The Ruler...



We may not get snow here...
but, living on a rainforest island can give us quite a bit of rain at times

we had a terrific storm with all the works come over the island on Dec. 24th...
and then it sat all night long and into the morning...
giving us the songs of thunder and blinking lights of lightening

the Lord was reminding that He indeed is Sovereign and Ruler of all things

the storm finally moved on when the Lord sent a strong wind to blow it away...
and it became peaceful once again

before the storm came...
we managed to pick the oranges ready for market


they are juicy and sweet and we've been enjoying them ourselves
oranges aren't necessarily the color orange when ripe
it depends on where it has grown
in the tropics where it stays warm..
the chlorophyll in the orange's skin is preserved and does not turn orange
where they grow in temps that cool off...
the chlorophyll is not preserved and the orange will turn the color orange

ours stay green with a little yellow here on our tropical island...
and will get a touch of yellow or orange during the cooler months...
which is now occurring but, they will not turn completely orange...
as we do not usually get below the low 70's in temperature


when it's wet here, I am often at the outside sink...
washing off mud and such...
and an egg,or two, will be found at the hen's stations when making my rounds...
around the homestead


sometimes, I can find a few pretties to snip and bring into the cottage for cheer


and of course, the flycatchers who enjoy our homestead, too...
will give us some songs to work by


this one has his very own branch up above the beehives...
and I'd like to know...
what his interest is in being this close to the hives buzzing with the bees
is he making a snack on a few bees?
or, are there other insects that are hanging around the hives...
attracted by the fragrance of the honey inside?


until the New Year's day has passed by...
my chair and the computer will be waiting patiently for me...
to do a bit more posting and blogging
so with that...


I truly wish you all a very good coming year in the grace of God.

and it was said and done of the Christ Jesus:

Now muster your troops,
O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the Judge of Israel on the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me One who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore, He shall give them up until the time when
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they shall dwell secure,
for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.
And He shall be their peace.
Micah 5:1-5

All Things...


Early this morning...
I took a trip down the hill below the cottage to see what was to be picked



some of the grapefruit was ready...
those great big globes of lovely yellow



we've had quite a bit of rain lately...
and a papaya tree fell that took on too much water in the ground



but, I'm not about to let those papayas go to waste...
they are big enough that they will ripen over time...
and some I can dice and boil to make a green papaya salad with yogurt dressing

I did manage to find some limes and mandarins ready for use



my two little sick hens are keeping company together
one has the injury under her wing from a dog attack a few weeks ago...
she is still healing from that and no, it wasn't my dog...
but, she limps still and finds it hard to go far anywhere

the other hen has some kind of issue going on we haven't figured out
what ever it is seems not to be a threat to the others and probably...
has to do with the nasty genetics of some factory hatched layers
this one was a rescue from a caged hen pen
she seems to have improved a bit with treatments of...
garlic, papaya seeds, raw apple cider vinegar and lots of fruits



in fact, after doing nothing but sitting and not eating for two days...
she insisted on coming out from her confinement...
and this morning went out with the other chickens for free range scratching



I was glad to see that but, time will tell how she will come along



and these hens are waiting in line to lay their eggs in the same spot
what is it about my husband's work table they like so much?
after one lays, the next sits, then the next...
I kid you not
no bickering, no fighting...
they wait patiently and take their turns...
while all those cozy, private hen boxes we made them sit forlorn and empty
go figure 



the coffee trees got their turn at my attention this morning, too

after not visiting these trees for a while...



I was pleasantly surprised to see how many beans are on the trees
soon, they will be harvested for the morning cup of coffee
of course, I'll need to put them through the process first of drying and hulling



and really, who are those people that think vegetable plants in the front yard...


could be such an undesirable thing?! 
I can happily say it is an expected and admirable thing to grow gardens all around the home...
front, back and on the sides, here on this little island


why, they look just as pretty to look at as the next flowering plants...
and edible, too!



our fig trees are loaded with promising and luscious fruit...
I can't wait to have more of these on my plate



love cabbage leaves...
too pretty to pass up



for now, I must go and gather up some fallen passionfruit


and remembering that Christ Jesus...

