Flowers, Bees and Memorial Day

 If you look closely, you'll see a bee in the middle Wild Rose

Morel Mushroom bounty--found in our backyard!

 

The Lilacs have bloomed (nice to smell while mowing!) as well as the Lily of the Valley.  A couple of storms came through and knocked the blooms off-so I didn't get any photos this year.  Right now the Sweet Williams (Phlox?), Wild Roses and a few Iris' are blooming, giving the bees a feast!  (Oh, and the Creeping Charlie in the garden.....bah!)

Two of my Rhubarb are blooming...I'll need to read up on if saving seed is worth it, or a waste of time.  The Strawberries my friend Stacy sent me last year and doing wonderful.  They are blooming and have lots of green berries that I can't wait until they ripen!  Mmmmm mmmmmm good!  And the Raspberries are also blooming/growing berries.  What a feast we shall have soon!

 

Patrick and I got the peppers in the ground this past week, poor puny things that should do much better now that they are in the ground and getting rain.  The tomatoes are growing good, I gave them some 'raw milk fertilizer' last week.  (I think I diluted it 20-1, but somehow ran short the last couple of plants.  I'll say the dog distracted me while counting!) HA

 

Funny story about the Morel's--the folks who helped us "process" Dolly came by to see Lil' Red--they are the ones buying him.  Since I was whining I didn't get to go mushroom hunting, they were sweet enough to bring us a few they'd found.  I was happy, happy happy!!

So us gals are looking at the chicks, calves, critters, etc, both of the guys are looking at their own 'stuff' (lead sinkers/molds/fishing poles--ya know, guy stuff!).

 

As they are getting ready to leave, her hubby says "There's a mushroom right there!"  (I'm thinking, yeah, another cow-pie toadstool I kick over....)  He gets excited and says "It's a Morel!"  Whoa, that got my attention really fast.

He starts digging around old tires and under things saying:  "Here's another one, and another--Oh look at the size of this one!"  The biggest one in the photo is almost the size of my hand!

 

The weird part is, me and his wife had just been "there" looking at chicks earlier.  I walk past that area twice a day to feed/check on the chicks.  I'd of never saw them....HOW they got there I'll never know, but totally grateful they are.  Mushrooms in my own yard....what a Blessing!!

 

 

I managed to mow earlier in the week....I had a cable break on the "newly fixed" mower, so used my old trusty back-up mower to finish.(It's an old mower--it was one my parents gave me, I think one of my sisters gave it to them!)   I noticed as I was about done, a back wheel was wonky--the wheel is fine, the frame rusted through.  Sigh.  So until those are fixed, the grass shall grow, grow, grow.  (It's raining again--I'm not complaining, just know 'work' will get ahead of me again!)  I know it will look like I need to rake and bale it into hay.  :-)

 

 

Patrick and I went 'shopping' yesterday....uh oh, plants were marked down, so of course I had to grab a few.  He found the eggplant his folks were looking for, and I picked up some more seed to get planted.  He about crapped at how much I spent at the feed store, but had I pre-warned him I needed about "one of everything".   I haven't had to spend that much in a looong time, but with the newly acquired species, calls for a variety.

Growing some of your food isn't cheap....and different species require different foods.  Daisy probably consumes a great portion of it (quantity and cost-wise), but she is the Queen, feeding two babies right now, making lots of milk.

The chicks get one food, the baby turkeys get another, and the laying hens (uh, the two I have left) get yet another.  I could 'fudge' and give the hens something else, but I know in time the chick food will merge into the laying hen food.

The turkeys are on a 'time' basis--meaning the calendar is marked for "processing" already.  We plan on doing two at about 12 pounds, and a couple at around 16 pounds.  Wellllll, that's "the plan" for now, always subject to change! 

At least I have more room in the freezer now, so hopefully that won't be an issue when the time comes.

 

We have been getting some good rains, helping to pull us out of the drought.  I just hope it doesn't stop anytime soon for the summer!

Busy as the weather allows :)

Pat got some of the garden tilled, enough so I could get the tomatoes planted.  Then we got rain, and hail, but it seems everything made it through OK.  It has dried up enough, that hopefully he can get more tilled for me so I can get peppers planted.

The calves are growing like weeds and ornery as ever.  My work schedule will be changing (working more morning shifts) so I will put them on OAD (once-a-day) nursing in a couple of weeks:  one in the morning, and one at night.  They won't like it, but eventually they'll need weaned (Red sooner since he's getting a new home).  Hopefully then I'll get some milk as well for ME!

Sunday we headed up to Lincoln to help Kyle unload his couch.  We took his dresser up, and he took us out for a late lunch.  Wow, the place was packed, even at 3 in the afternoon.   My cousin Elaine was there, I hadn't noticed her, so she came over to chit-chat.  Was nice to see her!
Jared called, and Chandra posted more "baby belly" photos on FB.  So exciting!!

