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.

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)

 

A too long Catch-Up Post

Well, it is catch-up time again.

I am having a hard time trying to keep up with everything and am failing........

GARDENING
 
We finally got 1/2 inch of rain last night and might get a shower or  two more.  It was appreciated.  I had just planted some very late spinach and turnip seeds.   The newly set strawberries and potatoes will be happy.

I can pick lettuce for  lunch today.....it is small but needs thinning.  I have the bunching onions from my Oklahoma friend Ilene so wilted lettuce will be on the menu.

I have yet to plant the warm  weather crops:  corn,  pole beans, sweet potatoes and squash. 

My pepper seeds failed miserably after almost a month two little  red cheese peppers came up.  We were out doing MIL errands yesterday so I bought some very high-priced plants, 3  different varieties of peppers and Greek oregano.  I didn't see any sage plants so will  have to chase that one down.  It really kills me to pay those prices for plants I can grow at home!

I have been cleaning flowers beds and the cheat grass is so thick everywhere that you have to just look directly at what is in front of you and do it.....if you look around and see the 18 inch tall grass everywhere you would be tempted to throw in the towel.  

Humming Bird Bed. 
We hung the feeder out the 23rd and saw our first tiny male hummer the very next day.  We can't hang it on the porch (now screened in) now so it is outside the kitchen window hanging in the peach tree.  I didn't get a picture of him but did catch the first female visitor yesterday.

Look closely; she is well camouflaged.  Max  had to point her out to me.  I thought I just had a picture of the feeder.



Side note:  I dropped my little Canon Powershot on the floor several days ago and the lens wouldn't come out.  I tried it several days and then we picked out a slightly better Canon PowerShot.  Just after ordering I thought that I should just toss the old camera and just for kicks turned it on before dropping it in the trash can.  I  worked perfectly!  It will become Max's dedicated farm picture taking camera now.  That is not a bad thing. 

Back to the HB bed,   I finally got it cleaned and it took several hours.  It made me very happy to be done with it.

I have finally decided to buy mulch for the bed.....I have held out hating to spend money for mulch but if that is what it takes for me  to keep  some of my flower beds, I will do it.  My Sis has been mulching for years (she has a very citified country property)We garden totally differently.  I have naturalized cottage-style beds and she has mulched beds with spaces between all plants.  Not  my style but hers are quite beautiful and easier for her to manage with her eye  sight as bad as it is.

This is taken from the south side of the bed looking north (the debris is still laying on the grass).



This is taken from the north side looking southeasterly:


This is the east end of the bed.  I will be filling in the bare center with zinnias and cosmos and whatever else I can find,



New Blooms

Tradescantia in west end near bird bath in HB bed


I have lots of self-seeded Dame's Rocket (hesperis matronalis) scattered over the yard.  This clump is on the garden fence border, another candidate for lots of mulch.


I have mostly white now, but I spied (amongst the cheat grass)a very dark purple one out in the front ditch.  I may try to save seeds.

This clematis Nelly Moser.  This is one I cut back way too far two years ago and she still hasn't reached her proper height.


This is a China rose which shouldn't be doing well in my zone.  I have had it for twenty years or  so.  It has its own micro-climate on the south side of the well house and the west side of the outbuildings, well protected from cold winds.




A few iris are blooming,





The weigela opened up overnight,



This next picture will show you exactly the kind of  gardener I am.  This is where I  tossed the  dead poppy plants after shaking out all the seeds (I thought).

I have very few within beds so I now have a dedicated bed right in the middle of the grass.  Be fun to see it in full bloom.


Random pictures

I looked out the kitchen window and was surprised.  Max had seen her a few days ago on the west side of the yard.

Another Day of Gardening

Well, the cold front arrived; it was 38° this morning.  I brought the tray of tomatoes back inside late yesterday evening.  The storms missed us again.  I was so sorry to hear others weren't so lucky.

No wind this morning.  I hope to get more work done outside when the grass dries and it warms up a little.  May even drag out the electric chain saw.

When Nell wrote about making her unique landing outside the door to the new tractor shed ( we call all buildings in the compound either by their name for use or just the generic 'shed') it made me think of what I loosely call  our 'patio' which is just a small area outside the back porch door.
It is where the previous owners filled in a cistern and built a brick planter on top of it.

When we first looked at the farm,  I remarked that I liked the patio.  The man laughed and said that mess wasn't his.  His wife had done the entire thing; he was embarrassed by it.  I still like it!



Now here are some closeups:

This is the cistern planter.  I was told the bricks were made by slaves from clay found on the farm.


There are various things used,  more bricks, river gravel embedded in concrete and regular purchased paving stones.



Looking to the kitchen at the small planter where Jack Frost brunnera and variegated Solomon's seal grow.  The Solomon's seal is taking over!  The single hellebore seems to have  disappeared.



this is taken to the right of the door (see the  boxwood that edges the back porch),



This area is an L-shaped  area about 10x10 that I call the back porch bed.  I worked on pruning and cleaning it this morning.  I also dug up a clump of Joylene Nicole daylily that I have needed to move since the boxwood has grown so large.  It is sitting the the cart waiting for  me to decide where it should go.

and another angle taken from the doorway,



I had a productive morning.  Cleaned the bed above, took care of the chickens (3 eggs), cleaned about 10 feet of the New Bed edge on the west side next to the smoke house.  I hope to just keep  the narrow border of  this large bed and open access to the mower and mow the center.   I was going to eliminate the bed but then I saw all  those plants that I would have  to move because I didn't have the heart to just mow them down....peonies, daylilies, iris, a rose, a massive clump of iris (I forget the type), and I hope lots of self seeded petunias, salvia farinacea and poppies.  I was chopping weeds this morning and realized I was cutting tiny poppies! I quit and hope more survive than I killed.  I do this every year.  You would think I would learn.

