Quarterly Checkup

This little bird is me stepping outside each morning knowing that spring is here and I can start playing in the yard. Mr Ladybug made a nesting box for these little wrens in hopes they will call our backyard home, I will keep you posted of any new occupancy.


As tomorrow is the last day of the month I thought it a good idea to look back and assess how my goals are coming along and if there needs to be any changes. I think its really easy to get off track and then just throw in the towel sometimes.  There is always time to start or restart.


As for the grocery budget we are staying right on target with our $120 per week for 4 adults. I have made my meals more simpler.  My meals were not super fancy but I love trying new recipes but right now with trying to get the garden ready for spring, a business kick off, some little travel adventures with Mr Ladybug and three dogs that are in need of a less muddy yard so they can stay outside and play I need to keep things simple and easy. I forgot to mention spring cleaning and some home renovations!

I also have a confession. Last night I had a chocolate dipped ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. I had been craving one for weeks. Mr Ladybug tried to get me to stop on Monday on our way home but I told him that we could not eat one before dinner. Then I started thinking that I am a grown woman who has followed the rules, well most of them, my whole life and I could have ice cream for dinner if I wanted to. I hope this information does not make you think any less of me.

They say you should learn something new everyday so I thought I would make it easy on you and show this bee picture.

The bee at the top with the eyes on top of his head is a drone, aka boy bee.  Seeing him makes us super happy because in the fall all the boy bees are tossed out of the hive because they dont really do anything in the hive and they eat alot and they girls need all the honey to keep themselves alive and to start the new batch of bees for the spring, So this means they hive is doing pretty well,  The bottom bee is a female and as you can see her eyes are on the side. I am still learning to use my new camera and hope to get some much better pics of my bees. So now you know how to tell the difference in your bees.

I love taking pictures of birds as you probably already know. Mr Ladybug and I are going to start a little scrapbook of our bird adventures. We hope to have a Big Year. If you dont know what that is google it and watch the movie titled the same thing with Steve Martin.

I have a very exciting morning planned. I am headed to the library, then off to Barnes and Noble to enjoy a free drink at the cafe, then to Kohls with my $20 Kohls cash and 15% off coupon. Tomorrow I hope to have dirty hands from planting in the garden!

Never Stop Moving Forward

Just when you think you are moving into spring you get a snow storm. I had lots of plans for outside activity this past weekend. It seems just when you are getting ready to move forward something happens to stop you. Do you feel that way not just in gardening but if life in general? I am not really complaining just observing. Well maybe a little complaining. I am trying my hardest to get this blog going consistently, start a little business and manage my urban farm. I am trying to slow down my thoughts and get things into focus. So please be patient with me for the next few weeks while I try to get all this figured out. I got married at 20 and had my first child at 22 and have not given much thought to what the 48 year old me would be when she grew up. I am sure I will figure it out eventually.

Last week I had been running in and out of the backdoor. I was enjoying hearing the birds chirping and then I started hearing black birds squawking like crazy. My chickens and pigeons got really quiet and thats when I realized there was a hawk somewhere. Those annoying black birds are actually great at letting you know about those hawks. I started looking around and in a tree in the neighbors behind me I saw a shadow. It was too far away to get a good pic with my phone so I grabbed the binoculars and spotted him. I tried to get a pic through the binoculars with my phone but thats really hard to do free handed plus I am directionally challenged and lets not forget clumsy. I managed to get something that resembles a hawk.

Mr Ladybug wanted to buy me a camera for Christmas and I just didnt think I needed it. The other day our son was debating whether or not to get a new computer. He asked me if I thought it was a waste of money and I asked if he had the money to buy it without clearing out his bank account. The answer was yes. I asked if he would be able to do more with the new one like play games and things he likes to do. He said yes. I told him that I thought he should buy it, He works really hard at school and keeps his grades up, he has a job and even though we shouldnt throw money out the window its not a crime to enjoy your hard work. For some reason I thought how I should listen to my own advice and so this weekend we went camera shopping. I am so in love with this camera. I see Mr Ladybug and I having lots of adventures with this thing. We love birding and identifying trees, plants and even weeds. We love bugs and all kind of things. Not to mention our love of the moon and stars. I can not wait to figure out how to get some great pics of our favorite planet and constellations.

