Good Advice from the Plant Lady

We recently published an article titled Got Food? For How Long? and received some very thought provoking comments from the PlantLady. She is an experienced gardener and provides us some very good advice. We'd thank her for taking the time to share her experiences and we would like to share what she had to say.
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This very subject is why I became a market gardener. Not to make money - although that is very nice - but to practice growing large quantities of food. Have always been a serious gardener (ok, maybe obsessed), but more on the ornamental side as I had always hoped to have a small nursery after retirement. With the way things are now, food is far more important. And

while I am the person the master gardeners call with questions (hence the PlantLady moniker), had no idea of just how much to grow, how many seeds it would take, which crops would provide the most nutrition, which crops to grow when for a balanced diet, timing of planting and harvesting, which crops store easily without refrigeration or canning and just how big the garden needed to be. During my 6 years of elder care, studied everything I could get my hands on to try to figure all this out. Guess what? There is no way to know without actually doing it! Every location is so different as far as weather, general climate, water availability, soil structure and fertility and available resources...and all these factors change constantly. What worked last week, month or year may be totally wrong for the now.

So two years ago worked up new ground and started practicing. Last year I started selling at market. This year I doubled the size of the garden and sold at market regularly, added a second location for selling closer to home and started really keeping track of what I grew when, how much I harvested, how much I sold, how much I donated, how much I preserved, etc. Keeping records is necessary...you may think that you will remember, but there is just too much you need

 to know. And, heaven forbid, after the Darker Ages arrive...what if something happens to you - the only person that knows everything needed to produce enough food? Your family will be oh so grateful to have a written record of how much of each crop is needed, how many seeds to plant to get that much, when each crop needs to be planted and harvested, how to time things so you have a steady supply for fresh eating, how to time things so crops for preserving ripen at the best times (ie. for making pickles, you need cukes, dill, onions, garlic, peppers and apple cider vinegar simultaneously) how to best preserve each crop, how to save seeds and breed crops to best suit your location, provide the largest harvest, resist disease and insects and suit your taste.

Then there are the infrastructure needs...do you really want to be starting a garden by digging sod by with a stick? No way - that needs to be done now with power tools. And you need to stock up on good quality shovels, hoes, rakes, wheel hoes, GLOVES - enough for many people. Do you want to wake up one morning and find your only food for the next year has been decimated by

deer/rabbits/coons/strangers? Heaven forbid - get fencing now while its available and learn how to set sturdy fence. While things are still available, plant as much perennial food as you can - fruit trees and berry bushes, nut trees, asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, etc. And stock seeds...I get twitchy if I have less than 5 years worth on hand. Also get animals while you can, unless you plan on being a vegan in the coming Darker Ages! Not just for needed food, but also for their manure to keep your garden fertile. Green manuring is ok for the now, but how are you going to cut, chop and incorporate those easily by hand? Easier by far to turn under composted manure and bedding. Get what you need to extend the seasons so you can grow more food - cold frames, hoophouses, low tunnels. 

The only real way to know what you actually need is to do it. What are you waiting for? You can do it...start now!

PlantLady 

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PlantLady - continued

I am an excellent gardener, but am just starting on trying to figure out just how much food I need to produce to feed my extended family and how I am going to manage this feat with just what we have here in the way of natural resources, equipment and plant and animal stock. Trying to get a sustainable cycle set up before conditions get too much worse, because once the trucks stop running, it will be very hard to impossible to get anything.
 
There is a lot more to it than you might think, especially when your very lives will depend upon your success. When what you eat is what you grow, you find that you don't plant a garden once and harvest it once. You will be constantly planting and constantly

harvesting - because of course you will be wanting to constantly eat (hehe). People I talk to are amazed that I don't "put in" the entire garden Memorial Day weekend then harvest as it ripens. There are spring, summer, fall and winter crops possible - even here in the far north. I plant stuff most every month except Oct., Nov. and Dec. and we and the goats and chickens eat out of the winter salad garden under low hoops all fall, winter and spring. And I never plant a crop just once or all in the same location...I plant some for early cropping then wait a while and plant more for midseason, then wait a while and plant some for late. Aside from extending the harvest period, your entire crop of something isn't vulnerable all at the same time in the same place. Plus, that way you don't have a years worth of a crop all at once to preserve - you can spread the work out over a few weeks or months. Johnnys Selected Seeds website has some awesome planting charts for each seasons crops and succession planting - an invaluable resource.

