Queen's Edge Farm: Frogs Galore

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Frogs Galore

I copied this picture from Bob's blog over at "Walked With Angels". It reminds me of our pond, as it is loaded with frogs. I wonder if there is such a thing as too many frogs?

We have all kinds, some make a strange "peeping" noise when you walk up into the pond, then they plonk themselves in...it's almost like hearing and watching rain drops hit the pond, they all jump in so fast. We also have a couple of HUGE bull frogs, that make the strangest sound.

Oh! the most awesome thing happened today. I was sitting under the canopy (you know the kind you see at craft shows) that we put up at the land, I was reading. I heard this strange sound. I couldn't quite place it. It kind of sounded like the bees you hear on t.v., when a large swarm is chasing Winnie the Pooh, or something. Well, guess what, that's a pretty accurate sound! I looked up, and there was a SWARM of bees flying right for me! I am generally not scared of bees, and ever since I realized how useful they are to a homesteader, I have stopped swatting and killing them. But this many kind of freaked me out. I jumped out of their way, and they took an abrupt right turn and headed down the fence line. Makes me wonder if their hive is that way? I might go check it out, and see if I can find their honey. Hmmmm?

Rodney and Taylor left home early (missed church!) to go out to the land and work on the fence some more. They were able to get all the posts in the ground. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. The kids (and Rodney) rode the four wheeler, chased the dog, and spent most of the afternoon by the pond fishing. The girls played in the water too on the slip and slide. I tried to take the little plastic pool, but amazingly it was too big for the back of the PT cruiser.

I spent the afternoon mostly reading, but I did clean and organize the car. I keep a lot of stuff in the trunk, since we are always out at the land. I have enough food for a week, ways to cook it, a first aid kit, hand sanitizer, diaper wipes, tp, camping saw, changes of clothes for the girls, jackets for everyone, a blanket and a pillow (Hannah needs LOTS of naps). Now, if I just had a tent and some cots, we could spend the night out there......

I bought a little plastic table and two chairs so that we could eat easier, it was kind of hard trying to eat all this time out there, lots of spilled food. The dog was happy LOL!

I'd love a picnic table, but don't want to spend the money.

Well, I am off to bed. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

1 comment:

Temi said...: Amy I am so glad for you, that you have the support of your family now! I have wanted that for you all along!; April 14, 2008 at 3:42 PM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.