The best Farm Dog EVER!

 Fifteen years ago we rescued a Golden Retriever and her nine pups.  When the puppies were weaned, we were fortunate to find them all good homes.  The kids chose this beautiful, sweet little pup to keep for ourselves and named her Eppie M. after a character in one of their favorite books.

 "How did you train Eppie dog not to step on the vegetables or flowers?'  my daughter asked me this past summer.  I replied," I didn't"......,she just knew to stay in the narrow foot paths throughout the acres of growing veges.  There were a few times in the spring that she would get a bit confused because the freshly tilled ground all looked the same, but a simple "Eppie get out" was all that was needed and she would scurry off the freshly planted area.  She never chased the hens, sheep or goats, but would spend her morning chasing after the large long-legged Jack Rabbits that plagued the farm.  You could always tell by her bark weather she was after a rabbit or protecting her farm from coyotes or other wandering dogs.  Eppie loved her little farm.  When she was 7 years old, we moved from Beryl to Northern Utah and of course we took her with us, but she was so un-happy.  She would lay on the lawn and refuse to eat, or even greet the kids when they came home from school.  After a couple of weeks and loosing an unhealthy amount of weight, I told my husband that I was going to take her back to the farm," she is just going to lay there and die".   I loaded her up and drove the 400 mile one way trip back to the farm.  I was concerned about leaving her there, we did have caretakers living in the mobile home on the farm that would feed her and keep an eye on her.  As soon as I turned off the paved road and she heard the gravel hitting the underbelly of the car, she sat right up and began to whimper.  Pulling onto the farm road I drove to the vegetable gardens and let her out.  She ran yelping and barking, turning in circles and a big happy grin on her face verified that she wanted to stay at the farm, that this was her home.  Over the next six years Eppie would stand  guard over our little farm, watching over her goats, chickens and sheep until I came in the early spring to do the planting, lambing and kidding. She was my constant companion as I worked the fields and escorted me up and down the lane to the farm several times during the night to check in on the does and ewes during the 2 month kidding season,  She followed me through the maze of garden pathways over the next six summers, and when the fall harvest season was over I loaded up and made the trip back up north without her.  The kids missed her over the long winter, but understood that was where she was happy.  They were however, able to spent many long, happy summer days with her, hunting rabbits, kangaroo rats, and any other varmints plaguing the farm.

This picture was taken just a couple of weeks before she passed on 

The past couple of years she has spent with us up north during the winter.  We tried once again to bring her up with the family and she adjusted o,k,  I guess she knew her time was short.  She would come down to the farm with me and the kids during the summer, carefully walking the garden paths, and chasing the rabbits, but not as fast and as far now.  

The cancer began as a small lump and quickly grew into a large oozing mass on her side.  The vet said because of her age, 15 years old, she was too old to operate.  Just take her home and she will probably die of old age before the cancer gets her.  However she went down hill fast, and when she went off her feed, and was suffering, we knew it was time to let her go.  I made my husband take her to the vet, I couldn't do it, but I said my goodbyes and thanked her for being the best farm dog ever, for helping raise my kids, for being my constant companion at the farm, and for NEVER/EVER walking on the plants and flowers.

Eppie M.  you were loved and cherished.  As we take you home to your little farm and bury you among the flowers and garden paths we are so grateful to have been your humans and once again,

 THANKS FOR BEING THE BEST FARM DOG EVER!

SECOND GROWTH CABBAGE

Harvested the last of the cabbage from the garden. 

 Cabbage can take a light frost, but when the teens are predicted you had better bring it in. 

Cabbage can be harvested in the spring, summer and fall.  The early or short day cabbages are harvested as soon as the heads are full and firm around 60 days after transplanting.  Mid season cabbages are harvested 70 to 90 days after harvesting.  My preferred cabbage to grow is the Late Flat Dutch.  This cabbage takes an entire growing season to mature, however the heads will produce over 20 pounds of cabbage each.  I plant all three varieties (early, mid, and late) and begin harvesting

 in early summer. 

new growth of smaller cabbages on the parent plant after harvesting the main head
this plant produced 6 additional heads.  Each head was about 6 inches in diameter.

