Celebrating Our Freedom

The Fourth of July means one thing in general to American citizens. We are celebrating our independence from tyranical rule by the United Kingdom (aka Great Britain).

Last night as we were sitting out in front of our home watching the "legal" fireworks being enjoyed by our neighbors, we also saw quite a few of the "illegal" fireworks. They were awesome! My husband made the comment that several people would probably be arrested for celebrating their freedom. I searched the local papers and there were no instances reported where a fire was started due to fireworks of any kind. So why are these spectacular fireworks illegal? If they are going to confiscate fireworks, they should donate them to the following year's fireworks show since Tulare almost had to cancel them due to lack of funds.

As a child in Wisconsin on at least one 4th we gathered around a pasture to watch fireworks. It must have impressed me since I still remember it.

Personally, the Fourth of July marks the day my Dad quit fighting cancer and went to heaven. My son was 12 and it had a huge impact on him as he was the oldest grandchild and greatly influenced by his Grandpa Bailey. My daughter was affected because the next day was to be her seventh birthday. What a bitter-sweet celebration.

Back to the present, I also searched the local news to see if there were any reports of run away dogs. There weren't any. We know of at least one. It was a little Chihuahua and I have never seen a dog run so fast!!! He whipped by with his ears tucked back so quickly we nearly missed him. A young man rode by shortly afterwards on a bike, but he couldn't catch him. No telling where that poor dog ended up.

As to our dogs, Ashton and Pete snuck into the garage and lay in the shadows. When David realized they were there, he told them to get in the back. They both went, but Pete kept sneaking back in. Hense the nickname "Sneaky Pete". After awhile we moved to the back yard since there were several sky high displays going on north of us.

Ashton is about 11 1/2 years old and I can remember many, many 4ths spending time with him as he would bark and carry on when the loud booms and whistles started up. If I would let him in the house where he could lay on the dining room floor, he was calm. This year I observed him as we were all in the back together and I realized something new. Ashton was not afraid of the fireworks, he was pissed! When a really loud, bright fireworks would go off, he would run forward toward the display not backwards cowering. He was trying to protect us! Wow, what an amazing dog.

Ashton with Pete in the background.

So we had a good July 4th celebration without spending any money and even learned something new.

Jim's visit



Jim playing catch with Chris Bailey.

My brother Jim came for a quick visit so we had a BBQ. I hope everyone had a good time. I hope they got plenty to eat. I made beans, macaroni salad and a zucchini slaw (had to sneak in that zucchini). We had hamburgers, brats & hot links. As I was busy organizing and cooking, I managed to take a few pictures. They are available for viewing on my Face book page.

This morning as I lay awake at 6:30 am in spite of not going to sleep until 1:00 am, I started thinking over the evening.

Dylan brought some samples of produce from his garden including a GIANT zucchini, a Roma tomato & an okra pod. I didn't get to visit with him as much as I would have liked, but that is the nature of a big BBQ and what happens when you're in charge.

Deanna is the family caretaker and made several offers to help. She's also a great mommy to Carson and their soon to arrive second son. I didn't get pics of Carson this time, but have taken several in the past which you can see in my other Face book albums.

Our friends Chris & Linda came with their son Christopher. (Ricky was visiting elsewhere). He is just too cute and knows how to boss his mom around. Is that something that the baby of any family excels at?  Our friend Jesse was also there. He calls me his "other mom". These guys are just like family to us. Jesse offered to come and do any handyman worked we needed to have done. We've had him do work for us in the past like build our east fence/gate and paint our eaves. I told him we're broke right now and can't afford to pay him. He said, "Oh no. You don't have to pay me; I'll do it for free." Is that awesome or what? And recently when we needed some branches trimmed, Chris climbed up on our roof and sawed away while David stood below to catch them. See, family!

Deanna didn't realize she was supposed to pick up her sister Kayla, so Kayla had her mom Rochelle bring her. Now John and Rochelle have been divorced for years. Rochelle has treated my brother like shit (excuse my French), but they lived together for many years even after getting divorced. Earlier this spring she told my brother it was really over and moved out. My brother was really torn up over it. So then she shows up at my Mom's for Easter. Then instead of just dropping Kayla and Maddie off, she stayed last night. From my understanding, most people ignored her. She just doesn't get it. You don't see my ex or David's ex hanging out at family gatherings. (Disclaimer - I don't mean to hurt any one's feelings, but this is my blog and I get to say what I think.)

