Ready to Roam

See that white netting in the right of the picture below? See where the rooster is? Yeah, he's supposed to be on the other side of the fence.

The chickens (and occasionally ducks) have decided the netting fence is more like a guideline than a firm boundary, so they go in and out as their hearts desire. 

I came home from running errands one afternoon to spy this idyllic scene. 

They know where home is though, and haven't gone too far away from the house/poultry area. They've always make it back up near the goat shed at night. I wonder if they'll venture out once the snow falls...

Frosty

The weather has turned cold (although not for long...) and I decided it was time to bring my warm weather plants inside for the winter. My in-laws graciously allow me to keep my plants in their heated garage. 

The white pot on the floor is one of their planters. On the foosball table from left to right: pomegranate in the back, date I grew from a seed in the front, lemon tree, hardy fig in the bronze pot in the front (can hardly see it because it's mostly stem), in-laws' palm tree in the back, and in the little white pot is the pomegranate I grew from a seed. Somewhere not pictured is my very sad looking pineapple. 

Eventually, I'll set up a grow light and rearrange the plants on the floor. I have a weekly reminder in my phone to go water them. They need less water in the winter, but if I don't have a reminder, I will forget!

With the frost/freeze warnings in the forecast, G and I took one final swing through our garden to collect everything that might be damaged. Here's our haul:

You can see the musty leaves of the cabbage, no doubt transferred across the garden from the mildew-covered squash. The rest of the cabbage is good after picking the yucky leaves off. Almost all the tomatoes are green, but they'll ripen on the counter. Hopefully the squash ripen too. We have a handful of mini-peppers! Those are the dark veggies in the top left of the basket. Okra is on the table to the right of the basket. They feel firm and woody...not sure how they'll taste. 

Still hanging out in our garden: brussel sprouts, red cabbage (maybe have enough leaves covering them the frost won't damage?), carrots, and potatoes. 

Steal of a Deal

Today's tasks were all baby-related. I spent the first half of the day in the nursery cleaning out the nursery closet and sorting baby clothes by size. Some things went into the donate pile, and this afternoon I took those items to MLHS for their fall rummage sale. 

I had a little time, and they always need help, so I stuck around to help organize and set up for the sale (which is open to the public starting Wednesday). I've been a shopper at this sale for probably over two decades, which made it pretty easy to bring items to their respective locations... books to the left, shoes to the right, decor in the little back room, kitchen items on the long tables close to the entrance...

One perk of volunteering is that you get to shop early too. Come across something you like? Set it aside and buy it before you leave. 

I got some major deals today! For a grand total of $7, I got:

• a nursing pillow (on my baby registry, $45 value)
• a second nursing pillow cover ($20 value)
• two potential diaper caddies (if not good for diapers it can be used as an animal care caddy or some other organizational carrier)
• a baby floatie (also on my baby registry, $24 value)
• a 9x9 glass pan (been on my to-buy list for months)
• a stainless steel bowl that might be a great dog food dish (Misty has completely trashed her plastic food bowl)

I'll be back there on Saturday for the $3 bag day (aka Heintz sisters' favorite shopping day of the year)! 😉

Surprise Flowers

Last spring, I spread packets of wildflowers randomly across our yard and the goat pasture, hoping some would come up. I'd kind of forgotten about them until I spied this cheerful yellow bloom popping up. Maybe you can see the other two flowers to the left of it?

 

Mopsy took three kittens on a hunting expedition. They crossed the border into 'town' aka the development next door so they could get to the woods beyond. G and I didn't notice them back home the rest of the day. But bright and early the next morning, they were there to greet my in-laws for their morning treat. 

Goat Cough

We normally sleep with our windows open. Fresh air and the added bonus of hearing what our animals are up to. The rooster crows, Misty barks, the ducks quack... and lately we've heard one of the goats coughing. 

Since Ilsa died, we've been on high alert for anything that could indicate any of our other goats are falling ill. We want to catch anything in time to treat it before it becomes a major problem. We found out last time that a vet won't make an emergency call to a farm unless there has been prior care established. Guess we should bump that up on our list. 

Our plan is to use a holistic approach to our animal's health, which I thought meant natural remedies. Neither of us knows much about herbal remedies, so, I did a quick google search that brought me to this interesting article. Not anything super applicable in the moment, but the bottom of the page has a list of recommended books for futher reading. You know how I like further reading! 😉

Another quick google search revealed a site listing all the holistic veterinary services in Minnesota. None are close by. The nearest is in the Cities, and upon further investigation, all but one are small animal vet services. Hmm. The one that practices large animal care is in Red Wing and primarily does chiropractor and acupuncture. Hmm. Again, not quite what we're looking for.

Back to the book list.

Only one of the books was in the library system (and yes, I put a hold on it). The other three I found for sale on Amazon and on Acresusa.com. It was the first I'd ever heard of the second site. They have all sorts of eco-agricultural books for sale, much cheaper than on Amazon AND on sale this month. Now... how many books should I buy??? 😏

Smallest Cantaloupe in the World

The Northern Lights were out last night. Hard to see with the naked eye, but there was a faint tint to the sky to the south. Interestingly, I couldn't see anything to the north. They always show up better on camera. Here's a picture looking south:

It's supposed to freeze Sunday night, so I did a quick walk through my garden to see if there was anything to harvest that wouldn't withstand the cold. 

A few tomatoes, lots of celery, a couple green beans... A handful of peppers, but those might grow some more the next few days, so I left those. 

Near my trellis, I spotted two bright orange balls on the ground, both very small. They were the cantaloupes I'd noticed a few weeks ago, dropped from the dead vines. One of them had a hole in the bottom and was completely infested by picnic bugs. The other had a small soft spot on the side, but was otherwise intact! I cut it in half and G and I both got one side for breakfast. It tasted like a cantaloupe!

Fun fact: Baby H is 24 weeks today! According to thebump.com, babies at that age gestation are about the size of a cantaloupe. No doubt the cantaloupe they're using as a reference is much bigger than mine...😂

Out on a Limb

My orchid is growing a flower branch! 

The orchid was a present from my sister, probably about a year ago, and the flowers from back then are long gone. She told me that with some orchids, you can cut the flower stalk at a node, and it'll make a new flower branch from the stalk instead of growing a whole new stalk. Months ago, I did that and the stalk has stayed green. Now, new growth! 

I have a second orchid (present from G for my birthday back in April), again, flowers long gone. I tried the node cutting method on that plant and recently noticed the flower stalks have browned and shriveled. Guess that kind has to grow new stalks every time.