The main head of this cabbage (early Dutch) was harvested in the early summer.  Cutting the cabbage head off just under the base and leaving the root and several bottom leaves in tack allows small new heads to develop on the leaf nodes.  This particular cabbage grew and additional 6 heads. 

 The second growth heads are much smaller than the initial head.  This method allows you to harvest cabbage throughout the season until winter frost kills the plant. 

 If you wish to store cabbage for use during the winter, uproot the whole plant (single original head) with as many roots intact as possible and hang it up in a root cellar or cold basement.  The heads will keep this way for several months.  If you have room in your fridge, you can store them in a plastic bag on the bottom shelf, they will keep for several months.  Check often for mold.

This is a picture of  second growth cabbage from a harvested plant.  They are small and tender.

click here for

Additional information

FALL is my favorite time of year

The leaves have fallen off the Ash Trees,

I am slowly collecting them and piling them high in the garden to be tilled in. 

I will also be adding large barrels filled with goat manure I hauled up from the farm,

and sawdust from the firewood we have been cutting up in the back yard. A portion of the garden spot in Roosevelt is in an old gravel driveway.  I have been working

 on building up the soil and adding in loads and loads of humus over the past few years. 

these plants have been moved indoors and placed in a sunny window

I enjoy this time of year.

  The cool crisp mornings, the smell of frost in the air.  I hurriedly squirrel away

the last of the garden produce.  Digging potatoes and hauling boxes and boxes of them downstairs

into the cool basement storage room.  Carrots are next on my list. 

 They will be sliced, steamed and frozen.

TRY THIS:  Select 10 or more carrots and cut the bottom portion of the carrot off one inch from the top. Trim back the green tops to one half inch and then plant together in a pot using garden soil or potting mix. Leave just a small portion of the carrot and the green tops exposed. Place in a sunny south window.   Water frequently. The carrots will re-grow their lacy tops and make a beautiful houseplant.

Carrots purchased from a grocery store will also grow new tops.

The canning is done. I will be harvesting the last of the tomatoes from the vines hanging

 in the wood shed and making more oven dried tomatoes.

The crisp cool air reminds us that winter is on it's way. 

 Trips to the mountains after our winter wood is something else I love about fall.

Driving to the top of the world (well almost) 

 we gather in enough wood to get us through the winter.

Taking along a picnic lunch and plenty of water we spend several hours filling our

8 foot long trailer to the top.  Sure do miss the youngin's help, especially when there

 are 4 or 5 more loads to get. 

 After a long day's work out in the cold weather, nothing can compare with a nice warm fire in the wood stove and a cup of this decadent hot chocolate! 

Home-made hot chocolate mix:

4 cups dry powdered milk

2 cups powdered confectioners sugar

1 and 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 cups non dairy creamer (try your favorite flavor)

1 12oz. pkg. of white chocolate chips 

Mix  together all ingredients except the white chocolate chips.  Splitting the batch in half, place half in a food processor.  Add half of the chips and pulse until fine.  Repeat a second time with remaining ingredients.  Stir both batches together and store in an airtight container.

  Use about 1/3c. mix in a mug and fill with hot water or milk.

 I carry it one step further and stir it with a plastic spoon I have dipped in melted chocolate.

To make the spoons use regular dipping chocolate and simply dip the spoons in the chocolate and place on a sheet of wax paper.. Make enough to get you through the winter and store in an air tight Freezer Bag.