I planted the whiskey barrel with  carrot seeds.  Carrots don't do well in my regular garden soil so this will be an interesting  experiment.  I planted some seeds of cilantro  in the cistern bed next to the pink rose.

May 28 through June 4, 2014

 This is just a brief daily journal I keep:  May clean it up a bit....or not.

May 28 2014

Up at 3:30 AM

Surveyed my kingdom took pictures

Called to schedule bids on guttering (Lowes) finish painting job (Liberty Paint Co.)

Made bread: dough way too soft but afraid to keep adding flour. Made 2 loaves and one small one into sweet rolls.

May 29

Mowed. Got Echo going; trimmed around drive got wagon wheels back in place. Trimmed around the house.

May 31, 2014

Lowes bid almost $700 for the guttering project. Still haven't heard back from Jim at Liberty Painting.

June l.

Courtney and I went to Lowes. Got red paint and white and oil primer for smokehouse.

Monday June 2, 2014

Started Echo did a dab of trimming. Weeded HB bed by hand, edged with trimmer.

Sprayed a mix of Sevin and Dormant Oil all season on fruit trees. There are some peaches and plums. Already see damage on fruit. The daily rains kept me from doing a l0-day interval. This is the  first since the dormant oil. I guess I should just spray regularly regardless of small rains. Maybe if it just dries first it would do some good.

Need Doing: Plant more pole beans, cucumbers

Rest of Mowing and plant rest of bucket ghetto.

Courtney mowed the rest of the yard using the Cub. Did a great job.

Rain came during evening and morning....there goes the fruit tree spray.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A very hot and humid day, 90°.

Courtney painted most of front of smokehouse (they gave us latex with primer so we just used it instead of oil base primer.

Pete the Painter called. Sending out men Friday, Sat and Sunday to paint and do yard work weather permitting.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Very humid, overcast and 73°. After breakfast we went to Willard park and did a l0-minute walk. I am so out of shape in all ways that I will have to build up my time slowly.

Came back planted hoop with Romano Pole and some Fortex seed I found. Did north side of short hoop with French Filet bean like the south side. Did a hill of Diva behind the clematis Harlow Carr by garden gate.

Need to hoe out corn and mulch tomatoes. Need a short row of okra somewhere.

Stopped at 8:40. Very fine mist going.

Meat loaf done  for dinner.

Whew!  Caught up for a while.

Random Pictures:

This is my sole remaining heirloom rose:

Poppies (papaver somniferum) by gas tank.  Mostly shades of pink....no doubles yet but lots more to go.

I spotted a very red one this morning.

 

These are by the pole light,

From June 2014

Mock orange is in full bloom.  alas, none are fragrant:

My unlovely west yard (I hope you can't see that it is mostly mowed weeds.  At least there are no plants or beds calling to me to spray, clip, or mulch!

Note to Milk Maid:  Jersey seemed to be in  heat 6/1/14!  Big surprise....no heat that I have seen up to now except a few very early ones.

June 12, 2013, Wednesday

We trimmed a couple of trees and Max loaded the trailer with limbs. He also cleaned all the debris and old dog house out of Sugar's pen.

I mulched the tomatoes.

We had a very unsatisfactory frozen Microwave Healthy Choice lunch! No more of that for us.

In the afternoon, I made bagels. When they were in the oven for a while, I checked and noticed the oven was just warm.......they were not cooking. I tried the counter top oven but it was too late. The are now soaking in water for the chickens.

I scheduled a service call...can't come until Monday. We can limp along but it is bread making time so we will have to revert to 'store bought'.

Got a new Kindle Paperwhite today; Max wants my old one....he gets a used Kindle for Father's

Day....poor thing.

After charging it fully I managed to get it working.....I am still getting used to the 'touch' thing but have ordered some books from the library and Amazon and all went well. There is a bit of a learning curve with it.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Up at 3:45AM.

It is cooler this morning.

Went out early and finished mulching the rest of the tomato row and hoed out the west onion rows.

Tilled the middle where the hills of squash are and will be ready to mulch it all once I water it well.

I should take pictures; it is the first and probably last time my garden will be this tidy!

Forgot to mention that I tested the oven this morning and, voila!, it seems to be working. I even made hamburger buns and Max's two loaves of white bread this afternoon and it went very well.

The service people called to reschedule me for tomorrow and I told her my story of the oven.....I have canceled the service call and will still keep my fingers crossed and be nervous for some time.

The stove is only 3 years old but I have terrible luck with appliances..........I do have the small counter top oven that we could get by with for a few days.

By 2 PM, bread is done and so am I!

June 14-15

For those who want to know:  My only secret to  bread making is:  King Arthur Flour and SAF yeast!

I watered the garden even though they predicted rain (it came but has just been ¼ inch so far). I vowed to take a picture of the garden while it was almost weed free; so I did.

 

This is taken from the west end looking east (the other was the reverse).

This little white tags are hills of squash.  If the borers don't get them, I will be overrun for the first time in a few years.  I do have a hill of Butternut for keeping over winter for pies.

This is the east end where I have replanted corn amid  the spotty patch.  

 

I hope now to cover all with straw mulch.  We are still getting a light shower.  Some places in the area are flooded but not us.

Yesterday morning I finished planting some rudbeckia and vinca so all flats are now empty.  I know it is getting late but I intend to sow some  more annual seeds and hope  for late bloom.

The poppies have been outstanding this year and the seed pods are huge on some.  I got a full tablespoon of seeds from one pod yesterday.

I noticed that the bees are enjoying them too.  There were 4 in this one bloom,

 

From poppies 2013

Lilies are now blooming:

 

This clump is the only trumpets I have left.  

Happy Father's Day!  Hope you all have a wonderful day.