Ackk! I am behind again on my Feature Friday. But I still want to feature Fresh From Home!

Man...sometimes I am so bad!  I have no good excuse for being late on this Feature Friday, but good news is that I am finally doing it!  And I am feeling this week like being a super self sufficient backyard homesteader, so thus why I have chosen to feature Fresh From Home - Adventures in Backyard Homesteading!

I first came upon this blog from Pinterest (I know, shocker!) when I saw this hilarious pic...

I am not sure if everyone will think this is as funny as I do, but I swear that my chickens do this with the dog.  They love to wander in the house, and my dog watches them intently whilst they meander through the kitchen.  Silly animals.

So of course I had to see what else was going on at this blog.  And if you are into the homesteading where you are sort of mentality at all, you will enjoy this website.  She has lots of great tutorials and tips on growing stuff....like this post on sprouts...

As well as yummy and interesting recipes, like this one for Springerle Cookies.  

There is something about the old way that food looked like art.  I think about reading Little House on the Prairie and how they would use a strawberry butter mold to make the butter look nice.  A kind of pride in the food.  I think I must try this out.

And then of course she has some great posts on her chickens.  I was especially interested in this post about her bunny living with her chickens!  We have had a bunny, definitely a tame house pet, that must have gotten loose and has come to hang out in the yard.  Maybe it stays with the chickens sometimes...hehe...

Their bunny doesn't even care that the chickens threw dirt on it! So cute.

Anyway, head on over and check the site out.  Fun to check out tips on gardening, all the fun chicken posts, and of course good food and tips!

Happy Feature Friday on a Sunday! 

Ash

Feature Fridays break...instead how about some garden fun and update to DIY Plant Markers!

I have been trying all week to get this blog post up!  So, I am taking a little break from my Feature Fridays to share this post.  Maybe not quite as exciting, but it is good to mix it up sometimes, right?

I am getting pretty excited about my little garden this year.  We have started with new, raised beds using cinder blocks.  I have one that is always shaded by a big pine tree, so that one is going to be the greens bed.  We have planted some yummy early greens in that bed and they are peeking their little heads up now!

And in the back there....that is my update to my shrink-dink (shrink plastic) plant markers!  I am so excited!  You may recall a post I had done before with a tutorial on making shrink plastic plant markers and attaching them to spoons?  Well, they were fun, but pretty basic.  I have had a lot of fun with new versions this year!  One of my friends helped me.  I wanted ones that even told the name of the seeds I was using.  I have to say, I am pretty proud of us. Hehe.  Check these out!

Each one is different and a lot of fun....arugula.... 

Cartouche style spinach....

Some Flashy Butter Oak Lettuce....

Mild Mesclun Mix....

London Springs Lettuce Mix...

This one is pretty cute  - see the little 'p's in there?  Because they are Sugar Snap Peas! hehe

And Oregon Sugar Snap Peas!

We made them a little small, so if you are making your own, err on too large.  They shrink a lot!  I would start with something at least 4-5 inches wide and a proportional height.

Finally, just for a giggle...look at this silly chicken.

I kept wondering how they were hopping the fence.....

Happy Friday!

Ash

Feature Fridays...Two Men and a Little Farm

This is one of those blogs that I follow partially because I love the fun little things they post, and partially because I want their life! Two Men and a Little Farm is a sweet blog that details the life of two people who grew up and work in the city, but long for a more quiet and sustainable life.  (Hmmm.....sounds so familiar to me...)  So they bought a little farm, Seda Bolsa Farm, and they document their ups and downs and share it for us to take part in it.

One of the things I love is that every Thursday they feature something that is inspiring for their farm.  Two Thursdays ago they put up this awesome adobe oven that they found from Sunset.com.  

Or...even more of an inspiration to me....this awesome garden shed and pond.  I want!

And the commentary on why they see them as inspiration is just as fun as the pics.

They also have some seriously great recipes, many of which I still need to try.  They have a whole page of recipes here....

I really wanna try the Roasted Chickpeas recipe...

And the biggest thing I love is reading about and seeing their little farm.  I am in love with the idea of soon owning my own little farm, and I have def enjoyed seeing the things they have had the pleasure and pain of going through on their little farm.

So go check it out, laugh at their wonderful humor and funnies that they find and share, and learn a few little fun things about their journey to their little farm.

And happy Friday!

Ash

Upcycling in the garden...

