No Regrets Ranch

Greetings Earthlings:

PSA:  Did you know that Facebook can create a Page for your business, blog or address and call it a Community Page?  I only just discovered this recently.

As you are aware, we have called our property No Regrets Ranch and I will tag my personal page with this name when I have something to share of farm/lifestyle interest.

I also have an Instagram page under @Gremlynn1 that I use #noregretsranch and #ppqsponoka, to sort thru entries for our farm and my quilt shop.

It was clicking on the location tag of No Regrets Ranch, on my personal Facebook, that I made the discovery that Facebook set up a Community Page for No Regrets Ranch.  They choose the photos and content for that page.  I couldn't edit anything until I became an Admin for it.  Thankfully, I was able to claim the page they created for me and am now the sole Administrator for it.  Apparently it has been active for well over a year.  I had no idea.

To check out the Official No Regrets Ranch Facebook page you can go to:  https://www.facebook.com/No-Regrets-Ranch-101287754988105/
Here is where I add my content for the page.  It is the Official Page  Copy/paste if it won't take you there.

You can still click on or copy/paste:
https://www.facebook.com/No-Regrets-Ranch-370506267134051/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARDrrcbFWu-U5Fx_KE0PAlqi6vtJFqYLeysbuVEotCIC5TViWcaHyYBt1WC2Hkwp79d1sp60cj3W3M0v&hc_ref=ARR6ws-V_AvoUi3gz-CKyWN1JAL1v4d1aVnKTjBD64izhEoW0Dh6ZJdlyYYj8lapW8U&ref=nf_target&fref=tag&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBffM6UdjoMiDroNCxhadZ5R2UpvTWk3C2oDlPxcPpv27N8XqJrR1f3vby5tl6IWm-y_RFcdRDm4hBpjjxfbe7JEPiObwg4jtOVzJrt23pvJonbMLXGMneoKLOBcJTMCCVxfHm-rwnqvhIPbsnkg0cUiW14-Rby5-PiwBTD3KpnQC-iZywdGZCrrRJz6S035qjRtrYhaAc4UoFe9-W6Ssjpsy5PyLjXRCkmR7jLZIw2jrS3Qa59P3FvS4PallQE9im332MCoW7w_E4DhxFtQpfMdqLbbG8   to get to the Community Page.

Sure glad I was able to get this sorted out.  I am still trying to figure out a way to merge the two.  Stay tuned on that one!

Things have been rather busy here at our little funny farm lately.  Summer is time the time when the rest of the world heads to the lake or golf course and when we head to the garden and yard.

Main Garden view from the back deck

I enjoy this time of the year immensely but it often difficult for those who don't live a lifestyle such as ours, to fully appreciate that we just can't drop what we're doing for the weekend and get away.  It takes a lot of planning on our part to find help that understands and is able to do what is required out here to maintain the greenhouse.  It can quickly cook up in the extreme heat, if not monitored. 

We have simply come to the realization that we Can get away from October to April, but not from April to October.  And we're good with that.  We do take the occasional day away, but never an over night.  There is simply just too many things that need care and attention and it's a lot of responsibility to leave to someone else to manage.  And it is worse yet to return home to less than ideal circumstances.  Thankfully we love our summers on the farm and are quite happy and content to spend our summer days here.

The garden and greenhouse are both in full production.  Already I have canned up 2 dozen quarts of stewed tomatoes, a canner full of tomato sauce and our first batch of Salsa of the season. This is only the beginning of the tomatoes yet to come.

First batch of Salsa of the season

Jams and jellies are being replenished as berries ripen. 

Strawberry Jam!

Raspberry Jelly

Snow Pea pods are being picked, blanched and frozen and we had our first picking of shelling peas the other day.  Soon there will be evenings spent out on the deck, sitting in the shade, shelling peas and chatting about our day.

Peas to be shelled as the raspberries are being steam juiced for jelly

Baby Peas!  Aren't they just the cutest!?

The raspberries are beginning to flush.  The apples are getting big.  We are enjoying the zucchini on almost a daily basis.  Tomatoes that aren't being canned have been made into Pico de Gallo, Bruschetta and toasted tomato sandwiches. There is sincerely nothing like vine ripened tomatoes!

Bruschetta and garlic oil brushed and toasted sourdough bread for lunch!

