Will helped out our neighbor, cutting a hayfield which hadn’t been cut for two years. It was matted with dead grass which made cutting it tough. But he got it done, then baled it up with our round baler as the neighbor’s baler burned out a bearing early on. Will also finished baling another of his fields. Generously, the neighbor gave Will the round bales he’d baled in the first field — more than fifty of them! So Will’s busy hauling them home on our bus-frame hay transport, which hauls six to eight bales a load plus one in the back of our pickup.

The garden’s FINALLY coming in. It’s nearly three weeks behind. We’re getting ripe tomatoes and the beans are doing very well. Now if we just don’t get a frost for a couple more weeks…

Take a look at these Gold Marie vining pole beans! One measured 15″ long! They’re sweet and tender when a bit smaller.

Yesterday Will took off on the four wheeler and came back bearing an ice cream pail full of wild plums plus a quarter pail of deer-spit-out plum pits. Hey, did you know deer love plums but won’t eat the pits? They were standing on their hind legs, eating plums. Creative buggers, huh? We didn’t have a good crop of plums this year due to our late spring frost but at least I’ll be able to can up a nice bunch of wild plum jam this afternoon.

These wild plums are waiting to be made into jam this afternoon.

We’re getting ready for the Energy Fair in St. Paul this weekend. It’s at Harriet Island Park, which is across the river from downtown St. Paul. If any of you can make it, we’d love to have you stop by the Backwoods Home and Self-Reliance booths. I’ll also be speaking both days. Our booths are B-5 and B-6. Luckily, David and Ashley can watch over our homestead in our absence.

Our Nubian-Boer buck, Zeus, isn’t very happy. He’s left alone down in the goat pasture so we don’t end up with winter/early spring kids. They so easily freeze their ears or even feet as well as getting chilled on those cold nights. We prefer to have our kids when the weather’s warmed up in the spring to eliminate worries.

Zeus doesn’t like being left alone in the pasture but it’s necessary to prevent too-early kids.

Our Aurora peppers are absolutely gorgeous. I planted one in a pot by our front walk and I love all the colors which change daily.

Aren’t these Aurora peppers pretty? Just as good as flowers in a pot, we think.

How pretty! — Jackie

2 COMMENTS

  1. Mia,

    We miss you too! I think cows love anything we do, from corn to tomatoes. It’s sad to think cows are smarter than we are…..

  2. Hey guys! We miss you so so much! Our garden is late ripening as well this year. We have had crazy summer lightning storms this last week. I’m hoping for a late summer… last year at this time we were covering the crops with plastic wrap! Starting to dust off all my canning supplies… And you are right about how smart cows are! We brought a new Gurnsey home and the FIRST thing she did was bust through the bottom garden fence!! Apparently cows LOVE swiss chard!

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