GARDEN INVENTORY

by Robin

Just a log of what I put in the past couple weeks.  And in no particular order.

Cherry tomatoes

Big Mama Paste tomatoes

Compari tomatoes

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Red Russian Kale

Farao (?) Cabbage

Green onions

Mayflower heirloom (pole) beans for drying

Black heirloom beans (bush) for drying

Blue Lake heirloom (pole) beans

Sunray yellow squash

Zucchini

Jalapeno

Hot chili

Purple, orange, yellow sweet bell peppers

Clemson spineless organic okra

Burpless cucumbers (slicers)

Gerkin-type cucumbers (pickling)

Canteloupe

Sunflowers

White potatoes (bought today and yet to be planted)

And then the regulars in the herb garden:

Asparagus

Sweet basil

Thai basil

Lemon basil

Thyme

Common Sage

Rosemary

Flat-leaf parsley

Oregano

Chocolate peppermint
Aloe

Seems ambitious to be growing 32 different items at once, but my goal this year was to have less excess and more variety in the same space as last year.  Make use of every spicket. 

(Picture of last year's garden.)

DOWN ON THE FARM - Garden & Pullet pics

by Robin

Quick overview of what's happening.  This garden is about 90-95% full.  Still have some spickets that need a plant.  I'm looking for some drying beans to put in there.  (Garden #2)




My winter cabbage only did so-so.  They all ate fine but some just didn't grow like I thought they would.  So, I put some early spring cabbage in a new location and a couple of the heads took off like gang-busters!  They're sitting in that area where my okra were last year.  I think the soil is just super fertile here.




Here's a side view so you can see the seedlings behind the established first 2 rows.  Also, the jalapenos never died during the frost, so while they look gangly on the lower side, their tops are full of new leaves & blooms.



From the cabbage upward, there are baby bell peppers that you can't really see.  We decided to cut this row back from full to half.  Then, from the cabbage down, I have an empty spot and an old broccoli that's taking it's sweet time growing from the winter.  My chihuahua is about to step on the cucumbers (same as last year's).  Great slicers & picklers. Trellis is set up & ready to go.  Green Beans are ready to go also. In the far back right are the okra, which will take off with the heat.



Here is this week's project.  Garden #1.  I have to remove a lot of dead stuff and remove (delicately) all these leaves that are covering up my seedlings.  I'm on my 2nd set of seedlings in the far back row but they keep getting covered by leaf debris and dying.  I have plenty of area to plant some seed here.




Here's the other side.... largely destroyed by frost in the back.  A lot of the other new stuff is too small to see.  It will look completely different in a couple weeks when the heat turns on and I have it all cleaned up and seedlings are several inches tall.



And here is this year's new project.  Instead of extending a garden, we opted to use our winter time with converting a playhouse into a coop with a deluxe pen. 

Here is one of our 5-6 wk-old pullets.  White Leghorn.  White eggs.



Our white silky who was sold to me as a 1.5 yr old, but she hasn't laid a single egg yet. I will say that she has a home here with us where she can be happy.  Her feathers are coming back.  I think she was picked on at her old home. Small white eggs.

   


This is our Red-crested Polish pullet, also about a 5-6 wks old.  See her plume??  Not a great egg-layer (like the Silky) but will put out small tan eggs.



Here is my 3 mo Easter Egger, lavender splash color. She should give me x-large blue eggs.



My Barred Rock is now 2-3 wks old, but here is her last picture.  She should lay nice brown eggs.





My Lt Brahma is now approx 10 days old but here is her baby pic.  When she gets older, she should lay large brown eggs.  We had one of these before and really loved them and their feathery legs.



And no pre-Easter blog would be complete without a picture of my son's Lulu who is posing as the Easter bunny.  She believes that Jesus died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day.  He who was without sin, demonstrated His love for her and yet laid down His life while she was still yet a sinner.  She believed He did all that, repented of her pellet droppings & chewing habits and then invited Him to be a part of her life, being her personal Savior.  And now, Lulu is rejoicing.  Can't you tell she just wants to hop!!  (I think she may lean a bit more Pentacostal.)



God bless and I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today.

Robin

OUR BLIZZARD DAY - NOT!

by Robin

I am so sorry that so many of you are snowed under a few feet of snow.  I'm really not  bragging but Florida couldn't be having a nicer winter - E-V-E-R!!!!!  in my 10 yrs of being in Central FL. 
Jack worked on the car & the boat today while I had a full day of work in the gardens.  I got a tan working outside today.

First thing I had to do was pick what was ripe or done growing!



