Homemade Mayonnaise, I can't believe it turned out

I've been wanting to make mayonnaise for awhile now. It was pretty easy and I really can't believe it turned out.

Whisk an egg yolk with 1/4 teaspoon each salt, paprika, ground mustard & 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. I will up the amount of spices next time. 3/4 cup olive oil will be whisked in too

Gradually add no more than 1/2 teaspoon of oil and whisk until blended.  This took FOREVER  I was proud of myself for not just dumping the oil in. I definitely lack patience when it comes to stuff like that.

It's  only good for a few days  since our eggs are not pasteurized, and there isn't anything artificial in it, and I'm OK with that :)

Flowers :)

While at the garden center several weeks ago I over heard a young women talking about some of the vegetable plants and their flowers, "what kind of flowers do these get" she asks. I rolled my eyes and thought silly girl these are vegtables they're not pretty.

I have pretty much given up on flowers in my backyard, the chickens just tear them up. (With the exception of a few around the pond)

As it turns out I'm the silly one. There is beauty in all flowers, you just have to look for it. They may not last long, some only a day...hmmm sound familiar... the Day Lilies that I love so. Chickens love them too. They wiped out a 10 foot row in a day!

Cucumbers, Corn and Eggplants

Green Leaf Lettuce,  Potatoes,  and Peas

The Cucumber Experiment

I found a nice page if someone is interested in container gardening. It's got just enough info to get you started but it's not overwhelming.   Just remember, the containers dry out quicker than if planted in the ground, so more watering will be required.

Here it is

I did a little experiment with cucumbers.  I planted 1 in a container and 1 in the ground. They are the same variety and were planted the same day and are right next to each other. The one in the ground seems to be growing better although neither have produced cucumbers yet.

The Cucumber Experiment :)

The carrots & cantaloupe are starting to grow! We had lots of rain and hot weather. Just what they needed!

The graden is growing. Maybe I should say expanding

I added a few more things to the veggie garden. I am officially out of room. I planted carrots and cantaloupe in the flower bed :)  I gave up on flowers because the chickens just tear them up.  I put some plastic chicken wire over the area were I planted the carrots and cantaloupe to keep the chickens (and wild bunnies) out. Once the carrots are harvested I'll plant radishes!

I think I'm going to do some raised beds next year.  I'll have to do some research. Most of the yard is a septic field and I'm not sure if I can put anything on top of it.

I would love to grow watermelon, pumpkins strawberries, and asparagus. And more corn :) 

I think I need a mini greenhouse too!

Hope this keeps the chickens out of the carrots

Here a Chick There a Chick Everywhere a Chick Chick

The Silkies have hatched one chick so far. I decided to separate momma & baby since it didn't work out last time. The mean nasty broody Silkie is sitting on the rest of the eggs. Mostly because I knew I would be able to move the "nicer" one.

The peeping of a baby must have triggered something in one of the older chickens because she too decided she wanted to sit on eggs.  Hailey was on chicken duty and was worried when she wouldn't come in to roost. She was even shaking the can of treats. She was smart enough to let her be. A broody hen can be nasty.  (I train my Mini Me Chicken Keepers well) 

A new chicken joined the flock last week. Her name is Reba. She is super sweet & loves people.  She wasn't being a nice girl to her previous flock mates so a friend asked if I would take her.  At this point what's one more chicken :)  

She spends the night with the "Original" Chickens. When the others go out to their big run she follows me around while I feed & water everyone else. she spends the day in the smaller run because the others gang up on her.  I thought about letting her free range but my neighbor reminded me about the cute fox that sits in their yard watching the chickens through our fence.  And yes a fox can climb my 6 foot fence in a blink of an eye.

It is so cute when Mama talks to her chick.

Reba "Helping" me fill feeders

Not So Green Thumb Gardening

Straw bale gardening worked well for me last year so I figured I'd do it again. I also planted in containers & in the ground.

I use straw bales in the winter to help insulate & block wind around my chicken coops. While the bales are in the runs the chickens sit on them & poop, this helps to fertilize & break down the bales. 

I just make a little hole add I bit of dirt and put the plant in.  I really like using the bales because there are hardly any weeds.  It is also a good hight for me to kneel at without hurting my back.

In the bales I planted tomatoes, brussel sprouts, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, jalapeños, bell peppers & a mystery veggie - I don't know how I ended up with it but it was in my cart & I bought it. 

Everything is growing well even though it snowed last week.   I did have some bugs munching on the brussel sprouts so I made a mixture of garlic, cayenne pepper & water to spray on the plants. That seemed to do the trick. 

I also planted potatoes in a bag.  As the greens grow I'll add more dirt.  I've never tried to grow potatoes. I hope they do well.

This is the 2nd year trying onions. They didn't do so well last year, they just didn't grow very big. I have them in a container again, we'll see what happens. 

I have some "Bush Cucumbers" in a container & in the ground.  The first cucumber plants I got didn't survive the May snow :-/

Last year I bought a hanging container that had beans in it. I reused it this year and put peas in it.

I also planted sweet corn, can't wait for that :)

My raspberries look like the have tripled from last year.  I wonder it I'll get enough to make jam?

My walmart peach tree looks like its growing well, not sure how mature it needs to be before it starts producing peaches though.

Potatoes in a bag

I had to put tomato cages around the corn so the chickens wouldn't stomp on it.

Sebago's New Barn

Sebago moved to a new barn March 1st. He has made many new friends.  He really likes the mares :) 

We have found a wonderful bunch of horsepeople and re found Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I have been learning so much from them. We even participated in  Parelli Workshop with Jake Biernbaum.  What a wonderful experience that was. Who would have thought you could learn something by going in circles.

Hickory (left) and Sebago 

playing 

in the areana

Prince, Lili & Sebago