DIY

New Flower Garden

Back in October of 2019 I found my dad’s old tiller in the shed. It was in good shape but needed to be sanded and cleaned.  At the time I thought it was too old fashion to actually be of any practical use.

I needed a project to test some paint on so I figured I would fix the tiller up and use it as a center piece for a  flower garden I had just created.

It turned out looking great and has been the out in the garden since  — until this last weekend.  I decided I wanted a cut flower  cottage type “bee” garden out beside the new greenhouse.  The final size was to be about 8 x 10 feet. I had originally covered the area with a piece of black plastic but we moved it when we built the new greenhouse so the grass and weeds were starting to grow again.  That meant I had a lot of digging to do to before I could plant any flowers. My first though was to simply use a shovel and turn the soil over – that lasted about 6 feet into the project!  What to do ? I don’t have a gas, battery or electric tiller and I just could not justify buying one for this small project. (Although I did research them and almost brought one.)  Than I remembered the old tiller… would it work? I remember my dad using it to till up their  huge garden before he brought a gas tiller but that was almost 50 years ago. Was the handles strong enough after all those years  plus being out in the weather for almost 2 years?

I had to try and it took me most of the afternoon but that little tiller cut though the dirt as if it were butter… well maybe not that easy but it worked! I admit I was sore the next day but there was a certain amount of pride and joy to say I  tilled that garden by hand with pure muscle. It also made me realize how hard my father worked just to provide for his family. We have it so easy now days that we do not even think about what our ancestors  had to deal with just to live a normal life.

As far as that old tiller goes .. it has a new lease on life.  It is nice and clean again and back into storage until it is needed again.  Now I need to find a new centerpiece for that flower garden!

Frozen Cucumber Relish

Our freezer is full so I almost didn’t try this recipe. I had  already made  frozen Bread n Butter pickles,  dill pickles,  cucumber spears , cucumber diced cubes and cucumber puree. I was tired of  cucumbers but the  cucumbers were still producing and there was just a little room left in the freezer. Not sure were I will place the Christmas cookies this year. LOL. I am so glad I tried these! As of now this is my favorite cucumber recipe.

Frozen Cucumber Relish

7 cups shredded cucumbers
2 tbsp. salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped

Mix the shredded cucumbers and salt. Let stand for 2 hours and drain. Mix the remaining ingredients and combine with cucumbers. Let stand in refrigerator for 2 days. Put in containers and freeze. You can use more sugar if you like it sweeter but I think it is just right as written.

We do not eat a lot of relish and I usually end up tossing the small bottles from the store before we use them up.  I solved that problem by freezing the relish in ice cube tray. Once frozen I popped them out of the trays and placed the cubes in a labeled gallon freezer bag.  Now all I have to do is pull out as many cubes as we need and by the time the meal is ready the relish is thawed out and ready to eat.

I wonder if I can find room in the freezer for another batch??

 

Kitchen addition

I am a short person – there I said it !  I have trouble reaching the top shelf of my cabinets and you can forget about reaching the top of the refrigerator. In the past I have always used this kuchen stool to  clean the fridge top and to get the things from the top shelf.

I know it wasn’t  the safest thing to do and therefore the top of my fridge never got cleaned as often as it should and the top shelves where used to hold things I could grab and not worry if everything came down on top of me.

I  had a two step ladder but it kept disappearing and there was no place to store it in the kitchen and it looked too ugly to leave out in the open.

last week while I was cleaning the north wing closet I found a small piece of “furniture” that one of the boys made in shop class. I am not sure if it was suppose to be a step stool, printer shelf or a small bookshelf but  but it is  just what I need in the kitchen!

Bill tested in out by standing on it and it worked wonderfully. It fits nicely in the small space between the fridge and the door so it is out of the way when not in use. Best of all it had not been finished so I could stain it with a combination of golden oak  topped with cherry to match the cabinets.

I love they way it blend in and that I can now reach the top shelves safety. Shawn was home last weekend and he says that he was the one that made the step. He never finished it because he didn’t think it was very good. I guess I surprised him since I think it is perfect!

Clothes Closet to Food Pantry

We designed our home years ago and I love it expect for one little thing. There was never enough space to store food!  The original part of the house had a very small kitchenette with almost no storage space especially for five people.  When  we  added the main section of the house we increased the storage area but there was still no place for a freezer or extra food.  We originally had the freezer and “pantry” area in the garage but that didn’t work very well  when we moved into the main house since it meant going outside to get to them.  We solved the freezer problem by moving it up into the old kitchen. It means going upstairs to get the food but that’s better then having to go outside and also opened up space in the garage.

The “pantry” was another story.  Last year we enclosed the breezeway so you no longer have to go outside to get to the garage from the first floor but the “pantry” area  in the garage was taken over with animal food and sports equipment and  other junk that I have not decided what to do with.       ( We all have things that we are not sure what to do with.) The old kitchenette is now a craft studio/laundry room so there is no place for canned goods in that area.

