Spring Fling festival projects & bunny pee?

I am so very excited for the next few weekends. One of which I have attempted to attend for years now & would always get distracted by the weather. Not this year! I'll share more about it in a few weeks.
And then on the 8th of May, I will be out at the Harvest Thyme's 2nd annual Spring Fling.

With my bounty of plants to swap. I think my camera guy has many strawberry plants to swap in this event, too. If you remember from lat year, I amassed almost 200 runners from him. Which I shared with a few neighbors.

"Come on over to Harvest Thyme Farm for our 2nd Annual Spring Fling Heirloom Seed Sale & Plant Swap! This years cooking theme will be RHUBARB & VIOLETS with tasty concessions made from the same. Featuring local crafters, speakers and growers. No admission charge. We are asking that if you plan on participating in the plant swap you mark your plants with any knowledge and growing folklore and bring a large box or basket to carry your goodies home in.
Still looking for vendors, please call for more information. "

And here is the must know info for those wishing to attend:
Date: May 8, 2010
Time: 11am - 5pm
Location:
1027 US Highway 224
Nova, OH
44859
419.651.9949

If you happen to see me while your there, don't let the stuffing of my face with all those great foods deter you from saying Hello! (and hopefully I'll get my hands on one of the fabulous whoopie pies lil' miss Dawn makes!)
Can't attend? Don't worry. I'll share all the great sites and events with you. You will just have to miss out on the tastes and smells...

During one of my long hours of researching, I found a most interesting woman who shared with me, she has a book on the subject of natural material Toad & bird houses. I quickly searched the library index in hopes I could get my hands on a copy NOW- instead of waiting for one to arrive via snail mail. I can not wait for the library to open on Sunday. Panda and I will be waiting at the doors.

A short story to share of what happened the other day. Our 2 baby bunnies are growing ever so large without all the extra competition for momma milk. Frog asked to hold one so I thought I would snap a few pics of her holding the bouncy lil' bugger. I hand her the camera as I reach into the whelping pen for one of the bunnies. Holding it close as I start to stand up and calm it it down from my grasp. And then...I feel this warm wet sensation flowing down my stomach. What is that?

UGH! Bunny pee! I have never had a rabbit pee on me. This was a first. Frog thought it was hilarious and snapped a picture between giggles.

I wonder if it will stain once I have it fully washed & dried?

Sweet Dreams,

~Tammie

Spring discovery in the woods

Between the rain and occasional warmth, I decided to go hunting Morels & ramps. I found plenty of what appeared to be ramps. A seasonal creek bed found from previous ventures in these woods. Now do take in mind, I had read and seen pictures which describe a purple/maroon skin coming up from the bulb towards the lush green leaves. These did not have that "skin". Instead, it was white. Like a scallion in the store. They smelled like ramps but being a new forager, I did not harvest any in fear this may be an unfavorable look a like. I'll look for more input on these via internet & seasoned foragers. If they are safe, then I know where to dig a bounty of wild leeks.

As for Morels, we found none. We searched for 3 hours and decided the Turkey hunters may have been quicker. It is Spring Turkey hunting time. Most Turkey hunters enjoy hunting for Morels too.

I found my first Trillium. I have only seen these in pictures. As odd as that may seem since I practically live outdoors, this was a first for me.

(all pictures from this post are taken with a Sony FS10 camcorder. )

The purpose of our hike was not just wild edibles. On my last trip into these woods, we came upon a group of wild turkeys. A mere 40 feet away from us. We decided to scout the woods for turkey roosting spots and deer. My "outdoorsmen mentor" Chris, has promised to take me on my first wild turkey & deer hunt this year. Chris did not have children, so I feel fortunate to have that wiser male figure in my life. Panda even jokes about the youth day hunts. "Mom, so is Chris taking you out hunting on youth day?". (youth day hunting is when parents or other adults take children out to hunt and only the children can do the hunting). I'm a bit too old for youth day but I guess...yeah. It is kinda like that. Sorry bud. But that was just funny.

Plenty of tall vines wrapping themselves into the trees. Chris & I become like little kids and swung heartily from Natures playground. Laughing as we bounced off trees, flying through the air. (and the occasional crashing into a tree producing a yell of cuss words).

As we sat to rest on a high landing above a creek, I discovered a "spirit of the forest". A more natural form of the * "man in the tree" pictures I * have posted of previous *adventures.

