It has been a flurry of activity around here.  Crazy.

I got chickens late last year… they were hatched on my dogs birthday, so that mattered… and I picked them up on my wedding anniversary.  The awesome ladies, Parsley, Sage and Rosemary, have a great chicken coop, and then we built a chicken run as well.  I am sure they are looking forward to some time roaming the greenhouse when the temperature drops.

Chickens in their coop

Then the garden.  Phew!  After finishing painting the house, and the fence, we moved on to the garden.  The corn is flourishing, and soon will be on my plate no doubt.  The beetroot and peas have been wandering indoors and into the freezer for the last few weeks, and then the tomatoes and cucumber have gone crazy.  We have eaten the first eggplant, and I have about 20 pickling cucumbers in the garden.  I am working towards the autumn garden transition… working out what to plant and where to plant it.  I think the corn will make way for winter onions.  But most of the garden will be sown with lupins and green manure.

Pickled beetroot

As far as the ol knitting goes, well…. I have started on the pattern for a topsy turvy doll of Princess Anna and Queen Elsa.  Hopefully it will prove popular.  And I am considering having a stall at the Cobblestones Market in March.

PICKLED BEETROOT RECIPE

This is kinda just a “to taste” method, but I looooove it so much.
– Malt vinegar
– splash of water
– Brown sugar
– Black and yellow mustard seeds
– Bay leaves
– Black pepper

Boil all the ingredients until you have a rolling boil.  Basically just taste the mix until you get a flavour you like.  The main bits to change are the water, vinegar and sugar.  I like a LOT of vinegar.  Once on a rolling boil, pour over sliced beetroot in jars.  Pop a bay leaf in with the water.  Seal and eat later.  Do not do anything with the jars until they are cool.