Since the chickens last massacred the garden, I have had to become more creative in my gardening.  As I mentioned a few posts ago, it has become all about containers for me.  I love letting my chickens roam free in the backyard too much, thus, I have basically sacrificed the back to the chicken gods, leaving me ornamental plants, and the few other plants that they won't eat, like rosemary, horseradish, dill, and several other herbs.  Hmmm....actually as I type this out, I think I now know what is going in the old vegi bed!  I will try an array of herbs and see what makes it through! hehe

Anyway, we recently made a trip to our local ReStore - BRING Recycling - and I found a few more fun things for my gardening.  One thing I really needed was a new trellis for my pretty-vining-pink-flower-plant (no idea what it is...lol) and while we were there we found an old ladder.  Perfect!!  Doesn't matter to me that you can't use it to stand on!

I draped the vine over the new 'trellis' and then added a few shelved for potted plants!  Viola!  I absolutley love it!

I have also been going through belongings trying to think of new uses.  As you might notice above, the green waste basket has a new purpose as a planter for some yummy arugula.

The other thing I found at BRING was a few lamp fixtures shade things.  Turn them over and poof!  Instant pot!

This cute white one has holes in the 'bottom' all ready for drainage where you would attach it to the light.  Set a little piece of broken pottery in the bottom to make sure all the soil stays in, then plan in style!  Here I have a cherry tomato plant and some cilantro!  MMM!

I bought one more lamp fixture shade thing, but have yet to decide what it will have planted inside.  It is more decorative with a smaller 'mouth' so I am thinking it might be ready for some flowers.

Just remember to think outside the pot when gardening!  

Ash

The things I do for my chickens....

Well....I have yet to finish the fencing project to keep my chickens out of my garden.  This new fencing project culminated from 2 things: 1) The 2nd time the chickens figured their way out their run and ate all my new plants and 2) the snowstorm here ruined all kinds of bushes in the yard.  

So I began putting together a fence from the broken bushes.  But it is taking much longer than I had initially planned, and I had purchased some plants that just could not wait any longer to be planted.

So...I planted them all in containers and put them in the front yard.  

Pepper, garlic, and basil....

Peas in the foreground, more basil in the middle and hard to see, but greens in the back.

And more peas and some chard mixed in.

I hope they do good! I guess they will do better than in the back yard with the chickens! hehe  

We shall see if I can get the garden fence into shape soon so I can plant tomatoes, corn and squash!

Ash

Instagram fun

It has been really busy at work right now, and will be for the next week and a half.  So, thought I'd share some of my Instagram photos that I have taken this week.

I love Instagram, but often forget to use it.  But I am getting better. ;)

I thought this ducky was too cute.  Just standing there all tall and cute in Salem, Oregon on a work trip.

Look at how big this Ball Jar is!  This store display gets me all excited to actually can some things this year!

A few of the plants that are waiting for their new home in my garden.  That is, if I ever finish the little fence to keep the chickens out!

And finally, check out my awesome new Sharpie collection!  I am so excited about this!  Can't wait to play with these more.  And, I got the new fabric pens!  

I am working all weekend, but going to try and take breaks to find fun things to take pics of.  Need some kinds of creative outlet while working!

Happy Instagramming!

Ash

Oh sun...can you come out and play a little more?

Man...between working like crazy and the cruddy weather...I have not been super motivated.  But today, I had almost all day off of work, and the sun came to visit!

With my new found energy, and in hopes that the sun will stay out with us for more than just one day, (or at least hopeful that we can get done with this crazy hail, snow, rain, wind stuff) I decided to get out and plant some more vegis in the garden.  (The surprise snow we got massacred the yard and killed most all the plants in the garden.)

A while back I made these plant markers for for the garden.  Kinda hard to see, but they are awesome!  

The animals came out to play, too!  My kitty was following me throughout the yard...

And even took a seat to watch some of the chickens....

BW, the chicken, and Lacy, the cat, in a stare down.  The other 2 chickens, Killface and Ji Rou could care less.

(As you can tell...the yard is in quite a disarray....there is much yard work to do after the snow!)

And JB the dog takes in the sun over by Kiltro the chicken.  I love that all my animals get along!

Happy weekend!  Hope you are seeing a little sun, too!

Ash

Sneaky gardening and sunny Sunday....

Yesterday was so sunny out!  It was a great day, filled with all kinds of good (and maybe not as good) activities...do let me tell....

First, my friend and I ran 14 miles!  We are prepping for the Eugene Marathon at the end of April, and boy was that a run!  Next weekend is 16 miles, and I am feeling a little wary of it.

