We had a nice weekend. It was hot and soooo humid outside but it was a slow lazy weekend. On Saturday I got up at 4:00 to go and meet some of the Photo Club members on the east side of Bloomington. We drove to Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, near Seymour Indiana. We spent a good part of the day photographing anything that moved! When it got so unbearably hot, all the wildlife hunted for cover and so did we.

When I arrived back home, E told me that the grandkids and their parents were on the way to spend the weekend!!! Yikes! I didn't know they were coming, so wasn't prepared! E and I did some quick picking up and had everything presentable when they got here.

The boys are going to be 3 and 6 years old in October. They had a ball, hot and sweaty but well, it IS summer, and boys don't seem to notice! Dad brought the 4 wheelers and they went way back in the woods. The six year old was just thrilled to have so much space to ride his. His daddy drove the big one and Eli had one his size. He looked cute in his helmut. We grilled burgers and hot dogs for lunch just before they left to go back home, which is an hour and a half north. It was real nice to see them here. Eli love to come visit Papaw Wolfe and collect the eggs in the chickens nests.

These are the latest visitors to our birdfeeder! Do you see the fuzzy thing in the leaves? They have chewed holes in the feeder!

Was it worth it?

Chiggers! or Redbugs, or jiggers, or whatever you want to call them! They can sure make your life miserable! I have been going to JW Jones place, (where I trailride my horse) to pick wild blackberries, a couple of days a week. They are abundant there and so were the 'itchies' that I brought back with me. Were the cobblers worth all the chigger bites and itching? You betcha!!!

I picked black raspberries a few weeks ago and made a cobbler with them. I tried a new recipe and it was so good. I was surprised, it couldn't have been more perfect, and now that the blackberries are ripe I have been picking those too, and turning them into a yummy cobbler and putting the extras in the freezer.

Have been picking and canning green beans also. We have managed to can 43 quarts so far. I spent two Saturdays 'doing beans', when I wanted to be out riding my mare. E set up the little gas stove that I cook maple syrup on. We did all the preparation in the kitchen, then E carried the canner out to the garage so we didn't have to heat up the kitchen with all that steam. This is usually enough for the two of us for the year. Ed loves them. I can take them or leave them. I like broccoli better, it has a lot more flavor.

We have seen a Whitetail doe with triplets in our front pasture. The fawns run and chase and jump, then run some more. It is fun to watch them play with each other. How common are triplets? Don't know, but usually a doe will have twins in the years after her first fawn. Haven't had the chance to get a photo yet.

I could not get these to post with my blog so here they are.

An Iffy Day!

Saturday was a busy day. While we waited for the dew to dry off of the hay, we ran a couple of old bales of hay through the baler to make sure it was working right. Adjusted the bale size and the string, and it was ready to go.
E raked the hay again as there were a few wet spots underneath. He baled about 2/3 of the small field by the road, then the baler broke down. It had been jamming some too. This was a major breakdown! The previous owner had jerry rigged one of the chains and when it broke it messed up the timing, which broke a couple of other parts.
E was not a happy man! The hay in our own fields was raked and ready to bale, but now what do we do????? We went ahead and loaded those bales on the wagon and took them up to the house.

E went to a neighbor to try to find someone that could round bale our hay for us. But he told us he had a square baler that we could use. Ed brought it home and we hooked it up and finished baling up by the road. Then he baled a few rounds of our back pasture just before dark. There was no time to get them up to the barn before dark. Hopefully, they wouldn't absorb too much moisture from the ground.

BUT......when we got up on Sunday morning, it was cloudy and humid. (The weather forecast said no rain on Sunday, but would rain on Monday). Well, it started to rain! And it rained gently for 30 minutes. I have never seen E so unhappy and depressed. In a while it stopped raining, and later the sun came out and it got HOT, and E raked it again, them a little later he started baling. It was dry and fluffy.
I drove the tractor, while E loaded and stacked the hay on the wagon. It was too much work for just us two. E was so tired he could hardly walk. We finally just quit, as we ran out of steam. We put nearly 200 bales in the shed and barn. Then we took the baler back to the neighbor. There were still hay windrows in the fields. Would have made about 70 more bales, but we were just too pooped! We would like to get a second cutting later this summer, but he said we will only do one field! Here are a couple of pictures. Too bad you can't see all the worry and sweat going on.

Making Hay While The Sun Shines!

Today after work, E went out and raked the front and back hayfields, and a smaller one up by the highway. This hay was cut Wednesday evening. Tomorrow we bale hay. Anyone want to come and help???
I have been watching these beautiful birds. They are Goldfinches. This feeder is designed just for them, as they can feed upside down. There were a pair of House Finches sitting on top of it, trying to figure out how to get to the seed, but they gave up after while and left.

 

An Early Morning

It looks like we will be baling hay on Saturday or Sunday. It was cut on Wednesday afternoon. It was supposed to be cut nearly 4 weeks ago, so it will not be very good hay. But as E. says, the horses can pick through it and eat what is edible. At least it is free hay, except for the labor involved. Ours, no less!

I went to JW Jones yesterday and picked black raspberries again. They aren't as plentiful as the blackberries. Can't wait until the blackberries are ripe, there are millions of them over there! They need at least another week before they are ready.

Cucumbers anyone? I have already picked 5 or 6 and there are many more. They are just now starting to really produce and are seeming to be ready all at once. I planted Bush Cucumbers, and they are sooooo prolific! What I like about them is the plants are a managable size. They don't overun my very small garden. But there are more than I can eat! Help!! 

Cruel People!

Friday on my way home from work, I thought I would try driving down a different road or two, looking for black raspberries. I felt an urging to 'turn here'. So I did!
I didn't find any raspberries, but I did find a little black puppy standing on the edge of the blacktop, when I topped a hill. I had to go and turn around and come back, and when I did, and got out of my truck, what did I see but six MORE puppies! OH NO, what do I do now? I CAN'T leave them here to be squashed, or to starve!! So I piled them into my truck and drove them home with me. I put them into one of the chicken yards, (after shooing the lone chicken outside to eat grass). They were only about 5 or 6 weeks old. Just starting to eat solid food.
I called the local Humane Society and they said that I could bring them in On Saturday morning. She said they have no trouble placing puppies.

Saturday morning early, I went to JW Jones (where I take my horse to go trail riding) and picked black raspberries for a couple of hours. Then, after I got back, E and I gave Penny (our chow,) a bath. She hates to be bathed so we drive two metal fence posts about 3 feet apart and then tie her to each one. She is forced to stand between them. She can't escape us or her bath that way. When she knows she is REALLY tied, she just takes it. Later in the afternoon after she was dry, we brushed and combed and picked her coat. It looks a lot better, but still not good. It is dull and dry looking. She is itchy and her hair is thin. We didn't see any fleas either. We use Frontline Plus on them. E is going to change dog foods when our current bag runs out.

When the evening feeding was done, we drove into town to the Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. Yum!

Today, after work, I went back to JW Jones and picked more raspberries. It was 93 degrees so I didn't stay but an hour. I spotted a Whitetail Doe in the underbrush, waiting for evening when she will come out to feed. I backed away quietly, and she didn't get up and run.

I made a Raspberry Cobbler for supper tonight. It was a new recipe, and I thought it was superb! The topping was light and the berries were delicious! I am going to make that one again real soon.