Country Living

felines of Fall

2009-11-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why "they" say the "dog days of Summer"...but if Summer has gone to the dogs, then Fall is certainly the domain of cats. Our two little lions aka tiny tigre' are frisky and as happy as can be with the cooling change in the weather. As their human "attendants", Dino and I visit with them regularly in their "habitat" and think up ways to keep them amused. It is amazing what you can do with recycled items...lumber scraps became a climbing "tree", broken bricks now border a kitty Zen rock garden, a horse water trough turned upside down is a feeding platform, and scraps of rubber stall mats make cushioned landing spots. Today we turned another piece of rubber flooring into a sort of swinging cylinder large enough for both cats to lounge/play in. It is just slightly less than obvious that as a child i wanted to work in a zoo.

A little over a year ago, we had no cats and no "plans" to change that...then we were sent a little angel. That's another story, a good story, but for another time. Happy with our good luck charm of a barn kitty; we did not go looking for a second cat. But the universe had other plans. Plans for us? Maybe. Plans for our first cat, Cowboy...definitely. Plans for the lovely and talented Ruby...well, let's just say maybe SHE planned the whole thing!

Honeycomb photos

2009-10-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Packaged raw honey in the comb. Yum!
Comb honey before cutting and packaging.

Here are the photos of yummy comb honey after being harvested and packaged using Dadant comb honey kit.

If you want to learn more about harvesting your own organic raw honey, free of pesticides and antibiotics...try this link http://61bd08327p6rcsj6ial71-t6nb.hop.clickbank.net/

until next time, be wild...eat honey!

honey harvest

2009-10-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love honey. Especially comb honey since it is the purest and least processed form of honey. That is why I set up my hive to extract honey in the comb...and after harvesting about 18 lbs two days ago, I am so happy I did! Granted, I ate so much the first day I almost made myself sick...but it is sooo good. The bees made a dark amber honey mostly from sage, California buckwheat/buckbrush and rabbit brush, though they do have access to an orchard of rare medlar fruit trees. Happily, I had assistance from the hive's new gaurdian...thanks Deandrea! It seems fitting that the bees are becoming a team effort.
So if you love honey and you can't remember the last time you could buy comb honey, you really must consider keeping bees. If you are not sure how to begin, check out the ebook listed to the right (photo of beekeepers suited up) . Consider doing it with a friend or neighbor since you will have plenty of honey to share. And like most activities, it is more fun when people with the same interests join together. Also it will keep you motivated and committed when you have support from others.
I will post some pics of the honey ASAP. I am looking forward to expanding the hive in spring. For now the bees are settling in for the winter. Until next time...Bee wild, eat honey!
~Jenna

Local Produce!

2009-09-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to find out the produce we have seen growing in Walker Basin is available to purchase at the roadside stand on Fri and Sat from 2-5 p.m. A local farmstand has been a longstanding wish of mine. Despite the fact we had quite a large veggie garden until recently, I had pined for things not growing in ours. Corn, for example, is something best grown on a larger scale than makes sense for two people. Our new Walker Basin produce stand has corn, melons, squash, tomato, tomatillo, green beans, cucumber, green onions, beets and more. Labor Day weekend, Dino and I picked up a little of everything and had THE BEST stir fry of zuccini squash and baby corn with green onions. You could taste how alive the food was. I have included a picture that does not do justice. I will follow up with a picture of the farm and address. When heading toward Lake Isabella from Twin Oaks it is on the left side of the Walker Basin Rd...you can clearly see the corn and pumkins near the road. I hope people will check it out and support them so we can all enjoy their efforts.

Foxy

2009-09-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the bear has been gone for a few days now. But this cute little fox has been a frequent visitor to the compost. I guess we won't be getting any good compost for a while since half of what we put in there is being eaten by wildlife. Oh well. At least we got these cool pictures. By the way, the wildlife camera takes pictures during the day too but it seems that all the action is after sundown. The great thing about these cameras is the ability to get good pictures in the dark without scaring off the animals. There is no "flash" so they continue to go about their business. Thus we have many action shots of this fox hopping around and digging in the compost. I am going to find out what type of fox this is. If anyone has any ideas please post a comment. Till next time!

New 'Bear Cam' pics

2009-08-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

Close ups of our recent visitor. FYI, bears love equine senior feed. This one busted up a container of it in our feed room. Guess I need to "bear proof" the feed room. We got some good pics of a fox too.

Bear Cam

2009-08-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

OK. We set up this wildlife camera before we knew we would get a bear, but it is now officially known as the "bear cam" due to the awesome shots we have of the culprit raiding our trash and compost bin. We also captured most of the body of a ringtail cat, very elusive animals that few people have seen around here. I just found out recently that they even existed, and how funny that a few days later we got one with this camera! We had this camera set up before on a different property very near here for quite a while and never got anything more exciting than a coyote and jackrabbit even though it was aimed at a water source.

