*yes I CAN!

Yes I CAN!  You may remember me telling you this before, but I was raised a country girl.  I was raised to work in the garden to renew the land and to "put up" what we grew each year, in order that we could enjoy the fruits of our labor when the crops were no longer in season.  My mother did more freezing than canning, although she did a lot of jam and jelly canning through the years.  Actually I am remembering now, she did can pickles, beets, peppers, and other things as well, but we never did much with a pressure cooker.   I think my grandmother actually had a bad experience with a pressure canner, so my mother always had a more than healthy respect for a pressure cooker/canner.  I don't think I ever developed anything healthy in my mind towards the scary aluminum pot with a funny pressure gauge that rested on top and made an alarming sound, until well, just this past month!

My canning this year started with some pepper jelly, wowza. Pepper jelly is simple to make and does not require a pressure canner, just a hot water bath canner (or a large heavy pot).   We have just a few jalapeno plants in our garden this year, but the production is prolific so we have canned some, given away many, dehydrated some and giving away more! We bought some heirloom seeds early this spring so we could harvest some seeds for next year as well as build our seed stock. 


 
A sweet family on a little country road I travel frequently has pear tree in their front yard which produced some really beautiful pears last year. I found myself wanting to stop and ask if I could buy some, or trade something for some of their fruit. I never did.  But this year when the tree started producing I stopped by and asked.  The sweet couple heartily agreed and was just pleased that someone wanted to do something with them.  They had already canned as many as they were going to can for the year.  I agreed to trade them fresh farm eggs for several weeks, they of course were willing to just give me the pears for nothing at all.  I know that Mrs. K is grateful for the eggs as she has called me on several occasions to say just that, but I still feel like I got the BEST end of that deal. 

My mother makes some of the best pear preserves ever!!! So I got her recipe and did my best to replicate her preserves (of course she doesn't have a recipe...). I suppose I came close enough.  I also made pear relish, pear butter, pear sauce, and cranberry pear chutney, oh and I put some in the freezer for pies as well!

All of these things that I canned did not require that pressure cooker, but I will be talking about that in another post real soon!

When I go to Lowes with my dear husband, this is where I can likely be found. Yes, the canning "stuff".  When we go to Tractor Supply, yep, you guessed it, the canning section. Although both of these places are starting to move these canning items on out so they can make room for CHRISTMAS items. (which totally makes me crazy, but that is another story) It seems I have this new found hobby, desire, love, way to provide for our family , hobby, fix.. whatever you want to call it. I love CANNING!

*southern love

If you are in Camden County (and other areas of the south) you will see the trees adorned with this moss.  I know many say it is a parasite for the tree, but it actually doesn't take any nourishment from the tree, it is more of an air plant. However, due to the burden of the moss, it can cause a tree not to get ample sunlight needed to grow properly and the weight of a heavy load can cause the tree to be more susceptible to wind damage.   Many also would say that the trees look creepy to them with the moss hanging out, to me it just looks like my hometown and brings me a nostalgic feeling.  My husband and I have been gone from Camden for 26 years now but both of our parents remain there.  These pictures are from my visit a few weeks ago. This tale is told about the Spanish moss that hangs from the Live Oak Trees of Southeast Georgia - 

As the story goes; there was once a traveler who came with his Spanish fiancée in the 1700s to start a plantation near the city of Charleston SC. She was a beautiful bride-to-be with long flowing raven hair. As the couple was walking over the plantation sight[sic] near the forest, and making plans for their future, they were suddenly attacked by a band of Cherokee who were not happy to share the land of their forefathers with strangers. As a final warning to stay away from the Cherokee nation, they cut off the long dark hair of the bride-to-be and threw it up in an old live oak tree. As the people came back day after day and week after week, they began to notice the hair had shriveled and turned grey and had begun spreading from tree to tree. Over the years the moss spread from South Carolina to Georgia and Florida. To this day, if one stands under a live oak tree, one will see the moss jump from tree to tree and defend itself with a large army of beetles. (taken from Wikipedia)

*road trip coming up with bee stings in tow

I am likely to be told that I am spoiling the men folk of my household once you all read this, but, well it is just the way we do it around here. I cook the majority of the meals for the household and when I am planning to be gone for a weeks time I like to prepare meals, treats, etc for my menfolk that are left behind.  On a day like today when I have a million things I need to get done, my kitchen ends up looking like this...

