Bashful Bloggers and A Winner

My, aren't you all just bashful bloggers?  Or am I just too clever?

I love that word...clever. 

So after a crazy, busy holiday weekend that I will tell you about later this week, I can finally reveal the winner of the Giveaway!

To recap, I included the questions and will supply the answers:

1) Which Blog Buddy am I visiting soon?  I all but gave that one away ... :o) 
Jane from Hard Work Homestead

2) Which Blog Buddies did I refer to wanting to visit next year in the following sentence:

"I need bottled-boy energy, a hunt with a redneck girl, a belly-up to the bar with a fowl mom, to do anything and everything legume-ish, and should anyone decide to move their garden, now that would be great!"

Now this one was a bit more difficult for you to figure out seeing as how I didn't give many  hints.  I have to hand it to Jody at Spring Garden Acre, he not only supplied some very good answers, he also supported them with what could have been a very good fit based on fellow blog friends, himself and Belle included!  And I just realized they are in PA!  Hmmmm...  Will you guys happen to be at the MEN Fair?

So here is the breakdown:

Bottled-boy energy and a hunt with a redneck girl ...  none other than Mama Tea at A Farmish Kind of Life and her boys, Farmboy Iggy and Farmboy Ooky! 

I need to belly up to the bar with a fowl mom as in Chicken Mama from The Tales of Chicken Mama, Lady Homesteader, cuz we got girl stuff to talk about!  And girl stuff requires liquid.

Now, anything and everything legume-ish.  Is there any other favorite PEA family out there?  I think I could spend a month and never get enough of Mama (and Papa) Pea from A Home Grown Journal.

Do you see the geographical connection now?  I am beginning to think MN is the place to be! 

That said, the last one could have really thrown you for a loop.  She doesn't live in MN any more; however, she has expressed the desire to go back.  So when I said should anyone decide to move their garden, now would be a good time...that meant Erin at Garden Now-Think Later!

So who won?  Well it was a tight race!  Patty at Let's Get Real nearly had it with 3 correct answers...which comes as no surprise and at the time escaped me that she too is in MN!  I'll need to put that in the route!

But alas, Judy (sorry, no blog to link up with) piped back in with a second comment and nudged her out of the race with 4 correct answers!  So Ms. Judy, you are the winner!

The rest of "you" who left comments musta just been feeling bashful and didn't want to name yourselves, huh? 

There you have it - the inner workings of my, ummm...clever mind???  Yeah, not so much.

No Pressure

My pressure canner has me at the end of my rope, right when I need it most.

This is not good.  This is what you don't want.  What horror stories are made of, right?

So I have been working around it as best as I can.  There's a pun!  If I disappear from the face of the earth, it's not because the pressure blew me away, it's because the Feds are after me for going old school.

Gee, maybe Christmas will have exciting things like a new canner under the tree?  If I thought I could clean my vehicle and scrounge up enough quarters and pennies, I'd order one today. 

Or maybe my new gasket will be in soon.  Right now, it's on back order with no word as to when it will be available.  None in stores either!  I've already been waiting over a week, which is an eternity during canning season.

Sure hope it gets here before all those carrots come out.

The Great Bean Debacle ~ Give Away

Green Beans are my veggie of choice.  You saw the size of the rows in my Garden Walk, probably gave it away.  Pig Pen is the carrot freak.

I love green beans fried with bacon, onion, butter and potatoes best, I love them steamed, I love them cold, I love them in soups, I love them in casseroles, fresh, frozen or canned.  I love green beans.

We always plant pole beans.  They are very productive and in my book, idiot proof.  We planted both bush and pole beans one year and quickly realized that the poles out produced the bush; however bush came on earlier.  So we stopped planting bush and stuck with poles.  We've had two rows of poles in most years past.  Last year we only planted one row -  I have a few jars of their buttery goodness left.

This year we went back to two rows.  I wanted green beans coming out my ears.  I'd rather give them away than run short.  (who am I kidding, we eat them all)

So imagine my horrific shock when the beans I planted turned up woody, stringy and beanie!  I've never met a green bean I didn't like...until this year.  And to make matters worse, I shared seed with two friends and they don't like them either!

We always plant Blue Lake.  This year my genius self planted something else.  The catalogs I ordered from didn't have Blue Lake so I just read all the flowery descriptions and picked one.  (at least that's how I recall it)

What kills me is that most of you plant the variety I used this year.  Either bush or pole, many of you rave about them!  Isn't that funny?