My VINTAGE AIRSTREAM TRAILER

An Airstream

was listed on Craig's list years and years ago.  I just happened to see the add and called.  It was still available for sale ( it was long before they became so popular) so I loaded up the old Burbanitor with supplies for a few days and made the long, one way trip to pick it up.  I had been looking for one......to have at the farm.  My kids would spend the summers in it, giving them a place to sleep instead of on the hard, cement floor of the living room in our little one bedroom house.

I have fond memories of  silver sided classic Airstream's.  As a kid there was one abandoned near the old turkey sheds that were on the outskirts of town.  We farmed the land all around it and oft times my younger sister and I would go inside on hot sunny afternoons to escape the blistering sun while we waited to change the water in the fields. 

I can still smell the mice and rodents that occupied it, but it offered shelter on a hot day so we didn't mind too much.  

WELCOME TO MY CLASSIC VINTAGE AIRSTREAM

furnished with odd bits and treasures

 gathered over the years

a heavy, solid, ceramic vintage owl lamp serves as a door stop

 COME ON IN.........

  To the right is a comfy chair 

old table cloths and vintage curtains wrap around covering the windows

on the far side of the bed

a small magazine rack covered with an old velvet skirt sits between the bed and the couch

I purchased this vintage lamp for just a couple of dollars at a thrift store years ago

the old couch is covered with a blanket and a beautiful, fringed, tapestry

a small black fridge sits atop of an antique drop leaf table

just lift up the side for a place to eat

the kitchen is to the left

it has orange counter tops

down the hallway, behind the chair, to your left is a couch that makes into a bed 

the old bathroom needs to be remodeled

it is not in working order, for now we just use the 

"outdoor bathroom"

GLAMPING/ OUTDOOR BATH

A cozy place to stay when working on my little organic vegetable farm.


Click here to see my little 1960
Vintage Camp Trailer

Cheery Geraniums on a sunny windowsill

With winter on it's way, I have removed some of the Geraniums from the garden and into the dinning room placing them under a sunny window.

This little wooden drawer filled with bright flowers will bring a breath of summer into my sewing room as I work on projects all winter long.

I keep busy all winter (when I can't be outside playing in the dirt)

making my gypsy bags, recycled clothing,

and of course drawing and oil painting.

click here for a peek at what I am up to

gypsybags-n-rags.blogspot.com

You can find my clothing, bags and other vintage treasures at

GYPSY MAMA'S

located on Hwy 40

 Fort Duchesne, Utah

Green Tomato Jam

Gather the green tomatoes before they begin to ripen.  You want to use firm tomatoes for this recipe.  

 Remove stems, cut in half and remove core from each half.  Cut into quarters and chop fine in a food processor.  Pour into a large colander and let drain until all moisture is removed. 

My friend and neighbor down at the end of the road gave me this recipe.  I made a few adjustments, using 10 cups of tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in each batch.  Process in a hot water bath according to the altitude recommendations of your area.  Do you have a favorite recipe using green tomatoes?  Please share it in the comment section.

OVEN DRIED TOMATOES
Here you will find a recipe for using up all those ripe tomatoes.
I pack them in small containers and store in the freezer.
Thaw and use as needed for soups, sauces, on crusty bread, or whenever sun dried tomatoes are called for in recipes.  Make them to give as Christmas Gifts to friends and neighbors.

Tomato Harvest

It's a busy time of year.  Bringing in the harvest before the frost.  This year I planted all my tomatoes in Roosevelt.  My growing season at the farm in Beryl is just not long enough to get  tomatoes to ripen, (I have to plant them in the green house to get a crop) and with an extra 2-3 months growing season here in Roosevelt I have split my crops between the two places.  Cold crops in Beryl and tender/warm crops in Roosevelt.  However next year, I will plant all my early, prolific, summer squash in Beryl.  The squash bugs here in Roosevelt destroyed my whole crop!  I have never had squash bugs in Beryl, I think I just live so far out in the middle of nowhere they have never been able to find me!

Pulled out the tomato plants by the roots and hung them in the wood shed.

