Sold out!

Where has this month gone? Thank goodness it's a leap year otherwise I'd be posting in March!Spring seems to have come to Texas, flowers are blooming and the dogwoods and fruit trees are blossoming, and my allergies are reawakening from their winter slumber.

Harriet and Carter the ducks have got down to some serious laying this month. Between the two they layed 52 eggs this month. I can't believe it.

Last week despite me cooking Sunday breakfast each week with their bounty and feeding some to the dogs ( I don't tell them I do that), I still had about 3 dozen eggs accumulated. I decided it was time to post some ads on the North Texas craigslist. I posted one on the weekend, and waited and waited. No response. Oh oh...all these eggs and no buyers? Yesterday, I posted on the Dallas craigslist thinking perhaps I could offer to meet up on our weekly skating trips. I checked my email this morning and low and behold I had a buyer! They wanted a full 3 dozen eggs! Alas my hubby had given away 1/2 dozen yesterday (which I think turned into a dozen) so I only had 1 full dozen to spare.

The great news is that they expressed a desire to buy more each week. And to boot, when I checked my messages after egg delivery, I had another lady wanting to buy what I first thought was 10 thousand eggs (that's a whole lot of eggs I thought), but I think her accent made "dozen" sound like "thousand". I'll have to call her back tomorrow and let her know I have none left.

The first dozen delivered

So from no buyers to a waiting list in a day...I'm tickled!

The Versatile Blogger Award

Thanks to my friend Lisa over at Little Homestead on the Hill, Neighborly Place has won it's first blog award- "The Versatile Blogger Award". Blog Awards are special to us bloggers as it means someone is actually reading what we write, and liking it. Thank-you Lisa for bestowing this award on my web-site.

I enjoy these awards as they promote interaction between bloggers and their readers. I do so enjoy it when I receive comments on my posts, and try to let other bloggers know when I really enjoy their posts too! That being said, here goes:

The Versatile Blogger Award:

Here are the RULES for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself.
4. List these rules.

5. Award to 15 Bloggers

6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are SEVEN random things about me...

1. I'm quiet but wish I could be more "vibrant".

2. I love ice cream.

3. If you are on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and are using a help-line to call a friend, don't even think of calling me if the question is related to tv or movies stars.

4. I love to go for walks with my dogs.

5. I must be related to Dr. Doolittle at some point in my genealogy, as I surround myself with animals and have since I was a child.

6. I grew up on the island of Montreal in Quebec in the suburbs but ever since I could remember I wanted to live on a farm.

7. I'd much prefer to curl up with a book at home then go to a movie theater.

Following are my fifteen "Versatile Blogger Award" nominees. I enjoy reading each of their blogs and appreciate their sharing a little bit about themselves and their lives with each of their posts. These are the blogs that make me go "Oh Goodie, a new post by ____". Some are not the most prolific of posters and I'm hoping perhaps that by bestowing this award on them, they'll be inspired to post! Please if you have time stop by the following blogs:

1. Front Porch Indiana

2. The Adventures of Noodleville

3. Punkins Patch

4. Fleece Fur & Feathers

5. Artisan Farmstead Living

6. Frugal Homesteads

7. Gramarye

8. Living the Frugal Life

9. Slow Living Essentials

10. Chickens in the Road

11. On the Way to Critter Farm

12. Hardscrabble Times

13. Fruhlingskabine Micro-Farm

14. Mydivapets (authored by an eleven year old girl who is truly dear to me)

15. My Little Bit of Heaven

The wait is so hard....

Ahh February...Spring is in the air (even if Punxsutawney Phil does say we have six weeks to wait). And in the Spring I get the itch to start planting and growing things. The only problem is this year we're moving so I'm not going to be planting a garden here in Texas. OK, I have to admit that yesterday I did plant three or four tiny onion bulbs that had started sprouting in their basket, and one shriveled up fingerling potato with several shoots-what else was a girl to do, throw them in the compost? I've learned in Texas, if something wants to try to grow, grow it!

I'm so tempted to start some plants but I so know it really is not sensible to be moving seedlings across the country. In an effort to squelch these urges I've opted to tend to some plants that need some extra TLC.

Remember that poor Meyer Lemon of the Lemon Aid post? Well, it did survive but it still doesn't look like much. I can't leave it out all winter because citrus trees don't like freezing weather. We don't have many freezes but I hate relying on the weather man ( and my memory) each night to determine if a plant needs to come inside. Our house doesn't have any sizable south facing windows so it's in our entry hall which has large east facing windows -not nearly enough light for a citrus tree. I've been fertilizing it very little thinking wintertime was a period of dormancy.

The few leaves on the tree are new growth since it was stripped in July

A little research has led me to question that theory. It seems that whereas outside plants have a period of dormancy when temperatures fall below 54 degrees at night, they thrive in temperatures of 55-70 degrees. So henceforth I will start a regime of carting this plant outside on days where temperatures are over 55 and back inside for the night. Apparently this will be better for the plant than trying to eke out an existence in the mudroom.

Also moving the plant outside during the day will afford me the chance to mist the plant with water -something that the meyer's love. I have also read that meyer lemons enjoy a soil PH of between 5.5-6.5. My tap water comes out of the tap at about 8.5! A little vinegar added to the water should bring PH down (I'll test with my PH meter and come up with a formula).

I'll also start fertilizing the plant again as hopefully it'll be enjoying more sunlight. The fish emulsion I use is a great fertilizer if there is available biota in the soil to break it down into its raw elements. Since the plant was repotted and harbored inside since July there probably isn't much biota at work in the soil. It has been recommended to use a 5-1-3 NPK ratio fertilizer. I really want to stick to organic growing so I'm currently researching how to make a good organic citrus fertilizer.

Ahh a project in the making. I knew I could find a beneficial way to satisfy the Spring gardening itch.

Egg Count

I can actually post an egg count this month. As previously posted here my ducks (or maybe it's just one duck?) finally started laying this last month.

Grand total for the month 9 eggs-that's an egg every second day. And they are off to a good start for February with an egg collected today. I'll be keeping a running tally in the margin of this blog for monthly egg counts and ytd counts.

I really like the ducks, and plan on getting some more. I have been researching duck breeds and have decided to add magpies and call ducks to my flock. I can use both for herding practice. The calls are absolutely adorable and apparently the magpies are pretty good layers.

Unfortunately neither seem in abundance either here or in CO. I have found someone not too far from here that may have some calls available, so hopefully I'll be able to post about their arrival in the not to distant future.