A Big Calamity at Calamity Acres

I can't believe it. 

You know I try never to take the Lord's name in vain, 

but I came OH SO NEAR tonight. 

I just can't believe it. 

Several times over the past two weeks I have sent pictures to my 

lawn service for the farm, asking that they cut the weeds in two beds to the ground. 

One of these beds was the potato bed in the past, and I am not going to 

ever plant potatoes again.  My plan was to pull the borders out 

around these two beds over the winter, and plant grass to the fence. 

This is how we built these beds, using the "lasagna" method, 

taking the sod off... putting newspaper in layers down. 

Then good planting dirt and manure.... then a layer of straw. 

(We later went to mulch)

Expensive, and labor intensive. 

Here is the north bed, coming to life. 

This is the south bed, the summer we made it. 

The wood border is not on it, yet. 

You see that behind the fence, there is no bed yet.  We later made one there, 

but Keith was getting sick at that point, so it was never really planted.  THAT WAS THE BED 

I ASKED TO BE CUT.  That, and the corresponding bed on the other side of the arbor, on that side of the fence. 

The view as I got out of the car tonight.  I could see all the way to the henspa. 

All gone. 

Yes, I had to clean them all

 out, I had already started.  

I was going to dig them up, one by one.  Remake the beds. 

At least he left the buddleia, he also left TREES. 

In the corner, by the arbor, was a big patch of rudbeckia, still blooming. 

All my expensive iris.  

I am just so .... MAD. 

My plan was to dig it out little by little, and replenish the bed, pulling out the weeds. 

Now I am going to have trouble telling the weeds from the perennials. 

Can you see the sedum on the side, on the left?  I had a huge stand that was just getting ready to bloom.  The iris were butchered down to the ground. 

This was one of the two beds I am taking out, that WAS to have been cut. 

Good gosh. 

I couldn't have been any clearer, since I sent pictures.  The two beds on the SIDE OF THE HENHOUSE.  

Yes, I'm angry, but I'm also trying hard to see the good here. 

At least the big weeds are down, and I can start digging, if I ever get over this cold. 

I can't tell where the poison ivy is, so I am going to have to glove up and wear long sleeves. 

I messaged the owner of the company immediately, but he has not answered me. 

I'm sure he knows I'm upset.  I don't know how I can be with a high school kid in his last week of summer, who just wants to be done with it and go back to football, or whatever. 

I'm just so disappointed, and the cost of all this... we had several thousand (that's right) dollars invested in these beds. 

The guy has not come back yet to replace my water line, and it's a soupy mess.  (On top of everything else).  

As I was getting ready to leave, a lone coyote sounded from the bottom of the pasture.  

I was glad to have the Beacon of the Farm to light the way.  

I'm sure by morning I will have calmed down and see it in perspective.  

I feel like crying. 

We Are Getting Closer

Your blogger is down for the count with a summer cold. 

As in, skipping church, in bed all day down for the count.  I made it out to open the henhouse and give the little kittens their daily bowl of food, but other than that, I have been in bed all day.  As I type this, the sun is breaking out of leaden skies, and the heavy rains we had last night seem to have gone away, though my phone tells me we may still see some tonight. 

There have been many changes this past week. 

We have had two horses come to stay with us for a while in the pasture.  They were on a dry lot, and the owners were feeding hay all summer.  The horses were glad to get on some green pasture.  I will go in tomorrow or Tuesday to cut down some weeds, but for now, they are going to do the trimming.  

The mare, Nelly, who is taking a good look at Jester there, is unbroken, the gelding, Ranger, has been ridden.  I would say neither are safe to ride.  They should be here only about to the end of September.  For some reason, Jester and the mare have taken to each other, but she is so big I will not let him in the pasture anywhere near her.  

That's Ranger, and his owner mistakenly cut out part of the tail he needs for fly-swatting, because it was so tangled.  I feel sorry for him.  They seem happy in the pasture, though.  

The humidity was terrible earlier in the week.  Our girl Lil knows how to get cool, though. 

I have a water line leaking.  

Tuesday, a local man showed up to fix the leak. 

Unfortunately, when I got there Wednesday, 

the leak was just as bad.  He is going to have to run a new

line from the wellhouse to the pump by the old henhouse. 

I need that pump to run water for the horse tank. 

So now I have a mud mound AND a leak. 

My contractor said "You need to call that guy"  and I said "I did" and he said "When will he be back?" 

I said 

"when he's good and ready".  And folks, that's the truth.  They do not listen to women, I wish I could say it is different, but it isn't.  I dealt with this for 32 years before I married Keith. 

It's frustrating. 

Did you notice the color of the house in the picture with the skid steer? 

The yellow is the color our tenant painted the house when he moved in, he picked it. 

Here is the color today.  

The new gutters and downspouts are up, and we are progressing right along. 

On Thursday, my awesome contractor told me he thought it would be 3 weeks. 

The cabinets are being made, and one day this week I will stop by the cabinet shop and pick out the bin pulls I want.  I am looking at lights, but honestly, I have felt so awful since Wednesday that I am not getting around much. 

I did get two days of moving things with my grandson Jacob this week, who really came through for me.  In fact, we are renting a cargo van on Wednesday and Thursday and trying to get even more out of here and into the storage shed at the farm.  I have given up sorting for the time being, I just want to get things moved and then each box will be gone through before it is brought into the house.  I suspect the Salvation Army will be getting a second large donation. 

My plan now is to put this big house on the market when I am out of it.  It is just not practical with two dogs and a skittish cat to have strangers plodding through it.  

Speaking of cats: 

I honestly have never seen Sister playing with a ball before! 

He will play with Jester, but not toys.  

And out in the henhouse, at least 3 of the four feral kittens 

are still with me... and I have figured out where the raccoons are getting in 

at night.  I will be working on it in the next few weeks. 

I take the kitten's food up when I go out to put the hens up every night, 

(I leave a big handful) but they have all day to eat. 

As far as I can see, they rarely sleep!  They are up at all hours of the night on the game camera. 

Day camp is now over at the Ag Hall, and Nugent, the little bunny I took care of all summer, has gone home to her bunny herd.  I will miss her, she was a lovely little bunny (whom the kids called "Oreo", of course). 

These are some dirty eggs that have been under a hen who wants to go broody. 

They are infertile, of course.  

I have been careful to fish them out from under her since this day, she does not need to be setting forever.  I am getting plenty of eggs, but the fact that I am letting the girls run all day long in the yard means that there are some eggs I am  never going to find. 

We have all been enjoying the odd root beer float, too!

Did I mention I have poison ivy on about half of me?