~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty}
I'm never that up on yard work. I'm a city girl with a country heart. That means, I want to live in the country but have no idea how to do it. So the yard is often less than perfectly groomed, as this post will demonstrate.
Sometimes… once in a looooong while, spring starts gently around here and we can get things looking decent before the weeds set in. But this year… oh, this cold and hard year…
So this is it right now, pretty much — this daffodil. There really wasn't even enough mint last weekend for a proper mint julep on Derby Day.
{happy}
And now for the Works In Progress part — things that honestly, bring a lot of contentment.
First, we are doing some much-needed work on the leach field area of our yard. If you don't know what a leach field is, you don't live in the country. Maybe where you are people talk about the weather and… (trying to remember what I talked about in the city)… where to rent a bike… and… (thinking)… really fresh burrata — but here we talk about septic systems. Really. Go to a party and listen to what the conversation is about. I guarantee it.
Our house is on a hillside (I like to call it Massacre Hillside because yes, people were massacred there long ago and that is where my mind goes, but that's not actually its name). So the leach field is huge and ends up having a nice view over the valley. Maybe when there's an actual lawn up there, we'll be able to truly enjoy it. I am not too hopeful, as our family isn't too handy with grass. But we will try.
I'm sorry, but the quince is gone. It was sad that it got cut down the very one week of the whole year that it actually has something to offer.
Talk about massacre. It died with pink blooms on! Since the rest of the 51 weeks it was an ugly monstrosity, good riddance. Will asked me if it was from the “shrubbery” family. Yes, I replied, it was a bush. “It's a leading question.” He hates shrubbery and sometimes I'm with him.
Much, much better. Still In Progress, but better:
You can see the wet, so you can see why we haven't mown yet. And that is a lot of what makes everything look so scraggly and so In-Progress-y… that and the tractor tracks. But tomorrow the loam comes and then the hydroseeder!
… and tomorrow my yogurt will be ready. That's not a big thing like renovating a big section of your yard. It's a little thing that you tuck into your routine, but still, it's a Work. In Progress.
I've been making it for a month now. Despite my propensity for boiling the milk right over on my stove, it turns out so wonderfully well. Thick and tasty. I never wrapped my mind around the process until I came across LMLD reader Ruth's instructions. I pretty much do what she says, putting my mix into clean jars and into this cooler (which closes snugly) for 18-24 hours. Perfect and thick. Did I mention thick? Because that is what I really care about in a yogurt.
So, the other day at the grocery store I found these:
Plus a chuck roast that is now snuggled happily in the freezer. I do love that yellow sticker! The orange one is nice too 🙂
So another Work In Progress was cooking the poultry up (I prefer not to freeze a raw whole chicken if I don't have to, especially such a big one — they take so long to thaw! You are used to a frozen turkey taking long to thaw and know to take steps to make it so, but with a chicken you're like, “I'll just quick, roast a chicken!” But no, it never thaws). The lamb I will start marinating tomorrow. This way, I will have lots of good cooked chicken and turkey in the freezer.
This is the first time I've grilled a turkey, and it was easy and quick! It's still In Progress (in the fridge waiting to be broken down — can't do all the work at once and nothing is lost by taking your time), but the meat seems nicely smokey, thanks to those little pans of sticks I put in the grill. I followed the instructions on this site. Thus, I think turkey will seem seasonal even now. You know, when it's not Thanksgiving at all.
I would have done the chicken the same way but there just wasn't room on the grill!
This all meant that my kitchen looked like this…
{funny and crazy}
The observation hive is up and running! In fact, it's packed solid with bees and their doings.
{real}
I'll tell you what was {real}, though — when the bees were first in there, Will looked up and saw Phil going down the hall to his office — where the observation hive is — in his full bee suit. “Uh-oh, that's not a good sign…”
No, no it wasn't. There were little cracks in the observation hive and the bees were escaping! But now they are all plugged up (albeit some with duct tape, I saw today, which isn't very aesthetico, methinks…).
{Go here to buy my book, The Little Oratory! Go here to start reading about it and about what Scott Hahn said!}
Mary says
Oh, our yard is like that, too, and it is so very hard for me to accept. We live on clay soil in a flood zone and it’s just so gross in the spring. The garden is a mess. I love when we’re given a few gifted warm days in March and April to get a head start on yard things but this year, everything seems late.
Your book is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and I’m excited to dive in! I linked it up yesterday even though I haven’t read it because I just know it’s going to be wonderful!
Kelly M. says
Septic systems; one more thing about homesteading you can’t fully “appreciate” until you move out to the middle of no where.
We need to clear some small trees from our leech field as well. Why didn’t anyone mention this glamourous part of country life?
Thanks for telling it like it is. 🙂
Sophie says
I do not live in the country, I live in the suburbs. So I’ll skip right over the septic system and say you have bees in your house?! That would make me so nervous. Couldn’t you observe them through a window?
Lucy says
Hahahaha. Yes. That is exactly what I thought. But also, how will the bees know to hibernate during the winter if it is always a balmy 68 degrees at the hive?
Wanda says
I am amazed at now big your property it!! Of course, yes, I am a city girl but have always wanted space. However, Mr. Golfer is a city man through and through!