We got 6 turkeys Friday....one croaked within an hour of getting them, and one was "iffy".  I told the store, and asked them to save 2 more back for me, I'd be in after work to get them.  Low and behold when I got there after work, the dude had sold all of them already.  (UGH)  The "iffy" one died the next day.  So we have 4, and they are kind of stupid.  (I'd forgot how dumb they can be).  Nothing like chicks.....Anyhow next year I'll just take pre-orders and order the turkeys myself.  I think too much transportation without stability/heat doesn't do them any favors.  At $8 apiece, it's not like they are a cheap loss!  (Yes, I got a refund for my croaked ones).

Now off to work, so I can come home and do chores and more work. ;)  My requested 4-day workweek once again morphed into 5 or 6.  It makes for looooong days for me, as we are busier at work now, and with normal cow chores, baby chick and turkey stuff, plus the garden......at least the weather has been nice, so it makes working at home more enjoyable!  :)

Snow, Sleet and Rain....it's May?!!

Thursday May 2

Snow tapering off 39°Lo 30°
...FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THESE CONDITIONS COULD KILL CROPS AND OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION.

Friday May 3  Showers of rain and snow 42°Lo 38°

Saturday May 4  Breezy and warmer with rain 53°Lo 42°

This is a snippet of our weather forecast.  Monday and Tuesday it was hot and humid (80's!) and last night rain turned to sleet and snow and back to sleet.
Monday I transplanted all the tomato plants into bigger containers.  The were root-bound and needed more space.  I fully expected when I got them they'd be in the ground growing by now.  Ugh!

Then we went to Lincoln to see my friend Janelle in the hospital--she had cancer that was removed.  Thus far she is doing well as can be expected for a rather invasive surgery.  She's been through alot the past couple of months....along with support from family and friends.  It's a crappy roller-coaster ride of emotions for all involved! :(

Then we went to see Kyle and Sammi and their new apartment, and what they need.  We all went to Dairy Queen and we had some ice cream goodies.  :)

Due to the wonderful (rotten!) upcoming forecast, Tuesday was spent like this:  loaded the black steer for the neighbors and took him to the locker (I should of charged them an aggravation fee--ha). 
Came straight home and set about mowing the front yard (I think I could of baled it.....for now I let Daisy in the back yard to "mow".) 
We also moved a bale of hay and we brought the 4 baby chicks I got last week (feed store had them marked down) inside into a cage.  Then  I rounded up all the tomato plants and brought them inside.

This morning I woke up to white, not snow, but sleet.  It rained, thundered and sleeted on me while doing chores last night after work.  This weather is hard on the animals and the fruit trees that are blooming. 
Saturday the bees were pollinating the peach trees, and the cherry and pear trees are blooming.  The Lilac and apple trees are getting ready to bloom.  I'll be amazed if we have any type of a fruit crop this year, thanks to another late freeze!

Daisy and the calves are doing fine.  My "wait and see" approach on the scours lasted a whole 24 hours,  I could tell they had "something"; so started Neomycin and probiotics treatments on them.  They are fine now--and got to the point of  happily accepting and eating the probiotics like candy (sounded like they were crunching Spree's or Sweet Tarts!)  ;-) 

I have Little Red sold once he is weaned--I need to get him banded and work on halter training him for the folks who are buying him (the same ones that helped "process" Dolly).  He'll be an oxen, unless he doesn't make the grade; then he'll be freezer bound.  Thanks to Daisy milk; both calves have gained over 50# in the last month--even with their scour 'episode'.
Daisy has lost weight, I've upped her grain and tweaked it some so it's higher protein.  Putting her on grass also helps with weight gain--it's free food anyhow, and one of the best she can get!

As for Nessa, I'm 99.9% sure she is preggers--Sonny the bull is still here.  He's a good boy, doesn't test fences, and gives me a wide berth.  I was going to take him back, but with the crappy weather coming, I knew his owner would have extra work carrying hay/water to him, so called her, and we opted to just leave him here for now.  It's the least I can do (feed him!) for her generosity of lending him to me! 

Maybe, (just maybe!) next week we can get things planted into the garden, move the chicks outside and get back to "normal". 
The feed store called, the turkeys Pat ordered will be in late next week....plus I have 6 more chicks coming the end of the May (I split an order with a gal).  This way I'll have a variety of laying hens, as I've gotten and am getting different breeds. 
It seems I may be creating more work (feeding, caring for and processing them!) but I'll have more laying hens and eventually plenty of turkey in the freezer to eat.
I call it food security, because I can't eat money.  ;-)