Which brings me to the title of this post. After being married to Mr Ladybug for a short time I realized how much he loved history and how much he knew. I always felt like I wasnt very good at history and never would be. As we would visit places and learn about them and study the history I found out that I loved history as much as he does. Its not just history but all kinds of things that we just think about doing and do them. Like our  making of wine, soap, vinegar, jams, bee keeping. The more we learn about new things the more it changes us. I like to think for the good. I would like to encourage you to think about if you are moving forward or if you just got to a place in life and its not bad place but you kind of just got stuck there doing the same thing over and over. If so, maybe you would do something new. Its as easy as checking out a library book on something and learning about it. Youtube videos are pretty handy as well. Just dont set around accepting where you are.

My Granny Vaught was an amazing woman who lived through many tough situations. We were lucky enough to spend lots of time with her growing up. She was always humming, loved to try new recipes and was always moving forward. She loved robins. Whenever I see one I think of her and whenever I am washing dishes and one lands on the neighbors fence and watches me I like to think of it being sent from her to make me smile. I had to gran this mug a few weeks ago and get a shot of this one looking for worms nice and early this morning.

When life gives you honeysuckle instead of lemons.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. I really hope if you live in my area you were able to go outside and just soak up that sunshine and the beauty that it had to offer. As I was feeding the rabbits, pigeons and chickens I noticed that the honeysuckle is beginning to green up. That means that people who suffer from allergies are not going to be too happy but if you are wanting to try to make a few things with this free plant you need to be prepared.  You can make honeysuckle jam, tea, and tinctures. I missed the boat last year but this year I am going to be ready and thought I would give you a heads up so you can be too.

 TEA

To make a cold brew tea you take one part honeysuckle flowers to two parts water. You  bruise the flowers with a wooden spoon poor water of them and let set out in the sun for 3-4 hours. You strain the flowers and pour over ice and enjoy. So if you were wanting to make a half of gallon you would use 4 cups of flowers and 8 cups of water.


TINCTURE

Fill a glass jar with honeysuckle flowers. Push them down so that they are nice and compact in the jar, Leave about 1/2 in space between the flowers and the rim of your jar. Pour vodka over the flowers so that they are covered. Screw on a lid and place in a dark cabinet. Shake jar once a day for 4-6 weeks. After that time you can strain flowers and store in a jar.

A few drops under your tongue can help with upper respiratory issues caused from colds and allergies. For a sore throat you can use a few drops with a teaspoon of honey 2-3 times a day. Its suppose to help with hot flashes. If you know that you are allergic to honeysuckle I would not recommend taking it.

JELLY

Honeysuckle Jelly – yields 5 half-pint jars

– 2 Cups Honeysuckle flowers

– 2 Cups boiling water

– 1/4 Cup lemon juice

– 4 Cups sugar

– 1 package liquid pectin – ONE 3OZ PACKAGE.

Pick green tips from flowers and discard. Make an infusion by placing flowers and boiling water in a half gallon mason jar and capping tightly.  Let sit for at least 4 hours or let cool and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Strain flowers from infusion and place the infusion in a large saucepan along with lemon juice and sugar.  Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.  If using a candy thermometer, heat to 220 degrees. (jelly stage)

Add the pectin and boil for 2 minutes.

Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and cap with sterilized 2 piece canning lids.  Place jars in a water bath canner for 5 minutes.

Place jars upright on a towel, away from excessive heat or drafts and allow to cool for 24 hours.  Test jars for proper sealing.

I saw this quote the other day and it really has me thinking. When we recently purchased our new car I was asked what I do. I said I dont work. He said oh so you are a homemaker. I guess they have to put something and are limited to what their computer entry options are. I spoke up and said actually I am an urban farmer and gave him a little explanation of what that means to me. He was actually a very nice man and said that was interesting but I am pretty sure that homemaker when into the little box I could not see.

I wonder how many times I have made someone uncomfortable by asking them questions that they feel they do not have the correct answers to. What if when I meet someone and want to get to know them I ask them "what makes you happy or what are your passions". They may not have the answers to that but I sure hope it makes them think about and pursue it.

When Mr Ladybug got home we watered the garden together. I asked him what made him happy. He looked me straight in the eye and said  " its not coming home to you every day". You may think that may have been a mean thing to say but it made me laugh hysterically and kiss him. A long time ago he said that one of his favorite things to do was make me laugh. He drives me crazy but he makes me laugh a lot. I think I will keep him.

This is Mr Ladybugs calendar for gardening. I think its suppose to be nice on Sunday so we will probably be planting the peas, radish and spinach seeds in the ground as I mentioned a few days ago. We will also plant the cabbage, bok choy, and cauliflower plants. We can also plant the pepper and tomato seeds indoors next week. Things are getting real!

