Holy tomatoes!

I love summer. I love every thing about summer. Today it's hot and I don't even care because it's summer and I love it. (Plus the humidity is lower so it's not so bad)   One thing I love about summer? Tomatoes.

How cool is this? Butterfly on a zinnia! What could be more summer like?

Remember when I was so excited about the tomato that was just about ripe? I ran right out there expecting to pick it the other day and found this!

LOOK!

Look at it!  You know who did it, right? Chickens that's who. I can tell you truly that someone is on their way to glory in a pot of noodles very very soon.

I was mad. Real mad. So mad that I was telling anyone who would listen about my tomato-lovin' chickens. Someone finally listened and they took pity on me. So they gave me this.....

LOOK AT IT!

How hilarious is a big ridiculous tomato of doom?  I think it might be the heirloom Gold Medal. I didn't pay attention when they told me what variety it was because I was so filled with tomato glee. They also gave me some perfect ones and a bucket of beautiful cherry tomatoes. I'm set now until my maters are ripe.

So I've been having a tomato-rrific day... despite those chickens and their tomato killing ways.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Do you have a big ridiculous tomato?

Killing Cousin It... with fire.

When we first moved here we quickly learned that the previous owners had intentionally planted every single noxious, invasive plant known to man. I'm sure they thought they were just installing easy to grow plants. Nope. They were growing my own personal hell. And I'm allergic to all of it. Wormwood, wild ginger.. it's all horrible and everywhere.

My arch nemesis.

Sure they didn't intentionally grow the poison ivy and sumac that is everywhere... but they sure didn't do anything to stop it. Don't even get me started on the honeysuckle. Or the Virginia Creeper.

But the wisteria.... they did that on purpose.

We call it Cousin It because it's shaggy, misshapen and completely out of control. We were pretty sure it was about to pull the trellis over at one point. So something had to change. Cousin It had to go.

But to answer your question, the the goats wouldn't eat the damn thing...and I'm not particularly sure it would be good for them anyway. So that was not an option.

At first I just started trying to keep it trimmed. Later I started hacking away at it to cut it back to a reasonable size. Then it started fighting back. It got everywhere.

It's like the Terminator. It just keeps coming....

The vines sprouted up 30 feet away. Then they came up on the other side of the garage. That was the point where I was just about done. This winter I went out there and used the sawsall to cut the major branches and the base trunk hoping the freezing temperatures would help kill it. Then I started cutting back all the new sprouts. Mowing it down? You betcha. I had some success but it just kept coming. Then I decided to fight it mano y mano.... with fire. Me and Drogon went out there to do battle.

I'm not saying that it was wildly successful. But I am saying that I've finally put a dent in it.

The hard part is that the birds build nests in the upper branches. So I had to be careful not to have any roast chickens or whatnot. I concentrated all my fire power on the base of it. I think we may have success if I keep up with this this summer.

Operation Carthage is next.

It has to die at some point, right?  Because my next step is Operation Carthage and I will salt the ground around it until there is nothing but a barren wasteland......

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you fighting the good fight?

The entirety of my peach harvest.

Here it is. The entirety of my peach harvest this year......

One. 

Yep. Just one lone peach. One. And the bugs got it. I had one more peach on that tree...but it fell off. So I lost half of my peach haul this year.

Remember back in the day when that poor little tree was breaking under the weight of a peach bonanza?

So what happened? Bad weather. We had that very very late frost which pretty much killed off the blossoms. Around here the only folks with peaches are the ones who lucked out... or who irrigated their orchards to hold off the frost.

It's pretty frustrating when things don't work out. But onward and upward!

The heat will start coming on today so I'm running out early to get some work done.

Happy Thursday everyone! Did you get one lone peach? A whole basket? Did you make peach pie?

I swear I'm not doing it on purpose....

I dunno, man, it just kind of happened..... it just....broke.

It's like some kind of curse.

In the meantime, we are prepping for some very hot weather - the warmest of the season. Thankfully we got a really good rain the other day - a real soaker. So I don't have to worry about the garden bursting into flames. I'll probably run the sprinklers for a while tho - just in case. And I'll be keeping an eye on the barnyard to make sure everyone lives thru this hot spell.

How do you keep your barnyard from flopping over dead in the heat? Here are a few tips to help you out. Basically give them shade, water, and every opportunity to make it thru these hottest days. Make sure everyone stays calm and try to keep everyone from running around.

All of our heat related losses have been from overheated meats. This is why we prefer to grow out meat chickens in the late fall/winter. For us it's just easier to keep them warm then to try and cool them off. We also prefer cool or cold weather butchering than trying to do it in summer.

