detergent and dryer balls combined, my clothing gets clean, and it doesn't smell like anything. With allergies and sensitivities, it's nice to know I'm not going to give someone an asthma attack because of what I use in my laundry.

These were some really tiny changes and it had little to no impact on anything other than my bank account and carbon footprint. It was around the end of January, things were going great, when I got taken down by a bad back. Ultimately, I had to have emergency spinal surgery. I found myself spending 6 weeks out of work. This is where it paid to be the type of person who knows how to amuse themselves. I decided I would spend my time trying to become a proficient loom knitter. I can say, without a doubt or exaggeration, there was never a moment when I was bored. I spent a lot of time knitting, which leaves a lot of mental energy and brain room for reflection. I spent a lot of time thinking about my life, how I live, how I want to live, the kind of lifestyle that really makes me happy. With a little help from my friends, I realized I wanted to work for myself. It felt like over the span of 6 weeks I went from financial analyst to girl who just wants to be a "fiber artist". I absolutely refuse to knock people who choose to work in the corporate world because everyone has a different set of priorities, circumstances, and motivators in life. For me, I realized I'd like to lead a more serene, peaceful existence where I make my own decisions and help make the world a happier or prettier place. My mother (who I'm forever grateful to for helping me through all of this) and I decided we wanted to sell our dryer balls. We got to work on the packaging (we make that ourselves too!). I have started selling my homemade detergent, and we've started selling zafus as well (traditional meditation cushions filled with buckwheat hulls we actually source locally). On top of that, my creative outlet has been my knitting. I plan to roll out a line of knitwear inspired by different things. I've decided I'll spend my summer flogging my wares at local farmers markets and the only word to describe my outlook is "positive". I know it's going to be great.

The tiny changes I made at the beginning of the year changed the way I thought. I started looking at things I wanted to buy and wondered, can I make that myself? Is there a better option environmentally and financially? It started with small, manageable changes. It's a constant work in progress. I'm far from leading a perfect life, but it's better! Remember it's all about progress, not perfection. Small changes, baby steps, will get you there. I promise.

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I hope you all take something special from Sarah's story.  I hope it inspires you to follow your dreams and become who makes you happy.  We all have a path to enlightenment.  Everyone's destination is different, every soul is contented by something different than someone else's.  Be the real you and be happy :)

Flock Expansion

Hello in there!  I'm Bridgette!

Well, it's been about a week and a half since my last post.  It's been busy around here!  Our yard is finally free of snow and this weekend is the first time that it doesn't resemble some sort of wetland and is walkable ( if you walk carefully... don't want the lawn to be torn up when it's for sale soon!). With the yard finally accessible, there has been lots to do.  A quick clean up, bring out the patio furniture, setting up the gazebo and moving the chicken coop to the garden area are just a few of the chores we've finished.
On top of all that, we've had a new bird join our flock.  Now, as you know we started out with Bridgette.  She was lonely, so we got her two friends: Smokey and Not-Ewe (more on that one soon).  Their introduction was great.  They said hello, dined on some kale together, made a few noises and went from coexisting to coop snuggle buddies within a day.  A happy little trio!  Well, it didn't go quite as nicely with our newest resident, affectionately named by hubby, Hawk-Eye.  Can you tell he's a Marvel fan?  The fact that she doesn't have any notable comb, which really makes her look like a hawk, didn't help.  Add to the fact that everyone else had named a chicken and poor Hawk-Eye didn't stand a chance for a pleasant name like Rose or .. I dunno... something more pleasant than Hawk-Eye... haha.

I do say, are you in there?  I said Hello!

So, day one of Hawk-Eye's introduction to the flock was rough.  Smokey was picking on her, Not-Ewe couldn't get out of anyone's way, and Hawk-Eye was picking on Bridgette.  No one messes with Queen B... so I had to watch closely to make sure no one got hurt (this is after Hawk-Eye spent a couple of hours in a kennel in the run so everyone could smell and talk, without  physical contact).  Well, once the door was opened, Bridgette being her friendly self, walked right up and said hello and Hawk-Eye pecked her in the head hahaha.  That just set the tone for the whole day.  Add to the fact that Hawk-Eye just wanted to perch IN the door of the coop, making passing difficult... it just was a bad day.  She spent the night in the kennel, in the house, for everyone's safety.  Today was our second attempt.  We kept the kennel in the run, CLOSED for hours ( she had water and food).  Once we opened it, she was out pretty quickly and right back in the coop door... NOT the way to make friends!  I was thinking she would be back in the kennel tonight, but to my delight, at bedtime everyone was IN the coop and getting along.  Hawk-eye on the indoor perch and the other three in their usual cuddle group haha.  Whew!  I'm telling you, I had a friend who is recovering from surgery on messenger on my phone and I was sending her up to the minute updates and even she said.. chicken introductions can be very interesting!

Rude bird, blocking the door!

So, I know you're all asking.  What is with the name Not-Ewe?  Well, short story.  Our youngest is on a kick that when you ask him something that he doesn't want to answer, or if he is not impressed with you, he says "Not you!"  or "Not you, Mum!".  Well, it was his turn to name a chicken and he was not one bit interested.  Each time we asked him, he said "Not You!", so later that day I said "Ok!  That's her name!", but I figured Not-Ewe was a better spelling.. because she's not a ewe... she's a chicken. Ba-dum-chaa! hahahah.  Yeah, I know.  Lame. :P
Now, for Smokey.  Our oldest named her.  It's because she has a goldish speckling on her neck and breast and he felt she looked like a Smokey.  I wasn't about to argue :)

Here's hoping that everyone continues to live together in the coop happily, and egg producing is relatively unaffected.  As usual, faithful Bridgette delivered her egg today.  Such a great layer and such a friendly bird.  We also got one egg from either Smokey or Not-Ewe.  Their eggs are the same, so its hard to tell sometimes.  Hawk-Eye lays blue eggs, so I'm looking forward to her starting back up.  Apparently she is a pretty good layer.  I was told that she is an Americauna, but I think she's an Easter Egger.  I'm not overly concerned to be honest.  I consider her a rescue because the man who sold her to me didn't seem to take very good care of his animals :(  She doesn't seem to be very use to humans and her feathers are a mess and she's bare on the back from the rooster.  Poor girl! No wonder she is crabby.  She was with the rooster until just a few days ago, so I may keep a few of her first eggs and see if they hatch.  The boys would love to see that experience, and I'd love to have some chicks to raise to be as friendly as Bridgette.  Not saying that Smokey and Not-Ewe aren't friendly, they are, but they are still learning.  Bridgette will come over the talk, eat from your hand and likes to be petted.  The other girls are more wary of humans.  For now anyway.  They are happy and so pretty since arriving and getting themselves all cleaned up.

This Years Seeds: Our Pre-Farm Garden

A while back I wrote about my dilemma this year: Deciding which seeds to buy.  As you may recall, if you have been following along, I wasn't sure exactly where we would be for this year's growing season and not knowing was causing a little bit of indecision for this gal.  You see, the seeds needed for our homestead garden would be VERY different from the seeds needed here in the city pre-farm garden.

Well, fate decided that we would be here in the city, for at least the beginning of the season, and that is perfectly OK.  Everything happens for a reason.  That meant, however, deciding between planting a garden that we may have to abandon and not planting a garden at all and...well... I can't imagine going with option number two.  Not having a garden of some sort just seems unhappy.  So, we decided to plant a garden, knowing that we might very well have to leave it should the city house sell before harvest.  My reason for this (in addition to not having a garden being unfathomable) is that an awesome garden might very well be appealing to potential buyers and in the very least, if an 'un-gardener' buys the house, they may love having it and I just might bring one more person over the the dark side... or green side.  Yeah.  Let's go with that. :D

So, what did I decide on, you ask?  Well, check it out:


I placed my order with one of my favourite Canadian Seed houses, The Cottage Gardener.  I love them because of their dedication to preserving old varieties, their cute old fashioned feeling catalogs, their interesting seed info and the fact that they do it all by hand and work with other people on the same mission.

