Great Quote

Let your food be your medicine
and your medicine be your food.

-Hippocrates

Garden Plans

I've been giving serious thought to offering a CSA next year. If I can get some of the basics finished this summer (raised beds, berry bushes, herbs, more fruit trees, etc.) then next summer would offer more time for actual gardening.

I thought to offer a dozen eggs, a fresh bouquet of flowers, and herbs along with fresh fruits and veggies. If I can get the grunt work completed this year, use drip irrigation, row covers and copious amounts of mulch I think this project could be very doable.

My niece Heather, the Asst. Chicken Farmer/Asst. Bunny Wrangler, is suppose to pickup up a greenhouse-in-a-box for me at the Tractor Supply. I checked on Tuesday and they had one left and Lola offered to put it back for me. I love TS and the folks who work for them! My friend Sandra, at Thistle Cove Farm, purchased one of these greenhouses and I really liked the looks of it. Saving $20 off and not having to pay shipping sealed the deal for me. =)

I'm spending most of this week with my sisters at the Back Porch Friends quilt retreat. Miss Heather is tending the farm and my Daddy is checking in every now and then too.

Most of my retreat time is being spent with my left ankle propped up wearing an ice pack. I took a fall last Monday and did a number on my ankle. It isn't broken but my Nurse Practitioner thinks I have some ligament damage. This is the same ankle I had a ruptured Achilles with a few years ago. My appointment with my podiatrist isn't until the 31st. =(

Looking Forward to Market

Orleans Market's Opening Day
Saturday, May 21st
8am-12pm
West side of Congress Square Park, Orleans, Indiana

Angela and I are looking forward to Market!

We will have many crocheted hats, felted bags, hand dyed yarns, mixed flower bouquets, soaps, clay buttons and whatever else we can come up with over the summer.

The Sky is Falling

I awoke to a cool, windy morning following a second night of wicked storms. Looking out my laundry room window I saw a huge green shrub in the center of the backyard where no shrub was planted. Apparently when my lil urban homestead was hit by strong flat-line winds last night it took out part of a Box Elder and sent it across the chicken's run. The girls were not amused. It had narrowly missed their little hutch and brought down most of the hoops and netting that cover the run. Poor girls I bet they thought Chicken Little had it right and the sky was falling!

I made a quick call to work to say I would be late followed by a call to my Daddy/Farmhand/Handyman. After about an hour's work (Daddy sawed and I picked up) we had the tree out of the chicken's space and most of the debris lining the alley awaiting pickup. We still need to redo the hoops that hold up the deer netting cover. This will be the third time we have made these crazy hoops in less than a year.

The girls kept telling me all about their adventure and I kept trying to talk them down as they followed me from one end of the run to the other end. My poor chickens were pretty traumatized by the chainsaw too. Does anyone know a good chicken therapist??

Busy Times

The countdown has begun for Angela and I to be ready, one week from tomorrow, for The Fiber Event. Angela has been crocheting, painting and sewing like mad. I have been dyeing like crazy (48 skeins so far) and have soap, several hats and a few bags to finish.

While off yesterday I cleaned out the chicken run. That's one item crossed off my list of chores for Spring. Next is taking care of the bunny hutch and mulching some plants with what comes out from under the hutch. One good about bunny poo is it can go directly around the plants without being composted.

I began my orchard last fall by planting a semi dwarf Nectarine. I've watched that tree all Spring for signs of life. I was finally rewarded with tight pink buds and pale green leaves that look like hand folded in prayer. With the warmer temps the buds have burst open. The blooms aren't very big and are a very delicate shade of pink. The fragrance reminds me of pear blossoms.

After things settle down I'll be shopping for blueberry bushes and more fruit trees. I'm so excited to finally be growing fruit on my tiny urban homestead.

Disclaimer : While the photo is not my tree they look exactly alike. =)

New on the Bookshelf

I posted a while back I wanted to do more food drying and had found a dehydrator on clearance hence this book. Mary T. Bell's books had some good reviews on Amazon. I appreciate that it isn't only drying info but also how to use what you dry.

I copy/pasted the product description from Amazon for the next book.
"Raleigh Briggs collects her zines, illustrations, and thoughts around what it is that makes a great DIY household—homemade cleaning solvents that aren't made from poison, herbs that will heal you, and how to setup a great garden. These tips and tricks fill in the gaps for those of us longing to live this lifestyle but lacking the necessary know-how." This is a tricky little book and I think it will be helpful with all the recipes for homemade tinctures, salves, bath & body products etc.

Book reviews coming soon!

The Yarn From Last Week's Dye Day

I left the Library early one day last week to have a "Dye Day". My co-workers suggested I come up with a new name/phrase as an alternative to me saying "I'm dyeing on Wednesday." or "Sunday is Dye Day". They also feel it is a bit disconcerting to hear me say the reason my cuticles are green, blue, fuchsia etc. is because I dyed yesterday. [smile]

The balls in the photo are all approximately 44o yards fingering weight wool. This wool is from Corriedale type sheep and is pretty soft and felts great. I think each skein is enough yardage for a pair of socks or a scarf.

There are ten more skeins waiting to be finished this weekend and I will post photos of them next week. I hope to have at least three dozen skeins of various weights ready for the Greencastle show.

Tomorrow I'm ordering sock yarn that is superwash wool with a little nylon added to the mix.

My inventory has a dozen skeins of worsted weight wool and half of it is already dyed.The worsted weight is approximately 220 yards so I am dyeing those two at a time so there will hopefully be enough of similar colorways to make a project. There are two skeins waiting for the ball winder I think would make a awesome felted bag ... photos coming soon.

The next order will be more of the Merino/silk blend. It comes out very soft with just a little sheen. One of my favorites!

If the weather warms up enough before the show I really want to do some Indigo dyeing, yarn and Shibori. I saw on the Fiber Event workshop list a class will be offered in Shibori so it would be neat to have a few pieces available. I have planned to have some ready for market and the fall Quilt Guild show we are vending in November. Praying for above 65 degree days so I can get the Indigo vat going.

We are still requesting prayers for Angela's health. She was diagnosed with viral pneumonia on January 17th and is still sick. This is too much for anyone but if you have all the other health issues that Ange has it's very serious. I'm still having coughing spells and feeling snarfy so if you want to add me to your prayers I would appreciate it too!

Better get a wiggle on. I have to go to Bloomington to pickup a gift certificate for a friend's birthday. It comes from a greenhouse and is my traditional gift to her. I was in Bloomington last Saturday but forgot to get it. Last Saturday it wasn't raining like crazy. @@

~ Penny ~

P.S. Picking up the new chicks tomorrow!!