The dead

 
The dead girl. I wonder why the fancy get up, to just come in and die. Why do children think their tongue will hang out if they die? Am pretty sure my  kids know that is not true, necessarily, but she still does it for funny. She held this pose for about 15 min and the cat looked at her like she was crazy the whole time. Or like she was in his peeing spot-not the baking soda. We have had to clean this corner repeatedly since he started spraying. We got him fixed, and he did it again this morning. He is banished for now to the out of doors. 
   
And this guy? He kept me awake almost all night 2 nights in a row. It is light 24 hrs a day here for part of the spring/summer nights. The website I was looking at before moving here concerning day light hrs in each state, showed that there was never 24 hr daylight in this region. I have no idea what 24 hr daylight is like further north, but I guarantee you can read by it all night here. I am often awake all night. It is now dark for a couple of hours though not pitch black. This guy was only shutting up during the dark couple of hours. If he would stay in the barnyard (would have rather) he would have been safe. After the 2nd night, Frank said we would kill and eat him. So we did. The net was the best way to catch a wiley rooster-it is a hooligan net. Which are fish, bait fish. Not for human consumption though people total eat them. In Tn, people eat squirrels so... to each their own. 
   
Cat carrier to hang out while we prep the area. they caught him early because he went into the garden fence and it was simple to corner him. He was hard to catch when we originally got him, he was free along with the turkeys and duck. 
   
Tad is not catching butterflies. I have not seen any of those here to be honest, not saying they do not exist but maybe they are a food source for mosquitoes. Which are bigger than any butterfly. 
   
Hark and holy crap! The sky is blue! I have seen this so very rare up here, and never quite this blue. It was wonderful! We have had at least 3 if not 4 days of sun. I cannot remember when the first sunny day was. Today the rain is coming down in sheets, and the turkeys honestly are too dumb to go under cover. This is why turkeys can drown in the rain-they look up. 
   
The spurs on our rooster. The 550 cord does not hurt the butcheree-it is just a way to tie their feet in place when we drop them upside down into a road cone tied to a tree. Sounds awful doesnt it? They are total calm upside down though and we talk so nicely to them. We do appreciate our chickens. 
   
This was my mothers day present. Dont act like you never asked for anything weird! I asked for this on purpose, you hook up a garden hose to it. It was really wonderful to use! Much easier, and cleaner. 
   
Arent these lovely? It is amazing bread! The kamut flour is some of the best whole grain flour that I have tried. I am glad we bought so many buckets of it in Ga when we visited. 
   
My garden produces salad as fast as we, the rabbits and water fowl can eat it. Ducks and geese love greens, though the turkeys are more inclined to eat bugs or meat like chickens are. the goats will eat these up too, but I do not have that many extra. The rabbits eat spinach best. This is spinach, tiny lettuce and some mixed greens that came from a combo seed pack. I am trying to let the purple ones go to seed, I do not know what they are but I love them. 
   
Hey Reno! Reno is a boy, and he is a horse. He is also a lawn mower. We were hoping he would finish the lawn, he loved it, but his mama came and took him home. I do not know why. I offered her my chickens in their roving coop for a few wks, they can fertilize her grass which does not grow like ours because we have chickens, and I could have Reno because we do not have a lawn mower. This is the horse that the kids ride and take lessons with. They learn how to work with him, brush, saddle, feed, lead etc. The neighbor lady has grown kids, and they rode him for years. 
   
My tomato plants 3 days ago, they are about 5" taller, maybe more in just a few days. The greenhouse is warm, hot actually. we have to keep the fan on during the day. Had we not insisted on trying these in the garden, we would have tomatoes already. We learned our lesson for next yr. 
   
Some beans, the picture looks foggy. It was because of the steamy heat in the greenhouse on the lens. 
   
These have also grown in the last 3 days and now have flowers! They are pumpkin and butternut squash. We planted probably 50 of these guys and Rachel gave us 2. One of hers, and a few of ours are still making it. They did not do well in the cold summer. 
   
The cabbage and broccoli are now forming heads. These are foods that we can use this winter, both store well. The broccoli has to be frozen but not the cabbage. I love both and my family likes broccoli. 
   
All 3 of these are skullcap! It is amazing how well it grows up here, skullcap likes cold. My best friend has grown this for years in Ga, and shared with me. However, it took a lot of work for her and she lost many plants because it is not cool there past may. 
   
In the past I have used about 8 ozs of this a yr, for us and sometimes shared. My best friend sends an avg of 4-6 of those ounces to me. It is wonderful to have her help in this. Skullcap is one of those odd herbs that you cannot dry for later use. It has to be made into a tea or tincture immediately after picking. This is old lore, many people dry it and sell it. On reputable sites. However, I have used it from dry and it does nothing whatsoever for the ailments that skullcap should help to heal.
   
I have 3 little pots and plan on planting and growing more this fall, and winter it in the greenhouse. There is a group in the Catskills of New York- The Wise Women Herbalists, who sell this tinctured proper. I have purchased any extra from them in the past, they do not overcharge especially considering the work to grow these plants. They are easy to break, I even have to water them gently. They keel over fast if I water them too hard. I sprinkle them just on their dirt, not their leaves.

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