I also think that cell phones should be banned at family gatherings, but maybe the owners would feel like they lost a limb. Or maybe some people would be so bored they wouldn't come. Or then again, maybe they would be more focused on the current conversations and observant of what is occurring around them.

I did get a few minutes to visit with Jim and I'm hoping everyone else did too. I thought it was interesting how we try to find points of interest when we talk to someone we don't really know that well to keep from feeling awkward or just have something to say. Candy asked Jim about the Broncos. Steve's a Broncos fan and so they commiserated their poor season together.

We talked gardening and chickens. Jim says Denver now allows backyard chickens. So does New York. My town will come around in about 5 years even though we're a so-called agricultural community.

I asked him about Terri, his wife and what projects she has going this summer. Terri is a school nurse and so each summer during her "time off", she works on projects around the house. This year she's varnished some doors, painted a hallway/stairway (I think) and is wallpapering. I found out she has quite the garden in her backyard. They grow tomatoes and squash among other things.

I asked Jim about his children. We haven't seen them in 12 years. I don't think Jim realized it had been so long. We missed seeing them grow up. Maybe that's why I try to keep track of my great nieces and nephews since my brother's kids got away from me.

Maggie just graduated high school and is working as a life guard. She had the same job last year and was able to return as some kind of supervisor so she got $4 more per hour. She's driven. She will do anything to earn money like take care of the neighbors' cats and dogs. She already has several thousand saved up in the bank. Maggie is a lot like Jim; he used to mow lawns at the age of 7 and he would NOT loan you money. He was smart about money even back then.

Matt is 21 and has had his share of accidents. He's a pretty easy going guy and I think Jim has a hard time understanding him. But they seem to have a close relationship. They recently went to a reggae concert and got locked out of the house. Jim told the story of their attempts to wake Terri and Maggie to no avail. They ended up with the fire department providing a ladder so Matt could climb in his bedroom window. (Jim was too big to fit.) Terri and Maggie were fine; just fast asleep. This led me to realize that my brother inherited Dad's ability to tell a great story.

I remember Dad pushing back from the table when we had company and telling his stories. Maybe that's why I always loved having company for dinner.

So all in all, it was a success. It just flew by so fast that I'm glad I had a chance to mull it over this morning.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Top of Wind Chimes in my garden.

Wind Chimes I bought in
Oregon.

I get up in the morning and it seems I have a million tasks to perform so I tell myself that I'll blog in the evening; but then I'm so tired I can't think straight so I just go to bed.

Last night I was up until 2:18 am pressure canning my grandma's recipe for cabbage soup. I made the mistake of quadrupling her recipe. Now mind you, my grandmother was cooking for a family of 10 - they were Mennonite. When you start with a 5-gallon pot full of soup it takes awhile just to get it to boil. I didn't start until about 12:30 pm since I spent the morning in the garden harvesting and pulling weeds. After which I had to clean and refrigerate the harvest. I was tired before I started.

This morning I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn and finish weeding the garden as planned and now it is too hot. I think I will just write a little.

My last blog was anticipating my trip to visit my friend JoAnn in St. Helen's, Oregon and then on to my daughter's in Bremerton, Washington. The trip was enjoyable to say the least and went by way too fast. JoAnn and I ran out of time before we ran out of things to do. Now I have an excuse to go back. JoAnn loves to journal so I got her started with her own blog. We visited Blue Heron Herbary where I spent money on goodies and plants. We visited the Chinese Gardens in Portland where I got some neat pictures and had some really good tea. We got lost on the way there due to navigator (that's me) error. I used Google Maps for directions without knowing the address and we ended up at a closed Chinese restaurant. That evening we went to visit JoAnn's daughter, Amy under guise of a Tupperware party where I spent a little more money. Then on Saturday, we went to Powell's Books in Portland where I bought several books. My cheap trip on saved airline miles was getting expensive and I still had several days to go. Besides it was fun and I knew my frugal daughter would keep me from spending money. The best part of my trip was visiting. It was great to see my friend of 29 years and catch up. It was fun barbecuing with Misty, Richard, Madelyn, Becca, Jesse and Jesse's brother Jordan. And it was wonderful just having hours of time to talk with my daughter. She's so far away. (To see the rest of my pictures visit my Facebook album.)

Becca, Jesse, Madelyn, Misty, Jordan & Richard checking
out the 3D television.