3 or 4 plants are gathered together and hung in a bundle from the rafters of the wood shed

This will protect them from frost and allows the tomatoes to continue ripening on the vines.

Check daily they seem to ripen faster this way. 

I harvested boxes and boxes of green tomatoes off the vines left in the gardens and will be making

Pickled Dill Tomatoes

and Green Tomato Jam

the next few days.

What is your favorite way to use green tomatoes?

WATERMELON RADISHES

Harvested the last of the radish crop this morning.

The Watermelon Radish is one of my favorite radishes to grow.  It produces large radishes if left in the garden until fall.  I plant them in the early spring and begin harvesting in the summer as soon as they reach 1 inch in diameter. They do not become woody or pithy like other radishes.  They are a bit milder than traditional radishes, and the flamboyant color makes them great appetizers,  Slice thinly and top with a dab of cream cheese sprinkled with course sea salt and minced chives.

This radish measured 14 and 1/2 inches in diameter,

about the size of a softball.

A vintage milk glass tea cup placed on the radish helps give you

 an idea of how large these radishes can grow.

Think I'll run back out to the garden, pick some arugula, slather butter on  thin slices of home-made wheat bread, and have a radish sandwich for lunch.

YUMM!

On our Way to the ART FESTIVAL

We loaded up all my art supplies and enough provisions for a couple of weeks. Got up early (as usual) and left at 4:00 a.m. the following morning.

Arrived at the camp grounds late in the afternoon.

Made a lot of stops taking pictures of the beautiful scenery (prior post).

Thankfully there was a camping spot available and my husband

skillfully back "Rosie"into the tiny spot.

Camped by the beautiful Wide Hollow Reservoir

just west of Escalante in the Petrified Forest State Park.
Hundreds of Canadian Geese, spending a few days resting on the pond, serenaded us every night.

Early every morning as I headed out to paint, I had to wait for the wild Turkeys

 to decide which side of the road they wanted to eat from. 

 It reminded me of one of my favorite childhood story books,

"Make way for Ducklings"

A quaint little rock shop along side the road

One day as I was out painting, I discovered a Bear near the campsite

and if one bear isn't enough, I found this one just a short distance from the first,

ironically they are in the same group of rocks!

(look closely, can you find them?)

Painting from morning til dark in the beautiful outdoors, surrounded by some of the most breathtaking scenery on earth.  Conversations with like minded, artistic, eccentric, people and making great friends  (Linda, Lois, Penny, Peggy, Marsha, and Blaine) made for a wonderful week.

The forest service provided many informative discussions and presentations.

I observed demonstrations by renowned Plein Air painters; Brad Holt, Doug Braithwaite,

 and Valerie Orelman.

I bought a book by Edward Abbey

"Desert Solitude" 

at the gift store in the Visitors Center (my dog-eared copy is currently sitting boxed away in a storage unit).  I first read this book years ago as a young girl just out of high school.  I related with the wandering spirit, living in the wild outdoors, and desire of solitude. 

 Kept this book close at hand along with my

 John James Audubon writings and bird books, and the works of  Thoreau.

 I learned so much over the week, generally I have been a studio painter and painting in the great outdoors is different.  The play of light on surfaces is so fleeting, the colors changing right before your eyes, the sun intensifying every hue, and the silence, the silence is full of life, color, beauty and wonder. 

 This experience has opened the door, to the great outdoors, and a new adventure in painting.

  I have a lot of practicing to do, and new techniques to learn, apply, and hopefully master. 

I can hardly wait for next years Festival!

Fall Leaves and Wildflowers

To paraphrase the poet Robert Frost,

"I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference....."

The leaves were just beginning to change as I made my way over the mountains of Southern Utah on my way to the Plein Air Escalante Canyon Arts Festival.

I took a few photos through the windshield as we drove through the soft rain.

On the scenic route of Highway 12

we drove through a portion of Bryce Canyon National Park.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

                                                     ROBERT FROST