I love summer so much.

Guess I won't be doing any tilling until my husband can fix they pull-starter-cord-thingy. But I have tons of other work to do...and I need to get out there early. I'll also be eagerly awaiting the delivery guy...more on that later.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you keeping cool? Are you waiting for the delivery guy? Don't you just love summer?

I love summer.... peppers!

I love summer. I love summer food. This week we got our first peppers The best way to fix them.... grill them!

I picked these peppers. I did not poke my Bubby in the eye this time...

Spice them up!

I spiced them up. For lots of reasons our favorite spice mixe right now is Penzey's Arizona Dreaming. It is just terrific. I love Penzey's so much. They have the freshest and most flavorful spices. Friends, stop what you are doing right now and clean out your spice cabinet.You should only have fresh spices. There is no prize for having spices older than the dog. Fresh spices. Get them every season and you will not regret it.

Then grilled them up. The little bit of char makes them good.

And made tacos....

I absolutely love summer food. Now if the tomatoes can just start coming on I can make the salsa to go with this. 

Today will be another summer scorcher so I'm heading back out. The dogs have been getting me up about 5am so I'm focusing most of my work in the early part of the day. I'm actually hoping for some storms this afternoon - we could use the rain.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you grilling your peppers?

I love summer...... sweet corn!

This is it... summer is officially in full swing. Yesterday I got some of the first summer sweet corn.

The best way to make corn on the cob? Grill it. 

Earlier in the week someone gave me some fresh, ripe, sweet peaches. Peaches and sweet corn? It is definitely summer now. I love summer so much. The last couple days I've gotten up early in the 5am hour, worked outside, and have had a big grill up for dinner. There is nothing better.

It's been a hard week for our country. So I think it's important to remember there are a lot of good people in the world. During the recent tough days I had no fewer than three different people (strangers) call me "honey" or "dear" during normal conversations, a random person shared their blackberries with me, and while I was in the grocery parking lot a man cut me off as he was leaving. We happened to be at the same traffic light and he got out of his van, walked back to my car... and apologized.

There are a lot of good people out there. We should not be overwhelmed by the evil that some do. If you are feeling helpless in the face of these hard days then be the change you want to see. Reach out to someone who needs it. Go out of your way to help someone else - even if it is something small, like taking their grocery cart back for them. Don't wait for others to make things better - you make things better in your own world.

We are all in this together. Now get out there and enjoy summer!

What's on your grill?

Updating salad bowls.... and projects around here.

Remember these salad bowls?

They are going full steam ahead.... but are just about over picked. 

I know someone who grows a lot of lettuce and she said you can typically get about 3 clippings before the plants just get over leggy and need to be replaced.

Mostly stems and not leaves.

I was trying to keep them going for longer than that but it seems like these are at their ends. Also this green and red leaf lettuce is starting to look a little heat stroked. So it's time to change them out.

Sprouts!

Good thing I have another tray of seeds started...of romaine which is probably a little more robust. I'm hoping it will hold up to the heat.

Why didn't I just start the lettuce seeds in the planters?

Because the existing leaves would block out their progress. So starting a tray is just easier and more effective. So that is what I was working on... but then it rained and we all had to run into the house.

What else is going on? Lots. I moved the fenceline for the small yard by the Turkey House. Pretty much just the geese are on this side now and I have a "secret" project going on with the Turkey House. It's almost done.

I see dog butts..... all day. Hey you guys, grab those buckets for me!

But in the meantime we didn't need that fence so the "new" area is much larger. Kai and Zander spent about an hour going around and sniffing and peeing on everything. This is not a new area for them - just the fence was moved. It was big fun.

One of the things that we did not do well with this property is have a yard where we could just let the dogs out to do their business. Right now they just walk directly out into the main area of the yard and can go off in all directions. This was not a problem when we just had Good Dogs #1 and #2... but Kai and Zander are a little more adventurous so they need to be escorted... or in a secured yard.

We never created that secured yard. Mostly it's because of the weird layout of this place. There was no easy way to pull our vehicles into the drive,  get out, and walk directly into the house if there was a dog yard enclosing the house. There is not another door to let the dogs out into a place where they are secured.... so it was always just annoying.

I'm working on fixing this. I also learned what a joy it is to have all the dogs underfoot... no, really, I like it. All of us out there together. But I couldn't do this before because the chickens would wander into may work area.. or Kai and Zander would wander off. And since they live up to their reputation as Silent Hunters... I would turn around and they would be gone...and I would hear chickens screaming.

