Eggs, Citrus and Honey

Check out my Ama blog entry below this one and then

If you are interested in the Fall Farm Happenings...... read on.

 

Our goal for Forever Weekend Farm has always been to operate like a real farm, and the dream is to one day be totally sustainable, ecological, green, natural, balanced, & organic and never have to  run up to Winn Dixie or Publix.  Unfortunately, Joe and I both have to work full time jobs, so the progress is slow, but we are getting there. Our chickens are now providing us with plenty of free roaming organic eggs, and we can now boast that we have our own citrus and honey--(that sounds like an awesome bar of soap).

 

Let me tell you about this new grove of citrus. First, this is not your typical citrus grove--it is, so far, 33 trees of the old heirloom varieties--every tree is different and has a name and a season in which the fruit matures. And we tend to the trees as we do all our pets. Every tree is oohed and aahed over every early morning as we stroll with our steaming coffee. The leaves and buds are checked, caressed, and fussed over, and as each blossom turns to fruit.....well, let's just say these trees have given us a great amount of joy!

(Thank you, Greg and James)

 

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OK-You are probably thinking.....
You've seen one citrus tree, you 've seen them all-
not really----each one of these is a different variety with a very special personality!!





 

This next group of picture-- I just want to share-- 

Some pretty pictures of the

 Farm in the Fall.



The Foxtail Palms are full of seed pods,
 and we have had great success at growing our own.
The palms in front of our house
were all started from our own seeds,
and now, 7 years later,
these palms cover the front porch
with beautiful, tropical shade.
 (and have seed pods of their own). 





This lone spring gladiola bulb
must have saved herself for fall.
 She was a surprise this month.




My orchids are thriving in the palm hammock.
With their intricate root systems they have now
 attached themselves to the palms, and seem to love the filtered fall sunlight.





I found out that chickens are not really companion gardners,
( all the chicken books will tell you they are-the books are full of pictures of chickens strolling through neat
and tidy gardens eating bugs.)
 Well, I will be writing a new chicken book--which will showcase the amount of chicken manure and the destruction a chicken can produce in a garden. Mine even flew up and wrecked havoc in my summer window boxes-I mean, I am sure they ate the bugs, but they also shredded the flowers, leaves, & roots, and scratched out all the soil-such big helpers!
(And the front porch was covered in chicken poop! That will be my cover photo.)
Above are newly planted boxes for fall and the chickens are not allowed to trespass near them.



Tillman is a beautiful rooster,
 but very aggressive when protecting his hens.





He had been warned he better behave
and stop chasing me to and from my car,
or he would get the ax or pink card or....
Lucky for him we found him a new home,
and we let him take his favorite wife,Tilly, with him.
Leghorns are very good at their jobs--Tilly laid an extra large white egg a day and Tillman would lay down his life for his hens.
Unfortunately he thought we were all after his hens--even if you were clear across the pasture.
 



Rose, a Rhode Island Red, 
munches on a bit of grit!
She lays a medium brown egg
 almost everyday.



 

 

 



Ma & Pa our Screech Owl couple, still greet us every morning
 before retiring for the day.



This is Ma. She likes to hunt all night 
for frogs right above my front door.



 

 

 Need to showcase some of the other family



Willie has a favorite pillow on the couch




Tadpole snoozing before the morning walk.




DINGO-- 12 1/2 years old now.



Tadpole loves to wrestle with Emmit

I love it when I have all the
granddogs for a visit--
 all seven dogs love to check
out the smells on Seminole Road




Sometimes the chihuahuas
like to ride in the golf cart.





Elwood-one of my favorite loves, with new rescue, Elam!



And Now Pictures of the

 HONEY BEES!!!!

 



I just think these boxes of bee hives are so colorful!




And we have had such fun watching the bees swarm
 to the ponds for water, swarm to my flowering basil patch,
 and then take all the good stuff back to the hives. 




A new queen escaped to find her own place in a tree
and immediately had a troop of followers!




The new hive was quickly moved to a safe new box--
we do not want to miss any of this special wildflower honey!



My little bee condos

 

 

Fall is my favorite time of the year-
the grass stops growing
and we stop mowing!
The cooler weather gives me energy
 and the sunsets are gorgeous.
 I love that the time change (fall back)
  will give me more daylight in the morning to play in my gardens
 and walk my dogs & I love to eat
cozy dinners like
chicken pot pie, beef stew, or chili 
as darkness falls an hour early. 
I have pulled out my long sleeve Ts, my worn in jeans and my soft leather boots.
Come on chilly weather!
Hope you enjoyed my pictures!
 & Happy Fall!!!