We had the most beautiful Spring day today for the last day of September. Spring has really kicked in, there are blossoms everywhere, the garden is full of flowers and the veggie seedlings are all growing.
I feel as though I didn't achieve as much as usual this week but we will see as I go through my notes and photos sometimes I figure out I did more than I thought! This is one of the reasons it is good to consider what we have done, appreciate our blessings and opportunities and be happy with them.
After the beautiful lemons I had last week (and getting down to the very last one) I was given more! These were huge! I think one of these would be equal to three or four ordinary lemons. This time I decided to make Lemon Butter again because I am bringing in so many eggs. I got six jars, gave one to Chloe to make some cakes or deserts, froze four and kept one out... which I think I am going to use to make muffins.
I have been out in the sunshine inspecting the fruit trees. My Lemon tree has grown so much and is covered in tiny baby lemons. One of the pear trees is absolutely covered with blossoms.
The blossoms are buzzing with hundreds of bees. Things are looking promising!
The second pear tree is just forming buds, I hope it will be as covered!
I pulled weeds and fed them to the chickens, these are some that I hatched that are quite big now.
Today a big project was completed. Each year I pick at least one giant project and this was it! Our front fence and gates are in! What was there before made the place look derelict!
I got the biggest padlock and chain I could find.
I am so happy having this done and I love it! I hope these gates convey a "don't bother messing with us" kind of message!
I kept on with my #everybitcountschallenge and I've shot myself in the foot there as the photos I have I need to save for Monday!
Spring cleaning wise I emptied out the fridge, washed all the drawers, wiped it out and made it smell of vanilla. It is beautiful!
The dishwasher got a deep cleaning also... I put the used up half lemons in with a scoop of bi carb soda and let it run. At the end it is so fresh and sparkly!
All the eggs shells from the lemon butter recipe were kept and smashed up to go into my veggie beds.
I took Jade plants to the swap table and came home with a big bunch of Parsley.
I am happy to report Laine sent another letter which I will get up soon as I can. Also she is doing well and gained some weight too.
So that is my week! How did you build up your home, pantry, garden or preparedness? We love to hear and we love to encourage each other. xxx
Oh my goodness those gates are just gorgeous. I want them. I had a slow week this week as the Spring weather has been playing havoc with my allergies.
ReplyDeleteIt has been wet to the north of us, to the south of us and to the west of us. Right here it has been dry, dry, dry but with heat and humidity. The garden is loving the warmer weather and the extra water that I have been putting on it. I have been removing the winter garden and planting more every couple of weeks. This will hopefully mean I get a staggered harvest.
I have been making items to add to the Christmas cupboard and for upcoming Birthdays. This has included aprons and potholders. I made laundry liquid, stain removing soap and Calendula and Comfrey balm.
The weather people have said that we will be getting rain over the next few days. They said the same thing last week. I am hoping that this week they get it right.
Have a good week everyone.
Thanks Jane! I hope you get some of the rain instead of it missing you! You have made so much for the household and for gifts! It is good to be ahead with birthdays as well as Christmas. We are having some warmer sunny days and I can see the growth in the garden! Have a beautiful Sunday and new week! xxx
DeleteYour fence and gate are beautiful, Annabel. The design is so pretty and it emits a sense of peace and security. We lock all of our gates, also, with padlocks and we live in town.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved in we knew we intended to put in a yard of fruit trees in front, herbs on one side of the yard and very large raised beds in the back and on the other side of the house. We had a 42 inch high lovely rod iron fence installed around the front and a new six foot high wood fence installed around the remainder of the property. With all of that we have six gates. We can lock up all six if necessary. We always have three padlocked so no one can get into the sides and back of the property.
I would encourage everyone, due to the times we live in now, to have keyed deadbolts and locks on their home doors and a double door entrance to every opening; such as a storm door/screen door that also locks, in addition to the entry door with the deadbolt and lock.
There are some very good door wedges that fit under the door handle and extend with a grip on the floor. The better one's can withstand and hold back several hundred pounds of pressure. We purchased some of these for family members that live alone and needed some security peace of mind.
