As Merry as the Month of May

Dear Friends,

It's always nice to have you come by; the door is always open! It truly is, which is why the flies are coming in ;) !

Just when we thought we had seen the extent of Mother Nature's wonders, this year we are being visited by houseflies that are three times the size of regular houseflies. Maybe someone put in an order for Jumbo Flies without our knowing!

Yesterday we found a pygmy goat kid in our backyard, and learned that goats don't just stand there and let you pick them up! We (AnnaMarie and I) ended up chasing him through the neighbors' pasture, garden, and backyard, till we decided he'd had enough and cornered him behind a wood pile. We think we must have an invisible sign over our yard that says, "Wandering animals welcome", as we had flashbacks of the turkey we found and returned last year, and the neighbor's blind dog who came into our house and we returned.

Making himself comfortable in the chicken's room.

AnnaMarie was the lucky one who got to hold him while driving!

Frankie dotes on "baby doats".

When Mr. Graham came home, he kindly drove us around the neighborhood, asking everyone we knew about the goat. We finally found his owner, and he was very glad to be home. As cute as he was, we were glad to have him home, too. We do want milk goats some day, but not when we live on a highway!

Today we put in some pretzel cowpeas that we ordered from Underwood Gardens. We planted them along our lattice fence, hoping that it will act as a good trellis for them. A fence is a good place to stick climbing vegetables like peas, beans, and cucumbers. In Ruth Stout's "No Work Garden Book", they suggest growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and beans, all along a backyard fence to make the most use of space. We hope that this year we will be able to see some good results doing this, as last year our tomatoes and cucumbers didn't grow much, with such a long, cold spring.

We have been harvesting the alfalfa that grows on our property to dry to winter usage. Alfalfa is known as the Father of all Foods, as it contains every mineral known to man (And probably some unknowns, as well.). We also like to juice it and then add it to our morning blender drinks (We've tried using the whole plant, but the fibers get tangled in the blender blades.). Perhaps we will juice some and freeze it this year, to enjoy when the alfalfa has passed its prime.

Filaree, or Cranesbill, also grows in the yard, and we are harvesting it to dry, as well. It is supposed to be a good kidney tonic, and full of vitamins, too. This is the first time we've harvested it, instead of admiring its pretty little flowers.

We'll have to take better pictures when the camera batteries recharge!

We did have a gallon of dandelion blossoms steeping to make Dandelion Cordial (Our own term, since "wine" sounds alcoholic), but sadly they molded while we were busy doing other things. The dandelions in the field have gone to seed now, so we'll have to wait a bit before we can make more.

Gratefully, our domestic and wild lettuce are big enough to eat in our daily salads, and we like to throw in some lambs quarters and edible flowers, as well. Dandelion blossoms are surprisingly tasty, if you be sure to pick off the stem.

Lettuce and celtuce happily growing with lamb's quartersDon't forget to toss in some nice fresh mint in that salad!

We have been thoroughly enjoying our newest copy of "Above Rubies", which is a non-profit printed-by-donation Christian family magazine. We are following the included recipe for rye/spelt sourdough bread, which takes seven days to build up the starter. We'll let you know next week how it turns out!

Peace and love to you and yours,

Marqueta

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"Imagine if every God-fearing family began to pray together for their nation at the end of every meal! What a mighty power of incense going up before the Throne. This will not only keep the fire of God burning in our families, but it will start a fire in the nation as well. "

~Nancy Campbell, "Above Rubies"