So fencing a new dog yard that does not make it annoying to walk into the house has been a priority.

We are also working on a project in our downstairs. Unfortunately we do not have a cool, old farmhouse.... we have a 1980's split level. It's very annoying and as heaven as our witness we will never, ever have another house where you need to walk up a flight of stairs to get inside. There is no "ground level" main floor.

I think technically the downstairs is a "daylight" basement with a door that goes directly outside. But it is so ineffectively placed that we do not use this door. So it's up the stairs to get out ... or down the stairs to get downstairs.

Our Shine, King of Barncats, did not ruin the carpet...but he would given the chance.

The best thing about this house when we got it was the downstairs. It had a nice, dark green rug in a big open room with the wood stove. However, because we live largely like unsupervised teenagers with a pack of cats *points to The Insane Cat Posse* we have entirely ruined the carpet. What we did not ruin was extra-ruined by the last be rain that we had.

We lost power for a couple hours and so the sump pump stopped working and we got some water in the basement. If you are reading this, and I know that you are, I should have listened to you when you said you got the battery back up sump pump for your house and that we should get one too. We did not. And now the carpet needs to go.

We have, however, decided once and for all that we are not carpet people. We both hate it. Mostly it is just a big trap for all the dirt and mud I drag in, all the dog hair, and probably a lot of cat barf. I would like to just burn it all. And I might.

My Most Excellent Good Dog just wants me to throw the ball. But we are limiting his running.

We would move to all hardwoods (the bamboo hardwood from Lowes.. it's magnificent) except that Dog#1 and Dog#2 are both getting a little older and are having trouble on the slippery floors. So that is not an option for us.

But ripping out the downstairs carpet is.... and so that is what we are working on.

Not much of a farming update but that is what I'm working on. Not too long ago we looked around and said, 'you know, we need to get our act together.'  We've both been working so hard and focused so much on our farm stuff that we let our home stuff go right out the window. We need to get back on track.

Sometimes I'm not sure what to talk about here. I consider my non-farm life pretty much nobody's beezwax... but I also was reminded that I started this blog as a way to record our life events. So right now it's not very farm-y but it's what is going on. Hope that is OK.

And now... I'm going to run outside and change out some old lettuce for some new starts..and then think about what to do with a huge pile of bad carpet.

Happy Friday everyone!

Finally! The sound of silence.... they are gone.

Finally!  That sound you hear is not The Loud Bugs... I can finally say they are gone. Dead. Quiet. At last. I am not interested in hearing them again in 2033.

Summer is finally back on track.

About mid last week we finally had a decrease in the volume of the cicadas... then one last burst of loud buzzing... and then magically they were gone. Now we are finding the dead ones everywhere. But finally I can work outside without the constant noise.

Was it really that annoying? Yes. It was hard to be outside all day because it was so stinkin' loud. Normally nature doesn't bother me but this was totally off the charts. Some of my non-believing friends had a reason to drive to where The Loud Bugs were... and then they became believers.

We have a little damage in our trees. One of the old timers around her said that the dead new growth on trees was from the cicadas.. there is nothing to do about it. I remember what my orchard friend said about how the real damage is from the larva that are burrowing down and eating the tree roots.

But I am glad they are gone. Thanks to some very heavy rains most of the bug bodies have been washed away. I've even been able to let the dogs roam around in the woods... as there are no bugs to eat and so no tummies to be upset. 

The only downside of the bugs being gone? The chickens are banging on the door demanding to be fed. It was nice to save all that money on feed and just letting the hennies free range this whole time.  We have a lot of fat and happy hens.

So now I can get back to working outside longer during the day instead of coming in the house and watching really loud movies to drown out the sound of the bugs.

We are going to have a tiling project in the house very soon. It's apparent that we are not carpet people. We just have too many feet for regular carpeting... and we are about to start ripping it all out. In truth, the carpet needed to be replaced when we moved in. But we knew we *points to cats and dogs* would just ruin it... we are to the point where it is really ruined now. I'll be researching this project and will be getting it underway.

In the meantime, the garage mamma and her nine chicks are doing great, the goats still refuse to get up off their duffs and free range, the garden needs some attention, and no one misses the two ganders that I took to the auction. I am also covered in poison ivy from trying to get it removed from near the house.

All in all I think we are finally getting back on track. Finally!

Happy Monday, everyone! Are you back on track? Are you getting your projects back on track?

Nine chicks, lemon cake, and a Bubby-bee....

It's been an adventurous last several days....

 Just a few of the new peeps. They are a hoot!

