Got eggs?

So I have great news! Iowa City has pretty much passed legislation for chickens to be legal! Unfortunately there is one stipulation that may make this not as much fun as I was hoping. In Iowa City our neighbors will have the right to veto having chickens in our own yards. They will be able to do this at anytime. So you better hope that your neighbors like you. I am excited about chickens in the spring but I am scared at the same time. I would hate to go through all the work of building a nice coop, spend the $100 license fee, have my coop inspected by animal control, buy a few chickens, raise them inside, and then put them outside only for them to be "vetoed" and taken away.

Why does everyone else think? Is it worth the risk?

I could ask my neighbors ahead of time, but what happens if they change their mind? I also need to put more research into who has the veto power. Is it only the neighbors whose property directly connect to yours or anyone near by? I believe on December 18th this will be cleared up as far as the small details. I am hoping though that they write in the stipulation that the veto power will be revisited.

As for other news. My garlic is still do well and with this mild winter so far I almost wish I had chanced extending my growing season. Every day I think about going outside and turning my raised beds into little greenhouses. But we are about to head out of state to visit family in Fl so I suppose I will hold off this year. I also started a new job and so far it has been going ok and will hopefully give me the money to spend on my garden and hopeful chickens.

So for those of you who have chickens what breeds are your favorite? It has been so long since I last raised chickens and I had more experience with Rhode Island Reds than any other breed. I really think that I would like some Buff Orpingtons since they are winter hardy but I would like to hear what others think too!

Until next time, which I hope is not 2 months, stay safe and live life.  

Happenings...

Life with a baby can be crazy and I'm sure all of you that has had kids know this well. What I don't get done with chores, homework, and other duties I more than make up for with feeding, diapering, and doing laundry. I love this little kid though and I would much rather be taking care of him then any of my pre-mom duties. We tried to take him to UIowa's homecoming parade, but he wasn't having it. So we moved a bit away and just enjoyed some outside time. 

Intrigued baby

Old Capital in B&W

Yawn baby yawn

Old Capital at sunset

View from parking garage toward the hospital

I've also done some cooking recently. I made Chicken Noodle Soup and I took a picture at the very beginning while making the stock and of the noodles I had just made. I forgot to take a picture of the Irish Soda Bread although it was wonderful and did not last long. 

My homemade egg noodles

The beginnings of the stock

The mishap when making the bread. My camera strap got caught in the oven door and did some cooking of its own.

I recently purchased a pasta machine and I love it! It allows me to thin the dough out and it came with a spaghetti and fettuccine cutter attachment. Since I love my pasta machine so much and I am just getting to know how it works I used the fettuccine cutter to make my noodles for the soup. Normally I like wider noodles but this was perfect. Today I am making the Mini Apple Pies for laura to take to work and I will try to get some pictures although the link does great at pictures.

Fall....

Not only is that the season we are in but I too have fallen away from blogging. I miss blogging and sharing my adventures with everyone. What can I say though? I have this adorable 5 week old baby now and leading up to his birth was a busy and trying time. My garden flopped this year from a crazy but lovable dog, crazy weather and lack of time. I didn't get much of a fall garden in either. Currently, my pepper plants are still growing, I have one carrot coming up (I got sidetracked and only planted a few seeds one day), and I put in my fall garlic. With the lack of food from my own garden we have been going to the farmers market a lot! I enjoy this for two reasons, meeting up with friends and supporting the local farmers who make farming their living.

So what do all farmers, gardeners, and food lovers do when they aren't growing the food? Cooking! This has mostly what I have been doing. I keep thinking about taking photos of my food, but then it occurs to after we've already ate half of it. So far I've made fresh pesto, mini apple pies, applesauce, fresh noodles, butternut squash ravioli, the ravioli, and butternut squash bread just to name some things. I never really cooked with my mother or any relative for that matter as a kid and now that means I have no idea what I am doing most of the time. However, I would say that I am decent at following directions. This skill comes in handy with almost everything except for breads. I still struggle making most breads and pastries, but I am still trying everyday. I want to become more self sufficient and I have also added sewing to this. I am a horrible sewing, but that too will come in time. I hope to teach myself these things before Nicholas gets older and I can pass this knowledge on to him. Even if he doesn't see a point to it (like me as a child) I will help him understand the reasons these skills are important. I only wish I had known why learning this stuff could have been helpful. If my garlic comes up I will try to get some pictures and I will try to start taking pictures of my food creations although they aren't very pretty. I'm focusing on making them taste yummy and will eventually learn to make them a little nicer looking.