After a week from home, I had plenty to do when I returned; but I was tired and took the weekend to recuperate. (I was also a little down after the high of seeing everyone.) But a garden waits for no man and there was work to do. I transplanted some seedlings I had started. Seeded new peppers that never came up. I harvested beet seeds, peas, green beans, cabbage and green onion. I tied up tomato plants. I also wanted to make some cotton dish cloths, but I didn't want them to be plain, unbleached so I hand died them.

Elder Blossom Jelly

Last Sunday my husband and I went for a Jeep ride to Eshom Pond. We wanted to check and see what the fishing situation was and just enjoy the drive. I took pictures of wildflowers - lots of pictures. Then on the way home David took me by "my" Elderberry patch and I picked both Elder blossoms and ripe Elderberries off the same bushes. Ain't that a kick. That meant Monday I was cleaning berries and blossoms. I dried three quarters of the blossoms and used 4 cups to make Elder Blossom Jelly. The dried blossoms will go into my special blend of Becca's Tea. I also purchased a flat of Boysenberries and made up some seedless jam. On Monday I also pressure canned 11 jars of Chicken soup. I still have the Elderberries to process. I think I'll make my Elderberry Syrup; it's better than Airborne for preventing a cold. I'll also make jelly. Then I have to deal with the cherries and strawberries in my freezer. I made Cherry Jam, Cherry/Strawberry Preserves, and Black Forest Preserves before I left on vacation, but I ran out of time to use all the cherries up so I still want to try making a Cherry BBQ Sauce.

Whew, that is not where I intended to go with this blog. You may wonder why all the gardening and canning? Well I never was a girl scout or boy scout, but I believe in being prepared. Our economy is very shaky right now and I am currently out of work. Anything I can do to help save money is a good thing. Also, the big farm conglomerates are adding so many chemicals to our food that I prefer to have at least a little control over what I eat. I can't be totally self-sufficient since I live on a large city block; but I can make the best of what I do have. I'm starting to jokingly call it My Five Acre Farm.

My friend JoAnn gave me a book entitled Into the Forest. The story tells of two teenage girls who are left to fend for themselves when their parents die. The economy has collapsed. There is no gasoline, electricity, phone or internet. They live in the forest on their own and are running out of food. They do not have the knowledge to live off the land or fend for themselves. I do not want to be like these girls. I want to be prepared as much as possible. If I never have need of these skills and knowledge at least it's been a fun learning process.

Update to Making My Own Potato Boxes

You may remember we started out with the base of my potato boxes.

Then we went up a level.

As the potatoes grew, the boxes grew too.

Until you get to the top of the posts.

Now I'm just waiting for the blossoms to indicate the potatoes are forming. When the tops start withering, it's time to harvest.

NOTE: 8/30/2011 Okay, the potato boxes didn't work very well. I got potatoes, but they were ALL in the dirt, none in the straw. So did my dear husband say anything about the $100+ we spent on the boards, nails, etc. Not to mention the time? No bless his heart he just enjoyed the potatoes we did get. I think what went wrong was using only straw in the boxes. We should have used compost & dirt as well as chopped straw. The straw worked great as a mulch, but didn't stay close enough to the vines to promote additional root growth. Also, the straw settled into the boxes until they were only half full. I guess you live and learn.

Anticipation

Last night as of 10:00 I wasn't even packed. Oh sure I had done laundry, but my suitcase was empty.

For the last 20 days I have been counting down to my trip to Oregon and Washington. I have worked furiously in my garden trying to prepare to leave it for a week. Sure my husband will water, but he probably won't pick my peas. I'm just glad he's willing to take care of the rabbits and pick up the eggs from the chickens.

Then I unexpectedly had the opportunity to pick cherries. It takes a lot of time to process 5 gallons of cherries. I ended up canning 16 pints of cherries, plus Cherry-Strawberry Conserves, Cherry Jam and Black Forest Preserves. I still have about 2 1/2 quarts left. I also have strawberries left that I bought to add to the conserves. I ended up just popping them in the freezer. I'll take care of them when I get home.

So why am I so excited to be going to Oregon and Washington. I'm visiting my friend JoAnn in St. Helen's for the first time since she moved there 5 years ago. I've really missed our times together. We've both been so busy that we haven't really stayed in touch. I've heard so much about her home and gardens, I can't wait to see them.

Then I'm on to Bremerton, WA to visit my daughter. I am so looking forward to some mother-daughter time.

At 10:00 last night I suddenly got that little boost of energy I needed. I packed my computer, my carry on bag and my suitcase. Then I fell into bed exhausted. As I was about to fall asleep I realized I forgot my shoes and nightclothes. Oh well, it would have to wait until morning.

