Everyday...


As a child of the Lord God and Jesus Christ...
every day is a day for thanksgiving

because Christ has freely saved me from all judgment...
through nothing of myself...
but by His own work of grace and mercy

and I look forward to the promised heavenly home...
to spend eternity in my Savior's rest



so may it be with you...
if you are a child of God

for we have not here an abiding city, but the coming one we seek;
through Him, then, we may offer up a sacrifice of praise always to God,
that is, the fruit of lips, giving thanks to His name;
and of doing good, and of fellowship, be not forgetful,
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:14-16

Saturday Homestead Postcard...


Where roosters and citrus meet under the trees



May your day or night be guarded in the Lord's grace.

Sweet and Bitter...



The wee bundles of chicks a few of our hens hatched out these past several weeks...
are growing just as fast as chicks always do

we had 17 and two we lost to unforeseen accidents


and then we lost two hens to hunting dogs that came rushing down the hill...
and didn't distinguish our chickens from their targeted prey

a third hen, shown below, was severely injured but...
she looks like she'll pull through
her wee chick joined another mama hen with her chicks...
when this mama was too ill from the injury to care for her little one

it breaks my heart when these things happen...
but nothing goes perfectly in an imperfect world

this injured hen is being treated with raw apple cider vinegar...
minced garlic in soft food...
and a tiny bit of aspirin in her water
I alternate the cider vinegar and aspirin every time I change her water...
which is about 2 to 4 times a day, depending on how much she drinks

her wound was severe enough it had to be extremely painful...
and I could not let her suffer with that pain without a little help...
so to keep both the pain and inflammation down...
I went against advise on not giving a chicken aspirin

together, the three things seem to be working well...
and she is almost well enough to let her outside for greens and sunshine


in the meantime...
her chick has been doing well with the other chicks...
she (maybe he?) is in the middle, below

the photo was taken at dusk and they were getting settled into a nesting box



I've been harvesting wingbeans from the voluntary vines that grew...
from the seeds fallen from the last vines

how wonderful when the Lord grows plants for us... 
and we reap the benefits without lifting a finger

He reminds that it is His increase and not ours



our farmhand, Mike, has been weedwacking...
"mountain island grass mowing"

he is one hard working man...
and earns his money well



I love to see my anise hyssop bloom
I've been taking the seeds to plant more of these yummy leaves



we have a little pomegranate tree that just keeps blooming...
and the fruits grow
but, the rains have been hard on them and they turn black...
just when they are almost ready to pick

pomegranates don't care for a lot of wet weather...
so we will make sure and plant the next tree where it will stay drier

however, the flowers are quite pretty to look at



my double petal pink hibiscus unfurled another bloom...


with more promising a pretty show


and don't you think the backs of flowers are just about as pretty as the fronts?



but, here you are...
a curly, frilly bloom for you, today



Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting.
Blessed be your glorious name,
which is above all blessing and praise.
You are the Lord, you alone.
You have made heaven,
the heaven of heavens,
with all their hosts,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them;
and you preserve all of them; 
and the host of heaven worship you.
Nehemiah 9:5,6

May your day or night be preserved in the grace of God.

More Lime Time and a Peeper...


With all the limes we are harvesting at this time...
I am juicing them and freezing much of it for future use...
when maybe there aren't so many on the trees


but, I don't discard the peels

instead...
I put them in freezer bags along with the leftover juiced lime...
to use as disinfectants in my cleaning water


the lime gets peeled first...
which makes the lime very easy to juice without much effort


I like to put the used limes cut up into smaller pieces
in narrow necked bottles...
and mixed along with some baking soda...
with just a bit of water to swish them around the bottle

they do a good job of cleaning and disinfecting better than a bottle brush




hey, little bird...
are you peeping through my window?


what, who? me?
I was just looking for bugs


May your day or night find sweet delight in God's grace.

Saturday Homestead Postcard...


Where mama goats thrive on greens and kids thrive on mama's good milk


May your day or night thrive in the grace of the Lord.