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creations.
For by Him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-
all things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.
And He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything He might be preeminent.
For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of His cross.
Colossians 1:15-20

May your day or night find Christ preeminent by His grace.

Saturday HomeScene Postcard...


Where a rainy day makes for cozy baking day


recipe to come in the near future

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

Deep Bedding Chick Composting...


When we built the chicken coop...
we put it directly on the ground instead of flooring it

I knew that the chickens would need something softer than concrete...
or hard wood and certainly not a wired floor...
to land on when flying down from the roosts come morning

it's a risky thing to have chickens land on their feet onto hard flooring...
because it can be a cause of bumblefoot ...
which is a painful and too often potentially fatal foot injury


so, I went multi-tasking on the deep bedding area of the chicken coop on the ground


every time the yard gets mowed down of high grass...
I dump it into the coop in the corner...
where I've cleaned out the composted grass of the last mowing... 
giving the coop about 6 to 8  inches of new deep bedding


the composted grass which has now turned into great soil and fertilizer...
gets put into a bucket for my next seed sowing in pots


you can see how the fresh green grass in the corner will eventually...
turn into great compost which can be used for any garden use


it takes approximately 2 to 3 months for the chickens to turn it into garden food


they fertilize it during the nights from the roosts...
I turn it over with the rake every morning...
to get all the dirty stuff they dropped to the bottom of the bedding...


the chickens turn it over and over looking for bugs when they come in and out of the coop...
and over time...
it turns brown and becomes... 


beautiful, soft, highly fertilized soil to start my seeds with

and the chickens sure like it

who needs a nesting box?



I did a bit of pruning last week to get one of our avocado trees higher over my head...
and since my husband gave the go ahead and trim anything that was in my way...


rather than struggling to push my way through the branches to the chicken coop...


I now have some clear paths to get from the cottage to the chicken coop...
and no worries of tree branch swipes to my eyes



this little hen decided my husband's cluttered work table is a good a place as any...
to lay an egg


indeed, she did...
and Pip, the hand raised roo, thought it behooved him to watch over the process...
and make sure no one bothered her while she was busy


I do believe it's time to clear that clutter

May your day or night be blessed in God's grace.

Wednesday Victuals...


On Pilgrim's Farm...
there always seems to be something to feast on...
whether it be with the mouth or the eyes

and it is now the season for sorrel aka roselle hibiscus


we've been harvesting a few bucket loads


and still the bushes are growing out more

more sorrel juice, please


which is okay with us...
because we dry most of it anyway for use throughout the year...
and some we make into concentrate juice for tea making
and this next bunch coming up on the bushes will be made into jam...
which I hope to post on

my husband sits for a couple of hours and cuts out the seeds...
which go into a bucket for later sowing for next year's harvest


after I have made bottles of juice from many of the calyxes...
I put out the rest for drying and give the used ones to the chickens...
along with some other tidbit treats



our 15 little chicks have been growing quite nicely...
the mama hens have been weaning them off in the last few days...


and they are now pullets and cockerels

more eggs, please



the baby bull born September 2012 is just about as big as his mama...
she is the cow in the front


we enjoyed her milk for several months and now...
she will be giving us another calf in another few months
and I'm looking forward to her milk, again

more milk, please



my rose bushes are busy lately, too

and because I love to feast my eyes on pretty flowers...


I will snip a few off to set around the cottage shelves and tables


I do so love to fiddle with pieces of natural bits to stuff around the flowers

the fibers around the roses are from off the trunk of our coconut trees



because curried onions are so good...
I've been making gluten-free pita bread to wrap them up in for breakfast


I hope to post on how to make this in a future post

and in the meantime...


On the last day, that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink".
John 7:37

May your day or night find victual in the grace of the Lord.