Works In Progress

Happy Monday to you!!
I hope your weekend was perfectly lovely.
Ours was a "stay at home and get a whole lot done" kind of weekend.

Hubbs got the roto-tiller out and started a flower bed around the gazebo.
I spent a good deal of time cleaning out the grass clumps and starting the planting.


I have much more to plant in this bed before I am finished...and then I will mulch with 
tanbark to finish it off.

We harvested 9 heads of cabbage and shredded them for sauerkraut.


It's amazing that those nine heads only filled this crock ⅓ full.
A dinner plate turned upside down with a pitcher of water will serve as a weight
to keep the cabbage submerged beneath the juices.


Through the process of fermentation, in about 8 weeks the end result will be a
crock of sauerkraut.

"smushing the salted cabbage to draw the juices out"
Making sauerkraut is so very easy, I am amazed that not everyone does it!


We harvested plums and veggies...and picked another 12 pints of blueberries and froze them.


I am happy to report that we have had a major breakthrough with Tom and Chuck.
We no longer have to perform the nightly ritual of marching the turkeys to bed.
No, Tom and Chuck finally gotten in the habit and now they return to the barn
each night at dusk.


They march right through the barn and out the back door...
past the donkeys...


behind their house...


and straight into their pen.  What good boys!


It's only taken about 5 years for them to be trained!

***************

Dr. Becky saw a bear on our land a few evenings ago...
a really BIG black bear.

She was out trimming the grass around the jumps on her cross-country course
that she built between our outdoor arena and the "100 Acre Wood"...


when all of a sudden she looked up and saw Mr. Bear between her last jump and the woods.


Apparently, he looked right at her and then lumbered off back into the woods.


Hubbs and I took a gator ride through the woods last evening
trying to catch a glimpse of Mr. Bear...but we had no luck.
I am bound and determined to get a bear picture to show you...
and not one with my terrible bear drawings on, either!

Comments

Well done, Tom and Chuck. I think watching them march off to bed would give me a chuckle.
I do hope Mr Bear will not be too elusive, and that he co-operates with the photographer!

Kathy
Country Gal said…
I love that gazebo ! The garden is going to look great around it ! Oh hope Mr black bear behaves his self and stay out of trouble ! Not a fan of sauerkraut. Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !
colleen said…
Good Morning. Thanks for the review of your weekend...You are always so productive!! Five years and those turkeys are trained...now that's awesome!!
JudiB said…
Good Morning Bev..What a busy weekend you have had. Wow..lots done. Chuck and tom are the most handsome pair going...good to hear they are coming in on there own.. I sure hope the bear does not find your garden. We have bears in our area also and they are a real pain. Every year the traps are put out to catch them and transport them to a spot further north. Not to worry Bev I don't have nay pictures either..lol. Have a great week.
Unknown said…
Happy Monday indeed, so much going on at your farm. So much produce and harvesting...wonderful. I dodged the fire this weekend so will be finishing up on my canning. Bread and Butter pickles today.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
oh wow...a bear! we have them in the suburbs here. your gazebo will look so beautiful by next year when everything grows in. what a wonderful addition to your place! i am getting lot of tomatoes right now.
daisy g said…
Congrats to Tom and Chuck! Quite an accomplishment!

Be careful out there!
Liz said…
Those birds are so pretty!! I love the gazebo, just amazing!
Anna said…
I saw a BIG black bear on our property, too, about a month and a half ago. I had let the dogs out while I got the baby in her stroller for a morning walk, and when I looked over to one of the fields, I thought, 'Huh, that's a big dog -- THAT'S NOT A DOG!' I immediately told my (little!) dogs to get back inside, while the bear and I stared at each other (from about 200 feet away). And then he ambled off in the other direction. Yikes! I hope we never see him again!
Lynne said…
Black are not as dangerous as brown . . . CORRECT???