Rhubarb

Rhubarb, can't wait am already dreaming about slices of strawberry rhubarb pie and rhubarb crisp!

Salad Garden

Bird netting now attached to the hoop house portion of the raised bed and just in time for the baby lettuce sprouts that are now breaking through the soil.

North Garden

Tilled!!!  Before raking.

After raking and ready for cattle panels and peas!

Circle Garden

Circle garden at the base of the crab apple, because you really shouldn't till close to the base of a tree, it once held strawberries but they kept escaping so I'm moving them elsewhere.

East Garden

Before

During

After

Now I just need to rake the garden and plant oats, a green manure, and then till it up again in about three weeks.  This garden will have cucumbers, two types of picklers, cabbages, brussel sprouts, mustard greens and kale.

'Cause Cute Matters!

I bought this at Clare's, at the mall, today.  It's a new coin purse for me and is rather largish, it has a place to hold my license, etc. so it could in fact be used as a mini purse :-)  I liked a LOT of the floral fabric bags, scarves, and headbands they had there but decided that I could make my own and for way less than what they were wanting... which was something like 75% less than what Younkers was asking for almost identical items.

Anyway, I'm off to check my fabric and pattern stashes as I have some skirts and new bags planned for my spring/summer wardrobe!

Garden Stakes

I needed garden stakes so John cut up some of the "shorts" that were littering his shop floor and made some really cute stakes for me, 9 inches long.   Given more time I could have put the plant names on the stakes in a prettier font, I scribbled the plant names on with a sharpie :-)

North Garden In Progress

Last years garden growth.

Raked and shredded with the shredder. I will plant peas in this garden this coming week, and later this spring tomatoes and yellow wax beans.

And now mostly occupying one of the compost bins.  The super wet vegetation is on top we won't shred this due to it being super hard on the shredder.



Salad Garden Planted

Filled with salad fixin's and various herbs for my summer menu.

Three kinds of lettuce to start with, spinach, chard, kale, anise, basil, purple basil, parsley, fennel, dill, and cilantro.  I have more lettuce and  herbs to plant, the other herbs go into another herb garden that's in serious need of raking first.

Raised Beds and Hoop Houses

This raised bed is waiting for it's hoops still, first I need to turn the soil and then plant it with lettuce, chard, and other salad nummies.

Tomorrow I'll add the mesh and then the plastic to the hoops.  The mesh is for later in the season to keep the critters out, the mesh I use is a half inch square plastic netting.

The boards are covering my leek trenches.

Cows 1 0001

Zumwalt Station Farm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dFVkkN0_lM

Spring Time Rocks!

Will post some pictures tomorrow, but was actually able to spend some time outside today in the gardens, mostly picking up debris, limbs, and the like.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be 62F here and if it's not too windy I will be uncovering the front gardens.  Still lots to do, leaves and branches to be shredded, horse manure needs to be fetched for the compost bins, pots to be cleaned, seeds to be started, but I sure do LOVE spring time!

Pasties or Hot Pockets

I used the left over veggie and chicken mixture, and pie crust, to make two hot pockets tonight or if your Welsh then pasties.  This is my first attempt EVER at making hot pockets.  It took about 30 minutes for them to bake, the bottoms are not burnt though the sides are rather brown.

Home Made Chicken Pot Pie

Made chicken pot pie for John tonight, he was in heaven!

1 pint chicken - dark meat
1 pound frozen mixed veggies thawed
4 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed
celery salt
salt
black pepper ground
garlic powder

Mix the meat and veggies in a sauce pan if the meat isn't juicey add about a half cup of water.  Heat to a boil and boil about three minutes, put a lid on the pan to keep the steam in.  Season, to taste, with the spices a pinch of each will do.

If the mixture is super runny add a bit of corn or potato starch to a couple of tablespoons of water stir until well blended and then add to the veggie meat mix.  Heat until it thickens.

To make the crust brown I coat it with some milk before baking using a pastry brush.

Put into your prepared pie crust cover the mixture with a pie crust round, crimp the sides.  Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes or until bubbling.

Pepper and His Kill

Pepper caught a mouse tonight, John came and took away from him as it was freshly dead and I really don't want any late night gifts brought to me while sleeping!   He was laying beside my chair playing, I thought with Thomas, but when I looked down there he was with a mouse!

Snowy Garden

Soon, soon the snow will be melted, the ground thawed and I'll be able to retrieve last years remaining root crops!  The plans for this garden, this summer, are sugar snap peas and then eventually tomatoes and yellow wax beans.

Melting

The snow is slowly receeding soon I will be able to work in my garden again!

Snow covered garden

There really IS a garden under all of this white stuff!

Spring and Crows

The crows are back, a few weeks early actually, this means that in about six weeks the robins and cedar waxwings will also return.  Is this a sign that spring will be early this year?  John certianly hopes so as he's itching to finish painting the house.  I've started planning my gardens and will be starting seeds soon. 

Here the crows are sitting atop my house trying to keep warm.

Cuddled Up.

A serious cold front is moving in and the cats have hunkered down accordingly, on wool blankets no less.

 
Thomas in the upper left hand corner and Pepper in the center.

Rhutabega and Kohlrabi

A four gallon bucket full of Rhutabega's and Kohlrabi.  Will prep them and cook them for dinner tomorrow night.

Rhutabega

It was about the size of a large grapefruit.

Rhutabega and Kohlrabi

My garden yeilded about a half dozen of each of these, not much but considering how horribly wet our growing season was I'm just tickled to get this, and they are HUGE!

Hillbilly Holler Gets a Paint Job!

Hosta's

Fall in Iowa

The clouds were really wild looking when I took this photo, the wind turbines were a nice contrast to the soy beans.

Basket and Vines

A shot of my compost bin, this old slat basket has been propped on the post for years, this year it had vines growing in and around it.

Brown Beef Slices in Au Jus

We browned the meat slices before adding to the jars, added water to the drippings in the pan and then added the juice to the jars.  These will be processed for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure (I'm below 1000 ft).  Can't wait to have a French Dip with Au Jus sandwich!

Busy Bee

Angel

Angel in my wet studio, I was singing Ava Maria to her in latin of course.

More Cheese Please

Pepper begging for cheese.

Rhutabega Blossoms

Rhutabega blossoms, my rhutabega's wintered over and are now blooming, they smell really sweet and quite similar to honeysuckle.

Violets

Clara on the Last Depression

I have to admit I LOVE Clara!

North Garden Planted

John tilled the north garden for the second time in 24 hours this morning, it is now two thirds planted.  I chose to plant mainly cold/cole crops in the north garden this year, later this spring I'll plant tomatoes in the remaining area.  So far I've planted rhutabega's, beets, carrots, purple and green kolrhabi, and red kale.  Can't wait for the greens to start popping up ;-)  We put up the fence, replacing parts of it that was damaged, and are now calling it a night.

He has Risen!

He has Risen!

Image Transfer Class

I'm teaching an Image Transfer Class at the Fisher Art Center, Marshalltown Iowa, this coming Saturday.  I've been making samples for the class.  This particular book is about my garden!

Watercolors over Ink, Rives BFK Paper
6x30 inches

Pineapples

Went to Aldi's tonight they had pineapples on sale for $1.49 each.  I'm planning to put up another batch of pineapple sauce.

Spring!

I spent 15 minutes or so outside picking up trash out of the front and side yards, it was great to be out in the sun.  Parts of my yard are still wet, as in mud hole wet, the front yard, however, is drying out nicely.  Looks like it's going to be a beautiful week, am hoping my one garden spot is dry and warm enough by the weekend to put in some cold crops.