May you all have a wonderful day with family and friends.

                                     Blessings,
                                        Gail

Dressing for Winter

With Thanksgiving just a few days away and dinner plans, shopping and preparing for company on my mind, I must still think about my 'girls' as they run outside in the snow and the wind.

 I found these cute hot pink coats today at Ross that I knew they would just love.  Of course they cannot sit still all at the same time for mom to take a good picture, so this is it.

Don't they look adorable?

The two older girls don't seem to mind (they think they are going somewhere), but miss Jade does'nt like anything on her body. She will put her head down, walk s l o w l y as though she has a ton on top of her, and then plop down just waiting for someone to take the stupid thing off.

okay mom, you can have it back now

Do you dress your 'kids' up for Winter? Mine have different outfits for Summer and Winter. Now, if only I could get some boots that would stay on their feet. It would sure cut down on the mud they always seem to find.



    I thought the girls could use a bit of a Fall treat.

    But by the time I collected my camera they were all eating from the ground and ignoring the pumpkin.

 I really must carry the thing around my neck if I expect to get some of the pics I want. 

Ol' Henry (right corner) and his girls

Just another leisurely day around the henhouse. As you can see, we still have a bit of snow on the ground and we are expecting more by Thursday, but for now we'll enjoy the sunshine as long as we can.

And as long as they keep laying 8 to 9 eggs a day, I'll let them graze wherever they please.

Gears in motion

                           My gears are grinding.

        With the holidays nearing and projects of charity yet to complete, my mind is not at rest. I woke this morning at 3 and could not go back to sleep thinking of the many things I have to get accomplished.

        Don't get me wrong, I love helping do charitable things. It brings me great pleasure. I just have to keep it together so it gets completed in a perfect way. In other words, don't forget the turkey if you are giving a Thanksgiving dinner as a donation. duh?

        So with that in mind along with other projects to complete, I have pen in hand and am taking many notes as they pop into my brain. Send out my emails to all my farmgirl friends and pick their brains as well.

        I am so looking  forward to our completion of Turtle Cove. A project our local chapter took on in which we completely renovate and furnish a one room apartment for transitional housing from the Women's Shelter into their own place temporarily. We began this project in the beginning of Summer and hope to have it done in the next week or so. From there it is on to our Thanksgiving project and we must start thinking about our Christmas one also.

       So you see, I have my gears in motion and I really must keep them oiled to get me through the next couple of months. Therefore, I must keep myself stocked with hot cocoa, vanilla cappuccino, and wine, of course.

      Are you geared up for the coming Holidays?

Blessings,
Gail

My First Ever

Quiche that is. I have always wanted to try one and after finding a recipe by Paula Deen, I had to give it a whirl. I made the Spinach and Bacon Quiche. 

Who knew it could be this easy. I don't know what I have been so worried about. You simply mix a few ingredients together and throw it on top of a pie crust and bake.

 I guess I never really paid attention to what was involved. Me, not being a cook, backs away from anything that even looks the slightest bit complicated.

 This was so easy and very delicious.

I just may have to look at those recipes for crepes.

Bon Appetit!

Happy Birthday Mother

My daughter and I made a quick trip over to Idaho to suprise my Mother for her 89th birthday.

She was definately suprised as no one told her we were coming. My brother and sister cooked a huge dinner for all the family. There were about fifteen of us, I think,  with everyone speaking to someone with lots of catching up on what they have been doing, lots of  laughing and lots and lots of picture taking.   My neice, Mary, brought this beautiful cake with a delightful cream center.

Here is my nephew, Dave, making gramma laugh. She says next year she wants a stripper. Let me tell you there were several woman saying "okay". Although it may be a problem as they do not have such things in this neck of the woods.

After everyone watched gramma open gifts some had to go home early because most had to work the next day. Faith and I had to get up early also to hit the road back home before the snow became impossible for us to drive over the mountains.  (It rained through to Burns and then it was snow all the rest of the way home. It's been snowing ever since.)

Although it was only one day there, it was really nice to see everyone and to be able to be there for my Mother's birthday. I hope to suprise her with many more to come.

I'm just glad we were able to make it there and back before our Winter weather is really here to stay.

Farmgirls and their trucks

You know us farmgirls just gotta have a truck to call our own. Well, at least this farmgirl does. This is my new project, I mean, truck, for which I can haul horse manure, straw, wood, great finds at yard sales, and everything a farmgirl needs.  Not bad huh?

