Garden, Garden, Cross Your Poles

The forecast for our area is 32 degrees for tonight. Since we are in a valley along the river, we usually get colder. The linen closet has been emptied of all available sheets and most of the plants have been covered. How can it freeze before I have a single ripe tomato? We had a delicious dinner tonight of pasta with fresh picked garden goods: beans, peas, swiss chard, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, parsley, tarragon, dill and basil. It was heavenly, but not what I want to think of as my big garden meal of the year. So fingers crossed that we are still producing after tomorrow morning. The good news is it looks like a warm up after this cold spell.
In other news, we have new additions. A trip to the Carlton Chicken Swap resulted in the purchase of three turkey hens. They are 4-6 month old bourbon red/narragansetts. Turk quickly began courting (presenting and drumming), and the hens were making cute cooing noises to him.
We also came home with some hot salsa, raspberry jam, 20 pounds of pickling cukes, a lionhead bunny, and some killer beef sticks. Oh, and 900 pounds of feed. (The Carlton Feed Mill has good prices and our poultry likes their feed. I'll try and get pictures of the new additions up tomorrow.
We also moved the ram lambs into the big field, and moved the meatbird chicks into their styling chicken tractor. A chicken tractor is a moveable pen so that we can keep them on fresh grass. Of course with the cold weather expected they are covered with a tarp and have a heat lamp.

Denial

I'm in denial right now. Denial that my summer is rapidly fading. Tomorrow morning will bring the start of leaving my house before 7 am the majority of days, for the next 9 months. Of waking sleeping boys and shoving them into clothes, strapping them in the car with a cup of milk/coffee (Kohen has a caffeine habit, I know...he's 4) and cereal that will ultimately end up on the floor, under the seats, and in those impossible cracks that no vacuum can reach.
So, if I were smart I would be running around, organizing, cleaning, and getting things prepared so I will have a smooth morning tomorrow.
Instead, I've spent the last 40 minutes catching up on blog reading, on facebook, and craigslist. I did take the time to lay out clothes for the boys, put away the majority of their clean laundry, and pack a bag of extras for daycare. However, my room is littered with laundry baskets of clothes- all clean mind you- but certainly wrinkled, and the guest room has no less than 5 loads of laundry waiting in the wings. Add to that the fact that I need to go feed the meatbird chicks, who are beginning to frighten me (they REALLY like their food, and can mistake a hand for it) and lock up the chickens and ducks, and do one last check on the sheepies. Perhaps I should be attacking that list instead of blogging? But, blogging is my aid to a clear mind and helps me process through my thoughts and frustrations.
I know part of the reason I was so angry with Kohen when he decided to cover his body in black mud today was because I'm crabby about having to go back to a routine, and work. I love our summer routine with lots of outside time and always a bit of down time in the afternoon during Isaiah's nap. My boys cannot understand and should not be blamed for adult pressures that make me less carefree and less willing to spend twenty minutes catching grasshoppers, picking raspberries, or building train tracks. The idea of daycare is not terribly exciting to either of them and I expect tears tomorrow morning. But, the bright side is only two days this week and two days next week before we start the five day a week brunt. A planned trip to the State Fair in the middle should help us give one last wave to our carefree summer.

Soggy & Slugs

Soggy Daisy.Waterlogged J.J.

Bunny and one of her daughters (whom Kohen calls Cream since she is white.)

Scar's ram lamb, J.J.. Fiona, and Scar.

Finnegan, our prospective ram for next year. He is 1/2 shetland, 1/4 icelandic, 1/4 border leicester. Beautiful fleece, and a bit of size on the purebred shetlands.

Those two words sum up this summer for me. We have not had much of a summer. We have had a lot of rain, mist, and cool weather. Most nights have been down into the forties. It is good weather for lettuce, broccoli, onions, peas, and chard. It is not good weather for peppers, tomatoes, or corn. Or little boys wanting to play. We ventured out during a break in the rain yesterday, but were soon soggy up to our knees.

