January 2012

Where does the time go ? Seems like the days just zip by...feeding critters, buying feed, putting up with a contrary donkey....he likes to kick up his heels and I have to watch him when I am in the barnyard. The chickens have started laying again, which is a blessing. Nothing beats a fresh egg...and we make sure we eat them all.
The puppies continue to grow, sadly, no one wants them, so I have not figured out what to do with them all yet. Each is loved, each is named...OH DEAR ME !!




Cookie Face continues to get fat and sassy...she follows me all over when I am working in the barnyard, afraid she will miss something..


The donkey is learning to lead quite well now...he is rewarded by being out of the barnyard and getting to eat fresh greens, still loves his kisses, he is special..





We had to cut down the big tree out in the garden area, it had split, and left us no choice. Did not want it to fall on the neighbors area, so now it will continue to give to us and become firewood for next year, stacking it under the new barn area.



The strongest of the quail have survived, I do not think we will have them next year, the eggs are plentiful, but a headache to use and to peel....



Henny Penny still pecks the crap out of me when I try to feed her, but she is so beautiful...a mixture of all the ones we have owned, she is fat and sassy...


I have had one white and grey spotted dove born this year...occassionally, I will get one white one a year or less, but this one is mottled in color, and so pretty...



Will be glad when Spring gets here and we can get all the tarps off and fresh air inside the pens, they love the sunshine...



Bama had his feed bucket changed to a new location, and he does not like it one bit, so we will change it back this week . It is funny to watch the donkey hit the bucket with his nose and send a shower of feed down on him, makes Bama very unhappy though.




Jimbo is on his last legs, very weak at times, but he carries on, we lost Suzi Pig this past year. We will never have any more of them, but we have loved them while we have had them, they brought us laughs over the years.


Well, that catches us up for the past year and one month...soon we will be into February, the time is going so fast, I need to enjoy every day I have.....

My Old Christmas Card

Wallpaper Christmas Card

December 10, 2007

Every time I look at this homemade card, I have to smile. It is wallpaper that once hung on the walls of a home I had, I lost it to a fire years ago, but had saved small pieces of the wallpaper before the fire. It was white, with big chickens all over it, and signs of Fresh Eggs. It was pre-pasted.I had it all over the kitchen of my little house, and I had all the cupboards painted bright yellow. You could always smile when you walked into that room to make coffee in the mornings, just the sight of those silly chickens made you laugh. I miss my little house, but it is gone, except in my memory. I still had some of the wallpaper saved, luckily it was in a shed outside. It is YEARS old, the reason I am a genuine old Packrat. We have style, we never throw anything away….it will be useful in time….and it was just that, a new life for an old wallpaper.

I then took brown paper sacks and cut them and glued them to the wallpaper. I hand wrote in ink the following message, then used pinking shears to cut the cards to fit the envelopes.

Nobody will give us credit
Our budget makes us scheme
We can’t offset the debits
As Scotch as we may seem.

Not to send Season’s Greetings
Would never do at all…….
So to wish you "Merry Christmas !"
We tore the paper off the wall.

Signed ….with love, from us to you…..


I laugh and laugh at that old card. Lots of memories. I just love chickens.

Planting by Moon Signs

I am getting that Spring itch, the time of the year I want to see green sprouts coming up....and I know it is wishful thinking, we have several months of winter to go yet, but one thing I do not want to lose is information I have kept for years and years.....
This is from one of my old books.....
Plant taters on dark and old of the moon (last quarter)---you will have less vines and more taters..
Plant taters on the light of the moon, you will have more vine, and less taters..
If you plant taters in the feet, little nubs will be all over the taters...
Best time to plant...dark night in March ( March 17)
Plant all things which yield above the ground during increase or growing of moon,
Root crops which grow below ground, plant when the moon is decreasing or darkening.
Most harvesting should be done when the moon is growing old....keeps better.
Cut hay in the old of moon. Will dry quicker, prevents mold or mildew..
Cut wood in the old of the moon, dries quicker. If cut in the new of the moon, it will spew on the fire.
If you dig a hole on the new moon, you will have dirt to throw away...dig on the old of the moon, and you won't have enough to fill the hole back. If you dig post holes on the growing of the moon, they will be loose all the time and never settle. Dig post holes on the old moon, they will settle tight, just like they grew there.
Plant corn in the arms, it won't grow high and will hang over. Plant corn in Leo, and you will have a hard stalk, little nubber ears. Plant in Taurus, it with withstand drought. Plant beans in bowels, and they will rot.
Casturate pigs when the sign is in the feet...less bleeding and soreness. and no infection.
Have tonsils out when signs are in knees or feet. Cut you hair when moon is decreasing, it won't grow back as fast.
Never kill hogs on the new of the moon, the meat will be watery.
Never plant in barren signs. Frost on the light of the moon will not kill.
When oak or mesquite buds are out, killing frosts are over.
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to plant, and a time to harvest.
Just be sure to plant in the dirt......

