Mardi Gras

Here in Louisiana we're gearing up for our annual Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras throughout Louisiana's history has always symbolized the last big hoorah before the start of Lent. Mardi Gras in Louisiana actually starts about a week or two before Mardi Gras day with magnificent floats, school and brass bands, dance teams, lots of music, drinking, and fun all parading around town. It's a time to let loose and a time for decadence. Growing up as a kid in south Louisiana you think that Mardi Gras is a national holiday and wait excitedly for Mardi Gras day to get here, kind of like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, not realizing until you're older that only in Louisiana do we celebrate Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras is also a time for families to get together on the neutral grounds and barbeque, drink, eat a ton of Crawfish and have fun together. In a way Mardi Gras also signals the beginning of Spring even though on Mardi Gras day you can usually plan on it being a bit chilly out or even raining. I hadn't celebrated Mardi Gras the last couple years simply because after 34 years of Mardi Gras, it just doesn't hold that same magic it did for me when I was younger. I do try to make a point every year to bring Skylar to at least one parade during Mardi Gras. This year she has her sights set on the Argus parade that rolls through Metairie, Louisiana. This particular parade is the one that my parents and I would go to every year, when I was growing up, as it is somewhat more family oriented.

 Most of the older, larger, and more popular parades that roll through the streets of New Orleans, while nice if you can actually see them, tend to be so packed with people that their is standing room only with so many people packing the streets that when the crowd moves you move with it causing the crowd to look like a living wave made of people, and while the famous Bourbon Street has never exactly been kid friendly with bars and clubs lining both sides of the street, this time of year the people are  jammed packed so tightly down Bourbon that they are literally wall to wall with barely enough room to move.

Mardi Gras is, in my opinion, the largest party in the world. With the crowded streets of party goers and things that may be going on in your life good or bad, Mardi Gras day has a way of making you forget any troubles you may have and making you want to just let your hair down and have fun. Even if it's just for a little while. As we say down here in Louisiana "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler" (Pronounced : Lez-zay lay bon tom rul-A ) meaning "Let the good times roll."

Gardening for small backyards

You don't need a large backyard to have a garden. Here in south Louisiana many people have small vegetable and herb gardens. Growing up it seemed everyone had large backyards and many had gardens of some type. As I see more and more Subdivisions going up I've noticed that the new homes are missing one crucial element that make a home a home and that's a backyard. Some of these new nice subdivisions have beautiful houses but the backyards seem to be almost non-existent with barely enough room to barbeque and enjoy the outdoors, and it's pretty sad. I'm not sure why contactors and architects are overlooking the backyard now a days, I guess they've forgotten what it's like to sit outside on an old swing, or barbeque and entertain family and friends on those hot summer southern nights. The nights we use to look forward too growing up as kids. None the less if you have one of these small backyards and want to be able to plant your own garden it's still really easy to do. Everyone by now knows I love raised beds for my gardens, but they're great for small backyards too. If you're wanting to try the raised beds in a small backyard make the beds smaller somewhere in the vicinity of a 4x4 square bed or smaller. If you don't have enough room for a square bed depending on the layout of your yard a rectangular bed works well too and you can make it as narrow as you need too. If you don't care to do the raised beds and your yard is fenced ( which now a days most are) you can plant your veggies and herbs about a foot or two away from the fence. Fencing in your small garden works really well for plants such as cucumber, melons, grapes, squash, and merllitons. If you have a chain link fence it works a little better with these type plants because when they start to vine out all you have to do is thread the vines through the chain link. If you don't have chain link and have a wooden fence you can add pegs to the fence boards using either wooden dolls or nails long enough and close enough for the vines to climb upwards helping to keep the fruits or veggies off the ground.
When not planting in a raised bed it is always a good idea to have some type of border around your plants to protect them from the lawn mower and that crazy weed whacker. When planting herbs in your yard, planting them closer to the house is usually a great idea. You can plant rosemary on all four corners of your house as it makes a nice addition to any landscape and smells great when it rains.

The gardens are coming along

I've actually gotten all four boxes for this section built and planted. The third box pictured here is mostly herbs of various kinds including rosemary,lavender,chocolate mint,and cilantro. In the fourth box in this set which is not pictured yet( forgot to take a pic yesterday) I've planted all of skylar's strawberries. A few of the strawberry plants already had berries started. I have even managed to plant the second bundle of onions.

Being that the temps will be in the thirties tonight and again tomorrow night I will be covering the strawberries later today to protect the plant and the berries from the cold. Strawberries, which are cold hardy, can withstand temps as low as 22 degrees when dormant. However, when the strawberry plants have new leaves,buds, and even berries anything around the low 30's can set the plant back into a dormant state causing the loss of the berries or even the entire plant. 

I have also started on my second 4 set of raised beds. Meaning I built the box and threw in two bags of compost. I seem to need more veggies for the garden so in these next 4 boxes I will plant broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, more squash, more bellpeppers, and perhaps maybe even some garlic. I'm saving my seed crops for last and each seed crop will have its own box. The seed crops so far include corn, white potatoes, and water melon so far. 

A great blog that is a blast to read

Rural Revolution
http://www.rural-revolution.com/


Here's a great blog for ya'll to follow. The blog is written by a Sassy, very opinionated,  North Idaho housewife who not only gives great advice on everyday issues but has some great tips on farming and everything else :) This is a blog that ya'll really can't pass up.

The new veggie and herb garden

I had a great day for planting yesterday the box on the right has tomatoes on the back row, bellpeppers on the row in front of the tomatoes, and the rest of the right box is sweet onions. I had never attempted to plant onions before and really didn't know how, but I got two bundles of onions anyway not knowing you had to seperate every single onion and plant it. The sweet onions in the right box is only one of the bundles I had bought. The box on the left is the herb box. The herb box has pineapple sage in the back row, cinnamon basil on the row in front of that along with lemon thyme,oregano, there's a  one Rosemary in the corner a sweet basil and some squash right in front. I still have some herbs that I wasn't able to plant today, I didn't have anymore room. Tomorrow I will build a few more boxes and get a few more bags of compost. I may actually end up with about two boxes for herbs. I will also be building a box just for watermelon, one for corn which is going to be huge, one for potatoes,and a small one just for the rest of those onions I bought. I like putting all of my veggies and herbs in boxes because it's easier for me to plant. The ground at the farm is pretty hard and most of it is clay. Being we don't have a tractor and only a hand tiller, right now it's my best option. As I get the next boxes built and more things planted I will post pictures and let all of my wonderful readers know what I've planted. I know I seem to have a ton of tomato plants and onions right now and not much else and still I know I will need way more of everything in order to get the amount of crops I'm hopeing for. 

