from vegetarian to vegan

A little over a year ago I went from being a vegetarian to a vegan.  After raising chickens and a few dairy goats I realized the chicken and dairy industry had to cull males to be productive.  My goats and chickens are farm pets.  I never culled any of my animals, so at one time I was over run with roosters and male goats. I realized that I couldn't be a vegetarian because of what the main stream dairy and egg industry involves. I also realized that it was impossible to raise your own animals for eggs and dairy in a humane way, so my goats and chickens are now pets, and I am a happy vegan.

Year of the male goat!

Butterscotch had twin boys.  Two cute camera shy kids.

                                   Pete and Delmar

my favorite organic gardening book

I added an amazon widget with my favorite gardening book today. I wanted to share this book with you. In the spring of 2008 I checked this book out from my local library, I continued to re check it out via the Internet until they would not allow me to check it out any more. I liked this book so much I finally bought it from amazon the following year(I love getting things in the mail especially when I get free shipping). I was reading about planting potatoes, when I read in this book that recent research suggest that you plant your potato cuttings within a few hours of cutting your tubers. This is how I intend to plant the rest. When all is said and done I will post on which method worked the best for me. If you you do not buy this book I suggest you check it out from your local library, it is so helpful.

siberian husky puppy

My daughter bought a Siberian husky puppy. My daughter decided she was allergic to her so Ellie Mae(the puppy) now lives with us. She is as sweet as can be. She only wants to be outside in the morning and evening hours because it is too hot for her during the day. This breed of dog probably does not belong in the south.

She has beautiful blue eyes!

summer flowers

Oh so pretty!

cactus flower

mammoth sunflower

I planted the sunflowers in with the corn.
They soon towered above the corn:

This is not actually a flower, but the corn silks were so pretty!

wild floweryellow squash blossom

spring flowers

white peonies:

roses and clematis:




All the rain this spring(and the bunny manure) made the flowers grow abundantly. The bunnies got buckets full of roses to chow down on the entire month of May. The roses have slowed down now, but everything else is growing well.

It's a girl! new baby angora goat

This is Maddyson(pronounced madison) the female angora goat that I recently purchased in North Carolina . She was bred. She had a sweet little girl on April 22nd. Maddyson is a very good mama.

These are pictures of her baby Felicity at 2 days old:

poke salad recipe with wild onions

I have been making poke salad the same way for 20 years(previous post), I decided to try something different today, my husband and son enjoyed and I did as well.

Poke Salad with Wild Onions

• 2 oz. wild onions(after trimming)
• 2 Tbls. olive oil(4 total)
• 4 oz. washed tender poke leaves(1 to 3 inches long)
• 2 Tbls. olive oil(4 total)
• 3 oz. cheddar cheese(I used sharp because that is what I prefer)
• 4 Tbls. butter(the real stuff)
• 6 farm fresh eggs
• salt and pepper to taste(I add a splash of Franks hot sauce)

Cover the poke with hot water and bring to a boil, boil gently for 5 minutes, drain and cover 1 more time with fresh hot water, bring to a boil again and boil gently for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with running warm water for 30 seconds.

Trim the wild onions leaving some of the green, peel off the outer skin, and wash.

Slice the onions thin(about 1/8 of an inch).

Heat 2 tbls. of olive oil(I used extra virgin), add onions and stir fry over medium heat until crispy and light brown, do not stop stirring and do not use too high of a heat(they will burn quick). Remove onions and set aside, do not cover(they will get soft).
Put 2 tbls. of olive oil in the same pot and add poke leaves back to pot(you can cut the leaves up smaller if you prefer). Stir fry for 5 minutes, stir in 4 tbls. of butter and season to taste(spread evenly over bottom of pot). Whisk the eggs and pour over poke leaves, cover with tight fitting lid and cook until eggs set(it takes 8 minutes on medium on my electric stove(if eggs are not completely set in center, just poke mixture and eggs will cook up).
Turn off the heat and cover with thin sliced cheese.
Cheese will melt.

I cut mine in 6 pie or pizza shaped slices(this made it easy to remove from pot). I made this to serve 3 people as a main course(2 slices each). Sprinkle crispy fried onions on top just before serving. I served this with peaches I had canned in light syrup, they complimented each other well.