Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[murphysranch]

I don't have any livestock at this point, but at 67 and 68, me and DH left our golf course gorgeous home last year to move to this 2.6 acre on a hill modest and comfortable place. Time to reinvent ourselves again is part of why we moved, plus his diagnosis of the small beginnings of dementia.

I've always been a saver. My first husband wasn't and was in debt when I married him. Got him outa that quickly.

Current husband was in debt too. I got him out. When he left me after 27 years, he quickly ran up tons of debt. When we remarried, I got him out.

When we sold the golf course home this year, we paid off the $450K mortgage here. Taxes are almost $7K, but with my SS, I can save that up. Hubs has barely any SS, cus he was self employed as a painter. I get quarterly dividends from most of my stocks.

We have 11 hens. A huge garden. Fruit trees that will be bearing in a few years. A fenced in berry garden with blueberries and thornless raspberries. Hubs has a huge shop; I have a small basement area for my food storage (hoarder/prepper here); we will be building a greenhouse with free supplies (windows, wood, etc).

Why would I live anywhere else but on this super piece of land, which btw, God isn't make much of anymore.

 

[farmerjan]

I don't have any livestock at this point, but at 67 and 68, me and DH left our golf course gorgeous home last year to move to this 2.6 acre on a hill modest and comfortable place. Time to reinvent ourselves again is part of why we moved, plus his diagnosis of the small beginnings of dementia.

I've always been a saver. My first husband wasn't and was in debt when I married him. Got him outa that quickly.

Current husband was in debt too. I got him out. When he left me after 27 years, he quickly ran up tons of debt. When we remarried, I got him out.

When we sold the golf course home this year, we paid off the $450K mortgage here. Taxes are almost $7K, but with my SS, I can save that up. Hubs has barely any SS, cus he was self employed as a painter. I get quarterly dividends from most of my stocks.

We have 11 hens. A huge garden. Fruit trees that will be bearing in a few years. A fenced in berry garden with blueberries and thornless raspberries. Hubs has a huge shop; I have a small basement area for my food storage (hoarder/prepper here); we will be building a greenhouse with free supplies (windows, wood, etc).

Why would I live anywhere else but on this super piece of land, which btw, God isn't make much of anymore.

Kudos to you ...... I mean that very sincerely....

Oh, technically poultry do count as livestock .... unless they are in the freezer,,, then they are the good kind of dead stock.....

 

[farmerjan]

Couldn't resist that reply, @murphysranch ..

Been a decent day. 64 up to 87 so much more normal weather... It was sunny off and on, and humid. Got 2 pop up showers for all of about 5 minutes each... enough to get the road wet, and me wet grabbing the laundry off the line.
Did laundry and hung it and DS texted and wanted to know if I wanted to work on the fence/fence post pile before it got too hot or may be move some round bales. It was already 10:30 so I said I would move round bales.... Went to the farm, got the truck, moved all I could, until he got them into the rows... then it turned dark and I came home and ran out to get the clothes off the line... got sprinkles and a little damp but just spread them all out in the LR and they will be fine... also had to close the car windows, I had open with the heat.

Then he texted me and said he would get the ones in the row/stack across from my house and I could take him down to get his truck where he left it when he got his tractor, that a friend borrowed to load round bales that he bought (last year's for $30 a piece....can't make them for that but that's their deal)... the place just got hayed again and they wanted last years moved out of there... Of course, the guy who borrowed the tractor did not put fuel in it like DS said it needed, and it also needed some hydraulic fluid.... a small price to pay to use something of someone elses because it is more convenient than to haul your own up there...and you need yours at home to unload the round bales off the wagon... and then with the rain he said it was too wet to move them... and yet we are moving all ours off the field, with the bale bed truck; not loading them on a wagon to take to the hay storage place...
So, he asked if I could make him a sandwich, so I did then took him down to get his truck after he moved the round bales and said I could bring another 6 or so to finish out the row... So, I went back to the barn, got the truck again, and went and moved another 6 to there, and then moved some more from Deb's to the barn to go in the hay barn.... He went and got the couple of sheets of needed tin/steel to finish off the roof the other evening... don't know if he got them up yet... and he is filling up this hay barn in a hurry...
I put all the ones up at the hay barn where he told me to make easier loading/stacking for him... still have more to move... but will have to wait for some more "space " to put them so he can stack them.