Then, it was already lunch time.  Yeah...that's how I roll on weekends.  I don't rise at the crack of dawn, either.  LOL. 



Next, it was time to clear out all the cauliflower plants.  I left just a couple that were to the side but everything else went.  I'm going to freeze back my excess.  Then, I heavily pruned my 'suckers' on the cherry tomato WALL (that's what I'm going to start calling it).  After that, I sprayed it down with Neem Oil to kill off the spider mites that were taking over the first few tomatoes on the right side of the garden.  You have to stay on top of them or they will take over & kill your entire crop. 




Then, I was able to pull back my irrigation lines & till the mid-section. My eldest, Simon Peter, helped me throw in a couple rows of chicken wire to make for a trellis.  Then, he quickly disappeared leaving me to transplant all my campari & ugly ripe babies.  (Isn't that just like kids??) 


In the 2nd garden, it was time to transplant what I wanted to keep.  I moved some cabbage into that front row so that I could make for a full empty row.  I had sweet bell pepper seedlings that are growing right now for that area.  I put my epsom salt mixture on the jalapenos to help fertilize them for the upcoming growing season.  You can see they are a little yellow. I had 6 survivors that I hope will make it as the spring heats up. 




I did not pull out the broccoli, although I seriously contemplated it.  I will order my seed for that area before I pull them.  I am going to try to make the best of utilizing the stalks & leaves for meals until all that gets switched over to spring crops.  Tiki is on stand-by for any lizard or snake killing duty.

Sometimes I get a little too ambitious and my hobby turns into full-time work.  There are so many things to plant and so little space.  Jack and I had considered adding another couple hundered square feet again but it overwhelmed both of us just thinking about what needed to be done.  Instead, we are going to do our best to focus on enclosing the tomato garden with shade netting & possibly some butterfly/moth and squirrel defense. 

Now, I need to spend some serious time in prayer.  We desperately need rain.  Drip irrigation is a wonderful thing, but nothing can replace what the good Lord gives us.  As I worked the soil, I could see that it was in serious need of any moisture. 

Take care & Happy Gardening.
Robin

WE'RE GROWING!!

by Robin

No, I'm not pregnant!!  LOL. 

We're expanding.  We bought the lot next door on January 18th!!  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary to us!!!  We have official double our land size and are so excited about it.  Our goals are to leave it very "Florida Natural" but Jack has definitely claimed a small section to put in a boat barn under all those beautiful oaks & fruit trees.  How can I complain?  He works so hard and it's a big blessing to have the extra space to expand out with water toys. 

So, that's one thing we've been busy doing.  Secondly, we've been extremely busy with cars breaking down.  Poor Jack has been fixing one after another.  In the midst of all this, we were fortunate to change out tires on our suburban, which hauls the boat.  I will be much happier as I pull the boat out of the water at the ramps.  The new ones have a much better grip.



Third, we've spent a lot of the cold & windy days in the backyard.  My garden is growing very well.  I was able to make fresh spaghetti sauce with those romas this week.  I have many seedlings ready to go for spring.  We're still trying to finish eating all the broccoli and cauliflower. 



When Jack is done repairing vehicles, he comes out here and we build a fire.  He also gets the smoker going and will smoke several different meats to keep us fed for the next few days.  It makes my life much easier when Mondays & Tuesdays are spent running the kids back-n-forth.  We are spending a lot of time with my eldest dual-enrolling in college.  He is doing very well there.



And last, but certainly not least, my youngest was able to soften our hearts into getting him a bunny on Feb 3rd.  Lulu is the most adorable bunny ever!  I do think it was a God-thing because we saw her Saturday and I didn't think it was possible.  Saturday night, we looked on Craig's list and there was the entire bunny set-up for sale for $20.  We couldn't get in the car fast enough!  Sunday, she was still at the pet store and so she came home with us.

And this guy, is the happiest boy ever!


Now, my job is to make sure everyone begs seeing each other as one pack and not prey.  So far, it is all going very well. My dogs have killed numerous snakes & possum, but they seem to be accepting Lulu as family.  My larger chihuahua, Captain, even was cleaning her ears two nights ago. 




I will do my best to make sure I get on here more often.  I miss getting to share our life with family & friends.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

by Robin

You should know by now that we're not big on cooking the full turkey or ham for the holidays.  We had another seafood feast.



We headed over to Seafood Atlantic and picked up our salty delights.  We had originally thought about going for the mahi mahi but for $2/lb, we chose the yellowfin tuna instead.  The left side are middle-neck clams and bottom is Canaveral White shrimp, all caught locally.  We support our local fishermen!!

