Not Everyone Can Sweep Their Garden Clean...

...but I can!  It's covered with black plastic.

Our Saturday helper and I pulled out all the tomato vines that covered the plastic yesterday.  He shook the vines to collect all the little yellow and big green tomatoes.  Once the vines were smushed into our little cart and dumped, I used a broom to sweep the tomatoes into piles and he shoveled them into five gallon buckets.

We took a bucket to the chicken house, where they were almost immediately devoured.  We also picked up buckets of freshly mowed grass from the lawns.  Chickens like fresh grass, too.  It's good for them and it supplements their grain-based feed.

I've got buckets of tomatoes to dole out for next week.  Planting tomatoes late worked out well this year, as I did not have the drought problems that others had with tomatoes.  There is still a lot of chard left growing.  If we don't have more hard frost for a couple of weeks, the chickens will get buckets of chard, too.

Rain

When I heard the rain beating down on the roof in the middle of the night, it was with a profound sense of relief. The land will heal now. Grass will grow again and the cattle will have something to eat besides precious hay bales meant for the dead of winter. The springs and wells will replenish themselves and the constant worry over water for the animals can recede somewhat.

I'm still recovering from several hours at the Farmers' Market, where I prepared apples for baking on the grill and oversaw making "apple piggies." It was much hotter than I anticipated and it really caught up with me by 2 p.m.

In the meantime, back on the farm, husband managed to get the square baler fixed and his Saturday helper helped him get the bales on the trailer and into the barn for stacking. Our new set-up, where hay elevators are now under roofing and placed in openings into the lofts is working well. The helper then stacked the hay neatly in the loft. We have more hay to cut if there is a dry spell later on in October.

Today, supposedly the temperature will plunge into the sixties and we'll have more seasonal weather all of a sudden.

Last week, it rained hard for less than ten minutes. I got soaked and so did the entire goat herd. We were pretty happy for the seven or eight minutes despite our sogginess.

Now, we're looking for days of rain. Hurrah!

First Day of Fall

'Uneventful. Hot, humid, with a chance of rain that won't materialize. All is dry. The trees have started to change color.

The pond in the pasture, which had overflowed its banks and taken over a lot of the field in the Spring is now nearly a mudhole. When I let the geese out of their night shelter, I noticed something moving in the middle of the pond. Looking closer, it was a giant snapping turtle with smaller ones on its back. Turtle Island?

September

The goldenrod is blooming. Blue morning glory is climbing over fences and old trees. Cooler temperatures make it a little more pleasant working outdoors, although we're still flirting with 90 degrees for highs this week. The drought has done some damage to fruit trees and garden plants, although some things seem to have loved the hot dry weather: yellow pear tomatoes and the dreaded stickweed.

Each morning, I'm cutting down the stickweed that has invaded the berry and asparagus beds. I'm hoping that by not allowing it to go to seed, I'll get it under control. But the tough, firmly planted roots tell me otherwise. I may need to establish new beds elsewhere.

We're making hay this week. I'll rake later this morning and hopefully we'll make square bales.

Winemaking continues. I've now got five carboys bubbling along in the basement. All the white peaches are processed and the yellow tomatoes are next.

I peeled and sliced some of the apples I picked yesterday morning. We had "fried apples" for dinner, which were delicious.

This year's giant magnus opus hornet nest is on the end of the greenhouse. Luckily, I noticed it just before leaning the ladder on it to pick apples. Tragedy averted.

The chickens are getting all the peels and pulp plus some damaged chard and the Cherokee Purple tomatoes which are bug infested. We're still picking enough undamaged tomatoes to have nice sandwiches and salads -- storing up the Vitamin C for the coming winter.

June is Also Cherry Month

'Got a chance to pick some tart cherries yesterday.  A neighbor invited me to help myself.  If I get a chance I'll pick some more today, as the window of opportunity closes quickly on ripe cherries.  I'll need to get them pitted and either frozen or preserved before they get moldy or rotten.

I don't want to jinx the deal, but I think I found the breach in the goat fencing last Sunday.  It was behind the greenhouse, so hidden from human view, although, evidently, not from goat view.  Crossing my fingers  -- no visiting goats on the lawn checking out the developing peaches and pears for the past week.

A mysterious bag of summer squashes showed up on the kitchen counter yesterday.  Hmm... wonder where that came from?

Yesterday, I pulled some beets, boiled and skinned them, made a harvard sauce and froze a container for our winter enjoyment.  There is much chard to be cooked and frozen.  That will be a task for later in the day.

