October update

I seem to have slowed to monthly posts. There always seems to be too much else going on. So, stuff to update...

Well, the windows finally got installed. Very expensive, but the weather has tested them with strong winds and the curtains don't move at all. Hooray!

My car decided it had done enough after more than 227,000 miles and was replaced with a 2009 VW Passat. Not as nice as the Audi, but I had to find something that fit in my budget. As my son said, I'd be a hypocrite if I went back into debt.

The garden is almost finished. I'm still digging potatoes; not a great crop this year. Other than that, some kale and leeks, everything is out. I'm making a real effort at seed saving for the first time. I've got beans, broccoli and marigold.

My other big 2015 project was having the cattle shed at my parents' farm sided. All the windows were replaced as well. The old wood siding was deteriorating fast and I hate to see a good building fall to ruins. Someday I'll get the roof redone, but it's still solid.

It's getting cold at night. We've had our first frost. Very dry which helps the harvest, but I had to rinse off the solar panels. Too much dust. And that's about it for now.

Alarums and Adventure!

Sitting peacefully in my house, I hear a loud bang and the fan stops. Everything on solar power is fine of course, but the grid power is gone. My neighbor and I go looking for the problem - it's a squirrel (very dead) on top of a transformer. Power is out only on our side of the street. Sadly, the computer is on solar so no excuse to stop working.

The other day a very strong wind from just the wrong direction closed the chicken pop door. When I went out to close it after dark I found chickens everywhere! Poor things locked out of their home at night. The first thing I did the next morning was add a latch to the door.

Another recent adventure: I was entering the chicken pen when Pippy slipped out the gate. They probably heard my shriek "Pippy! What are you doing?" in the next county. She only went a few steps before changing her mind. I stood back and swung the gate open and she scampered back inside. Phew!

Everything is bone dry and dusty. We have a chance of rain tomorrow, but less than a tenth of an inch is forecast and that's it for the next week. A long, slow drenching rain sounds heavenly.

August update

Humor first: When I took my loaf out of the bread machine I found a small heavy lump instead of the normal bread. My first thought was 'oh no! the machine is broken!' but then I realized I had forgotten to add the yeast. :)


How is this for a time-lapse. The first picture is my small garden a month ago.

Same garden now:

I've just begun harvesting a few tomatoes and cucumbers.

But the beans are the big success this year:

I wish they stayed purple...so cool looking. 28 quarts and counting!

Going to work to rest?

I took pictures of my garden just in case the storm tonight is a doozy and it gets flattened again. But I'm not at my computer so won't be putting any in this post. I still have carrots and onions that are overrun with weeds, but will keep plugging away as I can. Peas, beans and potatoes are blooming. Yay!

My son took three hens out to his friend who is keeping chickens for the first time. They have an entire yard to explore and are settling in nicely. By the following afternoon they had produced six eggs, so no stress there.

Saturday I laid out the drip hoses and watered the big garden. I also had a load of laundry hung out so, naturally, it rained. With no chance mentioned in the forecast, we got 1.5". Since they've been predicting storms tonight for days it would be ironic if we didn't get anything.

I've noticed that I have much less tolerance for heat than I used to. Only low 80s and I can't deal with it. We're not even into the hot months yet.

I did get my first cherry tomato today. Even with the hail blemishes - yum.

Aargh!

For the record: I really hate mosquitoes.

Grand opening

Over the weekend I moved the chickens into the new coop.

Three more nest boxes and lots more floor space make it very nice. The most time consuming part of getting it ready was the insulation, but much easier to do it while empty. I'm going to move over the roosting bars from the old coop yet. Otherwise I'm happy with it.

The second night after the switch I had two hens who insisted on getting in their old digs so I let them in then carried them to join the others. Tonight there was just one stubborn hen who got the special treatment. All are healthy.

One day later...

It seems incredible that just one day after I took all those pictures I'd have a reason to take more but this is what I came home to:

The 1.5" of rain and winds we could have rolled with, but the hail - oh my.