Catching Up is Hard to Do

I honestly don't know where the time goes. 

And in the meantime, since my last post on the 10th... I have turned another year. 

We have had some hot days.  I honestly don't remember Lilly ever doing this, by the way.  Ranger was our water baby. 

I still have a hen laying in a planter on the deck... see the potato growing under the sweet potato vines? 

Some naughty sheep have been on the deck. 

Singleton has turned into a beautiful cockerel, and Midnight, 

the purebred black Cochin cockerel and he have both found their crows. 

There is one more cockerel, Biddy's second and third chicks of course 

were a cockerel and pullet.  I really don't know what to do with him. 

I am going to move them from their small brooder pen to the little red hen house today.  

It means one more location to feed/water.  

They are growing fast enough, though, that they need the space. 

Uh oh.  They turned around when I told them NO. 

I am in a quandary with the sheep.  Their owner has not 

come for three weeks, except once or twice to let them 

out long before I get up in the morning.  (He has to be at work at 6 AM). 

He has not brought food in that time.  I am getting the raw end of the 

deal, but I love the sheep... however.... I am about at my limit, I admit it. 

Repairs need to be made on the barn... he brought wood months ago for it... and 

now a fence post is loose and the wire loose in the corral.  Something is 

going to happen, soon. 

I have been getting about 15 or 16 eggs a day, but I am having to look everywhere for them. 

I did get 23 yesterday. 

Jester always seems to find the sunbeam. 

We have had some rain and cooler temps, and the flowers in my planters are coming back for one last show.  Even the alyssum is blooming again. 

I notice all the stores have mums in now, though, and I confess I have already bought some. 

A year ago on Saturday, my kitchen looked like this.  

It was stomach-churning for me, the old kitchen was a mess, 

and we lived with it for years. 

It has been such a pleasure to live here the last year, and yes, it has been 

almost a year since I moved back. 

I sat on the deck the other night and read for an hour, putting the book down frequently to look out at the chickens and ducks.  I am so blessed. 

It would be very, very hard to give this up. 

I end this post with a short video I took the other night, it was not even dark yet. 

Coyotes were on the other side of my fence line. 

 If you turn the volume up, you can hear all the coyotes and 

an owl in the 26 acre wild area across the road. 

Someone asked me if I get scared out here... sometimes, I do, I admit it.... 

but for the most part... I am used to it, and I always have the sheriff on 

speed-dial! 

A Short Hiatus

I did not mean for there to be a short hiatus, but we have had one!

Life just gets too busy around here, even though I am retired now 

for six years. 

Here is the beautiful celosia cristata that I planted 

on the deck.... I waited for 3 months for it to bloom.  Gorgeous, 

huh? 

Less than an hour after I took this picture today, some 

naughty sheep tip-toed up onto the deck and ATE almost all 

of it. 

Including that beautiful flowerhead.  

I will have to plant new seed all over, as this won't set seed now. 

I had not planted snaps in several years (snapdragons).  I will definitely 

be planting many next year. 

Pink snaps. 

Dark red and white snaps, which are a little hard to see in this picture, 

but I love the colors. 

The original color scheme was purple and green (laugh) but 

that did not hold for long. 

This was a huge mistake.  I did not read the package, 

obviously, and it was far too large a marigold to plant in a pot. 

Never again. 

In fact, it may not get planted in the garden, it's just not 

full of oomph. 

Likewise, these zinnias, who laid over early on, and were less than spectacular. 

Sometimes you discover there is no place for a flower in your garden. 

Live and learn. 

Here is a blurry picture of me taken yesterday. 

I had just done THIS. 

I took Thunder to the feed store and bought 

four heavy, big bales of brome for the sheep. 

In order to get up into the bed, I have to climb a ladder, 

I am short and let's face it, I will be 68 in two weeks. 

I throw the bale down and manhandle it 

over to the hay shed. 

I finally got them in and piled right. 

I give the sheep a few flakes at night to keep 

them happy after dinner. 

Straw is stacked on the left. 

I have a large pallet given to me by my son, 

and I am going to have a different feed store deliver six 

more bales next week, and tarp them.  Hay will be in 

demand here, we did not get more than one or two cuttings this year, 

in fact, most got one. 

The owner of the sheep has bought some large round bales of 

last year's hay to tide them over. 

I am thinking of buying two of the ewes, I'll take a picture 

of them and show you. 

Yesterday's eggs.  I was able to take ten dozen to the shelter 

this week.  The moult is starting, though, and I suspect 

that won't be the same for a while. 

We have had pop up storms the last two days. 

Behold the baby raccoon prints in the mud in the henyard. 

You know, THOSE babies. 

However, I no longer lock the ducks up at night, they are allowed the 

free roaming of the two acre yard (which is fenced around all the perimeter) 

and can go in and out of the hen yard at will.  Their pools are now on the outside 

of the pen fence. 

I hurry in the evening to leave food out for the two feral cats that eat on this side, 

and some ferals are still eating in the pasture. 

The two cats that come on this side, come before dark now, 

get their food, and then mouse for a while. 

It's coming!

Irreverent, but true. 

(Tractor Supply) 

I sight I never thought I would see here, but am so glad I do. 

The two white ones will be mine, if I decide to do it. 

I love all of them... but practically, two that do not 

need to be sheered make more sense. 

I'll end here, though I have another hundred pictures or so (laugh). 

I promise to try to post more often, really... it has just been a 

very, very busy summer. 

PS,  I just noticed that several of my pictures are blurry.  I used to carry a little Sony camera 

in my pocket to take pictures for the blog all day long, now I carry my phone.  I think 

I am so sweaty and tired half the time, I am jiggling the camera around. 

I'll try to work on that this week!