Those bees make me very nervous! :)))))
Wanda says
Wow! Auto correct just made me look silly! Let’s try again. I am amazed at how big your property is! I am a city girl but have always wanted space. But Mr. Golfer is a city man through and through!
Those bees make me very nervous:)))))
elizabethe says
So, I tell everyone to try butterflying your turkeys and chickens. Cut that backbone out with kitchen shears and it takes about 45 minutes – 1 hour to cook a turkey and 30 for a chicken (depending on how big, of course) and no dried breast, greater surface area for crispy skin. When you go to section it after you cook it half the work is done. Butterfly the chicken before you freeze it and it will thaw faster. And then you can collect the nice backbones with a decent amount of meat for stock.
You can search for spatchcocked turkey or chicken for a recipe. Martha has a recipe for spatchcocked turkey and Nigella has a recipe for butterflied chicken (marinated with lemon and rosemary, yum!). Just try it once, I promise you, it will save you so much time and the birds will taste better. I cooked the turkey (16 lbs) at Thanksgiving that way once and everyone was like “so juicy, did you brine it? How did you season it?” And I was like “I just spatchcocked it.”
Leila says
Elizabethe, I’ve done that! Including weighing down with a brick! I love it. This day with two big birds and actually about three other projects in the kitchen I opted for little or no prep. But another day I will definitely do that, and I am already thinking that on Thanksgiving the bird will be grilled, as long as it isn’t actually snowing out there!
Rosie says
Oh, that reminds me that I need to start making yogurt again! And I promised my 4-year-old we’d try making cheese this summer when the tomatoes and basil are ready for caprese salad… Any experience or advice there?
Kathy@9peas says
I loved that you showed the observation hive, I’ve been eager to hear how it is going!!! Our garden’s are STILL not in but we’ve been painting and working on a fence, so it will be late but we have a long growing season so that is a mercy!
Lacy says
A suggestion from a country bumpkin stuck in the suburbs. You need some goats! You can just divide up your property with fencing sections, move them from section to section, and…voila! Grass mowed! What? That doesn’t sound like a good idea to you? Yeah, my Dad won’t let me talk him into outfitting his country property with goats, either. Something about the fact that they’re, you know, goats. I’ve lived in suburbs for nearly 20 years now, and I’ve never yet gotten over the humor of the amazement other people have when exposed to country life issues.
Ok, now an actually helpful suggestion. If you have trouble with boiling/scorching your milk during yogurt-making because you *might* be too distractible to tackle such a task–not that I would know anything about that problem, of course–a crockpot might be an easier overall solution. I’ve forgotten the exact timing because my children can no longer have cow dairy, and I can’t stomach the thoughts of goat yogurt just yet, but you can google it and find several time suggestions quickly. There’s one popular daily crockpot blog which has great instructions. The general idea is dump milk in crockpot; set {loud} timer; come back in ** hours and turn off crockpot; set timer; come back in ** hours and stir in starter; wrap the whole shebang in a thick towel or two and set it in a warm spot; 8-12 hours later… yogurt! I used a fancy yogurt maker until the ease of the crockpot method rendered it obsolete. Happy country bumpkining!
Kate says
Aack! We have goats and I would never, ever let them out of their back 2 acres onto our front 2 acres for lawn maintenance. Because they wouldn’t go for the grass; they’d go for the luscious roses and the raspberries and the fruit trees. Goats are browsers (unlike sheep and cows, which are grazers). They prefer twigs and leaves and rough stuff to boring old grass. If you want to limit a goat’s damage potential in a yard, you have to tether him, but not with too long or too tight a rope because they will get tangled up and they have delicate necks (probably the only thing delicate about them). It’s easier to use a weed-wacker.
Lacy says
Actually, I’m just joking (badly) about goats, I promise! We had a kudzu issue, and more than one person suggested borrowing goats as a solution. There are actually some people around here who rent out flocks (herds? what?) of goats as a “green” method of kudzu eradication, but they have all kinds of special fencing, etc. I just love visiting other people who have them for their general hilarity.
CarlynB says
When I was making yogurt on a regular basis, I made it in a crockpot. Easy, but I also had to let it drain through a cheesecloth in order to get it to the thickness that we like. I wrote about it on my practically abandoned blog.
Kate says
You have bees in your house?! Auntie Leila, you are a braver woman than I. However, that’s actually really cool. My grandparents had bees for years (albeit outside), and their honey was always soooooo good. It was neat for us kids to see the bees in the yard and know that we could eat the result of those very bees’ efforts (we were all under strict instructions not to be mean to the honey bees haha).
Also, your daffodil is lovely. They are one of my favorite spring flowers, but unfortunately they are not very popular here in Texas and I’ve only seen one or two, instead of the usual yards and yards of them. So yours is quite nice 🙂
Stephanie says
Leila I got your book in the mail yesterday! It’s beautiful! This post was so fun to read, big and little works of progress…the heart of spring 🙂 The REAL was great with the bees escaping and the “suit” needed for damage control. God bless!
