Home Again

We got back last week, Wednesday night, and itès been busy, busy, busy since.

Picking beans, cutting beans, blanching beans... About 9 gallons so far. My back aches. My legs ache. My thumb aches. Why do I love beans? We'll be well fed and organic this winter!

My hugelkultur bean bed is an overgrown tangled mess of beans. The dry beans in the centre are still flowering, which means I can't let any of the green beans go to seed yet.

While I was gone, Husband, the Littles, and my parents all picked beans. They all agreed, I planted too many beans! lol.

The greenhouses have filled out.  I'm yanking the squash plants out of greenhouse #1.  The corn is touching the roof in there, with tassels on.  That's the sweet corn.  No ears yet.  Peppers are filled out and lush, with tons of flowers.  Green tomatoes everywhere.  Pickling cukes are producing, and I canned two jars so far.  Beets and mangels are huge. Peas are still producing. I feel like I'm in some alternate universe where the garden overproduces. It's amazing!  And most amazing- the weeds did not go crazy while I was away!  Except the perennial bed.  It's a disaster.

We're out of potatoes, so I thought we should just dig up a couple of volunteers for supper the other night, before the tops die off and I can't find them. 5 plants produced this bounty. That's more than we got out of 4 feet of hilled rows last year. We'll keep harvesting these to eat fresh until I run out of volunteer plants. There might be enough to get us through til fall.

The puppies grew like bad weeds while I was away.

That's my boy Smitty, laying with his mom. He's still smaller than the rest, but just as spunky and adventurous.

Wonder and a bunch of her little ones. 5 of the pups left to go to new homes yesterday. Brownie, Belle, Miley, Giligan and Goldie. That leaves us with one black female, Shaniqua, and two tan males, Shaggy and Sam, who need homes. And they're just 8 weeks old today! Pinky will be staying with us as well.

Our trip was good. Lots of visiting, family we haven't seen in a while. No surgery for #1. It was found to be ineffective, and they've stopped doing it. He's three letters shy of being legal to drive right now. They've recommended rigid contact lenses. Because they'll scrape his eye lids and annoy him, his brain may tell his eyes to slow down, which might get him over the edge. and practicing the letter charts, at a distance, to help strengthen the muscles. We have to go back in six months so he can be retested. Oh joy. Winter driving on a long trip. I think I may let Husband take him on that one.

 The Littles did great while I was gone. Grandma had to wake them up once, and Husband had to do a few repairs, but they survived, the critters survived, the garden survived. All is well.

#2 returned from camp on Saturday.  He was a little home sick, but now he's missing camp.  Go figure.  He figures he grew a couple of inches, but I don't find it as noticeable this year.  Probably because he was already towering over me when he left.  It's good to have him home!

And Another One Bites The Dust

I am beginning to think the universe is trying to tell me to give up on technology.  I am now using #1's lap top connected to my monitor, because #4 knocked it on the floor a couple of weeks ago and cracked the screen.  (My computer still hasn't been replaced.  And will now be on hold longer, because #1's is more important- large screen and set up for his visual needs.)  I had been using the kids computer, which has become infected with the ransomware virus.  If Husband can't get it sorted out, it'll have to go in to see a tech.  What a pain in the arse. 

Shaggy- napping on top of a blanket, on top of the paint cans, on top of the wood stove platform.  King of the hill.  The puppies have discovered a hole at the back of the garage where they can crawl underneath to beat the heat.  Getting out though- not so easy.  There's a small hole at the front where they can see everyone, but can't fit through.  It takes some cajoling to convince them to turn around and come back out through the back.  Turds.

The peas are producing nicely.  They've reached the top of the fence, still flowering, still growing.  I've convinced the cucumbers to start climbing.  They're also flowering.  Beans are flowering like mad, with the first little pods starting to appear.  Blueberries are coming along, although it doesn't look like they'll have a good season.  That late frost may have killed off some flowers.  It's a bit early yet, but the lack of green berries concerns me.  Raspberries are just starting to produce.  Rhubarb is still coming along.  And I am leaving.

