So There's Good News and Bad News...

Yep, some of both tonight. 

First the Good News:

This looks to be another bunch of bananas that might actually ripen enough to cut down and eat (and freeze!). That is awesome, and keeps me at least slightly optimistic.

Now the Bad News. No pictures for this one, 'cause it's sad, sad, sad.

All the tomatoes on Henrietta have been chomped. Nearly all the leaves are gone. Honestly - it makes absolutely no sense! The other two tomato plants are just the same as they were, though the other tomato on Ruby is now in the kitchen, lol. Still none from George.

And no more peppers seem to be forthcoming. Though on the other hand, nearly all the squash seeds have come up. A few bean seeds, but their leaves burned. No pea seeds have come up. Maybe I'll have some pics of that tomorrow. 

Or a cute pet pic or two - that would be more fun than eaten plants, wouldn't it?  

:)

Big Problems on the Little Homestead

So my next post should have been all happy smiles. And it would have been if I'd gotten it out Friday like I meant to. I mean - look at this and tell me if it's not a happy sight:

That's right! The first tomatoes from Ruby. Well, one - the other isn't quite ripe yet. And you betcha, I picked it. Again, the scale might seem off because all this stuff is little, little, little. (One of these days I'll put something as a reference so you can see the size). But there was no denying it was ripe, and BLT is on the menu for today!

But imagine my horror when I went out this morning and found not just these:

But also this!

Yes - those are bare stems! They don't look eaten (to me), but like something or someone cut off all the leaves! 




Here's another view of them. 

I just don't know what to make of this. I get that birds will eat tomatoes - but what would strip leaves like this? And bite off stems, like they've been cut? Neither of the other plants is like this either, and Ruby does still have a tomato. Nope, only Henrietta was so violated. There are still tomatoes on her, but who knows for how long. There are lizards all over the place, but none big enough to do this... I'm at a loss. 

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

:)

More Excitement!

And the awesomeness continues! Take a look and tell me what you see:

That's right, my friends - that's a nearly ripe tomato! Ruby only has the two, and this one is almost ripe. I think I am going to pick it tomorrow. It didn't seem quite ready this afternoon. Henrietta, the over-achiever, has six tomatoes of varying sizes, but just now one of them is starting to turn red on the bottom. And George, the slacker, has none yet, even though he's got the thickest stems. I'm going to have to have a talk with him...

Still trying to decide what to do with my pepper harvest. Ideas anyone! They are tiny peppers, so small recipes? Ha ha!

Perhaps this weekend I might attempt another embroidery project. Or who knows, one of these days I might even have another piece of wisdom to share, ha ha! I'm old enough, I should have some of that to spread around, shouldn't I? Wait - maybe you shouldn't answer that...

In the meantime, possible BLTs lurk on the horizon. YUMMMM!!

:)

First Harvest!

It's here! The first harvest of anything edible! Probably not what you think...

That's right! Three tiny peppers! Aren't they cute?!

But aren't they supposed to be red or orange, you ask? Why yes, yes they are. However, here's the reason I picked 'em:

One of them was already rotting! Or... something. I read they weren't supposed to get as big as bell peppers in the store, and these certainly aren't. Nowhere close, in fact. I've also been told that green peppers will eventually turn red or yellow or orange if they stay on the plant long enough anyway.

I don't know how true that is (though it was my sister the growing queen who told me, so I don't doubt it), but these peppers snapped right off when I picked them, which tells me they were ready to be picked. Though I sure didn't expect them to be *this* tiny. Still, they seem edible and that's the important part, right?! Ha ha! Now... just gotta figure out what I'm going to do with them...

Oh - and so much more tomorrow! Lots happening between torrential downpours here in South Florida!

:)

How Bad Am I?

So here's a picture of my basil as it currently exists:

Pretty sad, isn't it? Thing is - I do nothing to take care of it. Well, that's not true - every now and then I dump some water on it. Given that it's Hurricane season here now, there's rain nearly every day, however. 

I really wanted fresh basil, so last year when my mom was here for Thanksgiving, we bought some plants and pots and my mom planted them for me. (She did loads of planting last year. She's a great mom!) I had all these plans of growing it, and making a garlic-less pesto to freeze, so many dishes to actually cook, you name it. I was told that when it got "woody" to just cut off all the basil and start over.

So - 

Excitement Abounds!

Looky! It's happening!

Well, sort of happening. I'm not sure how to take this. Every one of those peat cups has at least two seeds in it, some have three. And thus far it seems 4 bean seeds have sprouted up *tall*, and three squash seeds. It's only been a week, but shouldn't the whole tray be covered in little tiny green sprouts by now? 

