It's Been a Hot Summer

And I guess the title is true for most of our country, this year. 

It's been hot here in Kansas, too. 

Fans running in all the henhouses, and a fan running in the barn for Mama and Teenie. 

Bullseye was taking a lazy way of watching the birds one morning... and actually, he does this many mornings!  I'll look out there and see all four paws in the air. 

I looked out the window to see Wanda here one morning, and I watched as she calmly walked all over the roof, and then jumped down and walked along the top board on the fence. 

Cleo lived in the barn with Mama and Teenie for the last two years.  Either Teenie, who has a notorious temper, or Bob, the (former) Porch Cat, now laying on my kitchen table as I type this... has run her out. 

She eats at the fence daily, and sneaks into the yard to eat dry food in the garage.  She is so beautiful, and my heart is breaking for her.  She sleeps under Troy's shed or under the implements. 

I am hoping we can get the whole situation rectified before cold sets in. 

This week, Troy and Kathy gifted me with this: 

Friends, I no longer can anything, so I passed most of this along to the Manus family, whose sheep come here.  Ben, the middle brother, has been my stalwart helper doing heavy yard work for the last three years.  He left yesterday for college in Arizona for his sophomore year, and it's likely he will do summer studies next year and won't come home.  I am hoping his younger brother Isaiah will be able to help me. I have been so grateful to have Ben's help for these last few years. 

Those tiny tomatoes had the best taste ever... and I saved a bunch back to make nachos today. 

Troy and Kathy's daughter Sarah has a one acre garden at her place... and Kathy has been working in it constantly, even in the heat.  They had a wonderful yield this year. 

I know you all want to know the upshot of the Great Tank Blowout. 

It took four phone calls to get the company to get out here and put a new gauge on and check the tank for leaks.  I called the provider I used at my old Calamity Acres in Kansas City, Kansas, and made arrangements to switch tanks out and go with his service.  

The driver dropped the old tank out by the gate and it was picked up a week later. 

My neighbor Troy did the same. 

Last week, in the dreadful heat, was the Leavenworth County Fair. 

Here comes a group leading their bucket calves along the walkway. 

I will have to say entries were down, and it was not just me who noticed. 

I went at midday on purpose, to avoid the crowds because ... covid has reared it's head in our area again.  Just being cautious. 

This was the champion market ewe that Isaiah showed, and will be coming here this week. 

She's a beautiful girl. 

There were some beautiful goats. 

Very few bunnies... maybe thirty... were on display, and those included cages for sale.  I will give the bunny parents much credit, though... because they had fans set up every three cages and the bunnie's fur was literally blowing in the wind. 

There were some beautiful quilts on display, but overall, 

entries in all these categories appeared to be down. 

When my sister was alive, she often entered quilted goods in the fair competition. 

Coco has become almost an indoor-only cat.  She came from a feral colony, this is a huge about-face for her.  Every once in a while, she lays on the back porch for a little while.  It was NOT 115 that day, unless that was the heat index! 

The flowers are still looking good, because I have literally watered them sometimes twice a day. 

Thank God my well has not had any problems since earlier in the summer. 

I planted my tubs and troughs this year with either wildflower mixes or hummingbird mixes. 

I honestly do not see hummers around them, but I have very few around my feeder, either.  I am taking that feeder down daily and putting up a clean one, the few I am seeing are almost ready to leave. 

Here is what I have to say about the mixes... they have been glorious but they must be watered heavily.  Deadheading the zinnias can be onerous... I need to do it today again, in fact.  I have decided that I am going to cut the deck containers in half next year, and plant lower-growing flowers in these troughs. 

They have been beautiful, I have to admit. 

That's amaranth behind the portulaca... I had not grown in it in years.  

It has looked good, but it has been attacked by the Japanese beetles badly.

My mom could not grow anything.  She marveled that I could.  

She loved cypress vine, and I try to plant it every year in her honor.  

 

It ain't Kansas if there isn't a sunflower or two! 

That's all, folks, thanks for bearing with me.  I'll try to post again 

in a week or so. 

 

 

 

Some More Cool Pictures!

I took them, but I still think they are cool. 

I also have a bunch of videos taken at the Ag. 

This is my dining room, today.  Do you see it?  One of the 

volunteer tomato plants from last summer is blooming!  

In fact, I am going to support it this afternoon. 

I can't believe it! 

The geranium is blooming, too. 

49 days or so from spring, I think. 

Wow! 

Hope this is the sweet one from last summer, I can't remember. 

Two days ago, I had to run something to Leavenworth, and took the dogs. 

We stopped here on the way back, it was 60 degrees. 

This trail is hidden behind St. Francis de Sales church in Lansing, 

Kansas.... it happened to be the feast day of St. Francis when we walked. 