Hubby says 'it's less wear and tear on his truck". Besides, I just want something I don't have to worry about gettin' hurt, if you know what I mean. Grocery carts and car doors are not always nice. She is a 1975 Chevy 4x4. I would have loved another old 69 Chevy stepside, but way out of my price range. Plus hubby says parts are a lot harder to get a hold of.

I plan to keep her black, but will probably do a flat black with maybe some hot pink trim. And of course I gotta have pink inside too, lots of it. You know the girly stuff. Can't wait to put my new farmgirl sticker and my farm chick sticker on her, but will need to wait for warmer weather now before I get her painted.

In the meantime, hubby is sure enjoying tinkering with her and putting nice upgrades of things under the hood and inside. Do mechanics ever really retire? I'm just glad I have someone here who can see what my new girl needs. He'll make sure she is in prime condition for me to drive this Winter.

I brought her home last Sunday from Lakeview, Or. Hubby says "you know, she'll drive a little rougher than your car cus' she's a 4x4 and a bit rougher on the road." I giggled so hard coming home cus' every little bump in the road, my girls (boobs) were bouncing bettys. I figured I'd loose a little on top before I got her home. Now that's my kind of exercise.

Once she gets a tail hitch on her, she'll be good for hauling around my vintage trailer or my boat. Just what this farmgirl is itchin' to do. Girl trip!

Fall gathering/farmgirl style

Yesterday, my daughter and I spent the day cooking homemade apple cider, stuffed and roasted pumpkins (from the new MJ magazine), squash soup and a pumpkin cheesecake. I even made a couple of homemade breads to try with my canned jams.

We invited our local chapter of farmgirls to come out and enjoy an evening to relax and sit around an open firepit. The night was not too chilly as past evenings had been, but was very enjoyable. This seemed like a perfect way to taste some of the bounty from which our gardens provided.

With just a touch of rum in the apple cider, it made for a nice warm relaxing drink. It started out  on top of the stove for several hours, then we strained it and finished simmering it outside on a burner. I must say that it turned out perfect and it is something I would make again. Just look at all the beautiful colors of Fall in the pot. Yummy!

As the fire kept us warm into the evening we enjoyed artisan breads with homemade peach, plum, and apple jams and honey butters. We never got around to making the s'mores or roasting any marshmallows, as everyone was pretty full.

 

Having our new gazebo roof up, sure made for a nice place to come outside and enjoy the evenings. I hope to have many more good times out under the stars.

Happy Fall everyone.


Blessings,
     Gail

Look what popped up

Ain't it just the cutest little thing? I think she is the other momma's baby who is still sittin' on four eggs. She looks just like her. Both are gonna be really good momma's as they have shared their time sitting on the same nest for a few weeks now sharing their babies and keeping them warm.

I get a little weird and really excited to see my hens having their own babies. This is the second time it has happened. My silky gave birth to two babies a couple years ago, and now her baby is giving me babies. This momma is a new one of three that I bought this Spring.

With luck I will not have to purchase any more chicks and I can keep my flock growing.

I just had to share a little happiness with you. The cycle of life is exciting to me. Yeah, I'm weird.

Hope your day brings a smile to your face.

Canning can be rewarding

Yesterday, myself and a few other farmgirls pulled up the garden and canned up a big batch of green tomato salsa verde. It can be used on any type of meats.


Green Tomato Salsa Verde
2 lg onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds green tomatoes, cored, quarterd
4 jalapeno chilies, stems, seeds removed

green tomato salsa verde

1 sm can diced green chiles
1 red sweet pepper, diced
1 cn chicken broth
cumin
menudo spice mix
salt to taste
Put all ingred. into large pot and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until tomatoes are soft. Pour into hot sterilized jars, seal and water bath for 15 to 20 min.
Today, I canned up a batch of applesauce from all the apples I picked from Susan's trees.This yielded me 6 quarts.


                                  Applesauce


2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds apples
per quart
water
sugar (optional)


Wash apples, core, peel, and quarter.
Cook apples until soft with just enough water to prevent sticking. Puree in food processor, return to pot and add 1/4 cup sugar per pound of apples. Bring to boil and continue stirring for about 10 to 15 minutes. Ladle into hot jars. Process for 20 minutes in water bath.
I added some cinnamon and allspice the last five minutes of cooking before placing it into the jars. I then decided I would use some of the green tomatoes I picked yesterday, to make some
Chow Chow relish, so I diced and chopped until I filled my crock pot where everything had to sit and blend for several hours.