Came back home and got the mower out and cut some of the lawn and made a couple passes out and back to the chickens where I had used the walk behind weed eater... chopped it up and then took a rake and put most of it in the garden around the tomato plants which were right there close..... pulled a few weeds and brought another 2 good sized forkfuls up from the mulch hay rolls I have been using, to lay out in thin spots. Locked the chickens in the crates, and then mowed back to the carport for the night. I will try to finish up the lawn in front of the house tomorrow but need to move the explorer and the subarus' to make it easier... See how the weather goes... and how hot and humid it gets. Plus will move a few more round bales if he has made room for them this afternoon after I left the farm.

Stomach is growling so have to make something for supper. Want to get the samples from yesterday packed and ready to drop off tomorrow... and the bottles ready for the farm on Tuesday and the meters and hoses in the car... one less thing to deal with with the vet preg check also....

Washed the cow manure out of my hair, so I could get it all sweaty and sticky today....

Cockerel is crowing every morning and he is getting better and better... not as deep as it will get, but sounding like a rooster now... The 3 have pretty much taken to being near the older one... not right with her, but where there is one, usually the other 3 are nearby. They also spend alot of time under the bushes and around the edges of the vehicles in the driveway and close to cover.... SMART BIRDS.....

 

[Baymule]

I can barely get them to clean quail and chicken eggs with a little manure on them. Then they have to wash their hands right away and douse them in hand sanitizer!! No telling how they would react if they got a nice warm splat of green cow poop.

Hahaha! If they fell down in a wet mooshy pig pen, I suppose they would die right there on the spot.

 

[farmerjan]

Monday, 67 up to 70 but very humid. It is cloudy, but showers were supposed to go around us until after 1-2 pm when we are supposed to get some real T-storms...

I did a couple of forkfuls of mulch. moved a few onion plants that were just not doing good, and got the one group all together since they were so spotty growing.
There are are a flowers on the first 2 rows of potatoes.....
Some flowers actually coming out on the tomatoes... they sure don't like the past several weeks of cooler temps. I did see a couple of tiny tomatoes starting to develop... they will be late this year. I plant about 6-8 varieties in case some don't do as good... and the Belgium Giants are definitely doing WAY BETTER than the other ones... and they were the last planted... maybe because it was getting a little warmer???? That was the 4 pack that had 11 plants in it... and even the littler ones I pulled apart from the larger ones, so not alot of root ball... are way ahead of some of the ones I planted 2 weeks earlier...

The fill in beans are all sprouting and filling in the rows.... I finally saw a couple of yellow squash that have come through... the row of mixed summer squashes that I replanted has only got 2 more new seedlings... those seeds did not hold their germination ability well... The butternut squash plants are looking good, the crenshaws also doing good. See some more cantaloupe coming through and there were a couple new cuke seedlings.

Realized I need to do delicate fabrics or I will be going "commando"... LOL... so did a load of delicates and hung them out. It is not supposed to rain for a few hours and there is a light breeze, so ought to mostly dry. In fact, there is showing a bit of sun inbetween before we get the rain???? I can run out and get them in pretty quick, and hang them inside if I have to.

Needed a drink so came in. Going in to pack those samples from Sat... then go out to maybe run the mower for a little bit... Moved the hose and such to already mowed area when I let the chickens out. Maybe go mow first and then do the samples.... would be better order in case it does rain. Shouldn't take an hour or less to do lawn I want to finish up.

 

[Ridgetop]

What animal will dig down and et garlic cloves? Brother has had garlic planted for 2-3 years for gopher control and no problems. Suddenly something dug down and ate all the garlic bulbs! Any ideas?

 

[canesisters]

voles?

 

[farmerjan]

Possums and skunks will eat garlic...chipmunks, gophers, all will eat it on occasion... Look up animals that eat garlic... surprised me... deer will eat it as well as onions... helps to repel fleas and ticks and pests... like we feed some garlic mineral to the cows... I don't grow it so don't know any of this for a fact.. but deer will eat onions...

 

[Mini Horses]

Garlic and onion...usually safe from most things. That's strange

 

[farmerjan]

Breeze is nice and the sun is trying to come out a bit... clothes will dry and I am headed out to run mower for a bit.