Oct. 14-20, 2018 Frost, Hoop Houses, Winter Clothes, Van, Cross Bow, Teapot,

Oct. 14-20, 2018  

Frost, Hoop Houses, Glasses for Dd, Winter Clothes, Van, Cross Bow, Teapot

Frost has finally hit us in Michigan; later than usual.

The change in season has made for extra beauty.

Hello Friends!

Fall is settling in but I still have many fall jobs still pending.  I'm knee deep in our Winter Clothes Boxes that I brought down from the attic but have given myself this final week to sort it out and take back up the boxes to clear our floor space. 



 I've been mowing, mowing, mowing to get in one last final mow of the season.  I gave the chickens one last bag of fresh cut grass of the year and put the rest in our compost bins.


  
Red hummingbird feeders are washed and put up as well.  I'm still finding tomato plant tops and branches to bring into the chickens to strip bare.  



All hoses are emptied and hung inside barn.  



The pool furniture is safely inside the barn too.  What a lot of work for one person to do!!!

Oct. 17, 2018: The Last Growing Day:

I happened to be watching to the weather and they said today was 'the last growing day of the year.'  Isn't that interesting, I'd never thought that there was a last peak day for plant growth.  Hearing this news gave me permission to pull up any remaining plants to feed to the chickens and bring in all the produce I could without worry that they might still be growing if I'd left them outside.

Oct. 17, 2018: New Glasses for Dd:

Dd's glasses came in!  She was so excited we had to drop everything and rush to go get them!  

Hoop Houses:

Dh helped me carry in the two hoop houses he built me in the spring for our fall, and hopefully our winter garden.



  I placed them over the Swiss Chard and kale plants that are still doing so well.  Some turnips got under the plastic as well.  I still haven't dug up the turnips or carrots yet--supposedly if you wait until a few frosts have happened they will produce more sugars and be sweeter.

Chicken Coop- Plastic Wrap: Started

I've been watching video's on YouTube on how to keep your chickens healthy in the winter.  Actually, my first question is when/if to use heat lamps within your inner coop and that lead to all sorts of information.  I'm trying to not turn on my heat lamp until it gets really cold so my chickens can adapt to the cold weather better.  I had been afraid in past years that if I didn't put on the heat lamp at the first chilly nights the poor chickens would get sick and die.  Now that I am getting a few winters under my belt and am feeling a little more confident about their ability to adapt, I have, so far, not turned on the heat lamp at night. 



 I have turned it on for a few hours during the day or evening for Zeus or to dry the chickens before bedtime after being rained on all day in the chill. Surprisingly, I saw quite a few video's from people that had wrapped their runs in plastic wrap so the chickens could go outside during the winter and not be in snow.  At first I just wanted to do the top of the run, adding a tarp to provide a top cover, but then I decided to do the sides too to keep the harsh winds out as well.  I haven't started the project yet, but am doing research on how best to provide for the chickens during the winter.

Due to the frost coming I had to bring in all the veg; whether it was ripe or not.  I'm hoping, given time, most of the tomatoes will ripen inside.

Each day I brought in new containers with tomatillo's, green beans, squash, and tomatoes

Harvest:

STILL harvesting tomatoes, tomatillo's, various greens, green beans, etc.  

I did two sessions of canning Tomatillo's, then I did a third canning with them and some tomatoes to make a pre-salsa mix.

We are getting temps in the low 40's and some frost in the mornings so our time for harvesting is fast ending.

This squash came in with a worm inside!  I had to give the whole thing to the chickens...they liked it!

Henry:

He is doing great!  He has grown so much and filled in with lots of muscle and hair.  His back was so bare you coudl see his skin threw his thin balding hair, but now he has a full thick coat!  



This week has been such a crazy stick week; he is even bringing in his favorite sticks to chew on in the house!  

Two more spaghetti squash from our garden

Dd:

Our teen daughter has been especially tired and fighting a cold this week.  We are still struggling with her getting her few chores done each day.  I admit I have to repeatedly ask and she continues to drag out her chores as long as she can.  I feel like all the solo driving she has been doing has really accelerated her feelings of heightened independence.  I'll be curious to see how things proceed as the snow will soon arrive and I'll be back to being the chauffeur.  This is, by far, the hardest phase I've had to go through with her.  It is hard letting go and at the same time being the person that aggravates her and pushes her to do her chores.

Van:

I don't know how anyone can keep up on our revolving door of broken down cars; but about 1-2 weeks after getting our van back from the repair shop it started smoking.  



We waited a week and drove it to church again and it smoked again; making it official that something was definitely wrong with it.  



Then for about a month Dh just didn't have the time or mental space to deal with it.  