The first flush of sweet peppers have been chopped and frozen or dehydrated.  Having both on hand is a great convenience for me for winter meals.

Sweet Peppers ready to be processed

Sweet peppers diced up and ready to be frozen or dehydrated

The herb jars are getting replenished with the newly dehydrated herbs.

Lemon Thyme ready to be dehydrated

First picking of parsley ready to be washed,
cut up and dehydrated

Last night I put Lavender stems and Calendula into the dehydrator to prepare them to be infused into a neutral oil.  This will be added to my homemade tallow soaps, later this fall or winter.

Lavender and Calendula ready for the dehydrator 

Our steers are doing well.  Today I was hanging out the wash when I noticed all three, laid out on the shady side of the wind fence.  It's a rough life with a full belly of all the grass you can eat!  They are looking great!  Obviously very content. 

2020 Boys of Summer:  Quar, Ann, and Tine as named by Maeva

I heard a kerfuffle over in the chicken coop this morning.  The not so little meat birds are beginning to find their voices and were mimicking Russel Crowe, our rooster in the laying flock.  Apparently Himself Did Not like this and tried to assert his dominance by standing between His girls and the chain link fence which divides the two flocks.  When one of the little Roos walks by, he rushes the fence to challenge the interloper.  I guess he's just protecting his interests, but it's cute listening to the new little men assert their voices.  Sadly, their final days will soon be upon us as their harvest date looms closer.

Russel Crowe and his girls.  The meat birds, in behind and to the left,
are the ones we hatched out earlier this spring. 
These are all Russel's offspring.

Our flower pots are sure lack lustre this year.  It has been so cold and damp that they are lacking the heat they need to thrive.  I had a memory come up on facebook and it really drove this point home for us.  I knew they were pretty sad, I just didn't realize just how bad!  We will be composting many of them right away as they are just too depressing to look at any more.  What is normally spilling out of the pots onto the deck and ground by this time of the year, have barely begun to bloom.  It is a sad state for sure. 

Most of the perennials have come back though and they have all bloomed, albeit it late this year.

 Several of our fruit trees are still in a sad state.  Many of last year's super producers are almost completely without leaves this year.  It appears that this has been a common theme for more people than not.  I am to understand that the trees never had a chance to store up for winter during the colder and wetter weather we had last fall.  Then they broke dormancy during the January chinook, followed by 6 weeks of sub arctic weather and a very cold spring.  They all appear to be pliable, which indicates that they are still very much alive, but many are only partly leafed out, even this late in the season.  We'll leave them for this year and hope they reset their internal clocks for next year.  

Isn't this just the saddest Cherry tree ever?

Or this one!  It was a top producer last year. 
This year it won't even leaf out!

The Herbs have been lovely this year.  I made a batch of herbed butter and liked it so much that I had to make another batch.  It is in the freezer in individual pats.  OMGosh!  It is truly amazing!

I gathered and chopped up Garlic scapes, chives, basil, oregano and parsley.

Sauted it all in a tablespoon of grapeseed oil until just bright, not browned.

In the food processor, 1 lb of butter, softened and chopped to tablespoon sized pieces.

Add the cooled herbs to the butter and process until smooth.

Using a small scoop, I scooped individual portions onto parchment paper
 to be frozen, then stored in a large ziplock bag.

I haven't been spending much time in the studio lately, but I have been knitting a bit in the evening.  Things will slow down in the garden in a month or two and I will get all the studio time I am wanting, come winter! 

I did get a day or two out here a while ago when we had a big rain and worked on my scrappy string strips blocks.  I added the side pieces to make them into squares.  This will be another project to be completed at a later date - or when we get a few days of rain!

Scrappy Strips getting side strips.  Will give this a bit of cohesiveness when it's done.

I guess that is all for this entry.  I hope this finds you well.  If you are looking for me, I'll be in the garden or the kitchen!  Enjoy your weekend!

Regards,

Gremlynn

Some Days! Some Years! Some Times! Sheesh!

