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.  

What's in Bloom and Miscellaneous things on the Farm

Good Saturday morning!

and it is a good one.  We finally got some measurable rain and no storms accompanied it.  It did turn much cooler which is also a good thing for pastures.  Fescue grass which is the major grass in our area will quickly go to seed if the weather gets too hot.  The quality of it for grazing and hay goes down rapidly.

We have had way too many trips to town to suit either of us......some for MIL.  computer, printer, clock  batteries, alarm clock set wrong.....etc.  Her internet just isn't happening.  They won't come out to check until Thursday of next week.  Also the men who work for the assisted living facility came  and tried.....knowing zero about anything!  I saw a plug laying (unplugged) on the floor behind  her  computer......followed it to its source.  It was her oxygen machine!  She would never have found the issue and she has to have oxygen most of the time.  I plugged it back in and she is now safe.

The other trips were initiated by me....I needed some outside work tee shirts....and Max wanted to check out yard tractors.  I quickly got him off that notion when we looked at those monsters.  They would be nice for a large open space but our yard is filled  with shrubs, flower beds and trees and has very little open spaces.....even the orchard would be iffy.

i wanted to check out mulch at Lowe's but I was so tired after other shopping including the monster mower that we passed.

Maybe we can schedule yet another trip to town!!! and maybe not.

We did get the yard mowed before the rains,

I made two tours the  day before the rains started and in the few hours between this clematis opened fully, The President



These next  two pictures are from the same peony bush.  I don't remember the pinkish buds before,



Remember the budded peony of a couple of days ago?  Well here is what some sunshine will do:



The singles are nice landscape plants because they do not droop  with heavy rains.  Very few are fragrant however.

Another iris opened (and more yesterday but I haven't taken photos yet....it is raining),  I call it California Gold  but really should just call it an heirloom.  The previous owner planted it way back

 

I have very few roses left because of  Rose Rosette Disease but one is a very fragrant rugosa, Blanc Double de Coubert



I hesitate to show this picture because it was taken in full sun and the color is not accurate but most of you are familiar  with it anyway.  This is a bed of poppies, perennial that are being swamped by cheat grass.  I show it for a record of what is blooming when for  my use.



This is my one remaining dark lavender hesperis matronalis, Dame's Rocket.

Nepeta Walker's Low is in full bloom in the Kerria Bed,


This is a very hardy perennial for our area.  I see Lowe's has it around  their drive now.

I found another peach seedling tree.  It is in the chicken yard.  I left it purposely and now it is loaded with peaches.  These seedlings are much hardier that the ones you buy and they don't take that long to produce.  I have peaches on the 4 seedling trees and I don't have a single surviving peach tree on the place. The last one, I see is dying.....



FYI:  I am trying to keep to a spray schedule this year.  I have done a dormant oil and one regular fruit tree spray.  My next is due the first day the sun is shining.  Most of the sprays I use are safe up to the day of harvest and I never spray when bees are present.

Next post will be about the Ruby Locust tree that wasn't  and my first seedling clematis.

Random Chicken Shots

These are just of my heirloom girls, Dominique (also called domineckers and the Pilgrim Fowl)