My crazy yet somewhat practical antics on the farm

We all know by now that I have hit an all time spring fever high. Out on the farm the grass is so high right now that in some areas it's almost as tall as me and in others is taller than me, which doesn't take much since I'm only 4'11. We have yet to get a tractor and Sean's riding lawn mower has been out of commission since last year, good thing we have a ton of trees and leaves to keep the grass low. With all the high dead grass on the farm it's hard for me to decide where I want to put the veggitable garden. So being the somewhat resourcefull person I am, I went out to the farm armed with a metal rake. Ten minutes later I had raked up a nice large section for a veggie garden. Being that the grass was dead it came up almost effortlessly. Of courser when I was done it looked like we had tumble weed in the back but it was done none the less. Point being, if the tractors broke, the lawn mower is out of commission, the weed wacker doesn't work, and you don't have a push mower, use a rake it works wonders and you get a little excersise in the process:) 

Jack (the dog) Milking an injury for all it's worth

Yesterday afternoon Sky and I came home like always. We walked through the door and Jack was not there to immediately greet us like he usually does. I whistled for him to come and he came up tail wagging. Sky put Jack on his leash for his afternoon walk and headed outside while I busied myself inside. Not five minutes home Skylar texts me from outside, she's a teenager the phone is permanently attached to her hand, saying that Jack won't get up. So I go outside with my phone in hand, I'm just as bad, and go to see what the problem is. Well I go out back and don't see Sky or jack so I call out to Sky and get no answer. I walk to the side of the house and to the back of the shed and still no sign of her or Jack. I call out to Sky again and still no reply ( she was probably texting). So since you can usually only get a teenager to respond to a text, I had to text my child to find out where exactly she and jack were in the yard.

By now I know what you're thinking," why didn't you just circle the whole house?" the answer to that is simple, If I had just circled the whole house my child and the dog would've been circling behind me with her and I never seeing each other. So I text her and wait for her to reply saying that they were on the side of the house by the chimney. So I go through the backyard and round the corner to that side of the house(Keep in mind that from the backyard to that side of the house is not that far away and she should've been able to hear me calling for her) and low and behold There's sky and Jack, By this time jack was up and wagging the tail. So I figure Jack is just up to his usual tricks, he is kind of a smart ass, and wasn't ready to go inside when Sky was ready.

 I take Jack's leash and he follows me all the way to the front porch with no problem at all so I decide to pass the front door, as it was locked anyway, and halfway to the other side of the porch Jack lays down. At this point I figured maybe he was just being a little stubborn since the weather was nice, and tell Skylar to go around through the back and come open the front door. I finally get jack back up and inside and bring him into the kitchen for some water. Jack has a bad habit of not eating or drinking when we're not home, so I figured he was a little dehydrated. I didn't truly realize anything was wrong until he just stood in the kitchen not going to his food bowl even when I had put some bacon bits in his dish. So I brought his food and water bowls over to where he stood and noticed at this point that his left front shoulder area was twitching like he was having a real bad muscle spasm.

Jack still didn't try to eat or drink, so I took a couple bacon bits out his bowl and held them up to his nose which he them proceeded to lick the bacon bits out of my hand. Once he did that he ate just fine and then drank his water, which made me feel a bit better. I put a call into the Vet and told them what was going on telling them I thought maybe he had pulled a muscle or twisted his shoulder, they agreed and set us up with an appointment for this morning saying that if after hours I felt his condition had worsened to call and I would be able to bring him in. After the call to the vet I had asked Skylar if jack had gone to the bathroom at all when she had taken him out and she had replied that he hadn't.

Well I knew he had to go do his business since he hadn't gone at all yesterday except for about 5:30 that morning when Sky took him out before going to school. I had remembered I had an anti-inflammatory medicine for him that was left over from last year when he ran away from my parents house while we were out of town and had managed to hurt him paw. I located the medicine and gave him a dose which was not an easy thing to do. He won't open his mouth when he knows it's medicine now matter what you try to do, but since it was liquid I did manage to get him to at least lick it out of the syringe a little at a time. Once the medicine kicked in I took him back out and he finally did his business.

When we came in he settled on the floor next to the couch by my feet and didn't even try to get on his couch, so I knew he was hurting. A little while later the neighbors door could be heard barking outside, which usually causes jack to run to the door and bark and growl, he barely lifted his head up and huffed. I figured him not getting up was maybe a good thing being his shoulder was hurting and that the more he tended to stay off of it and rest the better. When Sean had gotten home I had told him he had better be sweet to Jack (Sean likes to harass and tease Jack in a guys being guys sort of way) and told him that jack was not feeling good. Sky and I had left a short while later to go pick up Raisin Canes for dinner as last night Raisin Canes was holding a fundraiser for Sky's high school. As we ate dinner at the coffee table Jack was Laying by my feet as always. I happened to drop a piece of chicken not far from jack's nose and I expected him to lift his head and hurry up and grab the piece of food, but instead I got the poor pitiful puppy eyes saying feed me. So I scooted the piece of chicken closer to him and he, with that lazy I'm dying effort your husband and kid gives you when their sick, licked up the piece of chicken.

As the night wore on Jack just laid there like a fury pathetic lump. When it was time for his last walk of the night we tried and tried to get jack up with no use. At this point I think I began to panic. I didn't know if I should call the Vet as it really was late and I would've hated to make the vet leave their house to meet us at the clinic just for them to tell me he just hurt his shoulder. I decided to give jack another round of medicine as it had been a good while since I gave him the first dose and went off to take a shower asking Sean if he could try to take Jake out again once the medicine kicked in. The next thing I know here comes Jack and Sean into the Bathroom while I'm trying to take a shower. Sean had an uncooked hot dog and breaking pieces off and tossing them on the floor to Jack trying to get Jack to follow the trail of hot dog into the bathroom. Seeing these two doing this cheered me up a bit. Sean decided he was going to go back up front and leave jack with me. Well Jack took this as his cue to play and run down the hall. So I had asked Sean to try and take jack outside again since he seemed to be feeling a little better, to which he agreed.

