Homestead Happenings

Greetings and welcome back to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here on our Zone 8 Piedmont property.

Although I'm still having difficulty loading pictures easily,

I managed to figure out a new way to get them onto the blog.

It's time consuming, but it works.

The hyacinth bean vines are doing a fine job

of covering the southern end of the chook run.

This gives the girls ample shade and

the bonus is, that they enjoy munching on the blooms.

You'll never guess what happened!

In my last written post,

I told you about our dear Saffron,

who was quite poorly.

The vet had been called and she didn't give us much hope.

After two days of giving her the prescribed pain medication,

and a lot of TLC, she is back to her old self.

You would never know she was on death's door just weeks ago.

Bless her lil' ole chicken heart.

One of the projects started this week,

is the fencing off of our woods.

Three of our chooks like to wander,

and when I found them recently all the way on the other side

our our neighbors' yard, I knew this task couldn't wait.

I'm reusing the nylon fencing that we used to have for our

chicken runs, and simply stapling it to the trees.

This should keep them on their own territory,

and it's barely noticeable.

About half of the area is completed,

and I will work on it as I have the time.

C and I have been slowly working on the woodchip pile,

and we've gotten it down to a fraction of its original size.

It's always nice to have help with these type

of chores, and I enjoy seeing him outside for a change.

The garden is in full swing.

These cucumber plants are an experiment,

as I've never grown them at this time of year.

Our weather has been spectacular of late,

and I'll be curious to see if we are able to get a harvest or two.

In one of the raised beds, we have turnips, lettuce and kale growing.

Everything will continue to be covered with netting,

as I have some very agile chooks

who like to jump up and eat the goodies.

In another raised bed, there is a leftover basil plant,

some lettuce, kale and more cucumbers.

It feels great to see the beds filling up 

with cool weather crops.

Some volunteer pumpkins were nibbled on by something,

and so I used this wire cage to cover them 

until they are large enough to recover.

This also keeps the chooks from scratching and digging around the roots.

We've had visits from rabbits, groundhogs and skunks this season.

Once these starts get a little more size to them,

they will be transplanted into awaiting beds.

There is broccoli, cabbage, kale, and a variety of lettuce

to be added to what is already growing.

I hope you saw the photo I published yesterday.

These monarch caterpillars have been

absolutely magical this year.

We have been totally inundated with them,

and I couldn't be more pleased.

We are overrun with chrysalises everywhere

from clay pots, to rocking chairs, to plants.

We are hoping to have an explosion of color

once they start hatching out.

It is an exciting time indeed! 

Two chrysalises under our bird bath.

Yesterday I checked to see if we still had cats eating the milkweed.

Yup, sure enough, there are at least a handful of them

still devouring what is left.

This multitude of magical milkweed munchers

has done my soul good this summer.

nasturtiums and coreopsis

Although our temperatures have been quite mild,

we haven't had rain since earlier this month.

Watering has been done a couple of times a week,

just to keep everything from looking like a hot mess.

Incidentally, the Florida ligustrum seen here under the left window

has many monarch chrysalises dangling on its leaves.

I will be able to watch them from inside!

I have to say, that I really like the color combination

of the chartreuse and purple elements here.

The dome asters, ajuga and butterfly bush

all serve as a beautiful backdrop for the pops

of bright abelia.

Thank you for keeping your distance!

On a recent neighborhood walk,

an unexpected guest appeared.

S/he was there in broad daylight,

and waddling across the street

like nobody's business.

(If you click on the picture, it will be easier to see.)

Esmerelda eating the blooms!

It feels good to be able to write again,

and share the photos of the homestead.

I'm hoping I can find an answer as to why

I can't get pictures from my phone to my laptop,

but until I do, at least I've found a way around the problem.

The next time I post it will be autumn, my favorite season,

even without all the pumpkin-spiced goodies.

I hope you have savored your summer

and have something to look forward to 

in the coming season.

God Bless.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share the goings-on 

here in our Piedmont homestead.

This will be short and sweet,

as I am still having difficulty loading pictures

onto the computer from my phone,

and I don't have the first clue how to fix that.

The good news is...

the monarchs are back in FULL FORCE!

We are absolutely crawling in caterpillars,

and you won't hear one complaint from me.

Making it even sweeter, is the fact that I 

didn't plant any milkweed this year,

these are all volunteers!

By the time this is posted, there will be many

caterpillars searching for a cozy spot

to form their chrysalis to make

the transformation into the beautiful

orange and black butterflies we love so much.

What a thrill to see all of these

critters devouring our plants,

knowing that there will be a few more beauties

in the world.

There were more pictures to share,

but it's so frustrating trying to post them,

that I only added a few.

Have you seen any monarchs where you are?

The other not-so-good news,

is that our dear Saffron is dying.

She took sick suddenly,

as most chooks do.

Chooks are known for hiding illness,

lest they be preyed upon by other animals,

or even their own kind.

I did everything I knew to figure it out,

and treated her with several natural remedies.

I finally found a vet that treats chooks,

but they were not available for 5 days.

When they finally did come,

the vet told me she thinks it might be

a tumor that is affecting her internal organs.

She gave us some pain meds,

and we've been treating her daily.

To her credit, I really didn't expect her to live this long.

She was on death's door just a few days ago,

so I will do what I can to keep her comfortable.

I'm happy to report that yesterday,

she took a walk in the woods with her sisters,

and seemed to be breathing easier.

I know we don't have long with her,

but I'm glad to know that at least

I did what I could and that she's had a good life with us.

