Wow!!! Over 10 years since my last post

 I can’t believe all these years have passed. I am now retired for 10 years and I don’t know where they went

 

We had 7.5 inches of snow on January 21; 2025. That’s unheard of in Louisiana. It stayed on the ground for 2 days. I enjoyed it from inside my warm house…too old for that much fun. 

My grandchildren built this snowman. So much fun .finally getting back into a rhythm after the holidays. Had my family over for our monthly Sunday dinner to celebrate all the January birthdays. We served roast, rice and gravy, carrots, and turnip greens. Cake for dessert.

Weekend Update

We moved the chickens out to the chicken yard. They are in 2 separate brooder boxes, (11 in each). I have one inside nursing a torn wing...I think the other chicks were pecking her and she was bleeding. Looks like her wing will be permenantly disfigured. I named her chicken wing. She was doing much better Sunday night. Dan planted some of the larger tomato plants that we bought. The ones I seeded are not quite ready. Some of them still don't have real leaves yet. There are lots of broccoli and cauliflower and cabbage plants to put in , but I don't know if it's getting too late for them. I seeded them in Jan, but they are just starting to take off with new real leaves.
We had the chickens out in the yard yesterday and the dogs inside so they wouldn't get the chickens. We heard the dogs making a commotion trying to get out to the chickens and all of sudden we see June flying through the kitchen window. The window was open and she decided to charge through the screen . It was so funny....but screen is broken now. Thankfully we caught her before she got a chicken! Got a good rain last night and this morning. The bush beans are planted too.

Seed starting

I started some tomato, broccoli, cauliflower,pepper and eggplant seeds in early Jan. Some of the tomatoes were doing nicely, but March 2nd the temps went down to 26 degrees and I lost some of my creole and BN tomatoes. They were all in a little greenhouse I bought for $20 at Tractor Supply. I lost some of the peppers and the Amish paste tomatoes aren't looking too good. The broccoli and cauliflower and cabbage are just starting to sprout true leaves, but it is getting late to plant them. Need to start my seeds sooner next year and bring them in whtn temps are in the 30's. Last 2 night temps were in the middle 30's and I don't think my plants liked that cold. They looked really droopy. Probably stunted them. I have some tomato plants I bought at the Farmer's Market that are well on their way and still look good. Planting them this weekend or next. I have one BIG tomato plant with flowers already on it from the fruit stand ($4.00). Hope to have some early tomatos from that one. Will be planting corn and pole beans this weekend.
Baby chickens are coming along, growing feathers. I think I have 23. They need food twice a day and water every other day. Still under the heat lamp. Got them on Feb 11. Cat got 1 and 2 died. Dogs are really wanting to get them too.

Peanuts

We started digging the peanuts we planted in June. It is probably a little early, they are very small.

We cleaned them up really good and boiled them in some salted seasoned water for about 2 1/2 hours.

They were very tasty....just didn't have enough. Maybe this weekend we'll try some more.
I bought more broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprout plants last week and we got them in the ground last weekend. So far, they look pretty wilted, I sure hope they recover soon. The rye grass we planted as a cover crop was coming up really well and today when I checked, alot of it has died. Maybe too much rain at one time....so I guess we will reseed that too. Beets are spotty,so will replant those too. Plan to put in some spinach seeds this weekend also. Some of the cole crop seeds are spouting so that's encouraging. Weeds are growing the best of everything though.

Garden Planted update

Well, apparently we have a rabbit in our garden! All of my broccoli plants and most of my caulifower plants are history. Something (a rabbit maybe???) ate them. Very disappointed... I don't know whether to buy some more plants and replant or just see if any seeds come up. I hate to waste money and treat that rabbit to another feast.

Fall Garden Planted

We got the fall plants and seeds in the garden this past weekend. Planted some broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussel sprout transplants and seeds. Also planted seeds for mustard greens, turnips, snow peas, spinach, and beets. Envisioning a bountiful fall garden, hope springs eternal!! We also planted half the garden with winter rye grass hoping to keep some of the weeds at bay. I had a truckload of horse manure delivered and after seeing it decided to let it overwinter and age before tilling it into the garden. Plans are to tear down the existing chicken house and build a new, better orientated one that is easier to get into to clean. Got a nice rain the day after planting, so hopfully the plants and seeds get off to a great start!!

