Hi All!

We had a great week of gardening, trying to get it all in. All the tomatoes are popping up from last year, and I have to move them where I want them. We had a couple days of cool weather, and lots of days with rain showers commming and going. I still have to get allot of seeds in the ground, and make some more garden beds. We are expanding the garden by about 50 x 100 more, oh my, but it will be fun.

We spent half the day yesterday in town getting what we needed. After 2 stores, I just wanted to go back home. We took the back seat out of the minivan, and Lowes was OUT of field fence! How fair is that. I think I was even stomping my feet alittle! But, at least it's over and we can spend 2 whole days here and not go to town. Yeah. All the animals are fine, people are still comming for BC pups, and I still have some to play with! I am trading one of my female pups for a female in western KY, a Wisp grandaughter. There is room for another dog! What are you all up too?

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 27, 2001

Answers

I forgot to tell you about the neatest thing I got yesterday! We needed a shower curtain, we have been using the same 3 dollar one for 4 years, and we really needed one! It was just hanging there on a couple hooks. Anyway, looking at them in Wallyworld, I saw it, my shower curtain. It has a big blue sky, the Grand Canyon, and a herd of wild horses running along the bottom! This thing is a beauty! I didn't even know they had shower curtains like this, I don't get out much. Even though it was 9 dollars, we got it, and I never spend money. With our whole farmhouse being cowboy and indian and a ranch, it fits right in, it's soooo cool. Now when you are sitting on the potty, a herd of wild horses is commin at ya!

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 27, 2001.

Hey Cindy,

Good to hear from you. I still need to plant my new garden here. I never thought there could be so many rocks. The former owner made a nice little English style garden which has picket fence all around it. I have to clean it out still and put some top soil. We are working on fencing in the pastures with field fence. Got a great deal on farm supplies at a local farm supply store that is going out of business. We are waiting for our new goaite girls to arrive, should be to the pick up point in Illinois today. We got a milk contract with Jackson Mitchell. I feel so blessed. iIjust love it here. I couldn't ask for more.

-- Bernice Raymond (geminigoats@yahoo.com), May 27, 2001.

Hi Cindy- I had a great day here on the homestead yesterday too. I'm a little ahead of you- I picked the first ripe cherry tomato. It was worth waiting for. I finally bit the bullet and bought 2 hens at the feed store to replace the ones the fox ate last week. My Ancona chicks are only 7 days old today so it will be awhile before they start laying. The hens are supposed to be laying- we'll see. (out of town)Yuppie Boyfriend arrives today for a visit, and he was so disappointed not to have been here when the original batch started laying, so I took a chance that we'll get at least a few eggs out of the feed store ladies. But, that meant trying to fox-proof their chicken tractor. I wound up installing a single strand of electric fence wire around the perimeter of the garden to start with. Then, I added a strand at the bottom of the pen on 5" insulators. My beautiful garden looks like a concentration camp. If the fox gets through that, I am getting out of the chicken bidness! Most of my seeds have sprouted, except the nasturtiums, which were really old seeds anyway. I am going to start some fresh seeds today and see how they do. I'm like you, Cindy- made my trip to town yesterday and now I am ready to settle in here for a few days. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), May 27, 2001.

Hi, All,

You know, I can't win for losing! We finally got the garden rototilled and raked out yesterday figuring we'd plant today. Now, we've been needing rain so badly here lately and wouldn't you know, we get it last night! Now, it's too wet to get into the garden today. Oh, well, there's always tomorrow. My corn, stringbeans and tomatoes are ready to go.

Otherwise, we've had a great month. Spent a week with children and grandchildren in Florida and am now trying to recover and catch up. Until last night's rain, we've been terribly dry. Haven't checked the rain gauge yet, but it seemed to rain all night, nice and steady so hopefully we got a good soaking.

Enjoy the holiday weekend.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), May 27, 2001.

Heh, Dianne, good luck. It's been raining here every day for nearly two weeks, and cool weather too. I can't plant anything, as the heavyish clay never gets quite dry enough. Got some boxes that I will be planting though (keeping those near the house so that I have quick and easy access to greens and cherry tomatoes).

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), May 27, 2001.

to you people who are getting rain where are you from. I am in arizona and it is very dry and haven't had rain in months.

Lisa

-- Lisa miller (ljmill35@aol.com), May 27, 2001.

Diane, I strongly empathize, but we needed the rain soooooo badly!! I went out and planted out my tomato plants and another broccoli planting in the rain. I was too chilled to put in the last of the onion plants. I'll spend some time cold and wet tomorrow doing that and you know what......I'll enjoy it just like I did today!!! Last weekend was a little too exciting. My husband passed a kidney stone. That's enough of that! I sold the last of my goat kids this past week. Now I just have my 2 does, my ewe and 2 meat lambs. Choretime does go by more quickly now, but I do enjoy the little buggers when they're here! It is supposed to rain pretty much all week, which is good since we haven't had any rain to speak of since it quit snowing. I'll just plant my pumpkins and squash in flats and put them in the ground when the rain stops next week. Maybe they'll survive better against the slug onslaught with a little size to them anyway! Life in good, thank God!

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), May 27, 2001.

Good morning! I am thrilled that we have everything planted and it has been raining all morning. (We haven't had much rain lately). I staked all my grape whips up and cleaned out around all my cages. We have 'cages' around everything to keep the deer from eating it. I have a pair of quail with a nest at the end of my garden and all 30 of the bluebird houses have baby bluebirds! We have had a "snakey" week saw two King snakes and killed a chicken snake! I know, they eat alot of rats but they also eat birds! Hope everyone's garden looks as good as mine does, It is beautiful- -hardly no weeds and everything is green.... Paradise!!!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), May 28, 2001.

HI! We have had a really unusual week on our homestead!

My 20 year old homeschooled son got married Sunday, which was my birthday. They got married in her parent's backyard by their pool where there is a beautiful fountain! It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and they were both so beautiful and handsome!

We went up today and mowed their huge nearly one acre yard, feed their two guinies (spelling?) dogs and cats. The came back from their short honeymoon late this afternoon.

Son had already bought and moved into his house last fall so they've really done a lot of planning!

We had the after-rehearsal dinner here Saturday night which meant a MASSIVE amount of cleaning, including my home office which usually has newspapers wall-to-wall because there's always several articles-in-progress that i'm doing for one of the two newspapers I write for!

In addition to all the wedding stuff we moved the five "Easter egg" chickens into a small cage and put it inside the chicken enclosure with the 20 other chickens which are about two months older, so they can all get used to one another, before I turn them out really together.

The garden must be tilled soon because we've had so much rain the last few days weeds are having a hay-day! But the cabbages, squash, eggplants, all kinds of peppers, watermellons, cantalops, and cucumbers have all really grown during the rain! I must plant the okra once it gets dry enough!!! Peas are coming up good but the butterbeans are sketchy!

Cats are doing great and so are the dogs. Am hoping to soon get an Angora goat from a really nice lady I "met" here on the forum and who lives a little north of me!

So here was our homestead week!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 30, 2001.

It has been a busy week here on Duck Hill.....the rhubarb and the strawberries are ready so must make my jelly tomorrow.....plus all the weeding needs done in the garden..eating alot of lettuce and spinach. The 3 goats got out of their fenced in area so I got my exercise for the day..A mallard duck is eating the plants out of our pond by the porch.....and a white heron arrived this morning looking for the goldfish to eat....a male pheasant showed up 4 days ago and is looking for a mate..hollering alot during the day.We now have 12 baby chicks running around.....I planted basil , oregano..and dill and that is coming up....Tomorrow should be another beautiful day.........

-- Christina (tinatudor@aol.com), May 30, 2001.