                                       Chow Chow Relish
1qt chopped cabbage                           
1 cup chopped sweet red peppers
3 cups cauliflowerets
2 cups chopped green tomatoes           
2 cups chopped onions                          
2 cups chopped sweet green peppers
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp mustard seed                               
1/1 tsp ginger
1 tsp tumeric
2 1/2 cups vinegar
3 tablespoons salt


Combine vegatables, sprinkle with salt. Let stand 4 to 6 hours. Drain well. Rinse and drain. Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in large saucepot. Simmer 10 min. Add vegetables, simmer 10 min. Bring to boil. Pack hot relish into hot jars, process 10 min. in boiling water canner.

Canning takes some time, and boy can a kitchen get messy while in the process, but it is very rewarding to me to put up fruit and veggies I know have been grown without chemicals and with hard work from friends and family.

Tomorrow I plan to tackle  Green Tomato Relish and Dilled Green Tomatoes.

 Does anyone have a recipe for Green Tomato pie? My mother in law use to make it and it tastes similar to pecan pie. She has passed and I unfortunetly did not get her recipe. I'm looking for all ways to use up my many green tomatoes.

Happy canning.

Making jam or oops......

I spent the entire morning Monday making for the first time, wild plum jam. Not knowing what I was doing I set out first to weigh my fruit. I would step on a bath scale, step off, grab a bowl of fruit, step back on. Crazy right? I had no idea at the time that 2 pounds equaled 32 oz. Man, where was I in school?


Anyway after getting my fruit together I set out to cook it then somehow mash it through a strainer to keep only the pulp and throw out the pits. I tried everything from a spoon to a potatoe masher. Boy, did I get a work out this morning.


After several hours, I finally had 6 cups of fruit to put back on the stove, heat up and add the sugar and pectin. Once poured into the jars (11 small ones), I figured I'd better start cleaning the kitchen because you could not see an inch of counter space.


I soon realized I had forgot to water bath the batch, but by then the lids had sealed and the jars had cooled. So what's a gal to do with all this jam that won't last long now? Yep, share it with everyone I could run into while I was in town. The guy at Texaco got one, the gal at Knick Knack Paddy Wack got one, a close friend received one, and so on until I was out of stock and ready for home.


Lesson learned............put your glasses on and keep your head out of the clouds when making jam.

A little bit of history

If you have not been to Crack in the Ground it is a must see if you are traveling near Christmas Valley, Or. It was formed 1100 years ago from cooling lava flows. We hiked down into it until we came upon more nettle than I chose to walk through. It is a bit frightening to see all the walls with cracks and everything looks as though it could crumble down around you at any slight earth movement. But well worth the hike.

The air is 20 degrees cooler than the surface. It was like going into an open cave.

From here we stopped at the old Fort Rock Museum.  It began with only eight people who were interested in preserving the history of the homestead era around 1912. The Stratton house was one of the first to be moved to the museum site. Mrs. Stratton died in 2009 at the age of 104.

Mr. Stratton single-handedly built this house.

I just love old buildings, don't you? Guess that is why I collect so much old stuff.

Being a Pioneer was hard to say the least, but seeing how they lived and with such simplicity, sure makes me want to simplify my life even more.

We stopped for a bite to eat at the local tavern. It is run by a 70 year old woman who does the cooking all by herself as well as tend the bar. Let me tell you she can put out one delicious meal. After stuffing our faces it was off to our next stop.

Hole in the Ground.  It is about six miles from the museum and was caused by a meteoroid, it is a maar, which is a volcanic crater formed by a steam explosion. It is approx. 300 feet deep and a mile wide.

right side of hole

left side of hole

The road was rough to get out to this, so with my car it was slow going. You would not find this place without the help from the curator of the museum. He has good written directions for every turn and bump in the road. Signs are just not visible.

Hope you enjoyed a little bit of Oregon history. Now, I must plan where we will be going next. Hope to see you there.

Yummy Breakfast

I just received my All You magazine and found a recipe that had me drooling. I just had to give it a try and knew I had to share it with you. My usual Sunday breakfast is bacon, eggs and toast. So this was a nice change. Makes for a good start on Fall season with the smell of cinnamon in the air. Enjoy.