By the time I finished up, Sean and Jack, I was surprised to find, were not yet back inside. I figured maybe Sean was having a problem getting Jack back in so I went out to find them. I was shocked to find the two of them in the field next door with jack being his normal self. By the time it was time for me to go to bed I wanted to be near Jack so that I could keep an eye on him during the night so I was ready to sleep on the couch, but since Sean was up playing his drums and would continue to play till about 4am ( good thing they're an electric drum set and he had headphones) He told me that Jack could sleep in the bed with us, which has been forbidden since we moved in with Sean. So in order to get jack back into our bedroom again Sean grabbed more hotdogs. when we finally got him into the bedroom Sean picked Jack up and put him on the bed, where Jack stayed curled up next to me all night.

This morning we got up, took Sky to school and then it was time to get Jack into the truck to go see the Vet. Prime example of Jack being a smartass, I open the back door so jack can get in. He looks like he's going to need some help so I open the driver side door to put my purse and keys onto the seat so that I have two hands to lift jack into the truck. What does jack do? jumps right on in to the driver seat and refuses to get out the truck or to go into the back seat. So Sean comes out picks jack up out the front of truck, and places him onto the back seat. We get to the vet only to have Jack act like there's nothing wrong with him, just like a little kid who has the flu after the fever breaks.
40 dollars later, the vet confirmed that it was simply nothing more than either a strained or pulled muscle. I tried to tell her that the dog that was before her was not the same dog from last night who was lethargic, pathetic, and looking like he was about to die at any minute.

Sean put it best when he said Jack is the best actor he's ever seen. He milked the pulled muscle for all it was worth grabbing up as many treats, attention, affection, and privileges as he could possibly get away with. Who says a dog doesn't know how to milk an injury for all it's worth?

Pruning The Orchard

 We finally had some decent weather this weekend so I started both days out in the Garden. Yesterday I had planted my two Anna apple trees in pots since they were the two bare root trees I bought on Thursday. Lucky for me Sean has a stock pile of good garden soil and extra large planting pots. Not sure why he has a stock pile of the pots and soil as he didn't have a garden of any kind until he met me, but I'm thankful he did. So today, since the weather was really nice and the temperature tonight was going to be in the 50's, I decided to prune all the trees and my rose bushes; or as I like to say they all got their "winter hair cuts." Basically, when I trim my trees and roses, I take off as little as possible. Anything that is dry or dead gets clipped off. When I do my fruit trees I always clip off the old fruit stems. Pruning your plants, trees, and bushes helps promote healthy and faster growth , it also helps them to bush or branch out so that they become fuller. When a plant or tree has a dead branch, for example, the plant or tree still uses some of it's energy on trying to get that limb or branch to grow. The energy that the plant is using to do this with can be put to better use somewhere else, like producing flowers, fruit, new growth, or leaves.

Adopt a pet from a Shelter

 

This is my happy Jack. Jack was a rescue of sorts even though I didn't adopt him from a shelter.

 

JACK'S STORY

 

I was working as a receptionist at a local veterinarian's office right after Hurricane Katrina.

It was around Thanksgiving and about early afternoon when this man came into the clinic holding two small, slightly dirty puppies. The man Looked frantic and about at his wits end. He placed both of the puppies, one male and one female, on the counter in front of me and the other receptionist and told us that we had to take these puppies. He said he had found the puppies on the side of Airline highway near Reserve, La and that there had been a third puppy but that the puppy had been hit by another vehicle and died. We told the man that we could not take the puppies until they were adopted because we didn't have any room in the clinic for them. He said that he had tried every vet in town  to see if they could take them each one turning him down. He repeated again that we had to take the puppies because he didn't want to see them go to the pound and that he would rather pay to have them put down at our clinic then to send them to the pound. So since I personally couldn't let him do that I made a call to my landlord at the time to ask if I could have a puppy, which he agreed too given the situation and a hundred dollar increase on my rent. The other puppy was to be spared as well. A lady who was in the clinic at the time heard what was going on, and even though she was bringing her dog in for a check up decided to take one of the puppies home. The lady had asked me which one I wanted and I told her she could have first pick , even though I wanted the male. While the two puppies were on the counter during all of this, the female had crouched down and snuggled up to her brother who was standing tall and proud. The lady had fallen in love with the much fluffier female puppy and decided that was the one she wanted and I gratefully took the male. I didn't know what kind of dog Jack was, we knew his age, but that was all anyone could tell me. Most of the vets thought he was a German Shepard mix of some sort. I later found out that He is an American Dingo. Always joked saying he looked like a dingo you would see on nature shows, didn't know I was that close to being right. Jack is still here with us he will be 9 years old this September and has been a huge part of the family. He grew up with the two cats I already had and needless to say my female cat,Pogo, was not at all happy about having a dog in the house. She even had gone as far as to take every single dollar bill out of my purse one day and stack it neatly on the kitchen table, look at me, meowed, and jumped off the table as if to say "I will pay you to get rid of the dog." Her brother, scooter, had become Jack's best friend and they played together every chance they got. While Jack and my cats had been separated for a few years now due to trying to get situated in one place, and my sweet pogo has passed on, and scooter still living at my mom's until next month, Jack never forgot growing up with them in the house and has always been gentle to cats. He even has a new cat friend, Mini Monster, who follows him around, attacks him, jumps on his back when she can, and meows constantly if jack's bowl is empty. They play together all the time and Jack's been known to give Mini so many kisses on her head that her whole head is soaked, but she loves it.

So please if you want to get a pet, adopt one from a local shelter and give them a good loving Forever Home. 

Gardening tips for the environmentally conscious

Here's some good ideas for gardening while recycling. I personally like to use raised garden beds for my herbs and some veggies. There's two reasons for this, the first being that I'm ADD and tend to be absent minded, so when I use the raised beds I can remember what plants are in which bed. 2) it helps with keeping critters out (to some small degree) and with weeding. It also helps when I go to cut the grass I don't have to worry about accidently running over the plants.