Magnolia and Gardenia blooms

It's springtime in Louisiana and the beautiful state tree is blooming. If you have never smelled a magnolia bloom you are missing a sweet part of heaven on earth. The blooms are large and very fragrant. The downside is they don't last long after you pick them off the tree..maybe a day. But for that day, they are sweet and intoxicating, filling the whole room with wonderful fragrance.

Gardenias are similar in smell  and just as delicate a flower as the magnolia. It too turns brown all too soon once picked. But the fragrance it brings to the room is worth the sacrifice of losing a few flowers off the bush. This is the first year my bush really bloomed and it must have about 30 flowers on it waiting to pop out. In an effort to make the flowers last longer this time I smashed the stems with a hammer so they could take up more water. I'll see if this helped any.

New Flower Bed

My son created a new flower bed for me last weekend. I transplanted a wisteria vine to the back, planted 2 knock out roses in the center, a hibiscus on the left and a hanging basket of Tex-Mex geraniums on the right.
I have not tried growing these before because I haven't had a sunny flower bed and now I do!.I surely hope the plants do well. I still have to put some mulch in...maybe this weekend.

Plantation plantings

My cousin and I went to St. Francisville to visit a few plantations while she was here visiting.These were taken at Afton Villa where the gardens and remains of a large plantation are located.

These were taken at The Myrtles, one of the haunted plantations in the area. There is a special mystery tour in the evening, but we couldn't stay for that.

 These were taken at Oakley Plantation where John Audubon spent 3 months painting some of his beautiful birds. I just love all the old gardens and this was the 1st time I had ever seen asparagus growing. It inspired my to try to grow some next season.

Easter Vacation

 We are at Henderson Beach with my son and his family The beach is gorgeous and the weather is perfect in the mid 80s Hope everyone had a Blessed Easter Here are a few pics


 

My Granddaughters enjoying the beautiful beach. It is glorious here.

My grandson fought going to sleep till almost 3 p.m., but when we placed him in the wagon to go back to the campground he fell sound asleep in seconds

Loquat Jelly

I made some loguat jelly last weekend. Down here we call them Japanese plums. The tree is a tropical and when we get mild winters like the last one we usually get a crop. Husband likes the jelly and it wasn't difficult to make. Am packing the camper for a trip to Florida this weekend with my son and his family. Haven't used the camper in a while so I need to get in there and do some cleaning. Not my favorite thing to do, so I am procrastinating and writing my blog.

Rainy Spring

We are having a very rainy spring this year and quite warm too. The temperatures have been in the upper 80's for several weeks now. Usually we don't hit them till the end of April. I hope its not an omen for a super hot summer. Much as I want to hope global warming is not happening, I think it is probably. I really don't like the summers here in Louisiana, way to humid and hot. I need to hit the lottery and buy a house in Maine for the summer! What a sweet thing that would be.
The garden is planted but I haven't had time to check it lately. The green beans were coming up sporadically so I think we will have to fill in the gaps soon. The tomatoes I grew from seeds didn't look so hot either. Might have to buy some from the nursery. I hope when things dry out a little I can get a better look at things in the garden.
Need to pack for our camping trip to Destin, FL for Easter.
Later...

Back Again

I have been snoozing for quite a while now. Think I will give this blog another try. Its a good way to document my interests and family life as time flies by.

We had a wonderful family reunion Saturday with my sisters and brothers and their families. Little brother boiled crawfish along with corn, potatoes, mushrooms, and sausage for about 50 people. We also had hamurgers and hot dogs and LOTS of yummy desserts. Kids had an Easter egg hunt and the top prize was a 1922 Silver dollar donated by my oldest brother. My cousin from Maryland was our special guest for the day. Some of us hadn't seen her since we were kids. It was a little on the warm side, but everyone enjoyed themselves.

Boating on the Tchfuncte River

Last weekend we took some of our grandchildren boating on the Tchfuncte River in South Louisiana. It is a beautiful river that flows into Lake Pontchartrain by New Orleans. The kids had great fun riding in the boat

and hanging onto the inflated tube while the boat pulled them.