I made lavender and thyme salve yesterday.  It promises to be a useful concoction.

So, now to go down to sort goats in the barn for an early morning customer before the heat builds and the day becomes sticky.

June is Berry Month

The little band of renegade goats was at it again yesterday afternoon.  They have found a way to get out of the fenced pastures and up on our lawn to browse on developing fruit.  It's probably nearly irresistable for them.

Chasing them on foot is fruitless (forgive the pun.)  I must run down and get my motorized Mule and vroomvroom them.  They know exactly where to go.  They wait in front of the back gate and I unlatch it and let them through, lecturing in a stern voice about "bad goats" and how they have plenty to eat in the legal fields.

At least I learned that the red raspberries are ready to pick, as are a few of the black raspberries and gooseberries.  Boy, it was just the 5th of June, which, after all, is Berry Month, and already berries are ripening.  These guys go on schedule.

The hayfield is mowed, raked and baled, so I'll be driving up to the areas where black raspberries grow to gather some.  My husband is already out gathering the round bales to get them under cover before the next rain comes. 

It's hot and humid and I dread having to walk the fence line to find the breach that allows bad behavior to thrive.  But, let's face it:  this is a priority and if I can thwart the behavior there are peaches in our future.

End of May -- Rain Roulette

It seems it's always like this for the first hay cutting.  The threat of rain looms and area farmers are consulting crystal balls to decide when to cut.  You don't want hay laying on the ground in wet weather if you can avoid it, because it will rot or mold.  It needs to be dry before baling or you risk poisoning your livestock or burning down your barn.

What to do?  What to do?  I guess you "bite the bullet", make a decision and keep your fingers crossed.

We're now into the weather in which you slather on some sunblock and spritz on some mosquito repellent before venturing out to do the morning chores.

The humidity is sometimes notable and we've been all the way up to 90 degrees recently, although sometimes 80 seems like the new 90 in terms of humidity.  It's muggy and buggy.

On the bright side:  plants in the vegetable garden have experienced a growth spurt in the heat.  There are already baby cucumbers forming.  Chard is big and beautiful.  Fennel has self seeded and already formed nice hands.  Bees are in the borage; snow peas will be part of today's dinner; beans are climbing right up to the sky.

Geese set on massive nests in both flocks.  In the chicken house, a goose is minding lots of guinea eggs laid in a ground nest along with goose eggs.  It's unlikely anything will come of it - but if it does, I'll let you know.

Foggy

Fog covers our hilltop this morning.  It's been raining off and on for a couple of days and will continue the pattern for at least a couple more.  Wonderful.  It is greatly needed to make things grow.

I'm surprised that my last post was so long ago.  Most of the iris is finished blooming already.  Peonies are in full glorious bloom.  The fruit on the trees is visible from a distance.  It's looking good for pears and peaches.  There are even some apricots and lots of plums.  Apples abound.  The raspberries are forming, blossoms done.  Multiflora roses exude that lovely rosy smell.

We tinker with the trimmer and I am slowly managing to trim around the fruit trees.  I'm hoping it will manage to stay together until I can get it down the hill and neaten up the area around the old house.

Yesterday, I spent about an hour weeding the vegetable garden.  Lettuces are coming up.  Chard and kale are big enough to harvest.

Iris Time

How quickly plants develop in the Spring!  Iris is about to burst into bloom, as are peonies.  The lilac bushes are fragrant.  Sweet William now makes its appearance and adds to the purple-pinks -- the first blooms of the season.

Grass needs to be mowed again and the light rain will help it grow.  Of course, that means hayfields, too, thankfully.

Life is busy, busy.  I'm losing the race against time and will soon accept that I cannot keep up with the pace of Mother Nature.  So, I do what I can do and try to be philosophical about it.

Asparagus Time

It's hard to believe, but I picked the first asparagus on Saturday and took them to the market.  Many more are coming up each day.

I pulled the turnips and harvested their tops, as well as kale. 

Eggs are abundant.  That is an understatement.  I'll need to make time to bake eggy poundcakes for the market tomorrow or Friday.  The geese are especially productive and those are the best eggs for baking.

The peas, greens, and even beans and cucumbers are up in the garden.  Some of the beans planted themselves, so there will be a good variety in addition to the new varieties I planted.  Shallots and garlic are looking good.

In the greenhouse, tomatoes, peppers, and cabbages abound.  It's time to start ferrying the overwintered plants up to the porches and courtyard.

