Welcome 2013

My new mug & new motto

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome 2013! May you be a prosperous, healthy & lucky year for all.

Holidays, visitors, dinners, parties, decorating, cooking, baking, wrapping, cleaning, fiscal cliffs, traumas in the news, community events, weather watches....it just all seems to be one big whirlwind of activity from Thanksgiving to New Year's. So much to do. So much to think about.

I need a nap. Then I need to get organized.

Onward into 2013 we go!


© Copyright 2013 Mountain Harvest Basket

Winter Solstice 2012 ~ A new cycle of the wheel...

Sarah kitty checking out our Winter Solstice table

Happy Winter Solstice from my sweet Sarah kitty and our whole family!

A fresh new cycle of the life wheel begins. Enjoy the ride everyone!



© Copyright 2012 Mountain Harvest Basket

No Gardening Today

Front Steps

Well, with a foot of snow on the ground, I won't be gardening outside today....

Raised Bed Garden covered in snow!

I also won't be driving anywhere or watching TV either...

Satellite TV Dish and all vehicles piled high with snow

I guess I'll just have to build a warm fire, relax and curl up with my sweet kitten Sarah until the sun comes out to melt all of this snowfall.

Sarah in her window

We finally have Winter here when the calendar says it's almost Spring! Stay warm and dry everyone.



© Copyright 2012 Mountain Harvest Basket

One Month into Spring

It snowed here last night. Not a lot, but still cold, icy, snow.

Third week in April. It's supposed to be springtime now, right?



My driveway ~ can you see the pear & apple blossoms covered in snow?


It's been a long, cold, wet winter. I am tired of the rain and snow now.



Cherry Tree & Bay Tree ~ snow frosted



CA Redbud Tree ~ in full bloom ~ snow frosted

Note my lounge chair in the photo above. The one I enjoy sunning myself in when it's warm outside. Covered in a thin layer of snow this morning. No sunning myself today!

That's the edge of my main raised bed garden to the right of the photo. Full of snow. Good thing I have been too busy to plant it yet. Only the over wintered garlic grows in there today. I normally have all of my cool weather crops in by the first week in April. Between the weather and my schedule this year, I have done almost nothing to ready my gardens. The guys did help me to weed it. So that's something.


Manzanita Trees ~ pretty when laced with snow


I long for the softness, warmth and sweet scents of Spring. I want to see my gardens grow. I love the little seedlings pushing up from the soil. So brave. So strong. So determined. I love how they grow big and produce much.

Butterflies and flowers. I am so ready for them.



Colorful Roses ~ picked April 18th

The beautiful, sweet smelling roses in this last photo, were picked at my Mom's old house located a couple of hundred miles from here in a warmer sea-level climate. It was actually almost hot there last Sunday when I collected them. They remind me of her.

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Mutant Over-Wintered Carrots

Alien Carrots


This is what happens when you leave your carrots in the ground for a full year from one spring to the next.

You get "Attack of the Mutant Carrots".

Could be the title of a new movie....



© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Late Winter Greens

Kale & China Choy ~ cold weather greens

We've had sooooo much rain, cold weather and mud around here this winter that I haven't had a chance yet to get out to my main veggie garden to weed and till the soil in preparation for Spring planting. The chore still needs to be done, but will be done later this year than usual.

I did, however, have the pleasure of harvesting some very late winter greenery from that same garden bed last week. Seen in the photo above are some crunchy kale (I forget the exact variety that I planted) and some juicy China Choy cabbage which is similar to bok choy, but not quite as sturdy. When fully mature like these are, both greens are great used in stir fries, soups, stews or simply steamed. When younger and more tender, they are very nice in fresh green salads.

I used some of the kale as an addition to a stir fry dinner a few days ago. Very tasty and also nutritious. I believe that kale in particular contains high amounts of lutein, which is supposed to be very good for eye and heart health.

I will plant more of each of these greens, among others, this Spring after I get a chance to work the soil and prepare the seed beds. Still way too muddy and wet out there today. Maybe next week...




© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Too Busy to Post Anything

Close Up of my Christmas Tree

As you may have noticed, I have been way too busy and preoccupied with other happenings in my life for the past several weeks to keep up with posting photos and stories in my blogs. I miss writing to you, and I miss the interaction with my readers.

Life has been moving so fast for me lately, that I have been struggling to keep up with it in "real time" and have not had the time or energy to process it, reflect on it or write about it.

So I just wanted to check in to let you all know that I am still alive and still here. I will do a "catch up" post soon and then hopefully get back to more frequent and "newsy" blogging.

