Birds Are ONLY For Looking At

If I've told her once, I've told her a thousand times...
I had to remove this birdbath when Pearl converted it into a Finch / Chickadee hunting stand.

She didn't stay mad for very long.

We Were Promised Tomatoes

Well, maybe not promised, but lead to expect maybe. It seems that most years, by this time we are smacking our lips and wiping tomato juice form our chins. Feasting on Caprese salads every night and hanging over the sink eating tomato sandwiches, on homemade bread, with homemade mayonnaise.

But no. All we have so far are gigantic, leafy, overachieving tomato PLANTS.
Okay, I can't honestly say there are no tomatoes, here are some Sungold cherry tomatoes on tone of the plants. They are currently the size of peas.










The beans are playing the same game. Lots of lush, healthy, leafy growth, but no beans, no flowers even. It won't be long though, and just like every year, we probably won't be able to keep up with the abundance.











Until then at least I've got theses lovelies.
Calendula and Crocosmia.

Inspired and Inspiring

I LOVE this story about a kid who spends her summer farming in her own backyard, and makes money selling what she grows.

Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard

I'm Not Complaining, But...

So after a what seemed an interminably cold, wet / wet, cold, spring we now have a heat wave. From Monday morning low temp in the 60s we have swung to highs in the 90s for the next few days. It feels great, but I worry that the sudden heat may be a little hard on the plants.

I gave everything a good soak yesterday morning, and I'll be monitoring soil moisture closely for the next few days. Today we may hit 100 degrees and break a record.

The hens don't seem to mind the heat at all. 2 eggs yesterday, and 2 more today. I made sure they have full food and water feeders, and I set up another big dish of water outside of the coop, in the shade so they have plenty to drink. And for a treat today I gave them some frozen corn.

Poor Pearl , my black cat, is not enjoying the heat as much. She's doing a lot of laying around on the cool kitchen floor and looking at me as if to say, "turn off the heater, why doncha".

Hot again tomorrow, they say, then cooling as we head into the weekend.

Grow Some Grains For The Girls

What a great idea to add greens to to the mix of treats for the chickens, and keep them busy. It also helps keep the run from becoming dry hard pan in the summer and a muddy bog in the wet months. I am definitely going to give this a try.

Greens for Hens

More Information on Bees

Here's a new study linking cell phone radiation to the decline in bee populations.
Bees