We needed a place to store food because every time we went shopping the kitchen counters and dinning room table would be covered with food.  In the past that was only a problem in the winter months when we would stock up in case of bad weather.  With this pandemic  going on we are trying to stock up so we do not have to go to the store as often and that meant we had food everywhere.  I needed to think outside the box and find a place to store things.

I thought about clearing out the area in the garage but decided it was too far away from the kitchen and the area has a temperature swing especially when the garage door opens in the winter.   I  also thought about using the old closet in the north wing but that meant carrying all those cans upstairs and then back down when I fixed meals.  Sounded like a lot of extra work especially since I was already doing that with the frozen food. I needed another solution!

We had a  “mudroom” cabinet built for the nook area near the back door to hold our coats since they always ended up on the hooks by that door and never in the downstairs closet. I had installed a few coat hooks by the front door for guest and to hold my “front” door coat. My “work” coat is on a coat rack on the enclosed porch. So what was in the downstairs coat closet? A bunch of older coats and our heavy winter coats which will be switched out into the mudroom cabinet, enclosed porch and by the front door  when it gets colder. The light bulb flashed on! I have been meaning to clean out the closet in the north wing since it  hasn’t been cleaned out since Shawn got married and moved out. It was half full of  clothes that he had left behind and anything I tossed inside.  I washed and folded all the clothes and placed them in  a box for him. (All the kids have a drawer in a tall dresser for weekend clothes.)  I now had a cleared walk – in closet. It would have stored lots of food but it works best for those winter coats. They only took one side so there is still room for guest to hang clothes is needed. That left the downstairs coat closet empty. A perfect place for a pantry!

Cans are heavy so it took four tracks and three additional shelves to hold everything. Bill did most of the work as I was busy carrying clothes upstairs and doing laundry. I think he did a great job!

 

I love the new pantry! Everything is organized and I can see what we have at the “store.” Also it is close to the kitchen so no climbing stairs or walking  two rooms over to get the food. So hopefully no more wasted food that I find years after the expiration date.

Best of all the kitchen looks so much better since I have more room to store appliances. Now only the  appliances that are used daily/weekly are on the counter tops.

I actually have counter space! It looks so good I hate messing it up by cooking.

Our dinning room table is back to normal.  I am so ready for a huge family get together around this table.

Easy Blackberry Pie

This is not only the easiest pie I have ever made it is also one of the best tasting!

My husband loved it  so I will be making this one again. Love having fresh blackberries from the garden.

I used a packaged pie crust just to keep things simple but you can use any basic pie crust recipe.

You just need five more ingredients:  4 to 5 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries, 1/2 cup white sugar , 1/2 cup all =purpose flour, 2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 cup white sugar.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Reserve 1/2 cup of the blackberries for later. Mix the rest of the blackberries with the sugar and flour.

Spoon this mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Top with the reserved berries on top of the sweetened berries. Cover with the top crust.  (I added a little unsalted butter on top of the berries before topping with the crust.

Seal and crimp the edges. Cut vents in the top  Brush the top crust with the milk and sprinkle the sugar over the top.

Bake  in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. The filling should be bubbly and the crust golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Raccoons and the chicken run

We have had the usual June war with the raccoons again this year. It started with the cat food. One morning a raccoon came out of the woods to eat the food I set out for the cats while they were still eating. This confirmed my suspicions that the raccoons were back. I had noticed a few things moved around during the night and the bird feeders didn’t look as full.

The next night they “attacked” the area – bird feeders were either empty or destroyed, flower pots overturned and the plants pulled out and the cat’s bowls carried off.  It was time to play “WAR”.

I removed all the bird feeders, re-potted the plants, brought in the cat bowls after they were fed and set the traps.

The first night I trapped one raccoon but there were more. The water bowls in the chicken park and the shit bucket  had been turned over and you could see were they tried to dig under the sides of the coops.  The also overturned the flower pots again. And to make it worst one came up to the back door and climbed to the top of my tiered planted and took out the basil plant while I was at the door.

Reset the traps that evening and the next morning there were two raccoons trapped. They had again turned over the flower pots and gotten the lid off the sunflower container and eaten most of them. They tore the hardware wire off the top of the one enclosed run and damaged the wire around the sides of the coops and pulled the hinges off the door to the other run.  The one run was beyond repair so I had to find something to replace it. We went to five local stores looking for either a chicken run, dog kennel or hardware wire. We found one chicken run but it was out of my price range ($600)  and finally  we  found some hardware wire. It was the last roll they had and it was priced at $60. I was hoping to  repair the enclosed run but once I pulled it away from the coop I realized  that the bottom boards were rotted. So back to looking for a replacement. I sent hours looking at all types of runs and finally found one that I liked as we were at t he restaurant eating. I ordered it as soon as we got home but they said it would take up to two weeks to get here so I had to come up with a plan to protect the chickens.  I covered the top pf the run with the missing wire with heavy boards and some rocks to keep it in place and added more rocks around the areas were they tried to dig under.