And slugs... oh the slugs. It is a paradise for them this year. I am so sick of slugs. Looking at them, picking them, smashing them. We've been trying to be as natural as possible, and coffee has seemed to work quite well on the slugs. Unfortunately a family of cabbage worms decided to visit the broccoli row this last week, and frustrate us even more.

So even though I haven't gotten to enjoy much hot weather, or a bountiful harvest, I can't say I haven't enjoyed the summer. Being able to spend so much time with my boys (some days too much) and enjoy my spot on the planet has made for a wonderful season. Along with spending lots of time with old and new friends. I've also ventured into some new areas, with the farmer's market. My list of 'gotta get dones' may not be done, and I may have to start working again next week but I'm filled with a sense of happiness, peace and a bit of accomplishment.

Odds & Ends

Just a few odds and ends, and some cute pictures.

Isaiah surveying part of his flock. (Yes, he climbed up there himself.)
Daisy's birthday. Shortly after eating her carrot spice birthday cupcake. She did let Kohen blow out the candle though. Her shiny new yearling halter was her birthday present, I don't think it was on her list.

My boys riding in the jeep. Kohen is becoming quite the driver, though for some reason his brother isn't wanting to ride with him lately. He makes the entire loop up to the morton building and back down, often taking a pitstop to pick some wild raspberries, which never seem to make it back to the house. Kohen's newest nickname- Baja Boy.

Cocoa, my favorite ewe from this year's lambs. She is standing beside her mom, the infamous Shrek. Cocoa's fleece is turning grey, and has a beautiful luster to it, just like her mom's. Even though Shrek was the ewe Nate most wanted to part with, she will be staying. She proved herself to be a good mom who passes her beautiful fleece to her offspring.

Tractors like Candy

Blogger won't put my pictures where I want them today. Sorry!

Last Thursday found us paying a visit to Nate's Aunts and Cousin's farm. Kohen's first stop was the sweet corn field, where he promptly husked an ear and bit into it. (He had been talking about eating raw sweet corn for the last three weeks!) Then some time on the pedal tractors and a quick gator ride from Elaine's over to the farm to check out the tractor "shed" - I use that term very loosely! We spent twenty minutes visiting with all the tractors, plows, and the combine. My boys would have probably been content for at least another 20 minutes, with no keys turned or movement. Just eyeing up the huge machines and climbing ladders to sit in buddy seats. Kohen is still trying to figure out the mechanics of the combine, something his mom was unable to enlighten him with (the corn stalks go in here, the corn comes out up here and the waste comes out back here.) I'm sure Rod will be able to give him a much more detailed explanation to satisfy his engineering senses. It was cute to see Isaiah enjoying the equipment as much as Kohen always has. Plus, we had to take some pictures of Isaiah to add to those of Kohen with all the green and yellow machinery on their bedroom walls.

Belated Birthday

Ok, I'm a poor poster lately. Happy Belated Birthday to my hubby who turned 32 on Friday! He spent the day oh so excitedly picking sweet corn, driving 300 miles with two crabby kids and then 4 hours of selling sweet corn. It looks like we will have to have a belated celebration next weekend.

goosebumps

Ok, here's a website you have got to check out. It's just plain wonderful. I won't bore you with the roundabout way I managed to find it, but I will let you know that I've just spent the last thirty minutes reading all the posts, and still have goosebumps...and that good, heart-swelling "God is great" feeling in my chest. Just go check it out, you won't be sorry!

(In)Courage

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Braeden! Braeden turns three today.

