Remember the green tomato experiment in the shop? Talking about extending the harvesting season! We are eating garden tomatoes in mid November!
Does anyone want to come over for some BLT'S?
My next big experiment was to carve a Welsh Love Spoon. My pal Martijn is an amazing wood carver. He was as so kind to send me over some templates. I confess I used electrical tools on my spoon and Martijn uses carving knives and gouges. (but Martijn has mad skills). Anyways this was the outcome of my first Welsh Love Spoon...
The next update...
Remember when my mom was going to teach me how to quilt but she couldn't because I didn't know how to use pair of scissors... or put pieces together? Well with no help from me, my mom finished her quilt!!!! I'm so proud of her. She worked her bum off! I didn't even last an hour working on this sucker. The entire quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted. Isn't it beautiful!? Way to go Mom!
There are various things in planning mode here at Come By Chance Acres. Top priority is to get our tractor up and running. We should have turned the garden by now but being this close to the holidays buying new parts for the Tractor will be put off until after the first of the year.
The next big project will be to extend the chicken coop. After the situation with Jeeves I realized that we really do need more space and a way to partition off an area for breeding pairs or in case of injury. So the addition is in the planning phase.
After we have the the Tractor Running and the Coop addition wrapped up I want to fence off the far end of the goat pasture and build a small lean too. Jasmine and Jessica will be ready to breed in the spring. I had initially intended to just use someone else's buck but do to the fact that I am not willing to send my does off to someone else's farm... it looks like we will be getting the girls a husband. It may or may not be a permanent arrangement though. It all hangs in the balance of the neighbors.
We are also wanting to plant more trees. We have three acres that is situated behind four houses. I have been fairly lucky to have really great neighbors (Minus the Bleep neighbor), but I really enjoy privacy. I would rather be watching the birds in the trees than watch the neighbor kids go swimming. Nuff said.
I am hoping to have everything finished by April. As soon as the ground is dried out enough were are putting a gravel road in that will go all the way down to the barn. It will be a miracle if we have all this completed before planting season but I will just have to keep my fingers crossed.
If by some crazy chance that we get all these lovely jobs completed in a fairly brisk manner, Lee is wanting to build a large workshop over the hill. I am all for it! I really want to just get these other projects wrapped up asap so we can start on his shop. O and of course its not like I have any personal investment in Lee's shop. I mean its not like the extra space in the barn is going to be converted into a studio or anything... I mean that would be ridiculous! *Wink* Wink*
So there you have it. Our most recent successes and our future plans. ;-)
Your carved spoon is just wonderful! What a unique talent you have.
ReplyDeleteI just harvested the last of our tomatoes yesterday. Have kept them covered with frost blankets at night. Did it just in time as we woke up to snow this morning...
Interesting tomato expirement. Nice spoon! Is the bowl part a stylized deer track, a stylized heart, or just what felt right? Lovely quilt! My tractor isn't running right now, either. Have you ever considered a chicken tractor? (Unrelated to the other kind.) Think about permaculture for that four acres. There's a site from one of its advocates among my supposed followers, but I'm also sure there are others. Workshops are great. Is that an eye spasm you're developing?
ReplyDeleteBloody hell Leigh and I thought I was snowed under with things to do! Best of luck me dear, it sounds like you and poor ol' Lee are going to have your hands full. Oh by the way BLTS, now there's an offer that's hard to turn down.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
John
2 Tramps,
ReplyDeleteThank you, Im glad you liked the spoon. Did you pick your green tomatoes too??? Its so worth it!
Gorge,
The bowl was suppose to be a heart shape... I think, I drew it off of a template.
I feel your tractor pain. What kind do you have? Im needing a rear tire at the moment... hopefully we can find one for less than $300.
Eye spasms... aye yes of course, its a short circuit from the overwhelming project list *Wink*Wink* :)
John,
Thanks for the well wishes, I think I am going to need them... well Lee is going to need them for sure. I can run fencing but the construction phase is all him! If ya ever end up on this side of the pond you will have a home grown mater samich waitin' on ya! ;)
OMG..you are one busy lass...that's a good thing of course...no dilly dalling. I'm heading on down the road for those BLT's hear. The spoon is beautiful and the quilt..very nice...the talent in your family is awesome. ANyway, enjoy your Thanksgiving you deserve it.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh that spoon is soooo beautiful! I love it!! Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe tomatoes worked. That's really crazy. How does that even happen? Nature is magic.
Mad props to your Mom and that quilt!
Beautiful work Leigh. You did a great job on the spoon and I'm impressed with the green tomato ripenings! Kudos to your mom... awesome quilt.
ReplyDeleteYou sound a lot like us here at the old farmhouse... we have SOOOOO many projects to complete, not the least of which is actually getting the 1884 farmhouse inhabitable again.
Good luck on getting the tractor repaired. We are really enjoying ours!
Leigh, my tractor is a Ferguson 40, made only in 1957. That was right after Ferguson split with Ford and just before he joined with Massey and/or Harris.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the spoon Leigh and i'm glad the chickens are getting more room to rummage around in...ATB...J
ReplyDeleteWho said Americans don’t eat well? Now those are real tomatoes – unlike the ones at my local supermarket. Real food, indeed.
ReplyDeleteGorges, Our tractors are kin folk!!!!!!!!!! We have a 1948 Ferguson TE20. I See I knew that we were related some how. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments everyone! Lees outside working... I better run before he comes in here and finds me on the computer. heehee.
Those are great looking tomatoes Leigh!
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can mash the excess and preserve it somehow?
It's been said before, but that spoon of yours shows a great skill and eye for detail. Regardless of tools used.
Keep them coming :)