Pickup and Pumpkin

We were sad when our cat, Troy, disappeared.  He was such a faithful little buddy around our farm.  A predator must've gotten him during one of his many hunting expeditions through the woods surrounding our home.

When it was obvious that Troy was gone and not coming back, I asked my Facebook friends if anyone had any cats they'd like to re-home.  I was fortunate to immediately learn of a mother cat and one of her kittens that were available.  The mother cat, Pumpkin, had just appeared at the home of the mother of one of my friends.  The mom had taken care of the pregnant cat until the kittens were born. Then when the kittens were old enough she started finding homes for them.  She found a home for all of them except one.  So we were lucky enough to get Pumpkin and Pickup.  Ron named Pickup.  My friend's mother named Pumpkin.  She has an orange pumpkin-colored spot on her head.  In the photo below you can see the spot on Pumpkin's head.  Pickup has four white feet.

 The photo below shows Pickup "playing" with the chickens.  Pickup jumps at them, they squawk, and then she does it again.  They try to ignore her most of the time.

And here is Pickup sitting on top of Jake.  I think Jake just has a "What're you gonna do?" attitude about it.

Pumpkin and Pickup have settled into life at Dogwood Trace really well.  Since Pumpkin was accustomed to living on her own before being adopted by my friend's mother, she stays away from the house most of the time.  She likes to prowl through the woods.  However, when I go out to feed them, she's always right there.  Pickup, on the other hand, has already become good friends with Jake - taking up where Troy left off - snuggling with Jake - and even standing on top of him!

We miss Troy, but we are happy to have Pumpkin and Pickup as our resident mousers.

Fall at Dogwood Trace

It's the first day of Fall - or is it the second?  Either way - it's fall!  I'm so glad for the cooler weather.  The chickens here at Dogwood Trace are thriving.

Right now we have some Lavender Araucana eggs in the incubator that should be hatching soon.  We also have some Cream Legbar egg from our own flock in there.  The next few days should be exciting as the hatching begins.

Yesterday I picked some carrots, tomatoes and peppers from our garden.  Ron had plowed the larger garden.  The vegetables I picked yesterday were from the boxes.  We plan on planting a fall garden - and we need to get that done ASAP.  Some lettuces, cabbage and other greens - maybe some onions and other root vegetables.  I hope we haven't waited too late.

We got a great crop of pears and apples from our little orchard this year.  And the fig tree I planted in the spring has grown like crazy.  I've canned lots of pear jelly, pear sauce and pear preserves.  Ron peeled and chopped apples for me - then put them in the freezer.  As soon as I have some time, I plan on making apple sauce, apple butter and apple pie filling from it.

We went to Georgia and picked muscadines at Ron's mother's house.  The muscadine jam was so good that when Ron had to go down there a couple weeks ago, I told him to pick as may as he could.  He picked THIRTEEN gallons.  So I've been busy making muscadine jam and then processing other muscadines to freeze for other recipes later.  We still have 3 gallons left in the refrigerator, and I plan to get those processed this weekend.

I learned to pressure can this year!  I canned about 20 quarts of tomatoes from our garden, along with about 5 pints of green beans.  I've already used lots of the tomatoes in chili and other sauces that I've made.  I use lots of tomatoes in my cooking.  So I doubt I could ever can too may tomatoes!  Now that I've learned to use the pressure canner, I intend to do more foods.

One of our favorite times of the day is the last hour or two before dark.  We sit in lawn chairs by the chicken coop and let the chickens free range under our supervision.  It's a pleasant time to enjoy being outside, to relax and reflect on our day.

We are loving our little "hobby farm" in Tennessee.