I am a VERY messy cook.  But when I am done.. I clean it all up...

I start out tomorrow to drive over to Georgia for weeks stay. The trip itself is really long over due and truth be told, we should all be going, but with the farm it really isn't possible at this time. I had another trip planned in my mind for some time now that would take place in the month of August, but the opening for that trip closed so I am taking the time to go visit family, so it all worked out.

As I said before when I take a trip that will be 6 or so days long I like to do things to make my dear husbands' life comfy and easy while I am gone. I make sure we are stocked up in the pantry area, clothes are done, house is cleaned all the way around and food is cooked to carry him over half way through my trip. With that having been said today I made a ton of egg rolls, a large shepherds pie, spaghetti sauce and an apple pie.

I had a list as long as your arm with things I needed to complete before I start out tomorrow. I did it! I am thrilled, the list is complete! I will open up a suit case and toss some things in tomorrow morning before I head out for the long drive.  One of the things we needed to get done before I left town was the extracting of honey from one of our hives.  Just this week, for my dear husband's birthday (my birthday, and Christmas for both of us), my dear mil and fil sent us a  Maxant Honey Extractor.  It arrived yesterday, we opened it and admired it. We all walked past it throughout the day and occasionally stopping to give it a whirl.  Today we decided to use it for real.  We harvest 5 frames from one of our hives today. I would have gotten all ten frames but the bees were all home, as it was overcast - not a great day to be working a hive. Plus on top of that I had to break off some (a lot) of honey comb they had built in a very awkward place in the hive. Needless to say, the were under impressed with me and my presence.   I some how managed to get stung 4 times while being fully suited. I was stung on my arm, my leg, the back of my neck (it hurts) and on my chin. I now look like Jabba the Hut. My chin just goes and goes down to the middle of my neck. It is just lovely.  I am hopeful that the swelling will be gone by the time I hit the road tomorrow. We ended up with 11 sweet pounds of amber colored honey!   I suppose the stings was worth the 11 pounds of honey.  

*chickens gone wild

I have found that to me, chickens are like potato chips. I LOVE potato chips. I LOVE our chickens.  And you CAN'T just have one! I seek out more egg customers before I have the chickens to fill the orders just so I can get more - makes sense right? I mean if there is a demand, there must be a supply.

We started out a year or more ago with 10 chicks that we purchased from a local farm supply store in the area. At that time we only had three different breeds, all good layers.  Since then we have increased to 10 to 15 different breeds and a total of 35 chickens. AND.. I am frequently thinking about more. I have a sickness and I only feel better when I add to our flock. HA HA.

On a serious note, we sold 14 dozen eggs a few weeks ago, some for consumption some fertilized for hatching.  We vaccinated our chickens this past week for "chicken pox" (better known as Avian Pox), and while there is no withholding time, it does cause their production to slow down a bit for a few weeks.  We sell 8 dozen a week to regular customers for consumption and have a steady customer who desires to by as many dozen as possible every few weeks or so for hatching baby chicks.  Speaking of baby chicks, one of our Australorpes has gone broody and has 13 eggs she is setting on now. OH! I just realized, that means I WILL have MORE chickens!  Some will stay and replace some of our girls that are no laying for one reason or another, some will likely be roosters (therefore.. meat birds) and some will be sold as young chicks to someone who needs them.

 Isn't this crazy. Absurd. Especially since Eric made sure that there were ample nesting boxes for the number of chickens we have.  Yep, it is true, they have their favorite box to lay in and they will pick at each other until someone wins.  I have also seen two head strong chicks stay in the nest together and lay their eggs on top of the other one if necessary. There were four chickens in this basket, but when I got back with the camera one had already thrown in the towel.

 On the far right end you see one of the largest eggs collected on that day, it was produced by an "easter egger" and beside that one is a regular sized egg, a large one mind you.  You will also notice what looks like a little marble, that is our Silkie's first egg. Isn't it the cutest thing ever? It was about the size of a quarter, perhaps a bit smaller.

 Down to two now, two Light Brahma's duke it out for the box. This went on for about an hour, yes.. I didn't have anything better to do than watch my chicken's fight over a nesting box.