So my green beans this years will be left to dry. Either for soups etc. or seed. NOT seed for me.

Luckily we managed to find several seed packs in late July for Blue Lake Bush. If I don't get any green beans this year, it will be the first time in 4 years that I've had to buy them. Debacle, indeed.

Idiot

Ahhh...there it is!

So I have Kentucky Wonder Pole seeds.  Only one and a half packages (maybe 60 seeds), but they are no good to me.

Who wants'em?

Since yesterday's post was a real head scratcher and inquiring minds want to know -

Leave me a comment by Sunday, Sept. 4th at 9pm and tell me the following:

1)  Which Blog Buddy am I visiting soon?

2)  Which Blog Buddies did I refer to wanting to visit next year in the following sentence:

 

"I need bottled-boy energy, a hunt with a redneck girl, a belly-up to the bar with a fowl mom, to do anything and everything legume-ish, and should anyone decide to move their garden, now that would be great!"

I will give you a hint for item 2...the first two go together and in total, I referred to FOUR other Bloggers. 

So you need to give me FIVE names altogether.  Whoever gets ALL FIVE names right will win!  If more than one person gets it right, I will draw from the bowl!  If no one gets them right, I will pick who got closest and do the bowl again if necessary.  Clear as mud?

And because I realize bean seeds aren't the most exciting give away, I will sweeten the pot and throw in some honey! 

Ok...GO!

To Meet "The Master" and Run Amuck

Normally, this time of year I am canning my fool head off.  Not this year, not yet.  Instead I am wondering what all will need canning while I am gone!  You know that would be my luck, of course!

First stop on the itinerary will be Branson, MO and my Dad's second annual Vietnam Veteran's Battalion reunion.  I am very excited to meet the brave soldiers who stood and fought with my Dad!  I have been put on notice that many of them are looking to fill my ears with tales of my Father before he was my Father.  Oh boy...Dad may have a whole new light shed on him!!  I'm not scared though.  I grew up with this man and it's always been a fun ride, so I really doubt they can shock me! 

Then you'll find both of us heading East to the Mother Earth News Fair and to "Meet The Master".  I shan't name names ~so not to embarrass her further.  She's a wee bit camera shy so I can't really show you "who" either.  But you know her well!

Now her husband on the other hand isn't bashful.  We can just say that The Ice Man and Pig Pen will get along famously! 

Oh, Crap!  Too much information?  Did I give it away??? 

This Jedi Knight will actually get to see all the fabulous doings at the synonymously named Ambitiously Operated Settlement!  If I am lucky, she wont toss me on my ear for asking too many questions!  I shall take lots of pictures!  I know how to head crop ;)

I have no idea how that got there!  I've been breached!  

Then we are on to NC to visit my Aunt Diane and Uncle Richard!  I truly believe that after having met and realizing that they (Pig Pen and Uncle Richard) have so much in common, it made for an easy arm twist to head that way.  Plus the uncharted 75 acre territory and "project appeal" didn't hurt either.  Don't let that alarm you, he will simply have to do something or lose his mind.  Which of course leaves Aunt Diane and I to do a little ...shopping?  :o)   

It's not real to me that we are actually going somewhere.  I probably wont believe it until we are at least 200 miles down the road.

Since it took me almost seven years to cut him loose and months to put this into action, if I start now...I can convince him that next year needs a vacation too.

I need bottled-boy energy, a hunt with a redneck girl, a belly-up to the bar with a fowl mom, to do anything and everything legume-ish, and should anyone decide to move their garden, now that would be great!

So many blog birds, must have more stones.

For now, I shall thoroughly enjoy...well, you know who ;o}

Garden Walk

Lucky for you, I walk fast.  (in effort to blur the images of the weeds ;)  Master Gardener, I am not.  I can't rock a garden thru a hurricane like Ms. Erin!

Side Note:  I tried three times to upload this video last night.  Once directly thru Blogger to no avail.  Then I thought I'd get smart and try youtube.  Pft!  When you live in the styx apparently it takes darn near 4.5 hours during high traffic times and only 1.5 during non-peak.  Both failed.  So I actually took my laptop to my MILs and uploaded on her cable internet.  Errrrr....  She said I only want her for her speed.  :o)

Remember the pumpkin/PA Crookneck the chickens got to in the corn patch?

