Miscellaneous News from the Farm

The weather here today is just perfect.  Sunny, and  was 58° this morning and the high will be mid-80's.  This is the cool snap  that followed a glorious 2.5 inch  rain a  couple of days ago.  We were very dry before that.

I finally have my screened porch back!  We moved the two kittens outside to join the other outdoor kitties.  The are loving it.  They about destroyed my porch, tore loose a corner of the screening, left hair all over the cushions....to say nothing of the daily litter pan chore.  I enjoyed my morning coffee there for the first time in a long while.

I can't remember where I left off last so will  just tell you what comes to mind.

First of all, I was very pleased with myself  that I was able to  go out  each morning and begin trying to get the weeds under control.  Max and I both had 2 week summer colds that really hit us hard.  I only did what was absolutely required (none of it outside).  The strawberry bed and  the compost area were wall to wall (or fence to fence) with 4 foot tall crabgrass and  lamb's quarter and the odd red-root pigweed.  It required a grubbing hoe and then yanking out the huge clumps.  I got it done after about three days.

This is the compost area before weeding:

and after:

The small hoop is covered with another favorite pole bean, Trail of Tears.

The east end where I planted eggplant was almost as bad.  I hadn't seen the eggplants in days.....got them  cleaned up.  I have tiny fruit setting.  Every bug in the universe seems  to love  the foliage of  them.

Tied up the very promising row of tomatoes.  Varmints (ground hog) got all the pears again.  Next will be the  apple tree as soon as it reaches their peak of sweetness.  I didn't plant sweet corn this year but finally caught the nearby truck farm for their harvest and got 4  dozen beautiful, delicious ears for the freezer.

I finally got the blasted Stihl trimmer going and did the east front ditch and the area abound the well house.

Max is still on a soft  foods diet which means no bread unless it is softened with
broth or a gravy of some  sort.  After trying 'store' bread again, I decided I would still make my own even if it just for me.

This one is whole wheat (actually half and half).

Some flowers are still blooming well:  zinnias (all self-seeded), garden phlox and old fashioned petunias. These petunias are my favorites.  I hope they will re-seed and stay with me for several years as they usually do.

There were lots of butterflies on the flowers this  morning.  I was really happy to see that.  So far, the only bees are the carpenter bees.

And one last cow picture (they were in the lot west of the house laying in the early morning shade:

A Cow Day

I asked DH  to take  some pictures for me and he  did his usual great job.  He takes lots of pictures but it is fun to review them  with him.  Some of these animals I have never seen!

 This is Annabelle, she was bought along with her mother Willow.  She is a pure-blood milking shorthorn who has never been  milked.  She has raised a calf each year we have had her. 

 This is her 2016 calf.  My all-time favorite.  He is a roan colored bull who will join our beef herd as a sire.  He is out of another shorthorn/Angus bull.  I love his color.  Shorthorns can have many various markings of red and white.

 More of him, he is already showing great interest in his work!  the black and white is the neighbor's calf who has become a rather permanent member......Max doesn't  mind; I am beginning to.

 This is our senior herd sire.  Max is on the ATV taking the picture.

I enlarged this one because I wanted to check the large animal on the foreground right.  I thought it was the bull......I was wrong.  This also shows some perspective of the hern and the field.  Still have lots of grass and

white clover.

We are liking seeing all the reds we are now getting due to the influence of Willow and her offspring.

That's all from the farm  today.