I am a little disappointed with the season but I am happy for the son that captured my time. I can't wait for next season. I know I will be adding another garden box and maybe trying to make the area around it look nicer too! I hope your gardens turned out better than mine.

Is it the end?

We have been having horrible weather this summer. What the dog did not ruin it seems the heat has. My plants are all dying. I truly wonder at this point if it would be better that I allow them to die. I could always do a fall garden and hope that the horrendous weather does not follow. I don't know what I want to do though. The garden was my goal for the year and it seems mother nature in every sort of way has decided that it isn't for me. This is made even harder by the fact I can look at my neighbor's garden and it looks far better. It has also had to deal with the extreme heat and you can see that but it at least was able to escape the torment from a playful dog. The other reason I am against letting it fully die is a bunny has taken residence below my zucchini plant and it is shading him for the sun. I suppose with this in mind I will just have to let my garden die naturally and I may water the zucchini just to provide a bit of shelter to the animals that do not have an air conditioner to escape to.  

The dog ate my.....

 Needless to say I have been gone for quite some time. I was trying to figure out how to approach the hurdle in my garden this year. Finally at a wedding this past weekend a friend of mine who I guess had been reading my blog finally asked and I was left with telling the truth about what has kept me away for so long. I tried to think of any other way of putting it but there was no better way so I finally said, "My dog ate my garden." Yes he did the stereotypical thing of uprooting plants and the such but he also ate the plants. If you must know I am referring to the Weimaraner that we have....Orion. It all started after I gave him a corn cob as a treat one day. The next few days I kept seeing him close to the beautiful corn plants and then finally without warning in a thirty minute span they were gone all 16. Then went the bean plants and so on. When I finally arrived home to the devastation I too was devastated. No longer was I going to have food from my garden. Okay well that is a stretch, as I guess the prickly leaves of the squash plants drove him away and protected not only both of my pumpkin plants and zucchini plants but also two of my pepper plants that are struggling to survive. Lesson learned you must keep dogs away from gardens and homework! I was however excited to pick my first zucchini plant today and I will try to keep a better update of what is happening to my remaining plants.  

The Culprit - Photo by Susan

The zucchini I picked this morning!

The End...

It's the end of the school semester for me and I am sure glad to see it come! I know that I did not have the best semester that I could have but I survived. Also luckily it looks like Penny (the rabbit) is good for now! I'm glad we all decided to wait a little longer. 

Now on to the garden update.....

     Well we've had some crazy weather here either, to cold, to windy, to wet, or to hot. I'm afraid to say with that and the hectic school schedule I lost a lot of my plants. Not all but a good majority. Yet this came at a great time to do so I suppose. I believe that this coming weekend or next weekend the Master Gardeners are having a plant sale! So I think that I will be buying some already started items and go from there. Not my ideal for this year but better than nothing. Along with the weird weather the days have been overcast and pictures have been out of the question. It looks like it will be clear tomorrow and that is the plan to finally get some pictures!

On to another new update..... 

     So I have somewhat big news. It looks like Laura and I will be moving back to TN in the next 6-12 months. It is actually going to work out better for both of us for school and also work for Laura. At this point though the only thing hindering us is the darned house! I'm sure we will figure it out somehow. I am so excited to move, only because it is back to TN. The only downside is we would be back to renting and therefore no garden. Of course I will still do potted plants or whatever I can at the rental.

Gone....

