Silver Fox....

So many of you may be wondering what is Silver Fox and I am here to tell you! Over the past several weeks, maybe even longer, Laura and I have talked about my time in Iowa. It hasn't been the best to tell you the truth. I have felt super lonely as I have not been the best at making friends (yes I know partly my fault). So we decided that maybe I need a hobby in which I interact with people. Last year I grew a garden but we had the drought and it is mostly a lonely but fun hobby. I will garden this year again and if the drought hits again I will allow my garden to wilt and support the local farms who depend on the money from their garden for income. We are even thinking about purchasing a CSA share. Chickens are out of the question this year and probably while we live in Iowa City there are too many laws and it is expensive to get the yearly permit. Yet, we decided that a hobby that closely identified with the desire for our future farm and something that would get me out interacting with people would be the best fit. After a little research we have decided that I will raise rabbits for show and probably to eat. Rabbit shows are decently cheap to enter, there will be tons of people to meet while doing it and it will be something to get me out of the house.

This is where the Silver Fox comes in. It is a breed of rabbit that is listed on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (you can read about them at that link). It was important to both of us to find a breed that was in danger of no longer existing and we will continue that pattern when we do eventually get our own farm. After finding that breed on the ALBC website I did a search of breeders in the area. Of course being a rabbit that is threatened it was hard to find, but I was about to find a girl that breeds them, Grace Jakes. She breeds for 4-H and has also done some showing beyond 4-H. I probably could have found a more prestigious breeder but I figured why when these rabbits have the potential as the have grand champions in their lines. Who knows in the future I may even hook up with another breeder to find some better lines. All I know is I'm excited and maybe Laura is too. After all she offered to build my cages and I can't wait to take pictures. This Saturday I will be driving to meet Grace and choose a rabbit or two. I already have my eyes set on a buck named Thirsty (this may have to change haha) but I may pair him with a girl named Elisabeth. I should note that Thirsty currently has one leg and this is good news, because if he gain two more he will be a grand champion but this will be a hard task. I will update you on Saturday after I go to see them, but for now I am excited! I am thinking my first show may even be on February 17th and this also happens to be a Silver Fox sanctioned show where I will meet up with lots of other breeders.

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.