Second Planting of the Garden Done

This past week I planted beets for the second time this year and also green beans.  I canned 10 pints of pickled beets and got nothing from the green beans.  The rabbits enjoyed the green beans instead.  Ms Kitty has been working on the rabbits and so far I know she has had 3 of them.  She might have gotten more but 3 is what I know for sure.  When the beans start sprouting and I see any evidence of them being eaten Ron will put up some chicken wire around the area where the green beans are.
The cucumbers are coming on really heavy now and before long I will have more than we can eat.  There are a couple very small egg plants and several small peppers so it will be a couple of weeks before we get any of that.  I love summer eating from the garden.  In the summer we eat the same things several times a month while they are in season and fresh.
My onions will need pulled soon.  Most have worked themselves out of the soil, there are some mighty nice size ones and hope they keep better than last years did.  I have red, yellow and white onions with red being my favorite.
Looks like we are heading for a week of some very hot humid days which means a chance of rain almost everyday this week.  With every weather change the girls change their egg laying, slow day today.  Some must have remembered it was Sunday and a day of rest.  Looks like we might cull our first batch of hens next weekend.  Just going to do 3 or 4 and if everything goes good we will do several hens and some broilers the following weekend.  Out of the 12 adolescent chickens I'm pretty sure there is only one rooster.  We will keep a couple pullets so we can replace several of the older hens.

The Horrible Cluttered Storeroom

We live in a brick ranch and don't have a basement.  Storage has always been a problem since we moved here.  We have an attached 1 stall garage and it is full and gets messy all the time and the spare bedroom is my "storeroom".  This used to be just my office and then we put in a second refrigerator because we needed more space especially with the eggs.  Then I started selling on eBay and opened an Etsy store and needed someplace to store my inventory.  No matter how hard I try that room is always a disaster.
I couldn't take it any longer and took almost everything out and reorganized the shelves labeled the boxes straightened things out and got rid of some things that haven't sold.  Ron takes things like that to someone he works with who sells the stuff at flea markets.  It looks a lot better, still crowded but now I know what box has what it in without looking everywhere and it is finally organized again.
I store my vintage canning jars in the garage and Ron organized those last week so bring on the sales we are ready.

I've Been Civilized

My son Ronnie is a photographer who loves to take pictures of what he calls urban exploration.  He loves to find unconventional beauty through the lens of his camera in exploring the neglected, decaying and forgotten corners of the Midwest and beyond.  He was invited to display some of his photography at a local art studio for the month of July and tonight was the opening night.
To start the evening Ron and I went out to eat with our daughter Gina, son-in-law Ali and granddaughter Hannah.  We went to one of their favorite Chinese restaurants and had a delicious meal.  Ali refused to let us pay for our meals and insisted he took care of the bill.  That was so nice of him and he has done that before.
We then went to the Speakeasy Art Center in Pekin Il, never have been to anything like this before and it was interesting.  Just people watching was interesting.  Ron had his photography on display and a friend of his Jeff had his paintings on display.  Ali fell in love with one of the paintings that Jeff had and he is going to paint one for him with a couple specific changes and additions.
You can see some of his art on Facebook under Beautiful. Broken. Ron Osborn or he can be contacted at BeaytifulBrokenByRon@Yahoo.com  He does all types of photography work and is easy to work with.  Of course he is my kid and am very proud of him for all his accomplishment in his photography.

July 4th Gathering

Some of the family came over for a meal and fellowship today.  We ate inside and then later some of us went outside to enjoy this beautiful weather we have been having.  I love being outside and being outside and visiting with family is even better.
I picked my first 2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers and a green pepper today.  I sliced them up to put on our sub sandwiches and they were delicious.  I didn't even realize I had any tomatoes that were turning.  The tomatoes are so thick that it is hard to see through them.  I saw them when I was looking for some cucumbers that I knew were about ready.
The chickens were happy to get the cucumber peelings and green pepper parts.  I try not to waste any garden peels, stems or anything.  The vegetables are good for the chickens and makes the yolks nice and yellow.

Rhubarb Cobbler and Rhubarb Pies

This morning I pulled up a lot of rhubarb so I could make some desserts for tomorrow.  I sat outside and prepared the rhubarb and enjoyed the beautiful weather we are having.  I made up a big pan of rhubarb cobbler and made 3 rhubarb pies.  I baked one and froze the other 2 for another time.  I also baked sub buns and a loaf of bread for tomorrow.  I made 12 huge buns and 1 loaf of bread and I had flour everywhere and a huge amount of dirty dishes.
We are having make your own sub sandwiches, tuna salad, lettuce salad, Greek pasta salad, fresh green beans, chips and rhubarb cobbler and pie.  I have 7 different kinds of lunch meat and 4 kinds of cheese to make our sandwiches so we will have a nice variety to choose from.  I wanted to have a cold meal that was easy to do so no one had to be over a hot grill or stove plus I love salads.

Peas are Out of the Garden, Green Beans are Next

The spring peas were done so I pulled the vines and picked what I could salvage.  I gave the vines to the chickens and am dehydrating the peas to use this fall when I make mixed vegetables for soup.  Not a huge amount but I will also plant a fall batch and see how much I can get from them.  We ate creamed peas several times and buttered peas twice.  You have to eat what is in season and if that means eating a lot of one thing that's OK with me.
I will give the ground a couple days rest and will try some more green beans.  I had 2 rows in but the rabbits ate them.  I said to my husband the other day that I hoped they found something else to eat so I can have some green beans.  Well I guess Ms Kitty heard me and this morning I heard a couple thumps in the garage so I got up and carefully opened the door and there in front of the door was a small not living rabbit.  I scolded the cat picked up the rabbit and put it in the trash.  About an hour later I went out to collect eggs and there was Ms Kitty in the back yard finishing off a small rabbit.  I don't know where she is getting them and I know that is part of their nature but I hate when she kills off the wildlife.    

My First Error Jar

In the last 10 months or so I have purchased around 700 vintage canning jars to sell in my Etsy store and on eBay.  Today I found my first jar with an error on it.  If they made an error on a jar mold they would still use it because the cost to make a new one was too much.  As long as the error didn't affect the jar sealing it was OK.
I have a Mason Patent Nov 30 HT 1858 half gallon blue jar.  It is worth only $25 with the mistake and without about the mistake $10.  Some jars with errors are worth big money but this one is not.  Oh well at least I found a jar with an error.
I will be putting it on eBay and will see how much it goes for.  Collectors love to have jars with errors so maybe it will go for more than $25.

Mason half gallon jar with an error

Nov 30 HT