A Busy Morning on the Farm

Well, I have gone almost a month without posting.....shame on me.

It is spring in the Ozarks, still not past a danger of frost but settling in much warmer.  We are dry but are hopeful heavy rains will visit us next  week.

I haven't mowed yet and grass in the yard and field is coming along very slowly.  I hope heavy rains will correct that.

I have been busy trying to get ready for gardening season.  I sorted my seeds according to what needs planting under lights now and next month.  I checked and have enough potting soil to fill all containers.  I might actually get that done this weekend.

I have re-tilled  my tiny little garden plot that I now  call the cat's favorite playground and litter box. They  run and bounce on the soft soil and roll around in it.  They are fun to watch.  I may not find that so amusing when I plant seeds.........may have to use temporary covers of some sort.

Next job was getting my dedicated rose bed started.  I have almost sworn off roses because of Japanese Beetles and RRD (rose-rosette disease) but they are so irresistible that when Lowe's had a rack of them out front I couldn't resist!  They know how to market them!  I bought 6, let's see if I can remember them:  Olympiad, Medallion,  Mr. Lincoln, Tropicana, Queen  Elizabeth,  and  Love.  (I actually did it).  I have copper markers by each one knowing that in a week or so I won't remember.

I will to under plant the roses with some perennials. The plan(hope) is having them in one location will make me take better care of them.  I will also have to walk past them going to the garden almost daily which will be a good thing.  Most are chosen for fragrance.

I have lots of daffodils in bloom,

 This was before I pruned the rose, Aloha and below is after:

I pruned most of the clematis the two needing it the most are the Type 3 that should be cut  down to 18inches or so each season.

I have two type 3 planted on the right side of the panels. they were hanging over the chicken yard fence to the right of the barrel.  

The prunings

 

Just two or three more to do and they are Type 2 which don't require much at all. 

I am done for the day!

First Yard Walk-About and other miscellaneous Things that compose my Life.

We are cooler now.  Lots of frost this morning and frozen birdbath!  It was also very foggy.  The daytime temps run in the high 50's.  Not too bad for March.  We have chances of rain for several  days; we hope it happens.

I finally re-tilled the garden that I had already tilled so that part is ready to plant.  I have ordered strawberry plants from Stark Brothers, Surecrop.  I will plant them in the 'kitchen' garden that I have just tilled.  I have tried for two years to get strawberries started again and failed.

This is the east end of the garden.  The strawberries will go next to the fence.

Note:  The bird feeder is still not upright!  My helpmate has just been too  'busy'!

I have not started any seeds inside yet.  I hate to have leggy plants and here I don't set out most plants until May 10.  I should plant spinach, lettuce and some  other cool season things very soon even if I have to water them in.

I made the angel food cake and the lemon sponge cake to use up the yolks.  We ate the angel food and I froze the other one.
I still have quite a build-up of eggs.  I plan to take a couple of dozen to the beauty shop this afternoon and I have told a neighbor to stop  by.

I  made a successful batch of yogurt but failed again  with the mozzarella.  I looks like my microwave is cooking the curd rather than just heating it.  It will be usable in some cooking or diced over salads but that is all.  I need to do more  research.  I made very nice mozzarella a couple of years ago. I don't know what is going wrong.....this is a different microwave.  I may try the hot water method next.  I just boiled the whey to make more ricotta.  I hope it turns out.  The last one did.  It was the first successful ricotta using the leftover whey.  It made maybe a cup of ricotta cheese.

I also went out to the Milk Parlor and skimmed the cream from the extra milk and ended up with a little over l quart.  I made butter again.  I am freezing it.

I did my first yard walk about a few days ago and found these little beauties.

There were 3 or 4  more clumps in various places (surrounded by groundcover (aka, dead nettle and henbit)).

