Canning Season Is Here!

Well looks like I am going to be busy in the kitchen this week! A bushel of green beans have been picked. Kitchen chores are welcome this time of year. The temperature has been hovering in the upper 90's and the humidity is through the roof, making outside chores most unpleasant. Guess I better get busy snapping!

A Tasty Side

Some of the first veggies are coming out of the garden. Today's harvest, beets, a candy onion and a few new potatoes. I will roast all of the above and serve as a side to the lamb meatballs we are having tonight. Yum!

The garden is going to be late this year but better late than never!

Chickens Here and Chickens There

Chickens Everywhere! A day spent rearranging chickens, yes, poultry is plentiful around here right now. The meat birds were moved from the chicken tractor to the orchard and old hen house. They will be ready to process in another 2 weeks or so.

The first batch of laying chicks were then moved to the tractor. They will stay here until big enough to not escape from the chicken house where the meat birds are currently living. 

AND, in the now empty brooder 18 more chicks and 5 Khaki Campbell ducks were placed. Shhh, the ducks are a secret. Hubby doesn't know.  

Recycled Fence

Another little project taken care of this weekend. The cold frames by the house have not been used much because every time I dig up that nice soft dirt one senile old setter thinks it is the perfect spot for him to dig and make a bed. So, Doug built these cute little fences out of recycled cattle panels and some old wood laying around. They can easily be lifted out for working the dirt and harvesting.

Of course, I happily popped some seeds in the ground. Carrots, radishes, cucumbers, a couple of squash and a handful of green beans just for fun.

Breaking New Ground

If this spot looks familiar it's because it is the future greenhouse spot. We decided to make a temporary garden here after the heartbreaking discovery that varmits, most likely squirrels, had eaten four rows of corn in the big garden. The corn was barely popping up and then it just vanished. Sigh. We are battling the wildlife this year for sure. So, for the summer we hope to utilize this spot for corn, some of my heirloom crowder peas and a row of cutting flowers.

I Have My Brain Back!

The long awaited wedding is finally over. It was beautiful and perfect and beautiful and did I say perfect?! Now hopefully life can return to some semblance of  normalcy. My poor brain was consumed with so many details for so many weeks it was almost hard to function!! We are two weeks past and once my sweet kids were home from their honeymoon (they flew home the day of the terrorist plane bombing) I am now busy playing catch up. Gardens to tend, animals to care for, soap to make. The list is long but life is truly good on the homestead!

Rain!

After a very long dry spell some much needed rain has fallen over the last two days. Right at 2 1/2 inches. The world looks refreshed and clean having all the pollen washed away. More storms are in the forecast for today. Happily I get to take a break from watering for a while!

The only down side is that the corn seed is still sitting on the kitchen counter and it will be many days before it goes in the ground. Late corn will be just fine.