I'm not giving up yet, however! Other than taking the lid off for this picture, I put it back, just cracked for a little ventilation as the instructions said. I suppose this means I'm going to have to have at least one hill for the squash (more research on that, to be sure). 

And some sort of trellis for the beans... Don't beans grown on bushes? How in the heck did I find the ones that have to have a trellis?! It's a sure bet I'm going to have to buy one of those, because my building skills are not yet up to snuff for that sort of thing. 

And another thing!

What the Heck!?!

What in the heck is THIS?!

This is growing from one of my aloe pots. It seems to be part of the plant itself. I had a smaller one from the aloe a year ago or so. But this is... odd, and growing in the midst of my diseased aloe, too. (Okay, I don't know if that's actual disease making those black spots, lol. Likely something fungal though. Ewww)

I mean, I know that's what Google is for, to look this stuff up, like do aloe plants really get flowers. And I imagine I will look it up sooner rather than later. I just figured I'd toss it out here to see what other thoughts would be. Well, it's clear it's a weird flower of some sort, but just... yeah.

Here's another look at it. I mean - this is really tall!

And one more...

Startling...

This is a picture of one of the last Space Shuttle launches. This one took off from Kennedy Space Center in FL, in 2009. The last shuttle ever took off in 2011.

Once again, I am struck by the oddness of things that inspire me. Or maybe "variety" is a better word. I was able to go to this launch because my mother paid for my ticket as my birthday present that year. I went with my sister and her twin boys, and this was one of THE most amazing sights I've ever seen. (Once upon a time, I was going to be an astronaut by the way. My complete inability to do higher math pretty much put a stop to that.)

This picture reminds me of my mother. Just like the smack in the face I had the other day as I was planting my whole one tray of seeds. There I was in my dirty t-shirt, shuffling around in my flip flops, and realized I was getting more like my mother every day. 

That is absolutely not a bad thing! My mother is awesome and anyone who knows her will tell you that. Seriously - my friends used to invite her to all the parties they invited me to! (Ask me sometime about her nickname of "The Beer Wench")

And there's more...

Looky! Look Look Look!

Look! Look, look, look! Look close and tell me what you see!!

That's right - those are PEPPERS!! Honest to goodness bell peppers, my friend, on the plant! There are other flowers on this plant, but sadly, no flowers or peppers on the other. There are teeny tiny buds on it, and at one point there were flowers. Dunno what happened there, but at least this tells me that peppers will grow again on my ol' homestead! ha ha!

I also know to pick them. I've read they do not get as big as the store bought ones, so these will not languish as I bemoan the fact they grow no larger. Nope, no sirree - once these babies stop getting bigger, I'm yanking them right off that plant. Well, maybe not "yank", per se. A strong tug will do, I hope.

On the seed front - no little sprouts yet, if you can believe it. How long must I be tortured with not knowing their fate?! It is more than any woman should have to bear...  

For now, it's bedtime though. I know farmers are supposed to get up early, but um, technically, I don't think two peppers and seven tomatoes exactly make me a farmer... 

:)

Success!

And at very long last - here are the planted seeds! Told you I'd do it! Let me tell you, today was so not the day, given that it was storming most of the day, but at least they are encased in their little pods of dirt.

I will also say that it was sort of... anticlimactic, once I got to it. After all, it's just one little tray with three different types of seeds. Once I dodged the rain, it probably took half an hour or less to do this. And already they are wrong...

For example, apparently, you are supposed to plant squash in "hills". As you see, what they got were tiny little peat cups. If they come up, then we'll discuss hills. And the beans? They instruct you to plant them near a six foot high trellis. Do I have one of those lying around? Nope. Then there are the peas that my mother assures me I will not have room for when they grow.

So expectations?  -->

Be Careful What You Say

Be super careful what you say...

It is torrential downpouring here. Thunder, lightning, and near tropical storm level rain (well, it *is* hurricane season after all, so that's what we get down here in good ol' South Florida). Trying to get from the house to the patio or the carport would drench me completely. 

I shall persevere, however! Just maybe I shouldn't have said that last night about high water - ha!

In the meantime, here is a picture of my sloth of a cat, Phil:

23 pounds of kitty goodness right there, all right! Does he know how to lounge, or what? The other two (yes, I have three cats! And two dogs, as well) aren't quite as accomplished at it, but one is still sort of a baby, so I figure eventually her big brother will rub off on her.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for the rain to slow even enough for me to dash out and get to the dirt and all, so that I can plant those seeds! Check back later, and I'll have an update on my progress.

