Full circle organic gardening

Welcome to my blog. My mother has been telling for years to write a book about the funny farm we live on. So this is me following her advice, in blog form! My husband and I and our two Kids live on a 60 acre ranch in Northern California. No where near the "California" that made the zip code 90210 famous in the 90's. On the contrary, we live in the sticks! We are just far enough our here that we have to drive to town and plan out groceries in advance to avoid disasters like no onions on Fajita night!

This area was historically covered in wild grape vines. For which parts still are. This is where the full circle idea started. Our ideal for our little niche is to create an atmosphere that is definitely country and ALL GREEN! We currently house chickens for eggs and meat, goats weed mowers and Lots of plants! We are surrounded by cattle fields which make for very interesting stories from time to time! We would like to bring all full circle and create an area where biodiversity reins supreme!

So, my plan for this blog is to journal the best and the worst times, the silly and the CRAZY and all the ups and downs of trying to breathe new life into an old cattle ranch. I hope to include recipes from the past and present and any helpful hints about gardening that I can! Please contact me for any garden help, if i don't know the answer I will find it!

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The art of listening (and reading)

A friend of mine just submitted a post to her blog http://mealsandsteals.blogspot.com that made me think. actually, it made me listen and think. So in response to her prose, I write this….LISTEN. It really does go a long way. My husband tells me I don’t listen sometimes and he is SO right. There are so many beautiful sounds in this world that get muffled with the high paced life we live. I many have, from time to time, given the impression that living it the country on this farm is all peaches and cream. Which would be wonderful, but, it is incorrect. However, if I listen to Lindsey, the above mentioned blog author, I could change some of that chaos in to calm if I practiced listening in the moment. In my garden I have found that there is a peace that exists. I get a sense of calm and relaxation from simply visiting it. I find a bed and observe what is happening there whether it be the tips of potato vines just peeking through the soil, or new baby plants and flowers emergin...

Don't worry, BEE Happy!

I have long wanted to join the ranks of the beekeepers. With all the gardens, flowers, blossoming trees and garden veggies that need the little flyers for pollination out here, I knew they would be happy out here on the ranch. I have done a little research about them but haven’t taken the leap to start me an apiary. However, as I often find is the case out here, they choose us! Early this Spring I was weed eating on the North side of our house, a pretty low traffic area, and discovered to my surprise bees were frequenting a hole in the side of the house where my husbands grandpa had installed the hot water line for the bath tub many years ago. At the time I thought, “this weed eater is going to make them mad, I should steer clear” and did so. Later that evening, suddenly realized the ramifications of what I had witnessed and I nearly shouted at Eric, “there are bees in the side of the house!” My son’s wall is directly on the other side of this area so our first thought...

Figs!

As I cruised the aisles in Costco the other day, I found a happy surprise, FIGS! My grandmother had a huge fig tree in her yard way back in the day. I rememeber eating them fresh off their tree with their fascinating flavor. I was curious, with my adult palette, how I would like figs now. So, I bought them up. Summer is in full swing here so they were forced to sit in my fridge awaiting a day when I arose early enough to fire up the stove to make the following recipes. I'm so glad I did! I found a great way to use my homemade bread I had frozen and waiting for its chance to become Bruschetta. The recipe, Bruschetta with blue cheese and roasted figs , is in both Polish and English. Scroll down for the english. (Hint: Bake at 400 degrees). Fig and Blue Cheese Bruschetta Recipe number two was very similar save the addition of Prosciuttio and the omission of the bread. Here is the recipe I used, Prosciutto Roasted Figs Recipe . I think would be great fall a...

FullCircle Florals Gardening

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