I have to say that it was mighty delicious.  We kept the portions small since we're all (Jack and I) are supposed to be dieting.  I think we did a great job of eating well and not stuffing ourselves.

Merry Christmas and Happy, Blessed New Year to you all!!
Jack and Robin

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND

by Robin

I thought I would share just a few highlights of the special moments from over the weekend. 

Sunday morning, I signed (deaf ministry) up at church and after we had a quick lunch, three of us set out to hunt for blue crabs.  My other son was home sick with a cold, so he was able to chill at home.



We soaked and soaked chicken necks in our nets but absolute nothing, nada, zilch was moving after that cold front that came through.



We even put out a couple poles and didn't lose a single shrimp to small pin fish or trout.
 


BUT, we had a spectacular sunset. No photoshop needed.  I had every color added by God.



After the sun had set, people came out to the pier to set up for shrimping.  They put these lights out and then watch the water.  When the shrimp run, they catch them in a dip net.  Very time consuming but a lot of people do it.



Christmas Eve was fairly uneventful.  I stayed in the kitchen cooking up a storm and watching after my son while Jack and my eldest went all around the water's edge to find crab.   They managed to find only 1 stone crab, no blue crab.  They measured & popped the claws and brought them home.  Thankfully they are in season if they're male, not females.

Christmas morning came and everyone opened up their gifts. 



My eldest worked very hard all semester to make straight-A's at the local community college for his dual-enrollment credits.  So, we had been saving a little bit the entire time to buy him his own computer.



For over 14 yrs, my husband has wanted to have his family crest framed and sure-enough.... I was able to pull it off and have his good friend do it (& keep it a secret).  What a great surprise!!  I wish I could tell you more about the crest & the significance of it but that would mean giving up my anonymity here and I can't do that.



Even the dogs enjoyed a couple treats & stuffed animals.  I think Captain is thrilled.  What a smile!







(I straightened my hair for the holidays!)

Here we are, coming up on our 20th anniversary very soon.  Merry Christmas!!

I will have to blog on some of the food I made on another day.

God bless!

A WHOLE NEW MINISTRY

I don't even know where to begin since it has been over 2 months since my last blog entry.  However, God has really taken me in a new direction with my service to Him.  Back in February, I felt the tug to begin Tuesday night praise band practice.  Much to my surprise, my mentor and friend who signs the services,who had an unexpected loss of her mother, turns to me and says, "I need help.  Can you be here Tues nights?"  

I knew right then that God was trying to clue me in with what He intended me to do on Tuesday nights.  Forget singing Robin, you're going to learn a whole new language.

From there, I practiced regularly with the group and on my own.  By Spring, I tried signing the music to a couple songs. It all felt very fast & abrupt.  I was not confident in my own abilities but if I have nothing else, I have trust in God.  So, I did it.

In summer, my mentor-friend was signing on her own (as the other lady was on vacation) and still very busy with her own personal life.  Since many, if not all the deaf, of the deaf in our church had seem to scatter away over the course of a year, I thought maybe it would be 'neat' to experiment with signing a service once without the pressure of somebody depending on me to actually interpret.  We had agreed that I would stay on the floor, in front of the chairs, studied his sermon the hour before and somehow, I managed to survive it.  I don't think the pastor finished his "Amen" and my crowd of supporters jumped to their feet to hug & encourage me.  It was quite an accomplishment that I could do all that with such little training.  God's accomplishment, not mine. 

Two weeks later, I continued in the sermon series and again felt elated.  It was done and I had survived. 

As Fall has come and almost done, I have found myself in a signing rotation at church and getting challenged constantly.  Last month, I had the "10-40 Window" and suffered through countless statistics that numbed my brain as well as my fingers.  In a few days, I will have the honor is signing the various names of God.  As you can see, God is stretching me to my limits each and every time.  Sometimes I cry when I feel like a failure but my mentor-friend (Pam) won't let Satan discourage me.  I know she prays for me and she encourages me so much.  I'm forever grateful for her deep understanding of the fragile woman's mind needing constant reassurance. 

Until today, I only had had one conversation with a deaf person.  He was an Uncle to a church member (& friend) who was visiting from another state.  It was all short-lived and I felt like I needed more.  Why has God put such a desire in my heart to love this language and need more of it? 

And then today,  it was supposed to be a normal day of schooling, shopping and then getting right back home.  I left the house at 1pm not realizing how starving I was.  I pulled into McDonald's for fries and a drink.  I can't stand McDonald's but insisted I needed fries.  I have no idea why, but then I found myself ordering the chicken sandwich combo.  Why?  I don't even enjoy eating cardboard chicken.  Then, some other customer's question caught my attention. 