Found it!  I keep looking, no sign of pumpkin...getting a little too late most likely.  Lazy bees!

The sweet corn never made a full comeback. 

Very small ears too.  A little while back, I accidentally picked some of the corn I planted for drying/corn meal.  I chatted with MamaPea about this, took her advice and cooked some up regardless.  It wasn't that great.  The chickens loved it.  Then I went and picked a few more of the "real" sweet corn ears for dinner another night.  Mystery solved...duh...they cross pollinated.  So I will leave it all go to dry.  If I can keep the coons out that is. 

We also picked a bunch of beans for drying a few weeks ago. 

Not many, but there are lots more out there.  I actually enjoyed shelling these by hand.  Something about the mundane, I suppose.  The dried sweet corn on right was just a tag along.  The next jar is a "riddle me this":  do you call yours lima beans or butterbeans?  Then we have yellow-eyed which I know I will want more of next year.  And last, black beans.  I suspect I will have far more than we will eat in a year (hopefully two!).

All the bell pepper varieties are diseased and dropping leaves, but they do have peppers!  So I will take what I can get and just forget the jalapenos!

The onions all got pulled yesterday = 35 lbs.  Not nearly enough to get us thru to next year.  Many were very small.  Next year they need to go in the north part of the garden where the ground is softer.  The south end has only been worked for a second year.  Jane, here is my scientific scale method.  Start lookin'!

Lastly, you know you are "that type" when you look down after your walk and see this:

And it no longer freaks you out!  Chickens!

Weekend Reunions

Who else is going to sleep a little sounder tonight now that our East Coast friends are starting to check in? 

We sure will!  Isn't it funny how this little thing we do here has connected us in more ways than we thought possible?  Well I wouldn't want it any other way!  Now we can all keep our fingers crossed that the aftermath is minimal.  I am sure many of you will be posting those pictures soon enough.  We are still holding out hope that all the blight got blown from your gardens and nothing more!!!

I also want to thank you from the fullest part of my heart for visiting our cousin Diane's new blog and welcoming her so wonderfully!  My gosh...you guys left such encouraging words here and at her site!  It just goes to show there are ALOT of good people in the world still!  You guys done good...real good!  I am proud to be in such great company!  Thank you!!

This weekend we were finally able to catch up with My Jenny Girl!  It has been EIGHT months since she's been here and alot has changed.

She got to hold Mr. Wickets and meet all the chickens for the first time!

Notice anything unusual about that birds name?  Have I told y'all that story yet?  Mr. Wickets is one of our layers...which the most astute of you realize that he is really a she.  Yet her name is MR. Wickets.

Methinks LLL needs a lesson on the birds and the bees or anatomy of something'er other.  Yup, LLL named this beauty!  And it STUCK.  Mr. Wickets is the chicken that all the kiddies and those fearful of anything feathered get to hold.  He she is the kindest and gentlest bird in the flock.  Also the largest and a great layer!  This he/she will never see the block, if ya know what I mean! 

Everyone loves Mr. Wickets!

Jenny Girl also got to drive the tractor.  I didn't get a picture dagnabbit!  Probably because I knew not to go near her while operating machinery....hehehee! 

I promise that next will be garden updates!  Been a long time since I complained about that.  :0}

Dancing in Uncertainty

No, it's not me dancing in uncertainty.  Although any time I dance, it's uncertain at best!

But I have danced a particular dance many times.  Which is why I want to share with you a new blogger that is dear to me for a number of reasons:

This is Diane ~ Pig Pen and Jen's cousin.  Pretty little thing, ain't she?  She will probably kill me for stealing her picture!  That is, if she were anyone else she probably would!

But not Diane.  She is one of the softest, kindest souls a person could ever meet.  Which is why I would be beyond honored if you, my dear friends and followers, would take a moment and hop over to her brand new blog called...

Dancing in Uncertainty

There you will find the story of Diane and Bill's life, love, struggles with infertility and what they are praying for now.

Most of you know that Pig Pen and I too have struggled with infertility for many years.  It is definitely an uncertain situation and one that deserves a hefty hug.  So let's rally our support! 

And please remember, there is power in prayer!  Please keep them in yours if you would.

Matthew 18:19
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

If you would, hop on over...maybe say hello, wish her well, tell a joke, make her day, encourage her to plant a garden, dance, get some chickens, feed the hog, get the call, pick peaches...  I think you get it! 

Dancing in Uncertainty

Thank you, you know I love you all!