Crocheted Dish Cloths

     When the weather turns cold, I always get an urge to knit or crochet!  I need to have an easy to do project or it ends up getting partially done and set aside and forgotten.
     I have usually knitted dish cloths out of cotton yarn, but this year I decided to crochet some.
     I was also lucky and found some Bernat cotton twists on sale on Mary Maxim's website.  I was able to get a 1.5 ounces ball for 99 cents.
     Needless to say, I stocked up on them and started crocheting!

Here is the crochet dish pattern I came up with:

I used a 5.5 mm crochet hook.

Ch 26

1.  dc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across, ch 2, turn (25 stitches)
2.  dc in the third stitch from the needle and stitches all across, ch 2, turn
3.  repeat to desired length.  Mine are about 10 inches square

Border

1.  sc evenly around cloth, (3 sc ) in each corner.
2.  sl st to beg sc
3.  fasten off and weave in ends

I usually end up with a large surplus of these and give them out to family to use.  I like using them myself and they last a long time!  Plus they are fast and easy for instant gratification on finishing a project!

Fishing at Liberty Pond

Liberty Pond

Kyle with his catch

Ducks at Liberty Pond

Paul with his catch

Brent checking out the trout

Nice weather and lots of yard work.

This area now has iris and wild flowers planted.

New compost boxes

Chickens free ranging day

Added 8 feet to the garden

Favorite Fall Snacks

Two of my favorite fall snacks!

The pinyon Pine nuts on the left are so good!
As a kid we would go into the hills and gather them.  The shells are soft enough to crack with your hands.  They have a unique nutty taste that I crave when the weather turns cold.  




Candy corn is pure sugar!  But just another one of those "got to have"'s when the weather turns cold










Link to information on gathering pine nuts:
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/recreation.Par.60356.File.dat/pine_nuts.pdf

Green Tomato Salsa

Start with a big box of green tomatoes!

Chop up the tomatoes and add green chiles,
jalapenos and onions.

May look funky, but tastes so good!

Can some for later!

Green Tomato Salsa

Yield:  5 pints

5 cups chopped green tomatoes

1 1/2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles

1/2 cup seeded finely chopped jalapenos

4 cups chopped onions

1 cup bottled lime juice

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1TBSP ground cumin

3 TBSP oregano leaves

1 TBSP salt

1 tsp black pepper

 

Hard Freeze Tonight!

Our first hard freeze is tonight!  I pulled all the green tomatoes off the vines and picked the beets and any squash that could be picked!  The chickens got all the greens!  They are loving it!

It is really pleasant weather-wise for working outside.  Hard to believe it will drop to 25 degrees tonight.

I am taking a break, but will be out doing a few more preparations to the garden and the chicken area.  My three cats are right there helping me!

What happened to quiet country nights?

About midnight last night our neighbor's cows all went crazy!  It sounded like a cattle drive gone bad!  It sounded like it was in our back yard (but it wasn't).  Soon the owls were hooting and horses neighing!  Finally all settled down.  The next thing I knew the new rooster was crowing!

All is peaceful again!

Would much rather listen to the animals than sirens and horns honking all night!

Brewster the Rooster

Brewster the Rooster

We picked up a rooster that needed a home.  We have 8 hens and decided we could adopt him.  He is a beautiful rooster, but I am not 100% sure what kind he is.  I think he is a Dorking.  I have put it on a chicken Facebook page for help in IDing him.

The hens were not sure what to think.  It has totally messed up the pecking order!  He is a very docile rooster, but did stand up for himself.  Two hens tag teamed and kept him on the run.

When it was time to go in for the night the hens reached a catch 22:  they wanted all the chickens in the coop to sleep but didn't want him in!  He didn't know what to do either.

Finally the hens settle down and he was able to get into the coop!

One of the girls checking him out

Tonight's Dinner

Ingredients for Dinner

Stuffed Butternut squash
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

Salt & pepper, celery, beer, butternut squash, sausage, apple, onion, garlic and butter.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Cut squash in half and place face down in 1" water (I used beer)

Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes until tender.

In a fry pan, cook 1 pound sausage until browned.  Remove from pan.

Saute 1 chopped apple, 1 stalk chopped celery and 1 chopped onion until tender.

Put the sausage back in the pan.

Butter the squash and fill in with the sausage mixture.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Soon to be Soup!

Most of the vegetables came from my garden!

Wood spider information