Pinky running towards me

#1 and I are headed south on Wednesday, in my new car- 1998 VW Beetle- diesel.  He has appointments with the University of Waterloo for assesments, visual exams, technology enhancements, and info about possible surgery.  Then we'll spend a few days visiting with family and friends.  If the heat doesn't kill us.  Or the traffic.  The Littles are staying home to deal with chores.  Wish them luck!  They have Grandma and Grandpa next door to keep an eye on them, and Husband home at night, but the responsibility of farming falls to them.  I hope they're ready for it.

And of course they'll have the wee beasties to attend to as well.  Or entertain them.  The pups are becoming more dog like every day now.  Happy and rambunctious.  It's hard to believe they're only six weeks old.

We've been working on more hugelkultur piles, with the small trees that were trying to take over the back field (where the pumpkins and squash are out of control!) and more manure.  I think the manure levels will be kind of high compared to wood.  We still haven't got the chicken coop cleaned out!  These are more of a 'where are we going to compost this stuff' huggies, rather than true hugelkulturs.


And that's about all of the news here.  I'll be enjoying a couple of cooler days before heading south into the heat wave.

Camp & Chaos

Just a little update...

A trip to the hospital and an x-ray confirmed that my hand was not broken.  Still it took almost a week for the swelling to go down.  They gave me some serious antibiotics, claiming it was infection causing the swelling.  I was bad and quit taking them after a couple of days.  They were making me sick.  I don't believe it was infected anyway.  I think it was the vein being cut wasn't allowing the blood to drain out of my fingers.  Almost good as new now, just a bit of a sore left to heal up.

Cranberry and co have been up visiting for a bit.  Great to see them, and we've been taking some extra play time (in other words, shirking the chores).

Blueberries are starting to ripen.  I haven't started any serious picking yet, just a mouthful here and there.  Rhubarb needs picking again, and raspberries are barely getting started.  It's like the seasons are out of order.

#2 and I spent the night before he left for camp in the hospital.  He hurt his arm helping grandpa place a beam for a shed.  Poor kid.  Not broken, but very sore, probably sprained.

We met the bus at a gas station not too far from our house.  He had two switches to make before getting to camp.  Thankfully he posted to facebook that he made it there, because I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HIM SINCE!  If he doesn't call by Sunday, I will be calling his CO to find out what's going on!

Almost caught up with the weeding.  See the TALL stuff?  Popcorn!  It's been warm this year, and it's doing great!  One more row of beans to weed, then the onions, and the garden should be back to a manageable state.  Then just to get the greenhouses caught up, and the perennial bed.

See the big empty space?  That's the brassicas.  Few and far between this year.  It's been warm.  Go figure.  The beans are flowering, we have tiny cukes in greenhouse #2,the potatoes are flowering!!  That's a first for us up here!  We're eating peas, leaf lettuce and romaine, and have some lovely little green tomatoes on the way.

These white flowers popped up last year, on the far side of the garden.  They're back this year.

No idea what they are, but pretty.  The previous owner's wife worked at a nursery, and was quite a gardener.  She died several years before he sold the house, and he wasn't much of a gardener.  I figure she's the reason things magically appear in odd spots.

We took Pinky and Gilligan with us to pick up #2s kit supplies before he left.  They were sleeping peacefully when we got there.

And isn't that the cutest greeting when we got back to the car.  Before anyone gets upset- evening, windows down, and we were parked right outside the hangar.  No danger, just cuteness.

The pups are 5 weeks old now, and displaying lots of personality!  I haven't made any definite decisions, but Pinky, Gilligan, Goldie, and Shaggy are in the lead- you know, the troublemakers.  We've been leaving the sunroom door open so the pups can go in and out as they please.  Gilligan was the first to go missing.  Disappeared for about three hours, then emerged from behind the wood shed, yawning, looking for his mom. 

