Monday, July 22, 2013

Summer Farming Fun

   The girls are enjoying their new home, and continue to give us 2-3 eggs a day, despite three that are in various stages of molting. They are really cute, and fun to feed. They are beginning to relax more, but clearly have not been handled. I am trying to get to the point where I can pet them, but that is going to be a long way off.
   I enjoy giving them special treats, like the monkey's leftover oatmeal in a watermelon rind. The girls love oatmeal, watermelon, romaine and bananas.
   Speaking of farming, today was day one of the Teachers' Ag Seminar. Wow! What a great experience. They provided a wealth of agriculture info and contacts, plus a ton of nice giveaways. We visited Frito Lay (& got to taste fresh, warm fritos, potato chips, Santita chips and nacho cheese doritos), where we saw the production and packaging.
We also visited the Famosa stock market, and viewed some cattle auctions. The cattlemen's association even gave us a nice lunch. It felt nice being treated like a professional, and was very educational. We learned about farm rotation, pest control advisors, and how farms are dealing with the colony collapse problem with honeybees. One of the farmers brought in some whole black eyed pea bushes and almond branches. I'm looking forward to then next two days! I would highly recommend this to my teacher friends, especially those who teach in the city.
  Last week was Art Camp 7, and the monkey had a blast! Two of his favorite activities were cookie decorating and the beautiful rain stick he made out of a yucca stalk. He is completing NASA camp this week, and he's looking forward to making s'mores on the last day with a solar oven. My wonderful friend, Barb is taking him to camp for me so I can attend my ag seminar.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Chickens!!

   So this is the hub getting some fencing around my new coop yesterday, after working an arduous day in the studio, because I told him I had found my chickens, and would be picking them up today. What a trooper!

We chose the area in front of our patio...

   This is the EXCITING part: we now have FIVE hens! I found a sweet older gentleman selling them on Craig's List. Three aracauna (the 'Easter Egg" kind I wanted) and two mixed breed. They are all buddies, and a bit shy, but if you look to the right of the coop, you can see some of them hiding.
   After I picked the monkey up from space camp, I found that they had devoured the watermelon I gave them, rind and all. AND...there were already three eggs in the nesting box! The light washed it out in this photo, but there were two green and one very light blue egg (or was it the other way around...?). Anyway, we were so stoked! I'm hoping for the best with the doggies, and hoping to train them to not want to eat the girls. Hopefully my next posts will continue happily, and not be sad (fingers crossed).

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Gardening Update and NEW Boots!


  Growing asparagus requires a lot of patience. This is year two of my asparagus planting, so I only get to harvest a few spears. Super-excited to have any, though! Next year is when we are supposed to enjoy the rewards of letting the bed establish...
   This is my corn plot which I hope will be productive this year. I have corn in various stages, and just added more seedlings yesterday.
   The monkey and I transferred the pumpkin seedlings to the corn area yesterday, and we are nurturing the basil and eggplant sprouts.
   I no longer have to envy others' hollyhocks: I have them growing in three different spots, and have three shades so far. This plant is by my back steps, and I have some sweet peas I am coaxing along as well. My favorite bouquet ever, was a mass of sweetpeas the hub gave me years ago...
   I was SUPER-excited, that my new Justin AQHA boots arrived yesterday! These will be my 'dress-up' boots. The price was VERY reduced, courtesy of Zulily...I love a bargain, and I love these boots! My old boots have a hole in the bottom, and my resoled Noconas are about 14 years old, and need tips. These are so comfy, and the square toes are my favorite shoe style. Everyone knows I LIVE in boots...woo hoo!
   Last night, we broke out the little fire pit my friend gave me (free, from the dump!), roasted marshmallows with our buds, C & L, and enjoyed some very tasty sangria and stargazing...fun!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Summer Yum = Summer Fun!

 So, while the monkey was spending the week at my fab sister's, & attending Camp Cauhilla, we had some fun grown-up time. We went to our fave hip eatery/bar, the Brimstone, in the Padre Hotel with our buds C & L.  We ordered a bunch of small plates, like the spinach/artichoke dip with naan bread, and the fried clams/shrimp/calamari seen above...
   Of course, we also had to have the truffle fries and rice paper wrapped sashimi. The mac/cheese was good, but not as good as last time (it changed to a corn/pork). We pigged out & got our drink on...fun!! When we all got back, mojitos, stargazing & great conversation...


 On July 4, we celebrated with a motorcycle ride to Reyes Creek Bar & Grill, at Camp Scheideck. Exactly as I expected, rough & tumble, with great burgers...
  This cute doggy was cooling off in the creek. She did exactly as I expected: ran up to us in the parking luot to share some mud & love...lol.
   Monkey came home last nite, & I surprised him with the news I have agreed to try raising chickens. My neighbor's gift of more delish eggs was the tipping point. I ordered a coop from Hayneedle; will post about the assembly...

Monday, July 1, 2013

Fun Floats with a View!

The hub has done an immense job of brush clearance this year! After a day of hard work, he & the monkey enjoyed some refreshing floats...
 Note my gardening endeavors in the backround. Orange/vanilla 'creamsicle' float for the monkey...
and a traditional root beer float for the hub. The sky looks grey because it WAS! Saturday night some clouds rolled in, and it felt like coastal weather. Right now we are having a heat wave...yuck.