Skunks Are Back!

Every spring for about three years now we have had a mama skunk burrow under the back foundation and have her babies.................sometimes the  smell that gets into  the house is really strong.  I have lost count of the cans of Febreze air freshener we have used.  Well, drat!  she is back.  I have worked over the area trying  to keep her out.   We laid down heavy wire mesh and fastened it down  with 6 inch landscape pins,have used  pieces of fire wood and various other stakes and things.  It seemed to work last year. Max has laid down three bales of straw over it all next to the foundation.

Not to be outdone,she went behind the straw and in  the 6 inches between the foundation and the first layer of heavy mesh and behind the straw bale dug down a sort of slide- in hole.  Two  days ago I worked on that, didn't help.  Yesterday I did some more and it seems to have worked.  I could hear her digging....I need to check in daylight to see if she made it through.  They never give up.  I am convinced it is the same skunk.

Traps will be set today.

Office is finished except for some decoration.  The carpenter took last week off..........working  somewhere else.  I may call him today.  He still hasn't finished the back porch area outside.

We have had some pretty heavy rains over the last week and it rained lightly yesterday afternoon and is misting now.  I am ready for it all to dry up and let the ground get workable.  Things have really greened up and I have one tiny daffodil in bloom.  It looks very lonely out  there by itself.

 I added this just because......Little Tommy followed me around while I was taking photos.

 Chicken yard was hazardous; I nearly fell because of the mole runs.  They were running like underground steams and I buried in one.  DH told me it was because I didn't know where to walk hinting  that I don't do the chickens often!  He is right.

 This is the west calf lot with water standing in every low place.

 The kittens all followed along.  I didn't  know they would wade!


The west yard, another mole run hazardous area.  I see I will have to pick up sticks before mowing.

COOKING

Not much interesting going on but we decided the last sourdough bread was going to the chickens.....not be making that recipe  again.  (to be honest, it wasn't a fair test, as usual, I made a few modifications that may have caused the heaviness.).  I never feel it is a waste because the chickens will eat anything!

I did use up my left over mayonnaise before the expiration date and made the Hellman's Mayonnaise chocolate cake.  The  chickens will not be getting that (most will go in the freezer for unexpected guests or when Max gets a craving).

We both thought it was the darkest cake ever but it was very moist and tasty.

CHICKENS

We are getting lots of good eggs.  I am very happy with these girls.  I thought they wouldn't lay before the longer days of spring and summer but we are getting more than enough for our needs and I have accumulated about 5 dozen for others. 

A Cold, But Sunny Morning

I think the rains are  over at last.   We got  5.5 inches and are  not really complaining.  This is a wonderful time of year to get lots of rain to get the grasses going.  The cows will appreciate it.  I am not so happy with the temperature.  It was 39° this morning!  I was worried about frost so I recovered my strawberry row which is looking very promising with lots of large blooms.

The yard is way beyond needing mowing.....but between the rains and family obligations we are way behind.  We hope to correct that soon.  I finally gave in and got another mower.  I just got the Gravely out of the shop, all tuned up and ready to go and had actually mowed twice but made the mistake of trying to mow very tall grass at the edge of the garden wet.....threw a belt (I hope that is all it was).  When we took it in for repairs, I checked on a new model that is slightly larger and we decided to buy it.  Surely I will not be without a mower now!  It is frustrating to not be able to try it out......

Lots of things are blooming now.  I was surprised to look at the yard a couple of days ago and see it.

A Story Behind a Rose and other Everyday things

We just got a very nice rain and I don't think it is finished.

I knew it was coming so about 6:30 AM I dashed out and planted some zinnias, cosmos and some very old cleome seeds. I had prepped the beds yesterday so I was ready to go.  I even finished in time for my daughter's morning call.  She calls most mornings on the way to work and  I don't feel like my day goes forward as well as days she doesn't call.

I also got two kinds of pole beans planted yesterday and the lettuce bed cleaned out.




The above is a close up of an heirloom lettuce that is a first for me, Grandpa Admire.  I love it and will be planting it again.  The first red is Beaulah Rose and the other just called red romaine.  Love them both.


A Rose Story


We moved to the country way back in 1976.  That first year or so my paternal grandmother gave me a cutting of a rose.  She didn't know the name, just knew it was a good one.  It was.  It grew to about 5 feet tall with a gorgeous double, very fragrant bloom. I kept it for a very long time and researched it and decided  it was the rose Aloha.  I am very confident in that identity.

I took cuttings.....moved a couple to the new farm back in 1992.  It grew well and bloomed  for me for many years....I took cuttings and gave to my Iowa Sis.  Then disaster hit  the rose.  Rose Rosette Disease.    Thankfully my Sis took some cuttings for me and two years ago I planted them in the garden fence border.  This is year it has really taken off.  I will be taking cuttings again just to be on the safe side.  So I have  had this rose in its many lives since 1976.....



Since I took this photo, the cutting on the left (I have two) has shot up about 36 inches.  I am a happy gardener.  I wish you could smell it.

Food

I made bread yesterday and Max made a strange request.  He wanted it all in bun shapes.  I thought what the heck!  So I made it up in various  thickness and sizes.  So far  so good.  We eat one half toasted for breakfast and it is slightly smaller than a regular slice of bread so that is a good thing.



I made a quick and easy lunch using them.  Barbecued wieners on a bun: ( I suspect that is a redneck lunch!)

What else is new?  I know, I bought a long-handled scrubber for the shower and tubs.  It is almost impossible  for me to get down on my knees now and this works well.  No more excuses for not keeping pristine bathing facilities!



Finished on morning of 5/25.  Happy to report 1.75  inches of a nice steady rain,  no storms at all.  Now, please, it can stop!

A New Day

The sun is shining ....  for now.... at least.  We have already had a half inch rain.

The boys are still here (in bed) so I have a quiet moment to maybe catch up the blog.  I let the boys do their thing which is stay up around a bonfire half the night and sleep in....works for me.

I have their breakfast already made.  Gravy using left over smothered pork chops from a dinner over biscuits which I will cook whenever....maybe eggs on the side.  They are drinking us out of milk.  We had to make  a run to the market for 'store' milk yesterday evening.  DH milked this morning so we now have 4.5 gallons cooling!  The Jersey is outdoing herself.

OK.  I have only been outside once to work since the girls came  down on Friday evening.  I took advantage of yesterday mornings sun to begin pruning the Korean Boxwoods by the back porch.  This is the first time I have pruned them.  I guess all the rains have  pushed them into overdrive.  They were encroaching on the doorway.  The tops  still need to be leveled off.



I also got the garden fence border trimmed.

This is taken on the east side of the smokehouse as I walk to the fence around the garden. Clematis Nelly Moser surrounded by seedling poppies.



I am seeing seedling poppies every where, even in  the grass.  This is just to the  left or west of the garden walk-through gate.


I wish the captions stayed with the pictures but they don't.  This is clematis Harlow Carr, lilies yet to open, and salvia transylvanica.


and further down the fence:



Clematis Huldine, with lots of self-seeded Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate growing at the base, and persicaria polymorpha is back.  I thought It had  died out but I have two clumps back this year.

I will save the rest for another day.....took 29 pictures!

Just a hint:  Our neighbor boy (16)  came down and asked for work.....he is now trimming the front ditches.......doing a super job so far.  If he has staying power, I will have him do the entire yard.

First picture:  This is the east ditch that was 2-feet deep in cheat grass and other weeds.  I didn't take a before pic; I wish I had.



More to come