We’re making hay while the sun shines

We’ve finally been given a week’s worth of nice sunny weather so we’re making good use of it. Yesterday Will baled 14 big round bales and a wagonload plus a truckload of square bales of hay. God was with us! Our friend, Alan, was working at building a cabin for a fellow on the same road we were haying on, and knew we needed help unloading hay bales. So when I hauled the loads home, a young man followed me! His name is Joey and he’s a great worker and pleasant to have around. AND he’s looking for a little part-time work, working for Alan also part-time. Wow, we’re real happy about that! So today Will’s out cutting more hay to bale on Saturday. I’m hauling broken bales of hay to the cows, horses, and goats so they can enjoy our oopsies.

And I’ve been canning beans like mad. Our wonderful Provider beans gave me another five quarts plus four pints yesterday and there are tons of beans coming on like mad. They are SUCH a great bean!

Our squash have little baby squash set on them and are running like crazy. It’s unbelievable how big the vines are getting. (Good varieties, plenty of manure, mulch, and water all help!) It’s fun to see the different varieties we’re trialing this year. One, Giant Apache, even has yellow and green variegated leaves on one plant! That’s really pretty and I’ll be saving seeds from that plant for sure. It’d be great if I can stabilize that trait as it really adds pop to the squash patch!

In between haying, Will’s been repairing some equipment like our big offset disc that developed a crack on the frame. With homesteading and farming, it’s an ongoing process; it seems like every other day something breaks and has to be fixed. (We always say we hope it’s a cheap, easily fixed break!) — Jackie