Projects...

I'm back to knitting fairly regularly again, finally. Since the accident, I didn't often have either the energy or the dexterity to work with my hands, so easing back in to knitting has been slow, but nice.

I'm hoping to do another bazaar or two again this Christmas, so I'm working on building up a good and diverse inventory. Right now, I'm focusing on washcloths, since those were my best seller last year, followed by my bike helmet earmuffs. I'll be making heaps of both this time, so as not to run out again.

About 3/4 of my project yarns were gifted to me, so they cost me nada out of pocket, which means that if/when I'm able to sell what I make from them, it'll be mostly straight profit. Yay!

I did need some more kitchen cotton though, so I spent $30 on quite a bit of yarn at Michaels, which I have (so far) turned into 3 3/4 dishcloths which will, in theory, sell for $5 each. Here's hoping that I make enough to cover my expenses at least!

I also recently picked up a few clearance herbs at Bark & Garden, several of which look like they are prime for dividing. I spent $33 there, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to make a good chunk of that back selling live plants (started from these) at our farm stand in the future. Even if I don't (but I hope I do), I will have spent $2 each on some really interesting herbs that would cost at least that much for a cut bunch in the produce section of the grocery store.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Today's Take - 8/31/12

*Eggs - 6

*Apples - 4 pounds for us, 3 pounds of windfalls for the critters

*Blackberries - 1 pound

Today's Take - 8/29/12

Froo-its! We have all manner of pie and jam fixin's busting out all over just now. :)

This is just the tip of the apple iceberg, and the blackberries don't show any signs of abating soon either. Yay for free fruit!

*Eggs- 5

*Apples - 10 1/2 pounds

*Blackberries - 1 pound, 10 ounces

Today's Take - 8/23/12

More of the same - it's high blackberry season, which will soon give way to apple-mania.

*Eggs - 4 (What's up with that, laydies?)
*Wild Blackberries - 1 pound, 1 ounce
*Windfall apples - 8 or 9 (unweighed) that went straight to the goaties, who appreciated their under-ripe yet bruised texture very much. ;)

Today's Take - 8/17/12

Well, it seems like our extended, super wet Spring, followed by these past two weeks of miserable heat may have finally paid dividends in the form of a berry landslide.

Today the girls, some friends and I went back to the u-pick blueberry farm just up the street and managed to pick 2 pounds of berries from just 5 or 6 bushes. They were chock full! We'll try to get back and pick a few more once or twice at least before the season wraps up, because at $2.25 per pound for organic, I intend to fill up on berries for eating fresh, making jam and freezing for use in baked goods and breakfasts throughout the next year.

The marionberries and blackberries are also pretty epic this year. Just today I picked a pound of berries from a bush that grows in the chickens' yard. I also got a lot of unwanted attention from the cluckers while picking, and so shared a berry with them for every 4 or so that I picked for myself. They would scramble and race each other to every berry that dropped with the winner then high-tailing it away to a secluded place in which to snarf down their prize. They haven't been waiting on my kindness though - they've been helping themselves to all of the berries that they can reach. You can definitely tell how high they are able to jump, based upon the total absence of berries below about 18 inches off of the ground. ;)

As much as I whine and complain about this crazy weather, I sure am thankful that it has provided us with so much beautiful food.

P.S. - The apple trees and pear tree are loaded too! YAY!

*Goat Milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - 15!
*Marionberries/blackberries - 1 pound
*Blueberries (u-pick) - 2 pounds
*Garlic (from Lisa) - 28 heads!
*Potatoes, squash, basil & beans (also from Lisa) - Lots!

Today's Take - 8/12/12

If you count the blueberries from the organic u-pick berry farm down the road, today's take has berry buttermilk waffles written all over it. :)

*Goats milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - 9
*Blueberries - 1 pound, 6 ounces
*Wild blackberries - 10 ounces

Annabel

My Annabel, my very first hennie, is dying.

There isn't much to be done for seriously ill chicken, and so I feel helpless just seeing her decline day by day. I could take her to the vet, but being honest, I know that it'd be a pointless exercise. We've taken chickens to the vet in the past, we've never taken a chicken home from the vet.

If anybody has any suggestions, I'm willing to try them. She has been losing strength over the past few days and eats very, very little. Her comb has a grayish-blue cast that scares me. She doesn't look to be in pain, just very tired.

I'm wringing my hands. I don't know what I should do for her.

Today's Take - 8/8/12

Bill & I are doing a little garden-sitting for a friend, so today when we stopped by to water and pick, we scored BIG on the veggies.

Beanapalooza!

I'm going to have to find out exactly what variety of beans these are, because they're insanely huge. Seriously, some were a good nine inches long! We chopped up a handful of them and one of the zucchinis and added them to our chicken & dumplings tonight. Delicious!

I think I'm going to use the cukes (pickling and slicing varieties) to make a jar of bread and butter pickles. As for the mountain of beans, we will probably blanch and stir-fry them with dinner for at least the next few days. *stomach grumbling* :)

*Goats Milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - ?
*Cucumbers - 1 pound, 9 ounces
*Zucchini - 1 pound, 3 ounces
*Beans/Haricots - 2 pounds, 6 ounces
*Handful of Red Romaine lettuce, peas and cherry tomatoes

Today's Take - 8/5/12

*Goats milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - None collected :(
*Chicken harvested- 1, about 6 pounds, "King Kong", 17 month old Austalorp rooster

Today's Take - 8/4/12

Oh the heat! If only we had plants that would thrive in it, instead of only having critters who suffer on account of it. :( Today's high was 94, which is misery to a PNW girl like me.

We helped the pup keep cool by giving him ice cubes, which he loves to crunch, as well as a container of homemade chicken stock, straight out of the freezer. Rexy licked that thing down to a nub, grateful for the relief.

The goats did a lot of lounging in the shade to beat the heat, while the chickens walked around with their wings out, airing their armpits (wingpits?) in an attempt to shed a little heat. We all made it, but we're all a little worse for the wear. ;P

*Goats milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - 2 :(
*Raspberries (from Lisa's garden)- 14 ounces

Today's Take - 8/3/12

Pretty much the same as usual, for this week, anyway. ;)

*Goats milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs - 7
*Marion berries - 6 ounces
*Blackberries - 6 ounces

Today's Take - 8/1/12

Oops - forgot to post this last night!

*Goat milk - 1/2 gallon
*Eggs- 13
*Marion Berries - 14 ounces