June 12, 2013
Preview of Next Video
Here's just a small preview of the next video that will be up on the site soon.
April 2, 2013
Transplanting Seedlings to the Garden, Part 2
The green beans are finally ready for transplanting.
It's too early still for them to go directly into the garden, so instead they are going into pots filled with peat moss.
In a few weeks, the other plants will be ready to go to either the garden or a pot.
As you can see in the picture, this plant already has little blossoms growing. Hopefully it will be outside enough to grow a green bean or two.
March 21, 2012
Daddys Chic O Lena - Reining Horse for Sale
Here's a new video of one of the sale horses:
This mare is multi talented. She can run a winning reining pattern and work cows. She has her ROM and Qualified for the World in 2011.
All footage in this video is from 2012. You can see she has a lot of showing left in her! She has a lot of heart and is eager and willing to please.
March 18, 2013
Transplanting Seedlings to the Garden, Part 1
The next phase of the Greenhouse Gardening Project is here!
Time to transplant the early spring peas, finally.
It's still to early to transplant anything else, but that will come soon. Also, you can learn about making your own bamboo plant stakes.
This is the most important part of the greenhouse review (other than germination): discovering if the plants will grow roots through the peat pot mesh covering.
The instructions say it will. I'm not too sure.
February 28, 2013
Starting a Vegetable Garden from Seed, part 3
Two weeks later, the marigolds (all of them!) came up. Four weeks later, the columbines sprouted (yes, it was supposed to take a month).
So this was a success in that the seeds can grow in the greenhouse. Just...not all of them.
There was an awful lot of mold growing, which killed off the green beans except for two of them. Disappointing.
Still, any growth is progress!
February 26, 2013
Starting a Vegetable Garden from Seed, part 2
This is part two in the Vegetable Garden Series.
Last time, I discussed how to use the Jiffy Greenhouse. This time, it's the competition, the Burpee Greenhouse.
I plant Brussel Sprouts, San Marzano Tomatoes, Beets, Peas, Green Beans, and Kale. Check it out!
February 24, 2013
Starting a Vegetable Garden from Seed
Since the riding ring has been flooded for the last two months, I've turned my attention to my Spring/Summer vegetable garden. Like last year, I want to grow from seed.
Unlike last year, I'd like to grow peas that I can actually eat. Last year, I started my peas in March and by late April they were toast.
This year, with the help of the Jiffy Greenhouse, I started peas and other Spring veggies in late January.
You can read about it here. This is the first part in a multi-part series. I test both the Jiffy and Burpee indoor Greenhouses - check out the page to find out more!
February 20, 2013
Mounts Botanical Gardens - West Palm Beach, Florida
Last week, I visited a botanical garden specializing in Florida's tropical plants.
There were other plants, like in their vegetable garden, but mostly they focus on those plants best suited for Florida's mild climate.
Here's a part one of the blog post all about it. I used the new official Reiners and Herders camera, the Canon PowerShot S100 to take several pictures.
The ones I was happiest with, like the Desert Rose on the right, I posted on my blog.
Enjoy the pictures and post a comment on the blog!
February 13, 2013
Reining and Dressage Side by Side
Love, love, love this video. First one I've seen showing Reining and Dressage together where riders switch horses. You can see the dedication and hard work it takes in training both animals. Both disciplines have surprising similarities when shown side by side. Both riders are Austrian, and I think the Western rider started out riding Dressage, but don't quote me on that.
February 8, 2013
2013 Suburban Vegetable Gardening Project
Growing Vegetables from Seeds, Indoors
Georgia has historically both warm and cold weather during the winter. One day it's in the 70s, the next the 30s. Spring is just a blip on the map, making growing vegetables like peas, arugula and green beans difficult - once it gets in the 80s they're toast.
This year, you can try starting vegetables indoors in the winter, so by the time it warms up enough in mid-February the veggies will be blooming.
First, you need a light source to start the seedlings.
You can easily build a grow light hanger for fluorescent lights out of PVC pipe. Check it out!
January 4, 2013
New Winter Soup Recipe
Turkey and Mushroom Soup
Whether you're looking to use up your Thanksgiving (or other holiday) turkey, or just looking for another use for some turkey legs you have stashed in the freezer, this soup recipe will lead to easy and tasty results.
If you want to see more detail and images of how to make this, click here.
With this recipe, you can "clear out the pantry" of herbs and vegetables that you need to use up.
The base ingredients are as follows:
- ½ oz mixed dried mushrooms
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 leeks (including tender green parts, coarsely chopped)
- ½ lbs fresh white button mushrooms (coarsely chopped)
- ¼ lb fresh shiitake mushrooms (stemmed and coarsely chopped)
- 2 carrots (peeled and coarsely chopped)
- ½ c. pearl barley
- 3 large garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 turkey thighs, about 1.5 lbs
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 8 c. chicken or beef stock or prepared broth
- 3 tbs finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
You can easily substitute and add more vegetables to an extent, and that is what I did when making this soup.
I also wanted to use all of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving; bones, skin and all (you remove the bones and skin later). I had leftover shallots, half a sweet onion, celery, and a bunch of thyme from Thanksgiving dinner as well.
Coarsely chop carrots and celery, clean and slice mushrooms, mince garlic, wrap thyme in butcher's twine so it doesn't fall apart in the soup.
Now, to the procedure:
Soak the dried mushrooms in 2c boiling water for 30 min. While you're doing that, clean and chop vegetables and mushrooms. Leave the turkey thighs or whatever parts of the bird you have as intact as possible.
After 30 min, drain mushrooms, reserving 1c liquid. Strain this liquid in a fine-mesh sieve (or cheesecloth, coffee filter, etc.) to remove any debris. Squeeze the mushrooms dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Cut into ¼ in dice. Reserve.
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the leeks and carrots (and onion and celery, if you have them) and sauté until softened, 5-7 min.
Stir in the fresh mushrooms, barley and garlic. Saute for 1 min longer.
Add the thyme wrapped with butchers twine at this point if you want. Add stock.
After adding stock, simmer for 1.5 hours or until the barley is tender. Add the turkey and stock, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the barley is tender but not mushy – about 1.5 hours.
Remove the turkey thighs from the pot. Discard the skin and cut the meat from the bones. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces and return to the pot. The meat will hopefully shred easily between two forks.
Add the reserved mushrooms and soaking liquid. Stir in the soy sauce and chopped parsley and let simmer for 5 min longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove thyme at this point.
This tastes great with freshly baked bread or freshly toasted croutons.
You may add more chopped parsley as a garnish. Shredded parmesan would taste lovely as well. Enjoy!
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