Fall Flowers on the Farm-Apple Trees & Cheerleaders!

 My Angel Trumpet in full boom-again! The smell is SO sweet-but I haven't seen any bees buzzing around them.

 The 2 apple trees we bought at Lowe's today-they had them 50% off-so 2 for the price of one! We got 1 Dorset and 1 Anna-both green ones.

 Jeff's coral vine-we bought this one nearly 10 years ago in Brenham while staying there on our anniversary. It starts out growing really slow every year-doesn't do much of anything all summer-but after the first little cool snap we get-it just takes off growing like crazy-then blooms with the prettiest little blossoms!

Our little cheerleader-Hailey is really enjoying her time cheering! They are wearing the pink bandanas for Breast Cancer awareness month.
We've had to treat 1 of the hives for beetles-the weaker one had a pretty heavy infestation of them. We'll check tomorrow to see how many we've caught!
Jeff's had no luck hunting so far-and we've just been staying so busy-he's hardly had much time to hunt. We kinda took a personal day today-and spent a great deal of it in Conroe-just trying to get caught up on errands and get a little Christmas shopping done. We really had a good day and enjoyed each others company!
The weather can't seem to decide if it wants to be cool or down right warm! Today-it was in the mid 40's-Jeff had a fire going when I got up this morning-and now-we nearly turned the ac back on! Now the weather man is saying the high next Saturday will be in the low 70's-bring it on!!

MAJOR Update!

No-we didn't fall off of the face of the Earth-at least not yet! I really didn't realize that 3 whole months have gone by since I last posted-we've been SO busy! Our summer vacations went by quickly-but lots of fun! The off-shore fishing trip was a success-no one got sick! and they did bring in 2 sharks and a few sand trout. So-let's just start with some pics of a few of the things that have happened in the last few months:

 OK-Randy got married on August 25th to a wonderful young woman-Casey has become very dear to us in just a short time. And yes-Randy outgrew both Jeff & I a long time ago!

 She was such a beautiful and happy bride! They are SO good together-a match made in Heaven!

 They make each other laugh all the time-they are always smiling!
Now after the Saturday wedding-we stayed in Lake Jackson for 2 nights-on Sunday we got a call-my Granddad had passed away. He would have been 98 in Sept. He'd been pretty sick for awhile-we'd gone and visited with him a week or so earlier-he didn't seem to know me-but he pointed at Jeff a few times. Even when he was still living by himself in Winnie a few years back-he would know Jeff before he recognized me. He'll be greatly missed-he sure taught us alot about salt water fishing and a great love of the beach! School started the next day-so that started a whole new round of activity-football games and cheerleading-and lots of homework!

 Now to some really SWEET stuff-a little over 2 1/2 gallons of honey from the second pull! It is much darker than what we harvested in June.  But still oh so good!-And I did use the jerky gun to make 2 pounds of deer jerky from last years meat-yummy!

 September 15th brought our 33rd wedding anniversary! Yeah for us!!! We took a trip down to Galveston-by way of High Island and Rollover! I caught a keeper Red!! The guys behind me were ready to throw me in-we were catching lots of golden croaker and a few whiting! Fun-Fun-Fun!

And last but not least of the pics-Us at Murdoch's on Galveston Island! We always try to spend a little time in there when we go down to the Island.

Well-we planted some fall veggies-only to have something each them down to the dirt-no leaves-stems-nothing left! I finally got brave enough to replant yesterday-just covered 'em in sevin dust! The beet seed I planted is up and growing good-whatever didn't touch them. We bought a few lemon trees and an orange tree-the bees will love them when they start blooming again.
We went with Sheila and Alfred a few weekends ago to pick up their first hive of bees-they are So excited to have them.
Jeff has been bow hunting-no luck yet-he did see a deer across the road from our house, though. Maybe hunting close to home will be the trick this year! He's never bow hunted before-but Randy bought a crossbow last year-so Jeff's giving it a try.
Sugar is due to calf on Friday-we hope-she missed the last due date-and she's bigger than ever. This will be the last calf from Fozzie. Lucy-pig-wasn't bred either-she's been with a boar all summer-but we are still hoping! The other sow will go into the freezer with the first cool snap-and if Lucy shows no signs of being bred-the boar is in his own pen now-by the first of the year-she's going into the freezer as well! Feed's just too high to keep them if they aren't producing! The young pullets have started laying-we'll have more eggs than we know what to do with-wonderful news!!!
I'll try to keep up to date a little better in the upcoming weeks!

All Things...... RED & GOLDEN!!!

 This is the fruits of our Harvest on Friday-Sugar-Free Strawberry/Fig Perserves; Picante Sauce; Stewed Tomatoes-and best of all-the first of the Honey!!

 Picture of one of the hives-the bees are coming in loaded with pollen on their back legs! This is such a wonder from God to watch-knowing they turn the yellow stuff into beautiful golden richness!