Other tasks are taking up my time.  Today, I'll try to finish painting the baseboard in a bedroom in the old farmhouse so that we can move the furniture back in to prepare for visitors.  I painted the floor last week and paid for it in terms of muscle pain -- but it's done!

The roof that fell in on the shop ell is being rebuilt.  Hopefully it will be enclosed before the rains come again.  I'm looking forward to reclaiming the space.

Life Goes On

The mud has dried up and the driveway's been evened out.  I am (potentially) free to drive away in to the wild blue yonder.

All the baby goats, except for the last set of triplets and mother, are out enjoying the sunshine.  A big cedar bough that broke off during one of the ice storms was dragged out to the pasture and a large group is enjoying it.  I'll go up into the cedars later with my lopers and hack off limbs from trees that are too crowded.  Won't they be pleased to find some limbs down where they can get to them!  All the cedars and pines on the hill have been neatly trimmed by goats into lollipop shapes because they eat everything they can reach standing up on their tippy toes.  Only the topmost greenery survives.  Actually, they are providing a good service where the pines are concerned, because they will grow straight and tall if the under branches are kept trimmed -- and they are!

There are two new black calves born in the last couple of days.  The cows are lounging in the sunshine.

Roosters are acting amorous -- if you want to call it that -- eggs are getting more plentiful.  I've shoveled out a couple of coops and am mobilized to dump pine shavings in the cleaned coops and nest boxes.

There are turnips and some chard and kale growing in the garden.  The snow cover must have helped.  Seeds are ordered.  The pruning has begun.  We're getting a preview of Spring, and life goes on.

End of January Update

Incredibly long, hard days spent mostly in the barns are how I spent January this year.  It's not over.  I'll be spending much of February the same way.

We have 46 live newborn goats as of yesterday.  They are tucked in with their mothers everywhere we can devise.  All mother goats need feed, hay, and water twice daily.  Babies need a chance to exercise and learn their baby goat dances.  We have three little kids who require bottle feeding three times a day.  Two were abandoned by their mothers, most likely because of harsh weather conditions. 

One was bottle fed "temporarily" while here mother was being treated for massive engorgement.  When the mother goat's udder and teats are painful, the babies cannot nurse successfully.  Once the engorgement was resolved, one of the twins re-learned nursing from her mother.  The other refuses and yells for a bottle.

Mother goat does not want her baby to drink from a baby bottle.  She chews at the bottle and tries to nudge the kid off it.  I'd like to get the kid to revert to Mom, too.  The danger is that the baby will decline and literally die of starvation -- they can be that stubborn.  So, for now, I milk Mamma goat and put her milk in a bottle to feed her little Sarah Burnheart.  We'll resolve it when the kid is old enough to be eating hay and grain and there is more leeway.

This year, weather is a huge factor.  I don't remember a colder Winter since we moved to Virginia.  On some days it has been so frigid that kids froze to death as they were born.  This, even though we've provided shelter inside, out of the wind.  It is heartbreaking.

Yesterday, we had a foot and a half of snow dumped on us, which really impacted on the ability to travel to and from the barns.  Thankfully, it was on a weekend and my husband has been driving me up and down and helping tremendously.

There is a lot of barn clean-up that is being done as energy and time allow.  Last week, little Hillery people and their Mom materialized to do a multi-hour clean-up, with vigor.  For that, I am truly thankful.

The Sun Stood Still

Today is Winter Solstice and the first day of Winter. It is the shortest day of the year, but tomorrow the day will be a little longer. We are now traveling toward the longest day, June 21st.

Hope is restored as we come out of the dark tunnel. Burn a yule log, celebrate Saturnalia, Christmas, or Hanukkah!

We got about two feet of snow over the weekend. This is unusual or "historical" as reported by the media, for this area in December. It was hard going through the snow to get to the chickens and goats.

The first thing I did was to pour four jugs of warm water into the heated buckets in the goat barn. It was gone within five minutes and only a few goats got a drink. I started to collect snow in a bucket to refill the heated bucket. Little lightbulbs appeared over the heads of the goats, as they realized that they could eat snow to quench their thirst.

Some would only eat snow out of buckets. The higher IQ goats made the connection and began to eat the new snow off the ground. They were VERY thirsty and ate snow for a long time.

December

As I sat down to the computer this morning, it was still dark. The silvery dime of a moon appeared in the upper right side of the window by my desk. Because the dark clouds were being chased away by morning winds, it looked like the moon was falling to the earth.