"Are you in line?" said the man.

The man behind me pointed to each of us in an order, never speaking a word.  Was he deaf?  So, I signed to him, asking him that.  And he said, "Yes."  I asked him if he needed help ordering and he did NOT.  This was not his first trip to Mickey D's.  He had his paper ready with his order on it.  Ok, excuse me and I minded my business the rest of the time. 

I get my order, get in my suv and start munching on fries when I see 2 black garbage bags at the little outdoor table.  Oh my.  He was homeless.  It has to be his.  How did I miss the signs of old clothes and full beard?  I mean, we have a lot of bikers and beach bums, BUT, this sweater wasn't even good enough to be in the thrift store.  kwim?  I sat there, munching my fries.  My heart was breaking.  He came out the door and sat there at the table, with his back to me.  A whirlwind of thoughts and questions came to my mind.  How awful it was to be homeless but to be deaf and homeless.  It seemed like too much.  I called Pam and told her about my situation.  She thought she knew the man and had talked with him before too.  She prayed with me to do whatever God called me to do and we hung up. 

I sat there munching my fries in contemplation.  I saw the man bow his head.  I thought maybe he was praying & blessing his food.  I was wrong, but that's what I thought at this moment.  He was enjoying a sundae.  I was still freaked out on the atrocity life had dealt him while I was grabbing more fries.  And the light-bulb went on.

I didn't buy the sandwich for me.  I wasn't even hungry for that.  I was supposed to give it to him.  It was like a no-brainer as I grabbed it and locked up my car.  Where does this ridiculous boldness come from?  Next thing I know, I'm having lunch with a deaf, homeless man.  We made small talk.  He did not want my chicken sandwich, saying he was full.  He even offered his sandwich to me.  We talked about how he looked like a fisherman.  And then the brick wall hit.  He was clear that he rejected God, Jesus and the church.  Three times he told me.  So, we finished up small talk and he brought out a paper to me that said that he was asking for donation.  I had no problem giving him some of my extra.  I thought about going cheap on him but then I realized how ridiculously blessed I was with a roof over my head and plenty enough money in the bank to buy all the useless cardboard chicken sandwiches I wanted.

I came back to him and asked him for his name.  Brooke Reid (if you feel led to pray for him too), born in 1959.  When I gave him the money, he gave me a hug.  I thanked him for the conversation and told him that while I knew he didn't like God, I would still pray for him.  He politely nodded his head.  I walked away with my doubly-rejected chicken sandwich.  Why did I take that thing with me?

I headed down the road and could not get all this out of my head.  I shopped and yet it would not go away.  I listened to Christian music and he was in every song.  I don't know if I did enough.  I don't know if God wanted me to do more.  Why am I not satisfied that I offered him food, threw him some money and honed up on my ASL skills?  God, why do I feel so helpless?  Shy of bringing him home for food, bath & a bed, I don't know what else I could have done without Jack's protection of being with me.  I can pray.  I can pray for Mr Reid.  And so can you. 

Tonight, it will be about 58 degrees with very little moon and the winds are picking up.  Mr. Reid will be outside snoozing on the ground.  Goodness, I hate camping on the cold, hard ground.  I don't think I could bear the thought of him in the rain.  Thank you Lord for not making it rain tonight.  Thank you Lord for giving me a burden to pray for somebody who really needs you.  Thank you for giving me the gift of sign language so I could reach out to somebody who rarely gets to 'speak' to another person. 

In all of life's trials, God still calls us to do His work and stay focused on him.

Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family.
Robin

AUGUST! - What didn't we do?

by Robin


We went scalloping mid-August!!  And we had a very successful trip.  BEST FAMILY VACATION EVER!!!



My men with their loot on one trip down.  We made several trips down until we filled the 5 gallon bucket.



And no trip would be "best" without our best fuzzy friends, who were kept cool with their own personal battery-powered fan. SPOILED!



We made it all the way home and I noticed a rip in the tire on the right.  What?  There was a 6" rip of tire, exposing the metal treads.  A few days later, this is what we saw.  Both tires were about to blow and yet, God was there who kept us safe.  I thank Him for our safety.




My Jack went in for surgery last week on his rotator cuff, only to find out the MRI lied.  However, he did have severe bursitis and so the dr hollowed out his joint area.  Who need those last few millimeters of collarbone?  Not him!!  Brave man.  I know that was a painful recovery. 