As you can see from the photo above, I did manage to get and decorate my Christmas tree, so there has been some joy and some holiday spirit around here in between all of the chaos.

For now, I wish you all a very Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Happy Hannakah, Kwanzaa and/or whatever winter holidays you celebrate!

I leave you with this photo of hot cocoa adorned with a homemade (I bought it at our Xmas Bazaar) marshmallow to keep you warm and cozy on these cold winter nights.

Love to you all,
Farmer Jen


Hot Cocoa with Red Sugared Homemade Marshmallow



© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Snow Day & Rant

My driveway view as it began to snow ~ 8:30am



My same driveway view about 3 hours later!



My "snow measurement device" showing about 1 foot of snowfall

The day started off cold and snowy, but I was in an OK mood. It rapidly got worse.

I have been very stressed lately. I've had too much on my plate these past couple of weeks. I've had my head buried in legal software trying to help my Dad write up his Will, Trust, Power of Attorney and Health Directive documents. I've had to learn as I go along. Learning what the documents cover, learning how to write them and learning the legal software that I purchased to produce these documents. My Dad lives in another state (Boy, ain't that the truth!) so I have been trying to work out the details of these docs with him via telephone. He is not the most cooperative of individuals, to say the least. He is aggressive and a control freak. He will turn 90 next month, and has never gotten around to taking care of these important legal documents himself, so I am trying my best to help him, and it is very stressful for me. He doesn't understand all of the legal details and therefore he drags his feet on getting all of this done in a timely manner.

Meanwhile his doctor, the social worker, the home health company and the Adult Protective Services people are all trying very hard to shove him off into the nursing home of their choosing without regard to my Dad's wishes or even mine. I learned today that APS has had a case file open on my Dad for several months now, but not one time in all those months have they contacted me about it, and they have no excuse for that since they have all of my contact info from the last time they got involved in his life and mine. I am so stressed about this that I have been sleeping even less than usual lately. It falls to me to defend my Dad, protect him, watch out for his best interest and now I have to explain everything to the social workers and APS people as if I owed them reports or something. My Dad does not really grasp the seriousness of his situation. I am trying to intervene between him and the APS folks so that I can help him move into better living conditions that will make him happier and healthier. He resists all change and wants total control over everything, even though he cannot handle it himself anymore. He just doesn't realize that I am trying to help him and if he would just get out of his own way we could get the things done that he needs to get done. Arrrgggghhhh!!!

I am very frustrated and many times I have considered just throwing in the towel. If he would just cooperate with me and trust me, I could help him so easily and things would just fall into place to make his life better. But no, he has to over control everything and make everything so difficult, as if the social workers and APS people weren't making life difficult enough already.

Sorry folks. That was my rant for the day. I just really needed to get that off my chest for a few minutes. I am near tears almost all the time these past few days and I just couldn't hold it inside any longer.

What's all of this ranting got to do with my Snow Day pictures I am sharing with you? Nothing, except that I have been cooped up in my house all day dealing with this stuff because we got a foot of snow dumped on us this morning over the course of just 3 hours. The white sparkly stuff is very beautiful, but it does disrupt normal activities. I was supposed to receive a stress relieving massage today, but I had to reschedule it since I was snowed in here and couldn't drive anywhere today. Yesterday, I had to reschedule my own massage clients due to snow as well. So I am cooped up, stressed out, lacking money and needing a massage. Bah!

I was right in the middle of being creative in my kitchen this afternoon, making meatloaf in the oven and chopping up fresh veggies for homemade chicken soup on the stove, when I got the call from the social worker about my Dad. Totally blew away my cozy snow day mood. I was trying to have a little bit of time to myself and feel good in my kitchen. Not meant to be, I guess.

So I built a nice fire in my woodstove to keep the house and me warm today.


Nice warm fire


My kitties know how to get comfy and relax:

Frieda by the fire ~ she wouldn't face my camera

So I guess I just need to take life one day at a time and try my best to remain sane in the process. Some days, like today, I just want to run away and hide from the world.

Thanks for listening. I hope you at least enjoyed the pictures.

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Winter Carrots

Spring Planted, Winter Picked, Carrots

Well, not actually Winter carrots, but Spring planted carrots that I left in the ground until now. I had been meaning to dig up the carrots for awhile now and finally got out there to do it yesterday when I was out there "heeling in" my new blueberry and raspberry starts. (A story for another day.)

