Monday, August 19, 2013

What a week I am coming down from! I spent the week in Michigan helping Olivia with the Berrien Co. Youth Fair. She had blast, saw some friends, rode lots of rides, and showed her llama Bandita and rabbit Mr. Gray! It was such a good experience for her, and I am thankful she is part of it. Now I am at home and tending to my small flock of pets/ animals and garden. I've been enjoying heirloom tomatoes and fresh eggs. My red peppers are getting bigger, too. It all makes me so happy! I think Mr. Gray is both happy to be back home in his garden and also sad that he isn't surrounded by lots of like species. The chickens are definitely happy I'm back, as they get some good free ranging time. They must think of me as the "leader of the pack" so to speak, as they are never very far from where I am at any given time. I planted comfrey for tea (my Aunt Gail gave me a plant as a kid and I enjoyed it!) and that is doing well. I also learned it is good for chickens, as it helps them ward off parasites that could affect their health. My Aunt is one of those amazing people that teaches what she knows. She is also one of the first people I know that started things organically. I remember seeing eggs shells and I don't know what else in a jar in her kitchen that she used to feed her plants. She also started my knowledge of plants, composting, and anything natural. Thanks, Gail! Another great thing about this past weekend was my involvement with the llamas at my old ranch (Northwind Llama Ranch). I really loved watching them, getting my hands dirty with trimming their nails (they get quite long!), breeding, and honestly, just being in the pasture with them. It gives me great joy that Olivia is around them. So yeah, I feel quite blessed. What a week! :)

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Well, tonight the neighbors on either side of me met "the girls" (a.k.a. the chickens). My neighbor to the right of me loved seeing them and went and got her son to come out and see them. Olivia and I got our picture taken with Black Road, a friendly hen. I gave her a half dozen eggs and she thanked me and said they would eat them tomorrow. :) My neighbor on the left kind of had a "huh?" look on her face when I introduced the girls to her. She was curious about them, said she never hears them, and that she never knew they were here! She and her husband will be the next to get a half dozen. Gotta keep the neighbors happy! I'm loving my home this summer especially! Not only am I getting good eggs, the heirloom tomatoes are beginning to look ripe, the red peppers have little red peppers on them, the comfry (for tea) is doing well, as is the mint (you really can't kill mint). I'm not sure about the watermelon, if that will produce fruit or not seeing that we planted them a little late. Olivia has eaten all the green beans off of our one little bean plant (we started a seed last fall and it is still in its pot, alongside a fig tree (well, maybe "tree" is pushing it!) that I planted from the pit of a fig I got at the Santa Cruz farmers market last March while I was with my TM teacher. So all in all, things are going very well. Still "playing" with and in my garden, having fun with the dogs, cats, chickens, rabbit (great fertilizer!),and, of course, enjoying Olivia and our swimming at the pool near our house. We go to Michigan for the Berrien County Youth Fair in two weeks where she will show said rabbit and her llama Bandita. Keep your fingers crossed! Not worried about the llama, but the rabbit has been enjoying food this year! So yeah, things are going very well. I'm loving it!