Do you make wish lists?

Good Thursday morning! ITS GOING TO BE 57 DEGREES TODAY!!!!!!!  Can you tell I am excited? I checked on my plants on my outdoor hot boxes and had to knock snow off of them. Today I am going to water them and see whats starting to sprout. I think I have some lettuce on one of them. Not everyone is as excited about today as I am. Our cat is mad at me and keeps trying to bite me because I wont let him sit on my laptop as I am typing.

Do you make a wish list of things that you would like to have. This is not necessities, Wants and necessities can vary from person to person so dont think that if something on my wish list is something you feel you cant live without means that I think you are frivolous. I dont even own a microwave. I have lots of friends who have instapots and I am still riding the fence on getting one. I have friends with Kitchen Aides and I have most of the things that come with one and cant personally justify getting rid of all those things that still work and purchasing one. Everyone I know who has one loves them though and thats what really matters. I found an Oster brand kitchen aid at Goodwill for $9 and I have to admit that blender on that thing is the best one I have ever owned. I use it to grind flour and make icees. Not at the same time though. I love the french fry slicer on it too,

I usually keep a list of things that I would like to have but am not willing to pay full price for. My hubby has a french press for his coffee and I had thought that I would love to have one for tea. I use alot of loose teas and it would work perfect for that. I did not want to spend the $15-20 for a one of my own and his smells like coffee. I wanted a glass mason jar with a spout for my green tea. My daughter and I love green tea and would probably drink a full gallon every day when it gets warmer. I also wanted a cold press coffee maker to see how my hubby would like it and see if I drank the cold press if I wouldnt get an upset stomach like I do after 1 cup of coffee.

I walk in Kroger and what do I find? A coffee press, a gallon glass jar with spout for my tea and a cold coffee brew pot and get all for $15! I forgot to get a pic of the cold brew pot but will share my recipe later on how it works for Mr Ladybug.

Yesterday I backed into the driveway was about to open the car door and step out when a little bird landed on the driver side mirror. I was not sure what kind of bird it was and came in to look it up. That little bird taunted me all day long. It landed on the feeder at our front window, Only to fly off when I got my phone. It landed on the fence across from my kitchen sink as I was washing dishes only to fly off when I tried to get a pic and then the little stinker landed near me when I was on the garden and of course did not have my phone, I think I found out what it was but its normally a bird not in the city but it may have stopped by migrating back here from wherever it goes in the winter. I think it may have been this little guy.

Bird watching is one of our favorite things to do. This would be a new one to add to our list if we could be 100% sure thats what it was, 

This weather will be the death of me.

I would like to say that the past two weeks that I havent blogged has flown by but they really havent. I dont want to sound like a negative Nellie because I am really not. Our family thought it would be fun to get some upper respiratory stuff. With so many having the flu and strep and every other thing going around we really lucked out and none of us had to go to the doctor which was nice. It just makes for an even longer winter.

Mr Ladybug was off and for two three day weekends in a row and we had a few adventures which is always fun. We were able to work in the garden and get some things planted under a hot box made from an old window. Then this happened this weekend. I really like the weekend picture without all the snow better. Look at that cilantro. We love cilantro and plan on having a continuous supply growing.

This coming weekend we will be planting peas, radish and spinach from seed and putting our cabbage, cauliflower and bok choy in the ground.  We already have some lettuces, radishes and carrots in another hot box just to try it a little early. My dream is to grow year round somehow and I promise if you stick around I will figure it out eventually!

Its time to cut more lettuce. I am really pleased with how this stuff has grown under the grow lights. I still have my onions that I can clip too,

I think I will start having a "Dig In" section with gardening tips. If you have always wanted to garden but can not or do not want to dig up your yard, container gardening is a great place to start. You dont even have to have giant containers. A small pot of any thing you can eat makes you a farmer too in my book. These Parisian carrots are perfect for 12 inch pots. They grow round about the size of  radish. I am hoping to grow plenty of these to can some. Have you even had pickled carrots? They are pretty yummy. You can even start these in the house right now and then when you see the little green leaves start to pop up set your pot outside. Carrots are tiny light seeds and you have to be careful sewing them outside anyway. We usually try to sew them in a row or scatter them in a square area and then lightly cover them with a layer of dirt. If you are keeping them ourside you can even cover them with plastic until you see the sprouts. This helps if it happens to rain before then start growing, They can wash away pretty easy. If you decide to try growing parisian or any carrots please snap and pic and let me see them.