Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I Have A Mental Problem!!

I am nuts!
Certifiable!
I seriously need HELP!
Won't someone help me....?


I can't freaking STOP
picking muscadines !
This morning by 9am
I had about 40 lbs. of those
beautiful little purple balls in my big bucket.
Ya'll.. this is the third time!
I went thinking that the scuppernongs were ripe,
but nooooooo.....
there was a whole nother harvest of muscadines ready.
I should have walked away.
It is heavy enough that I don't
dare to put in on my old countertops.
It sits in the kitchen floor..staring at me...
And the figs too...
Those apples are slated for an apple pie.
I don't know what they are, but I made a pie
last week that was the best apple pie I have ever eaten.
Sweet, tart..perfect.
But, today I will try to do the right thing.
I will try to wash them and bag them up and
give those muscadines away.. or at least some of them.
I said, 'try...'
And I will make more fig preserves.
The last bit I picked I set out to dry.
Every morning I carried them out ot the sun
and every evening I brought them loving back inside.
When they were almost dry, and I could put them all in one
pan, I started keeping on my dashboard in my car.
Sweet Husband borrowed my car and brought the figs,
the precious figs that I had sliced paper thin..
not an easy thing to do..they are squishy..
and put them in the oven.
Did he tell me this? Did he? NO.
I set the oven to preheat and went out to
pick basil in the garden. I sniffed.
I pondered that sweet, wonderful smell
that was filling the yard.. like burnt sugar..
Damn. It took hours to get all of the smoke out of the house.
sigh....
It is getting ready to be rainy and damp here
so I have to 'preserve' them instead.
No dried figs for me this year.



And I need help with the egg and incubator thing too...
yep.. I am incubating MORE eggs.
But these are spoken for... or so I believe.
I don't have to feed these 80! eggs.
But Sweet Husband is setting aside more eggs everyday....
gack.





Isn't this a pretty picture?
I love it.
Everything is sparkling in the morning sun...

Of course, this isn't shabby either.
I think I am going to slap some on a oatmeal roll
leftover from dinner last night...
yum.
Of course, the butter is still on the stove
buttering down.
It needs to hurry because I have 40 lbs
of muscadines to put in that pot!
Good Grief.



And I have crushing news...


Mr. White is gone.

He was my first ever rabbit.

I know you aren't supposed to love your food,

but I loved Mr. White.

Such spunk.

Such personality.

Such an independent thinker.

He escaped the colony last year and I caught him up

and put him back in another mini-colony

with his favorite doe thinking he would stay there with her.

He broke her out. He is..was.. a fence climber.

He and Mrs. White have lived free in my yard

and barn and in the neighbor's yard way

across the field since then.

I loved seeing him in the barn.

He would bring the wife for a snack

of chicken feed from time to time.

He would run and scatter the hens

away from the food.. it was an awesome sight.

Little white bunny chasing big old hens.

Then he would come over and stand on

my foot for scritches.

We were planning on a whole new area just for him

where he would be safe and could raise

new litters of kits for us once again.

I cannot tell you how heartbroken I am

Old Blue Sue killed him. Damn dog.

He must have gone cruising around dawn

yesterday in the front of the barn. He knew better.

She didn't bite or tear him, just played with him until

he quit playing back. Sweet Husband found her

chewing on his ear. Damn dog.

It is quite the shame. He was incredibly heavy.

It was uncomfortable trying to hold him one handed.

He would have made great kits.

I still have many of his offspring to carry on the good traits.

However, if I can catch up Mrs. White

she will have to be sent to freezer camp.

I don't think she would ever accept another buck

and I don't want to sacrifice one to find out.

RIP Mr. White.

Damn.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a sad ending. Poor fellow. Do you think ol blue Sue will be a repeat offender? You blog is lovely, looks like you are successful homesteaders. My hubby and I are desperate to get our own homestead. Blessings to you all.

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  2. Oh yes.. Sue is a repeat offender. But I have hopes that she will get better as she grows. I take much of the blame. She is a high energy dog and I don't work with her enough.
    And thank you for liking the blog. It is fun adn my place looks much better on teh blog than in real life. I like looking at my place and my critters on 'film'.

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  3. Awww poor Mr.White but I cant stay mad at Sue for very long...she's just too cute! I love your blog Jen always a good read! Oh and you can never have to many chickens!

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  4. I'm so sorry for your loss of Mr. White - how sad. :(

    But I am green with envy at all your produce!!! :) :) You are living the life lady - how awesome!

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  5. Jen,

    You're not the only nut...

    I was at work yesterday (special program in the park) and the husband called to report that in the 15 minutes since I'd last seen him, he and the kid had picked 3 gallons of muscadines...

    So, tonight... we shall make jam
    and juice for my 'world famous' muscadine icecream. There is no nicer smell in all the world that canning muscadines.

    Sorry about the bun... it happens on a farm. The circle of life...

    figs... hmmmm.. I need to run check the fig bush...

    dawn

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