And folks, first you gotta have land with water that will grow food, or you don't have much of a chance to survive the coming Darker Ages. Nobody wants to hear this or think about it - but its true. Every time I read about someone planning on surviving by growing enough food on a city lot or in pots here and there, I want to cry - because that just isn't going to work. Once the trucks stop running, its up to you to feed your family. And to grow enough food you need land. If you don't have land, if you are real lucky, you might get taken on by someone with land and the infrastructure to grow food as a slave, serf or the like - just for the chance to be fed anything. If you aren't lucky, you and your family will starve without the means to produce the food you need.

The upside is that growing your own food now is about the smartest thing you can do, even right now, with prices for everything rising so quickly. Every bite of food you can produce is one you don't have to buy. And infinitely better, safer and fresher than anything you can buy anywhere. A lot of what we learn on our prepping journeys is very useful and perhaps critical to know "at some point". But am I going to drag out the book "When There Is No Dentist" now? No, I will go to a dentist while I can. But growing your own food is great even in the "now"...saves money, you get a better product and you can afford to store more. Plus, you will be gaining the knowledge, equipment and stock you will need to survive the coming hard times.

Let's all go plant something edible!

PlantLady

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There are a couple of things PlantLady brought up that I'd like to comment on. So far I have begun a notebook with maps of my garden from year to year for adequate crop rotation. I also have a notes on what I planted. What I don't have is information about when and how much I planted, or how much I harvested, all of which is vital information if we plan to truly live off of what we grow. This is one of the points PlantLady discussed that really hit home with me.

Planting in succession for a steady harvest is another thing I have not done. I have always just 'planted' the garden. Now that we have the greenhouse up and running, I have given much more thought to planting crops more than once. This will be the beginning of my learning experience in this realm. 

We have given much thought to alternative ways of storing food such as canning, drying, curing and cool storage, as in a cellar. All of these skills are still in their infancy for us, but we have begun this process.

Saving seeds? I have done a very poor job of this. For me, it is always easier to order seeds. How will that help me at TEOTWAWKI? Obviously it won't and I need to get very serious about having my own seeds to plant instead of someone else's.


I can't agree more about preparing your ground now, if you have some. Turning a garden with shovel instead of a tractor or tiller is backbreaking work, not to mention new ground is not very fertile and will grow a limited amount of food until it has been worked and enriched.

Why am I pointing out our short comings in gardening and raising our own food? Because we are all in this together and can learn so much from each other. I find PlantLady's comments very, very encouraging. They are also inspiring me to learn more and do better. Please share your ideas, experiences and thoughts with all of us so we can learn even more.

I know the opening lines of Got Food? For How Long? were rather harsh. A friend of mine said she opened the article expecting a nice Thanksgiving thought, not me saying get with it or you will starve. Hard? Yes. True? Unfortunately, very true. The incredibly, unbelievable events taking place all over the world on a daily basis make learning every possible survival skill of the utmost importance. Please heed PlantLady's advice and start growing something edible today. Yes, in December. Somehow, somewhere in your house, on your porch, somewhere, start growing something edible today.

Until next time - Fern

Projects for TEOTWAWKI Life

A homestead is never without a long list of projects. There are the ones that are in progress, the ones waiting their turn on the list, and the ones that fit better in the distant dream category. Nevertheless, if you homestead, or plan to homestead, don't be discouraged that the list never gets completed, because if it did, you wouldn't have anything to do, and you'd be bored. Boredom is not something that occurs here very often unless we're expending our energy avoiding the things on the list that need to be done.

The installation of this lattice work has been planned for years.
We think it turned out great! I see green beans growing the length of the house next summer.

 
 

A friend of mine recently told me that she just couldn't keep up with us and all of the things we're doing. There are a lot of projects that are in progress right now, and when Frank and I stand back and take stock, sometimes it seems like a bit of a whirlwind. One thing that has allowed a lot of this to occur is being able to hire a man like Henry. With his help, Frank has accomplished a great deal in the past few months. The conditions of the world are the major driving force behind the pace of our work and the kinds of projects we are completing. The focus of our work is survival, plain and simple. The things we are doing will make the work required to live easier, we hope, so keep that in mind as you read here. All of our planning, work and goals are with an eye to survival.