                           Overnight Peaches-and-Cream French Toast
 
             1 8 oz. loaf French bread, sliced
             8 large eggs
             2 cups whole milk
             1/4 cup sugar
             1 tsp. vanilla extract
             2 15 oz. cans sliced peaches packed in juice, drained
             1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
             1/2 tsp. cinnamon
             1/2 cup heavy cream

Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Arrange bread in a tight, flat layer in dish. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with milk, sugar and vanilla until blended; pour over bread. Arrange peaches on top and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Remove baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour cream into a small pan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Drizzle over peaches and bake, uncovered, until casserole is lightly browned on top and just cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6

This was such an easy dish for me to fix and was yummy and filling for everyone. I'm already thinking of trying it with apple slices. This just might have to be my new breakfast to fix on Sunday mornings.

Rootstalk - Part Two

Saturday -
This morning I decided to try a green smoothie for breakfast along with my oatmeal bar. It had strawberries, bananas, kale and spinach in it and was really quite tasty. Then I am off to my next class which was speaker Jim McDonald. He spoke to us on topical potions, poultices, and a way to make some very easy fixes for cold season and such. He was quite a character as he would act out some of what he would tell us, but had some really good info for all to learn. He was cooking onions for a poultice and then some white sage for a steam inhalation which made the room smell quite lovely.


After his class I was to go off to an aromatherapy class but hunger pangs won over again. This time I tried a vegetarian sausage with sauercraut and it was surprising good too.  By the time I finished eating and looking around at the vendors table and finding more things to buy, I decided to go back and lay down before the party got started at 8pm.
I had found a beautiful skirt, top and scarf to wear to the Masquerade ball tonight and my friend Pam, bought a skirt she was gonna wear.

Once we all started getting ready for the party to begin, snacked on what munchies we had brought with us, here comes the band of drums and tamborines up the path right towards our campsite. This puts a face to who had been keeping me up at night.

Funny how now I am enjoying the dance and music along with everyone else. This was to start off the evening festivities and boy was it an awesome way to do that. They are called the Samba Ja band.

So here we are decked out for the festival and off we go.

I did not get Cheryl in this picture as she was off having one of the fabulous massages that a couple were doing up at one of the vendor tents. I had a half hour massage earlier today and it has helped me be able to have a good evening without hurting.

Just before the bands on stage began, Pam and I went back to our favorite clothing vendor and she bought another skirt, I bought a pair of pants and MaryJane Butters saw us with our skirts and thought they were so cute she found one she loved as well.


Aren't these the cutest skirts?  I could have bought up the store if I had more money to spend. Everything is ruffles, layers and just funky cool.

The vendor would not let us leave until she took our picture so she could show off how her clothes look on others. We had so much fun looking at her pieces. Check out her website at avatarimports.net. I bet you will find something you'll like too.

Out into the food court the music has started and lights are coming on everywhere. But first a bathroom break. Can you tell what fun is about to begin? Isn't her costume too cute?

Pam and pussy cat?

me, April, Cheryl, Robin

tea pavillon

So many of my pics did not turn out as I had a new camera and could not figure out how to make the flash work every time.  This is the tea garden where you can get free hot or cold tea all day long. The lights are so pretty.

People were in robin hood hats, fox hats, gowns, capes, animal faces, you name it all the wild came out tonight.

I did'nt stay up long. Had some a piece of vegetarian pizza, an advil and off to bed to get ready for the ride home in the morning. I did not hear the music all night long this night.

Sunday -

We are up before the sun comes up, I go and take a nice shower, we begin to take down our campsite and I wonder off through a nice path to find the cart to come and take us back to our vehicles. Once he arrives and we load up his huge trailer and the back of his van we are off to the back forties. He says we are the second people to be leaving. Pretty good we got out before the rest of them strirred. With over 1,000 in attendance, I did not want to be in that kind of mess.

Once out of the woods, back into Salem, first thing I do is stop at Starbucks for a latte and a bowl of oatmeal. From there it is just a few hours until we are home.

I hope that they will have an annual event like this as it is so informative, calming and just plain fun. Hope many of you will think about going if you enjoy learning about botanicals and back to a more natural way of living then this is the place to come.

