Almost Spring! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Independence Days

It's Almost Spring!
Setting the clock ahead tonite reminds me springs a comin! The grass is greening up, and so I let the girls out for some fun in the main backyard. Eating fresh grass was a treat for them, and they found some HUGE worms! It was 65 today, unbelievable, and so I washed the outside windows. Wow, I can see out now! The main living/dining room windows face the incoming, prevailing storms, so they get dust and rain spots all over. Looked pretty yucky til today. I fired up the hose and my little windex kit, with a pole and scrubber pad. Great product for a good, fast clean up. I am so looking forward to spring break! Only two more weeks! I'll deep clean the coop and do some garden prep, depending on the weather, as it usually RAINS :(

                                                       

I was walking thru Target's Easter section and spied this egg holder. I thought- perfect for hard boiled eggs! Works great in the fridge. Nice, heavy ceramic-

Happy Early St. Patrick's Day!
Being part Irish I really enjoy the the upcoming holiday. I do skip the green beer though, ew. I usually make Irish potato and leek soup, and Irish soda bread for dinner, with apple butter. Sometimes I do a boiled dinner of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Not truly "traditional", but nice on a cold night. Someday I hope to visit there, and see the real Ireland-

Antrim, Ireland

Independence Days This Week-

1. Plant Something- we prepped the veggie bed by spreading all our ready compost. The chickens LOVED that, Mommy's little diggers! I came up with an area we can install a raised bed/fenced garden area, to keep Samantha, the dog, out. Fairly sunny, just need to remove rotting stump. That will be a nice sized bed to grow more food in!

2. Harvest Something- Eggs! Chives are coming up!

3. Preserve Something- Shopping for a freezer. Hosed down the outside of the coop.

4. Store Something- I stocked up on more canned fruits, frozen vegetables today (2 lbs. organic green beans at a grocery outlet!). Bought some smaller jelly jars for canning.

5. Manage Reserves- Get A Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- See above. Also inventoried pantry.

6. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipes- Hard boiled lots of eggs! Checked freezer for buried foods.
7. Build Community Food Systems- still working on that, it's spring, barely.

8. Recycle/Re-Use- More scraps to the chickens, using the composting bin. Spread more leaves into the garden. Will look at some recycled wood for the new raised beds.

9. Skill Up- Still doing my spring food preservation/storage class. Figure out what to plant in new raised bed.

10. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- We remembered our attic fan is dead, and will install a bigger, better one to keep the house cooler in the summer and save energy. Add a 2nd gable vent too. Will get tree trimmed soon to increase sun in veggie garden.