We ended up with a bunch chicks under the garage hen... they are doing great and the momma may, in fact, be part piranha. I was able to snap a few pix before she fluffed up and charged me.

Since we are supposed to be reducing our poultry numbers we were surprised to find there were... nine. Ooops. This news was not met with wild enthusiasm.

So, of course, we made lemon cake because that fixes everything. I'm sure I'll be making a trip up to the livestock auction.

The cake was really good. However, I frosted it a bit too soon and the cake was still too warm. So we had a cake-valanche and the top slid off. We had a good laugh, I put it all back together, and secured it with toothpicks. It's now in the fridge. Even tho you aren't supposed to refrigerate cakes... I gotta tell you, a cold lemon cake is extremely refreshing. 

And then we had some of this. Really, little slug? Get out of my salad.  Ew!

We also had a minor crisis here with Zander. It's always something..Poor Bubby got stung in the face by a bee. His poor face started to swell up and his eye was almost swollen closed.

My handsome Zander before he was done in by a Bubby-bee.

Good thing I have the vet on speed dial. They always answer the phone, "Hi, OFG, what now?"  I told him to either give me the right dose of Benadryl or to tell me when to start driving to them. We got the dose and I fixed my Bubby right up. One of my friends said that he got stung by a "Bubby-bee." It was very funny.

Bubby was back to rights the next morning. We walked the Dog Moat to make sure there wasn't a nest of mean ground beez... but I think the sting was from Zander always leading with his nose.

We've been having some hot days so I've been working outside early. I really love this time of year... the long days are so fantastic. The garden is growing....and I think The Loud Bugs are starting to die off. What a great week!

Happy Friday everyone! Do you like lemon cake? Did your biggest dog get stung by a bee?

It's hot, Nicholas saves me from a Loud Bug, and more on those goats....

Saturday was a hotsy-totsy... the weather guy said it was the hottest day in three years! And swampy... it was hot and swampy. After a while we gave up, went inside, cranked up the air conditioning, and watched loud movies. My hubs' choice for movie? The 1953 version of War of the Worlds.... the alien noises sound just like the bugs. I can't get away from it.

 Guess what she is looking at?

The other day I walked inside and there was a Loud Bug on me. I flung it off me in utter terror. Then I realized there was a bug in the house. I needed an assassin...because I sure wasn't going to touch it.

"Nicholas!"

I called The Grey Terror by name exactly once. He arrived on the scene, killed that bug, ate it...and stomped off twitching his tail. I honestly don't get the "cats are jerks" thing. Based on results my Nicholas is better trained than half the dogs I see.

My hero. He's a little lazy most of the time but definitely a man of action.

Anyway....

I had some further interest in my post about why we are considering becoming entirely goat-less.  The long and short of it is.... they have outlasted their usefulness - at least in our case. For now. One of the things that changed was that my husband got a new job. Without saying too much about the details of our life, the old wisdom about 'why by the goat when you can get the milk for free?" still holds. So since our household dairy needs are mostly met we no longer have a pressing need for tons of milk.

But what about the barnyard? Don't we need all that free milk for the pigz and chickens?

Well this summer is shaping up to be somewhat different than before. Based on our freezer space and our projected needs.... we may not get pigz this year. We had a pig-free summer before and we loved it. It was quiet and not stinky. Of course we were over run with turkeys that year - which was hilarious. But not having pigz is just fine by me.

Nibbles. Looking majestic.

So if I do the math, *OFG holds up piece of paper covered in scribblings.....*  then you can see here that goats may not fit into the equation. Especially if they are not milking and probably will not be in milk ever again.

Both Debbie and Nibbles are kind of on the old side... and poor Debbie had such bad congestion in her udder the last time I'm just not sure it would be good for her to be in production again. She had a couple of very hard births so her days as a wildly successful milker are pretty much over.

Remember that farming is a series of hard choices about managing your own situation. Not every body gets to stay. We are looking down the barrel of hard choices this summer and our thoughts of being entirely goat-less is one of those decisions.

Don't ever be afraid to critically examine your situation and make adjustments. What worked for you before may not work for you now. Effective farm management means there will always be changes. 

Happy Monday everyone! Was it hot there? Did your biggest cat save you from a bug?

The Loud Bug continue to vex...and it doesn't look like it will end soon.

My continuing coverage of The Loud Bug Invasion goes on..... in today's news, they are still here. Being loud. Very loud. There is a new and more annoying noise now.

Our poor trees are covered with bugs.

There is also some new activity. The bugs are now flying all over erratically - which means they are landing on me. There is a lot of hopping around happening. It's totally gross.