Nehemiah


This morning, it looked like we might start off with sunshine...
not so

with the cool rain dropping and breezes coming through the cottage...
I'm glad for hot coffee in the early dawn hours...
and another cup as the day stays grey, but cozy inside...
where I cannot get wet


I did get a minute's chance to go to the garden...


for some mint


and it was hard not to notice how prettily the kitchen crops are coming up


this time...
my husband did the planting in the potager


and we will reap the benefits of the Lord's food blessings...
should He bring this crop to fruit for us



our coconut trees are working at giving us coconut water in the not-too-distant future

dropping their worn out blooms to make room...


for the growing fruit


I watched as each day they got bigger...


and more beautiful

soon, soon
we will be drinking one of God's delightful fruit nectars



my little garden girl is still sitting among the double petal pink hibiscus

this pretty plant was graciously given to me...
by a local woman who knew how much I liked them
at first, it took a while to get to blooming...
but, since it started showing it's flowers...
there are more days when there are blooms, than not 


and this morning, I read chapter 6 in the book of Nehemiah that set me to pondering...
on the sovereignty of God
how no matter what man does or doesn't do...
His decrees always have, always do, always will come to pass

Nehemiah, that prophet of Israel called out by almighty God...
to bring about the rebuilding of breached Jerusalem
this prophet was maligned, threatened, falsely accused, lied about...
to discourage him from doing the work the Lord gave him

but God had His own plans that no enemy of His could destroy
Nehemiah knew and trusted God to get the rebuilding done...
and God did indeed protect the prophet and all his helpers in the work...
from the evil intentions of those wicked people who hated God

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty-two days. 
And when all our enemies heard of it,
all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem,
for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help
of our God.
Nehemiah 6:15,16

so when, my dear readers, we see all the wicked trying to accomplish...
their own evil deeds in this world...
know that the Lord is in full control
and in His sovereignty...
all His decrees will be accomplished

May your day or night find grace accomplished by God's mercy

Chicken Noodle Dumplings...


My husband enjoys dumplings in his soup

so, when I make homemade chicken noodle soup...
with lemongrass stalks and rosemary...
for herbal infusion in the broth as it simmers


and gluten-free dumplings to go in it...
I tend to use less ingredients...
using mainly onions, garlic, tomatoes, chicken and gluten-free noodles


for the gluten-free dumplings for 4 people...
(the recipe can be doubled for more)
1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix
2 TB tapioca/cassava flour (this will give the dumplings extra spring)
1/4 cup of fine cornmeal
if your gf flour has baking powder already in it, skip the baking powder from this recipe
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 egg yolk
enough coconut milk or water to bring the dough together

mix and incorporate all the dry ingredients well
mix in the egg yolk
 stir in the coconut milk or water until the dough is of bread dough consistency
it should be easy to knead without being sticky


knead the dough until it is smooth


take enough dough to make a one inch roll...


until the dough is used up


one by one, put them into the simmering chicken soup...
and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes


the dumplings will thicken the broth slightly for a heartier soup



May your day or night be filled with God's grace.

Saturday Homestead Postcard...


Where tropical fruits are the jewels set against the cottage


May your day or night find blessings in God's grace.

Limin' the Day Away...



This early, grainy, but soft morning...
turned out to be a little hectic for me

our farmhand brought over some of his own bananas...
to take to market with our own bunch...
for a later trip into town today

after some of my chores with the chickens and feeding dogs was done...
I had to have that cup of coffee


Shadow came over to ask for a little attention



our lime trees are hanging low...
with more limes than we can keep up with


so, while we've been filling clients' boxes with them...
I've also been juicing them for lime squash...
and freezing lots for later use when the trees aren't so loaded



and how about them bold chickens thinking they have the right...
to sun themselves on my stair deck!


aren't you girls supposed to be laying some eggs, instead?



as I was saying...


it's a happy blessing of a problem to have too many limes hangin' around


and when they start to yellow...
then you know they are starting to mellow



and...
oh yeah, Ms. Mimi...
did you get curious as to what we're doing here under the citrus trees?
I suppose you aren't all hands for helping pick limes, are you?



one of the many buckets of limes we've picked in the last week



'course...
as pretty as limes are...



they taste even better as Pilgrim's Farm coconut and lime pudding


May your day or night find sweet blessings in God's grace.