 The best way to build a raise bed is to use either old wooden pallets or recycled lumber either from a fence that's being replaced or an old dresser that someone is throwing out. A couple years ago I didn't have enough lumber for the size boxes I was building so in addition to the lumber I had, I used a couple of large logs that were left over from when we cleared some property that I had lived on previously. Old tree logs work well too and help give your garden that old rustic look and they tend not to rot as fast depending on the size log. When the log does eventually rot it helps make the soil a little more fertile. 

Depending on how big you want your boxes to be will depend on how much wood you'll need, obviously. You can make these boxes taller to keep the rabbits out if the bunnies tend to be a problem or for asstetics and better drainage depending on what you're planting. 

Another good material to use in the garden is plastic. Everyone has plastic groceries bags or if you're a person who feeds the birds plastic seed bags. You can cut the bags down one side, from top to bottom so they open up and lay flat. Once that's done you can place them in any garden bed, I use these for my flower beds, then make a hole in each one so that your plant can be easily planted in the ground with the plastic around the base of the plant . Then all you need to do is add your dirt and mulch on top and it helps keep the weeds out of your beds. The thicker the plastic bag the better success you'll have with this technique. The other thing the plastic will do is hold moisture so that even in the middle of summer you won't have to water as much and won't have to worry about being in the garden weeding for hours. It also repurposes the plastic bags so they're not sitting in a landfill somewhere for years to come. 

Use recycled materials you have at home whenever possible in your garden, whether it's paper, plastic, or wood. This way you're not only helping yourself with cost and time you're also helping out the environment :) 

Happy gardening y'all 

The elderly gentleman down the street

For about last 6 months or so I've noticed this elderly gentleman that walks up and down our street with his walker. His walker is one of those that has the seat in the middle where he can stop and sit when he needs to take a break. My daughter and I have passed him in the afternoons on our way home from picking her up from the farm and occasionally on weekends when we're running out to do errands. We've always waved to him, but had never stopped to formally say hello. I've even seen him stop to rest at the front of our driveway for a few minutes. I know from Sean that he lives at the front of our street and that he was friends with Sean's parents. I know that his wife had passed recently because Sean's mother had said something about it one day and I remembered seeing a lot of activity at the elderly gentleman's house, but until his wife had passed I had never seen him. One day a few months ago I saw the man walking and I had pulled up along side of him to say hello. We chatted a bit and I had let him know then that even though I had never stopped to talk to him before that I always tried to keep an eye out for him when I saw him. I hadn't seen him in the last few days because of the cold weather, but today as Sean, Sky, and I were coming home from the farm I spotted him making the loop by our driveway. I stopped the truck and rolled down the window to hear Sean make the off the wall comment " Don't be harassing the old people" which got a good laugh from me right before I told the elderly gentleman hello. He came up to the window and we chatted awhile there, seeing that man smile and laugh was nice. He said he had done his rounds 4 times today because the weather was so nice and that he did one round for all the neighbors who didn't get a chance to do their exercises today, so I responded that Sean, Sky, and I could stand to loose a few pounds so that if he wanted he could do another round just for us. He laughed and called me a good smart ass, which in Louisiana that tends to be a compliment. I asked if he liked apple butter and was happy to hear that he loved it and since I had a few large jars left from the other day that I had made, I told him I'd catch up with him in a few minutes and bring him some. I hadn't been inside but a couple minutes and by the time I came out he was already half way down the block sitting down waiting for me. From the look of him you wouldn't think he'd walk that fast, I'm sure when he was a much younger man he was the top athlete at the 50 yard dash. Even told him as much and that put another smile on his face. He was so happy to get the large Jar of apple butter that I couldn't help but smile. I stayed and talked with him for a little longer. You could tell behind his brilliant smile that on the inside he was a little sad. He even told me that most often he gets really lonely and I know he misses his wife greatly. He was 87 I had learned today and for 87 he's doing great. The point of this story is that whenever possible stop and talk to your elderly neighbors and keep an eye out for them. I know we made the gentleman's day just as he had made ours. Most of the time our Senior citizens are lonely and just need a friend to talk to, But in talking to them you gain this whole wealth of knowledge and values from an era in time that will never be recaptured.

Apple Trees!!!!

Finally I have found Someone who sells Apple Trees in Louisiana!!!!!Yes those sticks with the signs that read "Fruit" are apple trees :) The taller one on the left is a yellow delicious the smaller one on the right is a Jonathan red apple and I also have two anna apples which are not pictured. All of the trees in the picture are fruit trees and my citrus trees look horrible right now due to the wintery weather we've had, and yes they're still in pots. The majority of my citrus trees look like they're half dead because their leaves look so dry, but believe it or not they are very healthy. Once we actually move onto the farm the trees will be put in the ground so that they can grow as big as possible  and produce fruit to their little hearts content. We're so happy to finally be able to add the apple trees to our orchard.

A new friend on the farm

We have a new furry friend at the farm. His name is Benjamin, or "Big Ben" as we call him. Big ben is a big, beautiful, very sweet, grey tabby cat. He actually belongs to one of our neighbors. we've taken to calling him Big Ben for two reasons,1) because he announces himself all the way to you no matter how far away he is once he spots you and 2) because he is just a huge cat. Big Ben comes over from time to time for as much attention as he can get and of course some food. The story on Big Ben, I learned, is that the family he belongs to has another cat,Tiny, who tends to be aggressive towards Ben and sometimes won't let him eat. I've spotted Tiny around on a couple of occasions and she's not exactly a friendly cat. To look at Big Ben he doesn't seem like he's starving, but he knows the sound of the food cup that I keep in my truck and he's been known to try to eat the food in the cup before I can even pour it out for him. Yesterday Big Ben got to go on his first ride in our truck yesterday.

Skylar, gets dropped off at the farm in the afternoons after school and well with the rains we've been having, the driveway is extremely muddy so she tends to not want to even try to walk down the driveway to the house. So when I pull up she's sitting at the front of the driveway in the grass with Big Ben on her lap. So once I piled Skylar into the truck I grabbed Big Ben and sat him on Skylar's lap and up the driveway we went. For a cat he did quite well sitting perfectly still enjoying his ear massage. When I stopped the truck Big Ben was a little hesitant to get out, but once he did he was back to following us around and keeping us from getting anything done. Even though Big Ben isn't ours, we love seeing him when he comes around and worry about him when we hadn't seen him for a while.

