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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Do You "Prepare" for Winter?

Around here, we prepare for winter.
Though there are a few more things 
I would like to see finished up before the snow flies,
I am beginning to ease up a bit.
Over the past couple months,
we have been working in the garden
in order to stock up.
And I am actually glad to say that I think
my love affair with my pressure-canner
has come to an end for the season.
I finished stacking the wood this morning.
There is still some bark mess to deal with,
but the wood is in order.
I dug a few spuds this morning as well.
I'm not sure why it is that digging spuds
makes me feel so successful.
Maybe it's because you have to trust
that they are there even when you can't see them.
Most of mine still have green plants 
so it might be November before I get to dig more.
I also pruned my tomatoes,
having just learned about that this year.
A dear friend told me she had finished
pruning hers.  It sounded so funny.
I told her my plants were loaded
with green tomatoes.
She said if you prune all the 'tops'
and any new growth,
the plant will feed the tomatoes better.
We will probably get one more salad
worth of lettuce from the garden
as it is beginning to bolt.
I feel pretty fortunate.
We haven't had to buy lettuce since June.
I just planted some in with a house plant
to see if I can get some to grow inside.

No matter where you live,
it's probably a good idea to be prepared
for at least a couple days
of no power, closed roads, or whatever
might come about.
If you have a barbecuer,
make sure it has propane (if it's that kind:)
It's still possible to cook on it in winter
~just not as much fun as in summer.
And last but not least,
don't forget water...
that one's pretty important.

All done?
Time for a cup of hot cocoa.
Yum.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches


Saturday, October 5, 2013

~Morning People~

We are morning people.
Here's part of the reason why...
Mornings have been just beautiful.
The bear have destroyed one of our 
old plum trees. (Rotten buggers)
There are trees all over the mountains.
Why do they have to attack this one?
Just about the time is starts looking normal again,
they tear into it.
These little wild plums make
the best jelly.
So many things to admire in the mornings.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches





Tuesday, October 1, 2013

~*~Autumn Table Topper~*~

Just another small finish.
As soon as my table cloth gets out of the dryer,
this will go on our table.
This is actually my second ~
Last year I made a table runner.
I really should pick another season,
but autumn is so cozy.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Critters ! Geesh !

It has been a little while since I last posted.
I would like to take this time
to blame it on Mother Nature
and her beasts.
For the past 6? nights we have been awaken
by our canine alarm system sometime
between midnight and 3AM.
He is only about 10 months old, but
he has a big dog bark.
The first couple nights,
we told him to be quiet after
seeing that there was 'nothing there.'
Well, about night 2 or 3,
Mr. LB went out to take a look
and saw 2 raccoons.
The next day we borrowed
the neighbor's live trap.
That night we caught one,
and the little Seam-Ripper (Rip for short)
had the other 4 (yep, that's 5 all together) treed.
The following two nights,
we caught a big boar that the
cage would not contain.
Then we caught one more before
the neighbor said he needed the trap back
because his brother had a pack rat.
So finally, last night, we thought we just might
get some sleep - HA!
As we were getting ready to go to bed,
that trusty alarm went off.
Mr. LB went out and thought
he would see another raccoon.
On the lowest limb of the poor innocent tree (shown above)
that has now served as a fort to a number
of wild critters, was a bear.
It was only about a two year old so 
not as big as many we see.
These trees are right behind the house, mind you.
We called the neighbor knowing he has a tag to fill.
He's holding out for a bigger one.
Being exhausted from being awake for however
many nights now,
we decided to leave it and go to bed.
You can see the claw marks in the bark.
I don't have pictures of the raccoons or the bear,
because it was night time,
and I just wanted to sleep.
(Ignore the fur covered basket ball rolling around trying to get your attention:)
I will try to post something more exciting-
wait, maybe less exciting and something
a little more on the normal side, soon.
Maybe we will get to sleep through the night tonight.

Until then,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches