Sunday Walkabout 9-8

For anyone who may have been wondering...the Boss did indeed make it out of the hoophouses alive!

Labor Day found us facing the daunting task of taming and re-planting  in preparation for fall and winter crops. To say it was a big mess would have been a BIG understatement.

He tilled.

He weeded.

He hauled.

…and then he battled weeds with the bush hog.  

…and mowed the corn, potato and squash patches so they can be plowed and set to rest for winter.

Meanwhile, I checked crops,

fall greens

MORE beans

Battled bugs,

looper caterpillar

harlequin beetle

And planted nearly all the tiny seedlings in the hoophouses.

Then, I started some more in the greenhouse.

…and that was Monday…

Then…

Groundhog damage was discovered and a quick fortification project followed.

this is why I HATE groundhogs!

The last of the Yukon gold potatoes were harvested from out back.

There were enough grapes to take to Market…and make some juice for Winter time.

The fall broccoli survived the caterpillar attack and should be ready for Market in a couple weeks.

Tess is getting a little more adventuresome in her "controlled outdoor explorations".  

Tess and Ellie haven't decided if they are friends...

We even had time to enjoy the views, views, views...

cows across the way in the early morning light

morning in Mbrook

choretime on the hill

grazing in September

September sunset

This week will include a lot of garden clean-up, more planting and harvesting…and a trip to get the new puppy! (I can’t wait)

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week!

Happy Sunday!

Our Yard Sale "Kitteh"

on our way to the vet

Tess celebrated her two month anniversary with us by going to the vet. (poor thing) But, in all that time, I hadn't told you how we came to have our newest little kitty.

After Miss Kitty passed,, I really wanted another friendly little cat to accompany me on my chores, to sit on my lap on the porch, and to snuggle on the couch on winter evenings.  …oh, yeah and hunt mice…But the thought of searching for a replacement put me off time and time again.  Maybe a kitten would just show up!  That’s how Squeekie came to live on the farm…but, what were the chances of that happening again?

The seemingly endless supply of free kittens in Craiglist and the Bulletin Board had apparently dried up.  Weeks turned into months with no kittens in sight.  Blondie had a friend with some kittens, but for one reason or another, that didn’t work out. At some point, I bought little bowls and a bag of kitten chow, but still had no prospects.

On the fourth of July, my phone rang.  “Hey, Mama…you still want a cat?”

Toughchick was at a huge yardsale in another town and someone was giving away kittens.  “you want this little orange female?  I can bring her by this afternoon.”

Something made me say yes. 

So, later that day, in the pouring rain, Tess arrived wrapped in a towel. She was so tiny!

She fit in my hand…which is where she felt most comfortable…so, I held her. She sat in my lap while I worked on the computer and slept on my chest all night long as she adapted to a new life here on the hill. I didn’t get much done those first couple of days.

It became obvious that this tiny kitten had fleas.  Oh..no…fleas?  I had held her all night on the couch…I began to feel itchy. The vet was booked until the following week, so I was on my own.  What should I do for a kitten with fleas?   I had to do something…just thinking about it was making the itching worse. A bath!  Now, that would be fun.

I don't think she liked me much after this

After the bath experience, she would only hang out with the Boss

Apparently, we did the right thing, because the vet praised my pro-active approach when we did get to the office for her first check-up and shots.  The fleas could have thwarted her growth or caused illness and possibly death in a kitten so small. She did have some residual skin issues from the infestation. That's why her little nose looks raw.

The vet needed a little history of the kitten. Did I know her age?  How had she been raised up to now? I couldn’t tell her anything other than “her mom was Siamese and her dad was some big orange tom.”  The vet tried another tack...”where did you get her?”

“Well, you see….my daughter was at this yardsale….”

A yardsale?  You got a kitten at a yardsale?  (gee, that didn’t seem that unusual to me…I thought you could get everything at yardsales)

The news of the yardsale kitty went around the office.  Suddenly, Tess was a tiny celebrity as all the techs oohed and aahed over her.

Since that first vet visit, she has more than doubled in size, claimed the couch for her own, and been introduced to the larger “pets” on the farm.  Upon introduction to Ellie Mae, she bopped Ellie in the nose and Ellie is still not too sure about the wiggly little creature with the enormous ears.  The other cats were not impressed, but, as long as Tess stays out of their food…things should be okay.

TLW glamour shot

At some point, she’ll head outside on her own to test out the theory that big ears make a good mouser.  Until then, she seems content to sit quietly on our…no, wait…HER couch…turning into the Mbrook stealth ninja from time to time to attack bare feet  for sport.

don't let that sleepy face fool you...

those claws can be lethal!

But, she’s cute and cuddly and it seems like she’ll be a good fit here on the hill.