I know I have been gone for quite some time. Life seems to come at you fast though sometimes. I have been quite busy in dealing with taking care of Penny (my rabbit). She had several abscesses grow on her neck and its been a battle trying to take care of them. The sad truth of the whole matter is Penny herself might be gone soon. If you do not know much about rabbits or the abscesses they can get let me tell you they are pains, hard to treat, expensive to treat, and not always does it work out. So far every time we thought we had one dealt with another one springs up and the vet doesn't seem to think it looks good, abscesses long term wear down the immune system and can slowly kill them that way. We may have to put her down on Tuesday. Just the daily care is too much for her to handle and we have been having problems with blood pressure rising, causing her eyes to bulge among other problems. We could opt for expensive treatments but I'm not sure if the stress long term would be good for her and many of these treatments do not always help. I know that right now she is at home resting, eating lots of good vegetables, and I'm giving her as much love as she will let me. I have been in a state of denial and sadness and sometimes making the right choices for a pet are harder then you plan. I would like to add that we have not come to the decision to put her down we are taking things into consideration so please do not scold me for choosing to do it if that becomes the choice. I have been struggling daily with the options and I am sad beyond words at the moment, but whatever choice I make will be the best for her and to keep her from suffering. 

On another note my garden is doing well. Hopefully as things maybe calm down here I can post some pictures.     

Baby oh baby....

Well since it seems super hard anymore to keep up with everyone Laura and I decided that a small website would be best for baby information such as; baby shower, registry, ultrasound photos, etc. Anyways here's the link http://christinaandlaurababy.ourbabychannel.com

Words......(not gardening related)

Sometimes I say the wrong thing. I know that we all do it sometimes, but it really sucks when it happens. I was talking to a good friend who I am pretty sure that I upset and I was not trying to. I got the Facebook version of hanging up, a disconnect. It seems that life is so rough and unfair at times. She is a great person, expecting a baby, and yet life seems to be giving her the finger. I wish I could help, but it seems that I may have only made things worse. I also wish she lived closer because it's kind of hard being a good friend when you live 9 hours away.

Sometimes I wish I didn't care as much as I do. It's my curse you see. Only those closest to me sees this, as they are the only ones who see me deal with the emotional pain of caring too much. I want to save everyone and make life better for them, but I cannot. I am only one person. I know some may wonder how you can care too much, but my friends or my friends friends pain keeps me up at night. I cry for those who are hurting and I do what I can to try and fix it.

I also carry the curse of remembering all the bad memories like a picture. Even to this day I can I remember clearly the day, the hour, the minute my grandmother passed away, and it haunts me. I know it may be silly to say but my greatest fear is death, not only mine but those close to me. I know as I age those in my family age too and I'm not ready to lose some of my older family members, but I know that I cannot expect them to live forever. Sometimes I hate the fact that we lived so far from my dad's side of the family. I feel like I did not get the time with them that I would have liked and I was too young to remember some of the memories of the times we did spend together.

I guess that all of these thoughts are just flooding my mind because Laura and I will be having our first baby in four months and I want Nicholas to meet the amazing family I have, but I worry that he will not be of the age to really remember them. Its just hard to travel between everyone and live life. Then when I think about Nicholas I further wonder about the baby I plan to carry in a few years, who will this baby remember? It's not that I plan on anyone passing away, but you just never know. It happens. It's life, and it's the part that scares me more than anything else.

No matter what haunts me or my fears I know that I cannot let them bring me down. I will live the life I want and I will teach my children, to be happy and live. I will try to give them as much time with all of their family as I humanly can. I will also have my future hobby farm and will try to introduce them to a little bit more of a simple life. I won't keep them away from technology or the advancements of the world but in my life missing on the simple things haunt me more that a technological device that I did not have. To achieve happiness in my life I know will come from following my dreams and helping those around especially my children to do the same.

Ok I know that this was a long winded passage but sometimes I need to dump. It happens and I never try to stop it; so read, scan, or don't whatever you choose does not hurt me.

The uncovering...

So yesterday I needed to uncover my boxes and check on water and the plants in general. Everything was looking great! I was able to take a ton of photos and that is what this post will mostly be, photos and captions.

A view of collards, radishes, and some beans. 

A close up of my collards.

One of my jalapeno's that I planted yesterday. 

My Broccoli plant

My beautiful Banana Pepper!

My spaghetti squash

Remember box 1? Well this is it!

My radishes. I did eat one but they are still a bit small, but it was tasty!

Garbanzo bean plant

My pumpkin plant that just popped out of the ground. 

Arugula

One of the cucumber plants

A beautiful bantam sweet corn plant!

I am happy that I have not lost any of my plants yet. I would love if it continues this way but I know that it is very likely. This is the end to my update on my garden so if you are here for this only then the rest will have nothing to do with any of this.





So we found out the sex of the baby and as of now it is looking very boy like. We are excited, and we are hoping that the tests on the baby come back good (of course we have no reason to believe that they won't come back good but you never know) and we will be even more excited. I cannot wait till the end of the semester because I have grown very bored. I actually hate going to school right now. My religion major is just too easy for me and I can make good grades without even being there. Not only is the course work easy but I thought being in a small community (department of Religion) that I would be able to bond and make friends with those that study the same as me. Yet, I should have realized that my lifestyle does not match with my major. Most of the people I have met so far talk about becoming a pastor, preacher, etc.. and a lot of them seem very close minded. I cannot tell you how many I have heard speaking out against many things liberal including homosexuals. Of course not everyone in the department are like this, it seems to mostly be an undergrad thing and again not all of them. Of course there is nothing wrong with becoming a pastor, preacher, etc. and I know that I have a bad taste in my mouth from living in the South for many years. I know that there are liberal religious leaders out there and I know that maybe someday I will meet one when and if I put myself out there. I also know that most of my complaining lately is stemming from a depression which I cannot seem to shake. I tried the whole medicine thing and it made me not myself and I am not always the keenest about putting chemicals into my body. I think that my mind's biggest thing is the fact I feel like I have no friends. Yes I know that I have some very important people out there in the world that care about me and I also know that I do have a few close and true friends, yet I feel like I have no one here, here in Iowa. It really is a hard thing to talk about and every time I bring it up it seems like I have offended the person I am telling (which is why I am glad that I have a blog so I can spit it all out and process) who always replies but you have friends, I'm your friend etc. I just wish I had a close friend in the area that I could tell everything to and not be judged when I'm having a bad day and say something crazy, but that's a thought for another day I suppose.  

Frost, Baby, and Home...

     So we had a frost warning for tonight. I suppose this is nature's way of telling me that I should have not planted early, but I'm a wishful thinker and did it anyways. But I'm not stupid and knew I needed to take precautions so I have turned my raised beds into mini greenhouses for the time being (I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow). We are supposed to have some cooler temperature for the next couples weeks so I am expecting some loses. However, I have no problem with replanting if this is the case and will take it wholeheartedly.

     On Friday we will find out the sex of the baby hopefully. The closer it gets and the more this baby is becoming a real person (and I mean this simply by the fact it is becoming more visible and about to have a name to me. This is in no way a statement about my beliefs on the whole baby, abortion, birth control, etc argument) I begin to worry about being a parent. I'm not worried that I am going to hurt the baby or that I cannot take care of the baby, I'm just worried but I cannot place it at the same time.

       In three days we will have been in the house for a year and I feel like it has been nothing but one big project. I talked with Laura and I hope she can follow through on this, she just loves to do projects. I just feel a disconnect with our home. I feel like we haven't actually moved in; we still have boxes packed, we have no real dining table, we are just people in a home and not a family in a home. Before the baby is born I am really hoping that we can have it at least set up and have a table and actually "live" in our home. Being more stable will help us with our baby and I know that it will help me focus more in school.

I know that this posting is a little further from he garden and the thoughts of the future farm, but these are the things that I have been thinking about since my last post and even longer.  

How does your garden grow?

As I promised I would post a more photo orientated post about my garden. Things are going great so far! Hopefully the weather does not get any cooler and my garden continues to grow as well as it is now.

   

Preparing the walkway between and garden box 2!!!

Straight 8 cucumbers 

My collards 

Radishes

My Amish Snap Peas! I need to get my trellis up soon!

Great Northern Bean.

Well I am going to let my pictures speak for themselves. Hope you enjoy!

Lagging Behind...

So I feel like I have been lagging behind on my blog. Everyday I think of this amazing post I will write and when  the time comes to sit down and do it, it seems to just never happen. Though I think that I had a really good reason why one never came this weekend. I fully planted all of bed 1! I know it's still March here in the Midwest but the weather has been so warm and I figured it would be worth the risk. If we do get some freak winter weather I will try my best to cover and protect the plants, but I have more seeds and I could always try again. I cannot wait until I can finish box two and three but I will have to raise the money first, but if I can't find the hundred dollars I need I may try to get a plot at the local community garden. I really need to get new pictures up of box 1 because I am already having Lincoln Peas and Amish Snap Peas sprout, which is super exciting for me. I am also looking forward to our first meeting about backyard hens this week. I am hoping that this is the year we overturn that silly law and invite chickens into our homes! I promise next update will be more picture driven, because we all know pictures are fun!

My first bike ride....

     So tonight was my first bike ride of 2012! It was a short one, at only 8 miles, but it was still tough after sitting all winter. I loved being back on my bike but I wish that I would have had someone to ride with. I must say that I feel refreshed and I am glad that I did something a little more active than staring at my garden. Hopefully I can ride tomorrow and and the next few days. Who knows I may even ride to school a few days next week. I wish I had taken my camera as the wildlife seemed to be out this evening. Most of it were ground squirrels, birds, etc. I did however see a muskrat today which was kind of cool!
     Its funny to me when I think about me and riding bikes. It sure wasn't something that I enjoyed doing before Laura and if you ask her its because I never had a proper bike. I can remember when I first rode by myself here in Iowa. I was still getting used to my biking shoes that allow me to clip into my pedals. I was almost toward the end of my ride and had been doing well when I came across several female cyclists who were part of some sort of team. I was doing well and keeping up with them for a while and they were being kind. Then it happened.....we came to a stop and I struggled to clip out of my pedal. My bike and I started to topple over and luckily I was able to clip out and do a sort of jump at the last moment so I did not fall with my bike. I was horrified, my first time out on my own and I biffed it in front of a group of women who seemed to me like pros. Now, clipping in and out seems like a breeze and sometimes I even forget that I am doing it. I am not an amazing rider and I get tired when I ride, but I do enjoy getting out there and sweating. It makes me feel good and I know that I am doing good for my body when I do it.

Me, last year during a ride

  .

Spring Break...

     So it's spring break for me here in Iowa and luckily the weather has been good. I know that I have not posted in forever but life does not always allow me to post. Today I was able to get in more of my seeds! I decided that I would start my tomato plants and re-pot some of the plants that were too big for their areas. I also took a look out into my garden where I have peas, garlic, and collards planted. I noticed that I have an Amish Snap Pea that has emerged! I should have taken a picture but I didn't bring my camera out with me.
     I also did some soil testing (and sent a soil sample to my local ag extension) but I think that I am going to need to amend my soil for potassium and phosphorus. Have any of you ever amended your soil for these two nutrients? If so what did you find worked best? I have been reading all kinds of literature on the subject, but I always appreciate the opinions of others.
     In other news I have also applied to a local garden nursery for a job and I am hoping that it works out. I am also getting more excited about the Chicken talk on the 21st. Hopefully this year we can get the law over turned that bans city chickens. Unforgettably I will not be able to attend the Homegrown Lifestyle course this year but there is always next year! I know that this is shot but I'll leave you with a few photos. 

This is Penny our new addition that will give me great fertilizer for my garden!

One of my Broccoli plants that I needed to re-pot today

Several of the tomatoes I planted.

The last few tomatoes I planted and some peppers

I never thought....

     I never thought that my blog would ever reach a point when it has been viewed over 400 times, but it has! I also never thought that Laura would allow me to have a rabbit this year, but she did! I know pictures are needed and I will as soon as possible, but I'm crazy happy at the moment! The rabbit has bonded well with Laura which is good and we have named her Penny (maybe I watch too much Big Bang Theory??). Our little Dachshund Cleo is also over joyed at the new arrival and wants to be with it always. Of course we don't let them be together unless attended but Cleo will lay right by Penny's cage.
     On other news, I have planted my garlic (I know it's better when planted in the fall and harvested in spring), some peas, and collards. My seeds inside are also doing very well after the change in my system! I am a little worried though about whether I should be starting other plants or holding off. We've had such a mild winter and the spring seems to be fast approaching. To wait or not to wait is the question?
     Overall I would say that things have been going well, not perfect but well! I am excited about spring break next week and the chance to relax from school work and bonded with my little bunny who is going to provide excellent fertilizer for my garden!

