More Rains

Hard to believe our weather.  We have had two different rains  since the trip to town and the downpour.

They must have been significant because I now have 3 inches in my rain gauge (an empty tomato can).  As you can see in the photos we are overrun with white clover in the yard.

 This was taken standing on the patio looking north to the garden.  That is old fashioned petunias I have mulched.  I am hoping they will reseed here.  I think this is the white Rainmaster.

Not much to comment on here (please ignore the trash can, Tuesday is pickup day.  I am leaving the dead peach  tree for a while so I have a place to hand baskets or feeders.  This is taken from the patio looking south toward the front ditch and road.   That large bank of green in the upper right is my fairly new locust tree and some seedlings that I have let grow.  They screen the patio area completely from the road.
 
The entire yard needs mowing but has been too wet the last two days to do it. 

Max has turned to cows back into the east hayfield.  I love seeing them standing belly deep in that lush growth.  I will get out early tomorrow morning and take some pictures.  You have to be early because when the sun gets up they head for shadier area.

Happy Tuesday.

P.S.  I thought of something I wanted  to share.  When I took the first pan of cupcakes out of the oven, I flipped  the pan upside down on the kitchen floor!  They were still hot and very fluffy........so they disintegrated on the rug.  I was able to redeem 4 that stuck to the pan.   Thankfully I had two more pans to go.  So goes the ups and sometimes downs in my kitchen.  I had a bit of a clean-up to do!

Another Trip to Town

We were hoping we were through with running to town for errands or anything else.  We don't count our little trips to Willard which is about 5 miles.

But we received a call regarding Sylvia's estate that required Max's signature so off we went.  While we were waiting in the office, a small shower came up.  By the time we left it turned into a full-blown gale with winds and rain so heavy some were pulling off the streets because visibility was so poor.
We kept on trucking but had problems reading street names for our turns....We passed by a car wash that we later heard  lost their roof to a neighbor's house behind them.  Could have happened as we drove by since we were getting pummeled with leaves and twigs at the same time.  I even remember the street name as we drove by since I knew we were getting very close to our turn.

Good news though we got about an inch of rain at home and no damage that we have found so far.

Inside  Work:

This morning I am baking.....2 loaves of Oatmeal Sandwich Bread and a pan of cinnamon rolls.

Our daughter and family are coming down tomorrow to pick up their cats (yes!) that we have been babysitting for three weeks.  I always try to have her at least one loaf of their favorite bread ready.  I might even share the  sweet rolls.........

pics to follow:

Both are done.

This is King Arthur's Toasting and Sandwich Bread.  I doubled the recipe. 

That is the sweet rolls rising in the container to the left.

This recipe is the one from Thibault's Table and originally from Joy of Cooking book.  I made them smaller this time.

I have to fess up.  I have been using flour from an Amish store in Buffalo.  It is in bulk and so much cheaper I am shocked.  They don't carry bread flour, but I have been using l cup of the high gluten flour in the recipes  and their Pollyanna Flour (an unbleached white flour)and all else the same.  I am very happy with the results.  I still believe firmly in King Arthur's flours and will try them again to do a test. 

A Day in My Life

Yesterday was a busy one....errand day always is!  It is also  my least favorite way to spend  the day.

Yesterday was our hottest so far at 92° and very humid. 

Farmwise

After several delays due to breakdowns and rain, they finally finished this y ear's hay crop.  The last 18 acres got rained on but will be  usable.  He has yet to remove the bales from the field for us.

Brush-hogging is coming along with about 40 acres yet to do.  Young man is coming this evening to begin on that.

I have been very impressed with the re-growth in the cut fields.  I have actually be doing my 'used to do' work of spraying fence rows and actually getting out of the yard and onto the farm itself.  The east field is almost knee-deep in clovers again and could be re-cut.  We will just graze I think.  Max is finally talking about selling the cows and just buying calves to graze each spring then sell in fall before winter and hay feeding begins. I support that idea (so far).  We change our minds almost daily.