We were blessed that God gave us a second brilliant mechanic in the family.  Simon Peter and I were able to hitch up the boat, move it and put the right side on jacks. And he totally removed those tires, took them to the store to have them re-rubbered (? I'm sure Jack will correct me here.) and then put them back on. I am so grateful that he's willing to do hard work.


As for the garden, here is a sampling of what I would pick at the end of August.  I have sweet bell pepper plants that will produce several peppers at once.  I'm loving the fresh, pesticide-free produce.  The bugs have disappeared, at least for now.



Oh and I cannot forget to mention this cutie-pie.  Andrew had his braces put on.  Where has the time gone?  This is MY BABY!  He'll be asking me for keys before I know it.



He's advancing through 7th grade.  We pack up our books and sit twice a week at the local community college library and we do all our subjects.  It's been the biggest blessing in disguise to spend 8 hours of devoted time on him. Don't misunderstand me, it was HIS biggest blessing.  Originally, the thought of having to sit & wait for his brother was unappealing.  God had such a sense of humor. The first day, people were paparazzing him thinking he was the youngest student on campus.  Now, they hardly give him a 2nd look. The attention was funny and it made him like going to college. The pay-off was that we ADD-proned folks had nothing to do but focus on a pleasant time of learning together.  Our little back table feels like our little hang-out.

When we're home doing school, his favorite subject is the science experiments.  Here is his first one where he examined different densities.




Back to my big boy and my okra TREES!  Last time we measured them, they were 9 ft 3".  I think they're over 10 ft by now. Time to go measure again. Thank goodness the production is finally slowing down.  I have 3 full gallon baggies in the freezer.  I've fed friends and family until we're okra'd out.



While picking okra one day, I was pleasantly surprised to see this hiding behind some leaves.  A ruby in the garden.  What a precious gem to my soul to see that I had a different color in the garden.



Here is my red pepper a week later when it was photographed for my harvest that day.  I should also add in here that my guys ate their fill of jalapeno poppers (w/ cream cheese & wrapped in bacon).  This are very mild jalapenos and so they are a big hit. 



I've got some foodie photos for the near future.  I have very little time these days especially with playing Nurse Nightingale, Professor and Chef but I'm thankful that my night was quiet to get this much done.

God bless and I pray God is treating you well.
Robin

SCALLOPING

by Robin

I've neglected this blog a little too long this week because I've been extra chatty on our Fishing blog (http://www.robinsreports.blogspot.com/).

Our family is going to have a quick family get-a-way on the other coast.  In 2009, we had a very unsuccessful scalloping trip over in the Gulf.  We hit a pile of rocks, ruining our propeller & the water was kicked up & dirty.  We hope to redeem ourselves this year.  We're praying to score some wonderful shellfish and maybe do some over night & morning fishing the next day out in the Gulf.  Then, we'll eventually retreat to a hotel room to get cleaned up & sleep well. Monday, we're hoping the weather will continue to hold out for some snorkeling in the springs.  Oh, did I mention, we're bringing the dogs with us!  What an adventure.

Check back with us next week.  I bought a nice little Nikon underwater camera just for this trip. For now, I leave you with these two silly boys who thought it would be nice to help me test out the camera.



God bless!
Robin

OKRA vs TEENAGERS

I may have found one thing that grows faster than weeds and teenagers.

Okra.



I'm 5' 1", plus my arms are raised.  I'm not sure how big that makes them but I will get a tape measure out soon and figure it out. And to think, I was worried because they were planted late in the season. I picked 8 okra today, 6 on Thursday.  I see gumbo in my near future.

God bless,
Robin

Mid-Week Catch-up - VBS, Hives, Garden

By Robin

Just a couple quick comments.  We're in the midst of VBS.  And VBS is in the mist of all the rain.  Could it possible cause any more chaos than it did on Wednesday?  Thankfully, the rain stopped in the middle of VBS today (Thursday) and so that seemed to brighten my morning.

On a sidebar, I've never seen so many wild children as I have this year!! 

HIVES:  Andrew still has hives but we're controlling them much better with a non-drowsy adult version of Benadryl.  The night seems to be the worst time for them popping out. 

GARDEN:
Okra are producing like mad.  Grabbing about 6 every other day.  I even pickled 3 jars of okra.  Mostly, I freeze them back or use them fresh.



Peppers are developing wonderfully.  This is my best producing plant, by far.  I has 7 on it at one time.  I could only photograph 4 in a single shot.




BUT, that Garden #1 has weeds that require my full attention one day when we're not in 110% humidity & 120% mosquito armed forces. Here is proof. 




Must run.  My kids are waiting on me to go bowling, yet again.

God bless!
Robin