Your trees look promising for lots of wonderful fruit. The chickens are beautiful. What a blessing to have an abundance of eggs. We pay almost $5 per dozen now.
With much love,
Glenda
Dear Glenda, I have noticed a lot of people have no fences or gates at all, like one property blends into another with no clear borders. Anyone can walk in. I couldn't cope with that at all. I think security is a big issue. We think of the layers of security, the first being the outer area and looking off putting to anyone bothering in the first place. This level is the fence, gate, trespassers prosecuted and beware of dogs signage. The second level is early warning systems which include dogs and driveway alarm. And so it goes. We have added to this over time. I have two dozen eggs a day now. I am so glad of those chickens! Have a beautiful weekend and new week! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteThe abundance of citrus continues here with more lemons, oranges and limes juiced and frozen. Additionally, I spent today processing onions to freeze. I usually buy a 20kg bag at a very good price. They are spread out on a rack under the house and last well and after couple of months I dice, slice and cut wedges from the remainder and freeze them. I also have a new batch of Worcestershire sauce happening and that will be ready to bottle tomorrow. I will make some lemon butter, too, as we have plenty of eggs. I scored 3 large coffee jars which I have washed and removed the labels. They might be the catalyst to tidy and rearrange the pantry.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting...I've never thought to freeze onions before! Great idea.
Deletexx Jen in NS
Dear Yvonne, How handy having onions ready chopped in the freezer. All the citrus is beautiful! I love having juice on hand to get through the year. The Worcestershire sauce sounds very good! I love to get big jars! They are so useful you can never have too many! You had a very productive week! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteI love your new gates! Looks like you are going to get lots of pears this year. The bees certainly make a difference to food production.
I've had a busy week spring cleaning also. I also baked bread, biscuits and cake, and made a batch of yoghurt. I'm drying parsley, leek leaves and nettle at the moment. In the garden I have started cleaning up after the storm and planted more herbs, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, beans, volunteer tomatoes plants, strawberries into hanging pots, transplanted chamomile.
Wishing you a beautiful spring long weekend. We are going to be warm here, lots of time to spend outside in the nice sunshine.
xTania
Dear Tania, We hear about bees being low in some places but we have bees everywhere. The noise on that tree is just incredible from bees buzzing.
DeleteSpring cleaning has a great effect on the house but also makes you feel good. We have beautiful sunshine so I hope you have the same today. Your garden is sounding fantastic and you added to your stores with the drying too. Fresh yoghurt is so good and healthy. A great week! With love Annabel.xx
That is a fine looking fence and gate. What huge posts! Sounds like a good week. Look forward to Laine's letter. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Cheryl.xxx
Deletehi annabel, you sure were busy this week. it's great that you are getting ready for spring. our fall is underway. have cleaned up all the garden plants and am in the process of finishing up applepie filling and today i am making tomato soup with the last of the tomatoes. the recipe is from acre homestead. it looked so good. she has somany nice recipes on her scratch pantry website. i also cleaned out my refrigerator and brought out my fall and winter wardrobe. need to look for some replacements for dishtowels as mine had a good workout this year. husband is getting ready to clean the chimney for our woodstove. guess the cold weather is inevitable. we've been having 14 wild turkeys comming across our property everyday. my husband said one may be named thanksgiving. we'll see. hope all the bluebirds have a great week:) bonnie
ReplyDeleteDear Bonnie, How great to have wild turkeys! I am planning to make Beckys tomato soup too! Her recipes are really good. I have to wait until probably January/Feb when the tomatoes start coming in.