 The first frame Jeff pulled-almost completely filled with honey! Ricky stood by with the cookie sheet to hold the frames after Jeff removed all the bees. He took 3 frames out-then into the house for the uncapping.

The uncapping-Jeff used the electric knife this time-he really wants to invest in an uncapping knife. We saved the caps-I want to start working with the beeswax. I haven't decided if I want to do soap, candles, or ? Anyway-we harvested a total of 7 pints from the 3 frames-a great haul for the first time!! It's time to put the 2nd super on the 2nd hive we have-but the weather's been a little rainy the last 2 days-so it'll have to wait til another warm (HOT) day.

We just got home from Jeff's mom's house-we celebrated the 4th today with a big family BBQ-lots of good food and great people! She had a small jar of the honey-now everyone wants a jar of it! That's one of the great things about it-we can share with family and friends. Brandy's twin girls are really suffering with allergies right now-so I think a jar may go home with her to try to build up their immune systems. And Jason's wanting more cucumbers so he can make more pickles-the ones he's already made have been shared with his boss and friends-now he hasn't got any left for himself! Seems like that's how it goes sometimes! But the cukes are about done for-we might be able to find a few for him.

We are looking forward to next Sunday when we leave for our next vacation-at the beach again-only this time we'll be at the state park in Galveston. We haven't camped here in years! We used to go at the least twice a summer-but since Hurricane Ike-they don't have many campsites left-so it's hard to get reservations on the beach side. Can't hardly wait!

I have to go into work tomorrow for a 10 hour day-sure I'll be pretty busy playing catch-up for the last week of being off. We'll go up to Mom and Shorty's on Tuesday-he bought a new mattress last week-and it is being delivered then. We'll go and try to do a little cleanup before the movers get there. Friday we both have Doc appointments with the new Dr-sure hate to have to see someone new-but the new insurance isn't accepted by the old Dr.



Vacation 2012 - #1

We are on the first of our Summer Vacations! YEAH!! We are currently at an RV Park in Crystal Beach-the same one we stayed at last year. Been here since  Thursday-have to leave tomorrow to go home. I keep telling Jeff we can stay a few more days-but he says he needs to get home and check on his bees!

 Sweet-but messy Kylee-she turned 1 on Saturday! We had to leave the park and drive the 2 hours back home for her birthday party-then 2 hours back-what you won't do for Grandkids! Gotta love 'em! She really did enjoy that cake, though!

 My big catch yesterday-can't see them very well-but I caught not 1-but 2-hardheads at the same time-why could it not of been 2 trout or something else as good? We have caught a few small croakers-but it is really hot-and only 1 crab big enough to keep.

Jeff caught a shark at the beach this morning while we were wade fishing!! No-it wasn't big enough to keep-and no-I didn't fish anymore after this! He had several rows of sharp little teeth! We did find alot of shark's teeth on the beach this morning-more than we've found in years-we'll go back down this evening when it cools off.

The garden has really been keeping us busy this year-I need to update my Harvest tally soon. We even picked more peas, cucumbers and tomatoes-oh yeah-they finally started making!-when we went home on Saturday. We had to buy 2 more casesof canning jars last week-I haven't had to buy any jars for years.

We made a tough decision 2 weeks ago as well. Jeff took the Dexters to the auction to sell them-they brought absolutely nothing! We were disappointed for sure-they didn't even bring what we had bought them for-but we've had 3 calves from them. We kept the Hereford cow-simply cause she wouldn't get in the trailer with the dexters-and both calves. Sugar should be bred back-so we'll get another calf from Fozzie. Feed has just become SO expensive-and even though we still want to try to be as self-suffient as possible-some things may just have to go. Jeff butchered 7 rabbits the other day as well and a few more will be ready next week. It's becoming hard to sell them as well-feed costs are upping the prices. We are pretty sure the Hamp sow is bred-not for sure on the little york cross. She should have her first litter the last weekend of August-awfully hot time for that!

We have another-longer trip planned for next month-we'll stay camped at the State Park in Galveston for nearly a week-then will move over to Surfside for a few days. We've never been over to that area-but it's close to where Randy and Casey are. We are hoping to spend some time with them and get to meet her family before the wedding in August. Casey has planned a fishing trip for Randy an Jeff towards the end of July-so we may check on leaving the camper in that campground for a little while-even through the weekend of the wedding instead of trying to book hotels.

Guess I'll go for now-gonna see were Jeff and Rascal wandered off to!

And the Fields are Ripe for the Picking.....

 The Purple hulls we picked this morning-these are Louisiana Quick Picks-they are huge! We did have an infestation of army worms earlier in the week-wiped out the back part of the garden in just a few hours! Jeff got them sprayed-and thankfully-they've recovered nicely!

 Just an example of how big these things really are! Some are at least 12 inches or more long! We picked over 1/2 a bushel this morning-even after the worms! Next picking will be great!