Greetings Earthings:

Do you ever feel like you just can't catch a break some days?  That was me, yesterday.  Everything I touched seemed to explode in my hands.  Or I'd get started doing something and something else would take my attention away.  Even my Sunday Morning "Prairie Points Quilters Studio" Facebook Video was mysteriously missing.  The heading was there.  The attached video was not.  After several messages and three attempts to upload the video, it finally went - three times, into three different places!  Sheesh, already!  I still got a lot done, but it was through sheer will alone, that got me through it all.  By the time we sat down and put our feet up later that evening, I was glad to see the backside of the day.  Today is definitely going much better.

Is it just me, or does this Summer actually feel like fall already?  We noticed the other night that it was only 10 degrees Celsius.  Only 10 Degrees C and a heavy Dew.  It felt like a fall night.  It is July 6th, for Pete's sake.  I shouldn't be sleeping under a sheet, a cotton throw and a quilt at this time of the year, let alone in my flannel jammies.  I am almost contemplating putting the flannel sheets back onto the bed!

Even the orchard trees and the perennials aren't doing very well this year.  My lily of the Valley is usually up in May, or early June, at the latest.  This year it didn't show until late June.  I was happy to finally see them as they always remind me of my favorite cologne from my childhood.  

My beautiful and highly scented Lily of the Valley.
I remember my favorite cologne from my childhood was Lily of the Valley, by Coty.

Many of our fruit trees have either not leafed out yet, or if they have, they are sparse, at best.  And those that have leafed out, may or may not have flowered.  Go figure?  We had given up on several of them, only to spy a single leaf finally sprouting, two months late!  Some of our biggest producers last year, barely look alive this year.  It will be interesting to see what fruit does come.

This Evans Sour Cherry Tree was one of our biggest producers last year. 
This year, it has only half leafed out and no cherry blossoms. 
We'll leave it to see if it recovers to its former self. 

The Lilacs were late as well this year.  And some were actually not at all.  We have 4 lilac bushes by our back deck.  It is always a treat when they flower all around the same time.  This year it was a treat that they even flowered at all.  Normally the bushes are covered in blossoms.  This year, only 2 really bloomed, but quite lightly.  The third bush had 3 or 4 blooms in total and the fourth bush didn't bloom at all.  I was thankful for what we did get as I did manage to get a few stems steeping in grape seed oil, which I hope to use in a batch or two of soap later this year.  This is only an experiment as I understand that the lilac scent is difficult to capture.  Fingers crossed.

The lilacs were rather lack lustre this year.  Only 2 of our 4 bushes barely bloomed.
A third one had three or 4 blooms and the fourth one didn't bloom at all.

The last of my lilacs made my only bouquet this year.

The evenings it hasn't been raining have found us taking our supper out on the front deck.  With the new peony garden in place and the stone work replaced, it is a beautiful sanctuary to over look.  The sound of the waterfall and stream are lovely.  We have a couple of hummingbirds who are always surprised when we interrupt their supper though, as our table is between the two front yard hummingbird feeders.  They come in and immediately stop, give us a look, then take off again, with what I swear is a "harrumph".  Apparently they don't enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs!  The mosquitoes, on the other hand, haven't minded our presence at all!  They are something else this year, for sure.

Home made salsa and guacamole on homemade nachos with our own
Raspberry wine, on the front deck.

The Greenhouse has been doing wonderfully, though.  I doubt that we would get much in the way of peppers, tomatoes or cucumbers, if they were all field grown this year.  The extras of these plants that are out in the garden, are dismal looking at best.  If we don't get some heat this growing season, we'll probably be in for a repeat performance of last year's above ground veggies.  Nadda.  It can be quite disheartening for sure.  We are always thankful that we do have the greenhouse since it always gives us much of the produce we will consume for the coming year. 

Purple Peppers in the greenhouse.

Alicia Craig tomatoes in the greenhouse this year.

The Greenhouse shares its bounty with us every day!

I have become very much a Scrap Quilter in the past few years.  This Stars and Nines pattern was featured in a Fons and Porter Scrap quilting magazine from 2014.  As a shop owner, we often get Sample sheets with 2 1/2"- 3" fabric squares of different lines on them.  These give us an opportunity to see and feel the fabric before ordering a line.    

When I closed the shop, I removed all the samples from the cardboard sheets, trimmed the fabric to 2 1/2" squares, then put them in a box for a future project.  When I saw this pattern, I knew I had a great use for these pieces.  I pieced the quilt a couple of winters ago, then put it in the To Be Quilted Bin.  It's turn came up this year.  