:D

Homemade is the Best!

Here is more evidence of my superior cooking skills - ha ha! 

Actually, I would say I'm an okay cook, but there are some things that I do supremely well, such as homemade pizza. Everyone who eats it tells me it's the best homemade pizza in the world, so now I've begun telling people that as well. I make a mean cheesecake, too, but that's just because it's my mom's awesome recipe. The pizza is a combination of things, I think.

First - the crust is homemade, like with yeast and everything. It's a good recipe I found that I modified ever so slightly. Then I also do not skimp in the least on ingredients. There is loads of cheese on these babies, and while they might all have different toppings (I make these occasionally for my classes), there is no shortage of the toppings that adorn each one either. 

My next adventure in regards to pizza will be to find and alter a pizza sauce recipe. That's the only part of it that I don't somehow work with myself, other than to open the jar and pour it on. If you have one, please pass it along!

And all of this leads me to another topic...

Inspiration Comes in the Oddest Forms...

Inspiration comes in the oddest forms. It truly does. One of the inspirations for all of this... whatever this is, I realized, was these bananas. These and the mangoes from the trees in the back yard. This is only the second bunch of bananas that actually ripened to the point of being able to be eaten, but it was just cool to have them there, and think about the possibilities of lots of bananas, too many to actually eat, and what I could do to save them for later. 

My mom suggested making loaves of banana bread and freezing them (Mom is super smart about that stuff! Lots of stuff, actually, but this is about the homesteader, save and store everything part). Of course, I didn't get to that, but even before the first bunch was big enough and ripe enough to cut down, there was *another* bunch growing! There are several banana trees out there, but they come and go, and it's rare to get bananas. And the ones that show up usually don't ripen to the point you can eat them.

So now the other one is out there, prompting and inspiring me to remember that I should be growing things, because it's better food, could save money in the long run, and well, it's just part of my "heritage". I come from a family of savers and storers, and canners and freezers, and well... you get the idea. 

And I will also have you know...

Help! And Not the Song!

I am having some plant emergencies!

Maybe not emergencies, but I definitely need help, especially from my sister and mom, the plant gurus...

First - the Aloe

I have more freakin' aloe than I know what to do with. It was lush and green and had grown so much all the pots were once again packed tight with it. Now... it all has these black spots. I tried looking it up on the internet and the best I got was that I was watering it too much. I quit watering it so much, the spots are marginally better, but - they are still there, as you see. Ideas?

Then there's Ruby, the tomato plant...

Peppers! Get your Peppers!

And here we are! The long awaited bell pepper plant! Well, one of them. This one has actual flowers, as you can see from the picture, so I'm excited that maybe there will now be peppers, ha ha! I have also learned that they don't get as large here in South Florida as what you see in the grocery store. That definitely explains all my failures at growing them before. I kept leaving them on the plants to get bigger, which they never did. And then they would rot and I couldn't figure out why. Now, though - I'll be ready!

The other plant, with more buds. There are a *ton* of buds on these babies. A few flowers so far, so again, I'm hopeful for actual peppers this time. One plant is supposed to give orange bell peppers, and the other one yellow bell peppers. Please don't ask which is which anymore, because the little tags are gone and I don't remember. Especially after one of the dogs ate a bunch of the dirt out of one of the pots. Though, on second thought... that really should make it easier to remember, shouldn't it... *sigh*

And yet one more picture:

Hit It Again!

Ta Da!

I actually started and finished another today! Yay me! This embroidery stuff is really starting to catch on here on the old homestead. One of these days I'll do more intricate stuff, or finish some of the things I've started, but for now, I'm happy with this one. And it's encouraging to me, helping foster that feeling of wanting to do more of it! That's the best part.

Now if I could only get those seeds planted... *sigh*.

And yes, I've got more:

And the back, still woman enough to show it to you:

A Letter from Fred

This is the most awesome video ever. If you don't cry, you don't have a heart... 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDi4hBWsvkY

All I got tonight. 

:)

And Another Start...

Without further ado...

Here it is! The (not so very) epic embroidery project that sort of got me started both on admitting to my homesteader leanings, as well as the impetus for starting this blog (along with the continued poking of my sister, ha ha). Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but my aunt has finally received it, and seems happy with it. And I was happy to do it. 

What I found is that there's a lot of stuff I haven't done in ages that I really did enjoy - and want to start up again. Of course, last weekend was a bust, what with being feverish and all, but the desire is still there, like it hasn't been in, well... ages. 

And lest ye think I am a coward - I am woman enough to show you the back of this!