The other day, Sweet Pea was comparing my tan to hers.
Sweet Pea: I wish I were as white as you.
Me: What are you talking about?
Sweet Pea: I hate being so tan.
Um, yeah. For the record, I am totes tanner than her, that Pipsqueak, on account of all that wretched weeding I do. I am like a bronzed, weeding goddess.
Sweet Pea: I love white, white skin. You know whose skin I love? Melissa's. I wish I were as white as her!
Ha! And that would be Bimlissa. And is anyone still here who even knows who Bimlissa is? Is Bimlissa even still here? Is anyone reading this at all?
Poor Bimlissa. And, fun fact! Bimlissa isn't even all that white. So, I don't know what is up with that child of mine.
Let's move on! Some updates, if you will.
1) Remember Hatch and Company? Well, those little chicks we hatched on our counter are growing up.
They are four whole weeks old.
We started with 15, and now we are down to 9. I have come to one of two conclusions:
A) This is farm life. Animals die. So be it.
B) Our property is where animals come to die. Cursed are we.
2) I, yes, I, Taylor Maliblahblah, had to remove two dead, baby chick bodies all by myself. This is a huge accomplishment for me, because, have you met me?
I used the dustpan with a long handle from my handy, fireplace tool set.
It was a wretched experience and I hope to never repeat it again.
3) David butchered five of our freeloading hens. I was not his helpmeet during the process, but I was outside while he was doing the deed.
What was I doing, you ask?
Weeding.
He did it quite humanely and I now have five clean, little chicken bodies in my freezer. Which leads me to believe he expects me to cook them.
4) The day he asks me to pluck a chicken is the day I move back to town.
5) From now on, we are saving the chicken feet for a friend. She fancies chicken feet to make her special, scrumptious chicken broth, but she lives in an apartment in town and, alas, they are hard to come by. Imagine that.
I told her she needs to switch lives with me.
6) Chicken feet broth! Who knew?!
7) Here is a recent picture of my garden. Like you care.
I have 20 rows left to weed and Preen.
8) Look! I have a watermelon plant!
Be impressed.
Although, a little birdie told me that the watermelons need four full months of hot sun to fully ripen.
So, yeah. Probably not going to have any sort of watermelon harvest here.
9) So, funny story. We have been weeding this garden and gathering raspberry starts from my ma-in-law and trying to get some sort of bountiful crop going and David was driving up the driveway and noticed this:
Raspberries!
(And weeds. Shocking, I know.)
Ha! We have raspberries along our weed-infested driveway.
I wonder what else we got out there? And how have we not noticed these red beauties before, I ask you?
10) Today is the day in which we celebrate Sister Meagan's birth.
When Sister Meagan was a young lass, my parents bought her this obnoxious cassette that went like this:
"Hey, Meagan! It's your birthday! I'm in charge of the stars and I'm here to say: 'Hey, Meagan! You're the big star . . . Today!' My name is Zoom and I live on the moon and I came down to earth just to sing you this tune! Hey, Meagan! You're the big star, today! Happy Birthday, Meagan! See you next yyyyeeeaaarrrr!"
Now. We, the late 80's/early 90's children that we were, would listen in awe to this magic tape that somehow knew Meagan's name.
True. Whenever "Zoom" said Meagan's name, the voice was different, but that's beside the point.
It was magic.
Meagan listened to this tape all day, every day for about 5 years.
True Story.
She has always been a bit needy.
I would like to state that I never got such a tape.
Happy Birthday to Sister Meagan! Get all handsome on some cake and whatnot.
I am still reading. :)
ReplyDeleteI was mentioned in your blog! I feel so special ;) Although being mentioned as the crazy person who eats chicken feet may not be the best thing to be mentioned for. Then again, when we're in our 90's and I'm out running marathons you'll be wishing you'd had some yummy chicken feet broth too ;) Not that I'd ever run a marathon (running, ha!), but you get the idea.
ReplyDeletetell sweet pea that she can be white like my son...or transparent, as we like to call him. sometimes we resort to rand mcnally, because you can see his blood vessels through his skin and he looks like a road map!
ReplyDeleteas for the weedy raspberries...have you ever thought that maybe food grows better with weeds? probably not the best time to tell you that, huh?
happy birthday meagan!!!
My arms are sort of brown. When all my freckles on my arms merge together they look tan. They are vastly darker than my legs. My legs now look like my mother's, white with blue lines. I pretend not to notice. How does this happen? My legs, from about the knees down, are in the sun just as much as my arms. It is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteChicken feet? Saving them for a friend? You are a very kind person.
HBD Meagan!
They sell fried chicken feet at our local Chinese takeaway.
ReplyDeleteHow do I know this?