 Say goodbye to Husan. Husan lost all of his manners once we added other chickens to "his" barnyard. The introduction of a few new roosters sent him over the edge. He flogged my mother as you might remember and he also began to show aggression to almost everyone who entered the yard.  If you look closely you can see his LONG bone spurs off of his legs, it had just gotten too dangerous to keep him around. Our neighbor has a friend who now had added Husan to their place. I am sure that he is glad he avoided the iron pipe (the instrument for breaking their necks here at Erilyn) at least for now he is safe. I hope he gets his manners back in order for his sake.

*toil and labor, rest and relax

There are seasons where we might find ourselves toiling and laboring but in due time we will find the freedom for rest and relaxation. It is not to say that during a time of work that we don't have any rest. I am so glad we have seasons. I am not sure I would last year round gardening as I do in late spring to early summer. Though I am always sure the labor involved is worth the harvest produced each season. For me, there is nothing quite like having 40 quart bags of creamed corn in the freezer, 10 gallon bags of corn on the cob, jars of pickles, many pounds of potatoes for the coming months, butternut squash for the fall as well as enjoying many veggies in seasons while they produce.

 Henry and I love butternut squash.  These we grew from a couple of bushes and plan to plant more in the fall.  I love that these will keep for months on the counter after you have picked them. 

 We grew these on our apple and orange trees. JUST KIDDING.  Publix provided these for us.  We do have some fruit trees, nut trees, and berry bushes planted; some of which we got fruit from this year.

 PO-TA-TOES! We love potatoes: steamed, boiled, mashed, fried, scalloped, in soup - you name it - we love them!  So.. we planted close to 100lbs and have a beautiful yield to feed our family with through the coming months! 

The strawberry plants are all sending out runners now, which only means hours of work clipping them and planting them to expand our strawberry patch. All of this will be done early fall, which will provide us with a great spring/summer strawberry harvest!  The asparagus plants had started to turn brown so we allowed some of the shoots to grow instead of picking them so the plant could be rejuvenated, they are producing wildly again.  PLANT asparagus - SUPER easy to grow.  We also have one watermelon on the vine, a pumpkin plant that is blooming but not much else grows at this time.  I have to admit it is a very welcoming break! By the time fall rolls around I, myself will be rejuvenated and ready to go again! For now, I shall rest and relax.


 

*signs of summer

Signs of summer are certainly in the air. Hot muggy days, afternoon thunderstorms, and house guest in and out. We have had less traffic in and out this summer than last is seems. We really do always enjoy having family and friends visit us and that has taken on a whole new look for us since we moved to Florida. My hubby has even taken on a liking to sharing our little spot of paradise with those who wish to leave their little spot of paradise for a visit here.


Earlier in the summer my mother and nephew were here for a short stay then my mother in love came for a weeks stay along with my sister-in-law and nephews. It has been a long while since we have driven to visited them as well as having them here. Jonathan is the younger of the nephews and he mostly speaks Spanish but understands a lot of English. One day he referred to me as, "the girl who cooks" to his mother, Chelo. She reminded him that I was Tia Lynne, and from there on he addressed me as Tia Lynne. So cute!

 

Honestly I have lost track (not that I was tracking it) of who was here last, first, or repeatedly! My youngest son's best friend, and my "adopted son", Summit was here for a couple of weeks and in the midst of that time my niece, Kierstyn came for a weeks stay.

While Summit was here I was also the girl who cooks, but they of course didn't call me that. I really enjoy feeding people when they come for a visit. I enjoy waiting on them and doting on them. I just do.  Summit and Henry had a lot of down time together but a few days while he was here we had to put them to work.  So, just be forewarned, if you come for a visit, you might get put to work for a short while, but we will feed you well, give you a nice place to lay your head and enjoy you while you are here!

Eric trimmed many of our beautiful large oaks, and downed a few as well.   The property is loaded with some of the most gorgeous old oaks, some healthy, some not so much.  The one in this photo above needs to come down due to some damage which has made it unhealthy.  We do not want it to land on top of the workshop when we have windy weather.  We have another one out by the barn that still needs to be downed as well.  Once the one over the workshop is down we will get LESS leaves in the pool and more sun on it throughout the day which are both pluses.  These guys' help was really invaluable to Eric on these two days.  Young men need to be out doing these kinds of things, right? We plan to rent the bucket lift tree cutter thingy again in the fall to finish up the trimming that needs to be done throughout the property.