Shaggy, Goldie and Pinky disappeared for about 5 hours.  I was in the garden, and I thought I had heard something on the far side.  #1 went to investigate, but didn't see anything.  The Littles looked all over the house and yard and couldn't find them.  We walked past the yard and the pond, into the trees, trying to find Wonder's path to Grandma's house.  (She goes to visit them on her own every day, and I figured the pups had tried following her).  No sign of them.  #4, Ebony and I cut back to the road and started walking toward the house.  #4 was ahead of me, and turned around to say something, and noticed we were being followed.  I don't know where they had been hiding, but they were trotting along behind me like it was a normal thing to wander off in the woods.  Little buggers.

Hay on the Way!

Tin is on the lean to.  I still need to climb up and tar over the holes (recycled tin that Husband and the Bigs got) to stop any leaks, but hay is on the way.  There's still some old hay to be moved as well.  We ended up just scraping it out onto the ground to get it done quicker.

Picking up hay.

We put fence wire up around the hay lean-to this year.  Mama and the kids had been sleeping in the old hay, along with the horses when they're on mowing duty.  Now they've moved into the old turkey shack (previous owner's).  You can see Shaq (at the back) is just as tall as Mama now.

Shiloh is coming along great. Still cute as a button, happily munching grass these days.  Still nursing as well.  #2 has taken Knightmare out for a couple of short rides, and Shiloh has accepted being on her own fairly well.  She doesn't like to be tied, but otherwise is doing well with the lead.

The Littles and I went out to trim chicken wings yesterday morning.  We've had a couple hop the fence and not make it back to the coop over night, which isn't safe for them.  I caught a hen, and just as I was picking her up, the rooster attacked me.  Spur to the back of my right hand, right across the vein.  That left me pretty useless for hay yesterday.  It's still swollen today, but doesn't hurt nearly as bad.  Rooster's name is now Asshole.  I couldn't even trim their wings afterward, couldn't work the scissors.  The Bigs had to take over for me, while Husband poured a gallon of peroxide on my hand and bandaged me up.

More hay today, then off to the park.  Happy Canada Day!

Update & Huggies

Summer has arrived, and it seems that moms taxi is on the go non-stop.  #2 got accepted to camp after all.  Not what he applied for, but rather, military band at Blackdown.  Totally unexpected.  His C.O. worked it out for him.  Awesome.  So I have been shopping to fill his kit list before he leaves next week.  New glasses are on the way for #2 and #4.  I still don't see why they make the darn things so flimsy.  I took the boys to a movie yesterday, Canada Day celebrations at the park on Sunday, and a friend to pick up on Tuesday to go horseback riding.  I'm looking forward to a week at home to catch up with the weeds!

Hugelkultur bed is growing great.  Check out the hay field beside it.  I can barely see the currents in that mess!  But keeping up with the garden weeds is more important.  On a serious note, we have about 300 bales of hay to pick up today.  The farmers are out cutting already!  At this rate, they might get two cuts this year- which would be amazing in our climate.  Some years it's iffy if we're going to get one!

Next year's huggie is under construction.  The goats have found the perennial bed, so we are working on a short fence up the north side driveway.  The tops of the fence post trees and all the branches are now the bottom layer of the huggie, covered with green manure.  This will end up being more of a lasagna gardening huggie, lol.  I figure it will work just fine, and it means we don't have to move the manure twice.  And all of the nutrients will leach into the garden soil over the winter, rather than under a pile in the pasture somewhere.

#1 rototilled between the potatoes for me, and started hilling, last week, before I got behind on the weeds again.

The mystery survivalist plants are lillies, eh?  This isn't the perennial bed.  This is the patch on the lawn that I transplanted them from a few years ago.  They came back, and they're flowering. 

There were three cranes circling overhead as I worked in the garden one day.  I only managed to snap a pic of one.

Puppies are doing great.  They're developing their personalities, wandering all over the house, wrestling with each other, getting under foot, starting to go outside, climbing on things, eating dog food, and generally wreaking havoc.  They bark when anyone comes in the door!  It's so cute, and funny!  I can't remember another litter ever doing that so young!  I found this one curled up in the bowl this morning.  Too cute.  Life with puppies is bliss.  (although a little stinky, lol).  My favourites change every few days.  The polar bears (whites) are currently winning.

