Baby Birds need to eat too!

Baby birds are so fun to watch. We have several fun birdhouses around and this year have had a lot of fun watching them. Here is a picture ( although a bit blurry) of a momma bird feeding her adorably cute babies. I love how they open their mouths so wide, just knowing mom will put something good in it.

 

Dill and Bread and Butter Pickles

Ah cucumbers. We planted quite a few this year and so far they are doing great! This is the first large harvest we've seen, besides just a few here or there we've been eating.

 

Everyone needs some fantastic baskets for picking the garden. They sell fancy ones that are expensive but this one I think I got for maybe $1 at a yard sale. We've been using it for years.

Pickles aren't that difficult in my opinions. You can get recipes from the Ball Book of Canning, online by just googling pickle recipes and from mixes such as Mrs. Wages.  Our family likes a combination of Dill, Spicy Dill and Bread and Butter. Today's canning session produced

4 quart Dill, 3 quart bread and butter and 1 pint bread and butter.

 

I forsee me doing more batches in the future, as long as the garden keeps producing. We love sandwiches and hamburgers with dill on it, as well as just crunching on them for a snack or with a meal. I only have one child that loves the Bread and Butter as of yet, but it's my favorite and my father will appreciated a few jars as gifts as well.

 

To see my totals for canning for the 2015 season you can go here.!

 

Let me know in your comments what you have been canning so far.

 

Happy Homesteading!!!

A girl and her chicks: A love story in pictures

Above is a picture of my oldest daughter several years ago with a baby chick. She loved her chicks.

Here she is about 5 years later with a new chick. She still loves her chicks. We have 12 adult chickens right now, and now we have 8 teenager chickens as the kids call them , and 8 new chicks. We have some neat breeds that the girls plan on showing at the fair. I'll let you know how that goes.

Ministering to those with Cancer ( or other troubles)

I'm betting you won't have to look around far to see those that are having some troubles. It seems right now in our community there are several fighting cancer. Besides prayer there are a few other ways I would like to encourage you to minister to those with cancer.

1. Offer yourself
Many times the family or patient won't accept help, but it's nice to ask. When you know of a family that is having troubles think what might be of help to them. Some suggestions ( depending on how well you know them)
-picking up things from town for them ( works well if the family lives far from town like ours does)
-mowing the yard or other yard type work, especially if the one that is ill is the one that does the mowing
-offer to clean their home or do their laundry
-offer to watch their children so the adults can rest

2. Offer a meal
- I call ( or text or email) and let them know I would like to bring a meal and what night and time this week would be good for them. I then follow up letting them know I'll be there with dinner at 6 pm on Friday so they know to expect it.
-bring the food in disposables so they won't have to worry about getting back your best lasagna pan, you can find aluminum dishes of all size at Dollar Tree around here and I just stock up when I go.
-If you don't know the family well , get a sense of what they like
-Sometimes after a long illness the budget also decreases so I'll try to bring some treats especially if they have kids, things they may not be used to getting so much
-I also bring a bag of paper plates, napkins, silverware etc. so they family won't have to do dishes, I normally try to ditch the disposables, but this is one time I use them

3. Send a card
I find it's odd to write "Get Well Soon" on a card for those undergoing lengthy chemo or radiation treatments, but some other things to write might include
-Praying for you
-Thinking of you
-Hope you have a better week
-Sending hugs
-Love you and your family
-Sending smiles your way
Something along those lines. DaySpring has some good cards with religious sentiments on them and I normally buy the variety pack to have them on hand, but again the Dollar Tree has some good ones for .50 cents each here.

I challenge you to find one family in your area this week that could use a smile. Let them know that others care and offer up one of the above this week: yourself, a meal or a card. Let me know of a time recently you have been ministered to like this, or have ministered to others.

Happy Homesteading Y'all