My mum orders them and eats them.
Makes me feel sick everytime!!
I love this. And you, even though I don't know you. I feel that we are kindred spirits..although I am stuck "in town" wanting to get out, and have a weedy garden and chickens. Pretty sure after reading your adventures I know even I can do it! ( Ps. Was homeschooled too, and I think you're doing a great job ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm still reading! You never fail to crack me up!
ReplyDeleteRegarding #1, I'd go with "A". It seems a better mental route for all involved. And as to #2, I haven't met you - but I'd love to. You'd be a hoot to go get ice cream with! And my favorite line in this post was "...Which leads me to believe he expects me to cook them." That earned a laughy snorty chortle of sorts. I was drinking hot tea at the time and tried not to spit it out and burn myself or douse the laptop.
ReplyDeleteI would read every day if you posted every day.
ReplyDeleteWhat, what do you mean you have a life, nooooo?
Happy Birthday sister Meagan!
Good on ya for taking care of deceased baby chicks........you are a true pioneer.
Yum , raspberries.
The weeds, they shall be defeated !
Watermelon , if you are growing sugar baby watermelons they get mature faster than most.
Now not sure if you really like to weed or not, but why are you? LOL Beings as how this is your first garden in this spot you are bound to have weeds and will for years BUT there is hope to prevent weeds without Preen. Why put down any type of chemical when a way exists that adds nutrients to your soil.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you have a picture of paper and straw, probably didn't work well for you did it? Your issue wasn't the method not working, as you not going far enough with it. Lay down 6-9 pieces of newspaper, overlap so the area is well covered to smother out the weeds, wet it to mold to the contours of the ground and lay either mulch over it or straw 3-4 inches deep. I prefer wood mulch, leaves or grass clippings - just not grass thathas seeds heads. You chicken bedding etc would be great placed over the top of the mulch/straw mixture. Kinda think composting in place. (My Uncle digs a smallish hole in his garden, places his composting items in the hole until full, covers/fills with dirt and moves to another spot and starts over). Anyhoo, the goal being to starve out the weeds underneath. Search out lasagna gardening, and use this principal for yours. I use this method in my flower gardening in additin to my veggie gardening and it works great. If you want to promote more worms - which is good for the soil, helps break down the materials and aerates your soils use cardbaord instead of newspaper. All of these methods cuts down on your water consumption too. The newspaper/mulch keeps the ground mositure more even, using less water.
You are making so much more work for your self with what you are doing. Good luck and if you have questions contact me....
Hello =)
ReplyDeleteI'm still reading! :)
ReplyDeleteI had the same one. Mine wasn't a cassettte, it was a floppy plasticy record that had to be played on the record player and I still remember the words and the tune today. I sing it to my sister every year on my birthday. That Zoom, he sure got around. Tell your sister I'm sorry if she thought she was special and was the only person ever to get that song. Well, perhaps she and I are theonly special people out there.
ReplyDeleteFirst, let me say - I had that record also! I never thought I'd see anyone else with it! LOL
ReplyDeleteSecond, more power to you for the garden. My mother insisted on a garden one year when I was about 11. That cured all of us from ever wanting to try that again! And I would move back to town if I had to pluck a chicken also.
Still reading! And I also would be back to town in a heartbeat if chicken plucking were ever expected. Bad enough to be expected to cook the things after feeding them for weeks.
ReplyDeleteDoes poor, tan SP need some 150 proof sunscreen? Longs sleeve shirt, gardening gloves and a visor? Hi to all. I would be in heaven if I had a fresh homegrown raspberry. Be proud. Be thankful. Be smug.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Echo. I tried this thing called lasagna gardening this year. My husband thought I was crazy, but it really works. I used a layer of cardboard over the grass, then dried leaves (even took the neighbors dried up stuff) then green grass clipping and soil on top. We have wonderful tomatos, squash and greenbeans. We don't have many weeds, and those that are there are easy easy to pull out. It would take a lot of paper to cover your zillion acre garden, but you might want to try it on a smaller space. It really is easy.
ReplyDeleteYes, lasagne gardening is the way to go. I have friends who garden in this way. There is even a book. As for me, I garden in pots on my back porch....why? NO WEEDS! Oh, and I'm still reading. Happy Birthday sista Meagan!!
ReplyDeleteI loved my Zoom record!
ReplyDeleteHowever when I hit 10, I was completely won over by the New Kids on the Block "Happy Birthday" and wanted that played instead. Now however, I'm pretty sure it was almost as bad as the jingle that Applebee's waitstaff sing to you on your birthday . . . .
But Zoom? Zoom was awesome. : )
I feel super special- both of my daughters were mentioned in this post!
ReplyDelete