The erratically flying bugs is also making the inside cats even more insane. There is a line of cats at the windows watching the bugs all day long. Little Mo even tried to climb on one of the window screens to try and get one....and he was sent to do hard time in time out because of it.

The bugs end up everywhere.

Mercifully the bugs don't get going until after the sun comes up...and they are mostly quiet in the evenings. In the afternoons I've started watching really really loud movies, inside, with the windows closed, and the air conditioning on. It's really annoying.

It's worse because the folks in town don't hear them so no one believes me.

One of my pals posted this video... it's supposed to be about the tragic life of Loud Bugs but all it did was make me mad. The "new" noise is at 6:42.... it's worse than the other noises. It's like living in an angry jungle.

I thought this bug thing would be over within three weeks of them first showing up.... but the video said the whole thing will last about SIX weeks. I don't know... I might have to go somewhere.

Bug bodies and shells...everywhere. Thousands of them. I need more chickens.

Meanwhile, the outside work continues. I've also lost complete control of the hen house. Nothing but chaos and I need to get a handle on it. One of the hens is fighting with one of the ducks to have a nest but neither one of them is doing a good job. I need to take up the (ruined) nest and make everyone go outside and eat bugs.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are the bugs bugging you?

We lose power. And remembering Blow Hard 2012...

As typical with this part of the country we had some storms develop last nite with the unstable atmosphere. Just before it all started I checked the radar and we decided to run right out there and get the masses shoved in before it was too late. We got done just in the nick of time.

These two have been my best garden helpers.

Just as we were settling down when we were safely back inside..... we lost power. I figured it would just be for a couple minutes..... then a couple more. Then I just gave up and went to bed.

It was 8:30pm.

Pretty sure that was my punishment when I was a kid but an early bedtime...when it was technically still light out.... is a luxury.

We finally got the power back about 11pm...that is really when you find out how many lights you've had on in the house.

It reminded me about the huge storm we had several years ago and how well our storm preps have always served us. We were not even concerned last nite. We have a couple ways to keep the freezers cold, plenty of water and food on hand, and the house had been cooled down so we didn't even bat an eye.

It was a good reminder, tho, to stay on top of your storm preps. Remember, fast food is not going to save you during an emergency.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Do you have a plan for power outages? Are your summer storm preps ready for action?

End of week report.

Wow what a week! A lot has been going on but the very very best thing is that it's finally summer! I love summer so much. I wish it was summer all the time. Spring - just means that summer is coming. Fall? Nope don't care, sure it's nice.... and winter is the absolute worst. But summer? The absolute best.

I love everything about summer!

I love the way summer looks - I love the lighting, I love the colors, I love the late summer sunsets. I love the food, the tastes, the smells... everything. If I had my druthers I'd live somewhere that I can get up every morning, put on my shorts, and go be outside all day. 

Our huge grill up from the other weekend.

In my Heaven it is the Eternal Summer where the sun always shines, there are tons of fireflies, the sun stays up late and gets up early, and everyone is happy. The drinks are cold, the grill is hot, the skies are bright, the growing season never stops, and no one ever even thinks about snow.

What if it gets too hot? Just go inside and cool off. In summer you can always get up early and enjoy at least some of the day. In winter, it's all just one big misery all day long.

My work crew. They don't do much planting but they love to dig holes.

Last nite I had to go somewhere and came home when it was just about dark. It reminded me of that one time I was nightdriving. Yesterday was the reason that I love summer - the whole thing. The dogs and I worked outside, I didn't have to mow the grass, and I got to be outside until just about 9 last nite.

What's going on here? A lot.

Nibbles has been getting out of the fence which has greatly vexed me. However, I think my husband solved the problem yesterday by adjusting the hotwire. I hope to hear her screams as she tests the fence today. She's already been threatened with The Auction if she doesn't knock it off.

The broccoli and celery is doing great.

I took our Shine, King of Barncats, to the vet yesterday for a tune up. Mercifully, it did not end with a soul crushing emergency vet bill. He just needed some shots and is doing great. He got an A+++.

Speaking of Shine, The Bunny Menace has returned. Shine has been doing a lot of hunting.... and we've been chasing after him taking away his bunny kills. So we've been sending My Fighting Uruk-Hai to bring my vengeance. But she needs to run a little faster or she'll never get any of them. It's big fun for everyone.

The bugs continue to bug me. They are loud. And now they are starting to die. It's gross. Their dead bodies are everywhere. Piles of them. Ew! Zander continues to eat the bugs.