 We stopped awhile and let them swim in Lake Pontchartrain. They all had their life jackets on like diapers so the could float better. Got a picture of them "Bottoms Up"

DIL had a good time too.

Son and granddaughter tried their feet at skiing. Both got up. Husband even tried and got out of the water...pretty good for an old man.

We saw a few alligators lurking around some of the tributaries of the river, but none where we were.

I'm BAAAACK!

Gonna try this blogging thing again. Been really busy this summer gardening and canning and vacationing. It's been one HOT summer so far and doesn't look like anything is gonna change soon. Temps in the high 90's and heat indices in the 110's to 115's. Have to admit, I haven't been out to the garden since middle of June....just can't take that awful heat.
All the chickens are gone....something ate them when we took a trip out to the Grand Canyon in June with my son and his family. So we are out of the chicken business for a while, husband is happy about that.

These are pictures of my 2 friends....June Tune (yellow) and Tar Baby (black). It's been so hot, husband has let me keep them inside when I am home. They think they are in heaven. Cooking red beans and rice today a Monday tradition here in the south.

Beans, Beans, and more Beans

After the rain Tuesday morning, I decided to go out to check on the garden. The corn was bent over the green beans and the rows were flooded with water. When I looked closely at the plants, I saw beaucoup beans. I couldn't just leave them there, so I start to pick a few...and it turned into a few more and then many more. I ended up picking 6 more pounds of them. Snapped them while watching TV that night. Wednesday I canned 6 quarts and 1 pint. Haven't tasted the canned ones yet, but I sure hope they taste as good as fresh. I wonder how many more pickings we will get from this go-round of beans. Still didn't pick any beets yet, maybe this weekend. Have a few squash on the vines and realized one must be a volunteer plant because it just came up in the middle of a row of spinach. The squash look like little green balls. I think I planted that kind a few years ago and it's just now germinating.
Also planted some moon vine seeds. That  is a beautiful flower. I sure hope they come up.
Guess I need to plant another round of squash this weekend too.

Rain, Finally!

Finally some rain...thank Heaven for it. It has been very dry the last month. We only got a few little sprinkles twice since March 8th when we had a deluge for 4 days....so 7 weeks with little or no rain. The garden is smiling today...it's nice to get a bath.
We planted a big garden again this spring. Potatoes, carrots, beets, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, field peas, eggplant, okra, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries. Saturday I canned 11 pts of green beans, our first picking, 6 lbs of them. They look so pretty in the jars, makes me feel like I accomplished something. About time to pick the beets, I think. Maybe this weekend.

12 Hours in the kitchen

Yesterday I spent 12 hours in the kitchen. I made and canned tomato sauce, shelled and froze purple hull peas, froze green beans and lima beans, and baked a ham. Husband picked  plenty of banana peppers and I was going to try to pickle them, but I just couldn't muster the strenght and it was already 8:00 p.m. I brought them to work today for my coworkers to enjoy.
The garden has pretty much gone to weeds, we are having a really hot summer, heat indices in the 100s. It rained abundantly from the end of last month through the 1st part of this month. That got the weeds off to a good start, since we couldn't get into the garden and pull them without sinking into the mud. The squash bugs are decimating the tomatoes with their greedy little sucking activities.
We have picked about 10 canatloupe so far and 2 watermelons. I don't think the lima beans are doing very well, but the squash is still producing.
I guess it's time to start \planning our fall and winter garden.

Give Away

I found a neat giveaway on the Vintage Worksite web page. The prize is a wonderful garden seed packet apron, seed packet tote bag, seed packet pillow. All you have to do is leave a comment on their webpage here, about what you are growing in your garden or would grow if you had a garden. I enetered and the deadline is May 16th. Check it out!

Vera's gone

No more Vera....I gave up on the the sourdough bread with no added yeast. The 3rd week I cooked it and it was better, but I still didn't like the taste, so I threw Vera out. No sense wasting time and ingredients on something I don't like anyway. I will concentrate on making some bread in my bread machine and try to perfect that. So here I goooooooooo!