Follow me?

This is going to be a very short and sweet post! I am participating in the Grow it Forward contest ( http://www.yourgardenshow.com/grow-it-forward). I would really appreciate it if any of my readers want to meander over to my site there and comment on anything I post. Every comment will earn me a raffle ticket which in turn can win me gardening or gardening related supplies. http://www.yourgardenshow.com/users/cjewell/gardens/raised-bed-vegetable-garden Also to my friends out there who are gardening themselves with heirloom seeds you should join, it can't hurt to try and win prizes and talk to other gardeners!

Oh Iowa....

     I must say the weather has been crazy and making it almost impossible for me to get anything done outside. We've had thunderstorms, bitter cold, and horrible winds. I am desperately hoping though this weekend will have sun even if it is partly sunny and in the high 30s. I want to get dirt into box 2, build box 3 and fill with dirt, then finally get some garlic planted (since I did plant last fall eek!). It's a good thing I don't mind the cold too much as I'll work outside in almost any temp if I can at least have some sun.
     On a very exciting note (well for me at least) there is going to be a public discussion about Urban Chickens at the library on Mar 21st! I am hoping that maybe this year we can get something passed that way I won't have to consider illegal chickens (which I rather not do, heck I can't even cross at the crosswalk if the hand starts blinking, neurotic I know). For now I will get my chick fix like all other normal people (going to the farm store everyday for "things").
     Well I suppose this is it for now as I am being distracted by the documentary Mad City Chickens.

The Weather...

     So the weather has been a huge hindrance to my completion of the garden boxes. If it hasn't been rainy then it's been snowing. Today although 24F is bright and sunny, but it's a bitter cold. I also have decided to forgo building today because Laura has to work tonight and pounding on some wood right outside would probably wake her up. I know tomorrow should be a much better day and I am hoping to totally finish both boxes complete with dirt. Tomorrow should be a lot of work but I think that it will be worth it in the end (though I'm sure my body will disagree tomorrow night, but hey that's what warm baths are for).
     Laura and I went out to breakfast this morning and then headed to the farm supply store, she wanted to see the baby chicks. She loved them and thought the little Rhode Island Reds were cute! We also made a joint decision that next spring regardless of them being "illegal" (which maybe that will resolve by then?) we are going to have a few of our own backyard hens! The farm store also had a sign that said bunnies will be here March 7th. So we will get our cute bunny overload then! I am still trying to convince her a bunny is a good idea, but maybe we should also wait till next spring? While a bunny does not really take that much care we have some other things we should save and spend money on (like gutters and the roof over the garage).    

Garden Box 1: Officially Complete!

So as I said I was going to complete box 1 and add some photos. Most of the entry today will be photos and captions.

Garden Box 1 after yesterday's work

After adding weed paper (to keep out the weeds) and wire (to keep out the burrowing critters) on the bottom.

Upside right and ready for dirt

Half way filled with dirt

Boy my gloves sure did get dirty

I sure am glad I'm almost done! Dirt is crazy heavy!

It is done! Well except for the frozen clods of dirt I have to go spread around tomorrow.

Today was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I am hoping that the weather stays nice that way I can at least build box two tomorrow. I doubt I will get the dirt in it because class runs later, but just getting it built will be a big achievement for me. 

Garden Box 1

So tonight after school I came home and built the first garden box of the season! Unfortunately I was unable to find my camera while it was still light outside to take pictures, but I will tomorrow (or I suppose when looking at the time later today). It was actually a bunch of fun and I cannot wait to build the other two. I also went to Menards tonight to purchase the mixture of things that will become the soil for my beds. Each bed will be comprised of 5 2.2cuft bags of Sphagnum Peat Moss, 10 40pd bags of organic composted manure, and 21 40pd bags of top soil. For my first bed I was able to get the peat and the compost, but no top soil due to the limitations of my car. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will go and get the top soil before school and bring it home that way tomorrow night I can do another run for the next bed. Things are coming together slowly and hopefully I can get a part time job to help fund the added extras to my garden, like a fence and stepping stones. Also sorry about the comment thing in my last post but as much as I write this for me and about my day it is also nice to talk to others who may have the same interests or just enjoy reading. Since I had a few people say they enjoy my blog I will keep it as is for now, but don't be shy to leave a comment, concern, or idea every now and again :)

Sleeping in Class…..