I really thought this would be some cool science thing.. this whole once-in-17-years-bug-hatch-thing. I thought, "yay science!"... but all I got was a big tooty, poopy dog and a headache from the noise.
#naturesucks

Salad. Just out there waiting for me.

And finally, I have enough lettuce to make a salad! I'll get some happy snaps today of my big victory. My salad bowls are really working and are my best thing so far.  I'm really looking forward to more produce as the growing season goes along.

Happy Friday everyone! Are you enjoying summer?

The bugs.... they are loud. Really really loud.

So The Great Cicada Hatch of 2016 continues... loudly. I don't know how I missed this whole loud bug thing earlier in my life but I did. I had no idea this happened. But it is..and it's annoying. I thought it would be cool to see but all you do is hear it. All. Day. Long.

This is about how loud they are. All stinkin' day. 

I thought I should document the whole bug thing... you know, for science. This is why you are getting the bug update. It's actually kind of interesting. But loud. For the record, the chickens are loving this whole bug thing. They are all fat and happy and can barely walk because of how many bugs they are eating.

I learned a few things about this hatch - which is entirely different then when the "regular" cicadas come out at the end of summer and predict the frost. This hatch has nothing to do with that. It's just a thing that happens.

 We are finding things for Bubby to do that do not involve eating bugs. Like digging to China.

So far they aren't causing any damage...other than to Bubby's tummy. We have to keep him out of the woods because he likes to eat the bugs which then make his belly upset. His new project is to dig to China under the Turkey House.

My orchard friend said these cicadas don't do any real damage to their fruit trees. However after the eggs are laid, hatched, and then drop into the ground near the tree the larva (or grubs) will dig down and chew on the roots. He said that is the real problem for their fruit trees.

The bugs are now loud enough to hear them inside with the windows closed..and my hubs said that he could hear them when he was driving yesterday. Pretty much it's like living in a special effects sound stage where The New Guy is playing with the  "alien noises" button and just keeps turning it up and up and up.

This morning I noticed a huge pile of bugs and bug bodies near the base of one of our trees. I suspect there will be a clean up effort involved. Until then the chickens are all fat and happy.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are your bugs loud?

Exclusive portrait of me!....by a stranger.

The other day I was in town, just standing there talking to someone that I kind of know. To be truthful I just wanted to pet their dog - a big ol' fat headed rottie. All of a sudden this older man walks up to me, gets in kind of close, and says, "I like that hat." Then he handed me a piece of paper and walked off.

This is what he handed me....

 

This is exactly what I look like!

How hilarious was that? I was kind of surprised by the whole thing.  The woman I was talking to kind of laughed at my reaction and said not to worry.... that man was not some kind of weirdo. He just does that - he draws people and then gives the sketch to the person.

Of course, that's my favorite garden hat.

We've been having a terrific holiday weekend. Of course there is no real "day off" for me and my husband has to work today... But we've had a fun time. Yesterday we had an epic grill up of some huge steaks smothered in mushrooms..and asparagus and potato salad. We've also spent a lot of time this weekend laying on the floor with the dogs and watching TV. 

I've been working in the early morning because it's been so humid. I'm really glad with my progress but am stymied today because of the rain in the overnight. So we are focusing on getting the house cleaned up. 

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!  Has a stranger ever walked up to you and given you a sketch?

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! We've got bugs!

Brace yourself.... starting immediately and until about three weeks from now all you will be seeing will be references to Starship Troopers. The bugs. They are here and they are real. This place crawls.

The bugs emerge from their old bodies. How gross is that?

I thought the whole 2016 cicada brood hatch was a big internet hoax.... but a couple days ago we went out and the whole property was covered in bugs. Yesterday I heard the first low whine of their bug noise... things could get interesting around here. It's starting to sound like a jungle out there.

There are holes all over. I didn't know what they were from. Eeep!

What does it mean? I dunno but there are bug bodies everywhere and weird little holes in the ground.

Remember when I was mowing down toward the pond the other day? It was hilarious because as soon as I was done the poultry rabble all came charging down the hill - all lead by the Guinea. Apparently he is our General Guinea now and is leading the troops into battle against the bugs. The poultry are going wild eating all the bugs. Well, not all of them.

One of my fatty hens givin' those bugs the business.

All of the poultry - the ducks, clucks, turkeys, and the lone guinea eat bugs... but not the geese. They are having a field day.

The bugs are mostly harmless - just creepy.

So far the worst that has happened was that one flew into me and I freaked out. I'm pretty sure I'm stepped on a bunch of them also.

Sorry for the blurry pic - but seriously... look how creepy they are - ew!