We park the car at a farm, owned by a friend of Chris's, which connects to these woods. Every visit starts and ends with his wonderful conversations and smiles. I so enjoy playing around his place (and with the baby lambs who are bonded to humans). I am slowly wearing him down to allow a spotlight of his amazing place. I will not give away any spoilers but believe me. He is creative and resourceful. I do not feel you will be disappointed.

We walked out to a portion of the apple orchard to see if any morels could be found among the dead wood and brambles. None. But the scent of apple blossoms was so hypnotizing. Their fresh sweet scent and showering of petals with each breeze are the stuff you envision in blissful dreams. or laundry softener commercials. :)

This time, the mesh bags were empty as we drove away for the day. I did not mind so much since the Spring discoveries were plenty to fill my mind. Plus knowing I'll have plenty of opportunities to go back into those woods.

Off to another spotlight destination this weekend. Super busy for the next 3 in fact. As always, if you know of someone in the 5 hours radius of Akron Ohio, who would make for a great spotlight, please do forward the information to me. If they have a blog, it would be even better so I may contemplate the spotlight much more informed.

Sweet Dreams,

~Tammie

Homesteader Spotlight video 1

The Captain and I traveled down to West Virginia, to meet Stephanie & Tim of the blog Adventures in the 100 acre wood.
There was so much to see and not enough time to explore it all. I could have spent days exploring their land. Such beautiful rolling country side surrounds their home.
In this video, you will see the Rain water catch system which fills the livestock waterers. The rain water is directed from their roof downspouts into a pipe which directs the water to a large catch tank. It is attached to a pump & water filter system that distributes fresh water as needed. This was a favorite of The Captain.

I tried my hand at shearing sheep too. Let's just say there is no chance of going pro in my future...

They have a large variety of livestock and many inspiring self sufficient methods on their 100 acres. There will be another visit to the 100 acre woods in late Summer when Stephanie will take us on a wild edible hunt and then off to the kitchen to share a delicious dessert recipe. I can't wait! This is the Spring edition Spotlight, showing a small glimpse of their Homestead. Enjoy!

And please.... Remember to rate on youtube for future viewers to find.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGaFrNqsxEk



Video made possible by Overstock.com

Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie

Our mini hoop frame garden & a Panda kid's edition

With so much great Spring weather and of course those high temps we had for a few weeks, I experimented with a new method. This is my mini hoop frame garden. Made from old tomato cages I re purposed out of old fence sections. Now they serve a third purpose and have been a success. 4 MIL plastic covering the 3 sections of recycled fence sections. Placed in a half circle forms over the ground. Old fire bricks and soil holding them in place with a spot to open for air flow.

I have at one end, a rainbow of colors in sweet peppers, Then a section is Snowball X cauliflower. The longest section is salad greens from Romaine to mesculan and an Italian blend. So far, all have sprouted and chugging along despite the dip in temperatures. (we had sleet a few days/nights ago when temps dipped into the low 30's F). I am rather fond of this new to me method. It will be utilized for early season growth from now on.

I am still piecing together our latest video. All this footage being downloaded onto my laptop has caused slow speed not just with internet, but the movie edit program takes much longer to use. Splicing at the exact fraction of a second has not been accurate.Once I have the opportunity to get to a store, I will pick up some DVD R discs for backing everything up (and clearing space on the laptop). This should speed up my work and internet access.

Panda is slowly working on her own special kid's edition video. Spurred on by an incident with a toad she found during the big "mating call" day at the park. She has the drive & desire but the poor thing is instantly shy when the camera comes on. So we are doing practice footage to help her relax more. Not to mention the knowledge of toads & frogs which has me amazed. Hopefully she will have it complete in the next few days. We have had so many overcast & rainy spurts between the sunny ones. Makes for no video footage time.

I have a lot to do in the garden tomorrow before the rain hits again. One last section of the garden to till and weed before laying down the weed cloth. The hard part being it is the herb square. I have many herbs to transplant and even more weeds/grass to pull from the garden's quarter section. And the strawberries seem to be invading the whole thing. Now what am I suppose to do with all these extra runners?

Sweet Dreams,

~Tammie

Drama of Chubs & Sir don Julio...

As always, the rabbits have continual drama here. The current drama started a few days ago. Chubs, our Californian doe, was let loose by our Little Frog. Chubs was put out on the lush lawn in a welping pen, to which Frog left the connectors open when she was done petting her. So Chubs went on the lamb ( meeting up with Sir Don Julio who was on the lamb himself because he is the Houdini reincarnated). Normaly not a big deal since they always stay around the property and come to the front door begging for their meals within a day. This time was different. Chubs, we suspected with her extra thick waist, was pregnant. VERY pregnant.