DeleteI am still working on my wardrobe for Spring and summer. I found some really nice outfits and things to wear everyday and then this led to a really big clean out. We are doing the same things! Just opposite seasons! It will be very good to have the wood stove ready to go. That is a great asset! Have a good new week, with love Annabel.xxx
I love your new fence and gate! Love seeing the bees too :). When you pull weeds and give to your chickens, do they instinctively know what is bad for them if you were to accidentally throw something in there that could be harmful, or do they just gobble everything up? Also, do you freeze your lemon butter in the jars or something else? It doesn't separate when it thaws, with the egg yolks in it? Thank you for sharing everything with us - I've learned so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy, There is one weed on the farm with black berries that I know is poisonous so I dont give them that. Otherwise they get everything. I do freeze the lemon butter in the jars... I leave plenty of head room. I routinely freeze in jars... headroom is the key. If I am using jars I put them on a shelf in my upright freezer so they stand and do not get tumbled around like they might in a chest freezer. I do bottles this way also. Thanks so much! xxx
DeleteYour gates look wonderful!! I love the design.
ReplyDeleteI envy all your lemons! It's such a shock to see the prices and quality of citrus here after growing up in California. There were trees everywhere and everyone was thrilled if you would pick from their trees. Of course, there are other things here that weren't plentiful in Cali so it's a trade off.
Our weather has finally dropped into the 80s and suddenly our tomatoes are growing. We've had less than 5 all summer and now we have about 20! And they're really good!
We debated pulling them, but waited....just in case. No life from the cucumber vines though.
I wanted to ask you about your winter flu season. If you mentioned it, I missed it. I was wondering if we should expect a beastly season or a mild one. Either way, I'm masking up. I've been sick twice this calendar year already and I don't want anything else!!!
Enjoy your week!
Dear Debby, So good you still have tomatoes coming in! It is funny as here they say our flu season depends on yours! haha either way it certainly goes around the globe. I didnt know anyone who got the flu. I think it is less because of people being more careful because of covid. No doubt there were still cases but I didnt know of any. I think plenty of sunshine and fresh air, taking zinc and vitamin D and then good old hand washing are a wonderful combination. Viruses do not like zinc at all. I had a very bad flu years ago so I am careful as I can be. Oh... I also use essential oils. I use a Plague defence/ immune support type blend whenever I am out and about. I swear by this! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteYou always make me smell and hear what you are doing by your descriptions Annabel! Thank you. I feel like I get to travel across the world when I read these posts and comments. I have been busy just making meals for everyday but I did manage to can 7 quarts of applesauce and dehydrate a batch as well. Although my kids are eating them as snacks lol. The future is fretful but Jesus is safe. So I'm keeping my hope and thoughts in Him.
ReplyDeleteThe dried apple is so good for the kids as their snacks that is great. Good jo on the applesauce too! Thank you for such a kind comment! Have a beautiful new week. Ours is started with the loveliest sunny day! xxx
DeleteHello Annabel
ReplyDeleteYour fence looks really beautiful. I think it is absolutely necessary in these times. I live in the suburbs and feel much safer with a fence and a large German Shepherd.
Summer has ended here and the garden is no longer so productive. Now here in Europe we are facing a long cold winter. It is interesting that no one talks about it, even in the news such things here in Slovenia are rarely mentioned... People continue to be blind, even though heating oil and wood pellets are quite difficult to buy and are already limited. Electricity and food prices are rising rapidly.
The news in Europe are bad and getting worse every day. This alone is sufficient motivation to prepare as much as possible every day. As Patara says, it's time for a Wartime mode.
Following your inspiration, this month I filled all spare pickling jars with dry food and bought 100 kg of potatoes for my root cellar. My freezers are full but I keep on adding. Now I'm waiting for colder weather to plant more currant bushes. Too bad there's no swap group here and you're too far away:) I think of you and Bluebird sisters every day and first thing in the morning before work I always check your blog.
I wish you and the other Bluebirds safety and health. You are an inspiration to us all.