Zander and Kai think the bugs are interesting and keep trying to eat them...and we keep trying to stop them. My Bubby has a sensitive tummy so the last thing we want is for him to get sick from eating weird bugs. He was crying this morning and hopping around so we raced right outside. Based on these results we'll keep his nose up and the bug out of his mouth lest he suffers from some kind of...ahem... gastric distress.

In other non-bug news... the heat is on. Hot and swampy for the next ten days at least.

Happy Thursday everyone - do you have bugs?

Editor's note:  Look out! I snuck in an affiliate links in this post!  I'm supposed to tell you that I get a tiny portion of the sale when you click on one of these links, go to the Amazon page, and purchase something. Do you know you can get cool TV shows and movies from Amazon's Instant Video service? We use it all the time. Goodbye tons of DVD's everywhere... we are now (mostly) media free and just buy or rent movies online. Plus with our Prime subscription we get a ton of free movies and shows.  Do you need anything Amazon? You can support this blog by just clicking one of these links. Or using the black Amazon search box on the right side of this page. It doesn't cost you once cent more but helps me with the "cost" of this blog.  Thanks!

Yesterday was just like summer....

It wasn't even ten days ago when we had a frost and it was very cold.... now it's just like summer. The forecast for the next ten days is mid-80*'s with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. You can't get more summer than that!

Totally random pic of My Mr Good Dog helping me last summer.

Yesterday was like summer. I spent most of the afternoon behind the push mower cursing my task. Mowing. I hate it. But we need to get ahead of the jungle before it takes over.

The frost took out a row of beans and also killed off the tops of the potatoes. I need to replant the beans and I think the taters will bounce back. I also need to do some random planting including a row of beets. I've got some sprouts that are ready to be set out into the garden as well. I'm glad that I didn't put them out until now.

My favorite pic of Lucky. What a goof. 

The other weird thing going on is... bugs. The cicada brood is starting to emerge. It's.... creepy. I thought it was all a big lie but now I think it's a thing. We've noticed a few over the last several days but yesterday we really saw them coming out and on the trees. No loud noise yet. The chickens and ducks are doing their best to help rid of world of loud bugs. We might need more chickens. It's a lot of bugs.

I just can't get enough of Little Mo and his beautiful paws.

Today is planting and more mowing.

Note: to everyone who is about to say "well just put the goats out there" instead of mowing. They are. Debbie and Nibbles are working on the patches of wild rose and other brambles. But goats don't neatly trim the grass to a nice, short, even level. We are noticing a LOT of ticks lately so the whole point of all this stupid mowing is not lawn beautification... it's to keep the ticks off the dogs. And me.

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Are you mowing? Planting? Do you have loud bugs?

So there was a frost. It had better be the last one!

Can't tell if it was a hard freeze or not...much of the garden is still in the shade. But the water buckets outside were not frozen so hopefully everything will be OK. Most of the state was under either a frost or a freeze warning... some of my pals actually had snow yesterday!

All I want is lettuce. Real lettuce.

It's very late for a last frost... so this is something to note for my records.  It was cold enough to wear a hat last nite for chores so I was very glad we put all the plants in the garage. This week will be cool but will gradually warm up. We've had plenty of rain with more on the way. I really need to get some of this stuff planted out.

I'm hoping that my little lettuces that were not covered are OK. I'm really really tired of store food.  If I have to start over with my planting I might dramatically throw myself down.

But one good thing happened.... In order to get all the plants in the garage we had to do a huge clean out. Sometimes little emergencies make you do projects you've been putting off.  I'm starting a pile of stuff to take to the dump later this week. I'm pretty excited about it. It's liberating to get rid of stuff that is holding you down. We've been on a rampage to lighten our load of "stuff" lately. It's working.

Today and tomorrow I'll be dragging all my plants out of the garage. I'd better hurry because they are forecasting upper 80*'s within 10 days! Spring is ridiculous.

Happy frosty Monday everyone! Did you keep warm last nite?

It was cold...but not a frost. Yet.

Sometimes people think that I'm only ever complaining about the weather but I use this blog as my personal record keeping. So sometimes my posts about weather are more about my records and planning. Altho today I am complaining.

Remember when it was summer and everyone was happy and full of tomatoes?

The weather guy is pointing out the snow that was in the northern part of the state earlier this morning. As for us, we only got down to about 40* last nite...but tonite they have a freeze warning off to the east and we are under the frost warning. The difference between a frost and a freeze is how long the below freezing temperatures last and if frost can settle on the plants.