         Okay so I’m not actually sleeping in class, but for some reason today I was so tired that trying to keep my eyes open in The History of Early Christianity was to say the least difficult. (To be quite honest I am actually writing this in class to keep awake, but don’t tell my professor!) Now I normally do not work on other things while in class, but as I said before this was the exception. So the only thing I could think about while sitting in class was my future farm. But before I begin on this I have still been wondering if I should break Iowa City law and keep chickens. As I said before this is a stupid law and I know people in the area do break it. It is my right to keep hens (no roosters! Though on my future farm roosters will be included.) to provide eggs for my family and me. I even had the idea of what I would like to keep on my property. I would love to find around 5 Dutch Bantams, but after looking last night I found that these were very difficult to find here in the states. I am looking for friendly but smaller chickens or bantams. Does anyone have any suggestions for chickens/bantams? On to my future farm though. I have been thinking about keeping both goats and cows for milk but for different products (milk to drink, to make cheese, to make soap, etc…). While doing a bit of research today I found of breed of cow that I am thinking may be a good fit for the farm, Milking Shorthorn. As for goats I was thinking that I would like to raise Nubians. I have still something other thoughts of animals that would be on the farm but no decision of precisely what I want.

            Okay I am having a serious thought about maybe making this blog private and this is my reason. I sometimes get up to 10 or more views per each entry, but no one has taken the time to comment. I do write this blog to talk about some of thoughts and my day, but I also hope for input from my readers. Why has no commented? Is there something about my blog that readers would like to see changed? If I made this blog private and no one could read it, would any of you my readers care? Please someone respond or more than someone preferably…. 

Class, Class, and more Class....

     This weekend was the winter garden fair in Cedar Rapids! I had a really good time and even Laura decided to join me. It was amazing to sit in a class listening to a woman who has been a Master Gardener here in Iowa since 1987 (I'm just lucky I picked her class as it was pretty full). I did slightly feel like the odd one out as most people attending were in their early 40s to much older. It's so sad to not see many young people interested in this kind of stuff. I am even more energized now to take additional classes and maybe even apply to the Master Gardener program. We were also given information about a program called Homegrown Lifestyle http://www.aep.iastate.edu/homegrown/brochure.pdf this course looks really amazing to me and I so much would love to be a part of it, but unfortunately I cannot afford the $179 registration fee. As it is I am just hoping that I will have the $30 to participate in  http://www.backyardabundance.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=IYApYx8aQO4%3d&tabid=65 track 1. I have been trying to get a job to fund these classes but it's really hard to find something that matches my school schedule. It's to bad that I do not have some sort of skill that I could use to make even just a small sum of money. To bad I don't think I could find people to donate to the good cause of me taking these classes (ha ha that would be the day)! 

     On to another sort of class....I have a German test tomorrow and I don't feel that confidant about it. Not because it is really hard stuff yet, because it is not. Rather I have been feeling a little down lately and just the thought of school makes me sad. I love school though and this is definitely not me! Laura has said I should see a doctor, but I really do not like them. The sad thing is, school isn't even bad this semester, the classes are decently easy and I love my professors. So what gives? 

     So as I said before I think I may have failed starting my seeds this round, so I am running a seed germination test to see how they do. If they do germinate I am planning on seeding those into pots and going from there. Hopefully I will have better luck and the ones I started out with were the duds of the package. 

     Well I am going to try and keep my head and do what I can to take the classes that I want. They give me joy and tend to help. I am sure that I will at least get to the Spring Home and Garden Gala, but I doubt I will be able to pull anything together for the Homegrown Lifestyle classes. If anyone has a suggestion about how I may be able to pull off attending I would love to hear!  

    

Tired....

Sleep. Something that I feel like I desperately miss. I never know why it eludes me so much during the school semester but I wish it would just allow me to catch up. Even my dog doesn't like sleeping with me as of late because I toss and turn so much at night. Oh well, maybe one day I'll get this sleep thing figured out.

