Mystery Solved

 For about a week I wasn't finding any eggs in the coop in the morning. It was getting to the point that I thought I'd need to buy some from the store (gasp!) We use a lot of eggs here, and with only three hens we need every last egg. A broken shell is a minor tragedy. I was starting to assume the hens were eating their eggs for whatever reason chickens do, when I saw an egg in the middle of the yard--just sitting there. After I picked it up I figured I'd go on an egg hunt. Peeking behind an old pallet we propped up for shade, I found a HUGE nest with nearly a dozen eggs in it. All the eggs passed the float test, and now I know where they're being hidden.

Naughty chickens think they can hide from me!

Future Salsa

After months of waiting for something to grow in the garden, FINALLY, the first ripe tomatoes. Last year I didn't get any tomatoes out of the garden because the first frost hit early and hard. This year I planted double and I'm going to can most of it. It will also be my first year canning. I need to find a decent salsa recipe. And ketchup. I'd better get started.

These are going to be so good!

Of Tomatoes and Peppers

  Poking around in the garden today I noticed the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. Most other gardeners in the area are already canning their tomatoes, and I haven't been able to pick even one yet. This is exactly what happened last year-I waited months for tomatoes, and the first frost came and destroyed every last fruit before it even turned pink. This year, however, I've planned ahead. We got a movable greenhouse. It's just a cheap plastic cover with a PVC frame, but we can install it above the tomato beds and extend the season by a month or so. I'm hoping to get a stronger greenhouse next year so I can have produce year round, but that's pretty far down the list of things to buy that we can't afford yet.
  The bell peppers seem to be doing really well, but they're really crowded by the volunteer tomato that came up nest to it. I didn't have the heart to pull it out, it is a perfect plant, it just may be too late to get any fruit from it. I'm going to have to mull it over. Another tomato plant would mean ten more quarts of sauce if I can keep it from dying in the frost, but on the other hand, bell peppers are very expensive and the girls eat a lot of them. Should I risk losing some peppers in order to try for more sauce? Such a hard life I lead to be asking these questions.

No car

So Jeremy and I have been thinking seriously about saving energy. We'd tossed around the idea that we should just get rid of our car and walk everywhere. Seeing how we live less than three miles from work and shopping, it seemed like something that we could totally do, we just never got around to it. Having a car is easy-it takes five minutes to get to the store, and almost no physical effort to haul the groceries home. Who wouldn't love having one?

 When the car died, we saw our chance to begin the great experiment. Because Jeremy works at a grocery store, and I volunteer at the Co-op, obtaining groceries hasn't been too difficult. As long as we break the shopping down to a few items every day instead of one big trip a week, we only need to catch a ride or take the bus for big (i.e. heavy) purchases like dog food once a month or so. 

 We finally got my bikes back from my father (for a clue as to why it took so long, see the post about my wonderful father) but they're in terrible shape. I really think it would be cheaper to get new ones than to fix these up. It makes me really sad that I won't be able to ride my little cruiser again. For Christmas I think we'll gift the family a bike trailer as well as a new bike. I'd love one of those giant trikes with the basket in the back, but we'll see. 

 Jeremy is walking an average of sixteen miles a week, and I'm averaging nine. More if we decide to go out to dinner or rent a movie. 

 So far it hasn't been terribly difficult, it just takes a lot of planning ahead.