God bless you, Alenka
Dear Alenka,
DeleteIt's wonderful that here we can get firsthand news of situations in other countries. I've been hearing some hints of how bad the winter might be shaping up for anyone in Europe, and am praying for all of you! Blessings, Jen in NS
Dear Alenka, It interests me too that the media say nothing. I am glad you are awake however! I am very concerned. I think millions could freeze the way things are going. The escalations in the last week are severe. I think if there is more escalation or an incident... this will wake up the sleepers and from that point there will be no food or supplies to buy. I believe Patera is correct. We have to walk wisely. I am so happy you have the potatoes and your dry goods in jars! Knowing you now I will think of you every day too as I do of Laura. What you do now before winter is going to be so important. Be prepared if the power/as is off. Anything you might need try and get now well ahead. If the internet might go down or the power... I will be praying for you. I hope you have a very good new week! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAnnabel the gates look fantastic, definitely look good and don't mess with me look you are after.
ReplyDeleteQuiet week here for us.
Today we are celebrating a friend's birthday and I am making a chocolate mousse for dessert. I too made lemon curd during the week with lemons off our lemon tree. It is a good producer as I feed it weekly and water well. It is in a concrete garden planter on the edge of our terrace and not in the garden as such which is why I feed it weekly otherwise it would not have the nutrients it needs. Lemon trees are hungry, thirsty feeders, especially if they are in planters.
I am busy bringing our lemon trees at work back to life as they are in planters and have not been getting fed. After only a month they are already developing new buds and shoots. By next Autumn and winter we should be rewarded with plenty of new lemons.
I am hoping to get some new strawberry plants in this weekend so will pick some up today for planting.
I am also planning to make lemon hello for Christmas gifts this year seeing as we have beautiful lemons available.
Have a happy and safe week everyone.
Mandy (NZ)
Dear Mandy, My Nan who had the best lemon tree ever with the most lemons taught me the best lemon tree fertiliser is urine. Well that's cheap! haha Lemons are so useful and good. I hope you get your strawberries in. The chocolate mousse desert sounds beautiful! Preserved lemons are another great gift. They look stunning in jars too and a good foodie type gift. This smells sensational! Have a beautiful Sunday and new week, with love Annabel.xxx
DeleteHi Annabel and everyone,
ReplyDeleteAnnabel, that lemon butter looks delicious and your new fence and gate are gorgeous! So sturdy and well made. So happy to hear that Laine is doing well (well done, Laine, if you are reading this!)
This week I built up my home with a baking day (2 dozen muffins, homemade sandwich bread sliced up, a batch of spaghetti sauce, all mostly for the freezer), learning how to do the HVAC filters/cleaning and doing it, linens/towels laundry, and adding some seafood and chicken to the freezer. My dad gave us a nice gift of honey, molasses, and some treats. I also relocated our old bed frame to the garage and organized that part of the garage (we have a big rice bed, and put a different frame on it so it is easy to just roll in and out without using the step stool - it seemed like that would be important for my husband during chemo). Crafts-wise I am working bit by bit on a cross stitch ornament for Xmas. My new job is very busy, but I am trying my best, learning a lot every day, and thankful for the opportunity.
In husband news, he continues to do much better in spirit and is having a nice snooze on fresh bed linens at home after having his port placed today. It all went well and he can return to normal diet today and activities tomorrow. All of these procedures are making me really appreciate our health insurance; we do have bills but so far have been able to manage our portion. We have been enjoying frugal "date" activities watching the birds on our patio, visiting the horses, and watching dvds from our home library. Lots to be thankful for there! He has imaging next week and then a visit to schedule his chemo. Thank you to everyone who is praying for him/wishing him well.
I hope everyone has a good weekend.
<3
Kathy
Dear Kathy, Your baking day sounds wonderful. I love the gift from your Dad! Perfect! I am glad the job is going well. You are very busy but you make the most of every opportunity! And it is great to hear your husband has improved so much and feeling so much better. Yes it is very good you have that health insurance! As he can now eat normally this will probably boost his morale too and he can eat some of his favourite meals etc. We keep praying! With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteYour fence and gates are just beautiful! We spent quite a bit of time getting everything ready to weather the hurricane which is still moving through. Our big project was canning applesauce from our 25 pounds of apples that we bought last week for $10.
ReplyDeleteDear Lana, Great work on the apple sauce! I hope you didnt have any hurricane damage! Thanks so much re the gates! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteYour fence and gates look great! And I can smell your clean fridge from here! Ha, ha.