The awesome Honey Bee

I believe that Albert Einstein once said " If the Honey bee was to ever disappear, within 4 years the human race would cease to exist."  and he was right. We need the Honey Bees to pollinate the trees, flowers, vegetable plants, herb gardens, even the grass that feed our cattle, pigs, chickens, and horses. Sadly those beautiful Honey Bees are dying and their numbers are dwindling. Bee keepers and bee farmers will tell you that they've seen whole colonies of  bees wiped-out unexpectedly and without explanation. In regards to some of the commercial Bee farmers who drive whole hives to different parts of the country, it is my belief that some of their bees suffer from a degree of stress due to being shipped and from pollenating areas that those particular honey bees are not natives of. What about our "local" Honey bees? well here's the problem with our local bees, as well as commercial bees, Pesticides. Pesticides are everywhere, we use them in and around our homes, some commercial farmers use them on their crops, we in Louisiana even have local agencies that come out and spray pesticides for mosquitos. We all know that pesticides are harmful not only to us but to the environment, but no one really stops and thinks what would happen if honey bees disappeared because of pesticides. One of the things I'd like to do on my farm at some point is have a Bee keeper come out and place a couple of honey bee colonies on the farm. I have a couple reasons for this, 1) so that the Bees can help pollinate my fruits and veggies,  2) to help  the colonies grow bigger and produce more colonies, 3) because I love watching the Honey bees work, 4) hopefully the bee keeper will allow us to keep some of the honey the Bees produce. Believe it or not Honey from Local bees have some amazing health benefits. If you must use pesticides, please be mindful of our sweet amazing little honey bees and only use natural pesticides. A natural pesticides would be using Lady bugs to keep aphids off your herbs and plants, or burn fresh lavender to keep mosquitos away. Believe it or not the Lavender works way better than citronella on those little blood suckers.
In short, Honey bees are our life blood and without them we'd cease to exist.

Squirrels, Squirrels, and MORE Squirrels

I personally love to watch the squirrels play around as much as I love watching the birds, but for Birders, Gardeners, and homeowners in general they can cause more trouble than most people can handle. People ask me all the time for some kind of solution to keeping the squirrels out of their bird feeders. Keeping squirrels out of the feeders is easy. If your feeders are on a pole or 4x4 post get a can baffle and attach it to the pole with the bottom of the baffle 41/2 -5 feet off the ground making sure that there is no overhanging trees, fences, bushes, shrubs, porches and roofs within 8-10 feet from the pole simply because the squirrels will just catapult themselves to the top of the pole. The other solution is buy an actual Squirrel proof feeder that really works, yes they actually have some on the market that actually work. The best line of Squirrel proof feeders are the Squirrel busters (which come in Plus, classic, mini, and standard,) and the Droll Yankee Family of Squirrel proof feeders( such as the whipper, the tipper, and the ever popular Flipper.All of these products really work and also come with a lifetime guarantee against Squirrel damage. Greasing your feeder poles doesn't work, it just gives your squirrels a nice shiny under coat, and a fun carnival ride.

I've heard a ton of people say they shoot the squirrels ( which is terrible) or trap and relocate the Squirrels, and those people are fighting a never ending battle, here's why: Squirrels are very territorial. Well what exactly does that mean? It's simple, If you have  2 Squirrels and you trap and relocate one of those Squirrels two more will show up to try and claim the territory left open from the squirrel you just relocated and so on and so forth.  So my best solution to the Squirrel battle in everyone's backyard is, if you can't beat them Join them:) Lord knows we got enough squirrely people in this world so why not? They're a part of nature and in their own little ways they actually serve as fury gardeners. They may not plant the things you want in your garden, like an oak tree in the middle of your prized roses, or a pecan tree in the middle of your herb garden, but they're gardeners non the less even if they dig up and eat your tulip bulbs. Hey they're not perfect.
Also the bird seed you're putting out to feed the birds, the squirrels don't know it's not their own personal buffet, but now that I've given you some good solutions to keeping the squirrels off your feeders you and the birds and squirrels should be able to live better with each other.

Orange pineapple marmalade

Now here's a real simple recipe that doesn't take too much time to prepare.

Makes 6 half pint jars

Ingredients:

Peel of 3 oranges

Pulp of 6 oranges

2 cans (20 ounces each) crushed pineapple (Do not drain)

1/4 cup lemon juice

5 cups of granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.

Directions:

Peel three oranges. Put peel in saucepan with 1 cup of water and boil for up to 45 minutes. Depending on the types of oranges you're using you may not need to boil them for that long and make sure you don't burn them. Remove from heat, drain if there's any water left and slice into slivers. Peel the other oranges removing the white flesh. Slice the orange pulp removing the seeds and membrane. Put the peel, pulp, undrained

Pineapple, lemon juice, sugar, and ginger into the pot. Bring to boil over high heat stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar.

Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the marmalade thickens and turns a pretty amber color.

Remove from heat let stand for 5 to 7 minutes to cool. Remove any foam that has formed. Then ladle into hot jars, wipe rims, seal, and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.  

A little gardening advice

With the cold weather we've been having not many people are thinking about their spring gardens, however, February is the month to start getting back out into the garden. Weather permitting, this is when you should be getting your trees into the ground as the weather is not scorching hot or freezing cold. It's also a good time to get back out into the garden beds and pull out any dead weeds, grasses, and plants that didn't make it through the winter. It's also time to start planting those summer crops.

How to make and can bacon bits

I was looking up different things to can the other day, other than just fruits and veggies. While searching the internet I stumbled across this cool little blog called rural revolution. The woman who writes the blog is an Idaho house wife and had some things on her blog about canning that I never thought of before, like canning bacon bits. Here's how it's done.

You start with a pack or so of bacon ends. I've tried it with the regular bacon and it doesn't come out the same. 

Next cut up the bacon ends leaving a little bit of fat.

Once the bacon is cut up,place all of the bacon into a large sauce pan and cook until crispy but not over done. 

You may need to drain the bacon while it cooks and of course again when it's finished. 

When the bacon is done spoon the bacon into clean jars,tighten the lids, and can in a pressure canner using10 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes. 

