I'm a terrible blogger! I just realized how long it has been since I last blogged. But, please don't feel bad. I have been so busy I haven't socialized more than minimally all summer. We've been crazy busy. When Jimmy and I aren't working real jobs we are trying to keep up around here. All this beautiful warm weather has turned our garden into a paradise ...a paradise with weeds and slugs . Daily watering has been imperative to the survival of our squash. I changed out the herb garden this spring to see if I could get some high sun veggies to grow and it worked. We are getting huge winter and summer squash plants. I like yellow crookneck squash and have never had much success with it until this year. Because of the sun and high temps our tomatoes are 5 feet high and the vines are so laden with fruit they are in danger of breaking. Our cool weather crops like snow peas and broccoli have not done well this year. They are doing ok but not the bumper crops we have had in the past.
The berries this year have been glorious. My freezer is full of raspberries waiting for Little Sister's canning visit in a couple of weeks. My beets were a fail again this year so I will be buying beets next month to pickle..
Jimmy and I have been trying to outsmart the squirrel population this summer. In the past the squirrels have decimated the plum trees before the plums were fully ripe. This year Jimmy and I have been outside, in the dark, with a flashlight, picking the green plums and putting them in dark boxes to ripen. We are doing it in the dark because we have limited daylight hours to garden with. In fact we have done much gardening by flashlight this year. Everything is ripening early this year. Also, the Squirrel King is asleep at night so he isn't pelting us with plums! Yes, the Squirrel King is a warrior squirrel that will fight for his lands and clan. aerial bombings are his specialty whether its Jimmy and I picking plums or the cat climbing the hazelnut tree. I've even seen him pelting pine cones at the dog just for fun. I have a plan. This year I'm asking santa for the biggest supersoaker on the market. Next year I'm going to engage him in open combat! No more guerilla fighting for me. Because we are losing! The chicken population has outgrown the coop we so lovingly made 6 years ago so DD and her squeeze are coming in august to help turn half of the barn into the new chicken house. DD gave me an update on Gannicus who went to live with her squeeze. We had to let him go. Liberace, the flamboyant rooster was beating the crap out of him every day...all day. Gannicus held his own pretty well but he was starting to show serious signs of wear. He is now in a place where he is the only rooster with his own flock of girls that he lovingly cares for and DD reports that he recently became a father.
The worlds tiniest rooster Arnie is still on my dumpling list but, Jimmy is standing firmly between the tiny little thug and the chopping block.
And then there's Marlowe. Our itsty bitsy rescue puppy has grown in stature and confidence. His coat is full and luxurious and he now regards all of us as his property. He has lost all vestiges of 'baby doll' and has turned into a real dog. All 5 pounds of him is noble, aware and alert. He still has some separation anxiety issues but, even those are going away. He tries to get in the car with us when we need to leave. So, we recently took him on two trips with us where he had to be in the crate most of the day and be on a leash. Both times he was supremely glad to get home again. Now he's not so quick to want to go with us when we leave. And he is almost completely housebroken. I might even be able to have company before the end of the summer without the house smelling like dog accident.
Jimmy and I have been very self conscious about visitors this summer. The house has been scruffy. We try not to have visitors with environmental sensitivities because our house is an allergy attack waiting to happen. 16 chickens, two cats, a dog,a turtle, drying herbs hanging in the kitchen, various houseplants and lots of smelly cleaning chemicals, Linseed oil and other art accoutrements that stink. I have an attachment to incense and scented candles to cover up the less pleasant odors that go with our lifestyle.. So, we are not shunning our sensitive friends ... We are trying to save their lives.
The berries this year have been glorious. My freezer is full of raspberries waiting for Little Sister's canning visit in a couple of weeks. My beets were a fail again this year so I will be buying beets next month to pickle..
Jimmy and I have been trying to outsmart the squirrel population this summer. In the past the squirrels have decimated the plum trees before the plums were fully ripe. This year Jimmy and I have been outside, in the dark, with a flashlight, picking the green plums and putting them in dark boxes to ripen. We are doing it in the dark because we have limited daylight hours to garden with. In fact we have done much gardening by flashlight this year. Everything is ripening early this year. Also, the Squirrel King is asleep at night so he isn't pelting us with plums! Yes, the Squirrel King is a warrior squirrel that will fight for his lands and clan. aerial bombings are his specialty whether its Jimmy and I picking plums or the cat climbing the hazelnut tree. I've even seen him pelting pine cones at the dog just for fun. I have a plan. This year I'm asking santa for the biggest supersoaker on the market. Next year I'm going to engage him in open combat! No more guerilla fighting for me. Because we are losing! The chicken population has outgrown the coop we so lovingly made 6 years ago so DD and her squeeze are coming in august to help turn half of the barn into the new chicken house. DD gave me an update on Gannicus who went to live with her squeeze. We had to let him go. Liberace, the flamboyant rooster was beating the crap out of him every day...all day. Gannicus held his own pretty well but he was starting to show serious signs of wear. He is now in a place where he is the only rooster with his own flock of girls that he lovingly cares for and DD reports that he recently became a father.
The worlds tiniest rooster Arnie is still on my dumpling list but, Jimmy is standing firmly between the tiny little thug and the chopping block.
And then there's Marlowe. Our itsty bitsy rescue puppy has grown in stature and confidence. His coat is full and luxurious and he now regards all of us as his property. He has lost all vestiges of 'baby doll' and has turned into a real dog. All 5 pounds of him is noble, aware and alert. He still has some separation anxiety issues but, even those are going away. He tries to get in the car with us when we need to leave. So, we recently took him on two trips with us where he had to be in the crate most of the day and be on a leash. Both times he was supremely glad to get home again. Now he's not so quick to want to go with us when we leave. And he is almost completely housebroken. I might even be able to have company before the end of the summer without the house smelling like dog accident.
Jimmy and I have been very self conscious about visitors this summer. The house has been scruffy. We try not to have visitors with environmental sensitivities because our house is an allergy attack waiting to happen. 16 chickens, two cats, a dog,a turtle, drying herbs hanging in the kitchen, various houseplants and lots of smelly cleaning chemicals, Linseed oil and other art accoutrements that stink. I have an attachment to incense and scented candles to cover up the less pleasant odors that go with our lifestyle.. So, we are not shunning our sensitive friends ... We are trying to save their lives.
Jimmy and I have accepted that our lifestyle is smelly.
