Another week has slipped by…wait, another MONTH has slipped
by…and it’s JUNE!
Penny 2008 |
June is Dairy Month and it always makes me miss my Jersey
girls with their beautiful, big, brown eyes.
But, life moves on and things change.
However, my dairy farmer friends are still going strong, working hard to
put milk, butter, cheese and icecream on our tables…so THANK YOU to all those dairy farmers…
and
cows everywhere!
Back to the news of the hill.
It was a very productive week around here. It seems that the growing season has finally come
to stay, and it feels good to be back at the work of growing things. The “to-do”
list is growing incrementally…by the moment.
I keep seeing folks post lists of what they want to do this
summer…lists of fun stuff, places to go, craft projects, books to read and
such. My own list would be short and
sweet…and totally un-doable. I would
like to “stay caught up”. Since that will never happen, we’ll just do
the best we can and focus on the things we can accomplish. This week went a
long way to making me feel like we were making some progress. Although sometimes I feel a little like this ewe...
Don't worry...she's fine! Sheep are just slightly over-dramatic sometimes |
While Blondie got the ewes ready for summer, (the shearing went well... did you read this?) the Boss worked
to get the garden ready for tomato planting.
tilling |
putting up trellises for tomatoes |
Potatoes after cultivating and hilling |
…and look…baby corn!
We got the tomatoes planted, along with the second planting
of squash and the RE-re-planting of the cucumbers.
tomatoes planted, mulched and irrigated |
one bed of squash planted, mulched and irrigated |
Do you know what these are?
Okra seeds look like they have fingerprints |
This is a handful of okra seeds. The soil is finally warm enough to get them
planted. Here’s hopin’ for a better crop
than last year. We had so much rain last
year that the okra drowned. Quite literally.
Here’s a little more about okra. Read this.
The weather had gotten rather hot and dry and we found ourselves doing some serious praying for rain.
dry garden |
I always feel kind of torn praying for rain this
time of year. It really puts at odds
with all those farmers trying to get the hay crop cut, raked, tedded and baled
withOUT getting wet. ...and we need some hay! But, rain is so
much better than irrigating.
We missed the big rain…it went north…see the big
cloud?
After we sheared the ewes, we did the annual "flip-flop" of the flocks. This year’s changeover was done a little early.
The ewes do a better job of mowing than the lambs, and the big paddocks
out front needed some serious attention. Amazingly, all went smoothly and
everyone has adjusted to the changes.
ewes out front |
lambs on the back hill |
I guess this is "blackberry winter" |
We did get a good shower on Thursday and we spent
Friday feeling like we were inside a cloud.
Our hilltop location makes for some unique weather to say the least, as the surrounding area had a rather nice day.
By sunset, the fog and clouds were moving on
out.
the farm at sunset |
…and Saturday’s Market weather was beautiful.
checkin' out the hayfields on the way home |
It looks like this week will be another busy one. We’ll be hauling lambs, fighting bugs and
doing the usual picking and planting routine.
…and it looks like mowing will be an ongoing battle, too.
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a Happy
Sunday!
…and come back and visit us again real soon.
That third picture down of the sheep on its side? That was my week. It started with a serious issue in my family and ended today with Ray losing his cell phone. Fortunately, God is gracious. My sister-in-law is getting a little better, and some kind soul turned his cell phone in to the lost & found at Walmart. My migraine wannabe seems to be abating. Josephine is recovering from her bout with the vacuum cleaner this morning. Stoned on 'nip, sleeping it off in the window.
ReplyDeleteI do this six word Friday thing where you have to write about a prompt word in lines of six. You might find the one I did last Friday funny. Hope your week is full of blessings!
Oh dear! That sounds dreadful. Maybe the upcoming week will be better. Hoping family issues improve and as well as your sister-in-law.
DeleteI must confess to stalking your blog. I read your latest Friday post and laughed out loud. However, a coherent comment eluded me, sorry.
Here's to a new week!
Stalk on!
DeleteWhat a busy, productive week Barbara. Hope the growing season progresses well. That photo of the sheep really made us laugh.
ReplyDeleteRe: Little Women quote. Why, Barbara. Vacation is easy. Just sit down on the porch on June 1st and don't get up until September 1st. Easy PEASY! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWHAT? Never heard of such a thing.
DeleteWonder if I dare try? ROFL
I love seeing all of these pictures and hearing about the latest from your farm! What zone do you grow from? I was surprised to read that you'll be harvesting potatoes less than a month after planting them. I'm always interested in seeing how different gardening zones work :)
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin!
DeleteThanks for taking the time to comment.
I must not have been clear, the potatoes were planted around April 1st. They were "hilled" this past week to help the tubers develop. Ordinarily, it takes about 60 days for potatoes to mature, but this year it's running a little late because it was SO cold.
We are zone 6 on the USDA hardiness map.