Keep'on Rolling It

The machinery is hard at work around here. 1000's of bails of hay are sitting in the fields ,up our road when I went for my walk this morning. Long range forecast is nothing but sunshine. Great news for us here with haying a grain season upon us. How fortunate we are. My rain barrels are full and we had enough rain in June to get us through a dry spell. However I see on the Net that we are the fortunate ones.

What We Have Been Waiting For

What we have been waiting for?

Farm produce other then strawberries and lettuce!

The snow peas and beets are now being harvested.

 I picked 12 liters of strawberries today and made jam out of 9 liters.

Then I picked 9 liters of snow peas this afternoon.

And then began the beet rows, I just brought in a handful as I'm not ready to pickle them yet.

Our grocery bill will start to drop dramatically now, that the garden is in full swing.

The tractors are just a humming out here.

Last night well past mid-night.

Temperatures are cooler, and it is windy out so the hay dries in the fields, rather then raking it and wasting more petro.

Today while in the garden I was hating the sounds of machinery, but we were in the city this evening and the noise there with concerts and cars.

I'll take the machine hum anyday.

Tonight there are coyotes howling and deer just walked down the lane toward the garden!

Unconnected

Unconnected to the real world.

Its just that time of year!

Our real world!

Youngsters' Socks

Last night I completed these socks for the 4 year old.

They are re-purposed socks.

Orginally they were socks worn by the 16 year old,

but she tore a hole in them on the bottom,

so I un-wove out,

wound the wool,

and made these!

The pattern is still in perfect form.

Yo-Yo Pillow

The heat of the day kept me inside today. 

A little housework and then some sewing. 

I completed the yo-yo pillow I was working on.

It is on a 16 inch square pillow form.

I am quite pleased with the finished product.

Thunderstorms and Dogs

We had quite a violent thunderstorm last night, bringing in a warm front we will want to forget, I'm sure. I feel the warm air this morning bringing out the trash. Yuck! But terror struck me when I went out to do chores early this morning.

My 15 year old wolf/Shepard is being left outside at nights anymore. For different reasons. One: he was sleeping in the barn the last 14 years but has taken to taking the barn apart board by board. Two: I had him in the mudroom but he took to pooping in there. Now he is outside and one thunderstorm and he torn the screen, broke the storm door window and pooped all over the back porch. I swear if I had a gun this morning.............!

So I washed the porch, and will have to dismantal the screen and window and replace it all. A costly repair because I haven't the time ,at this time of the year to do it all myself. I will get the hardware store to do the window and I'll do the blasted screen this afternoon.

Darn part of it all. He was sound asleep in the barn this morning!

Good news is that I slept last night pretty well. My cold is still with me, but I feel the edge is off.

Jump Start Today

This cold kept me up all night long. When I layed down I flooded, then coughed. When I sat up it was in my chest, which was uncomfortable but doable. So I sat up most the night, knitting and writing, reading my Bible chapters for this week and anything else near the bed. Dearest was up and down all night chocked up,but at least could get it out.

 So when it came time for morning chores I did them, made him his lunch and made a chocolate cake , steamed three batches of spinach and put them to freeze and am cooking up  a turkey roll in the large toaster over I have out in the mudroom on top of the freezer so as not to heat up the house. When the cake was done a turkey roll went in. That should feed us through our heat wave this week.

By 8am eldest daughter called. She was coming to pick berries. She only has today off work. This was fine except usually her pickin' means me makin' her jam. She is so afraid it won't set. Oh she starts off with good intentions, like hulling and putting the berries and sugar to cook but when it isn't done in 20 minutes she finds things to do rather then cook down the berries. So far today she has come, picked and left. Perhaps to bake a cake for her berries.

So little one and I went down to the field to pick some with eldest daughter. Keep her company. Littlest one always picks the smallest berries. You can tell her to pick dark red, larger ones but she likes little ones, green or pink! Needless to say some in my basket goes right to the chickens!

So this morning I am cooking down two batches of strawberry jam at the same time. The rain has begun. this is a good thing as it will keep me inside to get much needed work and sewing done. Perhaps a nap as well.

Hay & Garden

The fields this morning.

The garden this afternoon.

I pulled out three rows of spinach. It is now washed and ready to be steamed for the freezer.

I picked three rows of snow peas. We ate some tonight.

My first zuchini came out the garden as well.

All the celery I thought I lost to bugs has come back. Thank-goodness for Marigolds!

I did a lot of weeding this afternoon. the garden is looking good, with the exception of Earwigs! I would need not just a few tubs of beer to drown them but rather a whole brewery!!

My first rose ever ,opened up today. It is a climbing one, which I hope to trail over one part of the garden in a few years time.

My cold still well and thriving. I am worst today then yesterday.

It is going to start getting hot tomorrow, so after supper tonight I brough all the fans out the basement and washed them up.

Maude ( not real name). She looks kind of like this whenever she is outside. She takes reactions to the sun in her eyes.