We spent yesterday in west Virginia for one of our spotlights and had not seen her come up for the usual begging of food. Then, I spotted her and Sir Don Julio out by the chicken this morning.
I knew care would need to be used while trying to catch them in the early morning. I grabbed a bowl of their food and was able to walk up on them. They came running for their pellets and let me do a few scratches on their heads. This is where care and restraint must be played. If I grab them at that point, they would learn my bringing of food while they are loose would mean I am trying to catch them. I took note Chubs was not as chubby like the other day. So I let them eat a bit and went back in the house for a banana.
I looked out the kitchen window and began to worry. They pranced over to the backyard property line where Chubs began pulling fur from her underside. I knew at that moment she either had given birth already or was about to begin. I walked up with their banana and chubs ran off for the neighbors woodpile. She continued to pull fur at the mouth of a tunnel just under the pallets of old firewood. I grabbed her and could tell, she had already given birth.

I ran back to put her in the whelping pen and back to the wood pile. In that short time, The Sir Don ran away from the woodpile as I came back up & a baby bunny was outside the tunnel. She was cold but alive.
I ran her back to Chubs and grabbed my work gloves. Time to move all that wood and find the babies.

I found 3 dead and 5 alive. They were spread out under all 4 pallets of wood. I believe the story behind this Rabbit event may just be from sir Don Julio stomping 3 of the babies. ( This is normal male rabbit behavior. Normally females will protect their young from other rabbits.) in this case, i think Chubs was leading Sir Don Julio away from the babies when he would not leave her alone to birth. She was in the act of pulling fur while trying to draw him away from the nest. She passed the placenta within minutes of me putting her in the whelping pen.



One baby was far too chilled to survive and passed shortly after being placed with Mom into a safe and secure nest box. All are now warming up in the garage with Chubs. Sir Don Julio is now housed in a small cage which escape is near impossible.

And to think, I was sad over having no Farm babies this Spring. I will try to breed her again in about 4-6 weeks for second litter of meat rabbits. The problem is...Not only is she a problem to breed, I never know if she is pregnant until the week before she gives birth. And that is only due to the larger body girth. I need another female for easier breeding. I'll just be content with what I have for now.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

The start of mini food wonders

The galvanized "trough" has sat in the chicken pen for over a year. Used for their leisure and a hiding nook. Given to me by a neighbor who "thought I could find a use for it". I keep eyeing the big thing and have decided the chickens could care less what I do. I have new plans for it's use.

The garden soil I have so dedicated myself to for the last 8 years, rebuilding -or rather build up-, is not the best for many root crops. I could sift the soil as to remove the pebbles/rocks and clumps of clay which force their way up each year. But that is way too big of a garden & I'm far to lazy for such work on top of everything else I do.
Now the trough is used for growing carrots. Rainbow colors due to the demands of a very persistent little Frog and (Who am I to argue over rainbow veggies?). Next is spinach to plant for above soil growing. Baby spinach for salads and baby carrots for munching.

This brings me to a subject I have been pondering for some time. Baby vegetables and Micro greens. If I give less spacing between the carrots, I can leave them to grow half way, thinning them out for use as baby carrots. Leaving the others to grow to their full potential.
This process had me drifting off in thought to other food plants I could utilize the method in. What about lettuce such as mesculan. What about spinach, turnips or beets? I began to think of more containers to use in these methods. Small raised beds or garden nursery flats.
So began the search for more information on Micro greens.

So what is the big deal with them anyway?
The beauty of micro-greens is that there is no waste and due to their intense flavour, only small amounts are required to add pizazz to a dish. Micro Greens have developed only their cotyledon (first) leaves and are no more than 8 to 14 days old. The stem and baby leaves are all that are consumed, not the roots (as is the case with alfalfa and bean sprouts). The flavor is great, the colors are beautiful and the nutritional value is exceptional. They give every salad a fresh new taste, a sandwich the ultimate crunch and flavor, and they are a beautiful and tasty garnish for any dish.
This is a subject I will be looking more into and I know just where to find it. The best part is, if my plans go right, You will learn more when I hit the road later this month. To discover how, why, when & proper methods for sustainable agriculture in your garden.

This week ,The Captain and I have a trip to the Huntington West Virginia area. I look forward to the first road trip alone with him in many years. I hope he can put up with my "I'm the driver" attitude along with my behind the wheel singing and dancing...Poor Guy.

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie