February 2nd

Well, it looks as though

Punxsautawney Phil saw his shadow.

If you subscribe to this particular

rodent and his meterological

prowess, than we can

expect below average temps

and six more weeks of winter.

But,

in looking at his stats,

he's only been accurate 37% of the time.

So, while his popularity seems to be

simply on his good looks,

I think we'd better just listen

to our local forecasts to get the weather

and maybe

watch a rerun of the movie,

"Groundhog Day"

as a way to celebrate.

😀

***********************************

There wasn't much to blog about last month.

The freezes killed some of our plants,

but some made it.

A few were more hardy than we expected.

The onions, being in the ground,

did really well because

the freezing temps didn't last too long.

We harvest the actual bulb as well

as the green tops, so we essentially get

2 for 1 with these guys.

A few of the broccoli plants died,

but we saved the rest by pruning off the 

dead parts and giving the plants

room to grow.

Head of broccoli

Romanesco broccoli

Everything about a broccoli plant is edible.

Sometimes the stalks are tougher,

but just boil them in stock a bit longer,

then dice up to add to any food or salad.

The carrots and beets did well too.

Several harvests for lunches or to use

in dinner. The veggies always taste

amazing too!

This is carrots, broccoli and beets.

Carrots, microgreens, broccoli and celery leaves.

Microgreens can be the small leaves

of cabbages, kale, beets, lettuce

or just about any green leafy plant.

They actually contain about 45% more

nutrients than the full grown plant,

and they fit nicely on a sandwich!

They taste a lot like sprouts.

(because they are)

Carrots and broccoli

We use the beet tops as lettuce sometimes.

The taste is a bit different, but

its great cut up for use in salads

or as taco ingredients!

The potatoes are poking their heads

out of the soil.

Potatoes are in the nightshade family

and their leaves are poisonous

to humans.

New lettuce crop

Radishes

Lemon grass and spearmint.

Steep lemon grass in hot water

with a tea bag (any flavor)

makes a great lemony tea.

Chickory

These leaves have a slightly bitter undertaste,

but they taste great in a Ceasar salad

or with a stronger dressing like Italian.

Red Cabbage

Cabbage

We grow this mainly for the hens.

They love to eat the leaves.

Flat leaf parsley

Italian oregano

Bay tree flowers

*****************************

The next celebration is Valentine's Day.

  

The freeze killed our ornamentals on the

front porch, so the CEO found

a few pretties on sale at Home Depot.

Yay!

The tall yellow and red flowers are

 Snapdragons and the small white ones 

are Pansies.

More Pansies. 

So pretty and they scream spring!

Mary's Garden.

She's flanked by Rosemary in the large blue pots.

On each side of Her base is Sweet Peas.

We are hoping that as they grow, they'll trellis

up the iron behind Her.

In the forefront is pink Dianthus.

It's a little flower that looks a bit like a carnation.

A few of my succulents.

The CEO was able to put this pot

in the garage under a grow light,

so thankfully they didn't die.

They are 3 different kinds of Kalanchoe.

Can't forget Mardi Gras!

I don't decorate much,

but my colorful wreath

is a family favorite.

Chrysanthemums,

still doing well.

Spider plant.

The CEO was given 2 pieces of spider plant

babies that he planted in hanging baskets.

Hopefully they'll grow.

*****************************

The menagerie.

Ethel and Minew hanging out together.

I really think the cat believes she's a hen!

Ethel giving me the stink eye.

She was in pursuit of a small cricket

and I interrupted her to take a picture.

Feeding time at the Zoo!

The hens are eating cabbage leaves

and Minew is inspecting.

Lucy and Ethel

Lucy

She always looks pissed off,

but she loves to be close to us.

And Minew,

she always has the last word...

Meow!

Lucy, eyeballing me,

with Ethel in the background eating

beet leaves.

Now, if they'd only lay eggs...

This girl is both aloof and needy.

I've never had cats before, but

she kinda adopted us and became

part of the flock.

She drinks from their water feeders

and

she'll even sleep with the feathered ones

in the coop.

Ha!

Ethel says it's time for a 

chicken and cat snack.

Gotta go!

**************************

I hope this day isn't on endless repeat!

Thanks for reading.

💓

💚💙

 

January 6th 2023

Well, it's another Carnival season,

and

Mardi Gras is on 2/21/2023.

As a native of Louisiana, and 

born in New Orleans,

I just don't like the crowds

and the way Mardi Gras has 

changed.