The others are just miscellaneous pictures:


The curious chickens.  It is hard to get a 'portrait' because they swamp you; even stand on your feet,

but I managed these,

This is clear of weeds only because the bird feeder is hanging above and the birds scratch on the ground getting dropped seeds, more daffodils with buds,

I can't remember what these small bulbs are planted at the edge of the golden agastache bed.

I wonder what the draw is......these two cats are now hanging out near this bed (bird feeders are located here).  I think we are down to just three now.  Ahhhh, life in the country with varmints, probably coyotes.

This and That from the Farm

Up again at 2:30 AM, but slept in my chair a bit.  This is not unusual for me at all.

Today is a warm day, but cloudy and windy....rain supposed to be moving in tonight.

We made a run into Willard for me to get my hair cut and to pick up a primer bubble for my Stihl trimmer.  Thankfully our local Ace Hardware had one.  Now I just need to get it put on.  I hope Max is just buying high test gas for the cans.  A Stihl serviceman told me  that the cheaper gas destroys the plastic bubbles. 

I got the east end of the kitchen garden tilled a couple of days ago using my trusty little Merry Tiller.  I will have to use the larger one with slasher tines because of dead long grasses on the west end.  I am pleased.  I don't think I have done a fall till in a very long time.

I took this picture a few days ago.  It appealed to me.

I

We have traded out the hummingbird feeder for the winter birds.  It didn't take them long to find it.  They prefer all black oil sunflower seeds!  When that feeder is empty they will come to the song bird mix.....and only then. 



Chickens

I am going to try using a timer in the hen house.  I ordered two very cheap and simple ones......no directions.  I must be mechanically challenged because I had to search the internet to find how to set the blasted thing!  I am using it in the kitchen tonight to check it out.  I am shooting for 15 hours of light.

Max is out feeding hay.

A Little Bit of Everything --- Pie!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Mulched strawberries while waiting for DH to check cattle.

With his help set two cattle panels for the tomatoes....have 3 leftover that I will stake somehow. I don't want to wastes a 15 foot panel for them.

and the back side of the fence,

I hoed out most of east side of garden and harvested very nice broccoli. This was the first year ever in my gardening life that I had zero little green worms from the cabbage butterfly. In fact, I have only seen one of them and it was in the front yard!

I thinned the onions some and will probably have to chop and freeze them.

I chopped some low-hanging branches from the trees on the west side of the house and then,

we actually sat down in the shade and enjoyed our morning coffee break outside.

It is now too hot to do anything so I am in for the day.

I am making Spanish rice and new broccoli for lunch.....may go out and pick enough strawberries for dessert (or not)

June 11, 2012

This was my morning to milk. Willow is down quite a bit but she is getting along in her lactation so that is part of fit.

After milking, I tilled the garden, both sides. I also replanted the very spotty corn patch. I used a different variety, Bodacious. I always select varieties that don't have to be isolated so I am hoping this will work.

I tied up a few tomatoes that were large enough. I also picked the strawberries again. I won't get many more pickings from them and they will be smaller berries. I got another gallon container full.  I also did my last harvest of the two different rhubarb plants.  I know I am pushing the size on the red one but it is my Sis's  fault!  She has been talking all week about making a strawberry rhubarb pie.............I finally gave in and harvest the makings:

From June Blog 2013

I wasn't far from this since I keep Nathan's Never Fail pie crust in the freezer and it  thaws very quickly.

and the finished pie,

She makes hers using tapioca and strawberry jello and cooks filling on stove top first.  I used  my Joy of Cooking cookbook method which is just fruit tossed  with sugar and cornstarch and baked from scratch.

I should have used more  sugar!  But I love it.....DH, not so much.  He isn't a fan of rhubarb.

The first Asiatic hybrid lily opened.....I think  (stress think) this is a Brunello I rescued from the driveway border.

and more poppies,

I was happy to see  honey bees working the poppies this morning.  I think I just don't pay close enough attention  to see them all the time.

I checked out the garden too,  this is the strawberry row finally mulched,

and last,

Yes,Virginia, that is more cats(kittens) and these two aren't all,