Kate says
Aaah, septic. We, unfortunately, have TWO septic tanks on our property, one for each bathroom. There is an older, run-down, small house (which my husband uses for an office and doesn’t have a working bathroom) near our main house. When the original owners added onto the main house, they must have thought it would be easier to tie into the little house septic instead of to the main house septic. So now we have to maintain two septic systems. Thankfully, both of them have not given problems at the same time, but my husband (the city boy) has become quite proficient with plungers, snakes and rooters and we say “our plumber” instead of “the plumber.”
Lorraine says
Leila, This will sound like I’ve lived in a cave my whole life, but I was born and raised in the country in Pennsylvania where we had a septic tank (which we called a cesspool) and now live in rural Virginia where we also have a septic tank. Here and in Penna. we called drainfields, what you call leach fields. I have never heard that term used before!! In my defense, I have as little as possible to do with any part of that system. Not on my PD.
I love the bees in the house hive. My son keeps bees (not in the house) and they are my favorite insects. I would enjoy having an observation hive. Actually bees are pretty docile when they are gathering pollen. Its the wasps that you have to watch out for. There is a relatively new wasp from Europe down here in VA, that will go after any human or animal that comes anywhere near it and there sting is really painful.
Charlotte says
I am totally intrigued by the homemade yogurt thing now. I’ve heard you can also make it in a crockpot.
Tamara says
I need to check out those yogurt instructions. I gave up on it because I could NOT get it thick and that’s all I care about with yogurt too. Well, that and what kind of yummy homemade jam Im going to stir into it 🙂
Sarah K says
My work in progress at the moment is making our summer plans, including choosing some books for summer family reading. Right now we have the Little House books- as many as we can get through. I put the Railway Children on the list and in searching for a copy of it online discovered this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8392618/The-Railway-Children-plagiarised-from-earlier-story.html
What are your thoughts? I’m sure we’ll still read it, but maybe I’ll also read The House by the Railway and make up my own mind.
Lisa G. says
So, there was a massacre on your land long ago? During the Revolution, I suppose. Don’t know how I’d handle that – many prayers offered on the site, I guess! I am really close to trying to make yogurt, myself and excited about it.
(better to have a leach field than a leech field!) 😀
Alice says
Oh dear, I’m sorry to see the quince go, but I suppose I don’t have to live with it. There are actual buds on the trees out our window! I thought this winter might never end.
My work in progress involves a 1970’s microfilm reader hanging out on our changing table. As… happens?
Sarah says
I have found that my yogurt is thicker if I bring it to a simmer slowly and hold it there for five minutes before cooling it to 112 and adding the culture. I do a half-gallon at a time and it takes about 25 minutes on a low heat. I set the timer to avoid the boil-over. Also, if you rinse the pot first and add the milk to a wet pot then it is very much easier to wash afterwards. I incubate mine for 24 hours in a apple crate atuffed with old sweaters and an electric heating pad set on low.
Thank you for the glimpse into your projects.
Jamie says
I would love (when you have the time!) for more yogurt information! I find it intriguing but have never researched it and still found the directions a bit vague for a total beginner!
It would be so nice to save some money on that yogurt I love to have with my homemade granola!
Kimberlee says
Great works in progress! You probably didn’t even boil the milk over (while reading a book) when making the yogurt like I did. I’ve been making honey vanilla yogurt, putting it in pint sized canning jars for added charm. (my son thinks it’s so quaint taking a jar of yogurt with him to college – very rustic) It’s so good with granola. My major work in progress is the Spring Yard Clean Up. So fun to be outside after the Long Winter!
Donna L. says
Thank you for sharing works in progress…it’s very inspiring to those of us have a whole life full of “works in progress”!
I would have loved a couple of the quince tree branches so I could start some here….the flowering buds are a beautiful color and I simply adore them!
I have actually made “raw milk” yogurt without boiling….just mixed in some honey, a couple of tablespoons of vanilla a bit of other yogurt {for the live culture} and then put into an old tight-fitting cooler into which I had put 3 inches of 100 degree water….covered with towels…takes about 12 hours.
I am not a genius–I simply found one of my baby’s bottles with raw milk that got dropped on the floor and left overnight—and it had turned into yogurt! Funny!
Donna L. says
Just re-reading this and had to laugh out loud! I don’t know if anyone else has made yogurt this way—as we eat so much each day and I kept running out! After mixing the milk/honey/active cultures together, I put the yogurt in “quart jars with lids” and then place them in the old cooler….much cleaner that way!
Leane says
I can relate to lagoons and septic systems. Gotta love the country! 🙂 Thank you and lovely, as usual!
Alyssa Spring says
For someone who says – they don’t know how to live in the country you are doing, well…rather famously.
briana says
Yaya on the yogurt making! I’ve been making mine for years, now, too. It’s the only way I can keep these people in yogurt.
And I have septic horror stories. Like, sitting in the back yard BBQing and having the septic go off LIKE A GEYSER and everyone having to run inside, and then the neighborhood realizing it was our house …
Woman of the House says
I love those little yellow labels too. I keep an eye peeled for them when shopping! I confess I don’t know what a leach field is, but I’m glad I don’t have to deal with one. 🙂