No Excuse

I have no excuse for how long it has been since I have blogged.  I am sad that I have missed out on documenting the things we have been doing the past 3 months.  But I can't look back.  I must move forward. 

But give me just a few minutes to capture some of the "back."

 We had our first big honey extraction.  It was an amazing mess.  We had so much fun!  Thanks to our friends George and Paige Nester for letting us use their extractor.

 We has some gorgeous burr comb on top of the frames.

 Nice full and capped cells!

 We scraped the cappings and then loaded the frames into the extractor to spin out the honey.

 You know how it is when you know something should work but you have never done it?  When you see it work with your own eyes, it is kind of amazing.

 We had lots of fresh cappings to clean for use in making chapstick and lotion.  Maybe even soap if I get brave.

 I had lots of help.  Crazy help, but still help.

 The result was better than I imagined.  We harvested about 90 pounds of honey from 2 hives!!!

 These boys had a date to the motocross.  Asher wouldn't smile so Matt was helping him.

 

While the boys were gone, I made some honey-fermented garlic and fire cider for the upcoming cold season.  That fresh honey sure does make me happy!

 We also got to go to our local Fall fair.  It just gets better every year!  My kiddos always love the face painting.

 

  Having a teenage girl is not always easy but it sure if fun!  I love this group of sweet girls.  (there are a couple missing) 

I come to the garden alone...



 Not sure if you know that hymn (I love the girl who sings on this link) but it is a good one.  It is also oh so true.  Spending time in the garden thinking and talking to God.  It is my favorite time.  I crave more time there. 

 

Sad little sunflowers were the only ones to come up.  But not to be conquered, I planted more seeds this week!

Beans are coming up!

Found a peanut!!  Seriously.  I make it a point to try something new each year.  This year it is 2 peanut plants and 3 strawberry pants.  We shall see.

 My solo time in the garden has to be stolen. . .nap times, the last few minutes of sunlight after the kids are tucked in, and sometimes an early morning.  Like fitting in exercise, if it is important, you find the time. 

 

A line of peppers. 

This looks like a mess right now but before too long they will be tomato trees!!!

Hi happy little 'mater!

But I do have to apologize.  If I have ever said to you, "Oh gardening is easy!  You just throw a plant in the ground and add water."  Just disregard that comment.  I must have made it in January, that month when gardening seems mythical and magical.  Gardening is rewarding but it is not easy. 

 

 

Faithful zucchini.

Teeny cucumbers.

 Take the picture below for example.  What was last week clean barren dirt is this week a matted pile of weed seedlings.  We had great rain and feel blessed.  This, however, was bound to come next.  I am not sure why the weeds have a deeper root and can withstand any torture you might throw at them while my precious garden plants like to wither if you look at them wrong.  There is a profound and spiritual theory in there somewhere.

 

Evil.

This is how they come up, in big clumps of roots.

 As I stoop over the weeds and whack at them with a hoe, I am reminded that not only is hoeing good for the garden, it is also good for my core!  So I guess I can't complain.  Hard work, sunshine, the dirt under my nails and the blisters on my palms are all signs of a healthy, capable body.  For that I sing praise.

 

Such vibrant green lettuce.  So good.

Been snacking on these babies,



with this baby.  He is my mini-me and I love him.

 

The only things that I really would like to rid our gardens of are rabbits, who are from the bowels of Hades and the sand-blasting winds which also seem to resemble Satan's craft.  Oh well, this is not Eden.  Its just the Texas Panhandle.  Semantics really.

 



We are trying roosters again.  Wish us luck!  Hopefully I will not have to relieve this one of his duties as I did the last. 
(The story is too gruesome to share here.)

Bees at the water.  The rocks keep them from drowning.

Corn!  This is the cute Indian corn that I got from my Papa.  Can you still say Indian Corn or should it be Native American corn? 

Even with all of the hurdles, I still love to be in my garden more than any other place.  Ok, so my porch swing comes in a close second.  So I will continue to come to the garden alone.  Hopefully that time will be more, "He walks with me and he talks with me" and less, "Don't go out there because mom is cussing the rabbits."  Hee hee.  We will see how the season goes.



Life on the Prairie is good.  The grass is greening from the rains and it makes for a lovely spot to sit and listen to Spring go by.  Praying the same for where you are!

All new things.

We are in full swing Spring!  Lots of new babies and green stuff popping up here and there.  No thanks to our weather.  That has been just gross.  It should never rain mud.  (seriously, our weather men call it "raining mud balls") 

 

However, I will not let it get me down.  We keep on going and pray that soon, that sweet Spring moisture will fall from the sky.