Moving Beds

A week or so ago, Benny came into the store where I was shopping to tell me about a beautiful bed that had been discarded. It had been out in the rain for awhile, was really a heavy piece of furniture, it was all there, so I decided I would go ask if they had really thrown out that lovely piece of furniture. The lady assured me she had, I have known her for several years, stated it had come apart and she was not able to fix it, had another one instead, to take it if I wanted it. So Benny and I loaded up the pieces on his truck, really was heavy, too, and brought it home. He checked it out And decided he could repair it. He worked all week on the rails, took them off the wood, then reattached them all the way down with bolts to secure them in place. He decided today wAs the day to put it up and it would be HIS new bed. Okay....since he hAd pulled the other bed all apart, what did he want me to say ?..It took awhile to put it together, washed it all off with Clorox before I let him bring it in.....his bed was A full size, this one was QUEEN size, so he decided to pull my queen size guest bed apart and use the mattresses on his new bed..Oh what fun we had, trying to drag mattresses from room to room...do we put down slats or not....will it fit or not....we finally got his new bed together, got it made, then began to move out the queen frame and headboard...we moved his old bed in the guest bedroom...got it set up...then started on my old bed. Now my bed had pulled apart from the frame, and he had wired it together with bAling wire..are you getting this picture ? LOL....guess who really needed a new bed ? ME ! Luckily, years ago I had bartered for an old iron bedstead, they don't make them like this one Anymore...and since my renter had moved out, I went and got it As I had let her borrow it for her son to use. It is really a distressed old bed, but it is all put together now ANd I have my own newer bed to sleep in tonight. The old one fell Apart just trying to take it outside. So now we have finished playing move the beds, and hopefully we can enjoy A good night's sleep tonight....

December 2011 at Itsy Bitsy Farm

It is hard to belive this year is almost gone. I find time going by so fast, and my time is getting shorter. I really do not know where all the years went, but I loved all of them.
We had our sorrows this year as we buried my favorite goat, Cocoa Bunny. And then we lost old Suzi Pig. You tend to lose chickens, roosters and quail, doves, but they don't get as close to you as those who lick your shoes, untie your shoelaces, Baa every time they see you, and love you with all your warts and bumps unconditionally.
We have new puppies this year, hopefully we can find homes for them...very upset that the local vet could never call and make us an appointment, we called three months in a row trying to set up an appointment to have Button spayed. We were told he would not work on small animals, but we tend to try to keep our funds here in our own community....live and learn. Still have to get her spayed, which means driving to another town as soon as the puppies are weaned.
I am looking forward to a new garden this year. The drought really took a toll on us. No fruit except for some dehydrated grapes, but they tried, no pecans, the grasshoppers ate my tomatoes and peppers, but we don't give up....




The native pecans are few this year, but they have such a wonderful flavor....




We spent Thanksgiving at Marty's, and I picked up beautiful Burr Acorns. These just fascinate me, they are soooooooo big. I love them for decorating for the Holidays, putting them in a big bowl with tinsel and shiny bulbs...




The new puppies are so cute, every color, part weiner dog, part small shepherd, too cute for words..




The fire is cozy and the house is warm.....blessings...

And I love gargage sales, look at these beauties...how many hours were spent crocheting these ?




And the spider plant is thriving...may make it to be put out on the patio again this summer...

September Doodles

Here it is September..have been dehydrating food again...been doing bananas this week,




and strawberries..

and Israel melon.....


I also made Cowboy Candy, candied jalapeno peppers....they are so good when they are ice cold from the fridg..decided to dehydrate some....and I SCREAMED FOR ICE WATER...LOL..I like hot peppers, but those really are HOT !


The kitten is doing pretty good, we don't need one, have dozens, but Benny is tender hearted as well. For years, I have used the excuse that God made us the caretakers and that worked fairly well....






Benny brought me this "gift", a birdhouse made mostly from Hombre the Longhorn's hair. I think it is really neat....


And here is the picture of the Polish Rooster I chased all day long...he is now safe and in a cage...someone dumped some out...hate that !!!



The temperatures are cooling down..Praise the Lord.....we need rain so badly...


and kisses from Jimmy....

Bird Nests

I read in a magazine this week that it is illegal to keep bird nests...Of course, they eliminate the grackles and sparrows...I am glad or I would be in jail...LOL...I love to find them laying on the ground after a wind storm. The Grackles have finally moved on from our huge pine tree in the front yard...the wind kept blowing down their nests.
I have them neatly lined up on the porch where I can see them every day.





I think they look better with birds in them....






The bullfrog is still alive...he stays in the water most of the time. I have been feeding him some dry dog food, drop a few in the water at night....


My flowers live as long as I remember to pour on the water. They dry out so quickly in the heat. I love flowers......

White and Pink Caladiums




Kolanche




Fern



Dapper and Shasta Daisy


Still busy canning and dehydrating....apricot jam for winter time, dehydrated apricots for oatmeal and snacks....


Still have a few tomatoes...so good crushed up in salad.


And check out this darling find at a craft show...got a hammer ? Got a file ?