Productive day.

 I was busy yesterday! It feels so good to be productive and get things done. My husband had weed whacked the whole place a few days ago so I went around and mowed again. It looks so good when all the weeds are cut and beds edged. I also went through the garden rows and push mowed. I have to leave every daisy and marigold that's popped up in between the rows. And some stray zinnias here and there as well. But it looks so good right now!

I found this yesterday on the porch rail of my studio. How cool! I left this empty coffee container on the rail a few weeks ago and forgot about it. Looked in yesterday and saw this. I hope it works for the little bird. Stupid cats will kill it though.

I made zucchini bread for the market in the morning. I'll be at Mrs. T's all day today, then the shearer will be here at 5 to shear the last 4 girls. So no time today. I'll have to get the car loaded in between all this. The studio smells so good now, and I didn't even want to take a bite of it. I am down to 211 now. So close to my goal, I can't stop now.

And I started this fleece in the washer yesterday. It took 5 hours to get it all cleaned. This is Annabelle's wool. It's still got a lot of crap in it that I'll have to pick out while carding. But it's so pretty. It's about 1/4 of her fleece. This will take forever to do 12 more sheep fleeces and 4 alpaca.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Outback Farm honey!

Here it is, the first ever Outback Farm honey! It's so pretty and so good too! I am proud of my girls and myself too. Never would have thought I'd be doing this in a million years. But here it is. And this is just 4 shallow frames of comb too. I hope I can get some more in the fall. I love it!

I will also be making lots of zucchini bread tonight.Look at all this goodness! I tell you what, if you don't go out every day and harvest squash and zucchini, you'll have 30 pounds of it to carry to the house.

The peppers are coming along nicely too. My husband got 5 nice hot peppers yesterday and I got some more today. Are Cow peppers supposed to turn red?

And there are flowers on the bean plants! So fresh green beans in a few weeks.

The weeds are growing faster than the actual veggies right now, with all the rain we've had. We really need to get in the garden and weed. A lot. And I still need to get the running beans planted in the corn soon.

Anyone else getting veggies yet?

Elderberry...

 I really love elderberries. These are some of mine that have just popped up. The big one is at the bottom of my year, by the road. I have yet to actually get any berries though. The birds get them all. So there are some really healthy birds around here! These are also all along the roads where birds have planted them.

This one is pretty tall and wide. The insect population is all over the flowers right now. On a single flower head, there could be several different types of insects. I have noticed my honey bees all over them too.

Mine have from 5-9 leaves on each stem. Some can have up to 11 leaves.

This one just popped up in one of my gardens last year.

This is the big one growing up through the barn in the South pasture.

There are so many things you can do with elderberry flowers and berries. I found a good recipe for elder flower lemonade a few years back. You just take several handfuls of the flowers and cut off as much stem as possible. Slice up about 8 organic lemons, add to a gallon of water with a few cups of sugar. Add flowers. Put some cheesecloth or paper towel over top and place in a warm spot for several days. Stir a few times a day.  After about 4 or 5 days, it should be nice and bubbly. Strain off flowers and lemons. Refrigerate. Add some lemon slices and ice and enjoy! It is SO good. I can't do this anymore because of the sugar. But a friend is making some with honey. I'm going to try some of hers tomorrow and see if it works with honey.

I also make elderberry syrup for fall, winter and spring, to keep from getting sick. I have been doing this for several years now and have not had a cold or flu or any serious illness since. I keep telling people about it. All it is is 1 cup of dried elderberries in 4 cups water. Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 10 whole cloves and about 2 T. chopped fresh ginger.  Bring to boil, then simmer til reduced a little. Let it cool, then strain. Add 2 cups raw local honey. I put this in colored glass jars that I've saved from my vitamins. It needs to be kept in the fridge. It makes about 4 cups and will last awhile.

And I have always wanted to try elderberry wine. One day I will do it. Has anyone else made it?

And if you have any recipes, I would love to see them too. I bet the dried berries would make some good muffins or pancakes.