Here's what came in the mail!


Paris Market Carrot- I love these carrots.  They grow small and round, like beets or radishes.  Excellent for container gardening.  I like to pick some when they are small and pickle them whole!  I'll find a picture from last year and show you. Maybe even a recipe!

Purple Dragon Carrot- So much fun, especially for the kids.  I love their expressions and teaching them that although we only see orange carrots in the grocery stores, carrots actually come in a rainbow of colours!  One thing I have found about this variety in the past is that the tops tend to break off easily when you pick them, so be careful.

National Pickling Cucumber- A must have for a pickler like me.

Brune D'Hiver Lettuce- A lettuce that turns reddish brown when it gets chilly.  A fun lettuce to have in a green salad to break up the colour monotony.

Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries- I fell in love with these when our local produce pack guy offered them.  You can make a jam out of them or just eat them raw!  You don't pick them, though.  You wait for them to fall off the bush, in their cute little paper lantern, pull them out and enjoy.

Canada Crookneck Squash- I can't wait to try this almost extinct variety of squash!

Double Standard Corn- I've grown corn the past few years and havn't been overl successful, so I'm trying again.  This is going to be my first time growing it from seed, so stay tuned to see how that goes!

Early Wonder Tall Top Beets- I don't know about you, but I like the beet greens just as much as I love the beets.  This variety grows lovely greens, that you can enjoy with your beets or in a different meal spread.  My favourite way to enjoy the greens is steamed with a little butter and salt.  Yumbo!!!

Albino Beets- Do you like pickled beets?  Afraid of staining?  Try these beauties.  I pickled some of these two years ago and they were a huge hit.  I had customers hunting me down for more.  They are very similar tasting to the usual red beet we are all familiar with, but with a slightly sweeter taste, I find.  Try Them.

Green Podded Asparagus Pole Beans- Amazing!  These beans are soooo long.  I can't wait to see the kids faces :P

Aurora Hot Peppers- So pretty!  A little ornamental bush of tiny peppers that grow to about an inch and a half long.  They ripen from orange to red to purple... yes purple!  So fun!  Awesome for a container garden.

Marconi Peppers- On the complete opposite end of the pepper spectrum, these monsters grow to be about 12" long.  Some say they are the biggest pepper. I can't wait to see them.

Early Jalapeno- Must have in our garden.  Hubby is obsessed with making bacon wrapped jalapeno shooters, plus the oldest wants to make his own hot sauce this summer... might as well pick them from our own garden!

Don't worry, that's not all!  I'll be picking up some started seedlings as time goes on.  I have some seeds started down stairs in my everything room.  I'll show and tell those a day very soon.  it's late and this chick needs to get some shut eye!

Our Son, the Chicken Whisperer

It's been a few days since my last post, and although I do have some interesting updates, and how to's to post about, since its late I'm going to post about our son and our chickens.

Since starting to work towards moving from the city to the country, we have been talking to our boys about what we will be doing and getting when we move to our new homestead.  We've talked about the different animals we hope to have, how they need to be taken care of and how they will work together to benefit the entire homestead.  Both boys have been interested, but since Bridgette has joined our pre-farm, our oldest has REALLY taken to the experience, so much so that I've started calling him the Chicken Whisperer.