They keep well in the ground through the winter months and continue to grow and mature. Unfortunately though, starting in late Fall they start to flower and go to seed, so those carrots that go to seed start using up all of their taste and nutrition to supply the seeds with nutrients for the next generation. Those carrots may become very fibrous and not good to eat. The carrots you see in the photo above were the ones that did not produce seeds, so these should be fine for use in soups and stews. They won't be as tender and delicious as new baby carrots are, but they will still be good eating.

Just look at the huge specimen on the far right of the photo! Wowee! That one is short and very fat. These are Nantes carrots and I did leave them in the ground a little too long. They are not at their best when they grow that big. I give the chopped up carrot greens to my chickens. They are delighted with a nice green salad treat in the middle of winter.

I think I may turn these carrots into carrot soup. Seasoned with ginger. Good hot soup full of beta carotene to ward off winter colds. Now I must find my recipe for that...


© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Chicken Soup for the Cold

It is cold and rainy here today. I've had about 4 inches of rain in the past 48 hours here. So says my nifty new digital rain gauge that I received from Bob for Christmas. It actually says 3.99 inches, but I call that "about 4".

Anyway, the skies have dumped a whole bunch of rain on me and my little plot of earth. Everything is wet, cold and muddy outside. I just built a nice warm fire in my woodstove, so it's getting nice and warm in here. I love that lasting, penetrating heat that the woodstove provides. Both of my indoor kitties, Jessie and Frieda, are curled up by the fire as I type this. I love that.

I woke today feeling like maybe a cold was coming on. A little sinus congestion. A few more body aches than usual. I wrote it off to the cold, wet weather and tried to ignore it. Then this afternoon I got a craving for homemade chicken noodle soup. So I made some in my big pot on the stove. Good thing too, because as of about two hours ago, I can feel my ears starting to stuff up, with a pronounced ache in the right one, and a sinus headache starting. I really don't want to get sick. I hate that.

So here's a few shots of my homemade chicken soup:


Sauteeing the veggies: carrots, onion, celery, a little bok choy, a lot of garlic, some fresh from the garden parsley...

I like to have lots of veggies in my homemade chicken soup, and I usually have a nice selection of fresh ones available due to our local organic farmer. I added some chunks of cooked organic chicken breast to my soup and simmered it with the veggies and some homemade turkey stock.

While the soup simmered, I turned my attention to the noodle part of the soup.

I have always wanted to make homemade pasta and noodles, and I even have one of those cool hand crank pasta machines around here somewhere that I bought a few years ago and never used. So I decided that I would search for it another day and just roll out my simple egg noodle dough by hand with a rolling pin:


Noodle dough rolled out as flat as possible, drying before cutting into noodles

Now that I have done the rolling by hand this one time, I plan to find that pasta machine in whatever deep cabinet I've hidden it in. It was not that easy to get that noodle dough to stretch out thin enough for the soup noodles I wanted to make. It kept trying to shrink back up into a thick slab! I coaxed it to lay out pretty flat and thin, but I wasn't that happy with the results.

After letting the dough dry flat for a few minutes, I then rolled it gently and sliced it into noodle ribbons, which I then cut in half because I was making soup not pasta:

Raw noodles dusted with flour drying a bit more before being cooked

Then when the rest of my soup was ready, nicely simmered with the veggies tender, I added the freshly made noodles to the pot and made sure the heat was high enough to boil them gently for about 15-20 minutes.

Here's what the finished noodles and soup looked like in a bowl. Actually this was my second bowl of soup. I ate the first one so fast I forgot to take a picture of it for you.

Chicken Soup for my cold ~ some heart shaped noodles floating on top

So even with big fat noodles that took over the whole pot of soup because they swelled up when cooked, the homemade chicken soup was very tasty, warm and comforting. Two bowls filled me up for a late afternoon dinner on this cold and wet rainy day. I sure hope it makes my cold go away.

Now to go sit by my warm fire and relax.

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Spring in January?

Spring bulbs emerging early

I know that many parts of the US are having very cold weather right now. Lots of snow, ice and rain going on out there according to the weather news. Here in the Sierra foothills we have been having unseasonably mild weather all week. It's been very sunny and warm during the day with mild breezes. Feels like Spring is happening in the middle of January.

A couple of days ago, I donned a short sleeved tee shirt and a pair of summer shorts and sat in my lounge chair (you know, the lounge chair that was covered in 6 inches of snow not very long ago) to soak up some sun and get my natural vitamin D while reading my newest herb book. I must have stayed out there about an hour just enjoying the quiet day and relaxing. Something I don't do very often. I even heard a few frogs/toads waking up and talking to each other. Sure seemed like Spring was starting in the middle of January.

