Town House Homestead Tuesday

So, I can finally feel the growth of the suburban homestead we are trying to create. As our bodies mend from the injuries we have suffered from working so hard, it suddenly feels like it's coming together. It's been a long sixteen months, but WOW! The immediate roller coaster ride seems to be slowing down. 

The shed is getting a face lift. One side left to paint, and I can see that I need to clean around the spruce tree and mulch before winter. In the clean up I found boarders around the shed, and two sides have slate laid. The side still left to paint has a border with just soil and I am going to set Hosta's in there before winter. Then it will have the floor repaired and new doors. 

A motion sensor, solar light was installed and it is wonderful to know it works. Now it won't be complete darkness in the back yard and we'll be able to find that black puppy when he wanders off.

We had what we call a great harvest this week. We are grateful for any harvest we get no matter how big or small. We got a second harvest of lavender, plus one of my daughter's co-workers harvested hers, and gifted it to her. I got a few bunch onions, a large bunch of basil, more patty pan squash, and of course beans. 

I made myself a fabulous bunch onion and home grown pepper omelet for breakfast with my little harvest. Of course I cook with cast iron skillets, and eat off of vintage plates. Who doesn't? Well, not everyone, but we do here. 

The basil came inside because overnight temperatures fell a little low, so after I cut it back there was still plenty, and I put a good amount into a crock pot of home canned tomatoes, peppers, and a few other goodies and made sauce. We had cheese tortellini for dinner, and there's a quart ready for a small holiday lasagna, and eggplant Parmesan, put up in the freezer. The refrigerator vegetable bin is holding the rest and the lavender is vacuum sealed for holiday baking and crafts.

I'm falling in love with the bright colors the zinnia's are providing. I can't believe the different mixture that is growing, and the bees just love it. 

And, speaking of the bees, they have been an experience this summer. This past weekend they swarmed again. An inspection was done, and there was no indication that this was going to happen. A queen cell was removed to prevent the growth of a new queen, but oh well. This is the third time this summer they have swarmed. So many beekeepers around here say they have never seen their hives swarm, and I have seen five swarms this first year. Three we are sure were ours, one that was ours that left the tree, and one from who knows where that ended up in a neighbors tree. I may see this one fly away, but they have stayed put for a day and a half now. Now it's hope and pray that we can keep the hive stable through winter. 

This is an early Christmas gift from my daughter. It is three and a half pounds of white German hard neck garlic. I will plant a great bit of this and hope for a good harvest next spring, along with some scape's, and I will also ferment some for cooking and medicinal purposes. I will cook with some too.

As of this morning my fifth sunflower is ready to open. I am so excited to watch these grow. They are over eight feet tall and the heads are getting larger by the day. They add a splash of brightness to my day every time I look out my kitchen window. Who knows maybe next year there will be five times as many growing out there. 

I don't know how I can end my blog without another Hunter adventure, so here it is. Sunday morning I bought him a new "dog" ball. Yes, I am trying to get along with this busy, strong, and growing beast. He got the new ball because this week he decided that the soccer ball he was given just a few days earlier, and loved so much, tasted good too. I chased him around trying to make sure he didn't swallow it, and up to this moment in time, I'm not sure he didn't get some eaten. I was in tears because I can't run after him and no matter what I did he just ran faster thinking it was a game. I finally got him to run, without the ball, into the breezeway and shut the door behind him. I later went out to clean up the ball and locate several pieces, for his protection only, and tossed the soccer ball away. So far he hasn't missed the old ball and is having the time of his life chasing the "dog" ball around the yard. That's what's been going on here at the Town House Homestead this week, and thank you so much for stopping by. Stay safe out there and enjoy the end of warmer weather, and "pumpkin spice" if you indulge.

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Well let's talk about activity and being busy. So much has gone on that I'm going to make it simple and mostly one liners if that's possible. 

Another find on this lovely half acre piece of the earth has been this peach tree. It's growing through the fence and has just a few peaches, but we'll see what happens. My daughter came across it when she was walking Hunter. 

I dehydrated sweet potatoes for Hunter so that he'd have some healthier chews. The teething and tooth loss has made him a little sick, so we've been trying to make things easier for him. Puppy kibbles are a bit hard so we've been adding some chicken broth to it.

I had a healthy harvest of garlic. As hoped I got 34 heads from the 36 cloves I planted. There are two braids hanging in the garage to dry well for the next few weeks.

Beekeeping has been a real trial. My daughter's first attempt at her own, and the hive split, which is normal. They swarmed to the dead apple tree about twenty feet from the hive box itself, and about eight feet off the ground. We watched it happen and immediately contacted another beekeeper and he came with his daughter to rescue it. 

This is Max doing his first swarm collection and what doesn't show in the pictures is that this is during a very heavy thunder storm.

Close to two hours later when the rain was letting up, Max and Brianna had the box filled and sealed up for transporting, and so far so good for them. Unfortunately one week later the rest of the hive swarmed to another tree 35 to 40 feet up and could not be rescued, but again I saw this swarm happen, and 24 hours later watched the swarm leave the tree and fly off into the sunset. 

This was the best picture I could get of the second swarm. We are sad, but the hive is still active and we will inspect to see if there is a third queen. You never know. 

The long neglected and dying apple tree was taken down. Emily and I needed to release some stress so in a couple of hours we had it down and mostly cleaned up. The future of the stump is still being decided.

One kids trash is a dogs treasure. Our friend Richard brought Hunter a kiddie pool. With a little duct tape repair it holds enough water for Hunter to play in. 

The gardens are growing. Weeds and all. The rose bush in the back I transplanted from a very shady corner of our lot and it is so happy. Blossoming on a daily basis. A bucket of mint and a bucket of lemon balm are almost ready for a good harvest, and there are Iris and spider wart in this corner. Much more growing and lots of planting to go this fall with bulbs. The front flower beds are growing nicely too and we'll have stronger plants to split next year to keep going. 

Everything has to look messy and old before it looks clean, new, and young again. The shed has been cleaned out so that a new floor can go down and new doors built. For now everything is in the pollination garden area that has not been planted, waiting for the new work to be done before it can go back in. 

We gathered all the landscape timbers that came with the property and stacked them in the back yard. These will become two raised beds. One for raspberries and one for blackberries. 

And here he is, the most curious puppy on earth, who stuck his face in front of the camera while I was trying to take a picture sitting down. Don't know what I was thinking. We're learning to work together. Hunter is five months old and completed three obedience classes. Some successes and a lot to work on, but he's still a baby as I am told, and he will get it. So that's how busy we continue to be as we build this half acre homestead. It is paying off in wonderful ways and we couldn't be happier. Lots more to do this summer and getting ready for winter, but even though time is passing quickly, we have accomplished a lot in 15 months. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and have a great week.