Welcome to our family blog to keep you updated on all the happenings around the Walker cottage and "farm". Even though we live in a rural section of the Tennessee Mountains life is far from boring as you will see.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER



Hello!  I hope this finds everything going OK on your end.

Between the eclipse- during which I was canning tomatoes that day, although I did take a break and sat out on my front porch during the main action- and the hurricanes that have battered our southern states, it broke the humid cycle normal at this time of the year with lovely cooler weather. In fact it has gotten down right chilly at night and the cool breezes say that autumn is nearly here.

The garden stuff is just about over and my pantry and freezer are full. I canned 12 qts of beans, 73 qts  of tomatoes, another 7 qts of the 3 day pickles, and have a total of 13 baggies of dried apples. Then I bought corn and did up 26 qts to put in the freezer.  Have I been busy or what?  All the work is worth it when I see my full pantry and freezer. There is nothing like cooking with your own homemade stuff. Case, my grandson, loves to help me in the kitchen. He tells me that my food is the best ever. I'm always glad to get wholesome food in him as his mother only buys fast food or stuff already made.

The exciting news at the Walker farm is that five baby chicks hatched from the six eggs over three days. I couldn't believe my eyes at first when on Friday morning I went out to the hen house to see a yellow tiny head peaking out from brown feathers as I wasn't expecting any eggs to hatch until that Monday. Talk about at tiny adorable ball of fluff! I put the mother hen and her babies in the brooder for a week before letting them out in the hen house. The mother hen fiercely protects her babies. I love watching her chuck to them as she searches for food and see them burrowing under her feathers to take a nap or jump on top of her and rest a bit. They are so full of energy. At first the other hens didn't know what to make of all these miniature creatures running around under their feet. Something has gotten into the hen house though and two of the babies are gone so I am stopping up any holes and keeping a close eye on them.

I somehow picked up the flu that is going around and was down for three miserable days. I am so thankful to be back up on my feet again and able to eat. What a blessing as I am behind on my outside work from all the canning. I need to get some more of my hedges trimmed again and get my gardens ready for the coming winter- not to mention cleaning out the hen house and shed. Of course my house also needs a loving touch as I haven't gotten to all of the rooms with my yearly cleaning- forget the spring and fall cleaning like my grandmother used to do. I am good to get each room thoroughly cleaned once a year, although I do shudder at all the dirt and dust wondering where on earth it has come from. It’s a good thing I do basic cleaning once a week or my poor house would totally collapse.

I am having more trouble keeping Dana on his oxygen. He gets tired of wearing it and will take it off. One Sunday even though his level was low with oxygen, Dana refused to agree to take it along so I stayed home not wanting to risk him passing out on me from lack of oxygen. I am no longer able to reason with him. Dana also goes to the senior center every Friday whether he is up to it or not. One week he barely was able to get back inside the house when the van brought him back. I had to go out and help him in where he collapsed in bed for the rest of the day.  Then another week I got a call. He started having seizures and passing out so they called the ambulance, which took him to the ER.  His sugar had bottomed out- a rare thing as it is always way too high. 

Dwight got some wood the other week so we were busy stacking it while Dwight split some. Soon it will be time to get my wood stoves going again. Needless to say I get plenty of exercise to stay fit without going to a gym or running up and down the road like I see some people do. What a waste of energy. How our grandparents would shake their heads. All they need is a garden and some animals.

I shall hush up for this month. Take care on your end!
Dorcas

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