It was good to visit the creek again. 

Though a little hot on the pavement. 

We are standing on the bridge here. 

Even though we have not had a lot of snow this summer, the creek is flowing well. 

Turn the sound up so you can hear the water falling. 

Elk cows, on our way home from the park the next day. 

She and the bunny are not afraid of the camera any more. 

I often see her going back and forth. 

And the other little creatures. 

Still seeing lots of geese on all the farm ponds. 

Look at the buds swelling on the Bartlett pear! 

I.Love.Crows. 

Okay, I love just about any bird. 

The night of the 31st.  The next video actually showed two more does coming from the west side of the pond. 

There is our friend again. 

I have no clue why, but my camera has a rose cast to the pictures during the day, I have never had that

happen with a Moultrie before. 

I wrote them, they told me to ship it to them. 

Haven't done it yet.  Probably will. 

I have started spring house cleaning early, and I am in "getting rid of " and "donating" mode... I'm thinking lots of things are going to start moving out of here soon! 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Using Up Those Pictures!

The last day of August, 2016... so hard to believe the majority of summer is 

past us now.  Yes, time flies faster the older we get. 

The green mound in the middle is made of 3 mum plants that 

wintered over in our garage last winter.  I only watered them once in a while, and 

frankly, they looked dead.  Along about March, though, I noticed a sliver of green in 

all three. 

I planted them in this barrel, and I am about to have a burst of color in an almost perfect mound! 

I'll be collecting seeds from the balsam, the marigolds and the zinnias this week. 

I put them in brown envelopes for the winter and keep them dry. 

 This is the crazy tomato that sprouted in the low planter a month or so ago.  It's blooming! 

The sunflower grew in this low container all summer, you can see it's stalk... and 

the marigolds that dropped down from the planter behind it and grew.  

I'm letting the tomato grow, as an experiment. 

Here is poor Twilight, the female turkey, last night, in the feed room at the Ag Hall. 

As you can see, she has been pecked at by the chickens for weeks, her wing was 

quite bloody the other day.  We have been keeping Wonder Dust on it daily, but yesterday, they were pecking her chest, etc., and she had grown so heavy she could not get away. 

Remember, these are commercial turkeys.  I put her in the feed room 

so she could have some peace and quiet for the night. 

And this morning, she was reunited with Starlight, her friend, and they were moved to 

a friend's house for freezer camp. 

Yes, I will miss them. 

I am sorry their video did not post, they were very personable, as all turkeys are. 

The problem with these commercial-type turkeys is that they cannot carry their weight 

past a certain time.  She was having trouble walking, and her legs/feet were splaying.  He was still able to get around.  

My friend believes they will dress out at about 12 pounds each. 

Here is yesterday's tomato harvest, and I could have picked twice the little ones. 

See the cracking?  That was caused this year by the regular rain, followed by intense heat, 

it is a subject near and dear to all my gardening friends. 

Friday I am meeting with one of the master gardeners while I am at the 

Ag Hall, to discuss a presentation she is doing about Straw Bale Gardening. 

Very. Very. Rare. 

Both of them at once. 

We have had planes buzzing our house for a few days in the last week. 

Last night, one came so low it scared me! 

Remember, there are farm fields all around us, but there is also a farm field with several hangers in it about six miles from us... and I think these guys are practicing, instead of 

spreading fertilizer. 

My favorite cute calf. 

My favorite birds.  

Look who was back on Sunday! 

I had not seen him for the last two months. 

He stayed for about 15 minutes. 

A juvenile mockingbird scolded him from a wire above him the whole time. 

I know it's fall.  Baseball has started again! 

Some More Back Home Shots

Bird One 

Bird Two 

That was actually Bird Three. 

Again, the grape jelly does not make up their entire diet.  They seem to come 

early in the morning for some, and again in the evening. 

We had other visitors, too, but I want you to look at the bottle hanging there. 

See those two black dots on the upper right? 

That is MOLD. 

I take those down just about every single night and clean them, 

and indeed, I have a friend who has quit feeding them because it is a pain to keep them so clean. 

Hummers can get black tongue disease, and die from the mold. 

That one will be coming down in just a few minutes to be scrubbed out again, and I DID take it down last night and scrub it.  The heat and humidity is doing it. 

I had just refilled this one, and cleaned the bells out... you see I rarely use the bee guards 

any more.  I get a few wasps, but really, they are pretty much left alone. 

This little guy was sticking his tongue out, but so quickly I couldn't get it on 

camera. 

We are also about to be hit by an onslought of large and small tomatoes!  

They are late all over this area this year... I just heard tonight of a big grower here 

who is just now getting ripe tomatoes, so I am not alone.  

The straw bales?  I'll show you some pictures of them in the next few days! 

Stay cool, friends.