A little of & a little of that.

The kittens are getting bigger and are playing more now that their eyes are open. I am hoping to find a home for the mama and last 2 kittens. We are keeping a male kitten and a friend is taking 1.
 

This is our little boy now at almost 4 weeks.

Mama watching over them as they play and check things out.

This little girl is the 1 a friend is taking.

These 2 still are looking for a home.

For Mother's day I got a Touch Kindle reader and I am loving it.  Thank you my sweetie's T., Pippi and Mike.

My Kindle touch reader

And 2 very sweet friends gave me a set of lamps and a set of creamer and sugar bowl.   Thank you Danny & Karen, Mrs Carolyn & Paul.

   I also got a surprise this morning my mama hen hatched out 3 chicks from the 4 eggs she had under her. She left the nest this afternoon so I am guessing the last egg is bad. I think her and I are very happy with 3 chicks. My flock now has 27 chickens. And that is more then enough for me.                                                                                                         

1 happy mama hen

 Her 3 Fuzz balls

                                                         

 I have picked the peas and carrots from our garden and they have been dried and put up for winter stews.  And I got a few more pints of chicken stock canned and got 3 pints of jam from my strawberry bed so far and I think I may have enough in the freezer now to make more jam.

                                                        

                                                            

We have been really busy the past month here working on the garden and keeping our yard mowed. The teenage hens got moved in with the big girls now and I am hoping they will soon start laying eggs. All these babies have been keeping me on my toes. I am loving every minute of it. I think when my head hits the pillow at night I'm a sleep before I even close my eyes.  Thank you God I love my life and your many Blessing each day.

                                                            

 I hope you all are having a great spring and a wonderful summer full of love laughter and many blessings.
 
                                                                                                              

Some of my canning

I have been canning 3 years now and thought it would be nice to share some of those years canning photos with you. The first year I started out with tomatoes, jams & lots of pickles. Then last year we got an Excalibur 9 tray Dehydrator to dry some fruits & vegetables & for my man to make deer jerky. Which I never seem to see again once he has packaged it up, unless it is needed. I am hoping to get some photos of the jerky this year as it goes in & comes out before he packs it up. This year I only got to can some more pickles, make some stocks, 58 quarts of green beans & dry kale for soups.

The start of my first year of canning 2009

Salsa

Apple-grape jelly

the end of my first year of canning 2009

Jerky,Banana chips & apple chips

Dry yellow squash

Roasted vegetable stock

New potatoes

Chicken Stock

Dry tomatoes

Salsa & dried tomatoes

 Quarts of apples & peaches

Pints of spiced peaches & apples

Pints of green beans

Dried apples,pickled peppers,dried tomatoes and dried green beans

The end of 2 year of canning 2010

Jalapeño pickled eggs

apples & peaches

Picked Jalapeños

Apple pie filling

ether apple sauce or pear sauce

Beet pickled eggs

Dill,sweet, bread& butter, hamburger chip pickles

Quarts of green beans

Apple sauce

Drying kale

Dried kale all ready to add to soups

the end of this years canning 20011

The last few jars of 58 quarts of green beans found a home.

  I think my photos got a little mixed up. I am still learning how to get them to post. It is hard for me to believe this last 3 years is the first time I have done any canning in over 30 years. I was so hooked after my first few time of canning Bread & butter pickles,  I remember eating them when my mom & aunt made them before they ever made it into jars. And after I open the first jar that winter, I sat down and ate the whole jar remembering child hood times helping my mom can at my aunts house. Jars of tomatoes, Jams, Jellies, Dill pickles & lots of Bread & Butter pickles.   Thank you aunt Betty for being there to teach my mom and me.

A little canning & drying

I got the last of 2 rows of green beans done tonight.  I put them in the dehydrator before going to work.  I miss my garden this year it didn't do well at all with the dry spell we had & me hurting myself so I couldn't even tote water down to it. I did find I have some onions coming back up so I will get them up this weekend. I have started drying Kale, mustard greens & turnip green this year from the fall garden I share with 2 other friends. I am using it in soups like a herb. I crush up a small hand full & add it to the soups.  We have found it is pretty good & I will be doing as much as I can before it is gone.

The last of 2 rows of green beans 12 more qts &  a few dried.

dried kale & greens

Chicken stock I made a few months back

Some of this years pickles

A new cook book I got for my B-day

T's deer jerky going in, so no after wards photo, he got to it before I could take 1.