See those pots and the little tray that holds them by the dozen? I scored a bundle of them for free today!!

I've been stalking the garden centers for months so we are known to the employees. Today they were throwing these pots away and I got them for the asking.

The ones above are planted with Bibb lettuce.

Here we have watermelon and regrowth lettuce, celery and carrots.

....and to leave you with some cuteness: the girls went for an outing in the pop up greenhouse. Nice and warm. Happy little buggers too.

It might seem empty but it's a start and it makes me so excited!!

Brussels sprouts are looking lively.

Bib lettuce. People online suggested it to add to the romaine Morgan likes.

Three varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Yum

It's good!!!

Oh and I'll leave you with this pic of Morgan and Adipose. She's the smallest banam in our flock.

Well maybe not all girls. We have 5 tiny bantams and one looks like a leopard. They are mixed straight run. Morgan just had to have them.

Then there's five Rhode Island Reds that are definately girls and three that are straight run.

Let the fun begin!

Today we put up a greenhouse to start some seeds. For now it's beside the shed. We might move it to a new location.

This is the one we decided to go with.

Yep, that IS a plastic bin full of old 45s. I found them in the shed we are cleaning out.

Y'all do remember that the previous owners left the double shed full of stuff right? Well one side is to be my chicken coop. So I'm sorting. donating, repurposing and trashing lots of stuff.

What would you do with these?

Life after a move like this is a series of adjustments. You have to find your way around AND figure out the sometimes cryptic directions that country folk give. "It's over there past where Jimmy Dale used to live. Not the place he died at but the one before that" (yes that's a real set of directions) (I swear!!)

This time though, it's my hometown. So I understand those cryptic direction. I already have some idea where to go for things.

Hill Hardware is one of those places. Not that it's hard to find. It's on Main Street. It's been there over a hundred years and I hope it'll be there a hundred more.

Walking in is like stepping back in time. The seed boxes, custom built shelving and antique register are exactly as I remember them. The customer service too. They greet you at the door and offer to help.

Now, this is not the polite. "I have to say this but don't mean it so please don't ask me to actually stop what I'm doing and help you M'kay?" stuff that society has gotten used to. These guys and gals are there-to-help you.... And they do it a smile or a laugh and are genuine about the whole deal.

Sure it's a little more than box stores, but keeping service like that going is priceless.

Safety tip: if it comes with a hand guard, use it!!

So I wanted to dehydrate some veggies for healthy snacking. Bob said, "mandolins make it easier ". So he got me one for Valentines Day.

I cut the tip of my finger off like a big dummy. On the bright side, we stopped at the bakery on the way home and got these treats:

Yep. I'm officially happy to get food grade buckets rather than food treats for a gift. Lol

On another happy note, I still got the dehydrator going!!

I'm canning Beef Stew for fast food. Yep. That's right. Yummo.

Tee's Beef Stew

3 sm onions

5 carrots

3 celery ribs

1 bell pepper

5 med potatoes

2 large cloves garlic

2 lbs chopped meat

Salt and pepper to taste

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs rosemary

Olive oil

Broth or water

• Sauté diced onions and sliced celery in a large stock pot with oil and a sprinkle of salt over med heat
• Add neat and brown
• Add chopped potatoes, sliced carrots and diced bell pepper.
• Grate garlic into pot. Add chopped rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add almost three quarts broth or water. Enough to cover the veggies and a little more.
• Heat but do not cook
• Hot food into hot jars: pint for single serve fast food.
• Pressure can this size for 1 hr and 15 minutes.

I've just learned that you thicken this as you heat it up to eat.

Deb Berning sent us a pack of wonderful heirloom organic seeds.

I'm ever so grateful for this! Thank you hon!!

Today we were blessed with some helpers for a few hours!! My sister, Dianna, hired four kids from the church who are raising money for camp.

Savanah sanded the rusty doors on the shed and painted one.

Green of course. Goes with the Irish Oaks theme.

Rick cleared the trees from the garden. A LOT of trees.

These two helped clear the old burn pile and set up a new one.

The boys had a blast tearing down this small rotted... um... Dog house???

They all got involved with collecting and burning off the rotted wood and limbs from the front yard.

They looked through the stuff in the shed and almost all found something special to take home with them.

Thanks guys!!