A Little of This and That


He's been putting in quite the hours on the front veranda


we decided lattice will work fine along the bottom part for railing...


because as this little hen will demonstrate to you...


if we don't have a way to keep out chickies...
we will get to step on what they leave behind
not exactly good companions for front porch conversations


so, chickies...
you are seeing the last of your crossing over days to the other side of the cottage...
using our veranda as a bridge to your foraging journeys



David Goodman of thesurvivalgardener.com blog gave us some kale seeds...
a few years ago

I sowed them in seed trays then transplanted the seedlings under papaya trees...
in the vegetable garden

(they take on a lovely glow in the sunshine)


this is the result of those seeds...
and I am well pleased with them


so, of course, I am now harvesting the seed pods as they dry on the plant...
(you can see a tiny seed inside one of the pods below in my hand)


because I will be planting lots more of these

thank you, David! 



I've been working on growing my herbs


and so far, so good


even a couple of stevia seeds grew for me...


and once again, I will be harvesting the seeds for more sowing


I am a bit mystified as to what plant this is
it grew along with one of my seedlings and looked so much like a strawberry plant...


I decided to leave it alone and see what it turns out to be
it looks like strawberry but is not growing tendrils like one
if you know what it is, I'm all ears



and because we do get a dry season during the year...
my husband has set up a watering system for the garden and fruit trees

he took pvc pipes...
hooked them up to come down from the river...
(we are able to use gravity for this)


down into our garden...
put a shut off valve on it and a faucet...
fastened two long water hoses onto the faucet...


and voila!
we are able to take that very long hose wherever it's needed...


and give our trees some nice long drinks of nutritious river water
we don't have to worry the water will run out or cost us monies...
because the springs from the mountains does all the supplying...
for free

we like that



of course, with dry hot weather...
the watering system for the chickies is not forgotten

I've got three in various areas for their convenience



we've been eating quite a bit of papayas lately from our trees

this particular tree...


has got some of the biggest papayas we've had yet...
and they aren't ready to pick still



the milk supplies have not dwindled in spite of dry season
it helps to have free range goats that know where to forage


and even though she is a goat...
Darla's little doeling, Sochi, has become quite a ham


she thinks she ought to be part of the action...
to make sure she gets a bit of attention, too

the fun part of homesteading


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

Long Ago (and far away)


Feels like it's been some time since last posting...

but, the good excuse is...
we've been busy getting things done that needed doing



our driveway is now finished
we had the tiff packed down good and hard
concrete is not our style
we prefer the something softer



my husband recently got around to painting the shed


and he took my suggestion to paint it in green and white stripes

the green is the same color as our cottage



the bridge is finally completed



it took a year to get to this point
but, now, let the rains come
we can now get from one side to the other when the river rises



and now, my husband is working on getting up that front veranda
it'll make the front of the cottage just a bit more friendly looking



after a year of searching...
we finally got internet service
how sweet it is



this pretty little hen had her first brood during all these things
but, the puffball in the middle...



 is blind

she sees perhaps a bit of shadow and movements...
and I know she can see the color yellow


but, as little as she can see which is not much...
she has been getting along
she follows her siblings pretty well
and they keep her company pretty well, too

I do not know how it will turn out as they get older
we shall see



and I'll try to get back on track with postings


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