Her buddies have been keeping her company,

which just melts my heart.

Sorry for the short post,

there are some things to report in the garden,

but along with the technical issues,

I haven't much been in the mood to chat.

I hope your weekend brings you all good news...

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings.

It's been a while, thanks to some technical difficulties.

Summer is winding down here in the Piedmont,

with next week's temperatures becoming 

more moderate and less humid.

I'm all for it!

Look at this gorgeous striped cosmos that is coming up.

The shed was recently cleaned out and organized.

I was able to find a friend who could use many

of the things I no longer needed.

It's such a blessing to have a place

for the gardening and chook materials.

To my astonishment,

the loofah is starting to flower.

I had all but given up on getting any loofah this year,

as the vines were so slow to get started.

But here we are.

It's doubtful that we will have enough warm weather

to enable a full harvest, but ya never know.

This ginger plant (that I basically forgot was planted),

has blooms so fragrant,

even I could smell them.

This plant lends a tropical vibe to any landscape,

and requires very little attention.

I look forward to digging up the tubers

to share with fellow gardeners.

Another small project was refashioning this workbench.

The old, rotted wood was removed and

the hardware cloth was added.

I had just enough to cover the two tiers.

This picture reminds me that I need to dig up

that turmeric plant to give away.

Dust bathing beauties

All of the chooks are still doing well,

and no broodiness has returned.

These three girls are having quite a molt though.

Better now than when the cold winds blow.

Egg production has amped up big time!

We are getting about 20 eggs a week

from our four younger chooks.

Our egg basket runneth over!

The raised beds are gradually being filled

with soil.  I've had a difficult time finding 

quality top soil to complete my personal mix,

so I am resigned to using the bagged stuff.

We have a local organic resource here called

Wallace Farms,

so at least I can feel good about supporting a local business.

Several crops were started in cell trays

in the past few weeks.

It's time to get the fall garden started.

A variety of kale, cabbage, broccoli,

snap peas and cucumbers were sown.

Germination for the most part was spectacular,

with seedlings showing up after only 3 or 4 days.

In fact, the cucumbers were just potted up

yesterday.  They already have their second set of leaves,

and it will be fun to share the extras with friends.

I've never tried growing cucumbers in the fall,

but with less bug pressure and mild days ahead,

I think it's worth a try.

What's happening in your garden 

during this transitional season?

For those of you wondering,

C is still awaiting his surgery,

but we've finally found the right doctor

and it will be scheduled soon.

I'll keep you posted

and thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Looking for the best possible outcome!

Homestead Happenings

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's been going on 

here on our zone 8A Piedmont homestead.

The gazebo frame is being covered in morning glory.

Unfortunately, the loofah that I had planted (twice),

never took off.

We'll try again next year. 

The garden is a bit of a mess at the moment.

The temperatures here have been blistering,

as in much of the country,

and motivation to be outside has waned.

With this weekend being a little cooler,

I am hoping to give some attention to filling the raised beds

with adequate growing material.

There have been several disappointments this season.

This Seminole pumpkin that I had great success with

the last two years, has not produced even one gourd.

I think that it is too late in the season to expect 

any recovery, so another thing to look forward to next year.

I guess it's not surprising,

as even the nasturtiums,

seen here in the bed next to the round strawberry bed,

have withered in the heat, despite hand watering.

The Red Ripper beans never disappoint.

They are starting to take off and dry on the vines.

These red beans have a mild flavor,

and are great for using in chili, sloppy joes,

and anywhere you might use meat.

These store amazingly well, and, in fact,

I recently just finished last year's harvest.

Some things currently growing are green beans,

leeks, okra and turmeric.

Fall seedlings will be started soon.

Although their timing is a bit off,

these volunteer pumpkins did exceptionally well,

despite the scorching heat and humidity.

These three were harvested yesterday and brought inside,

and are absolutely beautiful.

There's no way they will make it until fall

left outdoors.

As I don't know the variety, I was planning to keep them

for decorating the front porch.

We'll see how well they do.

The morning glory is vigorously adorning the compost area.

For some reason, it seems a lot of folks in this state

don't care for it.

The heart-shaped leaves alone are so pretty,

and the purple flowers just add to it.

There are a number of orbital spiders residing here.

It was mesmerizing to watch as this gal

turned this moth into her silk to trap it.

Nature is fascinating.

A few of these yellow fuzzy caterpillars 

were found on the baptisia this week.

It may be an American dagger moth caterpillar.

I'm so grateful that critters can find a home here.

Our neighborhood groundhog (?)

has been visiting the garden as of late.

I wonder if s/he could be the culprit

eating one of the green bean plants?

Something not as welcome are the bag worms,

which infest our persimmon tree every year.

These insects are a true menace,

and can defoliate and destroy many types of plants.

Just look at the inside of one of the sacks.

It is best to remove the entire bag

and dispose of it in the trash, not compost.

These gluten-free almond flour muffins

were made this week.

I tweaked the recipe just a bit,

and they turned out great!

This will definitely be going into

the family recipe file.

You can find it here.

There is some good news to report.

All of our girls are together again,

enjoying ranging time as one unit.

The two chooks who were broody,

despite our efforts to dissuade them,

broke their broodiness all on their own.

It's such a blessing to see them all 

hanging out together again.

~~~~~

For those of you who were thinking about our son C,

his surgery was a bust and he is scheduled to see

another oral surgeon next week.

Fingers crossed that these folks will be 

 able to help him.

He's been so patient through it all.

We are looking forward to having it behind us.