Thursday, June 9, 2016

More From the Farm

Things on the farm are about the same. Still waiting on the hay crew; we may sever connections with them very shortly since our old crew said they would be happy to do ours again. When someone doesn't show and doesn't call as promised I am done!!!

We are hot and dry here. In fact, I have been rotating watering things regularly. I am still behind on trimming and mulching but I try to do a little each day most days. I miss some days completely for one reason or another.

I have cucumbers up at last. So far none of the summer squashes has made an appearance.

I hoed out the strawberry row this morning and will water it again and then mulch with straw. The plants are finally putting out runners.

Also mowed the west yard. I did the east side a day or so ago. Max is keeping the orchard under control. I need to spray again; maybe tomorrow.

Cooking

This was bread day. I made my favorite recipe of French Bread.

Garden and yard

Harvested my three broccoli plants before the groundhog could finish them off:


I used the third head for a raw broccoli, onion and bacon salad. We loved it even our granddaughter and her friend who were visiting. It call for raisins but the girls requested I leave them out! They each had two helpings. I think this recipe made the church dinner circuit back in the 80's and was called trees and raisins salad.

In bloom: roses, rose campion, begonias, still a few poppies, garden heliotrope (my one plant), clematis, two kinds of salvias, a daylily or two, some self-seeded cosmos, lavender, malva sylvestris,
green agastache (it is ahead of the gold one)....I think that is it.

Finally a dark lavender one very like Lauren's Grape that I planted several years ago.


The camera finally captured the true red:
 
and garden heliotrope/valeriana officinalis.


I think this is the plant Ilene was talking about finding in her garden. I may be guilty of sending the plant but more probably some seeds.

Max has been  taking some farm photos for me.  Several I liked so much I have done an album called the 'Tree Series'.

This is one.  I couldn't puzzle out that bright blue spot until I zoomed and cropped.  It was a small pool of water catching  the sky.

 

I think I will end here. My enthusiasm seems to be waning for gardening and blogging. Maybe it will pass.

8 comments:

  1. Another enjoyable post about your life on the farm. Your bread looks yummy, flowers are oh so pretty, and the tree photo lovely with the sky reflected in the water.

    Have a great weekend and hope you get your hay taken care of soon.

    Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Hay is now promised for Monday....when rains also begin appearing in our forecasts. Max seems ok with that but I am not!

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  2. Mmmmm, that bread! I want to reach into my screen and tear off a hunk!

    I sure do love poppies of all kinds. They're so cheerful, to my mind.

    I'm sure I have that same broccoli salad as you described. I made it just last week 'cept mine had to be made with purchased broccoli . . . none ready here yet. :o(

    I think we all go through periods where we kinda lose the blogging urge. Hope your lack of enthusiasm for same doesn't last long 'cause I sure would miss your posts!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I think blogging is sort of "inactivity breeds inactivity". I still get up very early and there is no excuse. I need to do that again.

      Whatever kind of broccoli I planted doesn't seem to be producing side heads.

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  3. Your poppies are beautiful. I had no poppies this spring, save a few little tiny plants that I would discover after there was nothing left but a pod. The reason was that I failed to scatter seed in the fall.

    I hope all of us who have lost interest in gardening the way we previously planted and groomed will find our enthusiasm again soon. Summer is already here and I'd rather stay inside.

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    Replies
    1. Jean, my mind is willing but my body no so much! I do stay inside once that thermometer hits 80°.

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  4. Well I have been thoroughly enjoying my Garden Heliotrope. It stayed in bloom for a solid month and is now busy making little seeds with little tufts on them that will allow the seed to be carried by the wind to all sorts of places! That's fine with me, but I will gather some seed, just in case, and then cut the plants back. I think they're supposed to be perennials, aren't they? I hope so. The poppies are gorgeous. Mine didn't do too well this year. It's our funky weather, I'm sure.

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  5. Do some research on the heliotrope.

    Could be weather on the poppies. Mine came up early so didn't have to fight the heat for good bloom. I think they also like lots of rain which we had early...not so much now.

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