LIGHT AS AIR

It's cold and windy out today. I am not going to be out in it.  So I decided to go through papers, notes I had jotted down this past summer.   I came across this poem I wrote about an experience with a feathered friend who had ventured indoors.

Have you ever held air in your hand?

I have, the feeling is, oh so grand,

Today in my kitchen, it was a surprise,

On the floor, right before my eyes.

Was the smallest of earth's flying machines,

Of the prettiest colors found in dreams,

Its fragility, its fright, I was certain of,

I picked her up with gentle love.

She nestled in the warmth of my hand,

I rescued her from where she did land,

From the way she acted I think she was hit,

The ceiling fan knocked her around a bit.

After awhile she showed signs of flight,

I ran to release her while it was still light,

I opened my hand, her wings did spread,

With out a thank you, to the tree she fled.

To the feeder came one, was it the one who fled?

Is approaching the house something she dreads?

Or was it another, taking a sip of sweet,

Dining at our feeder filled with hummers treat.

She was not even as big as a joint and a half on my thumb and not as fat either.  It was an amazing and awesome experience for me.

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

 

As always, any pictures or writings are my own,

if not credit will be given to the contributor.

Please do not use without permission.

CHICKEN EGGS

We keep chickens, or is it raise chickens.  It is technically just a "hobby".  It is for our own consumption and for a couple of people who drop by for a dozen or two.  We only have 16 young pullets (pullets are female chickens until they begin to lay, then they are called hens), and 13 older, past their prime, hens.  A hen becomes past her prime when she doesn't lay an egg every other day (at least in my opinion).  She is not profitable, because she eats more than she produces. 

We are small potatoes and have reached our "past our prime percentage", lol.  We have not had the energy to put them or their fellow roosters in our freezer.  The weather has finally cooled down and I expect after the Thanksgiving holiday we will have a going away party for them.  Our little pullets are now producing to their potential and the eggs are now approaching large status.  Which brings me to the purpose of this blog.

Regular size egg                        2 eggs from a pullet

(her friends are laying a small to medium egg)

Technically chickens are not garden/plant related, but at our "farm" they are.  They are a source of extremely high nitrogen fertilizer for us.  Albeit we have to wait a year to use it.  It is too "hot" to use without composting it.  At this time of year we spread it on the garden areas to break down through the winter.

I had to share these eggs gigantus with you.  This was definitely an oooh aaahhh situation for the little, almost a hen, chicken. 

The two eggs being fried for breakfast. Yes they were double yolked eggs. 

The skillet is a 10 inch iron pan.

Have an eggseptional day!

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

"new" prose tribute to my mother on her birthday

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own, if not credit will be given to the contributor.

Please do not use without permission.



SPARTAN ARROW BEANS

This row of beans is not Spartan Arrow beans.  It is probably Contender or Provider.  That was what we planted in 2010.  They were decent in taste but tended to be on the not tender side. I can't say enough for the Spartan Arrow beans.  We feel so fortunate to have found a distributor of the seed, for five years we have been looking for the seed.  This company is where we acquired the seed:

http://www.rispensseeds.com/

(Received our seeds November 8, 2011.  It was only 5 days after ordering.  They were packaged excellently.  
Thank you Rispen for your great customer service.)

Today we called the company and they have a few pounds left from this years inventory.  They will not be handling it in 2012.  I have not found any other source for the seed.

 We will be planting the seed spring 2012.  I have garden area reserved for seed, which is not organic (the seed is treated).  We will be planting rows for harvest fresh and rows that will be saved for seed.  The beans will be raised organic even though they are treated seed. We are fortunate to have plenty of garden spaces. 

Pluses we discovered about this incredible bean:

Productivity to the extreme; it produced under adverse conditions

(in the extreme heat and when the weather turned too cold)

It was not susceptible to any the diseases in our area. 

Storm damage was minimal, the plants are very strong.

The beans were held high on the plants in large bunches, not down at the base of the plant.

The flavor of the bean was superior to any bean we ever had, including the great long bean taste.

They stayed on the plant with out getting tough, longer than other beans we've tried.

Just like their name says they are very straight and seemed to stay straight during periods of uneven watering.

Right now I can't think of more accolades for the variety, but just remembering them is making me drool.  I can't wait to take pictures and share with you.  Saving this variety is at the top of our gardening agenda. 

February 1, 2013 Update addition

I found these articles which adds more pluses to the pluses for Spartan Arrow Bush Beans:

http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/schenectady/new/pdf/ag%20fact%20sheets/vegetables/Seed%20Maggots.pdf

Under the "management" section of the article they specify spartan Arrow Beans. 

 http://ipm-dd.orst.edu/potato/wcucumbeetle.pdf
Resistant to the adult cucumber beetle damage

Spartan Arrow (MSU 303) - Breeder: Michigan Agric. Expt. Sta., East Lansing. Vendor: Northrup, King and Co., Minneapolis, Joseph Harris, Rochester, New York and others. Parentage: selection of a cross Tenderbest x Contender. Characteristics: concentrated pod set, good holding quality; pods heavy, straight, separate easily from plant, slow seed and fiber development. Resistance: common mosaic virus strains 1 and 15. Similar: Bountiful, Contender. Michigan Quart. Bulletin 45, 608, 1963.

The above info is from  an article Edited by James Nienhuis and Michell E. Sass,  Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 and James R. Myers, Department of Horticulture, 

Oregon State University. 

Corvallis, OR 97331-7304

This Seed deserves to have a place in our gardens.
I hope I have encouraged you to save seed.

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening

 blog about the making of a Ninja Halloween costume

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own, if not credit will be given to the contributor.

Please do not use without permission.

http://pitbulladog.blogspot.com/

Chronicling our adventures with a dumped Pit Bull Pup,

 who has become a hidden treasure.

All recipes, pictures, and writings are my own.

I give credit for items which belong to other people in my blogs .

Please do not copy without permission