Meet the "Donkey"

This is Sean, aka "Donkey",my better half. Not 100% sure on how he came about the nickname of Donkey. I've asked on several occasions and have always gotten different variations of the story. Everyone seems to know him as Donkey. His mom, siblings, nieces and nephews ( they refer to him as uncle donkey), even people at his work, refer to him as donkey, and I'm almost positive that if I ever had to call and ask for him at work ,if I asked to speak to Sean no one would know who I was talking about. 

Sean is a character to say the least. He is first and foremost my comic relief at any given time. 

He's almost a complete enigma to me because he has this laid back "just one of the good ole southern boys" personalities that says he's someone to be respected with just meeting him for the first time, but then on the flip side he's a complete comedian and always makes people feel comfortable around him. He's one of those guys that you just can't help but like. When we had first started dating I always saw him nicely dressed in causal attire. Always a nice casual shirt and jeans. So you can imagine my surprise when I show up one day and he's dressed in his "redneck" attire.

 

 

To be honest I kinda didn't know what to think but I liked it. Then came the day that I saw him dressed in his serious business attire...... Wow. He went from looking like a good ole southern country boy to the stereotypical "wealthy lawyer" look and he's neither wealthy or a lawyer. I think it was at that monent that I realized my typical jeans and t-shirt attire wasn't going cut it. Sean's comedic skills are only one of his many talents and charms.

Since being with Sean, I don't cook nearly as much as I use to. He's a better cook than me;) ,I do however laugh way more than any one person should, even in the midldle of the night and during our few disagreements. He plays the drums really well and as often and as loud as he can when he's not working. 

Sean does however encourage me to do the things I like doing and, whether he knows it or not, also encourages me to improve upon myself and become a much better and happier person. 

Now that you've been somewhat introduced to my "Donkey", please feel free to send donations to his personal favorite charity:

The legless frog convalescent home of Louisiana. 

This charity is for all of the legless frogs in Louisiana. They are trying to raise enough money and partner with Tonka to get all of the legless frogs specialized wheelchairs :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home made Tortillia Chips

Since I posted the Home made Salsa recipe I thought it might be helpful to post a recipe on making your own tortilla chips to go with your salsa.  My daughter, Skylar, loves these so much that she actually had me make them for her Spanish teacher one year. Since her Spanish teacher was originally from Mexico I was kind of hesitant to make them for her, but when Skylar came home the next afternoon from school she had told me that her Spanish teacher loved them so much that I had to make her some more. So here we go.


Ingredients:

Deep Fryer with fryer basket ( this is kind of a must have for these)

Peanut oil

1 pack of corn tortillas ( has to be corn as the flour tortillas are too flakey once fried)

Sea salt ( season to taste but be careful to not over salt. use less sea salt then you would table salt) 

two paper towels

scissors

1 large plastic storage container


Directions:

Preheat the peanut oil in the deep fryer to about 295 degrees. While the oil is heating, cut the corn tortillas into triangles. You can use as many tortillas as you like. Once all of the tortillas are cut into triangles place them in a thin layer in the fryer basket working in small batches. The tortillas will tend to float a bit in the fryer basket and if you have too many in the basket the ones on top will not fry properly. If you notice that some of the tortillas aren't frying completely, as they sometimes do, take a fork and CAREFULLY flip the tortillas over while in the fryer. When the tortillas are a nice golden brown take them out of the fryer and drain on a paper towel seasoning with the sea salt while they are hot. After all of the tortilla chips have cooled place them into the plastic storage container to either serve or keep for later use.

These tortilla chips are great with salsa, by themselves, or with any type of dip. They even make great after school snacks and can be made for less than what you would buy at the store.

Home Made Salsa

I know it's a tad bit early for Salsa as salsa is usually associated with spring and summer, but I've had enough of winter weather and must confess I have a little bit of spring fever right now. So here's my salsa recipe.  This recipe is great for parties, picnics, or a night in with a movie.You may have to adjust for spiciness.


Ingredients:

5 1/2 pounds of tomatoes ( peeled and diced)

2 medium onions

7 oz. or less fresh green chili peppers chopped ( these tend to be pretty spicy so if you're looking for mild salsa use less)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( can use 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 lime)

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 cup vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper ( optional and only if you're looking for some serious heat)


Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Heat salsa until hot. Ladle into clean jars. clean rims,seal
and process in a water bath canner for 45 minutes.

Makes 6 pints.

My coveted apple butter recipe

I have recently gotten a couple of requests for this recipe.... You know who you are ;) Before I tell you how to make this great recipe, I have to first tell you the secret ingredient ........ Ok you caught me I use fresh apples:) yeah I know I'm a born and bred smart ass;) it's part of my southern charm. So here we go.

Ingredients:

6 pounds of apples (I use red apples, but any apples will do)

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of lemon juice ( off the tree Is better but bottled lemon juice works fine)

3 cups granulated sugar (you know the white crystal sugar)

3 cups light brown sugar ( any brown sugar is fine)

1/2 -1 cup of sparkling apple cider.

1 teaspoon cinnamon ( or a pinch or two more)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 treaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Peel, core, and slice apples into lemon water (water with some lemon squeezed in) until all the apples are prepared. 

Drain the apples and cook the apples in 1 cup of water, in a heavy, covered sauce pan (I use a spaghetti pot ), for 10 to 15 minutes. When the apples are soft, process until smooth or grind in a food mill. 

Put purée in a heavy pan( spaghetti pot) and add lemon juice, granulated and brown sugar, sparkling cider, all the spices, salt, and vanilla. 

Stir well to blend and heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugars. Turn heat to low and continue to cook until very thick and spreadable. 

Stir occasionally so the butter doesn't burn on the bottom or sides.

To test if the butter is done, put a spoonful on a plate and make sure there is no liquid around the edges. 

When done, laddle into clean hot jars, clean rims, and seal. Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. 

This recipe makes 4 pints and 1 half pint. 

 As a side note to this recipe, plan to spend the better part of a day preparing, making, and canning apple butter. I usually make my apple butter on either a Saturday or a very lazy Sunday. 

Goldfinch, Hummingbirds, and Blue Birds

all pics copyrighted and taken by Southern Photography by Staci ward (me)

These are some of the most sought after birds. From top to bottom:

The Eastern Blue Bird ( not to be confused with a Blue Jay)

Ruby Throat Humming bird (this one in particular is my older female)

The American Goldfinch ( better known as very cute, sweet, flying piglets)

Here are some tips to attracting these birds to your feeders and backyard.

