Living is Made Up of Details

It's 3:04 a.m.  I didn't work outside yesterday because the heat index was in the mid 90s F so I woke up raring to go at this ungodly hour.

I wandered around taking pictures yesterday, though, and here are a few interesting (I hope) tidbits about what's going on.

The Newest Menagerie Member

Welcome Boo Bear!  We're pretty sure he's a Spotted Draft Miniature.  He's freaking gorgeous, and a sweetheart to boot.  Max's jealousy is outweighed by his joy at having a friend.  Even so, there was squealing and kicking and so forth until they established that:
1.  They are both MALES.  Nobody's gonna get laid.
2.  Somebody's in charge.  (I'm not sure who, just yet, but I suspect it's Max.)

 

We don't know anything about Boo, really, except that he's at least 6 years old, about 50 lb. overweight, and about 2" too tall to technically be a mini unless Spotted Drafts can be taller than 33".  He was abandoned by the people next door to the people we got him from - ironically, about a mile and a half down the road.  We've been looking for a companion for Max for years. Looks like Boo is it.  He's overweight - I almost swallowed my tongue when I found the lady had been feeding him sweet feed.  Minis will literally eat themselves to death! And I don't know if it's age or weight or a combination, but he has a hard time rising from lying down.  That's OK - we'll work that fat off him!  If we ever go the eco-tourism route, these two are the beginnings of our petting zoo/pony rides.

Friday night's conversation:

Me:  "Oh, yeah - um, Dad, I need to tell you something."

Dad:  "What?"

Me:  "Um, yeah, well, we're getting another miniature horse.  I've been given one as a companion for Max."

Dad:  (Silence.  Not even a grunt!  Uh-oh.)

Me:  "Dad?"

Dad:  "Guess we really ought to get the middle of the barn cleaned out so you can store hay in there.  I'll talk to my friend up the road about his Bermuda hay."
Me:  (WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY FATHER????) "Thanks, Dad, that would be great!"

Dad thinks that all farm animals are evil and will get out and get hit by a car and he will get sued.  I guess Max managed to change his mind since he hasn't gotten out once since we got here 2 years ago.

Where Does Our Cow Poo Come From?

 I know, who gives a sh-t.  Pun intended.  But you might find it interesting that right now it comes from a two-foot-thick layer accumulated over about 25 years, in the perimeter of the barn:

Getting it out of there is done with a shovel.  Jeff hates shoveling it but it's good stuff for the plants. The row of Quik Pik seeds on the right under the string has been covered with it (there's a line of slight color variation.).  Good stuff - those peas will come rocketing up.  It was so hot Saturday that I had to literally down tools and get inside before I passed out so the row on the left doesn't have any yet.

Pecans Update

We had a brief discussion of the upcoming pecan crop.  Dad goes out to the orchards every morning and evening with the binoculars, keeping an eagle eye on the trees and what's going on.  The nuts are beginning to form.  We're not the only ones keeping a sharp eye on the orchards - people are already calling about coming to gather pecans.

Friday night's conversation:
Dad:  "Lisa, I'm worried about the pecan pollen."
Me:  (Why, Dad, does it need to ride the short bus??)  "What do you mean?"
Dad:  "I just don't think we're going to get enough pollen to have a good crop."
Me:  (Are you kidding??  Everything is green with pollen - the cars, our clothes, my eyeballs...) 
      "Do you really think so?  Jeff picked up a tassel and now his shirt has green splotches."
~ followed by an informative (seriously) lecture about pecans and the pollination thereof, especially the Stewart heirloom variety as pollinated by the Desirable variety, wind speed and direction, etc. ~
Conclusion:  Dad doesn't think he's going to get the bumper crop we think he's going to get.

Saturday morning:
Dad:  "Lisa, I think we might be OK after all."  He pointed out the tassels, which must turn brown-ish before they release the pollen.  They're turning brown-ish.
Me:  "Dad, have you thought about how you're going to get rid of all of these pecans?  If we get just 100 lb. per tree, that's 20,000 pounds of nuts.  Are you going to sell them wholesale, or cleaned, or what?"
Dad:  "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."
Me:  (Aaargh.)

Starts and Plantings and Chicken Coop, Oh My!

When you start plants in the house, the climate is controlled.  Before you put them in the garden, they have to be "hardened off".  We call it "suntanning."  Here's the first bunch of plants getting their first tans of the year.  

Yes, I'm ashamed to say that's the front of my house.  When garden time rolls around, we're overrun with gardening supplies, plants, etc. 

Unless I can find somebody with a great big heart to do it for me, we don't have time for housecleaning (in or out).  When we get a greenhouse or big shed things will be better.

Note to self:  Don't put eggplant up against the porch to harden off.  It's under the dripline.  Or do put gutters on the house!

 

The melon patch is almost tilled.  It's in the old dog yard, which is the new chicken yard. 

The melon patch will have another 2 or 3 passes with the tiller perpendicular to the ones already done.  I have 4 varieties of melons to plant!

I'm thinking about lining the inside of the melon patch fence with landscape fabric to keep the vines out of the horse pasture.  I dunno if we have enough fabric, though. 

I took the melon patch pic, then turned around 180 degrees and shot the coop area. Jeff and Doug haven't got the ground leveled yet but it goes in the deep shade under this black walnut.

Chickens have to have water (duh) plus I have to have a way to hose out the coop.  Here's a pic of the mulberry tree growing in the fencerow, along with miles of honeysuckle.  Somewhere in there...

 ... or in here ...

  

...or in here ...

 

 ... is the hose standpipe!  (Wouldn't that last pic make a hair-tearing jigsaw puzzle?)  BTW, the honeysuckle is delicious this year.  All that rain made it produce oodles of nectar.

Finally, just a couple more passes with the big mower and the north-north garden behind the barn will be ready for tilling. It's the area behind the two trees in the foreground and this is where the ornamental corn and pumpkins are going.  We can't plant edibles here because of pesticide overspray from the pecans to the left:

Squash Update

Remember the pix from last week?  Well, guess what?  We're going to have squash to sell before the farmer's market even opens.  They're forming blossoms already:

That's what happens when you plant squash in composted steer manure.  (Crud, I need to weed the squash area.)

3 uncommon varieties.  All prolific producers.  Anybody want some squash??  We'll be setting up the honor stand here in the next few days; the oats have protected the lettuce so well that we've still got lots of it, too.  Visit That Little Farm Stand to see when we'll have it open.


Now it's time to wake up the Scruffy man, and get started on the day.  Happy Tuesday, everybody!