Answers to a few of the items from "Yesterday."

Hi everyone and thanks for all the comments and well wishes about our ridiculous day, "Yesterday." I think MW said it best, we do live an exciting life. You don't know the half of it, MW, you should see what else happens that I don't even talk about!

This beautiful dahlia is not in danger of the grill.

So a few answers to your questions....

Yes, we know why the beez were mad. And yep these were our beez! Ingrates. Anyway, it was so hot and muggy they were angry anyway....  but we had to work on whacking down some weeds near the hives. Thankfully my hubby put on his veil and other gear and headed down to work there. He was still about 2 feet away when they all came swarming up and covered his veil! So they were mad because we were too close and it was too hot for trimming the verge.

We gave them a while to cool down and were working in another part of the yard. But they weren't having it at all. I was even kind of far away and out of their line of sight when they got to me. Having brownies for dinner really helped. So did using lavender oil. Do you know about this? I was not a believer until I started using it.

Dahlia, the goat, is just fine. Now. It was touch and go there for a while. Especially when, during my tender administrations, she turned around and blew snot all over me. I tell you the truth, if Zander snuffs at me or licks me I'm get all "Oh BubbsyWubbsy that's the cutest thing ever".... but when Dahli did it I was all "You HAG! Do that again and I'll get my butcher knives and start the grill!" But she lived.

The gosling incident is a tough one. We have a varmint - which means there will be death and vengeance and someone's tiny head on a pike in the yard. At this writing we have the babies in a tub in the basement and Cindy Lou Goose and OD are in the chicken house. There will be more on this later but for now I have to go and check the trap. I've also deployed the troops, who are currently on patrol, so I need to review their reports. I'm hoping that one of the dogs will throw the ruined body of mine enemy at my feet. Today is a good day for a varmint to die.

Have a great Sunday everyone! Guess what? It's our wedding anniversary today! Here is the short version of how we found each other - again. And again. Third time is a charm, right? ... Or rather, he married me so I couldn't get away.

Yesterday.

Yesterday was ridiculous. It was proof to all the naysayers that think all we do is sit around and have tea parties with the chickens and do a bit of gardening.

Yesterday alone we:
- Lost a gosling. As in, can't find him. He's a goner for sure but we can' figure it out.
- Had an "incident" with Dahlia that sent me running for the neighbors for help to get her fixed up.
- Worked outside in the hellacious heat until....
- The beez came for us. They were very mad. I got stung twice - so did my hubby. We ran for it.
- But the goats were out (on purpose) so I had to get to dog to round them up!
- Then the beez went for the dog! So we really ran for it. The goats were on their own.

We gave up and went inside. I made these brownies and altho it's a ton of butter and chocolate for one recipe.... they were perfect. It makes a big pan of brownies instead of a small one.

Finally, once inside we found out that today was going to be a very early wake up. Very, very, early.  I'm delirious but optimistic about today. I'm powered by coffee and brownies so I think I'm going to make it.

Happy Friday everyone! Did you get chased by beez yesterday?

Scapes and Snaps

OK, so maybe I didn't plant 90,000 garlics last fall... but there were a bunch of them. I snapped off the rest of the scapes yesterday and this is the nice basketful that I got...

The Great Scape Harvest of 2013

How about a few happy snaps of what's going on here? I've been scrambling to get some last minute planting done also. I'm putting in some of this blue corn - we'll see if it makes it.  I think it will. I saved it from last year.

It's always amazing to me that this one little ear will plant a small patch of corn.

We are still most thrilled about how all of our summer fruit is coming along. I planted these little apple trees in the front garden just to have something nice to look at... and they fruited like crazy!

This sweet little apple is just lovely.

And we always have something cute going on. This little duck momma valiantly tried to set two nests (in a row) and only was able to hatch this one ducklet. We think.

This little duck momma is as fierce as a wild cat. We had to wear gloves to take up her nest.

