Hummingbird Syrup Recipe

I'm practicing with the telephoto lens on my camera. I took a dozen pictures that were blurry because I waited for the Hummingbird and then tried to focus on him. I finally just relaxed and focused on the feeder then waited~ and waited~ when he showed up... I snapped the pictures! This one turned out the best.

Here's the recipe for hummingbird syrup: Boil four cups of water and stir in one cup of white sugar. Don't use honey, which can cause a fatal fungal infection on the birds' tongues. Don't add food coloring to the solution. The red color on the feeder will attract them. You can store the excess syrup in the refrigerator for a week or two.

Salmon Croquettes ~ snooty sounding ~but yummy!

So for the last 30 years I've been making big ass flat salmon patties! They fell apart EVERY time I made them. Well... now that I'm into this food blogging thing, I found out Salmon Croquettes are just snooty sounding Salmon Patties! Duh! So I made some!

Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

Got this from a friend who swears by it! So I thought I'd give it a try. I love experiments! So here's the Homemade Sauerkraut recipe..

1 small head of cabbage
2 teaspoons of pickling salt
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
3 cups boiling water


*Clean and sterilize 2 one quart jars *remove outer leaves and either chop or shred the cabbage (I added some shredded carrot for color) *press into jar pretty tight *add salt and vinegar *pour boiling water over until 1/4 from rim *run a butter knife around cabbage to remove air bubbles *place lids and rings on loosely because it will overflow *place on towel and store for 2 weeks

Once it has worked itself and looks "done" then tighten lid.

That's it. I just canned these today... so I have two weeks of waiting. We'll do brats on the grill and try it out!

I'll keep ya posted!!

National Wildlife Federation ~ I'm Certified!

Just got my Wildlife Habitat Certification in the mail! Yippee!

Here's some of the stuff I'm growing this year for the wildlife ~

parsley: butterflies lay their larva on the leave so they can feed on it

birdhouse gourds: to dry and make bird houses

hummingbird feeders: supplement their food (and practice with my camera)

broom corn: dry the seed heads for the birds

sunflowers: dry seeds for the birds

loofa gourds: ok...these are for me! I'm going to dry them and give the loofa sponges as gifts ~ to go with my homemade soap

Origami Drawstring Purse ... finally!

ok.... here's the deal. I'm dyslexic... (it's a royal pain in the ass) anyway, it took me HOURS to figure out how to make this little Origami Drawstring Purse. HOURS I'm telling you *and a few tears of utter frustration* But I finally figured it out and it's so easy, but oh well... such is the day in the life of a dyslexic! I made it from a skirt I bought at Goodwill for $3!

Birdhouse Gourds!

Yippeee.... my birdhouse gourds look great! I planted 4 of these and I have no clue how many gourds I'll end up with. I hope a lot... I want to dry them and give them to friends and family to make bird houses!

Buy Stock in Tissues! A..a..a....chooo!

Holy Cow! Just found out my husband now officially has allergies! Geeze, I'm going to have to get a part-time job just to keep us supplied in tissues! I usually sneeze like 20 times in a row... I've been blessed so many times, I should be a Saint! Achoo!

Romain Lettuce Lookin' Good!

This is our first year growing Romain lettuce from seed. I love salads! I make my own dressing too... believe me, once you make it yourself, the bottle stuff really doesn't compare.. and it's super easy. I have a post for homemade Ranch dressing. The next time I make French, I'll post that too. It's sooo good. Anyway..we thinned the row out and weeded. We'll probably put another row out in a week or two. Can't wait!

Frost Warning! Yikes! Here's a tip for tomatoes...

Just came in from wrapping sheet strips around our tomato cages. Since we plant early every year, we always have to deal with frost... so I made strips from sheets I bought at garage sales (cheap). Wrap them around the cage and then lay the end over the top and secure with clothes pins. Super easy to do and easy to store. We even have a little tomato about the size of a marble already!!