Their mother is in trouble.  She has been eating chickens.  My little hens, to be precise.  While I couldn't blame her at first- feeding ten is really wearing on her- I adjusted the doggy stew, adding more protein, and the puppies started eating it as well as nursing- she hasn't slowed down on the chicks at all.  I hope she hasn't made it a habbit.  For now she is tied up when she is outside, until the chicks get too big to escape their pen.

Our heat wave (rotflmao) has broken, with a good dose of rain last night.  I know everyone is complaining about the heat lately.  We had a week of about 28-32°C.  It was really hot for us, with humidity!  It's almost never humid here. Down to 20°C today, but the forecast claims it'll be climbing back up all week. Better than dropping!  Rage on, Father Sun.  Lots of work to do in the north!

Chicken Pen Repairs

Step One: Distract the little hens with a scoop of wild bird seed scattered through the pen.

Step two: #2 removed the gate and added new chicken wire over the chain link. The chain link keeps the dogs and foxes out, but the chicks can squeeze through. #1 cut some 1X3s to go under the gate. These will slow the chicks down when the gate is open, as well as keep the gate from freezing to the ground in the winter. Reinstall gate.

Step three: Instruct the Littles to pick up baler twine, broken dishes, feed bags, and whatever other junk has been accumulating in here.

 Step Four: Remove the weeds. This patch of weeds was only a couple of plants a few years ago, but had spread to about a 12'X8' section. They might be stinging nettle? Not poison ivy, but definitely makes you itch. The chickens won't eat them. I pulled them all out.

Step Five: Get the chainsaw. A lot of the little trees were bent and broken from the goats and cows wandering through. I cut them out and the Littles threw them over the fence.

Step Six: Patch holes. The horses rub on the fence and rip the snow fence and chicken wire off the field fence, leaving gaps for the chickens to escape.

Step Seven:  Watch as the little buggers make a mockery of your work and wander around the yard wherever they please.  Good thing the dog who kills things just for fun no longer lives here.

The Bigs both have exams today, so it's back to the garden for me.  Two more days, and they are out for summer.  Yeah!

Oscar, eating the leaves off the trees we cut out.  Because, you know, fences are just there for suggestion...

Bag Gardening Experiment

I've been reading/seeing a lot of bag gardening lately. People buy topsoil/potting soil/compost from the garden centre in bags, take it home, lay it out on the ground, cut holes in the bags, and plant right in them. Not a bad idea, really, if you're just starting or expanding your garden. The weight of the bags kills the grass underneath. The bags keep your new soil mostly weed free, and help retain moisture.

 I, however, am cheap. I don't need to buy soil, I just need to get it relocated from the compost piles in the pasture to where I want my plants to grow.

 Last I checked, there was only one pumpkin plant in the back field.  The weeds/grass/natural vegetation was taking over the freshly plowed mass of clay.  It'll be a lot of work before it starts to resemble a garden.
A bag garden is tempting.  But the expense, and then the plastic clean up were turn offs.

Then it occurred to me that paper bags should work just as well.

The Littles helped fill the bags.  We put squash and sunflower seed in them, loaded the trailer and took them to the back field.

We placed the bags out in spots that were more clay and less weed.  The plant roots will grow through the bags and the bags will deteriorate on their own.  No clean up.  The compost will add to the soil in the back, and maybe we'll get a few squash.  Win-win-win.

Surprise, surprise!  There are pumpkins and squash all over the place.  I guess they decided to just take their sweet time coming up after all.  There are even a few bean plants here and there.  The birds didn't get all of the seeds.  Looks like the back field will be productive after all.

Walking back, I picked a bunch of clover tops.

For a jug of of clover juice. I made a triple batch of simple syrop yesterday, and added some to the rhubarb juice. The boys love it. I think it's too sweet. The clover is sitting in simple syrop in the sun today. No lemons at the moment. I'll add some frozen, pureed blueberries to that jug tonight.

Pretty little white flowers peaking out from the bushes along the trail.