Enjoy! ~Jenna

2009-08-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting pics of this fig fruit and fig tree. This is a baby fig tree that is producing figs the size of small pears. I had heard that fig trees do really well in containers, so when we acquired this one a couple months ago and I didn't know where to plant it I decided to give the container thing a try. It seems to be working. The tree went into a bit of shock from the transplant, but came back with a vengeance! I was not expecting to get any decent fruit this year...but much to my surprise, we are.

If anyone is considering growing fig trees in our area of CA (93518), you should go for it as they do really well here. I have had this variety before (Turkish brown) and another (Violette deBordeaux) and they both flourished with little care. One warning though, if you plant directly in the ground remember to have a support for the tree as they tend to be top heavy and can uproot in high winds. Also make sure to check your tree daily if you want to eat the fruit since birds like them too. The fruit is usually green and then ripens to a dark color depending on the variety and you can tell they are ripe as they soften and you can smell the ripe fruit.

The yummy, somewhat exotic fruit is good fresh, with soft cheese (feta/goat), or try brushing with honey and put halved fruit face down on the grill to carmelize. The flavor gets stronger if you let them sit on the counter a day, but I usually can't resist just eating them right off the tree.

Besides the fruit, I find the tree to be a nice lush looking addition to the garden. It has a somewhat tropical look with broad leaves. Well I hope you give figs a try. Let me know if you have any fig feedback. Enjoy the pics.

2009-08-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

OK. Some readers may know that I am a novice beekeeper. Currently, though I am sans bees as we felt they should stay with the orchard on our previous ranch property. What can I say about bees? Well, they are incredibly interesting just for observing the intricacies of nature. If you have any type of garden, they will help the plants produce more flowers and fruit/veggies by pollination. This is especially true for orchards/fruit trees. Some people harvest the pollen from the hive as a holistic treatment for allergies. Finally, and my main motivation for having bees...honey. I love honey. REAL honey. Beware the stuff diluted with high fructose corn syrup! When we first moved to the country, a large oak tree on the property was inhabited by a wild hive of honey bees. How wonderful, I thought (after nearly being stung while standing in their flight path). Then, when admiring the incredible wildflowers in Spring here...I imagined what incredible honey the bees must make here. In fact, when standing near the aforementioned oak tree you could smell the honey. Thus began my education in honey bees.
I endeavored to learn as much as I could by subscribing to beekeeping journals such as The American Bee Journal www.dadant.com/journal . Reading the beekeepers bible; The Hive and the Honey Bee and the journals, I soon realized beekeeping had many different angles. Mostly depending on what your goals in beekeeping are. There is the entimology and bee breeding aspect, the commercial pollination aspect, the honey extracting aspect...and shades of bee management one could never imagine. Suffice it to say I was a bit overwhelmed. A trimmed down guide like the ebook on the right (pic of me and hubby Dino in our bee suits) would have helped me wade through so much technical info aimed at experienced beekeepers.
If you know anyone who keeps bees and they will let you follow them around...do it. This was what I was constantly wishing for. Especially as there is so much that is intinsically local about beekeeping. Very much like gardening, and of course that makes sense. I learned by doing, and learned lots but I am far from an expert. I was just happy with my busy little hive of Italian bees (supposed to be the friendliest/least aggressive) pollinating our flowers, trees, and veggie garden. After watching how hard they worked, I actually felt guilty taking their honey and the only taste I had was during a hive inspection when I couldn't resist taking off my glove and getting a bit!
More about my adventures in bee land next time. ~Jenna

What I will miss about Summer

2009-08-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hi again,
Well, there is a touch of Fall in the air. Though Fall and Spring are my two favorite seasons, I will be a little sad to see Summer pass. What I will miss about Summer is...mainly the long days and how quickly you dry off when watering various plants and animals around the ranch! Flip-flops, shorts, and a tan...they will all be gone by Winter. My horses' short Summer coats gleaming in the sun and how easy it is to groom them this time of year.
I shouldn't languish too much, this part of California is by no means severe and it is nice to see the seasons change. What will you miss?

Country Living blog launch

2009-08-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and neighbors! ( I stopped just short of "y'all" even though I was raised in Florida which is technically the South) Welcome to my Country Living blog. I would like to invite you to share your thoughts, advice, experiences about our rural lifestyle here. Photos and links welcome.
Urbanites who have questions or just want to visit the "virtual countryside" are welcome too.

Topics of interest I will be commenting on are:

Horsekeeping and riding.

General animal care including housepets and livestock.

Gardening, for food and for fun/landscape.

Green living: alternative energy sources, organic practices and holistic animal care will guide the overall theme here.

Enjoy your day!
~Jenna

affordable CA ranches and land for sale www.JennaSellsRanches.com