Rootstalk - Part One

Wednesday -
There were five of us girls from our local farmgirl chapter who went off to Rootstalk for an adventure in back to nature. It began with a 4 hour road trip that would take us to our first overnite stop where we were staying at Robin's folks home up in Drain, Or. Their beautiful spread on a hillside with wild berries and pines abounded. We pitched our bedrolls out on the driveway thinking we would enjoy the night stars. Before we even had sat down to a wonderful, filling dinner Robin's folks put together for us, dad tells about a bear they saw a week before just down across the yard. So guess what? Yep, we all moved our beds into the garage although we did leave the door open for the fresh air,we felt like we were not so much bear bait. Yeah, right. We laughed well into the night with silly stories.

Thursday -
By early morning after a splendid breakfast feast, we hit the road to Salem which was another hour and a half away, and were the first campers to arrive at Rootstalk. How excited we were to think we could have first pick of our camp site and begin enjoying the vendors wares early on.

We were greeted by this nice gal who was given orders that no one was to enter the grounds until 2pm so she allowed us to park at the side of the road until opening time.


We pulled out our chairs, munched on goodies, chatted with others who came from afar and waited for 2pm to come.
Nearing 2:00 we had several cars behind us and the road was not very wide for allowing the vendors and larger trucks to get by us, and it was not easy to see what was around the bends, so I think they let us in a few minutes earlier for safety reasons.
This is a first for Rootstalk so there will always be kinks that need worked out.

Well, once inside we were instructed to unload our vehicles onto the side of the road near the registration area. Then someone would come by and load up our things into their vehicle to take us up to the camp site. So I went in the direction they sent me to park my truck while the other girls road up to where we were to be deposited on the side of another road. The parking lot they sent me in my truck, and Cheryl in her car, was way down in the back forties and if you needed a body adjustment or not, you got one. We were driving through an open field of holes and tall grasses. We were then instructed to walk back or wait for sometime before a ride came to take us back up the hill and that it would take us only 15 minutes to walk it if we chose to. With the steep hills ahead of us, we began our first hike, but knew it would take us probably 30 minutes to get back up there. One unhappy traveler decided he would not park that far away and proceeded back up the hill and gave us a lift to the top. Thank you Grant.

Once back up to the registration area, we caught a ride on a golf cart, which we had to hang on to for dear life from falling out the open back, and we were taken to our camp site where the girls had been dumped and were busy hauling everything to a spot where we eventually set up camp. It is close to the bath and showers and near the pond and just down a path not far from all the activities.

By now we have all worked up a good sweat with loading and unloading our tons of stuff, and with the humidity in the air, we were off to hit the showers and then hopefully to find something to eat as it is now close to 4:30 and we had done nothing but snack since breakfast.

Well, I'm not a health nut by any means, so finding food I could eat and know it would fill me up was a bit of a challenge. Octopus, anchovie pizzas not my thing, cabbage wrapped strange veggies, not my thing, aahhh..... cafe latte won my heart. It did'nt hurt that I had crackers, cookies and yogurt back at camp.

The night comes on and we settle into bed listening to some of the singers and musicians playing beautiful relaxing music as we drift off to sleep. But...........lo and behold, hours later I am awakened with someone shouting like they are looking for their kid, and then it starts this beating of a drum and others chanting or something. It is as though I am in some far away place like the Amazon or such and the natives have started a ritual of some sort. At first it is kinda cool music to the ears and then when you're hopeing it would slow and come to a hault, it only gets louder and louder and louder and lasts well into the wee hours of the morning.

Friday -
Morning is here, the natives have gone to bed, we climb out of our tents and I am in search of an eye opener so I'm off to retrieve my latte then back down the hill, through a beautiful path of wild berries and wild fern and flora, to the outdoor amphitheater to see speaker Kathi Keville talking to us about medicinal herbs for sustainability. Some of the gals have joined in for yoga, but I am too sore for this this morning. I take notes for an hour, then it is off to another class.

I have come to see speaker KP Khalsa. He will speak about the holistic healing system of India. It is about the practices of every aspect of a person's health and lifestyle.

Here we are to learn about the ancient healing wisdom of Ayurveda. I have learned that my Dosha is that of a Vata, a swan. I have the body of a weak and frail structure, I am of creative character and I crave sugar. Boy, he sure knew what he was talking about. Had me down to the science of all being.
After tasting some very strange things which were passed about, that are good for you,  I just had to go find something to wash my palate once the class was over. But first I was going in search of some real food to stay my hunger pangs. I managed to find some quinoa with shredded pork. YUM!

