Kiddies and Them Thorns Do Hurt



Around noon time...
I fill a couple of buckets up with water and take them down to the goats


the kiddies are growing ever so fast


and soon we will come around to milking mama Snowflake
we have her and the kids by the cocoa orchard which is also above the big garden...
so we need to keep mama on a tether so we don't lose our crops


in spite of all the wild bush for them to eat...
goats will lunch voraciously on both cocoa leaves and anything in the gardens


as you can see, these twins enjoy being together


brother is the one on the right with the longer horns


sister enjoys using him for a pillow


*****

We have quite a few citrus trees on our homestead...
and all the ones we deliberately planted have no thorns...
as they were cultivated from grafted trees

but, there are a few that grew from seeds that were thrown down...
from fruit eaten and had grown on their own
these have thorns


there are two citrus trees with thorns that grow at the corners of the chicken coop...
and if I had it my way, they would be hacked down...
but, right now, the citrus trees are full of fruits

the two thorny trees are grapefruit and I'm itching to get my hands on the fruit...
just as soon as they are ripe enough


because they sit so close to the coop...
I must maneuver around them carefully

I didn't learn to do that well enough, until after a few scratches on my arms...
I finally one day bumped my head against the tip of one of those 2 inch thorns
that was several days ago and it still hurts

instead of taking the trees down while they fruit...
I took pruning clippers and snipped off the thorns on the trunks...
and wherever they were a danger...
and pruned off any thorny overhang at my head level

now, the trunks are smooth and bare of thorns...
and that has helped tremendously


the first thought that came to mind when that thorn met my head...
was to take a machete to the tree
the second thought was a crown of thorns of over two thousand years ago

one thorn was plenty hurtful...
a whole crown of thorns could only be torture
that crown of thorns from long ago was worn by the Savior who willingly...
wore it to set me free from sin, darkness and wrath
and as hateful men set that crown of thorns on the Lord Jesus...
I know that my Christ's loving thoughts were on me

But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

May your day or night find grace in the Lord.

Home on the Range - Little Patch of Heaven


Well, we may not be dancing the homestead jig with our animals...
but, we get close

it's been more work than play on Pilgrim's Farm...
which leaves little time for blogging...
or footloosing with the chickens

I'll be back to post next week, Lord willing
in the meantime...
do enjoy this little video I found on YouTube




May your day or night find heavenly grace in the Lord.

Winding Down, Avocados Are


Mango season is now pretty much out...
but, we still have a few left that we don't let get away

and one of my favorite drinks is a home brewed tea of...

7 teaspoons of earl grey tea leaves (or 5 to 6 teabags) in a large pitcher
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
1 mango (ripe or green will work) cut up or grated down to the seed
you can even leave the skin on if you wish
put it all in the pitcher and fill with very hot (not boiling) water
let steep for several hours and strain...
sweeten with raw honey (or whatever your favorite sweetener is), then refrigerate

sometimes, instead of the ginger, I'll use mint leaves
that one is good, too

and I have found, this tea is actually better if left overnight to meld the flavors together
I'm going to be sorry when no mango is left to pick till  next season

if you have no mangoes...
you can make this tea with peaches, apricots or even try an apple




and woe is me!
we are at the end of avocado season with our trees

now honestly, I do not know what variety are avocados are
I do know they are delicious

the one in this photo below is long, smooth skinned and has a sweet, creamy tasty texture
I loved this one!


it's quite large and heavy and the meat of it is a creamy yellow
boy! does it make a good chocolate/avocado mousse



then, we have a much smaller avocado that is, well...
good but, doesn't beat the taste of the pear shaped one above


it does fit quite nicely in the palm of my small hand
and when it turns the color of purplish red...
it's ready to eat

and did you know?
avocados do not ripen on the tree
they must come to full maturation, then picked...
and they will ripen usually in the next couple of days, or so
some will change color; others will "give" a bit when gently squeezed

and if you are not ready for an avocado from your own tree, yet...
the fruit can be left there until you are



well, one of my favorite salads is an avocado and tomato salad with fresh basil leaves
the fruits are diced into bite size pieces
spritz a little lemon or lime juice into the salad
and...
whip up a mixture of olive oil and apple cider vinegar with a little raw honey and sea salt...
mix into the salad
and the basil leaves can be cut with a scissors and mixed last
so good!
some shredded parmesan cheese would probably be good as a topping, too

I would rather have good food labored for by the sweat of my brow...
than all the riches of the wealthy who are burdened of all their "stuff"


The sleep of a labouring man is sweet,
whether he eat little or much:
but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Ecclesiastes 5:12

May your day or night find good food in the sweet grace of the Lord.