My office helper.
ANY time the printer operates, Tess comes running to investigate

Today, I am thankful for our little yardsale “kitteh!

Sunday Walkabout 9-1

I hate that we let the thistles go...
but, the goldfinches are enjoying them

Happy September!  How is that possible?  It seems like summer never really got going…and now it’s Labor Day.  Guess we must have been really having fun, because time sure is flying by.

This week seemed especially productive.  Or, maybe I just want to remember it that way because I plan on taking full advantage of today being our “day of rest”. I might just take a nap…after all my “Sunday” chores…I'm beat.

On Monday, we got one big job out of the way. Before I left for my weekly town run, the Boss and I pulled all the sweet corn that remained in the corn patch so we could put it up for winter.  While I was running all over town buying supplies, making the bank deposit and checking vegetable prices…he was shucking corn. Lotsa corn.

Less than eight hours from the time he first walked into the corn patch, all the corn was shucked and cleaned and blanched and cut and packed…and tucked into the freezer for Winter.  There will be corn for us and our customers.  Lotsa corn.

blanching corn

cutting corn

CORN!
This is SO delicious! (just like this...)

in the freezer

Isn't that purty?

The tomato crop finally ripened…however, it seemed like everyone must have had tomatoes at last week’s market, so we had quite a few left over.  No worries.  Those were worked up and joined the corn in the freezer.  There will be tomatoes for winter use, too!  (among other things)The only problem is now we’re running out of freezer space. That’s a good problem to have.

Broiler processing was supposed to be one of the jobs we completed last week.  But, the weather is messing with our plans…again.  It has been so dark that the broilers weren’t eating enough to grow at their usual rate. You know the saying “go to bed with the chickens”?  Chickens really are affected by the amount of daylight…it will curtail growth and/or egg production.   Lately, it seems that every day begins in a foggy, mist-shrouded gloom that doesn’t burn off until nearly lunchtime.  It’s kind of depressing. 

 But it does make for good photo ops! 

We let this batch of broilers go an extra week just to get some growth on them.  The Boss also installed a little solar-powered light that kept them eating a little more regularly.

This is what the broiler pen looks like at 5:30am with the new light

With that bunch in the pen, the batch in the brooder couldn’t move out….and since the batch in the brooder had to stay in the brooder…we ended up with chicks in a big hopper in the greenhouse for a week.  That got fairly disgusting, but all the broilers are where they belong now.

  One batch in the freezer, one batch in the field pen and one batch in the brooder.  Hopefully we won’t have such a back-up again….there’s just one more batch for the year…they’ll be here in a couple weeks.

the Boss does the killing, scalding and plucking

The weather threw us another curve when we went to process the broilers…it poured!  As in…IT POURED!  All day long IT POURED!  Processing broilers is not the most pleasant of jobs…you know…blood and guts and stuff…but, the rain made a huge, sloppy mess out what is generally a “controlled” situation.  But, we got through it with no mishaps other than the discovery of a very big hole in my rubber chore boots. Oh well, all’s well that ends well.

I'm in charge of evisceration and quality control

Somewhere in there we got in a trip to the dump, a trip to Lowe’s and the completion of a Market-related project. Oh, and mowing...the endless mowing...and seed starting...and a couple orders of farm supplies...

looking for the "food lady"

 The lambs are enjoying the lush, green grass of a new paddock. Wait…lush, green…?  Did I just say that in August?  That is so weird.  Usually this time of year we’re gazing out over fields that are looking brown and somewhat crispy.  Not so this year!

For anyone wondering about Tess…here’s the Boss’ latest glamour shot… 

She’s growing into a nice little cat (if you overlook the stealth attacks and the biting…I think she’s in the “terrible twos”) But, her ears are STILL growing!  I’m pretty sure she’ll be able to hear any mouse, anywhere, anytime.

It's an amazing pepper year!

We had another gorgeous Market day…I do hope you will visit the Market…even if it’s only virtually.  The Boss posts some great shots each week on the Staunton/Augusta Farmers’ Market page. Check out this week's pics!

Despite the fact that tomorrow is a “holiday”…we will be observing Labor Day by laboring in the hoophouses.  I’ve got hundreds of little seedlings to get planted. 

…and I’m not at all proud of this next shot…but, the Boss has promised to spend his day taming the jungle that is presently hoophouse #1.

Yes...there are crops in there...somewhere...

  I do hope he makes it out alive!  I'll keep you posted.

Chocolate Zucchini Roll-up Cake

In other news...I may have discovered/developed the perfect summer dessert.  It's Chocolate-Zucchini Roll-up Cake.  It's quick, easy, uses ZUCCHINI and it's low fat!  Oh, and did I mention it's chocolate? I'll be glad to post the recipe if anyone is interested.

Thanks for stopping by.  I do hope you’ll come again.

Happy Sunday!