My BIL has had and is still ongoing some very serious health issues which made us start thinking very seriously about our daily farm chores.

Off the Farm

Errands began around l pm.  We had our regular grocery run, then my make-up store (Merle Norman), a farm supply store (of course) and another quick stop at a second grocery (I forgot an  item or two).  By the time  we got home we were exhausted.


Yard and Garden 

 I finally got the trimmer  started.  It seems if I follow directions, it floods the thing.  I waited some  time and tried again without priming the motor and it started right up. Be interesting  to see how it goes this morning.

I was able to do a little trimming but still have a lot to go.  Have you noticed I am not mentioning my yard crew?  That failed  as I knew  it would.  The young man who we have known forever still works for  Max and me when his time is available.  The other 'landscape specialist' (so-called) has better fish to fry. 
His method of edging is not going to be much of an improvement in my style of gardening.  I may look a little more  finished at the edges but maintenance is still required.  The permanent mulch thing isn't too successful here either.  I have very vigorous  perennial things such as violets,  lambs quarter, poke, plantain and maple tree seedlings that come up through the mulch.  I will  still keep the garden fence border mulches but will not edge it.  My best method is intensive planting.....so no weeds can survive.  Makes it easy to pull out the odd one amidst the flowers.

Gardening like life is an ongoing,  changing process.  Age is making me introspective and hopefully adaptive!


A few pictures more:

This is a Texensis variety of clematis that is now growing on the ground beneath the edge of the kerria japonica. 

 This is a cheap dahlia I got from either Lowes or Walmart several years ago and leave in the ground.  (not the Japanese Beetles appreciate it too)

 My Oakleaf Hydrangea which gives me a lot of bloom over a long time in spring.  The Limelight will follow later in the summer.

 This is just to show what kind of gardener I am.  This is laughingly called the herb garden with parsley blooming. (I do save the seeds).  Note the garlic seed heads near the trash can.  They must go!

 This is to show what I mean by intensive planting.  Edge of new bed with violets,  daylilies ,sedum, and salvia  farinacea right next to a monstrous clump of flags.  A couple of roses are close behind.

 My favorite combo this year:  salvia farinacea, rudbeckia, phlox , all self seeded. 

 May have shown this yesterday, but it got included with this group moving.  A stray phlox seedling,  much paler than the rest.  That is more ss salvia in front of it and is just to the right of the rudbeckia group.

 Just loved the yellows  and blues so included it again.

All for now.  It is 6:11 am and Max is ready for his oatmeal.

Have a wonderful day.  

Daylilies Survive

I have been trying  to keep  up with my  favorite blogs but haven't attempted to post.  My friend down south
who blogs as Seed Scatterer
did a post dedicated  to her daylilies.  So, I am copying her idea and  showing mine.  I can even remember some names.

Daylilies on the Farm 

The weather here has been wonderful recently.  The rains have stopped and the temperature dropped just a little.  Of course, that means the dew was so heavy I kicked up water as I did my walk-about with the camera.  Still no butterflies and very few honey bees.

These have survived with benign neglect if there can be such a thing in gardening.

This may be Bama Music it is in front of the screened porch amid lots of  variegated grass.

Fairy Tale Pink

 

Grape Magic (really more purple than this)

Indian Giver ( I moved this one so it had room to develop....not working will move again)

Not sure of this one.  Should be more pink but in my soil pink equals peachy.

My darkest red, Ed Murray,  meant to be planted  with gaillardia....yet  to happen.  Now surrounded by beggar lice and various other weeds.

The above two are Kwansa (called ditch lilies hereabout) I have hopes of planting them in my front  ditch where they can go wild.

  This is Leonard Bernstein in the bed outside the kitchen.  I have it in the cellar bed also.

 

Throwing this one in because it was next to Ed Murray and was so wonderful this year.  Up to my shoulder and long blooming.  I have no recollection of planting it here, but now have it in 4 places so I must have.

OK.  Enough.  This will be my last.  I think it is Pandora's Box.  I have more but will do them another time.

Errands await.