One of the tomatoes-they aren't doing very well this year :(  the first one to get ripe had a big bug hole and the whole bottom was rotten!

We've spent the biggest part of the weekend canning! Yeah! We've put up 16 quarts of potatoes-oh yeah-we dug them on Saturday morning-didn't get as many as we'd like-but thankful for what we did get!-3 qts of pickles-11 pints of pickles-2 qts of green beans with potatoes and 1 qt of peas-we put the ones we picked today in the freezer to can later. Jeff canned 9 pints of corn from a friends garden earlier in the week and 7 pints of pickles as well. The squash is starting to ripen and we put 3 qts of it in the freezer, too.
Forgot to mention last few posts that something did get the momma turkey and all but 3 of the chicks-and all over night. We've got the last 3 in a cage and they are growing like weeds! And we've got rabbits coming out our ears!!! Jeff's got to butcher some and get them in the freezer and off the feed bill-boy has rabbit feed gotten expensive. I'm checking into some alternative feed sources-like Comfrey-they ate some the other day and really seemed to take well to it-I intend to dry some later today and see if they'll eat it that way as well.
We have 3 1/2 days of school left before summer break-well the kids do! I'll work until June 21st-I believe-then I'll have a few weeks off. We are planning a camping trip to Crystal beach where we stayed last year-then later a week at the State Park in Galveston-then leave from there for Surfside for a few days. We aren't familiar with that area-but thought we'd try some place different and it's close to where Randy is living at the moment.
Have a great Memorial Day!

Farm Update

 Newest pic of the garden-5/19-the Jacob's Cattle beans are really beginning to dry out-makes the front of the garden look bad-but looks can really be deceiving!!

 Saturday morning's yield-the first of the bell peppers and cucumbers #3-5!

 Just 2 of the MANY cucumbers on the vines-Jeff made 7 pints of pickles today! The first of many more to be put up!

And 1 of several watermelons we've found-one of them seems to grow nearly an inch everyday-how is that possible?

 The field corn is at least 8 ft tall now-most of it anyway! And it is putting on ears like crazy! The sweet corn is very short-but is making ears as well.

 The purple hull peas should be ready to start picking this weekend-I pray every night that the deer don't find them before we can pick them! We saw 2 does right up from the house on Saturday night and I saw a doe and an itty bitty fawn-SO cute-last night on my way to Church.

 Figs on the new tree-there are only a few-but such a good sight!

And last-but surely not least!-Kaytlynn lost her 1st tooth this afternoon! She was rinsing her mouth out with the water hose-so I turned it on her head and just cooled her off! It was 93 degrees when they got off the bus-hot!
We've canned 57 pints of green beans so far-they need to be picked again now! Alana froze 6 quarts for them-what a blessing after the deer got them all last year. I made 7 half pints of sugar free strawberry jam and put up a pint of jalapeno peppers on Saturday. The potatoes still need to be dug and the cattle beans continue to dry. We haven't eaten any of them yet-they sure are pretty-I hope we like them!

Garden, Bees, and Baby Turkeys!!

 This week's pic of the garden-we now have Jacob's Cattle beans that are about 5inches long! The green beans are blooming like crazy, the corn is coming right along, and so are the cucumbers! A few of the tomatoes are blooming in the raised beds up next to the house-and the comfrey is growing beautifully as well! We've had just enough rain to keep things growing-we did water a little on Wednesday-the cukes were looking a little droopy-but then we got nearly 2 inches of rain on Friday-thank you Lord!

 Jeff opened up the bee hive after Church today-and what a wonderful surprise! The bees have drawn out about 6 frames of foundation-and some are capped off! So all is progressing as should be. His second hive is due in this Friday from an apiary in Ohio-hopefully they will adjust and do as well as these have so far!

 First look into the hive in 2 weeks-surprise-they are building comb just like they should!

 And on Friday-the turkey hen hatched her eggs! She hatched 11 of the 12 she was sitting on-the 12th one she had pushed from the nest earlier in the week-guess she knew more than we did!

We've been having trouble keeping them in the pen with her-they go right through the wire on her pen. When we came in from Church today-she had flown out and was keeping up with them in the pasture. She even flew into the face of one of the cows who got a little to close! Now we have to decide whether to put her up-then pen the babies under a light in a cage-or just let her try to raise them on her on. I'm just scared the dogs will get them-or a night time visitor!
OK-I got a shock when I tried to log into the blog today-some of you already know-they changed the format-so it may take me a little while to get used to the change-but I did like the way they changed the picture downloads. I don't know how many times I've waited for pics to download-only to find I'd clicked on the wrong ones. Now we can see them ahead of time-YEAH!
The hummingbirds are finally showing up-we have at least 2 that are making an appearance-they were pretty busy this morning. We also weaned the calves today-it will be fairly noisy around here for the next few days until they get over not being with momma!
Have a great week!