Most of the projects we are currently working on have been on the drawing board for quite some time, and in some cases, as long as seven years. Over that time frame we have acquired supplies as our budget would allow. Now we are investing in the remainder of the needed supplies and the labor to accomplish some tasks. These investments will pay huge dividends for the rest of our lives.

Yesterday while I was attending a meeting, Frank and Henry built new steps with a handrail for the front and back door. They are simple, strong, sturdy and wonderful. You see, I like simple, I prefer simple. Anything else just wouldn't do. We will find another place to use these concrete steps.

Today we planned some odds and ends. While it was cloudy and a cool 68* outside, the greenhouse stayed cool as well. Table tops were cut and barrels were arranged in a workable layout. Don't they look great? I can't wait to bring the tubs of plants and seeds in. 

It's hard to see from the angle of the first picture, but when I take a picture from up here, you can also see the shelves they put along the outside walls. They will show up much better once they are filled with plants.

We had some great comments on the last article about the greenhouse. Several folks mentioned using fans to help with the temperatures. Frank had a fan to use in the building that will house the solar panels and batteries that we hadn't installed yet. He pulled it out and mounted in over one of the vents in the greenhouse. 

 











He had already put a power pole connector on the wire to the fan, and had an transformer that would work. After mounting the fan over the vent and plugging it in, we were in business. After about 20 minutes the temperature had started to drop.

 

After an hour or so, the temperature had obviously been affected by the fan. Great! One step closer to putting the tubs of seedlings in the greenhouse.

Frank and Henry also utilized all of the sheets of plywood, along with some 1/2" plywood to cut ten 24" squares, to put under each water barrel as a barrier from the concrete.

Now we need to rinse out each barrel, place them in their permanent home on a square of plywood, fill them with water and treat them with bleach. Then we will be able to start bringing the seedling tubs and other plants in. That will be a red letter day!

While the men were working on the greenhouse, I was cleaning out the 'weaning pen' in the barn. Lady Bug, one of the does we are milking, is still letting her five month old doe, Easter, nurse. I was hoping she would go ahead and wean her, but stay in milk for our use. As I was milking her this morning, and getting very little, I began to wonder if she could be weaning Easter and drying up. This would defeat our purpose of keeping her in milk through at least mid January when One Stripe, Copper and Cricket are due to kid. After this thought hit me I knew I needed to start penning Easter up again at night so I can not only have more milk, but keep Lady Bug producing more, and hopefully longer. Thus, I needed to clean out the pen and get it set up for this evening for Easter. We'll see how Lady Bug's milk supply is in the morning. I've got my fingers crossed.

We still have some chickens that need to be put in the freezer, so after I finished cleaning the pen, I went down to the house to set up the butchering station. Very soon, this part of the task won't be necessary. Frank, Henry and the tractor were wrestling with the stump in the outdoor kitchen area when I got back down to the house. Men and machine won out over the stump, although it did give them a run for their money. Now, in it's place is a nice gravel chip pad and the beginnings of forms for concrete. When we butcher the chickens that grow from the eggs that are currently in the incubator, we may have this kitchen set up so we can dress the chickens here. I didn't get any pictures of this process because I was butchering chickens down here at the end of the porch, but I was close by and got to watch.
 

My chicken butchering set up, washed and drying for next time.

You may wonder why we are building an outdoor kitchen. It's not for fun, or looks, or to show my friends. I truly believe that it is something we will need to have in the coming years. It gets hot in Oklahoma in the summer time, and the propane tank that fuels our kitchen stove will run out one day if the trucks quit running. I need a place to cook, process the garden produce and meat from our animals, can food, wash clothes and provide for my husband. This will be where that happens. As we get everything set up and functional, we'll give you another tour and more explanations. This project is still in the planning stages and has already undergone a number of changes. It will be interesting to see it all come together in a final product. Most of the things installed in this kitchen have been here for a while, some longer than others. A few things will need to be acquired for it's completion.

Before the wrestling match with the stump commenced, the clothesline poles sprouted wings. We will let the posts continue to cure in the ground for a few more days before we hang the clothesline. I am really looking forward to hanging our clothes out on the line again. As you can see, the clothesline is close to the kitchen which will be very handy. 

