Spider Morning

Our days are still hot, but the mornings are a little cooler.

This morning we had fog, so I roamed around the farm and took pictures that hint at the season change. Spider webs. Flourishing loofah blooms. Cedar galls. Green sweet gum balls.

 

 

The open grass was scattered with little spider web pockets.

I visited my old chickens.

 Punkin was camera-shy, so I waited until she turned around.

On their fence is a passion flower vine.

 My zinnias continue to cheer up the world! I've picked so many.

 

 I finally cut most of my large sunflower heads and put them on the front porch to dry, out of the beaks of greedy birds. I grew these to feed my own birds, who have names and give me eggs.

 Tall, bright sunflowers in full bloom are beautiful, but there's something lovely about this dried flower head too, with its curling petals.

 Virginia Creeper is ... well ... creeping, right across our front porch.

 

 I've found one, and only one, ripe, luscious fig this year :(

Today Adam declared that he would back the Jaguar out of the garage and begin the task of putting it all back together.

He drove it part-way to the farm three years ago, so it's not an issue of its not running, so much as putting all its little parts back in all their right places. The front dash is removed, and one front seat, and the wires are everywhere. When he lifted the hood to inspect the engine, he discovered that others had been there before him.

Mice. They pulled in everything they might possibly need for a massive nest in this dark, protected space. Twigs, paper, chicken food (sigh). Well, when that engine revs up, they'll be glad their babies aren't in there trying to sleep!

Last question, friends: We hope to paint the shutters on our house sometime (like ... in the next year, haha). Here's their color now, kind of a bleached-out pale blue/gray.

With the bright red roof, they look all wrong. Should we paint them:
1) black
2) green
3) red to match the roof

Please advise!!

Weary August Farm

This was a hard summer for gardening. Way too much rain (about 35" so far), too much heat in June, but 3 weeks of drought thrown in there too .... I must admit, it didn't help that I was emotionally unmotivated! But amid the knee-high weeds, a few things are still alive out there. Here's what I found this morning:

 Sunflowers! At last!

 The verdict is still out on the loofahs this year.

 

My gourd hill is doing well.

 I picked one and have at least eight more on the vines. I'll let them dry there.

 The only part of the garden that looks loved right now is the potato row. Adam planted the little potatoes from the first harvest back in, for a second harvest this fall ... we hope.

 

A handful of small carrots. A few last tomatoes.

 I threw some overripe cukes to the chickens. 

All in all, an exhausting summer and a less-than-encouraging garden yield. I didn't even can or freeze a single tomato; I still have some frozen from last year! But the farm is still a beautiful place to live, and if we can get our spirits up, and our "mojo" back, we may have a fall garden yet. Adam plans to clear out all the beds. (He is doing better in the motivation department than I am.) I would be happy to see a few fall/winter crops there and tend to them in the cool of the year.

Mid-July Update on the Farm

The chickens are fine. They are using their new roost although I have not a photo of it yet.

Ethel, Punkin, Bernie, Ruby -- on roost
Lucy on the cooler. She's such an individual.

The bees are fine but the weeds are grown high at their gates. Weeds are a feature of the farm this time of year, and in spite of all Adam's mowing and scything, it's hard to stay ahead of it.
Ned was bitten by a snake but is all better.
The worms are munching and multiplying.
The tomatoes are ever-bearing and delicious.
The corn is short.
So are all the sunflowers, but then again, we did cheat by buying sunflower birdseed. It's an experiment, and only intended to feed chickens.
Most of all, the weeds are getting the better of us in many areas, and Adam is brainstorming about how to master them better next year so that our bed crops will perform better. It may be time for our raised beds. He's also experimenting with solarizing the grass -- killing it with heat by putting down lots of plastic.
This evening's tomato haul:

The cucumbers, I think, are staging a coup to take over the farm. We caught these this evening in the teen-aged state before they could grow massive and join the coup forces.

The figs on the big fig tree are beginning to ripen. Although not enough yet for canning preserves, Adam is enjoying the occasional nibble as he walks by.

 Two apples on the espaliered tree fell to the ground. They look good. The tree in the middle of the garden has green apples still.

The mint is fading and tired. It will have a second growth later.

 The tomato plant in the big pot is tall and floppy, and won't stand up.

This is chamomile. It's bloomed and is fading.

 The oregano is gone to flower and seed.

 So has the basil.

 The cilantro died (as expected) for the season. Now we have coriander seed, which we don't have a clue what to do with.

 My hyssop died. Yes, that's a soup bowl in the herb garden. I broke its lip but couldn't bear to chuck it in the trash, so I put is in the garden to enjoy.

 The borage plant too, which was so tall and impressive, died quickly. I had trimmed off two of its branches, and the next thing I knew, it was dead.

Some of these herbs reseed and return; some do not. Oh -- and the lemongrass is doing fabulous. We will divide it and propagate it for next year.
On to the shady flower beds:
I'm not sure why my sedum is so small. I've always had tall sedum before. Is this a different variety? Or is it in too much shade?

 Adam's elephant ears have erupted and are looking grand! There are three in this long bed. Can you see them all?

 My sister-in-law's hosta that I moved is letting me know that it is not happy about it. I'm hoping it will recover and do better next year.

 The others that came from the nursery are doing fine in spite of the sun they get.

 Both hydrangeas Adam planted are doing well and are making an attempt at flowering this year.

 Remember the climbing rose bush we transplanted from the orchard? It's done quite well at last. It didn't bloom this year, but it's well-established now and I think will flourish beautifully next year.

That's it for today! I told Adam long ago that I would be helpful on the farm in June, but utterly worthless in July and August because of the heat. I do not do heat. He understands. He goes out early, about 6:00 or so, to work, and is done by 11:00. If you don't live in the Deep South and understand what we mean by heat and humidity, it's hard to grasp. I know we seem lazy to those who live elsewhere. You have to live here a few years and do outside work before you can understand!