The photo above shows Spring bulbs, they are either crocus or grape hyacinth, that are planted in my terra cotta bowl on my porch, emerging from the soil as the weather warms up this week. They are even bigger today than when I took this photo earlier in the week.

I know we will get more cold, rainy and even snowy weather before Spring really arrives in March, but for now we are having a nice Spring preview. It is confusing the plants though. They will all pop out and then get snowed on in a few days or weeks. Always an adventure with nature.

For those of you who have colder weather where you are right now, take heart that Spring is not very far away. It will be here soon.

The nights are still cold here. Each day in the late afternoon the temperature drops and my house does get quite cool. I haven't been building many fires in my woodstove yet this winter, but I have been baking things in my kitchen. You know, just to help warm up the house...

Last week I baked a batch of banana muffins to use up the overripe bananas, and to warm up the house, of course.

I need to make another batch, as these are long gone by now, and I have more overripe bananas sitting around. And I need to keep my house warm on these cold nights....yeah...that's it...keep the house warm.

What's the weather like where you are today?

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Menopause for Chickens? I think not!

Surprise Egg!

Just when I was saying it was kind of boring and ho-hum around here this past week, I go out to close up my hen house tonight in the cold and quiet, nothing unusual except that I notice how beautiful everything seems when illuminated by the almost full moon shining overhead.

I peek inside the hen house to check on my two old girls, Red & Lucy, they look fine. They have food and water and stare up at me from the straw covered floor contentedly, and then just as I was starting to close the door, I spied it! Sitting pretty as can be in the top nest box, was this beautiful, if a little enlongated, light brown egg! I haven't had an egg from my hens for over a year now. I've even stopped looking for them in the nests. That's why I almost missed this one.

I carefully lifted it out of the nest knowing that sometimes a first-laid egg can be soft or malformed. It was perfect. Hard shell. Looked normal. Slightly elongated as they usually are when a hen starts laying again after a long vacation. I guess the egg ducts need some time to adjust to the size of the eggs traveling through them, and the first egg gets a little squished on its way out.

I carried it carefully inside, cleaned it up and took its picture to share with you here in my blog. It weighs exactly 2 ounces for those of you who care about such things. I weighed it just for you.

I think it is beautiful.

And all I can really say is....Wow! One of my hens is almost 9 years old and the other almost 8, as of this coming Spring. I am not sure which hen laid this egg, but either way, it's a pretty big deal for hens that I thought were menopausal. I guess they are not. You go, girls!

They must have heard (from a passing deer?) that things were financially tight around here lately so they decided that they needed to start contributing to the household food supply. We will see if they keep it up or not. They may be just teasing me a bit.

A middle of winter egg from an 8 year old hen! Wow!

Not so ho-hum around Mountain Harvest Basket anymore.



© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Ho Hum Week

There just hasn't been anything interesting enough going on around here to inspire me to write a new blog post. I guess I am tired and occupied with recovering from all the activity and stress of the holidays. Lots of people, lots of entertaining, lots of big meals, lots of sweets, not enough rest or exercise or peace & quiet. Sounds like I am getting old...

Anyway, my Christmas tree is still up in my living room:



I love how beautiful it looks (this picture does not do it justice) all sparkly & colorful with all of the many special ornaments collected over the years. Each has a story that is meaningful to me.

While I did take down and pack away the rest of the Christmas decorations on New Year's day, I left my beautiful tree up for awhile longer. It's always the last thing I take down each Christmas season. Partly because it is a lot of work to gather and pack each ornament away, but mostly because it is so beautiful and makes me think of being a little girl again, so happy that it is Christmas. It is magical to me.

So my tree is still up in my living room, but will only be there for another few days, as I must take it down and vacuum all of the pine needles up to ready my home for the new year ahead. Sort of sad though. I really love my special tree.

This week has been a little boring. Mostly full of chores. I have done a lot of laundry:


I did many, many loads of laundry. So much accumulated over the holidays with the extra cloth napkins, tablecloths, towels and sheets. Not to mention more changes of outfits for different occasions and weather. I still have several loads of massage therapy sheets to launder for my business to get back into full swing as the new year starts. Oh joy, more laundry to do...

