It's Coming Along

We may just make move in day before the end of the month

this is what the back of the cottage looks like thus far

once we are in...

the herb garden will be started outside the back...

and will be a little courtyard in itself with a roof to let the sun shine through...

but keep us dry if we are in the herb garden

I realize it is hard to picture it right now...

but in time, you will see how we put the garden in

***

I took a tour around the property to get a sense of where things will be...

and this here spot will hold the chicken area

the chickens will still be free ranged but...

a covered coop and run area will give us options on where the hens lay and roost...

and if we need to be out during the day to keep them safe

of course, whenever we are near the spring creek...

the dogs do quench their thirst and take a wade

 and although the photo turned out fuzzy...

you can see what pretty creatures hang out by the creek

I do believe the chickens will get fat off some of them

this white egret isn't so curious about us as she is keeping an eye on our cow

a great tick and fly eater...

which is of great benefit to our livestock, pets and us homesteaders

***

the atrium doors have been put up...

the iron work and screens for the woodwork area around the doors are coming

towards the bottom left is my laundry facility

a outdoor sink and washer will go on the spot where the concrete blocks are

solar power should run the washer while the water for it will come from the rain barrel...

which you can see by the shed in the previous picture

and the guys finally put down the pavers for the atrium

I just wanted one color scheme for that...

which would work well with the green on the cottage

we will have one step up into the cottage rooms...

something I had tried to avoid but it didn't work out due to not being there...

when the concrete outline for the atrium was put down

my mistake, but it won't be a big deal once the wooden step is put in

we left a space at the top of the wall on the atrium side for heat escape

 we get a lot of cool breezes here and the cottage stays cool with no need for air conditioning...

natural air cooling system is the best way to go, I say

***

here at my kitchen window...

I will get to look at the kitchen garden my husband will be putting in for our vegetable supply

the gate you see in the distance will be the gateway into the woods...

with my morning coffee walk with the dogs

the dogs will be able to run freely through there while I enjoy my cup of coffee...

listening to birds and enjoying the woodsy nature

and we have been busy painting the furniture for the den and kitchen

soon, we will put up the shelving throughout the cottage for linens, pantry and such

the Lord willing

I realize that all our plans are only tentative, for...

Go to now, ye that say,

Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city,

and continue there a year, and buy and sell,

and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.

For what is your life?

It is even a vapour,

that appeareth for a little time,

and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say,

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

James 4:13-15

May your day or night be the glory of God's will.

Gettin' Close, I Think

Well, we got the cows over to the new homestead

our neighbor used his truck to help us get them over there

the cows were a bit bewildered by the change in scenery...

but, from what I understand...

they gave no trouble getting up on the truck and doing what they needed to

that's pretty good considering they never had that experience before

I think the secret is taming them from a young age and keeping them that way

less apt to become frightened and be more cooperative

and because the area is more lush than our current location...

Ms. Ruthie Moo Moo's milk is richer

and yeah, when I went to take this photo of my husband milking Ms. Ruthie...

junior bull side stepped from his post and got into the picture

I was happy to see this...

The Fence going up

this ought to keep both our chickens and dogs inside our cottage compound area

you are seeing a lot of bush in there right now...

but, as soon as we get our goats in there after the gates are put up...

they will do the hard job (easy for them) and mow that all down

we will just let them free range in there until we see the dirt ground...

then take them on up to their own pasture grounds

yep, still working on the cottage

soon, soon, it will be completed

the kitchen and den side are completed...

and so, some of the guys walked in with the kitchen furniture

about a half mile walk over the river and through the woods

I gotta hand it to them...

they are strong men

even my hard working husband took something in...

the screen door to the kitchen back door

and while it is a "plain jane" door...

I do have some ideas to spiff it up with

we counted the cost of having a local man make the door...

versus buying an imported one

imported doors cost more than the locally made one...

even while having to put the hardware on ourselves

so, of course, we had our kitchen carpenter make one

so much better to give the job to the local people

and yes, while the painting has been accomplished...

the blue tape on the windows still need to be taken off

and there, you can see some of the kitchen hardware

the one on the far left is for my outdoor kitchen

and yes, we get to do the painting on this furniture

we will not have regular cabinets on the wall

I will talk about that later

so much for that March move in date that is long past

ah yes, so close and yet, so far away

I brought the dogs with me a couple of times to get acquainted with the new homestead

it seems to help settle pets in sooner...

and more comfortably if they are familiar with their new home

they did enjoy the spring creek water

in the meantime at the old homestead...

we harvested a big bowl of coffee beans and got to work cracking the shells open

I used the side of a light weight hammer and gently mashed them open

and there below, you can see the pulp that covers the actual coffee bean

once all the beans are out of their shells...

they are fermented for about a day or two and the pulp washed away in water

I put them on a tray and set them in the sun until they are good and dried...

and the hulls pop open so that the skin can be taken off

then they can be stored until roasted for the grinding into coffee powder

roasting the coffee beans in the pan takes some time and patience...

ideally, they should be a dark brown to almost black

it took about 45 minutes to get there as done in this photo

and it must be stirred almost constantly to keep them from burning

it shouldn't take that long and I'm pretty sure the heat wasn't high enough

next time, I will try the oven method and see how well that works

because I like pretzels and because I must be gluten free...

