Front yard

We have been working on making the yard look better so we got some mulch and some flowers and a few bulbs and just started with out much of a plan. 

We bought some citronella and lemon grass, we had quite the problem with getting bitten last year sadly the chickens don't really attack the Mosquitos the way they do the ticks, so this year we decided to fight. We put the citronella in pots so we can take our bug repellant with us from the front porch if we need to. We also planted the lemon grass next to the stairs.

We spread out the Lilly's in the front and planted some bulbs in the middle hopefully we will have flowers all the way across soon. The Lilly's will come back every year so we won't have to worry about always buying more plus the are probably my favorite flower.

We put the hibiscus in the corner next to the stairs, we need a third. I think it's all coming together rather nicely.

Our new flocks

Well this was a big weekend for us we took all 17 chicks and 5 ducks outside. The ducks have officially moved outside but the little chickens just went on an outing. 

The big chickens don't seem to mind the ducks but they are not happy with our little chicken friends, so I am still in protective mommy mode. I would like for them to get used to each other but they seem to have different ideas.

The ducks can't seem to figure out how tho get back and forth from home to the pond we have been trying to show them the way (which really isn't very far) but they don't seem to get it. Having ducks is such a different experience from chickens, they are lovers. We introduced them all to each other and they were immediately inseparable they get attached fast. If one gets separated for any reason they all freak out trying to get back together again it's really a cool thing to watch.

Garden

We have been working on our garden trying to get all the grass out of the beds and getting stuff planted.

Wesson & Gabe were excited to help weed the garden! Wesson loves dirt and worms so he dug right in Gabe dug up the roots with a shovel.

Our Apple tree is blooming :)

We have planted several different things and we aren't done yet.

Artichokes

Spinach & Peppers

 Tomatoes

Okra

Strawberries & Dill

Cucumbers

I have also planted Corn, Green Beans and Onions, all though you can't see them yet.

Gabe keeps checking on the strawberries to see if they are ready to eat yet, lol.

Garden beds

Well you might remember these two garden beds from last year. just about everything grew well but most didn't produce. We had a 4x4 bed and a 4x8 bed

This year we have decided to expand as well as to move the gardens to a place that gets more sunlight throughout the day.

We moved over the two we already had built and the strawberry plants from last year are still alive so we transplanted them. So far we have 5 more built. That is 3 4x4s and 4 8x4s. We need more dirt for the new beds. We just got one of the beds planted, but hopefully we will be ready to plant the rest soon.

Oven Canning

Well I read some stuff about oven canning and thought it was a pretty cool idea.
I have read that you can do this with all sorts of dry goods flour, pastas, cornmeal, etc.
 Buying in bulk is a cost efficient way to buy food, but being able to use all of  you item before they expire is not always easy. We bought a large bag of macaroni at the store the other day and I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out oven canning

I used quart jars and filled them using a canning funnel

after filling them I placed them on a cookie sheet and put them into a cold oven. Then you preheat the oven to 200 degrees. This allows the glass jars to warm up slowly and not crack under the sudden temperature change. When the oven reaches 200 degrees you then leave them in the oven for 1 hour.

When time is up you take them out of the oven one at a time wipe the rim with a damp cloth and place on the lid. Do this one at a time so each jar doesn't cool down while waiting for you to get the others sealed.

Set the jars on a towel on the counter and wait to hear the Ping of the lids sealing.

I feel like it was a successful journey. It should be fun to try other foods as well.

Even more additions!

Nope we aren't done yet.  You have already met our yellow ducklings but now we have two black ones and a brown one as well.

In addition we also got 3 new chicks they are Rhode Island reds.

Quack

Well when Patrick came home yesterday he had 2 little friends with him, so now we have 2 ducklings. Aren't they sweet. they were very cuddly last night sitting in my lap in the back yard.