I had set my clock for 6:00 am thinking that would give me an hour and a half to get ready. Actually it gave me 2 1/2 hours. With plenty of time I re-packed my bag, printed my ticket (which I couldn't do yesterday for some reason), checked the weather and even had time for a quick post. But now my hubby is chomping at the bit and it's time to go.

Pictures From My Garden

Digging for gold (egg shells) in the compost pile.

One my eggs, bunching onion flowers/
seed heads and some seed packets.

Last years Jalapeno plant made it through
winter by covering with plastic. Notice all
the new leaves.

Beet seeds, lots of beet seeds.
Beets create seed the second year.
I'll save some for garden and feed
the rest to my chickens - they love
them.

Peas.

Jalapeno has also starting to bloom.

Herb bed at north of garden.

Another shot of herb bed.

Pineapple sage - not yet blooming.

Oregano - harvested about two/thirds and ended up with a quart of dry leaves. 

Lavendar in foreground and silver thyme behind.

Carrots nestled in with peas.

Chamomile with water droplets.

Chamomile blossoms - what is used for tea.

Close up of water drops on Chamomile.

Dogged Determination

Have you ever heard the term "dogged determination"? I think I figured out where it came from. I have two dogs and when they decide on a course of action, there is no stopping them.

My smallest dog, Pete was determined he would get into my garden. It didn't matter that he'd been scolded repeatedly or even swatted a time or two. He just waited until it was dark and we were in bed for the night. Now I don't know what he was after that was so important, but he was truly determined. He would dig under the fence and I would fill his hole with dirt. I even put his own poop in the hole or piled rocks on the dirt. He would just dig somewhere else. One night he dug under the gate. I was fed up! He got in my garden and was digging for gophers. He trenched their tunnels and in one night he dug up all my carrots, green onions and lettuce. He caused more damage than a whole family of gophers. Now Pete doesn't like water. In fact he hates it so much he won't even step in wet grass. So to try and cure him of wanting to get into my garden, I tied him into his hole and sprayed him with a water hose. It may sound mean, but it worked. At least for a little while. Then he decided to bypass the digging and just squeeze between the wire fence and the wood fence. This time I blocked the hole with a peice of wood, piled rocks in front of it and poured bleach over the rocks hoping the chlorine would hurt his nose just enough to keep him out. The last time he got into the garden at night, he used our shepherd, Ashton to push through the gate which was latched with a piece of wire. I didn't want the dogs in the garden because I worried they would go after my chickens. I don't know what those dogs were after, maybe a cat but I heard Pete barking outside my window and knew he was in the garden. I got dressed at 2:00 am and went to chase them out. Ashton ran right out the gate, but Pete ran into the chicken coop to hide. He got into a corner and I didn't think I would ever get him out. If I tried to reach for him he would growl at me and snap his teeth. I tried to scoot him out with a shovel, but he wouldn't budge. Finally I gave up my struggle and went to wake up my husband. Maybe Pete would come out to him. Well my husband didn't want to wake up so I went back outside and Pete had finally come out. He had dogged determination that only caused me major frustration.

Another example is my dog Ashton. (Yes, he belonged to my daughter before she left for college, but I've had him longer and possession is 9/10ths of the law.) Ashton is showing a good example of dogged determination. You see he has very bad hips. We've been giving him medication for several years, but he is progressively getting worse. He no longer can lift his hind leg to pee. He can't really run, but he does trot - kinda'. If he tries to make a sharp turn his back legs just give out. But he's a happy dog and he won't give up. He just keeps going day after day. I came home a few weeks ago and my husband said he didn't think Ashton would last out the summer. I couldn't believe he was that bad, but he is. Some days are better than others, but my point is he doesn't give up. He doesn't lay down and have a pity party. He just keeps trying. I don't think there's such a thing as doggy suicide.

My husband also has dogged determination. He has suffered a severe back injury and has been deemed disabled. He doesn't give in though. If there is anything that needs to be done, he'll do it. He may pay for it later in pain, but that doesn't stop him. He'll mow the lawn, so I made it smaller. He helps around the house. I just let him do what he can and don't freak out if the house isn't super clean. He helps in the garden too, but I try to keep him from overtaxing himself. He sleeps a lot more, but I think it's how his body deals with the pain.

I recently lost my job, but I hope I show some dogged determination of my own and just press forward. I'll learn some lessons from my dogs and husband and just keep placing one foot in front of the other until I'm working again. That's dogged determination!