A little Hope

Getting ready for seed

Its Spring, really you wouldn't know it stepping outside. Seems winter cold just wants to stay. Today at least the wind has stopped howling. Yet you step outside to that beautiful blue sky and the breeze of winter wraps around your body.

So steps take you to the greenhouse and you step in and breathe dirt humidity and the chance of spring. Taking a little seed from a packet, moving it into a mixture of dirt, and water knowing it will slowly grow and be wanting to go in the ground yielding a summer dinner, in the warm sun on a deck.  It is a journey for sure getting your hands in the dirt, as you have enjoyed your winter and you are longing to see color, and enjoy warmth around your body. Not only does a greenhouse give you hope of days ahead, it fulfills a a place deep inside of Hope, hope its a hard beautiful thing easy to let go but even more fulfilling to to take in the steps and hard work to fulfill your hope. A yearning many don't get to take into a life. With days being filled of everyday work, cleaning running kids, doing for others. It seems our world has lost a little of that precious gift of Hope. It should be instilled in our children our friends people we care about. Without Hope you lose a little piece of life. You lose a notion to Strive for things that are out of your reach, you lose memories of a life that should be shared and passed down. 

Garden on the farm waiting to be planted



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So on this day if spring hasn't quite reached you yet, and you are yearning for spring, and peeking to the days of summer ahead, I urge you even if ts a cup of dirt and one seed. Plant that seed, let it give you a little hope.

It doesn't have to be a seed of plants or veggies, a seed of something you have wanted to achieve, Plant it today and watch it grow daily a little hope each day will turn your life a little each day, and it plants a seed in your soul to grow.


~~~Have a Beautiful day......Annette

Hurry Spring Thaw!

Oh what a beautiful day, but everything is still froze! 

Got a fence down and some pick up today, but even at 45 degrees there is ice everywhere, so clean up is done today. I am really ready to get the Lettuce in the round, maybe Tuesday, a couple days of 40's and a promised day of rain Monday just maybe.

So the mailman came today and brought me a book, and I would recommend this to the Gardner of any level! Here I just thought it was gonna be a book on suggestive plantings of which veggies and herbs grow well together and which doesn't. Which it is packed full of even grasses, grains, fruits, trees, weeds and more, however to my surprise the author Louise Riotte has put some wonderful garden layouts, mulch ideas birds, insects, and some great medicinal uses too!

Now I have only had it in had for a couple of hours but I am really suggesting this, even people with an apartment she has a great balcony layout! I am gonna try a few things Corn and cucumbers what a great natural way to grow your cukes on the trellis ! I always new basil next to tomatoes but didn't realize how well parsley will do too! Did you know Raccoon's do not like Cucumbers hmmm. She even has added a great Poison plants section  I always knew Lilly of the Valley was very full of poisons and even the Rhubarb leaf,though I did not know the Hydrangea leaf was.

A great section on improving soils too! 

So a definate Grab off the shelf book and a great reference book this will be. We got our copy from Amazon.

Carrots Love Tomatoes 

by Louise Riotte

I would love to hear if you try anything or have out of this book and how it worked out did ya see a difference good or bad? Let me know this year! I defiantly will be posting on some I try.

Have a beautiful day

Annette

Last winter day?

    Good March 4th Morning, as I look at the snow on the ground and the wind on my face this morning, I couldn't help but thinking that at the end of this week it will be gone, and we will be feeling spring in the air. I loved the winter this year, but I am ready for spring, and getting my hands in the dirt, seed packets are all around my work area, hubby and I making last plans on the last seed order, and this Saturday I should be putting the first of the Lettuce in the ground, how good does that sound?  

Fresh salads  soon to come and no more store bought and spending the time trying to find lettuce that isn't browning making sure it is non GMO etc, grown right from our land mmmm. Then come the tomatoes, peas, cucumbers oh yummy! 

I am gonna be trying this new seed planting 4-6 weeks before last hard frost but of course also plant the way I know. I will share with ya the results. Also doing a cucumber tower over the lettuce, so much experimenting this year I can't wait. 

Is there anything new you are trying this year? Something new that isn't your norm? How about new seeds? My newest seed for me to try this year will be the Japaneses Cucumber, and some new Herbs. Hubby is gonna invest in Stevia this year, can't wait to try out some recipes with that. 

So I am ending this winter day blog post with thoughts of spring and planting and looking forward to summer harvest. 

Have a beautiful day!

.............PS Ya I know there is more snow in my soon future, but I can block that for now, and enjoy this little glimpse of spring the end of this week and weekend.

Welcome Snow Day First Day

Snow Feb 29,2013

Welcome, woke up to a snow covered wet day, but it sure is beautiful.....and a perfect way to start to the new blog. Hi I am Annette, I am an artist a mom and well newly really working on 2 years of a self sufficient life style, or Homesteading as you may prefer. My Husband, and the kids and I moved up to this beautiful Area in New York May 18, 2011. When we came the land was well full of buck brush pines, rocks rocks and more rocks and a field of potential.  We sold off everything I mean everything we loaded a cargo van and a 4 x 6 ft trailer journeyed almost a 1,000 miles, our first summer here we cleared and a cleared and yep you guessed it cleared. You couldn't walk into the area above in picture it was full of blackberry, (which we replanted most), Bramble and maple trees, the maple trees and bramble help create the trellace and arbor in picture last spring. 

We built our house the fall of the first year a tiny home, and this year we will be adding our larger home, a greenhouse, and more gardens and some fruit trees. We have added to our family rabbits, goats, chickens and horses, and 3 pups 2 red heelers and my sons black lab. We also have a little chihuahua shes our old lady but she thinks shes the biggest dog around.

I decided to start a blog I did a blog a years ago, mainly for my art, I have been mostly a painter the last 12 years, which I love and is my little escape from reality :).

So here's what to look for and I hope you will book mark and come visit me often, and share with me too . I love hearing new ideas, and useful tips. We are still learning lots about off the grid living, and trying to get 100% self sufficient. I will share many of my future gardens, veggies, fruits, and perennials. I been getting into herbs medicinal and yummy culinary herbs. I love to find Junk and make it into things. Oh and recipes I love to cook and play especially when we have fresh veggies around. Hope to try a pig in the ground this year, cooking it all day in the ground, that should be a fun one.

I am always on the lookout for saving on cost of living, and will share the ways I find, tips on gardening, I grew up on a farm and love my hands in the dirt, and what it does for your daily life it's amazing. Ever do some canning over an open fire? How many uses for a tree you cut down to make it 100% usable in your life, I figure if you are gonna cut it down it needs to be used, and love the challenge it brings to find different uses for it. 

So this is the short condensed story the start of the blog, hope you will come along with me, and enjoy the time spent together.

I leave ya with a couple more pictures captured this morning.

Have a Beautiful day