After Frank and the tractor won the stump contest, he also ran the disc through the garden again. There are several places that the grass has really grown tall and it's good he is working it and getting it ready for winter. We will soon be adding barnyard and wood ashes to rebuild what was lost in the early spring torrential rains that took much of our topsoil.
 

We still haven't decided where to put the outhouse......

What projects do you have in mind for TEOTWAWKI? In the seven years we have lived on this homestead our purchasing has been with an eye to a future that will probably not resemble life as we know it now. Frank has seen the demise of our country and world coming for a long time. That is why we have purchased many supplies that have been waiting in the wings for quite a while. Now is the time for us to prepare these things, for soon the time of preparation will be past. Even if you are unable to complete a needed or wanted project now, obtain as many supplies as you are able. There will be a time when what you have is what you have, and that's it. Think about that. What you have is what you have. No more stores or driving to town to get something. If you don't have it, you can't get it. What is it that you really need for TEOTWAWKI? Think hard, talk it over with your family. Make a list and acquire what you are able. Now. The time is now.

Until next time - Fern

Two Kinds of Comfrey - Which one is right for you?

2011

Back around 2009, when I began my serious research into what kinds of herbs I wanted to establish in a permanent herb bed, I began reading about comfrey. Well, we originally read about comfrey sometime back in the late 1980's or early 1990's in our first herbal book, Weiner's Herbal (this link goes to the new edition, ours is much older). So I knew when I started my new research, that this was something I wanted to consider. Well, I ordered a plant or root sometime in 2009 or 2010 and got started with one plant. I didn't do much but let it grow. I knew it was something I would eventually use, but my focus was on increasing my gardening, canning, goat raising and cheese making skills at that time.

Original plant, True Comfrey, 2011

Since then the goats, cheese and garden have fallen into place as more routine ventures, and my focus has again returned to the herb bed. For three reasons. As spices and seasonings, as medicinal herbs and as animal feed. A couple of years ago I began occasionally picking some leaves from my comfrey plant and feeding them to the chickens and goats since I knew they were very nutritious and high in protein.

New Russian Comfrey roots, May 2014

Last spring I ordered six new comfrey roots to increase the production of animal feed. Some day I plan to make comfrey salve as well. It's kind of an herbal antibiotic salve. But more about that when I get around to making it. These six new plants were planted at the end of the herb bed in an unused space. Lucky for the

The same 6 roots, September 2014

comfrey, a few years prior we had dumped a good amount of barnyard in this spot with plans to disperse it elsewhere, but it all  remained right there. I knew this would be a rich, loamy soil and had high hopes for these new roots. Little did I know they would grow and grow. Initially, I didn't intend on harvesting anything from these plants the first year because I wanted them to become well established. But after the leaves became profuse and two feet long, I started picking six to eight to ten leaves a day and feeding them to the chickens. The chickens loved them and got to where they would stand at my feet waiting for a leaf to eat.

With the great success of these roots last year, I ordered 20 more this year to extend my comfrey bed and production. I plan to incorporate the leaves fresh into the chicken, goat and pig (when they arrive) feed all summer, and hope to dry some for additional nutrition in the winter. The new roots have arrived, but for now they are sprouting out nicely in tubs waiting for the ground to dry up enough to work. They will also have to wait for us to kill and remove the brushy weed trees, briars and vines that currently reside in their new home. I will also add a deep layer of barnyard before planting to try to replicate the success of last year's new bed.

Original True Comfrey

New Russian Comfrey

I noticed last year that the new plants and the original comfrey were similar, but different. The original plant's leaves are much smaller and it is more prone to blooming. They are beautiful blooms, I might add. Because the new plants grew much bigger leaves, which provided more animal feed, I preferred this type of plant. I didn't take the time to look up any information about the two kinds, though, until I received a question in an email recently. I just love questions. They prompt me to do more indepth research and learn. It turns out that the original plant I got is a true comfrey. It propagates from seeds, has smaller leaves and tends to be taller, about two feet. The new plants are Russian comfrey. The leaves tend to be much larger, it flowers but they are sterile, and it propagates through root division.

