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.

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.

I Feel Fall

Today will be spent doing a little clean up and rearranging on the farm. Fall is beginning to make it's presence known. Not everyday, just now and then little signs appear. A few leaves are starting to fall, the days are getting noticeably shorter. There's an intangible sense of the changing seasons in the air. Although the days are still plenty warm, it does feel as if fall is waiting in the wings.

The greens I planted a few weeks ago are doing fine and some of the summer plants will be removed to give them some more room and more sun. Plants to remove include sunflowers, which are fading, a redundant zucchini, and some underperforming peppers, and of course many weeds.

In sad news, my farm cat, Mel has been missing since Friday. I've put up fliers around the neighborhood and spoken to all my neighbors, posted a description and photo on craigslist, and walked all over the neighborhood calling kittykittykitty. We even visited the Humane Society to see if she had been turned in, even though I think it's too early for that. So keep your fingers crossed that she will wander back home.Several people have told me stories of their own cats that came home in good health after a week or 2 or even a month, so I remain hopeful. Here's what she looks like, let me know if you see her.
And here is a shot of Mel performing vital work on the Backyard Farm.