Happy Birthday to our Daisy girl who turns one today! Kohen asked for a party, complete with a cake. We'll see what I can do about that. Daisy is turning into a wonderful donkey. Since she was weaned and we sold her mom Lucy, she has really come around and is very friendly and great with the kids and sheep. She still has her obsession with Scar, one of the shetland ewes. She will follow Scar around and chooses to graze right next to her most of the time. It's bizarre, but she is very gentle and never hurts her.
We've been trying to figure out how we were going to choose and get down to one donkey. We love Hee-haw, but having an intact jack donkey around isn't the best idea. We don't want Daisy bred when she is too young, and Hee-haw has a tendency to be unpredictable. Two days ago the boys and I were feeding some excess lettuce to the critters and Hee-haw decided to grab Isaiah's hand along with the lettuce, and hold on to the little fingers on his hand with his teeth. Not a good situation. Isaiah is fine, but I was not happy.

Well, things work out and I received a call last night from someone who had seen a photo and ad we had posted on the board at our local feed mill a year ago. She is very interested in him, and coming to see him tonight. We talked it over with Kohen, and he was not happy. Nate and Kohen finally reached an agreement- after the whole livestock are not pets explanation- that if she does buy Hee-haw, Kohen will get half the money, enough to buy a new bike "with a brake."

In other news, the boys and I painted the chicken coop yesterday. A nice deep barn red. Now to add some new white trim, and one more project is crossed off my summer list. More paint is needed before I can get the duck shed painted. I've also added updating the mudroom to my to-do list. New paint, cabinets, and maybe some curtains. Not sure what possessed me to add more to my list, but a girl's got to have goals.

We finally had a nice day weather-wise yesterday. But it got down to 40 degrees again last night. Temperatures that certainly do not help my garden grow. I processed and froze a batch of beets that Auntie'Laine sent up from Kasson. Thank goodness for relatives with gardens that actually produce. On the kitchen list for today is turning 1 1/2 gallons of pincherry's into jelly. Pincherry jelly is one of our favorites.

County Fair

The St. Louis County Fair. We went this year. With additional children in tow. We had a great time, and everyone was happy, stuffed, and tired. Gramma Jan even made the trek with us.

Kohen, Lily, and Kelly loved the stunt dog show. So much so that they plotted on the way home how they were going to train Shep so he could be in the show and they could do the tricks with him. Shep must have heard their plot. Picture this: pulling into the yard, three kids piling out of the car, letting the smart dog out of the mudroom. Suddenly he is surrounded by three children aged 4-6, armed with a leash and training treats. He didn't stick around to discover what behavior was necessary to earn the treats, but crawled to his safe place, well under the deck, where no skinny arms could reach him. Enter plan B: Catch the dog. Ropes, leash, coaxing voices, ring frisbee being used like a trap, to no avail. It did keep them out of our hair for fifteen minutes before we had to head out to bring the girls home. Shep the wonder dog. Smartest dog on the farm.

Activites enjoyed at the fair included petting a variety of animals, cheese curds, chocolate milk, corn dogs, cotton candy, rides, free balloons, and the Stunt dog show. We even met up with our friend Steph, and spent some ride time with Alex and Addison. All in all a busy, fun afternoon.

Ah...Gust

Like a sigh at the end of summer. Only what summer this year? Our weather has been very poor. Cool, and rainy. My garden is stunted. I've never seen zucchini grow so slowly.

August is my mixed feelings month. Usually filled with glorious days of outside activities and lots of visits with family and friends who avoid our tundra region the rest of the year. August brings birthdays, and fun. It also signals my shifting back into professional mode, with thoughts of students, goals, and lots of paperwork for the upcoming months. I've done a good job of avoiding school this year. I have not stepped into the building since June 1st. But the thoughts of school planning are starting to lurk. Getting the boys ready to go back to daycare, making the daily 40 minute commute, not things I'm ready for yet. Usually we are in the grips of heat and lazy sun. Instead it is cloudy and 65 degrees. The last three weeks of the Farmers Market has been a weather nightmare. Rain, sun, wind, rain, mist... However, my scones have been selling well, I only wish there was more produce being produced to go with them. Let's hope for a late fall and great September! My goal for August is more posts, wish me well!