This has been a very busy week canning and cleaning. Lots of garden clean up to start on this week coming up...I think there's a forecast for minus 1 this weekend, so I'll have to cover my celery and pull the remainder of my tomatoes and zukes. Just picked up a half bushel of prune plums today from the fruit market, so I'll be canning those in syrup plus making plum sauce this week. No rest for the wicked, as the saying goes!! :)
Hope you have another wonderful week!
xx Jen in NS
I made all meals from scratch. This is so typical of me that I seldom mention it, lol. It is far more unusual that we'd eat a meal out. I made a lovely pot of soup this week and put a lot into the freezer. I've found a major hit for a snack with my grandson on the evenings we pick him up is to mix raisins (might leave those out as he now wants to push them up his nose), broken graham crackers, broken bits of granola bars, crispy cereals. He loves this mix. I also discovered I could put in in a chewing gum container that has a snap on lid. This is the 60 pc size of gum. He loves opening and shutting the lid on the container and is happily occupied until he gets home.
ReplyDeleteI took compost outdoors to dump in my bin and picked a bouquet of basil, coleus, zinnia, goldenrod and other blooming stuff from about the yard. It turned out quite pretty and made me smile all week long.
I decided NOT to shop despite sales which kept me within my food budget. I'm learning to relax and trust God on this part.
I ordered a set of sheets and what I thought I needed to complete another set. Nope. I ordered a flat and needed a fitted, so now I need two fitted sheets but I'll order those next month and I should be set for a couple of years or more.
We received an unexpected refund on our electric bill which we are pushing towards my purchase of an upright freezer. I'm finding that it's getting harder and harder to reach into the depths of the chest freezer. When we replace this we'll give our chest freezer to our son, who hunts for venison each year. This will serve his family well. And we benefit because we will get a deer from his hunting as well.
It was much cooler this week and we barely used any air con at all. This is unheard of this time of year. We're appreciating the unexpected early cooling, but I'm wondering if we shall see earlier frosts this year as well.
My husband finally broke down and went to visit a chiropractor. I'm not fussing over the expense as he's now walking normally for the first time in over a month!! I've assured him we'll send him earlier if this happens again.
Terri, we switched to an upright from a chest freezer a few years ago, and it was the best thing! Much easier to get things in and out and easier to organize! I hope you're able to get yours soon. Hope you have a great week ahead. Kathy
DeleteHello Annabel and lovely Bluebirds,. The gate looks so beautiful and elegant! I like the shape and colour and how grand they look- no mess around for any intruders. But the next best thing are the dogs for someone thinking to cross over - mine are very fearce with anyone getting in if I am not in the yard. I love what you do with lemons, we have lemons in the market but the price for them is scary. Every price here is scary, I do not know how the elder persons with very low pension will get through this winter. I heard some saying it is a question of buying wood or medicine, not food or electricity. I decided to get more orders of knitting warm jumpers, I already have two to knit during long evenings. Not easy work but every penny in counts. This week I was on a staycation - I deepcleaned the house, knitted a small cardigan for a little girl in exchange for the abundance of golden pears I was gifted and took long walks along the river with my little tibetan spaniel Charlie to breath in the last days of September. For my birthday and 24th wedding aniversary we went to an italian restaurant and had some pizza with my cousin's family and this was special because we rarely go out for eating. We do all from scratch and it is more tasty than comercial food. In the garden I made all by myself another fence of about 20 metres long. I harvested the last red tomatoes and the unrippen ones I picked and pickled them together with cucumbers and cauliflowers. The jars look great so colourful and nothing went to waste. We had rain every day this month but still harvested apples, a lot of wallnuts - we have 4 big wallnut trees- and herbs. I am tired but glad I did something every day. The bad news on TV here is that we have to rationlise electricity and heating, that we might lose internet connection and mibile phone connection and the russian army is coming closer to our country. I am scared because I have a husband and a 17 yo boy and times are getting crazy. Thank you for thinking of me. With love, Laura_s_world from Romania
ReplyDelete