 

This is so exciting to me!  Lots of new bees.  I have had to feed them a little to help them through this dry time.  But they seem healthy and thriving.

Some cuttings from my Grandma's plants.  I am trying to root them a bit before planting.  I would love for these to take off!

This is what you get with the Panhandle Spring wind.  Dirt and lots of it.  Today the sky is blue instead of brown.  That's a start.

Who doesn't love a baby?  So cute!  This is Flores.  She (or he) is named after my sister and her family as they were present during the birth.  This is the kitty that hisses at us.  New Mexico attitude already.  :)

Have to have this picture every year.

 

 



My sweet friend from church gave me two chicks she had used in a story time at the library.  We were able to convince this broody mama to take them as her own.  They are doing great!

This little critter follows me all over the yard.  She loves being outside with mama.  I love having her with me.

Oh, and today is her birthday!  Happy 2 Micah!  We love you sweet thing.



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The business of being busy.

I hate that word.  Busy.  I say it all of the time. 

 

"Not now, mommy is busy."

 

"Oh my gosh we have been so busy!"

 

"Sorry I didn't call you back, I got busy doing something."

 

 

I hate that we are too busy for anything.  But we do choose things we love to be busy with so that makes it better I guess. 

 

During this season cooking has become a bit more difficult.  I really have to be on my game to have nutritious meals that everyone likes planned and ready before we have to take off somewhere.  So I put a ton of work into my meal planning, grocery shopping and pre-cooking.  My kiddos don't always appreciate the time I spend.

 

Last week, I had made a quick fried rice with some yummy veggies and grilled chicken.  I spent 30 minutes cooking only to have my kids turn up their noses and say they were not hungry.  I felt defeated.  Matt, he felt mad.

 

So he called a family meeting and without talking to me about it, declared the next week, "Mom's week off from cooking"  I was shocked and a bit miffed.  I didn't want my kids eating cereal for a week.  But then he laid the ground rules.  No cereal, the kids could cook mom-approved meals, and dad could help but not mom.  The goal was to show them what a nice thing it is to have all of their meals prepared for them.  Doing it yourself is not so much fun.

 

I have to admit, I didn't like it as much as I though I would.  And I might have cheated a bit by buying things like rotisserie chicken for the kids to prepare.  It just felt wrong to not be caring for my babies.  They had to do everything on their own, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  There may have been some mac n cheese employed.  They are just kids after all.
 (I might have also helped with packing lunches but don't tell dad.) 

 

In the end, they really did a great job and I enjoyed the break.  I think we might employ a once-a-week kids night for cooking.  They learned a lot about the kitchen last week and I think it's good for them! 

 

 



This guy had a Texas performance at school.  Doesn't he look handsome?

This baby found some lipstick.  She was very proud of it.  When I asked her to smile, she did this...

Goofy!

Signs of Spring are all around.  I am sooooooo ready!

Speaking of busy, these girls are back in production.  I am sure there are babies already growing in their cells.  See the pollen on her leg, no clue where she is getting it but it smells a little like hay. ( I was able to smell it when one of the clumps fell off and I picked it up to see what it might be.)

School stuff and country life.

This is Asher and his bestie Joe.  They have know each other forever!  The got to run this morning to raise money for their school.  Yes, Joe is giant!

My baby boy ran close to 3 miles!!!  I would die.  No seriously.  I would pop a lung and die.  So proud!

Matt and Levi ran with Zaddok.  That is hair on Matt's lip.  It's a workplace agreement.  No shaving the 'stache until after Thanksgiving.  It is the first time I have every seen my husband with that much hair on his lip.   

He did almost 2 miles.  Awesome bud!

Micah B. is my sister's baby.  I saw this exact face almost every morning of my childhood.  God bless those little mouth-breathers.

In a more flattering picture, Jolie loves to take her baby sister and doll her up.  Here she is wearing Jolie's skirt transformed into evening-wear.  Love that relationship.

Poor, poor chicken.  This looks like it might have taken some concentration.  The egg on the left is normal.  The eggs on the right is, abnormal.

This is what we had inside.  Siamese twins!



The last harvest was delicious.

This...well, this is an example of the random things that I find laying around my country home.  Gross and cool all at the same time.  Yes, it is dead and dried.  Not sure what to do with him now.  It seems kind of mean to just throw him away.