Here is a better explanation from Horizon Herbs. "What's the difference between this plant [Russian Comfrey] and true comfrey (Symphytum officinalis)? The Bocking 14 cultivar of Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) is a sterile hybrid that will not self-seed and is extremely robust and vigorous.  The true comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) is a bit less vigorous of a grower, has more elongated leaves and (I think) prettier flowers, and does indeed make seed.  Although both types of comfrey (Russian and True) are useful for making medicine and making compost, in an ideal world one would use the bocking cultivar for producing large amounts of biomass for permaculture gardens, composting, and animal feed, and one would use the true comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) for medicinal purposes.  Again, both types (and other species as well) are used interchangeably in agriculture and in medicine." 

The roots I bought last year and this year came from Horizon Herbs. I am very pleased with the quality of their comfrey, as well as their price. I have no affiliation with them, I'm just a satisfied customer. After reading the paragraph on their site about the two different types of comfrey, I'm glad I have both, one for animal feed, the other for medicine, but I can use them interchangeably. 

So the next time I went out to the garden, I took a closer look at the comfrey I planted last year. It is already coming up very nicely, and I have picked a few leaves for the chickens twice already. Guess what? Each of the six roots I planted last year have multiplied! Most of them by at least four or five times, meaning my plants haven't just doubled in one year, they have....what would you call it? Quadrupled or quintupled. If I had realized that, I may not have ordered so many new roots. I still would have ordered some, but probably not 20. With this multiplication rate, I will be able to have many more beds of comfrey and a whole lot more feed for my animals. What a great bonus!

I wanted to share what I have learned about comfrey, just in case you may be thinking of getting some, or like me, you may already have some, but didn't realize the difference. I guess this is one case where ignorance has been bliss. I had no idea I would be blessed with such an abundance by choosing a different variety of a specific plant. There are so many times that life can throw you a loop, and sometimes it pays to grab hold and see what that loop may hold. You may find a very pleasant surprise. 

Until next time - Fern
 

Trying to Escape Chemicals

As the years have gone by, we have learned more and more about the chemicals we have all been ingesting and putting on our bodies. When I was much younger, I didn't give it much thought. But as time has passed, we have learned so much more that some days, it is almost scary.

Where do I start? Frank did some research about sugar over 30 years ago. One of his common statements is that if sugar was just now being discovered and processed, it would be classed as a drug, no different than cocaine. It is just as addictive and has tremendous affects on our bodies. Then along comes corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, maltodextrin, and on and on and on. This does not include some artificial sweeteners that are purely chemical. There are some instances that artificial sweeteners benefit people, such as those with diabetes and other health issues, and we do not discount that benefit. Even if we only discussed sweeteners alone, and the effects they have on our bodies, it could fill volumes.

Now take the lowly can of green beans. Good for you, right? The problem is that the can they come in is now coated with a product to enhance storage and safety. The only problem with that is that it mimics estrogen. How many young boys have grown up consuming estrogen type products all of their lives? How has that affected them? I don't think for the better. 

According to an article on CNN, "The chemical BPA [Bisphenol-A], suspected of causing damage to human health, is used in the interior lining of the vast majority of canned soups and vegetables." So, what is bisphenol-A? According to Wikipedia, "BPA exhibits hormone-like properties at high dosage levels that raise concern about its suitability in consumer products and food containers...." With that in mind Wikipedia goes on to say, "The CDC had found bisphenol A in the urine of 95% of adults sampled in 1988–1994 and

in 93% of children and adults tested in 2003–04." This long-term chemical ingestion has been linked as one of the contributing factors in the feminization of men over the last 20 or so years. It has also been linked to many, many health issues. If you research just this topic alone, the wealth of information is staggering. Once we learned this information, we had even more motivation to grow and can our own food. The freedom to grow, preserve and eat your own food is one way to control at least some of the chemicals that you ingest. But, I'm not sure for how long, because even that basic right is being eroded right before our very eyes. This site lists just a few states that have enacted laws governing The People's right to grow their own food. It appears that large corporations focus more on profit than the benefit of the individual person's health and safety.

Bottled water. This may be a touchy subject. I know there are people that think bottled water is cleaner and safer than regular tap water. The thing about it is, most bottled water is just that. Tap water. One of the differences is that after bottled water has sat in a warehouse then in the back of a semi, then in another warehouse, it has been exposed to many different temperature changes. High temperatures allow the toxins in the plastic of the bottle to leach into the water causing the water to be much more toxic than it was before it was put into the bottle.