Then, I got home and ate some yummy soup I'd made and showered and then ran out into the yard to hurry and get some sneaky gardening in.  I call it that because I didn't have much time and it was only sunny yesterday...now the cold front has moved back in.

For sneaky gardening, first I let the animals out to enjoy the yard and some of the early blooming flowers....

(I love little check butts!  So fluffy and cute!)

And then I jumped into the garden and turned over my first plot to be sowed...with peas (seen here), as well as kale, lettuce mix, spinach and arugula.  Yummy!  And I am just more and more proud of my overall situation in the garden...see the straw?  It is from the chicken coop, and I put it out in the winter to start breaking down with the fertilizer and now it will act as awesome mulch.  So happy!

But then....I seemed to forget my senses and left the gate open a little while cutting down brambles in the side yard...and the dog ran out!  Silly dog...he had been so good, but he seems to think it is a game when he gets out.

About 45 minutes later, my hubby and I caught up to him playing in a drainage ditch/canal thing in the water...

Look at that wet dog!  

Well, after that it was time to go get a beer and some food.  We met up with a friend at the Ninkasi Brewery (if you have yet to have Ninkasi, you are missing out!) Then we ended the evening watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie at our discount theater.

All in all, a pretty darn good day!

Hope you also had a great weekend!

Ash

Super easy DIY Plant Markers

So I read an idea out of a cute little garden book recently called Apartment Gardening that I just loved and had to try.  They mentioned taking Shrinky Dinks (remember those!?) and making simple little plant markers.  I liked the clean look of just black on the white plastic.

First, I drew on a little design the width of the plastic and about 2 inches tall.  You need to write your labels on backward on the dull side, so you have it on the shiny side when you are all said and done.  

Then, put it in your oven at 225 degrees or so (I can't actually remember...so if you have instructions, check those. ;)  And then you have these cute little signs!

I am gluing mine to second-hand silverware and will have them in my happy garden soon!

As I mentioned, I liked to look of the plain black and white, but you can go crazy with color and design in you like!  Just remember to use permanent markers!

Ash

UPDATE!  I recently experimented some more and had fun creating some even more personalized shrink plastic markers.  Check that post out here!

It always seems...

that there is so much that I want to do and so little time...

Things I have finished...

Winterizing the garden with mulch from chickens and apple tree...

Rearranging the house to give us access to the fireplace again...

A fun purse I made for a friend in congratulations for her new job...

Some of the many things I want to do...

Finish my holiday gift giving list...

Finish an advent calendar (more on this soon)...

Learn new talents whilst making gifts, like maybe something like this....

Get my new Etsy account and business started...

Hope your holiday season is festive, productive and restful all at the same time!

Ash

The Garden Massacre of 2011

As you know, I have chickens.  They are sweet, and fun, and make me yummy eggs.  I recently went from having 3 chickens to 7.  And while sometimes they drive me nuts, they are generally great.  (As I sit typing this, one of them is out in the back yard squawking her little head off at 8:15 in the morning.)  

I mean, just look at how cute they are!

See that green fence, though?  That is my garden.  I had never had any problems with the big girls, but, even with clipped wings, the little girls can hop right over and have thus massacred my garden.  It is even more sad, that, upon inspection, I learned that I had squash growing, peas on the vines and tomatoes beginning to form....

Here you can really see the damage they have done.  To the right, yup...my poor crookneck squash and in the bottom center....well that used to be a tomato plant.

How can things so small do so much damage?  Oh, my, has this been a learning process!  Next year much larger fence or a different area for the chickens to run amok in.  This year, I have resigned myself to the remainder of the growing season to take place in pots.

Ash 

Chickens, buttons and plants...oh my!

A few of the things that have transpired in the last couple of weekends....

1.) We expanded the chicken coop into a chicken mansion!  It is not real pretty right now, but soon it will be all painted up and a nice place for the chickens to call home. 

2.) The garden is growing!  My peas are sprouting, and carrots are planted.  I bought some new heirloom tomatoes, some basil, cucumber and pumpkin plants from our local food shelter's garden sale!  I am excited for a great harvest this year!

Peas are growing....

Lettuce, arugula, dill, flowers and spinach....

3.) Vintage button fun!  I took a Saturday trip around several wonderful antique shops in our neighboring city with a friend and found these great buttons in a jar there.  Who knows if they are truly vintage, but for $6, who could pass up these beauties?

And I used one of my favorites in the jar to make the pendant for my new necklace....

This coming weekend I am looking forward to enjoying a day outside for our yard sale and doing some more work in the yard and finally doing some sewing!

Have a wonderful week!

Ash