A Little Catch Up

We’re in the middle of a heat wave.
It’s hot.
I’m cranky because it’s hot.
I’m watering the garden a lot.
Birds get out at dawn and stay out until dusk.
I’d *love* to leave them out overnight in this heat but…someone posted on a local FB group that a black bear had been seen (with picture!) just a few miles from us.
Uh, I don’t need my birds being a bear buffet.
😂😂😂
And while I’m not adverse to shooting and eating a bear, I think it’s better to not have the birds out as a possible buffet temptation in the first place.
So up early to let ’em out, up late to put them away.

Still planting the garden.
These are the days of beans.
So. Many. Beans.
But, I didn’t get enough canned last year to make it ’til this years harvest (have 4 jars left) so the bean patch is getting a bit bigger. And I keep saying we need to expand the garden more.
Not even kidding.
But there’s a plan that replaces last year’s plan that didn’t work out and all it’ll take is a weekend to move a pasture fence and a couple big round straw bales…wheat straw please, because I can’t grow food to feed my Kid in oat straw…unless I want to kill her…which I don’t.
Obvs.
But that’s a Fall project.
For now, Hubby is building another brooder…that’ll be 4 for this year.
2 for turkeys and 2 for chickens.
Then he can work on a refurbish of the duck one (remember, it had mold and killed off over a 2/3rds of my first hatch of turkeys. 😥 )

Things went a bit sideways with my pre-purchased plants.
Trees were shorted from the order…so no saskatoons and no siberian crabapples this year.
Prolly for the best, I’m running out of place to jam things…for now.
Once the expansion is done, a section will be specifically for the saskatoons.
Then I heard from the local greenhouse that my order was being shorted the wild hops plants I wanted because the plants didn’t make it through the winter.
*sad face*
So I’ve substituted chives, a couple paprika pepper plants and mortgage lifter tomatoes.
I’ll get hops next year.
Really, it’s all kind of a blessing in disguise because I hadn’t figured out where to put all the trees, and not even kidding when I say I’m already exhausted.
😂😂😂
But…the end of planting is in sight, so once that’s done, it’s mulching, weeding and watering until harvest begins.
And feeding the bazillion and 15 birds.
Again tho…we’re gonna eat good this winter. 😉
Oh!
And the lady we bought our pig from last year has been in touch.
I have my pig booked for pickup in the Fall.
So just as I’m dropping from exhaustion from butchering birds, we’ll have another 250lb pig to do.
Not to mention the bartering trade of birds for a pig from a friend.
Lots of pork, lots of poultry.
Now, we’ll just need a deer or two and some beef and we’re set.
🙂

2 more weeks for the Sweetgrass turkey eggs.
3 more weeks for the Narragansett turkey eggs.
Then there will be many, many more turkeys.
And in case anyone thinks turkey might have a wee bit of a brain, trust me, there is a reason I call them my “stupid children”
Case in point:

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She stood there a bitched and bitched and bitched…for a good 20 minutes…because her feet were cold.
Seriously.
Turkeys is stoopid.
But, they are also good eating and fun to watch.
Which is why I love ’em.
😂😂😂