We'll start with the Eastern Blue Bird. The Eastern Blue Bird is mainly an insect eater and are hardly ever seen at seed feeders. Not that there aren't some that will eat the seed you put out, but for the most part they prefer their insects. The Eastern Blue Bird is also kind of a shy bird in respect to other birds. I like to refer to them as the sweet wall flowers of the bird world.

 In order to attract the Blue Bird into your yard you'll need a few things.

1) A Blue Bird Nesting box. A Blue Bird box should be 10 inches tall and about 5 inches wide, with a 1 1/2 inch hole. If the box is not deep enough you risk having the babies fall out and the hole is important because if the hole is too small the Blue Birds won't be able to get into the box.and a clean out so you can clean the nests out after each brood has fledged. They can have up to 3 and sometimes 4 brood a year.

2) Live Meal worms. Meal worms a  type of bug larva. they're small hard worms with little feet. think bald, not so cute caterpillar. We don't recommend the "dead" or "Not Live meal worms"  for two reasons 1) they won't feed them to the babies and 2) they have no nutritional value for the birds. Put Simply they're pork rinds for birds. So, The best way to get the Blue Birds into your yard is Live meal worms. If the Blue birds see that your yard has a good food supply of meal worms they're more likely to stay and nest.

3) Open spaces. remember earlier when I said they were sort of shy? well they like the more open areas of your yard because other birds tend to stay closer to the tree lines and the Blue Birds would prefer to be away from the other birds.

4) A water source. this is easily achieved with a bird bath. you don't have to go digging a pond.

5) Make sure that the Blue Bird box is a good ways away from any seed feeders you may have. And your meal worm feeder should be a good distance away from their box as well.

6) If you plan on putting up more than one Blue bird box make sure that the boxes are at least a good 50 ft away from one another. Blue Birds don't like completion.


Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds usually show up in Louisiana around March about the same time the goldfinch start to leave. Hummingbirds like a sugar water solution of 4 cups of water to 1 cup of sugar. most of the time we see hummingbird feeders filled with a red colored sugar water solution. We don't recommend the Coloring or buying the premade colored solution as the dye is known to be bad for the birds. Just like dyed food isn't good for us. there are also the myths that hummingbirds won't drink the sugar water unless it's red or won't go to any feeder if it's any color but red. Hummingbirds see the color red better from long distances over other colors, that is why everything hummingbird is red. Hummingbirds migrate in spring and in winter. keep this in mind when feeding the hummingbirds and don't take your feeders down in the winter as you may have older or weaker hummingbirds that can't migrate or hummingbirds that are migrating into the area in winter.

Goldfinch: Goldfinch are in Louisiana from about thanksgiving to about March. They show up at feeders in flocks eating Nyjer (thistle), Sunflower hearts, and millet. the goldfinch are seasonal down here and show up looking dull with a pale dirty yellow to slightly greenish or gray color in November. By the time they leave us in March they are a  bright yellowish gold. special finch feeders are helpful to have in the yard. these feeders can be anything from Nyjer or Thistle socks to specially made tube feeders.

So go out and start enjoying the birds in your backyard. you never know what might show up :)

This job is for the birds

Seriously my job really is for the birds. My family owns the wild bird center in Covington,la. We cater to backyard birds, selling feeders, houses, bird baths, and seed. So on that note here's a few tips on backyard bird feeding. I like to remind people that even though it's cold outside and in some places below freezing that you always want to keep your bird baths full. I know what bird in its right mind would want to take a bath in the freezing cold water? Well the birds do actually take baths in the winter on a regular basis. They do this so that their feathers can stay clean, because let's face it, like us, no bird wants to be around another bird that has birdie b.o. :) seriously though the cleaner their feathers the better they can insulate themselves from the cold weather and stay warm. If you're in one of those areas that gets snow you certainly don't want a frozen bird bath. So to keep your bird bath from freezing you can buy a bird bath heater. The heater works pretty much the same way a fish tank feeder works and is submersible. The other good thing to have on hand year round is a water wiggler. The wiggler keeps the water moving which is benificial in a couple of ways. 1) birds are attracted to moving water, 2) it keeps the mosquito population down. Don't want the Mosquitos to think your bird bath is the perfect breeding ground. 3) it helps keep algae from growing as quickly in your bird bath. Even if you don't usually get below freezing temps and snow often these are good to have in the winter so that your bird bath becomes a hot tub for the birds to enjoy:) they already think they're dinning at a fine restaurant when they come to your feeders so why not give them the full spa treatment as well?
 Now that I've mentioned feeders, here's some tips on feeding your birds.

The basics of bird feeding: 1) always make sure the seed you buy for your birds is fresh. You wouldn't eat stale potato chips would you? Well neither will your birds. The best way to tell If your seed is fresh is to note the color of your seed. For example with black oil sunflower seeds, the seeds should be black and shiny. The shinnier they are the fresher they are. If you grab a bag and the seeds are grayish looking or really dusty they're too old and the birds will turn their Little beaks up and you'll be stuck with either a mess of uneaten seeds on the ground or a feeder full of untouched seeds and no one will be happy.

2) look for bags of seeds that don't have a lot of sticks, stems, and other debris, in other words "trash" . Some seed companies have trash in the seed bags because the seed is sold by weight and the trash adds weight. So just because you buy a 20lb bag of seed for let's say $10.00 opposed to a 20lb bag of seed for $20.00 doesn't mean you're getting a deal. If that $10.00 bag of seed has a lot of trash in it you may actually only be buying a 5 or 10lb bag of seed and not a 20 lb bag.

 3) read what's in your birdseed. If the bird seed you buy says it has milo (a hard reddish seed slightly larger than millet) in your seed mix you might as well by pass that bag all together. Milo is a seed that no birds or even squirrels will touch. Milo is strictly used as a filler seed and is again used to add weight to the bags.

 4) ALL BIRDS LOVE PEANUTS!!! Even the smallest chickadee loves peanuts. A great blend of bird seed is one that has black oil sunflower seeds and peanuts. The sunflower seeds can be in shell or just the sunflower hearts or shelled. And the peanuts can be either split or whole and in the shells. Most blends with peanuts will have the peanut splits or shelled peanuts. And let's not forget to cater to our doves and smaller birds who like millet or our cardnials who like safflower seeds. You can even buy blends with fruit  in them to give the birds a treat.