I found this little guy running around in the yard and we couldn't figure out who he belonged to. So we snuck him under this momma late that nite and she's been taking care of him ever since. He's a scream...very adorable. We finally just had to take her off her nest. It was rotten and we were worried about her extremely long brood in this hot weather. Now they spend their days toddling around in the yard now. They are quite a pair.

We got a beautiful rain last nite. Everything I planted so far should be flying out of the ground this next week. The growing conditions have been fantastic this year and I can't really complain. I got done planting just in the nick of time. I'm standing by the phone right now waiting for the post to call - our next project is on its way!

Happy Thursday everyone! 

It's Blueberry Day!

My favorite day.... blueberry day!  I have a couple bushes loaded with blueberries but I can't wait to get to the upick places. I'm going to try and get at least 20 lbs this year. Hopefully more.

My favorite summer fruit.

Yesterday was ridiculous. Our schedule has been all over the board and throw in the extra hot heat and it was a banner day for frustration. Today is going to be better. I just know it.

Don't sulk little dahlia... today is going to be great!

Looks like we'll have some rain come on later so I need to get a few things done outside. I got the very last of the tilling done for my new garden areas. If I can get a few seeds in the ground before the rain hits I'll be golden.


But first I'm going to have a big bowl of blueberries.

Happy Blueberry Day everyone! Do you have summer fruit?

The Truth About Farming. Again.

My friend Farmer Liz over at Eight Acres reminded me that this post is an oldie but a goodie.... if you are new you might not know this one. And I also wanted to repost this today for Chai Chai who has a stout heart.

One day, before she was a real farmer, Chai Chai wondered about this farming thing. She said,“I can't help but read this and try to picture in my mind all the chaos going on around you (smartalec goats, mean chickens, crazed geese, wayward ducks, evil pigs, cats and dogs living together!) and wonder what I'm getting myself into.”

It reminded me of when my friend Eliza said once that “evenings on your farm must be so relaxing” and I could tell that she had a perfect picture in her mind's eye of the sun gently setting over a tranquil barnyard....

HA!

As I was standing there talking to her I had chicken poop in my hair, I had a bruise on my leg where I smacked into something while chasing the hens into the coop, I was stinky and sweaty, and my hands hurt so much from milking that I could barely hold the phone. Sun setting over a peaceful barnyard!?!?! Not on your life.

So lean in close, friends, and I'll tell you The Truth About Farming.  They won't say any of this in Hobby Farms or on any of those lovely farm blogs with beautiful pictures of sheep. No siree... There is the 'cover of Vogue' farming...and then the real dirt.

Farming is one crazy ride.

Everyday is exactly the same – and radically different. You'll do the exact same thing everyday. Get up (early), get out there and feed those critters, work that land, feed those critters again, herd everyone up, and go to bed (early). Oh, but what happens in between? You can't make some of this stuff up.  Its all go, all the time.... and success is measured in who didn't die that day.  Step lively now, there is no day off and there is always some kind of skulduggery going on.

Think you won't have a boss if you work for yourself? Wrong. Nature is your boss and the Weather is your CEO – and they won't ever let you forget it.  Your every day is ruled entirely by these two and sometimes its seems like they are out to get you. Think you can get some early spring planting done? Not if you get an unexpected frost ...and then you'll have to start all over. Think those lovely pumpkin plants will win you first prize at the Pumpkin Show? Not if the squash bugs get them first.  Don't even get me started on tornadoes, torrential rain, blazing heat, and this cursed snow...

Then there is the maniacal barnyard where everything and anything can and will happen. You'll never know if you'll go out there and find your best laying hen dead - the victim of some ridiculous barnyard mishap. Or remember our goat Debbie hanging from the feeder?  Don't expect Backyard Poultry to tell you what to do if your turkeys suddenly scatter and you spend 2 hours trying to round them up, just in time to see one of your prized males flying (like an eagle!) over the house, across the ravine, and into your trigger happy, huntin' obsessed, rednecked, neighbor's tree.

