We knew it would be cooler this week, and yesterday it wasn’t much over 70 here at the farm. Is this the cool air from Alaska? Tuesday we watched a storm skirt around us in the 4:00 p.m. timeframe bringing us wind but no precipitation. The worst of it was that the electricity was off for 50 minutes.
Last
Saturday, the farmer sprayed the fields with herbicide to kill the
weeds and volunteer wheat. In this picture, you can see the operator walking in
the field, probably checking for mud. It was hot over the weekend, and the
mudhole at the clothesline is mostly gone. However, marshy spots remain here
and there on the property.
Speaking
of weather, yesterday Mike attached his weather station to his he-shed. In the
past, we’ve had it on the barn roof and then at the pond, but it didn’t work
well either place in the long run. So far, Mike is pleased with this location. He
spent hours calibrating the rain gauge, which we finally realized would never be
really accurate.
As we walked late in the afternoon, we saw another young rattler on the upper slope of the lane just beyond the yard. It scurried out of our way and we let it go. We also caught sight of a gopher snake slithering through the yard.
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| Wild roses are in bloom now |
The other night, two young whitetail bucks were staring at us from the edge of the field beyond the raised beds. For one enchanted moment, we just stood staring at each other. Then a buck from outside our view (which means there were really three) ran through, which broke the spell. One buck and then the other ran. Mike said they were up to no good, and I’m afraid I have to agree. If we hadn’t been here, they would have munched our yard.
Last
week I covered the little apples on the honey crisp tree with mesh bags, and as
I communed with the tree, I discovered two more. That makes seventeen or so. I
hope they develop all right. I don’t see much fruit on the Lapins sweet cherry
tree. I think we had a cold snap at the wrong time. I will miss the fruit, but
at least we don’t have to swath the tree.
We haven’t had sign of mice or gophers for a long time – knock on wood. You just know they aren’t gone but waiting for the chance to pounce when we’ve been a little careless. KW
4 comments:
Sorry to be so remiss in commenting. Had the not-so-little-man this week and we had fun buzzing around and then he went home and I fell in a heap. So fun though! Your pictures have been beautiful (except for the snake, of course!). The weather has become summer and Dan planted out our squash starts, including some baby pumpkin starts from seeds he saved from one we bought last fall. We're hopeful! Supposed to storm tonight, so hope you're all cozy and dry wherever you are!
It's always good to hear from you, Chris, and I'm glad to know you're having a fun summer.
I planted my raised beds on June 17, and I'm disappointed in the amount of germination. I think I'll just rake in a few more seeds. I would love to plant pumpkins. I sincerely hope Dan's efforts are successful.
Yes, we know now that it did storm. The little men playing ten-pins dropped a ball right on top of our house by the sound of things. They were just playing through. Rainwater still clings to the screens on our windows. It's cooler but feels muggy.
We were surprised to have rain all yesterday and Nick was disappointed because he's been making great progress with installing closets and trim in the basement. I even turned the heat on for a spell last evening and this morning. The ups and downs of the weather this year is so strange!
Speaking of critters...we've got something that's been getting to my strawberries before I can. Such a shame. My fresh strawberries were quite the treat last year. And my garden is confused, too. I planted seeds early and then did it again with fresh seed packs in May. I think I'll have beets and peas but I'm not sure about the carrots or kale. Oh well.
Can you put netting over your strawberries? I just buy regular netting from JoAnn's -- inexpensive and it does the job.
I'm planning to re-seed carrots, beets, and lettuce.
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