Sunday, July 31, 2016

Sunday Walkabout 7-31

TOMATOES!
There are finally tomatoes!
As another week slides into obscure history, I am left wondering…

Where did the time go?

And WHAT did I accomplish?
I did inadvertently trap a 'possum
in my quest to catch the enormous groundhog at the barn


Because, while I distinctly remember working hard enough to get really hot and really sweaty…there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to show for it.

the full veggie stand at the beginning of the day
But, then, that could be because we sold most of the fruits of our labors at Saturday’s crazy-busy Farmers’ Market.  That’s the story I’m going with. Otherwise, I really don’t have much to show for the 168 hours of the past week.
that's all that we left behind...

as we headed home...



One of my favorite guys came to visit us at the Market
(this time last year we were still waiting to meet him)


steamy morning
The hot and humid weather continued, without much relief in the way of rain. It’s frustrating to watch the storms pop up on the horizon and fizzle out before they get here. It’s discouraging to be able to smell the fresh dampness of rain in the breeze and have it pass on by. But, we did get a couple little showers and the moisture didn’t come with damaging floods and power outages like it did other places…so we will be grateful for that!  
another storm passed us by
but, there's a faint rainbow!


I’d like to see the change in the weather that the forecasters talked about. We really need to get rid of some old ewes, but it doesn’t seem prudent to take them to the stockyard when it’s hot as blazes. And, we need to get the fall brassica crop in the ground, but there’s no sense in doing that while it’s hot, either.  And, we were beginning to think that the heat was affecting egg production…

Egg numbers have been dwindling and it was time to resolve that issue, because we were pretty sure there was more to it than hot weather and slightly shortened days. There was more than a little evidence that someone was eating the profits. There are few things more irritating to me than an egg-eating hen.

Hens are fairly disgusting. (sorry poultry lovers…but, it’s the truth) They will eat anything. And, I mean anything. They have been known to eat each other. Some of them particularly like eggs. This is why we use nest boxes where the eggs roll out from under the hen and into a little tray where the hens (theoretically) can’t reach.

working on the henhouse
But, it’s been nearly five years since the Boss re-furbished an old horse trailer and made it into a super-duper henhouse (read about it HERE)  and we were probably past due for a little maintenance. Those “roll-out” nest boxes that were so revolutionary years ago had begun to bend and break and we were in serious need of new ones.

In shopping for those, he discovered a whole new unit that may just be a better solution all around.

So, an order was placed and a little assembly work done.


installing the new nestbox unit

1st hen to try it out


And, we will see if this solves the problem. If so, I will have material for a new blog post.

If not, I’m guessing we’ll be taking some hens on a “field-trip” to the zoo. (one way, of course) Did you read  this one?

In other farm news, it’s almost “Happy Ram” day here on the hill.
anticipating things to come


I love a new box of crayons!

























Around August 1, we turn the ram in with the ewes in hopes of producing the lambchop crop for the following season. A fresh box of ram markers arrived the other day, so we’re just waiting for the proper time. I’m pretty sure Angus can sense that the time is getting closer…he’s been a lot more vocal lately. He is also rather “odoriferous” and grumpy.







I think it’s safe to say that we’re all looking forward to the upcoming week!

Here’s hoping for a change in the weather…there’s LOTS to do. 

there are about 1,000 fall brassicas in the greenhouse
We need to move sheep, haul ewes, plant the fall brassica crop, and pick up that batch of lambs we took to the processor’s…just to name a few things. And, I still haven't gotten the pickles done or frozen any peaches...
I did have a cute little helper on Friday afternoon---
won't be long until he can do chores by himself!

Guess I better get crackin’.

Hope you’re having a

Happy Sunday! 

Good morning!

 Thanks for stopping by. Come “visit” again real soon.



Did you want to see what you missed at the Farmers' Market?  Here is the link to the Boss' shots for the week. 

2 comments:

  1. I went back and read about the horse trailer being made into a chicken coop. An automatic door closer is genius. When we kept hens, sometimes it was a pain to go out at night when you realized you hadn't closed the chickens up. When the kids were little, sometimes we would send them out at night together on an "adventure" to close up the chickens. Tomatoes here are still green. Can't wait for red ones like yours. -Jenn

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    1. Our kids had the same job! There are lots of "adventures" on the farm when you're a kiddo. lol
      Here's hopin' the 'maters get ripe soon for y'all. ;) Tomato sandwiches...now THAT is summertime!

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