This is the child who has been becoming more and more fixated on video games, so we had hopes to getting him outside and DOING something when we got to the country (and before).  Since Bridgette's arrival this is the same boy who has been getting up before the rest of us in the morning to eat and get ready so he has time to spend with the chickens before school.  He faithfully feeds and waters them before school and they are the first place he goes when he gets home.  Collecting eggs is a highlight of his day and he spends hours outside either talking to them, watching them of just playing out in the yard in their vicinity. They (yes they, as in more than one now ha ha) follow him around, eat from his hand, let him pick them up, and call after him when he leaves. Earlier in the week we took an hour and a half drive to go pick up two more hens.  I don't think they have had much human interaction, as they were pretty nervous around us (as well as the guy we got them from).  They hid in the coop for about a day and a half, but with his coaxing and patience, all three of them are now happy, co-existing and already laying!  It's been such a positive experience for him, and us as a family.

New therapy for video gamers- chicken therapy.  I do now declare that it's a thing.

A post on the newest residents coming soon!
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Doin' the Coop de Coop

The (almost) complete coop!

Since Miss B is now officially a permanent member of our pre-farm, she needed a coop!  Now, I do have many talents (tooting my own horn here), but my friends, carpentry is not one of them.  It's something I hope to work on and develop but as of now... well... it's comical.  It is for this reason my hubby came to the rescue this past weekend!

The (almost) completed coop!  Notice it is on patio stones.  These are at the foot of the deck stairs and right now the only dry and snow-less place in the yard, ha ha!  Once the snow drops in other areas and the water recedes, we will be moving it to a grassy area.  Right now she is having fun pecking between the stones and reaching through the chicken wire to grab little pieces of grass.  She`ll also be free ranging in the backyard when we are out there with her, to keep her safe...

Before we started I showed him a bunch of plans and pictures, everything from my dream coop to a tiny temporary coop.  I've done a lot of research before now on coop requirements, so I had a pretty good idea of what was needed.  Let's discuss what I deemed to be the requirements, shall we?

- Security.  It had to be safe so that Miss B could be safe at all times.  Although our yard is fenced in, cats are able to sneak under in places, which means that small raccoons could get under ( and bigger ones over).  There are also foxes around, so they need to be kept out as well.  

-Attached Run.  In addition to a secure coop, she needed an attached run which was equally safe.  A safe coop is useless if the run isn't safe!  The run MUST have a locking/ latching door.

-Weather and Water Proof.  She needs to be warm an d cozy.  A happy chicken is a laying chicken!

-At least Two Nesting Boxes.  A good rule of thumb is one nest box per three hens.  The maximum amount of chickens we are allowed within city limits is 6, so two nest boxes will suffice for  now.

-A door or hatch for easy access to the nest boxes.  We want to have our boys involved in caring for the chickens so easy access is important.

-A large access door.  This needed to be outside of the run so I can take a wheelbarrow right up to the coop to dump out the litter.  I am going to try the deep litter method (more on that in a post coming your way soon), but when the litter needs to be changed, I want it to be done right and done easily.

-A perch inside the coop.  Chickens like to sleep in various places and one preferred place is on a perch, so I want them to have this option.

-Off the ground.  This helps in keeping it warm, safe and also gives the girls a place under the coop to get fresh air with some shelter on rainy days.  It also helps to keep it accessible in the winter (as long as you don't get 14 feet of snow like we did this year, in which case you are still shoveling it out... ha ha!).

-A place to hand their feeder and waterer.  Keeping them off the ground keeps the girls from kicking litter, dirt and poo in there.  This is the feeder I bought for her and I can`t find a link to the waterer, so I`ll hunt down something soon to show you, but so far they are working out marvelously!

I also wanted it to be cute...  hehe.  

And so he went to work.

Hubby and  Dad Start the Coop!

He started with the frame.  Yes, that is my front yard full of snow on April 13th.  Booooo.....

We made sure that all materials were untreated wood.  No point in having free run eggs if pressure treated wood is going to leach into the ground around your coop, where your girls will be foraging.

See the Nest Boxes?

Then he started to close it in, and added the nest boxes.  Then we moved it to the backyard to finish, before it got too heavy (no coops in the driveway, folks!).

 Here on the left, my friends, are the roof trusses.  A peaked roof to allow for height, which allows for that indoor perch.  That fence in the background is a 6 foot fence.

