Worn Out - But Pressing On

It’s been nuts around here.  And we just keep plugging along.  Today’s accomplishment consisted of getting 27 packages of carrots into the freezer.

Speaking of the freezer - we found this ‘ sanity saver ‘ on Craigslist last week!  Got a great deal on it - $250.00.  And it’s in wonderful condition!

Dwayne and one of our neighbors went to pick it up yesterday morning.  Sent him home with canned tomatoes - a few jars of tomato sauce - fresh tomatoes - and a jar of pole beans - a thank you for helping us!

So far - we’ve crammed the chest freezer with 89 packages of green beans.  We did the 27 packages of carrots today.  I’ve lost count on the cases of canned tomatoes that I’ve managed to get done.  And then I got almost 2 cases of ½ pint size jars of tomato sauce.  And the tomatoes keep coming.

I have a drawer full of jalapeno peppers ready for canning.  We still have potatoes to get out of the ground and get canned with the pressure canner.  We’ve harvested the pole beans enough to fill 3 quart size jars - so far.  And the 5-gallon bucket is crammed full with another load.

I’ve dehydrated pineapple and a bag of onions that I bought at the store.  We have over 20 onions curing out on the front porch that I’ll be running through the dehydrator before packaging with the FoodSaver.  And the corn is coming along.

It all sounds like so little work in type.  There’s so much that has gone on in between - just trying to get anything accomplished.  The weather - okay - the heat - has gotten in the way with everyone out here this year.

We drive through our neighborhood and see where folks just gave up on fighting with the weeds in their gardens, as well.  It’s just been too hot to get out there and deal with it all.  And to be honest - the grassy stuff growing up around the veggies has actually been a help with retaining moisture in the soil to help against the lack of rain we’ve had.

I now have two dogs - a cat - and fifteen chicks to take care of.  Working in the garden - doing the canning - freezing - dehydrating.  Carrying everything back and forth from the garden.  Getting the laundry taken care of down in the basement.  All the trips up and down the stairs to store all the food that’s been put away.  Trying to keep up with cleaning the house.  We got the rain we needed - enough that we’re having to mow again - and Dwayne does the weed eating.

I go to bed wiped out.  I wake up wiped out.  I hit the floor running.  Chickens - cat - and dogs are dealt with before I even get to sit down with my first cup of coffee.

I’m hanging in there - keeping one thought in mind the whole time - just to get me through all this right now.

Actually - I am getting some help after going to the doctor this past week.  I’ve been put on an anti-inflammatory called Meloxicam.  It’s not doing much - but it’s helping a little.

That thought?  Oh - “ I will not be doing a vegetable garden next year. “

I’ll be able to focus on fixing up the flowerbeds around the front of our house next year.

And running all around this entire region - chasing Farmer’s Markets!

I just might get some rest.

I know one thing for sure.  My hubby won’t have to seal the house next year.  He won’t have to build a chicken coop next year.  And he won't have to drag me down to Savannah while picking up a tractor!

Trust me.  You just had to be here and see it - to understand the importance of those facts.

I’m so proud of him!

Dam Breaks in Iowa

Ages and Stages Before Feathers

What a difference only 4 weeks can make.

( For those that live in the city - Make sure you click twice on the photos to see the feathers closer! )

This was taken on June 24, 2010 - a few minutes after we brought our itty-bitty  2-3-Day-Old Buff Orpington chicks home!

This one was taken July 10, 2010.

This one was taken on July 19, 2010.

And this was taken today!

They go through this ' Ugly Betty ' period - looking like something only a Mama could love!

And then they get outside and take those dirt baths - and - those beautiful feathers show up and just blow your mind!

I'm almost jealous.  These girls even have pretty butts!

It will be a while before we know exactly whether or not we have any roosters.

Right now - I am seeing an exhibition of behavior from one particular bird that has already learned how to pull a ' Bruce Lee ' kick with both feet in the air and attacking.  And he ( ? ) really likes doing that with one other chick.

They're fun to watch out in the yard.  And they're funny!

But the real fun I'm having now is - I have three that compete for coming up to get a turn having me pet them on their backs!

I think they're pretty!

Meeting the Heat with Flexibility

This morning was a hot - muggy - 76* July morning in Loudon County, Tennessee.

Not normal - at all.

The Dallas grass around here was soggy wet.  So wet that the paws were just soaked on the pups when they came back up to the porch after their morning romp out in the yard to take care of business.

And just as soon as the sun began to peek over the edges of the tree canopy around  here - all that moisture began rising into the atmosphere - like a smoky blanket.

The air was heavy and humid enough to leave the smell of my onions in the dehydrator floating all around the back porch.