I hope these tips have been somewhat helpful and will be posting more about the birds soon.

a little bit of wild life photography in Louisiana

As you can see I do a little photography when I get the chance. Here in South Louisiana the best wild life is in the swamps and bayous. The egrets, cormorants, herons, and pelicans are some of the most frequently seen swamp birds and the alligators are plentiful. The third picture I posted is that of an alligator gar. Happened to be an extremely lucky shot. All of the above photos were taken at Cajun Pride Swamp tours in Laplace, Louisiana. Lucky for me I have a close friend who owns Cajun Pride Swamp tours and allows me to go out and photograph whenever I like. I don't always have access to a boat even though we own one. Most Wild life Photographers seem to wait forever in one spot just waiting for something to cross their path, not me, I'm a little too impatient for that. I go and hunt down the birds and gators. Wild Life photography to me is pretty simple and challenging at the same time. apparently the birds and critters don't like to listen and they definitely don't wait and pose for you very often. Basic tips for Wild life photography: like all photography you have to have a good background to set your scene and know ( or have an eye) for setting up the picture. The next step is know your subject. Birds tend to be a bit shy and are not always photogenic, except pelicans and most bared owls who seem to love the camera, I don't know why but they do. When photographing birds the best advice is to be as calm and quiet as possible. Whenever possible get shots of them flying, landing, hunting, or sunning themselves. To catch one of the swamp birds hunting and actually catching a fish large enough to be caught on camera is a combination of luck and a fast shutter speed with the continuous frame setting on. The next tip is lighting. I love natural light but when your subject is in a little bit of shadow you need the flash. As far as the critters go, gators are the easiest, generally from a pretty safe distance. As a general rule of thumb I like to use a 75-300 lens for wild life photography simply because of the distance of the lens. the longer the lens the further away you can be from your subject. I do not recommend a 500 lens for wildlife photography for two reasons: 1) the 500 lens is usually too heavy to lug around and 2) it tends to be a little slow for my taste, but can be used effectively on a tripod for nesting birds and more timid critters such as deer.

See what I mean about the Pelicans?? Such hams.

Let's take a second to introduce you to Skylar

This is our 14 year old daughter, Skylar. Skylar is talented to say the least and quite creative. Skylar is your typical teenage girl with a twist. She's been in a couple of movies so far mainly as an extra. The most notable of these is Meeting evil starring Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Wilson which is on DVD and Netflix. She can be spotted in and getting out of the car  in the gas station scene and if you're quick inside the gas station later on lying on the floor. The other most notable film she's in is Heinous which she finished filming this summer where she stars as a blind girl. Not sure when this film will be out but as soon as it is i'll keep you updated. Skylar  plays a little guitar, sings, and draws and is a phenomenal horror movie makeup artist. When skylar is not in school she helps out at the Wild bird center in Covington. I'm introducing ya'll to Skylar because on occasion I will post some of her Halloween makeup tips complete with pictures along with her drawings and other shenanigans.

Skylar loves being on the farm and keeps reminding me that we need to have a barn and buy her a horse.



 

  

citrus trees and hard freezes

I have found that most gardeners don't know this simple trick to protecting their fruit trees. When you know a hard freeze is expected make sure to soak your citrus trees from top to bottom making sure the entire tree (leaves and all) are completely drenched right before the  freeze hits. I know it sounds kind of silly but when the water on the trees freeze it actually forms a protective layer of ice on the tree which then acts as an insulator and keeps the tree from freezing. If the hard freeze isn't expected to last more than a few hours any fruit on the tree will be protected as well. However, if the freeze lasts longer than 8 hours you may want to pick the ripened fruit as the cold will cause the fruit to become somewhat mealy in oranges or turn to a mealy soft mush in the case of lemons. This trick also works on most other trees.

Homemade apple juice

Things you'll need:

Water bath canner

6 pint jars

Jar lids and rings

Electric Juicer

12 large Apples (cameo or honey crisp)

Cinnamon

1 large pot

Cheese cloth

Rubber band

Directions:

First boil your jar lids,rings, and jars.

While those are boiling, cut the apples into quarters so they fit easily into the juicer. Next juice the apples. Once the apples have been juiced take the juice and strain it through the the cheese cloth. Once the juice is strained through the cheese cloth place the juice into a large pot, season with about two tablespoons of cinnamon, and bring to a boil. Boil the juice for about 5-7 minutes. Once the juice is done place cheese cloth over the mouth of the funnel holding it securely in place with a rubber band. Make sure the cheese cloth is not taut over the funnel mouth and then placing the funnel into the mouths of your clean jars. Begin ladling the juice into the cheese cloth covered funnel. Once the jars are filled leaving about a 1inch head space in the jar, place the lid and ring on the jars and tighten. Once all the jars are full place jars into the water bath canner. When the water in the canner gets up to a good roiling boil start timing the jars. The jars should be in the canner for 20 minutes. Once the jars are finished take then out carefully and set aside. If done correctly you should hear the lids pop as they cool letting you know they are completely sealed 

Basic home made cheese fries

Things you'll need:

Russet potatoes (as many as you like)

Cooked bacon crumbled( I use some bacon ends that I have canned)

Shredded cheese (Mexican or three cheese works best)

Green onions( chopped)

Peanut oil

Paper towels

Directions:

Warm the peanut oil either in an electric fryer or in a pan. If using a pan to fry them make sure there's enough oil to cover the fries completely 

Cut potatoes lengthwise. You can use a mandolin to get them really thin or you can just cut them with a knife as thin or thick as you'd like. I used the mandolin on these cause I like them thin. Once the potatoes are cut place them into the pan or fryer. I use an electric fryer just because it's easier and less mess. Let potatoes fry until golden brown and slightly crispy roughly about 7-10 minutes. Remove from oil and let drain on two paper towels. While the fries are draining season the fries any way you like just don't over season. I personally just like plain sea salt. Once the fries are seasoned place on a plate and cover them with cheese and sprinkle on the green onions and bacon bits.  To melt the cheese place in microwave for about 45 seconds on high And you're done. 

NOTE: when making large batches of cheese fries warm oven to about 350 degrees. Place the fries on a large cookie sheet or baking pan separate into small groups adding cheese, bacon bits, and green onion to each group. Put in oven for about 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.