Because of this, we do not drink bottled water. We currently have rural water service to our house, which we cook and clean with. Our drinking water is always filtered. This removes the chlorine and some of the other chemicals including, we hope, the flouride. We have used a Katadyn Gravidyn filter system for over 20 years everywhere we have lived, including bush Alaska. They work great for our purposes.

Then there is the fact that most food produced here and around the world are only possible on the current scale because of the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, all made from chemicals that have been proven over and over again to be harmful to human and animal health. The minimum parts per gazillion allowable contamination from these chemicals has been raised time and time again, until it really means nothing. Here is another example of how they discovered that what they are doing is actually more harmful than they initially thought. Why am I not surprised about that? Yet another 

reason to grow and preserve as much food as we can, and without the use of anything GMO. I could talk about GMO seeds and foods for a long time. Suffice it to say that I think it is another of the top detrimental things people consume. Even though each year we battle insect pests in our garden, we refuse to use any kind of chemicals. We will continue picking bugs and trying different planting arrangements to allow for successful harvesting of enough food for ourselves and the pests. And fertilizer? Our goats and chickens provide us with plenty even though, at this time, we are still feeding them commercial feed which we know has chemicals in it. This is the best we can do for now.

Aluminum is another ingredient that has been researched for many years. It is found in everything from pots and pans, to food, to deodorant. Frank

started having problems with deodorant years ago. It would leave a red rash that he could only treat with lotion. It was like the deodorant was drying out his skin. He tried a number of different ways to deal with it, until he just finally quit wearing it altogether. Sounds stinky, huh? Well, you know what? It isn't for the most part. So, now I have followed suit. We do use some powder to help absorb the sweat and help with odor, but we have eliminated another means of absorbing aluminum into our bodies. This link has some very good information about aluminum absorption.

Another source of aluminum is in some of our foods. I like pickles. I tried making them for a couple of years and found that they weren't crunchy like store bought. I like crunchy pickles. So I talked to some folks who told me to put Alum in them. I asked, "What is Alum?" I thought it was some herb I hadn't heard of. Well, some research told me that it is a form of aluminum, "Usually when you hear about alum it is in reference to potassium alum, which is the hydrated form of potassium aluminum sulfate and has the chemical formula KAl(SO4)2·12H2O." Hmm....I don't want to 

add yet another chemical to my pickles to make them crunchy. So, I opted for grape leaves instead. I was able to pick them off of my very old grape vine. Were the pickles as crunchy as I would have liked? No. But I was glad to find  a more natural alternative. But my research on Alum also turned up some other information that I didn't know. Alum has many different forms and is used in cookware, water purification, baking powder, spices, deodorant, pop cans, aluminum foil (of course) and many other items. There are so many ways to ingest it that it can be mind boggling.

And, speaking of water purification, that brings me to flouride. Frank's dad worked at a major water treatment plant back in the 60's as a chemist.

One of the things he taught Frank is that flouride is a poison. Period. If you want to use flouride to prevent tooth decay, use a toothpaste with flouride in it twice a year. That's all you need, according to him. Otherwise you are ingesting a poison on a daily basis. We used to be able to find a toothpaste without floride, but now days you can't. So we have followed some others footsteps and now use baking soda, plain old baking soda. I know some folks add peppermint oil or other things for flavor, but we just use straight baking soda and it works fine. The funny thing is, I thought my mouth might not feel as clean. But after using the baking soda for about a week, I realized that my mouth actually felt cleaner than I ever remembered. It was then that I realized that the toothpaste was leaving a coating all over the inside of my mouth. Interesting.

And what about the combination and mixture of all of the chemicals and drugs we are exposed to day in and day out? This little piece doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. The purpose of this information is to give you something to think about. Have we eliminated all chemicals from our lives? Not even remotely close. Do we enjoy a cup of coffee that was grown under unknown conditions? Yes. Do we like a bag of chips every now and then? Yes. Do we still feed our animals commercial feed? Yes. These are just some of the things we have been able to learn about, and take action on, that we feel has improved the quality of our lives. Like I've said before, there is not enough time to learn and do all of the things we would like to do. But we are doing what we can as time allows. Thoughts to ponder.


Until next time - Fern