Yesterday we spent about two hours moving all my tender plants and veg starts into the garage. It was a lot of work and thank heavens for my husband who figured out how to double our space to stack up the sprouts. I'm glad I didn't get all my little veggies planted out last week. I think everyone is a little surprised about this cold. I was also glad that I ordered more Agribon (the floating row cover stuff). I got just about everything covered in the garden. There is one row of peppers that might take a hit. 

I'll have to wait until Monday to take all the sprouts out of the garage. Then hopefully we will be in the clear.

Happy Sunday everyone! Did it frost/freeze/snow for you?

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

I love this question.... what would you do if you weren't afraid? What's the first thing that pops into your mind?

My Zander is entirely fearless. His boldness is the best thing about him.

Would you change your job? Change your mind? Get rid of everything you own and set off on a cross country walk? Get out of a relationship? Get into a relationship? Get out of a rut? Get into a pattern? Find yourself? Lose yourself?

Are you just meeting other people's expectations or are you living up to your own?

I first heard this question from Oprah a loooong time ago. I remember the first thing that popped into my mind was to change my life. Dramatically.

So I did.

I was living my "should" life back then. Everything I was doing was because I should....  but it really wasn't what I wanted to do. What I wanted was to wake up every day in a life where I didn't need a vacation.

I remember driving to work with someone in my very early twenties and I asked, "You mean I have to do this every day?..... This is stupid." I couldn't understand why the only "real" option was to work for someone else. It just felt stupid.

I kept having that same thought even when I was considered successful.... walking fast thru the Denver airport with my computer in my backpack, thinking about my work goals, and worrying about my stock options.

I had that thought when I had an office in a stunning high rise with a sweeping view of the water, waiting for my real estate agent to call me, while I looked over into pricey neighborhood where I was about to close on My Very Expensive House.

I had that thought when I was on the plane to Paris and my seatmate woke me up to show me we were over the very cold expanse and the Northern Lights were shining in waves across the ice.

This is stupid.

I couldn't understand why I couldn't have a life where I didn't need to have a vacation to by happy. Why couldn't every day feel like this?

I stood by and watched both my parents die from cancers that were not immediately related to their lifestyle. It was random and unnecessary. It was cruel and incredible unfair. The only good thing that happened was that I had no one left to answer to and no one who set any "shoulds."

To be fair, both of them would be laughing hilariously at my life right now. I'm sure neither of them would believe that I walked away from a very comfortable life to move out here and butcher pigz in my yard. Both of them would be stunned for different reasons.

But both of them would be very very glad that I finally ended up with The Big Man. Both of them loved him very much and were stupefied that we broke up in college and also in our 20's. Both would be extremely glad that he finally married me so I couldn't get away. Neither of them would dream that this would be our life now.

We have a funny little life. Every once in a while we start laughing about it. A lot of people ask us about how we did it. We usually just shrug and say that it was because of the age old recipe for success... where preparation meet opportunity. I can't figure out if we are incredibly brave or remarkably foolish.

I was trying to explain this to some folks and they mostly just stood wide-eyed looking at me. Most people ask me how I knew for sure this would work?

I didn't.

I didn't have charts or graphs or spreadsheets or even a vision statement. 

I wasn't entirely without a plan but the problem was that the economy crashed just when we were getting started. If you weren't caught up in all of that then you don't know how bad it was. It was a lot worse for some other people. I know folks who lost their homes, their careers, their families. We just lost the security of having at least one pretty good job. But what we gained was the opportunity to build this life - our life together. No one was going to help us. In fact, it felt like a lot of people were working against us. But we made it work. So my plan didn't even matter. It was useless once everything went bad.

I think it is less about planning and really comes down to how much confidence do you have that you can make it work. How do you handle adversity? When the chips are down are you ready to take action? Are you willing to do what needs to be done? Do you fight the problem or fight each other?

How do you handle fear?

I'm really only afraid of three things - bears, sharks, and the house burning down. OK.. technically four...I'm afraid of catfish... but come on, that is just common sense.

I watch people gripped with fear and it doesn't make sense to me. Mostly they are afraid of a thought. Or someone else's thought - which makes even less sense to me.

I am not afraid failure, criticism, expectations, judgement, or ridicule... and least of all someone else's thoughts about me.

I think I have the good kind of courage... not the 'here hold my beer and watch this' kind of courage... but more like the confidence to figure out what is the worst thing that can happen and then the expectation that we can overcome that "worst thing."

We are doing a lot of thinking right now.. What about you? What would you do if you weren't afraid? Why aren't you doing that? What is holding you back?

Happy Friday, everyone!  Lots of thinking going on here. What about you?