New Recipe and a little bit of Chickens (not related)

Saw this recipe on Pinterest but originally from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" and loved the sound of it! Lasagna Roll Ups are definately going to be added to my go to recipes! Just about everyone in my family ate them all up, with the exception of one person, who will remain nameless, (Rylan), who simply pushed it around on his plate!! These were really good!

So, Haylee happened to actually catch some young pullets at my father-in-laws. For those of you who don't know what those are, they are teenager chickens. These ones, and there are 3 of them, even though in the picture you can only really see 2, are used to running around with their mommy hen. It makes me a little bit sad to take them from their mom, but my father-in-law simply has too too many chickens and roosters at his house. We have them housed within the original chicken coop in their own little chicken coop. This is to get the other 4 hens used to having them around and hopefully limit any pecking, etc. on them.

This hen has been hanging out in front of the little coop where the new babies are and as soon as I opened the door to let the babies out, ran in to peck the white one. I strongly suspect that white baby is a rooster, but we shall see. Hopefully not. 

 

Found this little baby (the ladder pictured above), like a prize, in a trash heap by the side of the road in our neighborhood! My husband, when I told him about my wonderful find, simply said, "Please don't dig through other people's trash. Did anyone see you?" I had to chuckle to myself! Anyway, I think it is simply awesome and I plan to use it in my garden as a trellis for melons, etc. So excited by this find! Been wanting one for simply ages.

Mr. Harrison needed to come outside with me yesterday to help bring the ladder out of the car, and also needed the dreaded fire truck. By dreaded, I mean that it makes a LOT of noise, which is probably what he likes, and my daughters absolutely hate it! (chuckle) I laugh because they are getting a little bit of payback for all the noise I have had to endure over the years with them! Payback truly is great! Anyway, Harrison was having a great time with the fire truck until it got stuck in the grass and would not move, in which case a giant case of tears ensued! 

It's Cold Outside!

So, finally the weather is turning a little cold. Yesterday morning, at around 5:30am I looked on my back porch, which is in the shade, and saw that the temperature was 38 degrees F. Pretty chilly for Arizona! Since that is getting down into almost freezing temperatures, and I do have some vegetables out in the garden that technically are not cold hardy, like peppers and cucumbers and zucchini and tomatoes, I put in hoops and cover the bed with a 4 mil plastic. This works well for me, as I have used it in the past with great success. It is just an effort to get it put out, and such. 

As you can see by the picture below, I do raise it during the day, as our temperatures are still in the high 60's and sometimes even the low 70's during the day. Such beautiful weather! Can't complain. Tomorrow we are due for a heavy winter storm, so tonite I need to batten down the hatches. 

Above are the small little pepper plants that are growing from seed. Hopefully they will make it through the winter, if I keep them covered!

A couple of days ago, I planted some sweet pea seeds that I had saved from 2 years ago, and after soaking them overnight, and planting them everywhere I could, I realized I just had too many! So, those became little gifts to a couple friends who haven't ever grown them before. I love sweet peas, as my grandma & mom planted them every year that I can remember. I used to take handfuls of the blooms wrapped in a wet paper towel and plastic wrap, to school and church to give to my teachers. I don't see anyone doing that anymore. Kind of sad. :(

The broccoli is almost ready to harvest! I can hardly wait as that is one of our favorite vegetables! Yesterday I was reading about how broccoli is one of those vegetables that we usually have to force ourselves to eat! I am not sure where the writer got their info from. What do you think?

I happened upon a blog when I was on pinterest that showed how the blogger made some edible Christmas garlands for her chickens. 

This is the post: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/12/edible-christmas-garlands.html.

I decided that they looked pretty cute and thought I would make one for my little henny pennies! The writer of fresh-eggs-daily blog showed how she actually drilled little holes into her brussel sprouts to make them easier to thread. FYI, this is definately not necessary. I just used a long doll needle and some kitchen string. It was very easy to string a garland up in a manner of minutes. They loved the grapes, ate the apples over a couple of days, and the brussel sprouts are still there. Exactly how I feel about those little things too!

My little nephew, loves the chickens and would happily stand in the chicken coop all day throwing seed and dirt down for them! I usually have to bribe him with a trowel to dig with to get him out of the coop! Silly boy, all boy!!

I discovered the dreaded little white powdery mildew spots on my roses a couple of mornings ago. If you look closely, you can just see them in the picture above. I bought an organic spray that is supposed to rid the roses from this disease, and have sprayed them. I have noticed a little difference, but it is not gone yet. I suspect I will need to keep spraying til it's gone, as it's spreading to the other roses as well. Not good. I have read that once you get it, it spreads rapidly. 

Last month's pinterest club we did these lovely little signs you see in the picture below. They were so easy to do, as the were stencils cut from plastic report covers with the silhouette cameo. That machine is so easy to use. I just love it. The signs are so cute and I hope to get the time to make a few more of the "Merry Little Christmas" ones to give to my neighbors!

Happy gardening and crafting!

November Garden Happenings

Well, here in Arizona, it is still pretty warm. The days are still in the high 70's, low 80's. The nights are dropping down into the 40's some of the time. However, the garden is still loving the temps! As you can see, below, the broccoli is getting pretty big, although not big enough to produce anything yet. The radishes out front, I have been harvesting every week or so. This morning I took a bunch in for a salad, and gave the tops to the chickens. 

These pictures were taken in early morning, when some of the garden is still in some shade. I really need to replant some lettuce seeds, because I did do that...I'm sure I did, but I just can't see where they are sprouting. So, I need to get to that this week. I also have about a million sweet pea seeds to put in. That is on the list for this week as well. 

The peppers continue to produce an enormous amount of jalepenos and I continue to pick them. This morning I took a couple fresh eggs from the chickens and julienned some spinach onto them as they were cooking. I thought it would give it some wonderfully spice to put some jalepeno slices on there as well. That was a big fat no, as the one I sliced was hotter than ever! I ended up picking them all off, as they were just too hot to eat. (smiley face)

The 4 tomato plants I have growing are doing well. I am going to need to get them covered soon. They are definately heat lovers and not fond of the cold. Can't wait for the tomatoes on them to ripen!

The birds have been feasting on the pea shoots! I am not super happy and plan to cover these ASAP or I will have no peas left!

Below are pics of the new addition on the chicken coop that my hubby and lovely sons so kindly (without very much grumbling), helped me build. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a couple hour project turned into a 6 hour project simply because the dirt was not level, and we ended up moving the shed that is to the right of the now attached addition. It was a nightmare! 

During the move of the shed, we discovered there was a cute little mouse living under it. Our dog, Gracie, the 8 yr old Weimaraner, is a hunter for sure, and she would not let that mouse go. However, it crawled into one of the holes in the Rubbermaid shed, that are on the bottom and we could not get to it!

The next night, my hubby looked outside and there it was, staring at him on the back porch! Gracie went crazy, and sniffed it out, right out of my herb bed, and killed it! Finally, Gracie earned her keep!

As you can see, I need to get the addition painted to match the original coop, and I need to make a trip to my father-in-law's house to pick up some chickens. He says the secret is to reach up into the trees where they roost, just when it is dark, and grab them by the feet. I think that sounds a little creepy, but I did try to catch some the other day in the afternoon, to no avail. Those little things are just too fast. So, I think maybe I might enlist my hubby although he doesn't know it yet!! (tee hee hee!!)