It's always been a raucous celebration

but not the violent things

that have been going on in the

city that I love.

I wish that people could see

it the like it was,

a great legacy that families shared

and good times were had by all.

What makes New Orleans special

are the shared experiences,

the culture and foods that we've grown

to know and love.

That's where the King Cake comes in.

Kings Day, the feast of Epiphany,

when the 3 Kings brought

the Christ child gifts.

It's celebrated by the Catholic church

on January 6th.

It is also Twelfth Night, or

the beginning of Mardi Gras season.

Here,

 we celebrate the days

until Ash Wednesday

and Lent begins.

King Cake parties are held

and whomever gets the baby,

has to have the next party.

It is a fun, and very tasty

treat before Lent.

So, I intend to partake of

several King Cakes this season!

**********************

The recent freezes cost us some plants.

The ornamentals near the front door all died.

The Broccoli and Cauliflower

bed mostly didn't make it.

We have some seedlings ready to plant

to replenish the bed,

so we are hoping there's no more freezes!

2 Broccoli heads lived through the freeze!

Most of my herbs are gone too.

We will replant in the spring.

The Chicory made it too!

This is the Beet and Carrot bed.

The veggies that are mostly

underground can withstand

lower temperatures.

We harvested a few beets before the freeze.

The lighter colored one has white stripes inside.

They all taste the same,

delicious!

The Onions and Garlic.

Greens that have a small amount

of leaf damage.

Mustard Greens for the hens.

The Paperwhite blooms died, 

but the plants survived.

The Aloe Vera plants didn't do very well.

They are mostly water and the

freeze crystalized inside the stems

so that destroyed a lot of the leaves.

We cut off the dead parts and will replant

what we can. 

Aloe reproduces quickly, so

all is not lost.

 

My entourage.

Minew

Ethel

Lucy

Happy New Year from

the menagerie!

Hope this year is wonderful

and brings everyone

many blessings.

Much love from our

Backyard Farm!

💚💙

 

December 22nd

Merry Christmas

I love the pictures of Jesus

and the Holy Family depicted

as more real than the typical

Renaissance paintings.

I can identify with the Blessed Mother

cuddling and loving her baby.

There's a line from the song,

"Mary Did You Know?"

that says,

"When you kiss your little baby,

you kiss the face of God?"

I choose to believe she did know.

She accepted the joy with the

sorrow that was to come.

In that small kiss, to that tiny face,

she was like any other mother,

in awe at this beautiful creation.

One of my favorite seasonal TV

shows is, "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

It's essentially a story about

being depressed during the holidays,

because it has become so commercial,

but in typical Charlie Brown fashion,

he rallies and shows why we celebrate.

One of the more nostalgic parts

is, to me, his choice of a 

Christmas tree.

His sad little tree shows that

from humble roots,

something great will come.

To quote Linus,

"It's not a bad tree at all.

Maybe it just needs a little love."

And,

It's not about what's under it,

it's about who's around it.

And this is the reason for the season.

*****************************

The weather has been all over

the place lately.

It's been hot and sticky, foggy

windy, rainy and cold.

To save our harvest, I've been dehydrating

 as much of the veggies as I can.

I turned the dehydrated peppers into

a blend that I put into a couple of shakers.

The rest has been ground up

for my herbal blend.

I made more mint tea that

I added some dried tangerine

peel to, for a very surprising

and tasty citrus tea.

The cypress leaves seemed to fall

all at once and made a giant mess.

The CEO and I cleaned up what 

we could and put them into the

flower beds to act as mulch.

***********************

The Broccoli and Cauliflower

are doing very well.

We may have to harvest them a bit early

because of the impending freeze.

If that happens, I'll blanche them

and then put them in the freezer.

Banana Peppers

My Paperwhites.

Aren't they beautiful?

Cosmos

Pink Begonia.

The seedlings.

We brought them into the garage

last night to keep them from freezing.

Celery

(Elvis) Parsley

Fat Cat

She's always meowing.

Lucy and Ethel, the geriatric hens.

Does that apply to bossy hens?

*****************************

I like cool weather, but NOT cold weather!

This is too cute!

*******************************

Here's wishing everyone

the most wonderful Christmas!

I hope all your wishes come true.

💚💙

Also,

here's my PSA.

 While sitting on the floor

looking for 2 quarters that 

I had dropped,

I realized 2 things.

1) Always have a backup plan

for getting back up, it's

harder than you think!

2) Seriously!? It's only fifty cents.

They can live under the couch forever!

😁😆