Last week Dh began discussing possibilities with his dad over the phone and then brought the van inside our garage this week to officially start trying to fix it.  He narrowed down what was wrong with it and will begin rounding up the parts and pieces to begin the repair.  Grampy, Dh's dad, is due to visit next week so they can fix it together then.  This week Dd helped Dh work on the van.

New Gun:

Dh found a new (used) gun for hunting season this year.  It is a .44 rifle, single shot.  So the gun can only fire one bullet at a time.  This year Dd will get to use it, or at least take it with her when they hunt together.  We have so many deer around our house, it sure would be a huge blessing to get some of that un-factoried meat for our home.

Hunting Prep:

Dd and Dh built a table to use out in the woods this week.  After they built it they shot the cross-bow off it.  This is their quality time and shared interest.

Teapot:

There are few things that bring such peace and calm as a good cup of tea.  I relish my few teapots and tea cups and the joy they bring.  Heather had given me a nice teapot, but the handle is beginning to break and I don't use it anymore, fearing it will break off entirely. To my full appreciation, I found a perfect brown, made in England, probably never used--paperwork still inside, teapot at my thrift store this week!!!!  I immediately put it in a box with stuffing to give myself on Christmas day!  It is very plain; that dark brown old timey England glaze on a nice big fat pot!  Such a big, large-volume size pot.  Praise the Lord for those little surprise treasures He blesses us with when we least expect it!

I've been having a great time lining up dead trees and branches along our trails to mark them clearly.  With all the leaves it has gotten harder and harder to stay on our trails.

My Mom:

I like to leave little notes for myself to keep track of what is going on with my mom on my blog without sharing any real 'private' information.  I know I hate to see when other family members share indelicate info about my mom on facebook and I don't want to be a hypocrite, even if it is in my own heart.  This week my mom told me she is going to move back to Maine.  In March/April she moved from Maine to Ohio and now she has decided to move back.  There is so much to say about this, but I don't think I can say anything here.  She flies to Maine next week--such a fast decision and hard to process.



Pool:
We finally got the pool all closed up and the proper winter cover on it.  Just in the nick of time, of course.

Mushrooms:
I've been taking alot of mushroom pictures this week.  I'm going to make a whole post just for these cool photo's.



Academics:

Bible:

Dd finished up one of her devotionals and started another---Praying for Your Future Husband completed and Soul Surfer Devotional by Bethany Hamilton in process.  She continues to do two devotions each day, the other one being the Word of Life Teen Devotional she got from our Olympians program.

Church/ Sunday School and Youth Program

Volunteering (1 1/2 hrs) Olympians Program, Games

Frost in the garden

Music:

Strings Group at church---guitar.  This week Dd got to play a 12 string guitar that another player suggested she try.  She did a good job with it.

Frost on the Blackberry Bushes

Frosty garden...brrr!

Physical Education:

Dd and I walked the woods together this week.  She continues to work with Henry--walks, throwing sticks, and training.

Grace Subjects:

Algebra I: Saxon

Spanish I

Graphic Design

Introductory Logic

Geography: BJU

Grace classes are going very well.  She is doing all the work and learning a lot.  She is especially loving the Algebra and Geography classes.

Audio:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I can't say we are enjoying this but trying to stick with it.

Next Week:

Giz and Grampy are coming up for the last time this year.  It took all week, but I got all the winter boxes emptied and restored up in the attic.  Floors swept and mopped.  Guest bedroom all tip-top and ready for the UNO playing daredevils!  Dh's parents will soon be here!

Agnes is helping me sort through the winter scarves!

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Oct. 7-13, 2018, Canning Week, New Book, Potatoes, Braces Week Two

Oct. 7-13, 2018

Canning Week

New Book, Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson,

Digging up Potatoes, and Braces Week Two

 Hello Friends!

What a rainy, blah-kind of week in Michigan!  At least the mushrooms are loving all this moisture and are popping up everywhere.  I've been getting my winter clothes boxes from the attic and switching out my clothes.



Canning:

After last week's migraines, I was so glad to be free from pain and able to get some canning done for this year. 



 I was beginning to think I wasn't going to have anything this winter to show from our summer garden!!!  I had made a few tomato paste jars, but not nearly enough.  



It rained and rained and rained this week, so inside jobs were a perfect fit and I feel like I've accomplished more now that the canning has begun!!

I probably lost five canning jars this year; which has to be a record for me.  Can you see how the bottom of the jar cracked and broke off?  Such a bummer b/c you have to throw away all that veg---can't give it to the chickens b/c it might have glass shards in it.

Kales and Swiss Chards growing great!

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson

So excited to read a book about books!  I've been trying to make good use of my time with Dd as it is evaporating so quickly, and I want to make the best book choices I can with the time I have left with her.  Plus, she isn't nearly keen to let me read aloud to her as she 'has her homework to do' now.  Yes, we are going through a big transition phase right now and it is not pretty, but I assume many parents and later teens struggle with this push and pull adjustment.  I thank Chelle from the bottom of my heart for mailing me this book and kind gesture of our enduring long-distance friendship.



