How's the pantry doing?

So ,are you itching to get out in that garden?

This is what's left of my canning. As you can see I still have some jars that are unused but,don't forget there's still a lot of work to do before we get to the point of refilling those shelves.Here in New England we get all excited about gardening the minute the temp goes above 40 degrees.This year that happened a little early however it wasn't long before Mother Nature brought us back to reality with a hard frost.

Some flowers like the cold .This one in particular was made just for hobbits,it's so close to the ground that you have to be really short to see it's beauty.It is a Hellebore's and loves the shade.When I cook at the barn it's the first thing I see when I drive up to the kitchen.

Off in the distance from the rye field is where the strawberries.blueberries and raspberries are growing.It's quite a walk for me to sneak a closer peek but, I'll head over when I know I can taste them

Always something to do .These are the logs that fell in the storm.
The widest one reaches my hip,so,we are waiting for more powerful equipment to cut and stack into cords.
Well May has crept up upon me and there is much to do so talk to you later........said the hobbit

Do you see what I see??

Check out this hive. It measure about 24 inches top to bottom and was as big around as I am.

While bringing in the groceries for cooking at work,I spotted this out of the corner of my eye.It was in a rhododendron bush just inches away from the rear of my car.Whenever we come in to cook we brush up against this bush. We are lucky to have the university close by and we soon got the info wee needed.It was a bald face wasp nest and we should disturbing it because the wasp are VERY dangerous. OK now what do we do.


Just when we thought we had a problem along came a skunk and torn that nest to pieces.It seems they love larvae It's kinda like caviar to them.Next morning all that was left of the nest was scattered on the ground and hardly recognizable. I never thought of a skunk as a hero but, he certainly saved the day.

something else new for us on the farm are these artichokes.Has anyone else tried them this year?Aside from being an excuse to eat lemon and butter we're not quite sure what to do with them.They came up beautifully so I guess we'll try them again. Maybe you can tell me what you do with them...............said the Hobbit

Friends"gotta love 'em"

I have the best group of friends. They are creative, hard-working thoughtful people.Everyone of them has a list a mile long of things that need to be done so getting together has to be a planned event. All enjoy doing for others and some of us shy away from having others do unto us.



Receiving is a difficult thing for me.I am always quite shocked when people say"here ,I got this for you".Well that happened several times last week.First there was coffee beans from my friend Jeanne. As some of you might remember I cut the budget a little short a few months ago and found myself short of coffee for 3 days till Sarah came to my rescue with enough ground beans to make it to the next shopping day. This exercise in economy is also teaching me to waste not want not as they say.Last month when making my trip to a local outlet, I discovered they had NO regular coffee beans,but ,a 1lb tin of decaf with a hint of cinnamon was available for a mire $4 a lb. What a deal !! Hubby doesn't drink coffee so $4 for the month was some kind of savings.Once upon a time I would stop at Dunkin Donut twice a day for my coffee.I've come a long way baby.Yeah, well this was over the edge. Let me tell you Decaf with cinnamon is no substitute for a regular coffee drinker.I swore I would use up the whole lb.and I did.You will never see me make that mistake again.Aside from the fact that flavored coffees are not for me.I soon discovered that not having your caffeine fix will give you one massive headache.Thank goodness my friend heard of my plight and GAVE me an emergency 1lb of coffee which should get me back on track.


Then my good friend Lucy from the Barn ,surprised me with this years first batch of asparagus.Isn't it gorgeous!!I love this veggie,if it were available I would eat it every day. I think I'll use this as the final word on that pesky chicken. I've got a great casserole recipe that will suit these stalks just right. If they were a little thinner I would eat them sauteed with a little garlic and butter,but, they're just a little on the thicker side.

And then there's my good friend Cloe. She lives at my place of work and while I was sitting on the porch enjoying a bit a sunshine she decided to join us with a friendly bit of cuddling. She's the friendly one.The other cat is Hobbs,very needy,always checking to make sure you know he is around. Is that a male thing?Hmm?Oh that reminds me.Aprils total for grocery expenses.I purchased a total of $141.24 or $4.70 a day. Year to date:$428.19 This was my biggest month so far.Warmer weather seems to make us eat more.............said the Hobbit

coming up for air

Wow, I can't believe how time consuming this project has been.All I seem to do is check the pantry check my mental recipes go back to the pantry.It's one big circle but, I'm not giving up I plan on keeping track of my food expenses for the year so there are bound to be ups and downs. Today however, I am taking a break and stepping away from the pantry.I need to talk about something else,food is swirling in my brain, so, today we are avoiding that subject.


See these little rattles? They are helping me keep my sanity when I'm not stressing about food. I found the pattern on Purl Bee
They're a great little shop in New York City.Going there doesn't happen too often but I manage to go to their website for inspiration on a regular basis. These rattles are surprisingly easy to make,I think I'll try to keep them on hand for the baby boom that is coming.
This is a shawl I'm working on with local wool.The pattern is lacy and I'll have better pictures soon. This yarn was done by hand and was uneven in texture and color. It was a new venture by my friend Liz. I recently made a similar shawl for Sarah
and thought I'd do another while I have the pattern in my head. The yarn went to stitch and bitch on Tuesday evening because you need about six hands to wind a ball. It has those little fuzzes that love to bond with other fuzzes they met so it took a little patience to get it all wound up .As you can see we won the battle.

Before I go I must show you what I see outside my window at work. Picture isn't the greatest,I was so excited to see these cardinals. There were six males in all and I couldn't get them to squeeze in for a group picture so,this is the best I could do. Aren't they one of life's little pleasures?
Hope you enjoy them as I did.....................said the hobbit