Reset the traps and the next day there was one raccoon trapped but I could still see damage that I needed to clean up. The flower pots were again dug up and all the remaining cherries on the tree were gone. In the past we saw 5 raccoons  eating the cherries so I have no doubt who ate the cherries. They had also dug up a  freshly transplanted tomato and pepper plant, trampled and ate all the green peas and dug up a cabbage plant.

Reset the trap that evening and  trapped two more raccoons for a total of 6 in less than a week. There was very little damage so I took a change and filled up one bird feeder and the two hummingbird feeders. Too my surprise the chicken run I had ordered came early!

It was easy to put together but it still took me three days before I had time to assemble it and take it out to the chicken yard. Lucky for us there has been no signs of any more raccoons and the traps have not been tripped during that time.

I really wasn’t planning on working in the chicken yard yesterday. In fact I had decided to finish cleaning the last 5 windows so I could mark that off my list. I was drinking my extra hot coffee after feeding the inside animals and decided to go take care of the outdoor animals and allow the coffee to cool a little.  I never got back to that coffee or to the windows. It was close to 3 when I did come back inside.

This is what the area looked like before all the damage:

I had taken up the T post and rolled up the green fencing the night before but the mosquitoes started biting so I came inside. The fencing wasn’t working since they were just flying over the top.  I was just planning on moving the new run next to the coop but as usually I changed my plan. I was not happy with the location of this coop since it was  on a slope and every time it rained it was a slippery mess and I had to be extra careful not to fall.  That wasn’t the only problem whenever it rained the dropping board would be full of water since the coop was on a slope with the door facing the rain.

Well, the mosquitoes were not biting and there was a slight breeze so I took the runs away from the red coop. I had to trash the one enclosed run that I had actually brought. I proved to myself that I am my father’s daughter. LOL I didn’t just trash this I took it all apart and saved the hinges, screws and hardware wire. He would have been proud of me.  No nails or screws in the fire.

Bill and I moved the coop so that the egg door can be opened from the gravel path ( not finished yet) and the side door can be accessed from the new shed.  (Also not finished but the post are in place).  I moved the new run so that the two doors line up and the chickens can get into the coop to lay eggs. First problem – the doors do not line up completely so I can not open and close them without pulling the run away from the coop. I’ll have to remove the coop door and turn it so that it opens from inside the coop. That will be a project for another day since I run out of time before having to go to a meeting.

The longer run that I had build myself was repairable. I  stapled the hardware wire back into place, added new screws to the corners and replaced the screws in the hinges. I opened the side door of the new wire run and lined up the doors opening. It worked wonderfully and now the chickens have  almost twice as much area to play in.

I removed all the plastic from around the coop. This was used for winter protection. Once the plastic was removed I noticed a few things that needed to be repaired on the red coop.  One of the bottom boards was rotted and needed to be fixed, the ramp needs to be replaced and I still have that door to deal with.

I didn’t have a treated 2 x 4 on hand so I used some of that reclaimed hardware wire and stapled it on the outside of the coop all around the bottom openings. The wire was longer so I bent it at ground level and  laid pavers over the extended wire. This will deter the raccoons from digging under the coop.

I finished the day by painting all the red parts of the coop and runs.  I didn’t get a photo because I was running out of time and it was too dark when we got back home. Next on the list – reinforce that bottom board, replace the ramp, reposition the  front door and paint the white trim. Life on the homestead – you have to love it to live it.

Blueberry/Strawberry pie

This is a very easy pie to make and taste great!

BLUEBERRY AND STRAWBERRY PIE

Ingredients

FILLING:
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 3 cups strawberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons flour
PASTRY/PIE CRUST:
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature cut into small cubes
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Recipe

Pre-heat oven to 425°F if using brought crust 275 degrees if using the recipe below.

Make bottom pastry dough (see below) or use store-bought crust. Roll out the bottom dough to fit into the pan and up the sides of the pan.

Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until a very light golden brown. This will help prevent that soggy bottom crust so common in fruit pies.  While the crust is baking cut strawberries in half.

Add 1/2 cup of sugar to all the berries,  1 tablespoon lemon juice,  2 tablespoons of flour, and toss lightly.

Let pastry cool for a minute or two and place the strawberry blueberry mix into the pan just below the edges of the side, drizzle softly melted butter throughout the top of the pie.

Roll out the other top pastry dough (see below) and place it on top. Cut edges and shape to make them appear neat.

Slice a few  holes into the top pastry for the pie to breathe while cooking.

Bake for 30 minutes on the bottom rack and another 15 – 20 minutes on the top, or until golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes. To prevent edges from burning use a pie shield or foil over the top.

Pastry/Pie Crust Preparation:

Bottom pastry:  Add 1/2 cup of butter cubes and 1 cup of flour and mix gently. Add 1 cold tablespoon of water to the mixture once the  dough begins to stick together, this  should make the dough more pliable.   If it’s still too crumbly you can add a drop more water until it’s a bit more sticky but should not be sticking to your hands.

Top pastry: Same method as above except use 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar.   This dough will be slightly easier to roll out.