So my seeds are doing okay. I think that I may have failed though on this round of starting. I may need to plant again. I really do not like what I used to start the seeds in. I think with the next round I may use something different. I am really just hoping that maybe we can have a semi-warm day so I can set up my raised beds. I will just be happy to have the wood out of my garage but more so to actually see them set up.

 In other news, school has been going okay. The classes are easy I'm just not into I guess. I have other things I feel more passionate about at the moment and school is low on my list. I am hoping though after my all day gardening workshop this Saturday that I can refocus on school. I wish that there were other classes nearby that I could take. I would really love to take some kind of class dealing with goats. The time will come I suppose when that will happen. We also had a plumbing issue the other night and Laura is still fixing it so our upstairs toilet is out of commission which is no fun.

Short and Sweet...

So this blog post is going to be nothing profound as I've only had one little thing happen since yesterday.......My cabbage plants have sprouted!!!!!

Brunswick Cabbage

Now I am hoping that everything else takes after the cabbage and has a successful start! 

I also wanted to mention that my new favorite song that was introduced to me by Laura is "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Goyte featuring Kimbra. I think that they are both amazing singers and this is a really catchy tune!

New decisions.....

So I'm sorry about the little rant from last time and I assume that most did not appreciate it as less people viewed my blog. I also never received a single comment so I suppose I will continue to blindly talk to myself.

I started some of my seeds and I am hoping to see them sprout in the next few days. The starting of my seeds has given me a little bit of joy and excitement. I am just hoping for success. I also had to scale my garden back by two beds for now because of money but thats okay! Laura and I talked and I will build them as soon as its reasonable to do so, which may even be mid summer.

On a whole new subject, I am giving my blog readers an exclusive to something that I haven't posted on Facebook (so if you're my friend on FB don't say anything until I release the information on there....Oh yeah and same goes for G+). Laura and I are expecting a baby August 26 (of course we know it won't come on that day)! We are excited and she's been pretty sick. So with this in mind I have been thinking a lot about my future and my dreams and aspirations. Laura has already agreed with me that eventually starting a small hobby farm is a good idea and something we both dream about, but we need to be realistic too. The simple fact is, I will probably need to find a career that I can work at for a few years while we pay off debt and start our farm. Because Laura and I want to leave Iowa and have no desire to stay here I was trying to decide which career would be something that I could do almost anywhere. So I am going to try to get into the College of Nursing here at the U. I've never dreamed of being a nurse but I know that I am fully capable of doing it and who knows I may even enjoy it. There will be no news on whether I get into the College of Nursing for quite some time because I can only apply in the fall semester to begin in the spring semester and I have to do a whole bunch of prerequisite classes before even applying, so I will begin to apply to the College of Nursing in Fall 2013.

Life throws a lot at you sometimes and I must say that I am really happy about this upcoming baby. I've changed a lot and it amazes me everyday that I look at myself. If you knew me when I was younger (for those of you that didn't its probably a good thing, I wasn't that great haha) you probably knew the me that couldn't make up mind or the me that wasn't always so grateful for the things around me; but I've changed a lot and sometimes I don't even recognize this "new"(or rather the one I always kept hidden) me. I'm glad for all the crazy roads that my life has taken and while sometimes I was a little stressed and "hated" (I've really always loved it) life.

On to current school news I must say that I love my German teacher! She is totally awesome and it makes it so easy to relate to her because she is about my age. She's funny and she just doesn't only drone on about the grammar and crap in our book but she teaches us about real life stuff in Germany. She teaches us about there systems and things that would actually help if we were there. I must say though that sometimes she makes Germany sound like a very appealing place to live (of course I realize that they too have their drawbacks like anywhere). I am also happy that my advisor is going to do an independent study with me since I have been missing class trying to take care of Laura, he is a really good guy and I think that any student who takes his class and does not realize this is stupid. I really hope that the University puts him on a tenure-track because it would be unfortunate to lose him as an instructor here.

Well, thats it for now. I suppose I should shorten my entries as maybe people don't want to read something this long, but oh well its for me and I suppose that's what matters.