I spent some time bringing up loads of firewood, pine and oak, from my woodshed to my front porch:

Kindling too. I strained my back, stupidly (I know better than that) , by bending over at the waist to pick up a heavy stack of wood, instead of bending at my knees. My low back and right hip are still sore from doing that a couple of days ago. The massage I received today helped quite a bit, but mostly it will just have to heal on it's own. I know better than to do something so dumb like that, but I just wasn't paying attention. *sigh*

One bright note that happened this week was my receiving these pretty flowers from Hardware Bob:



They really brightened my day and my home. It's been so dreary and grey around here with the cold, wet weather. The colorful flowers are very pleasing. They have a lovely scent that I appreciate every time I walk by. We also went out to a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant last Friday night. Had the whole place to ourselves! Very quiet and relaxing, if a bit too expensive. I like being pampered now and then. Makes me feel good.

Well, back to work for me. Must get the place ready for my massage clients tomorrow. Clean this, organize that...it never ends.

See, I told you there wasn't much to write about this week.

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Christmas Week 2008

It's been a really busy, fulfilling, happy and sometimes stressful Christmas week around here. So busy and rushed that I have fallen behind in my blog writing. I still don't have a lot of words to post right now, so I will share some of our Christmas experiences through the following photos. These only show a small portion of our Christmas holidays, but it does give you the highlights.

I also plan to share our Winter Solstice celebration with you too, but I will write about that some other time. First my Christmas week 2008, which was enjoyed in my favorite way, right here in my warm home in our beautiful and peaceful mountains, with my closest family and friends and my beloved pets all around me.


Cards from friends and family


Our Stockings hung with care ~ on the stereo cabinet, I have no mantle


Kitties and Chickens Stockings too...


Pinecone Decorations inspected & approved by Jessie


Cranberry Bread baked for gift baskets and snacking


Packages wrapped beautifully ~ Jack does great ribbon work. Bob does great bows.




And placed beneath the Christmas tree...


And quality inspected by Jessie


Christmas Morning ~ my Jessie is my Baby, and sooo cute...


Christmas Goodies ~ all homemade & delicious!


Dinner Table Setting ~ nothing very fancy, just colorful


Christmas Dinner ~ Beef Tri-Tip Roast, Green Salad, Roasted Potatoes, Fresh Cranberry Sauce


And homemade Cherry Pie with ice cream for dessert


Boys play with their trains

All is calm and all is bright...

We did have a White Christmas after all. Snow fell late on Christmas Eve and during Christmas Day to leave us with just a couple of inches on the ground and on our cars. Most of it melted away the next day, but it was beautiful to watch the fluffy flakes fall on Christmas. So peaceful. I love watching Mother Nature's artistry. Today was sunny, crisp and cold. We gathered together again last night to feast on leftovers, eat cookies and fudge, drink hot toddies and play with our new toys. We have all had colds these past few days (The hot toddies were medicinal) and have been doing our best to keep our energy up and remain in good spirits for each other. It's been a little stressful at times, but we are a close family and work everything out eventually.

This was another good Christmas around here, and it's really not over yet. Later today, Jack's son arrives to visit & celebrate with us for a few days, and we will be visiting Bob's daughter and son-in-law tonight too. All in all, a busy and full week for us here at Mountain Harvest Basket.

© Copyright 2008 Mountain Harvest Basket

Still Cold Here

Yard Art Hen & Chick in the Snow~ where are the other 3 chicks?

It is still very cold here today. Much snow is still on the ground, at least in the shady places. No new snow for a few days, but very cold temps have kept the snow around and made the roads and driveways icy.

It's been so cold in fact, that I moved my remaining two old hens into my living room a couple of nights ago.

Hens in the House

I think they were getting a little frostbite happening on their combs and wattles. I brought them inside to warm them up and to observe them. They seemed fine the next day, so I moved them back outside after adding more straw to their nest boxes and replacing their light bulb (used for warmth) with a higher wattage one.

I heard a strange sound a few nights ago, and wondered if it was a bobcat or coyote. Then I found these tracks on the snow.

Animal Tracks

They look more like dog tracks than a bobcat or even coyote. I did also see a stray dog running around by my driveway that same day.

I have been staying mostly inside and keeping warm with my electric heaters or with a fire in my woodstove. Of course, these beautiful red roses helped to keep my heart warm.

Thank you for my roses, Bob.

With the cold weather, and me being more housebound, I've been baking more often this week too. I find that using the oven to bake something really helps to heat the cold house and also makes some delicious food too. I love that it serves two useful purposes at the same time.


More Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread ~ this time with whole wheat flour added

I also baked a nice apricot crisp last night. No photos. No crisp left either. Between me and the guys, it is long gone already!

Happy Winter to you! Winter Solstice is tomorrow. Celebrate by lighting a candle and thanking our Universe for the light, the warmth of the sun, and the seasons.

I am thankful for all of you.



© Copyright 2008 Mountain Harvest Basket