Trust me.  You never want to run a dehydrator full of onions inside the house.  The first five minutes will have your eyes wanting to run out of the house - tears falling down your face - uncontrollably.

The girls seemed to be curious enough about exploring in their yard.  They’re learning how to venture in and out of their house by tackling the little ramp Dwayne made for them.

But the warning came a day early - thankfully.

Today would be the beginning of a few days when it would just be too hot to cook on the stove inside the house.  Not because of the temperature inside the house.  But because the power around here goes off and on so often - when the temps soar outside.

Instead - supper began around 10:30 am this morning - out on the smoker - before the heat outside became too much to bear.  Before the afternoon thunderstorms showed up.

Grilled Boneless Chicken Filets - with my own special marinade - to be sliced and set upon a really nice - cool - flavorful - summer salad!

The next couple of evenings will be spent cooking up a few ingredients to chill - for what I call ' Truly Cool Meals ' that don't heat up the house - or - leave us feeling like we're still carrying a brick in our gut by the next morning.

It's Official - My To-Do List Has Cancer

I woke up this morning and pulled one of my spontaneous stunts.  I punched my husband to wake him up.

“ You wanna go fishing?  Get up! “

Soooo…. We went fishing this morning.  We needed a break - desperately.

I needed this awesome view of the Cherokee National Forest and all the other gorgeous beauty we have around here.

I caught a greasy old Channel Catfish - ‘ ick… ‘ - and a Perch.

End of that story about a morning that sucked.

We always have loose threads around here.  Some days - you just have no choice.  Some things get left undone.

And then - there’s the one thing you actually do finish - that makes being lost in Hell worth it.

The girls have moved into their brand new house!

" Yes! "

We have had 15 of our children move out!  All in one single day!

How cool is that!

I really couldn’t tell ya’.  I’m so wiped out and ready for fall that the reality hasn’t soaked in - yet.

Anyway - this is a huge day for us.  We have had so many brick walls jump in front of us while trying to get this dad-gum Chicken Hotel constructed.  When all else failed - Mother Nature decided to break the record around here for the most days straight of pushing us through temperatures over 90* - no rain - no humidity - no mercy.

I'd rather Mother Nature had the nerve to transform into a human form so I could take her out to our barn for giving us a couple hours of a downpour  - in the middle of a 97*  sun-blistering afternoon - that turned my gorgeous tomatoes into looking like Old Hags.


Maybe it will all hit me after I clean the area down in the basement where they’ve been living for the past few weeks.

I think this will be one time when I will actually get through it without shedding one single tear.

Okay - well - that is - until I walk back up those stairs and face all the tomatoes - potatoes - and carrots.


And this isn't even half of the ones hijacking the kitchen countertops right now.  Nor is it any of the cases we've already carried down to the basement.

Now that I think about it - we haven’t made our way up to Norris Lake this year - yet.

Vacation Time? Right.....

It’s just that time of year for us.  Dwayne took a week of vacation - and we are buried in our projects for this year.

I joked on FaceBook last night - “ Our dad-gum kitchen looks like a Produce Stand.”

Think I’m kidding?

Green beans have already come and gone - overloaded our chest freezer.  Only this top layer consists of anything but green beans.

Tomatoes are trying to kick my butt right now.  That's the top to a Rubbermaid Cake Carrier.  This load here landed 15 pints tonight.

Our first jar of dried pole beans.  I have about two more jars drying out on towels now - with ‘ beau coup ‘ more out there sunbathing.

These are from only three plants that I tried to dig under today.

I’ve begun stringing the Cayenne Peppers.

I’ve got a mess of sweet onions curing out on the front porch.  Looks like I’ll be slicing those up for the dehydrator to make onion flakes.

They didn’t come out near as big as the ones I grew last year - and I was really disappointed.  But then I made it over to our local Farmer’s market last week and found out I’m not alone.  Several folks from around here had the same disappointment as me.  Apparently - it was this crazy weather.

I can’t even get to the drawer full of Jalapenos.  There’s a pile of carrots on top of that - and plenty more out in the garden that the two of us just cannot get to at this moment.

Dwayne did a wonderful job finishing up the painting on the Chicken coop.  I did the rolling on both coats of the red.  He did the cut work and all of the white trim.

That reminds me - For the White paint - We used Behr Premium Plus Exterior Semi-Gloss Ultimate White.

For the Red paint - Behr Premium Plus Exterior Semi-Gloss Base #5340 with the following color code:

CLRNT    F     KX     L       V
OZ            2      0        2        7
384th     0      88     148    148

I have no idea what all that means.  I only know what it looks like.  LOL  But that’s how it’s labeled on the sticker.

Dwayne installed the interior wall and door yesterday - as well.  I began mowing while he drove to Lenoir City to pick up an electric stapler before starting on that.