Of course, it was no such thing. Now that it's light, I see that the moon has maintained its position, although newly formed dark clouds periodically rise to cover it.

The landscape is decidedly December: brown trees and dark grey clouds overlaying a light grey sky.

It's coolish, but not terribly frigid. Yesterday it rained all day, today may be dry.

There is still much work to do inside and outside. I'm on a mission to clip all goat hooves and give booster shots and vitamins. I'm also repairing and washing goat collars, cleaning and sorting spaces and still working on that long job list. I'd better get to it.

First Week of November

'Taking stock:

We thoroughly pressure washed the maternity barn last weekend. It has a concrete floor which hadn't been washed in a couple of years. It's been swept many, many times, so it was surprising how much dirt came up.

It's stocked with bales of pine shavings and hay, clean old bath towels for catching and cleaning off newborns, vet meds in the refrigerator, and new packs of paper baby collars to keep track of when they are born and who their mothers are are in the cabinets along with a sharpie marker.

Mr. Buck Man has gone back home, so our big barn smells okay now.

Most of the red hot peppers have been dried, frozen, made into apricot/jalapeno jam, or given away to friends. One basket remains on the counter. There are still some hot peppers in the garden, but I'm ignoring them.

The chickens have been feasting on the last of the bell peppers and green squash.

It's getting down in the 30s at night and a coyote pack is howling and roaming at 4 a.m. each morning.

We sold off most of the bull calves on Monday. There are probably a couple of small babies, but they need to stay with their cow mamas. I sold one little one and had to listen to Dinky mourning all Monday night and part of Tuesday. I could hear her even with the windows closed.
She's calmed down now, but I'll never do it again. (I promise, Dinky.)

I hope her little fella is doing all right on his new farm. He went to friends.

I've done a lot of cleaning and sorting in the house. This is the time to do it -- before kidding season.

All the brown, limp squash and tomato vines are pulled out of the garden. There is still chard, kale, lettuce, beets, and turnips growing.

The propane tanks attached to the greenhouse are filled, but I'll try not to use propane until it is very cold.

The very long list on the white board has two major items crossed off. Ten more to go.

Last Week in October

The Fall colors are at their height now and this morning's 42 degrees feels crisp.

We've had some colder days and some hotter days and a little rain and wind in the last two.

On the farm, clean-up continues in the barns, the chicken house, and around the yards. The lawns are mowed for the last time this season. All the hay has been baled and put under cover. I'm feeding whatever freeze damaged vegetables are in the garden to the chickens.

In the houses, I am cleaning and sorting, too. The freezers are full enough to get us through without having to do a lot of driving in ice and snow this winter. After more than ten years since the last move, I've finally gotten down to the last parts for furniture, like teak book shelves and a corner computer desk which have been leaning up against a wall in the basement. Once these find their places and are put together, I'll be able to do a thorough cleaning and re-organization of the basement. Gee, it feels like I've just completed a giant jigsaw puzzle.

I had the propane tanks for the greenhouse filled to provide emergency heat if it gets too cold for the small electric heaters to keep the temperature above freezing. All the potted plants are tucked in, but there remains clean-up and organization for those days when it's raining or too cold to want to work outdoors.

We also maintain a little propane at the house in case the electricity goes out. For now, electric is cheaper than propane. I finally caught on last year, when we did not need to use propane at all, that the company was routinely charging us for delivery of propane, even when the tank was full. I don't know how many hundreds of dollars -- probably more than a thousand -- were charged for propane not delivered. Although I made a complaint to the Department that regulates utilities in Virginia, nothing could be done because the Propane Industry is unregulated in the State of Virginia!

As you can probably tell, that still burns me up.

At the time I had finally caught on (I'm slow, evidently, and too trusting) there was a series of articles in the Roanoke Times about similar problems that others were having. I think the State Legislature should be doing something about regulation, but am not aware if they are. So, for now I'm monitoring the gauges on the tanks which show only the percentage left inside. There is no system of reporting usage other than the initial ticket saying how many gallons they delivered. You must more or less know the capacity of the tanks and try to extrapolate from there.

So, I'm trying.

Ta ta.

September

We have come to the season of beautiful sunsets and sunrises. I seem to be up to see both each day. They are changeable and beautiful, giving my brain the message to step back and just look and appreciate.

The temperatures have cooled down. We've had cloudy skies for days, but no rain on our farm.

I'm picking mixed salad greens, hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes, a very few summer squashes and amazing winter squashes. A brave watermelon plant decided to begin growing a couple of weeks ago and there are actually watermelons on the vine. The fig tree has recovered from a late frost and little green figs hang on the branches. Will these fruits make it before the first frost? Stay tuned.

