Flybutters

A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a clipping of her Passion Vine. Didn't do much of anything with it when I brought it home, just left it in the pot. Winter came, and it froze completely back. I thought it was gone. In the spring it came back, and I planted it on the fence between the barn and the dressage arena. It did ok the first year, but nothing spectacular. John would occasionally hit it with the weed wacker, and then we had to start all over. This year it has come in with a vengeance! There are so many beautiful flowers all over it. There are at least 8 - 10 new flowers a day, and so many buds, you can't count them all!

The passion vine is the host plant, and nectar plant to the Gulf Fliterary Butterfly. While I was working in my garden last week, I noticed all the pretty orange butterflies flying all around the Passion Vine. I got my camera and started taking pictures, and this one lovely little butterfly seemed to be posing for me. She would sit perfectly still and let me get right up next to her and take her picture. You can see a little yellow egg right in front of the butterfly in the picture.

I started looking into the life cycle of the Gulf Fliterary, and learned that the female will lay her eggs on the leaves of the Passion Vine. They are bright yellow at first , and the closer they get to hatching, the darker they get. I took a few leaves in with eggs on them, and had one hatch. The tiniest little orange and black caterpillar was there the next day. I've started a small butterfly habitat to watch as it all happens.

When my kids were little they called Butterflies, Flybutters. Would have been fun to do this with them! For now I'll do it for me, and save it for the grandkids.

Sunrise

The morning sun shining through the oak trees. A beautiful start to our day on the farm.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow. . . . .

Skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true!

Things are starting to bloom on the Farm

Strawberry Preserves

Sam and I went to Pappy's Patch in Oviedo to pick strawberries on Saturday. The weather was cool, but the sun was shinning, and it was beautiful. The berries we got were smaller. We saw a lot of people leaving with really big berries, maybe for Valentines Day. The smaller one's we got were very sweet. We picked just enough to set up a few jars of preserves. We had a lot of fun, and hope to go back again before the season is over.

Strawberry Preserves Recipe

4 quarts strawberries

1 package powdered pectin

1/4 cup finely chopped & seeded lemon

1/4 cup water

6 1/2 cups sugar

Coarsely chop strawberries in a food processor. Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and skim off foam. Stir to disperse fruit. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two piece caps. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fall Garden

November 1st I planted a "trial" fall garden. Started with broccoli, celery, and romaine lettuce. Everything went well until we had our first frost, which came very early for the winter season. Normally, we wouldn't have a frost until January or February! I covered all the plants with 30 gallon Rubbermaid storage containers, and layered furniture mats on top of that. I did that for the next several nights. Finally, warmer weather was coming! I uncovered everything, and noticed as I was taking the mats off that everything was really flat. I thought maybe not enough sun, or water, but apparently my 4 cats had been laying on top of the mats to keep warm, so all of my celery, lettuce and broccoli had been flattened! The next night was much colder than I had anticipated. Down below freezing again! I checked my plants the following morning, and the broccoli was frozen ice! I checked the lettuce, and the celery, and it was the same. Between the cat's and the ice, I thought my fall garden was gone. As the day went by, everything thawed out and was fine! I gave it all a little water, and it perked right up! I've harvested the lettuce, and the broccoli is about ready to pick! The celery has some time left, but it's looking great! Fall and winter is the best time to have a garden from my experience! No bugs to deal with at all! I'm looking forward to my spring garden, but I'm really looking forward to my fall garden next year!

Canning

In my garden this past spring and summer, I had an abundance of vegetables, especially green peppers. I used a lot of them on Sunday mornings for omelet's, and various things during the week. I really gave more of them away than I used. I started looking into preserving and canning. I have had fun making things. One of my favorite's is homemade salsa! My little garden didn't produce enough last year to make anything, so I bought fresh produce from the Farmers Market in Plant City when I would go for Tifton Hay for the horses. The tomatoes over there are beautiful! Hopefully mine will be as pretty this coming spring.

Home Made Salsa

10 cups fresh peeled, seeded, cored tomatoes

5 cups of fresh diced green peppers

5 cups of diced onions

13 fresh diced jalapeno peppers(deveined, and seeded)

1 bunch fresh chopped cilantro

3 stems oregano(just leaves) chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, with 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps, and process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Note: When chopping and seeding jalapeno peppers, wear rubber gloves. The more seeds and veins you leave in, the hotter the salsa!

ENJOY!

Nature at it's best.

Pixie Dust In The Barn

An early morning ray of sunshine spotlights floating dust; the beginning of a magical and peaceful day.