Today was a day filled with getting the poultry netting installed on the yard.  Once we got that finished - I headed over to start digging up potatoes - while Dwayne began making hinges and a few other tidbits.

He’s making the little ramp tomorrow for the girls to walk up and down from the yard to inside.  And we’ll be installing the protection barrier around the entire chicken coop and yard to keep predators away.

Well - I’ll help as much as I can after I get back from my doctor’s appointment.

And then it will be time to move the girls in to their new home!

And I don’t think they’ll be the least bit disappointed about that!  They’re all trying to flex their wings - enough to jump out of their brooder.  I’m messing with their heads by using some cardboard on each end of the brooder.  But - I don’t think I’ll get another week out of that one.

As for me - I’m looking forward to that last and final deep cleaning of their area in the basement!

We’re hoping and praying to find an upright freezer before Dwayne goes back to work.

The harvesting and canning continues.  I am gonna push things and use the pressure canner to can the potatoes.  We have percentages of chance for rain all next week - so the temps should be tolerable.

And in between - there are the usual chores.  I’m half tempted to ask my husband to just - put me a slide in for getting down to the basement.  It would cut the torture on my knees in half.

Whoops.  Time to get.  That timer is about to go off on another run of tomatoes.

Hero woos commission with soulful crooning

A few nails closer!

Slowly but surely - we're getting there.  I helped Dwayne get the first coat of paint on the other day - before the rain showed up.

This shot doesn't show the true color of the paint.  Late afternoon sun hitting it.  And Dwayne says it has something to do with the color and process of the sealing done during manufacturing of the siding.


We have a second coat of paint to cover.  And all the trim he got installed will be painted white.

This shot shows a more realistic view of the finished color we will have on the coop.  I guess the lighting was just right.


Anyway - down on the lower left corner is the little door for the girls to walk in and out.  That door will be latched open during the day - closed at night.

This is their - boudoir!  LOL

We will be installing a wall with - yet - another door - on the inside.  This will help avoid any poultry stampedes - and enable us to handle the food storage area with peace of mind!

More to come later!

Coming Along

Things are coming along.

He'll even put in the insulation - for chickens!

You can see where Dwayne's going to cut out and make the little door at the bottom - for the girls to come and go as they please - out to their little yard - during the daytime.

This is what it looks like after getting the walls up today.

Quite a view - from a Chicken's window!

We are growing up!

And we got our temporary house remodeled!



















Yeah!  No more hard floor with messy wire mesh to sleep on.  Now we have really cushy hay!

And we don't even have trouble drinking water.

Check it out.  They gave us another perch!

Eating is just - no sweat!



















Yeah, but - remember me?

I still own all of this!

Yeah - but I'm still cute!

C'mon - say it.

Just say it!

Wanna come have a slumber party with us?

Not Doin' This Next Year

I’ve given up.

I’m not putting a garden in next year.

Nope.

I’m gonna take all that time - and float it - in a swimming pool - all by myself.

Okay - with my Hubby - if I can get him to float.

It’s hot here.  It’s hot everywhere on the eastern side of the country.

In fact - it’s so hot that I put my foot down.  I refuse to cook another meal on the kitchen stove until this heat wave has moved on.

Tried to cook a meal yesterday.  The power tripped several times.

Tried cooking on the smoker today.  It’s too dangerous to light up out by the back porch.  So - that means trying to kill myself going up and down stairs - Ohhhhhhh - I don’t even know how many times.  So - I won’t be doing that again during Hubby’s work days - as well.

I hate those stairs.  It’s always something.  There’s always something that drives me nuts going up and down those god-forsaken stairs - wearing my butt out - killing my knees.  I’m ready to stark yanking nails out - one at a time.

And that pressure canner.  Won’t even be able to use that thing again - safely - until fall.  At best - I’ll be water-bathing tomatoes to hold up until I can make my spaghetti sauce - without the power bleeping off and on all the time.  Even at that rate - I won’t be able to run the kitchen stove until after 7pm.  Cooler temps and the power might stay on. 

( That's water coming down - from the sprinkler. )

I’m not putting a garden in next year.

When the barn gets moved - when all the dirt on this property is leveled out - when all the seamless gutters are installed - when the water recovery is installed - when the underground water lines and faucets are installed.

That’s when I’ll be putting the next garden in.  And not until then.

I’m tired of killing myself.

I’m tired of chewing through brick walls with every damn single task.

This is my year of being 50.  I have done nothing but chew through brick walls all my life.

I'm done!  If this earth burns - Oh, well!

I’ll just find me a swimming pool.

But I am - still - gonna buy two brand new water-hoses.

And I don’t care if it hair-lips the Pope - I am still gonna water some of my grass.