There's been a little time to begin cutting down the gigantic weedy poke and brambles that have invaded the lawn areas. The goats have finished their breeding season, as far as I can see. It's time for Mr. Buckman to go back home.

I've already started cleaning out the Maternity Barn and stocking it with hay and pine shavings for the kidding season in the winter. There are ambitious plans for cleaning out all barns and outbuildings before winter. Will we make it? Stay tuned.

There's actually a long list of "to do" jobs on the white board. We'll just chug along and do what we can. That's what September brings.

Caniculares Dies

The dog days are here. We've had a pretty good summer, with abundant rain and relatively low temperatures, but right now it feels like it's blazing hot during the day. It's not conducive to heavy physical labor. The sun is coming up later in the morning and I think I'm seeing Sirius* before dawn.

Some of the cows have gone camping under the large shady trees. They only come up for a drink of water when necessary. There is an army of little calves. They saunter up with their mothers and look at me over their shoulders as they leave.

Still, I have Late Summer Cleaning Syndrome. I guess not everyone gets it. It is a reaction to the things that had to be ignored during the intensive gardening and harvesting/processing of the summer. Now, I'm determined to catch up and the heat is an excuse to work inside the house during the day.

Early, I'll go out and attend to the animals and vegetables and fruit. Yesterday morning, I cleaned out three chicken coops without ever intending to do it. As soon as it cools off a little, I'll get into the flower beds and do some serious weeding.

There are still berries to pick. I've picked and processed the peaches and pears. One tree is full of small white apricots or peaches. I'm not sure which. But they are still hard and unripe. Red raspberries and a few asparagus are coming again.

Zucchini are still producing, as are pole beans. Winter squash are coming on bigtime. Tomatoes are starting to ripen and peppers have just begun to get red. I pulled out the bush beans and fed the plants to the chickens. Beautiful lettuces and other greens are up and looking like they'll provide for nice salads in the month to come. Beets will need pulling.

The drunken July bugs were much decreased this year and only bombed the roof once for a few hours. I find one or two in the blackberries. Large flocks of birds are resident. I don't remember seeing them in the past few summers, so I wonder if there's a connection.

Today, I'll try to get organized with herb collection and processing. 'Time I got started.

*The Dog Star

The Pumpkins Have Wanderlust

This is a picture of the infamous plastic garden on August 1st. As you can see, the Seminole squash is trying to escape. As of today, three days later, there are a couple of vines which have made it all the way into the driveway and some trying to get over the fence on the side of the bed.

For those skeptics out there who saw the garden in early Spring, you can also see that stuff actually grew! It was looking a little sparse, as I left room for the inevitable expansion of squash plants.

The cucumbers and beans have been producing prodigious amounts. Baskets, bags, and buckets of produce is going out into the kitchen every day to be rinsed and refrigerated. Peppers are on the plants, as are tomatoes. Beets are being pulled weekly. Some Seminole winter squashes are ready to be harvested. I'll take a few to market on Saturday.

I'm still picking wild blackberries. The thornless are also getting ripe. Red raspberries have re-appeared. A big crate of peaches is on the counter in the kitchen waiting for processing and wine is bubbling in the basement. I've threatened to make cucumber wine, but so far have only made jars and jars of bread & butter pickles.

For some reason, I'm having good luck with summer squashes this year. I think its the weather and the rain.

So, if you don't hear from me for several weeks at a time, at least you know I'm too busy to get into much trouble.

Ta ta.

Harvesting

This has got to be a quick post. There is much work to do during this time of year and not enough hours in the long days to do it in.

Blackberries are producing so I pick early in the morning every other day, picking enough so that I can continue the winemaking on a daily basis. On alternate days, I pick beans, cucumbers, and squash and wash and package them for marketing. Tomatoes and peppers have begun to develop on the plants, as well as winter squashes. I harvested mini blue hubbard squashes already and fed the vines to the chickens.

Of course, the animal chores must be done daily and herbs picked and dried, some attempt at yardwork and maintenance, eggs need to be gathered -- and a little baking for market -- pickling and preserving -- keep the house(s) fairly neat -- buy supplies occasionally -- well, you see how it is. 'Not much time to chat, much less sleep.

But that's the way the seasons go, and Winter will make up for Summer's hustle bustle. I am thankful that we are getting some rain this Summer and that the temperatures are not as high as last year.