On the right, the view from the large access door, showing the nest boxes.  The little lip in the from helps to keep the straw in and eggs from rolling out.

 B (oldest of our boys) helped his dad build the door to the run.  The backyard is starting to melt, so the deck is the driest area!  He actually helped quite a bit on this project.

On the right, Miss Bridgette tries out her new coop!  Hubby even sided one side, and we will side the others soon. We also will shingle the roof.

I think the hubster did a great job.  He came to my rescue... again ♥.

I`d love to hear what you think or hear about your own coop project.. or pictures!

Miss Bridgette's First Week on the Pre-Farm

Pre-Farm:  My new word for what our city home is becoming.  As spring has begun to ever...so..slowly...creep into our part of the world, our small window of opportunity to list our city home has come and gone.  With over 5 feet of snow left in areas of our yard, it now starting to melt, our yard has become a muddy lake.  Everyone wants a house on a secluded island, but not when the island is house surrounded by a muddy city lawn lake.  The plan now is to work steadily on getting the inside of the house ready so that as soon as the yard has dried, we can mulch the front garden beds and get the yard looking beautiful again and then list.  With the current schedule Mother Nature is keeping, I'm predicting a listing date of about early to mid June *sigh*.  Everything happens for a reason, right?

With the new timeline, at least my garden questions are answered for the year.  I purchased seeds to suit the city garden, I'll plant it and we will enjoy it either until it sells or the end of the reason, whichever comes first.  I keep telling myself that it might be a selling feature.  I know I would have loved to buy a house with raised vegetable gardens, a kitchen herb garden and random edible plants growing around.  Add on top of it all that there is will be an optional chicken coop... whats not to love?

This brings me to the title of today's post: Bridgette's First Week.  Let me tell you, she's a pretty cool bird.  After being left to fend for herself in an inner city neighbourhood and starving and freezing in a spring snow and rain storm, one would think that she probably wouldn't be in the mood for laying anytime soon.  Heck, some birds quit laying for weeks or months just because they went from one cozy farm to the next.  Well, Miss Bridgette is a resilient girl.  As of today, day 7 of the pre-farm, Bridgette has laid 3 eggs.  One per day since she started.
Now the first one was pretty speckled (bottom egg in picture), and not knowing her history I decided that we should wait for at least a week or two to see how their quality progressed.  Sometimes speckled eggs can be caused by nutritional deficiency. Not that I think there is anything 'bad' about them, but since is takes about 25 days for an egg to be laid (from the time is begins its journey inside the chicken), these eggs are a product of her past life.  We aren't sure where that was, or what she ate, so we're going to give her a few days to get that old life out of her system.  Since she has been with us she has been eating great, so she will be ready to go soon and I think the increasing quality shows that her new diet is working for her. The middle egg in the picture is from yesterday and the top egg is from today.  Today's egg is actually speckled in lavender spots.... kind of pretty!  I've read that some 'special' birds lay like this all the time.  We shall see.

Another interesting this about Bridgette's eggs is that they are brown!!  Now, brown eggs are totally normal, which I'm sure you all know.  The interesting this is that we were sure that B was a leghorn chicken... which lay extra large WHITE eggs.  Since she looks like a leghorn (right down to her white ears) I'm guessing that maybe she is a mixed breed.  Not sure.  She's cool and we like her just the way she is.  I am working on finding her a few friends, however, so she isn't lonely.  I have a few leads... let's hope one works out.... Let the pre-farm animal count increase! haha!

Coop construction has started.  My husband has really come through for me on this one and it is looking GREAT,  I'm going to do a separate post on it once its ready for the world to see.  B and her future coop friends will love it I'm sure.  I love how hubby is really embracing the pre-farm.  I'm sure he wouldn't be thrilled if he came home to a few goats, but he seems to like Bridgette and her future egg laying is going to make them buddies for sure :)