Summer Tid Bits

We love Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans. Here is our green bean arch.

It makes it easy to pick the beans.

We have truly been blessed with weather this summer. I thank the Lord for it. The last 3 summers we experienced drought. Our grass and pastures dried up. This year the weather has only been really hot for a short while, but we have had plenty of rain and we are so grateful. Here is some of the scenery in this area. I took this on the way home from church.

I love sunflowers. I plant all kinds. The birds also plant some for us.

I loved this cloud formation. I did not see the little white cloud at the top until I downloaded the picture. :)

The baby bluebirds are growing. This picture was taken Aug. 5th.

I took this one on August 11th.

I have been slowly updating our web pages. I have added recipes to our Bread Page and our Pickle and Preserving Page. I also updated our Farm Page.

August in Full Bloom!

I heard a friend mention recently about how as we get older, time seems to go faster. That is the truth. It is hard to believe it is already August. WOW!!! We are busy as usual, but we enjoy that, so I am not complaining.

If you read this post about pickles then you know we are trying a gallon of fermented pickles this year. Here is what they looked like after a few days on the counter. The jar in the top is just to weight them down and keep them under the brine. They are now in the fridge.

With the blessing of milk, I also get the blessing of making cheese. I took a round out of the press yesterday and I need to make cheese again today and maybe tomorrow as well. Here you see the bowl of whey draining from the cheese. Also, you will see a few cheese curds sitting to the side. Those are for Michael. I always save him a few out. They are so good and they squeak when you eat them. My sweet friend Karen calls them squeaky cheese.

The pup (who is no longer a pup) is doing well. She has lots of boundless energy and I think she would make an excellent herding dog if we could figure out how to train her. She is so much fun to watch. We have been playing Frisbee with her. Well actually, Michael and I have been playing Frisbee trying to get her to get it. When she does, it is a game of keep away.

The Gladiolas are blooming. I have bouquet in my kitchen and more are coming all the time.

These coreopsis get as tall or taller than I am. Their blooms are very long lasting in a bouquet.

My Rudbeckia or Black Eyed Susans are really full this year. I would like to divide them up and put them in several places, but I am not sure when you do that.

The plants on my porch have done wonderful this year. I love the little blue blooms on Lobelia.

My little Bluebird momma has 2 babies she is taking care of. I put strips of foil all around the outside of the Bluebird house. I heard that will keep the sparrows away, but that the Bluebirds are not afraid of them. So far it has worked. If the English House Sparrows get in there, they will kill the momma and the babies. They killed 6 adult Bluebirds and 1 adult Tree Swallow this year before I put the strips up.

I need to get busy and start my day.

Blooms and Birds

Two nights this week we got a heavy frost. I covered my Wisteria with sheets. Some of the little branches got bit, but the rest is blooming beautifully!!!

They smell heavenly!!!!

These baby birds (I think there are four of them) are in the bluebird house. I am not sure if they are bluebirds or not. I have not seen any of the parent birds hanging around or going in an out. Anyone care to guess if they are bluebirds or not? Any experts out there?

The Honeysuckle bush is blooming as well. The children who live on our property play underneath it. They say it is a train station. I am not sure if they will continue playing under it once the bees find the blossoms.

This is the second weekend in a row that we are supposed to have rain and storms. We need to get the chicks out into the field. They are getting too big and too many for the brooder.

Always something going on at the farm...

Keep praying about Josh & Britt. There has been no real change as of yet.

Monarch George should come out of his chrysalis tonight or tomorrow. Click on the pictures and make them bigger. You can see his wings inside the chrysalis. A MIRACLE!!!!

Here is Star. She seems to really enjoy being the only dog. Belle went to live with Joshua and Brittany.

I just really liked this picture. It is a Gladiola that got blown over in the wind. It is laying across the weeds and mulch. I love all the shapes and greens with that splash of red.

Here are the baby bluebirds. At first there were four of them. Last time I looked there were three. Now, there is just these two.

I love to see all the colors in each sheep's fleece. You can click on any of these and make them bigger as well.

A real "Tails" from the farm photo.
THE END!! :)

Come On Outside With Me

Michael helped me open the bluebird box. There is a nest full of babies in there. Here is their picture. We shut it up tight quickly and left the area. The parents were not to be seen.

This is a bloom on our Hibiscus bush. I love these flowers, they remind me of my Mom. She loved them.

This is not a very good picture, but you can see that the grass is really long. Things are growing like crazy around here.

Here are Pepper and Psalty. Isn't she gorgeous?? He is no longer a ram, but a wether. He just stares at us.

Sunshine wanted to get up close and personal.

Here are Knit and Purl. They are all growing so fast.

They are trying to decide if they want to come in and risk being near me, or just keep their distance. =)

I believe this is Knit. If it is not, it is Purl.

I took other pictures, but they did not come out very good. I need to cut the scapes on the garlic plants. They are coming on hot and heavy. The onions are doing really well. How is your garden doing?