Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

Teresa is back from her visit to Missouri and happy to be home. Evidently it rained about the whole time she was there and getting around the flooded highways turned out to be a chore.

I had been keeping cucumbers picked and even canned several and I thought I had done a decent job of picking them. She went out to check the bed while I was out watering and moving the sheep and when I can back in there was a kitchen counter overloaded with soon to be pickles which will finish us for the year. Two of our neighbors want to can some so they will be taking care of that bed. Bell peppers are loaded as are the main bed of tomatoes. The squash should about be ready in the next few days and there are softball size watermelons.

We quit wasting time and space growing sweet corn since we can get that from the Amish. For the last few years they have been selling it by the bag full advertised as 60 ears (but usually hold 70 or more) more for $10.

 

[Beekissed]

Teresa is back from her visit to Missouri and happy to be home. Evidently it rained about the whole time she was there and getting around the flooded highways turned out to be a chore.

I had been keeping cucumbers picked and even canned several and I thought I had done a decent job of picking them. She went out to check the bed while I was out watering and moving the sheep and when I can back in there was a kitchen counter overloaded with soon to be pickles which will finish us for the year. Two of our neighbors want to can some so they will be taking care of that bed. Bell peppers are loaded as are the main bed of tomatoes. The squash should about be ready in the next few days and there are softball size watermelons.

We quit wasting time and space growing sweet corn since we can get that from the Amish. For the last few years they have been selling it by the bag full advertised as 60 ears (but usually hold 70 or more) more for $10.

That's a GREAT price!!!! I'm paying almost 3 x that much for the same amount. We too stopped growing sweet corn here due to lack of space and success, so have been buying it from one particular farm for the past several years. Wish we were closer to the Amish now....

 

[farmerjan]

I am with you 3x.... growing sweet corn is great if you have lots of extra unused space. But it is cheaper to buy it here also.... I haven't bought any in a couple of years to can/freeze but paid about $20 for a big bag of 60+ ears too. I could get the "rejects " from friends that used to grow it and sell it, for less than $10.... some ears were short, or no fully filled out... couldn't sell it at the stand but fine for me to shuck and use....
Plus, buying it like that means that you can get it when you have the time to do it up... not when it is ready to pick and you are not ready to process.

 

[farmerjan]

Glad she had a good visit even if it rained alot. And got home safe and sound.

Wonderful that you can share with the neighbors, even maybe make back some seed money possibly. I used to "give" stuff away, and the recipients would always give me something for it... never asked for anything when I shared, and for reasons of pride and such accepted anything someone would give me; paid for my seed and stuff. I want to do a bigger garden next year once the knees are done, and make a little at it as well as put up all that I want.... have some to maybe barter for other things too.... we'll see how this fall goes and the knee replacements...

 

[Baymule]

Eat all you can, fill jars and freezer, then share with neighbors and friends. Way to go. Glad Teresa had a good time and is back home safe.

 

[Bruce]

60 ears (but usually hold 70 or more) more for $10

Heck of a deal!

 

[Mike CHS]

We always have decent gardens but piling the leaves on last fall and then adding all the sheep manure that came from around the stall made for one of the best yet. We kept the pregnant sheep in the paddock where our shop is and they always hung out around the stall gate hoping I was going to give them something besides hay. As a result I was taking out 2 twenty gallon trash cans of manure. I just added that to the foot or so of leaves on each bed and mixed them together so they were all pretty much composted by planting time.

On a different note, I often wear a radio headset when I'm mowing or just going to be out with the dogs. My old set had yellow ear pieces and I just got a new set that has black ear muffs. I had the new ones on when I went out to feed Mel and Maisy this afternoon and the dogs got to about 100' of me and stopped and lay down. They just lay there looking like they weren't going anywhere when it finally dawned on me that the change had them uncomfortable so when I called their names, the voice let them know for sure everything was ok and they came on in to eat.

 

[farmerjan]

Amazing how they noticed that change.... I wear the ones with the "ear muffs" type too. Hate to put the little spongy things in my ears, but they were better than nothing. DS got these for me after I said I would like them for my birthday ( or maybe it was Christmas ) 2 or 3 years ago. Half the time I don't even turn on the radio part... just like the noise reduction. I am not wanting to have to wear hearing aids because I have gone deaf from noisy equipment.

 

[Mike CHS]

Amazing how they noticed that change.... I wear the ones with the "ear muffs" type too. Hate to put the little spongy things in my ears, but they were better than nothing. DS got these for me after I said I would like them for my birthday ( or maybe it was Christmas ) 2 or 3 years ago. Half the time I don't even turn on the radio part... just like the noise reduction. I am not wanting to have to wear hearing aids because I have gone deaf from noisy equipment.

I try to take care of my hearing. From my time in the Navy, I have some hearing loss from wearing a radio headset with multiple frequencies for 30 plus years so I do try to be careful. The set I just got is lighter weight and still gives decent obstruction to equipment noise plus the reception is much better than what I had. A plus was they were only around $22.

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm not sure if I mentioned before but we put a camera out there a week or so ago and during the night we had a big Tom Cat show up to eat and not much later was a Skunk and not much later was a Coon. I may have already posted about that but I couldn't tell you what I had for breakfast so that's no new thing. The feral cat is keeping her kittens in our little hay barn but they come out early in the morning and head down to the shop looking for their food. They are funny as they are so skittish they will run away from the shop and right past me heading down to put out feed, to their safe space but stop short of going in to the barn. I go on down and fill up their bowl, shake it a bit as I put it down and then head back up the hill. These "wild" critters will sit there as I walk by and as soon as I'm out of the way, they all run back down for breakfast.