Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings.

Our Piedmont home and garden is coasting toward autumn.

Here's what's been going on around here.

The zinnias and other beauties keep on comin'

and adding a touch of summer to the indoors.

The container is actually an old pitcher

my momma used to store milk in when I was young.

What a treasure!

The squash vines just keep on-a-sprawlin',

and are invading any bare ground they find.

We haven't had rain in a couple of weeks,

but you'd never know it by these crops.

It looks like we'll have a nice harvest

of red ripper beans.

This variety is always easy to germinate,

has no pest issues,

and provides months of pods to pick.

We let them dry on the vine,

so they are ready for storage for the rest of the year.

The teepee turned out well and will definitely be repeated.

Although we've had a fairly mild summer,

this week's higher temperatures

boosted the growth of the loofah.

We once again have gourds growing on our gazebo frame,

providing much needed shade for the chooks.

Although these can be eaten when picked small,

we will most likely leave them to grow

so that they can be given away as loofah "sponges".

Pumpkins keep showing up,

in various sizes, shapes and patterns.

Seminole pumpkin

Some were planted,

and some are volunteers,

and I have absolutely no idea

what variety they are.

It's the most success I've had with squash,

so I'll gladly give them a home.

The nasturtiums cheerfully fill in

some of the Birdie's beds.

The flowers added to the veggie beds

attract pollinators to work their magic.

Next season, more flowers will be added

around the veg garden.

It's a win-win!

Some time was spent this week

harvesting herbs from the designated bed.

There is no dark room in our home in which to dry them,

so I simply use paper sacks to accomplish the task.

Here, we have oregano, which will be placed in the food processor

so that we have it for the entire year.

The Monarchs butterflies are here!

One was spotted early on in the week,

and we have the milkweed plants to support them.

Here you can see the aphids that are covering the milkweed,

but not to worry.

After some observation,

I noticed that the plants where this lil' mystery guy (gal) resided,

the aphids were gone.

So, I've been moving them from plant to plant

in hopes that they will take care of the aphid problem.

This will create a healthier milkweed plant

whenever the Monarch cats decide to show up.

I choose to use the natural approach to gardening,

and don't spray or otherwise interfere with Mother Nature.

She knows what she's doing.

Once our baby chooks started laying,

they have been cranking out eggs like crazy!

We are getting almost 2 dozen weekly,

although they are smaller than the average size egg.

They will increase in size as the girls get older.

Feeling very rich, indeed!

3 out of 4 of our baby olive eggers

Speaking of the babies,

would you look at this?

There are three nesting boxes in our 

Omlet Pro coop,

and yet, they all want to lay in the same one

at the same time!

They seem to be working this out,

but now we have one broody hen 

who refuses to leave the box all day!

Every two hours, we take her out,

so that she can eat and stretch her legs.

It's always something,

but our lives are richer because of them,

so we will deal with any drama that comes up.

The three older girls, or as they are also known,

the bullies, get free range time at least once daily.

They live in their own run,

as they are merciless with the babies.

They seem to be enjoying their freedom,

and are very good about staying close to home.

Betty eating homemade applesauce

I'm sorry to report that our sweet Betty passed in the last few weeks.

She was a good friend to our beautiful Queenie,

her twin sister Wilma, and dear Ruby. 

I hope they are all together somewhere 

and catching all the crickets they can eat!

With each chook passing, I am getting better

at dealing with it and giving them some comfort.

It's never easy losing a beloved pet,

but I know that they've had a good life with us,

and I send them off with love and peace

(and a boatload of tears).

May September usher in for you

new adventures and a peaceful heart.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Homestead Happenings

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here

on our Piedmont NC property.

Tropical storm Debby made Her way through our area,

bringing over 3 inches of rain, fierce winds

and a short loss of power.

All is fine here,

and the chooks were all kept on lock down

for the event.

 

Speaking of chooks,

our babies are now laying.

We had a full dozen eggs last week,

after months of having to purchase eggs

from other chicken keepers.

The girls are earning their keep!

The gorgeous olive-colored eggs will get bigger with time.

In the veg garden, the sweet potatoes

have been savoring every drop of rain.

The vines are now overflowing from their bed.

Looking forward to having sweet spuds in the fall.

A couple of new Cushaw squash have been spied

on their trellis.  The Seminole pumpkins are growing,

but have not yet ripened to harvest.

These two squashes will be staples in the garden

from now on.

Red ripper beans are coming along on the teepee,

along with some stringless green beans.

I have enjoyed watching the teepee fill in,

and will likely add a few more next spring.

All of the volunteer squash vines are sprawling

in every available spot.  

Thankfully, there is ample space,

and we'll see what we get by season's end.

A volunteer pumpkin near our pollinator bed

is starting to change color.

I have no idea what it is,

or how big it's supposed to get,

so I guess we'll just watch it and take our best guess

for harvest time.

Another volunteer,

near the sweet potato bed,

seems to be some type of melon.

There are quite a few fruit on the vine,

and I fear that the trellis I secured will not be enough

to hold them all.

It's so exciting to see all of this mystery food appear!

Last week, we had temperatures in the 90's,

and we took full advantage of the new

mister fans we picked up.

Here, Betty is getting some much-needed relief,

bless her skinny lil' self.

I've also used them for myself on the front porch,

not only for cooling, but to keep mosquitoes at bay.

The fan can be used without the mister, if desired.

The spiderwort border near the chicken run

had been cut back severely a couple of months ago,

as they were looking mighty raggedy.

With the ample rain we've had,

they are coming back strong.

It's so nice to have fresh blooms

when other things are looking so tired and worn out.

Speaking of fresh blooms,

the zinnias are popping up

in every shade imaginable.

The combination colors are one of my favorites.

This display is just under my bedroom window,

and it brings me such joy

when I open up my curtains in the morning

and am greeted with this beautiful sight.

It reminds me at the beginning of my day

just how blessed we are.

The cactus zinnias are another favorite

and grace our garden every summer.

The milkweed plants must be 6 feet tall,

but so far, no monarchs have been spotted.

We'll keep an eye out though,

as it should be within the next few weeks

that they will start devouring these plants.

This year, there were many volunteer milkweed,

so we have an abundant supply for the caterpillars to enjoy.

What wonderous things are happening on your homestead?