Around four I went to sit on the side of a hill to listen to speaker Wren Davidson who told us about 12 master healer herbs we probably see on the side of the road or our own backyards. She told of their healing properties and how to collect the plants themselves.

Afterward I shopped at some of the vendors booths where I found a nice walking stick to help me up and down the hills and I found a sample of some pain reliever to apply to my back and arms, which by now are hurting really bad, so it was back to camp and early to bed.
Sleeping soundly for awhile, I am once again awoken sometime into the late hours with beating of the drums. Yep, well into the wee hours of morn. These natives aren't sleeping tonight. I tried the ear plugs that I found at the medic tent earlier on. I tried covering my head with a pillow but nothing worked to quiet the sounds, until I discovered I had brought some Advil PM. Oh what wonderful stuff.

                             Stay tuned for some more adventures tomorrow.

busy,busy, busy

As some of you know we have been very busy around home. After 20 gallons of paint, the outside of our home has a new coat for winter. I think I actually found the dark chocolate I was wanting before.

Then there is the 10 gallons of sealant I have yet to finish for the decks. I am trying the new stuff called Restore. Not an easy texture to work with and with so much to do it is taking me a few days to get it done. It is very messy and you are constantly dipping in the pan as it only covers about two feet at a time. Nothing like paint itself.

My pictures are not very good, kinda blurry. I think I am due for a new camera. But here is how it is looking so far. The green is actually a tile green (looks teal here) which darkens as it dries to almost a deep forest green. I needed it to look like I had grass under my feet.  I'm tired of dirt or snow. I think it adds warmth to the house. Hubby is not so crazy about it. But like I told him, I could always throw a rug or two down and he'd never no the difference. Not sure what I should do with the beams under the roof. Should I paint them, leave them alone, and if paint, what color?

I was afraid to do the brown as it would darken it too much underneath. Green may be funny looking from below. Help, I'm thinking I should leave it alone.

Today I am taking a break from the porch. The second coat will have to wait until tomorrow. Besides, it isn't very warm outside today, at least it's a good enough reason for me. I have been organizing my bags that will be going on my trip to Rootstalk. We will be leaving next Tues, spending the evening in Drain, Or. then going into Salem the following morning. Then the fun begins. I plan to take as many pictures as I can. So hope to have some wonderful things to share when I get home.

I will be home for only three days before I am off the the beach for a week. I sure hope the weather holds up and it won't be too cold while we are there. I sure enjoy riding my quad on the sand.

Hope your summer has been a pleasant, fulfilling one. It is always  nice to get caught up on the larger projects that need done.  Did I mention, there is still lots of outdoor furniture that needs redone. I'm sure I could find an extra paint brush or two around here somewhere.

Now I'm off to see what you have been doing this summer.

Great finds

We took a trip over to Medford today, which is 75 miles for us, and purchased two dog kennels for $200. If I keep rescueing animals it will be nice to have a place for them to be safe. I thought I might even take on boarding once in awhile too. While we were there my eyes spotted the galvanized animal trough, so of course I had to ask the woman what she was gonna do with it. She sold it to me for $10 and the smaller one for $5, and she gave me the old wheel barrel that was gonna be taken to the dump. I think it will look great with flowers in it, and she then gave me the old milk stool and honey pail and large igloo dog house. Not a bad catch for the day, would'nt you say?

two kennels

A little bit of work ahead to get the kennels cleaned up and set up, but it was well worth the price to have extra room for the critters. By the way, that snake skin on the left of the pic was a rattler my hubby came upon a few days ago. It measured in at 47 inches and let me tell you, it was large. I had'nt seen one since moving away from Phoenix, AZ. I don't even remember one being that large then. We skinned it and now it's drying. Bet it'd make a pretty nice hat band or belt.

I will be using the troughs as my raised gardening beds. I have three already and they are working out really well for me. Besides not having to bend over, they keep more heat on my plants therefore helping them grow. And with our short season, every little bit helps. We are suppose to have a frost tonight, ugk, so I have covered my tomatoes with hopes of one day soon, having red ones. I can't say I am ready for Fall just yet since I have'nt had any red tomatoes from my garden to speak of.

How is your garden doing? Hope you are having a bit more luck with yours than I have had again this year. Keeping my fingers crossed still.