Pickled RADishes

Today was the day I planned to harvest all our RADishes. They were getting to be huge and I was told the longer you wait the more bitter they will become. So I decided that I was going to make pickled RADishes with most and save the rest for snacks and salads in the fridge. 

So the harvest began...

They were overflowing!! 

I brought them inside and removed all the greens, scrubbed them and sliced them. 

I picked some fresh dill of course.

Once the RADishes were prepped and my jars were in the pot boiling, I packed up all the greens and brought them down to the animals to enjoy. 

Lucky guys!!

Back in the kitchen and washed up I prepped the vinigar for the pickling

1/2 cup apple cider vinigar

1/2 cup white vinigar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tsp salt

Then brought it to a boil stiring till sugar was fully dissolved. 

Meanwhile I sliced a couple cloves of garlic and my dill and put it aside.

Once my jars were sterilized I filled them almost to the top with my sliced RADishes, garlic and dill. I also added some pepper corns. 

Then I filled them to the same level with my vinigar liquid. 

Places the lids on tight and popped them back in the boiling water to finish the canning process for about 15 minutes. 

Once the time is up, place them on the counter and before you know it the jars will be all sealed. Your hard work has payed off! Beautiful,delicious, homegrown and made pickled RADishes!!

Yummmm!

Veggie Garden Update

We have been working hard at our veggie garden and it has payed off!! 

I'm in love!!! 

Not only is it gorgeous, it is packed with fruit and veggie plants and I'm running out of space!!! 

We are already harvesting kale, lettuce, herbs, and delicious radishes and more daily! 

We aren't the only ones enjoying the fresh picks. 

I'm very proud of this garden!  

I built up the garden beds with a few truck loads of garden soil as well as some of our own compost from the bunny run. I bordered the garden beds with rocks and lined the paths with landscape cloth.

Then we filled the path with Birdseye gravel. It was the perfect finishing touch. The kids love it too, endless digging fun while mom gardens. 

Win win!! 

Quick recap

I bordered the outside of the garden with lavender and catmint, they are my favorites. I also planted them in hopes of discouraging the deer. 

Fingers crossed!

I have planted too many things to list at this hour but I will post soon. 

And as it continues to grow and fill in, it is going to be even more rewarding. 

Just wish I'd made it double the size. 

(I can say that now that the tough work is done.) 

Take a look....

Now planning the orchard next. Oh boy!

Ducklings big move

The duckling sure loved the tub, warm showers and full baths, cozy baby towels and lots of attention but the time came to give them more space as they have grown tremendously in the few weeks of having them. 

So I prepped the duck's shed/house with all the necessities and fenced in a little temporary run.

Then I packed them up in a bin and carried them down. 

They were not to sure about what was happening but once we got down to their new home they were pretty happy.

They settled in and were very excited about the hay bedding and made themselves at home. 

Fern even ventured outdoors for a minute to check it out. 

They have been in for a few nights now cozy with the heat lamp as the temperature has cooled down this weekend. 

Today they took their first walk around the temporary run I've set up for them to get used to their neighbors. 

Having these ducklings join our farm has been so much fun. They are full of entertainment and I look forwards to all the adventures and laughter they will bring our family!!

Ducklings

We welcomed 6 sweet ducklings home yesterday. 

3 blue swedish (1 drake), 1 blue runner, 1 buff orpington and 1 Cayuga. 

 

We set up our kids bathtub as the brooder. After much research this sounded like it would suit us best to start. We lined the tub with kids mattress protectors and old baby towels to give them a non slip absorbant layer. I may switch to puppy pads really soon as they make a very big wet mess quickly! I started with a low dish but have switched to a chicken waterer as they use up a lot of water quickly. 

Once we got them home and in the tub they settled in nicely.

They spent a long time at the water and feed after a big trip home. 

Once it was dark out I went in and hurded them in to their towel nest under the heat lamp and had the pleasure of watching them fall asleep.

 

Nothing is cuter on this planet than sleeping ducklings!! 

Pretty easy to fall madly in love with these beautiful creatures. 

Blue runner

Cayuga

The duckling will be moving into the chicks original shed as they have a new larger one, when they are ready. They will  share the same run as the chickens and bunnies.

I'm still in the process of constructing it. 

It's gonna be a great home for all our new additions as well as our bun buns! 

And the farm continues to grow and always puts a smile on our faces and warms our hearts! 

Farm equipment

We finally got our first piece of farm equipment. It has been really helpful in the daily chores that need to be done on our growing homestead.

This morning we used it to load up the bunny and chick food and of course a jug of water to top them up. 

Our little farmer could not be more happy to peddle the feed to help out. 

Maybe mommy will get her very own one day. In the meantime this will do.