Busy busy busy!

I made this wreath for our troops, it'll stay up for a long time!

It's been crazy busy again, but things are getting accomplished!   I hand weeded the beans, kale, eggplant, cucumbers, melons and garlic, then we got straw (from a farmer I know) put down on the garden.  Wowza was that an itchy job!  But hopefully it'll help with weed control and keep the moisture in.

We have a couple of green tomatoes growing (ok, a few!) and the strawberries are going crazy.  Those are still green yet, but we'll have plenty to eat and preserve when they ripen.  The pumpkins are coming up and the fruit trees have plenty of growing fruit on them.  It's going to be a busy summer/fall of preserving food!!  :-)

We had another 1/2 inch of rain, but it's getting dry again.  The rains keep going around us...I see some have cut hay/baled it already.  Fresh hay always smells so good! 

Jared called on Memorial Day, he was "bored".  But as always it's nice to hear from him.  Kyle has called a couple of times, but usually when he needs fuse/vehicle advice.  (ha)  Chandra and Tracy have been staying with her mom, so things have been quiet here.  They'll be back soon enough and Mr. Tracy will get into all kinds of things--but it's nice having them around.  :)

Here is Fillet and Daisy near the shed/milking area.  We take Fillet into the locker early next month....she's got to be pushing 1,000 pounds.  Daisy only weighs about 750....amazing what Jersey milk can do for a beef cow frame--fill it out quick and tasty!  ha

                                                                            Daisy

                                                                Fillet (and chicken) ha

All three cow photos were taken the same day.  I was trying to get a better photo of Daisy, but she wasn't being very obliging that day.
We have been getting plenty of eggs--so the neighbors are getting blessed with them as well!  I put the old bitty hen that isn't laying and got the nasty rooster into a chicken tractor by themselves.  Their destiny is the freezer, eventually on my plate! 
Two dozen eggs are getting incubated right now, a friend offered to 'hatch' them for me.  I thought the old bitty hen was going to set on eggs (I gave her three) but she only sat on them for one morning....so I told her that was her last chance to extend her freedom. 

I had an extra milk cow here for awhile, so was milking her twice a day.  Her owner had a family emergency and asked if I could milk Glenda, who had just freshened.  She was a dream to milk, and of course a Jersey baby is always cute to have around!  Daisy was jealous, because she had to wait her turn for the stanchion area.  Glenda and baby is back home, and Daisy is Queen again of her little world.  So all must be good!!  :)

Blooms, some rain and plenty of wind

The wonderful smell of Lilacs blooming makes working in the garden extra nice! :-)

 

 

We did manage to get a couple of quick rain showers, totaling to less than an inch.  We had a storm roll over us last night, but didn't get much rain, enough to settle the dust, but no mud came out of it.  (Meanwhile, north, south and east of us got downpours!)  We have a chance for some rain later tonight, so am hoping it materializes--but I won't hold my breath.  It's getting awful dry; we already are in a mild drought situation.  :(

 

Chandra and Tracy are back for a long visit, we are sooooo glad to see them!  After a bit of a fiasco with her vehicle, things got sorted out and she made it safely here.  All the relatives are elated to have them around, Tracy has grown much in the last three months!  He is such a happy little guy, and a big flirt!

 

Jared got his third care package, we sent a personalized Zippo lighter--he was nicely surprised!  He'd requested a Zippo, but didn't know we'd picked out a "Once a Vet, Always a Vet" lighter with personalized engraving on the back of it.  The jeweler mis-spelled a word, so gave us the same engraving on another lighter we'd looked at, for FREE.  I was in awe--I told him he'd have to wait to get back to receive that one.  :) 

I have another care package almost ready to send, I'm just glad he gets everything in a somewhat "timely" manner! 

 

Jared did call me at work the other morning, it was good to hear from him, although it was hard to wait on customers and talk to him at the same time.  Patrick (and Chandra) also got a call from him, so it made everyone's' day!

 

Kyle requested that his kitty got declawed, he and his GF found another apartment and he gets to keep his cat there, as long as she is spayed (already done) and declawed.  So I'm sure she's hating life right now since I took her in this morning.  I know she didn't like the cat carrier!

He has school until early June, his GF is almost done for the year.  He switched jobs, he's at Shopko now, it's a better working environment for him, and better pay.  We don't see him much at all, between Drills, work and school....he's a busy fellow!

 

Patrick and I got most of the garden in, and it's doing awesome!  I have to go pick up some straw, I plan on putting plenty of it down as a weed suppressor--we can just till it in and it'll provide nutrients for the soil as well.  I don't recommend using hay, because it has grass and weed seeds in it, and they inevitably end up sprouting, causing more issues!  (Lesson learned from years ago!) 

Like I told Pat, planting the stuff is the easy part; it's getting everything ready and planning on what goes where is the hardest part.  We've feasted on Asparagus already, it was a welcome treat!  I found out Daisy likes pumpkins, so I got a medium-sized sweeter kind that I can also can/use for Pumpkin Pies. 

 

The Strawberries are just now starting to bloom, and the Gooseberries have fruit on them.  Our fruit trees have bloomed nicely this year; and I picked up a Cherry tree; the pie (sour) kind.  Our sweet Cherry tree had some issues, so I cut the dead part off and it's rebounding nicely!  The Pear tree was loaded with blooms, and the Peach and Apple trees bloomed and two are still blooming--a first for these Apple trees.  I'm super-excited, as this will be a first crop off of any of our Apple trees.  Fruit and Nut trees are defiantly classified as "Slow Food", it may take them awhile to grow and produce, but once they do, they'll provide for years and years. 

It's also nice to have a bounty of food just out back in one's yard--food security with a little work and plenty of TLC. 

 

I have three Tomato plants that I'm putting in 5-gallon buckets (with holes in the bottom) for Pat's folks so they can have some fresh tomatoes without bending over much and no weeding fuss.  I'm quite sure my mother has already planted a couple of Tomato plants where they live; she always does along with a beautiful variety of flowers.  She has the proverbial 'green thumb' and I think she can make a stick grow!  I try, but she makes it all look soooo easy.....I guess some of us have to work harder on our "talents" than others!  :-)

 

Hopefully I can post a bit more oftener--the longer days and warmer weather is a great lure to spend more time outdoors than indoors this time of year.  That's not such a bad thing!!  :-)