by Texas Homesteader ~
Whelp, we made it to July, y’all! Now in NE Texas the rain taps will typically turn off about now and will stay off for the rest of the summer. So although we may get a little ole 1/4″ inch or so every now & then, we can count on manually irrigating the garden from our Rainwater Catchment Systems from here on out.
Let’s stroll through the garden and see how it’s doing, shall we?
by Texas Homesteader ~
When it’s summertime in NE Texas, it’s hot, hot, HOT! RancherMan used to drink way too many colas as his beverage of choice. But it was so unhealthy. And expensive. And produced lots of trash.
So I started brewing him Sun Tea. It was a good change! RancherMan got to enjoy a much lower-cost beverage that was healthier for him. And the only waste was the tea bag which I placed in my compost.
But recently I was looking at my chocolate mint bed which is doing VERY well #thankyouverymuch. A little too well actually. It’s spreading in places I’d rather it not grow. So I was thinning the runners and it smelled so dang good. I wondered if I can use it for a refreshingly-cold minty drink?
by Texas Homesteader ~
We’ve all done it – that zucchini is relished when it first starts producing in the garden. But after a while you find yourself (and your family) growing tired of the excess. Even your zucchini-loving family moans when they hear it’s on the menu tonight… yet again!
But you hate to waste it. I mean, you planted that seed, tenderly took care of the seedling and delighted in its production. What can you do?
A few years ago I started something called my ‘Blessing Basket’. Here’s how it works:
by Texas Homesteader ~
Last week we talked about Preparing The Hive For Harvest. And in my Beginning Beekeeper’s Series we’ve talked about everything from becoming NewBEES, obtaining your bees, caring for them and more. Links to all of those articles are below for your convenience. But now? Oh now we’re going to take that sweet honey from frame to bottle!
by Texas Homesteader ~
photo credit: Cynthia Rivera
Happy Birthday America! We realize that freedom isn’t free – It’s with the humblest of gratitude that we say THANK YOU to our brave men & women out there walkin’ the walk to keep our beloved country free.
~TxH~
by Texas Homesteader ~
We have several hives in our small apiary. Here in NE Texas, we typically harvest our honey around the first week of July. It’s hot, sticky work that’s for sure. But there’s much more to getting that honey harvest than just strolling out to the hives.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Just doing things because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ is almost guaranteed to cost you some big-time bucks. Sometimes all it takes is keeping your eyes open and being open to making a change if a better deal presents itself. And sometimes the savings from that one little change lines your pockets month after month too!
Today in honor of Throwback Thursday I’m sharing one of my most popular posts. Are you getting your money’s worth, or paying extra for NOTHING??!!
by Texas Homesteader ~
RancherMan & I were getting together with my brother & sister and their spouses for a fun sibling vacation to Broken Bow, OK. We were staying in a gorgeous cabin with a full kitchen, so to keep our expenses down we planned to enjoy some of our vacation meals right there at the cabin. All three families were bringing food to contribute to specific meals. I brought Blueberry Muffins to snack on one day, Chocolate Crazy Cake for dessert after one meal, and promised to bring breakfast for the group one morning too.
I decided to make something easy that would transport well. Something I could make in advance & freeze so I could be on vacation too while we were on vacation!
I’ve made these breakfast muffins for RancherMan before & he loved them. So I decided to whip up a batch for our family gathering.
by Texas Homesteader ~
I was baking homemade blueberry muffins for a Sibling Vacation recently. I typically make jumbo-sized muffins for RancherMan. But this time I used my smaller muffin-sized tin because there would be several of us in attendance. It’s easier to eat two small muffins than to waste part of a larger one, ya know?
So I whipped up my Blueberry Muffin batter, placed my silicone muffin pan on a cookie sheet & filled the muffin cups. But there was still about 4 muffins worth of batter remaining.
Do I overfill the muffin cups? Do I bake this dozen and then refill 4 of the muffin cups and bake them separately? What a waste! Ugh, what’s a girl to do?
by Texas Homesteader ~