Braces, Week Two:
Dd had a few painful days after getting her braces put on, but this week has been so much better.  She is out of pain and adjusting to having the braces on her teeth.

Gardening:

Cold weather is on the way, so I went ahead and dug up our potatoes while the dirt was still warm.  I know that sounds funny, but I hate trying to dig out potatoes when your fingers are so cold that they are numb!  It is especially hard trying to feel for those small yummy ones.



  I spent a lot of time in the garden this week.  I know the tomatoes aren't going to ripen outside so I picked and cut off all of them I could find and brought them inside.  I cut off as many of the leafy parts of the plants and fed that to the chickens.

I eat the leaves on the right and the chickens eat the stems on the left.

  I've had to get out my pitch-fork to carry out all the mass piles of de-leafed tomato plants as a result!!!  I'm so glad the chickens love eating the plants and therefore we don't waste hardly anything.

Green Beans:

You know you've been picking a lot of green beans when you lay down at night to go to sleep and close your eyes and your brain puts the image of hanging beans in your mind!  I had quite a few nights this week where I fell asleep imagining picking green beans!!  I had to put an end to cooking Dh green beans for his lunches so I could can some!  He was able to eat as many as I was picking! 

 

We planted three different kinds of potatoes this year, and canned some of each kind by the end of this week.  

Chicken Bone Broth:
With things slowing down again I've been able to bake whole chickens and pick off the meat and put the bones in our crock pots for bone broth.  It takes time and effort, but I'm trying everything I can to make my 'gut' healthier.  I still have a few weeks before I go back to my Dietician for more insight into my diet and digestion and am hoping for improvement.  Dh and Dd are not keen on my chicken soups so it is a lot of effort for just me; which is hard to make time for, but at least I know they love eating the baked chicken meat even if they don't want any of the broth.

Hikes In Woods:

With the weather so pretty and the leaves falling down, I have spent a little extra time using fallen trees to mark our trail paths.  When all the leaves are down I will not be able to see our path any longer!  Dh has been using his old-fashioned wacker to clear new trails for us to use to give us some new options to hike in.  My Indiana friend, Heather L., introduced me to a book on the major benefits of being outside in the woods which reinforces my desire to be outside as much as I can and how being out among the trees does so much benefit to our bodies and minds.  The book is called Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li.



Volunteering:
Dd is volunteering at the library once a week to help out in a kiddie program and liking it a lot.  She is also volunteering each Wed. night at the church in the Olympians program, assisting with the Games section.  I also volunteer at the Olympians program and feel blessed by being there with the few kids that come.



Friday Night/Sleep-Over:
Dd had her friend Lexi spend the night.  They stayed up late and got up early to go out to eat with us; which was very surprising!  I'm always so glad when Dd has her friends over and can spoil them with some yummy food.  Lexi asked Dd to take her "Senior Picture" and they took hundreds of photo's during the visit.

The Sassafras trees are so pretty right now in our woods

Academics:

Bible:
One Year Interactive Bible Study from Word of Life
Church, Sunday School, Youth Program
Volunteering to help the church's Olympics Program on Wed. nights; Games portion (1 1/2 hours)



Bible/Fun Book:
Praying for Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn: Completed
Soul Surfer Devotional
Word of Life Teen Devotional
(Dd has continued to do two bible studies each day)



Audio:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
We are really struggling with this audio.  There is a LOT of cussing and using the Lord's name in vain which seems to be around every corner where we are right now!  I know this book is seen as one of the most important novels on "America" or I wouldn't keep trying to get us into it.  It is a tough sell.....

Thankful for a puppy that needs a lot of walks in the woods each day!

Physical Education:
Walks in the woods with Henry and me this week.  Dd also went for a hike with Hailee in the woods this week too.
One Workout this week



Home Economics:
Baked a cake and homemade icing.



Art:
Photography--Dd and Lexi spent two days taking photo's for Lexi's "Senior Picture."  They went to various locations and parks to take a wide spectrum of photo's to chose from.

Grace Subjects:

Algebra I: Saxon

Spanish I

Graphic Design

Introductory Logic

Geography: BJU

It has been fun watching the Sassafras trees turn yellow and brighten this part of the woods.

Grace Classes:

Dd is doing a great job in her classes; except for her Logic class!  I guess there is a LOT of memorization for that class and she, like her classmates, haven't been able to get over that hurdle!  I'm impressed at how well Dd is using her time to be independent in her studies, but wish it was easier to fit in our literature time too.

Honeysuckle was actually trying to get inside Dh's slipper!  She kept at it until she finally realized it was hopeless!

Next Week:

New Glasses For Dd

Henry looking for his next walk

............