Think you are a tough guy? Even the biggest and baddest will shed at least one tear when you find the best chick of the clutch floating lifeless in a water bucket. There is nothing sadder than a dead baby bird, friends.  And while you stand there cursing yourself for letting it happen you'll start to calculate the true cost – not just of one small chick, but of all the eggs she would have laid, and all the layers she would have raised, of all the bugs they would have eaten, and all the compost they would have created,  and...... You see, even the smallest loss has an impact that increases exponentially.

Then there is the mocking by your so-called-friends and family who think you are completely out of your mind. Why would you give up your city life for THAT? Or if you tell a friend that you are so tired that your hair hurts, more than likely you'll hear “All you do is garden all day. Why are you complaining – its not like you work?" Or, part of a real conversation I heard about the other day “Why don't you just get a job so you don't have to grow your own food?”

Its enough to make you want to go out and lay in the compost heap. 

But.

The upside is tremendous. You don't HAVE to grow your own food, you GET to..and that makes all the difference.

You'll learn to work effectively and efficiently, to follow the weather and anticipate her moves, to plan, plan, and plan some more. Gym membership? Nah.. you won't need it.  Need a mental challenge? Its all challenging and the learning never stops. You'll learn you can build a duck garage, pip a turkey poult out of its shell, figure out how to fence in those stupid pigs, and discover a whole world of folks who live their lives by the turning of the seasons and not by the passing of the financial quarters.

It's not simpler but its better.

What are you getting yourself into? Its one crazy ride, baby. So hold on tight, pull on those barn boots, and get out there and make that land work for you. And when you're so tired your hair hurts?  Come and talk to me - we're all in this together.

Happy Monday everyone! What is your truth about farming?

Summer is Back!

Summer is back and it's a hotsy totsy! Wow the heat and humidity have come on. Yesterday was really something.

Early morning light on this lovely bloom.

The entire barnyard was feeling the heat so today it's an early morning for everyone. We are getting the troops out early this entire week. The neighbor's may not like the noisy parade of geese so early but they'll just have to get over it. We are implementing all of our extreme hot weather care tips to keep everyone as happy as possible.

I made a swamp cooler for the meat chickens and they loved it. I just filled a bucket of extra cold water in front of the fan. The meats all lined up in front of it to get the cool breeze. Last nite I put a bucket of water in the freezer and I'll put that in front of the fan later today.

This little buddy has a tiny tuft on this head. Adorable!

The baby geese are doing great. We are keeping part of the grass in their yard wet so they can keep cool. Cindy Lou Goose is keeping them all together and in the shade. She and OD have a pool of cool water to splash around in to beat the heat. The young ganders continue to stomp around outside the yard in a rage. They are still In Trouble.

The goats are doing OK. They are spending a lot of time in a shade and in the cool grass. I'll be giving them extra minerals today and will give them fresh water several times today. There was a lot of complaining yesterday.

Today will pretty much be about sitting around and doing the rounds. Hopefully we'll get some rain later - if not, it will be lots of watering for the garden.

Happy Sunday everyone - are you keeping everyone cool?

More Baby Gooses

A few shots of the little meepin' cuties out there. I think we ended up with 5....

There was one trying to pip out but I don't think he made it. Cindy Lou Goose is still staying with the nest but she is going to have to quit it soon. The little ones are really lively and running around. Kai and Zander think the "squeaky toys" are amazing. You can bet there is going to be a lot of supervision around here.

Unfortunately the younger ganders have been given the boot from the nursery. For most of this hatching they have been standing guard with OD... but yesterday they started fighting with him. While I was busting up a brawl one of the younger ganders rushed in, grabbed one of the babies - and threw him!

So you can bet I snatched that bad gander up, using my modified-sumo-half-nelson-tricky-goose-grab, and marched him right out of the yard. So they are very upset now. They will be even more upset when I set them out by the road with Nibbles' "Free to a BAD Home" sign.

In other news, we've had spectacular weather the last couple of days. I know that it will change starting today when we'll be at least 90*.... but these last blue sky, low humidity days.... just like heaven.

Happy Friday everyone! What are you doing on this longest day of the year?