After loading it onto the long arm, I had to contemplate how I was going to quilt it.  I can't do pantographs for love nor money.  Believe me, I have tried time and again without success.  Since I don't have a computer on my Long Arm, it has to be All Me.  I didn't want to an all over meander, so I hauled out my rulers and tried to formulate a plan.  With three different rulers, I was able to get an the all over effect I was looking for.  I am happy with how it turned out.    

I had made this top out of batik scraps a few years ago and decided
it needed it's turn on the long arm.  Quilted entirely with rulers.
I love how it turned out.  A different project for me.

Close up view of my ruler quilting.

Every year we get three young steers to graze down our pastures.  We also supplement them with a grain and mineral feed, as we do also fatten them for a fall harvest.  We grow one animal to share with our immediate family and sell the other 2, as 4 halves, to long term customers.  

We have grown several different breeds over the years, but have decided that we love the temperament and finished product that the Hereford breed gives us.  And every spring, we ask someone to name them.  We have had lots of great names over the years:  Sir Loin, Brisket Brothers, Spider Cow, Super Moo, Larry, Darryl and Darryl, The Three Amigos (Dusty Bottoms, et al) and so on.  This year, our Boys of Summer 2020 have been named Quar, Ann, Tine.  Too Funny!  

In what shouldn't surprise us "2020, you have got to be kidding me, form", we could not get these boys to take to their feed. They wouldn't even look at it.  We have been doing this for over a decade and this was a first for us.  We even contacted an animal nutritionist and she had never heard of this problem either.  Their feed is to them, what a sweet dessert to us - but obviously, way better for them.  They simply preferred the pasture and were not interested in what Papa put in their trough.  After taking them off the pasture and confining them to the corral, they finally had to eat it and figured out that they do actually like it.  Honestly?!  They are finally enjoying their daily ration and come running when Papa calls them for supper. 

2020's Boys of Summer hanging out in the corral:
Quar, Ann, Tine

I am already harvesting herbs from the garden.  I have done a Basil Pesto and have dehydrated chives, as well as made chive infused vinegars.  This time of the year, there is usually one or two things to be done every few days, so it is quite manageable and very enjoyable.  It's nice to replenish what we have used up over the previous year. 

When I make my Pesto, I use a medium sized scoop and freeze it on parchment paper, to be bagged once frozen.  I add it to our Tomato Basil Soup, Pasta sauce or just to eat with bread.  It tastes like spring in the colder months.  I use walnuts or almonds in mine instead of the traditional pine nuts. 

Pesto scooped and ready to freeze.

Pesto Recipe

Chives harvested, washed, chopped and ready for the dehydrator.
The blossoms with be infused into rice and wine vinegars.

Even with all the rain and the cool nights, the garden still seems to be doing okay.  I don't think it is going to set any harvest records this year, but what is finally growing, does seem to be doing all right.  Even our potatoes are patchy this year.  We suspect the soil was still too cold when we planted the seed potatoes in late May.  Many haven't come up, so we suspect that they just rotted in the cold soil.  Thank goodness we planted about twice what we normally do, because it is looking like it will be just an average yield year.  It has been a funny year for the garden, all the way around!

Even with the cold and we weather we are having, the garden is doing okay.

One upside of it being cool and damp is I have finally finished all the cement castings for my Faerie Garden.  I had purchased the different components several years ago, but never really had much of a chance to get them painted and sealed.  This year was the year it finally happened.  Whenever it rained, I would spend the afternoon painting another piece.  I was actually quite surprised when I got them all done.  We put them out in the gazebo one evening and put a sealant on them, then Papa moved them down to the area where I wanted the garden.  Now, if it warms up and our little ones come visit, they can explore and discover this new hidden away area. 

I am finally finishing painting my cement Faerie Garden pieces.

Faerie Garden pieces drying after being sealed.

Faerie Garden pieces ready to be installed.

And that about does it for this installation.  We are forecasted for more rain for this evening so we'll probably have supper inside tonight.  At least it was warmer today than it has been. 

I hope this finds you well and not having "One of Those Days" yourself.  I can do with not having another one for quite a while now.

And if you like, you can check out my new No Regrets Ranch Facebook page.

Until next time,

Gremlynn