I made some home-made gluten free rod pretzels...

which turned out good enough to keep the recipe

only I misplaced the recipe and can't find it

bummers

we have so many citrus of all kinds on our trees...

they are falling to the ground

we have grapefruit, mandarins, tangerines, oranges, limes and lemons

we sell some and eat as many as we can...

but, the trees are still loaded

mandarins, anyone?

this used to be where our cocoa beans were drying...

but, this sweet hen decided it was a good enough place...

for laying her eggs

not so sure sitting on cocoa beans is so very comfortable

she obviously doesn't mind because she keeps going back to the same spot

an egg is an egg is an egg

better than traipsing through the bush looking for eggs laid by renegade hens

after this last photo, I took up the cocoa and put a towel down for her

she nestled it into a nice little cushy pile

Except the Lord build the house,

they labour in vain that build it:

except the Lord keep the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127:1

May your day or night be kept by the Lord's grace.

Homestead Busy

Life on the homestead just keeps going and keeping us busy
our doe, Snowflake is still eeking out some milk...
but, she is slowing down in her production

it's about time to give her a date with the buck, Phillip

Snowflake thinks it's fun giving ear nibbles while being milked

about a quart was what she gave this time

but, still good and sweet

now, Queenie, is another story

she is an ornery goat

and hates to be milked

she sits on her hind legs whenever someone reaches for her udders

after we tried to make her stand for it...

it's decided she is good for breeding and nothing else

the stinker

neither does she like to share her bucket of grain treat

if someone else comes around it...

Queenie will pick it up and move it away

yep, and we didn't teach her that

ah well, she keeps it fun for us

a wee update on the cottage over at yonder new homestead

we have decided the look of natural wood floors will be nice

it will just get a few coatings of varnish

this photo shows the den from the kitchen area

it is a 10 by 25 ft area

the atrium which connects this part to the bedroom and bath part...

will serve as our living room

the far left window is where the kitchen sink will go

the painting is still going on

and this photo below is the kitchen area with it's back door at the end

that will access the herb garden I will be putting at the back of the cottage

the vegetable gardens will be further back

the spring creek runs about 50 feet from the kitchen door

the photo below shows the back of the cottage with the kitchen door on the left

the concrete slab beside the door will be the laundry area

the covered part to the right is a "mudroom" of sorts

an outside sink beside the laundry will help us to clean up before stepping inside

it's always a good idea to have a clean up area when living on a homestead

For by grace are you saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves:

it is the gift of God:

not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are His workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus unto good works,

which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

May your day or night find grace in the Lord.

Roasted Tomatoes and Soup

Big Red and I wish you a good morning
after nearly losing him...
I'm quite happy he is still with us
maybe next post, I'll tell you how we nearly lost him

he is looking brightly cheerful and red here after his bout

another cheerfully red view are the tomatoes in the veggie garden

they have been doing quite well this year

last year, we had some pest problems

this time, my husband used Neem oil to spray the plants as they grew...

up until they started to bud and we never had any pest problem...

insects or leaf diseases

and Neem is a natural repellent...

so we didn't have to concern ourselves with chemicals on our plants

if you google Neem, you can find info on this plant oil

our tomatoes are juicy and sweet and...

because I don't want them going to waste...

would love to have canned tomatoes at this time but...

because we will be moving soon and...

don't want to carry too many heavy jars of canned foods over the river and...

through the woods for almost a half mile, literally... 

it behooves me to think of any way I can to use them up

recently, I discovered just how much roasted tomatoes taste good

so a good many of them have been getting cut into quarters...

laid on parchment paper...

drizzled with olive oil, salted and peppered...

and roasted in a 400 degree fahrenheit (200 celsius) oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours

can't beat the taste of this yummy stuff

it would make a nice roasted tomato soup

I don't mind the skins at all...

they get eaten, too

after these were done, I couldn't help it...

just had to have a plate of roasted tomatoes topped with capers

if I hadn't run out of my homemade farm cheese...

would've put some of that on top, too

the tomatoes are also going into soup pots

2 onions, chopped and sauteed in 2 TBsp butter till soft

add cauliflower florets and young cauliflower leaves

I snip the leaves with scissors

add salt and pepper...

add a cup of tomato sauce and...

enough meat or vegetable broth to cover...

and cook at a low simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes

at the end of the simmer, I like to add minced garlic and chopped fresh basil leaves

sorry to have forgotten to take a photo for a better end view result after cooking

homemade cornbread is really good with tomato soup...

and I like lots of butter on mine

*****

here is a quick update on our new cottage

the walls were made a tad higher than they were supposed to be...

making the windows look smaller than I wanted

we may add ventilation windows above them to add some height

the paint on the cottage is a primer...

it will have a different color than white in the end

we are a way off from finished but, close enough to think about moving

May your day or night find grace in the Lord