Sassy & Sweet Notes

Honey Bee Swarm Update (with better photos!)

Took more photos of the honey bee swarm this morning, with the BIG camera (instead of the point/shoot camera). Click on the photos for a larger view.

You can really see the largest comb they've been working on!

Amazing to watch...

Honey Bee Swarm Update

Ten days ago I posted that we have a honey bee swarm in a tree here on the farm. Well, they're still there, and they've been 'buzzzzzy' making a honey comb! I snapped this quick photo today, and will try to get a better photo tomorrow. It was real windy today, and most of the photos I took today were SUPER out of focus.

See the yellow honey comb, towards the bottom of the swarm? I believe there are three comb sections. The one that you can see a portion of, I believe, is the center comb. There is a much shorter one on the left side that I've seen a portion of, and I believe there is a third one on the right side of the swarm.

I'll see about getting more photos tomorrow!

Honey Bee Swarm

Alan and I were out in the pasture this evening, and as we were walking back up to the house I just about walked under a tree, right under this temporary honey bee swarm. ZOIKS! (Click on the images for a larger view.)

Good thing I looked up and saw it when I did! I was about 6' from being directly under the swarm, which hangs about 10' above the ground in this hackberry tree. A bit too close for my liking!

We'll be keeping a very close eye on the swarm, and the farm, to make sure they don't decide to set up a hive in one of our buildings. Yikes!

Learn more about temporary honey bee swarms here and here...

Bzzzzzzzzzz!

Garden Update: May 6, 2012

This afternoon I snapped some photos of the garden. I can't believe how much things have grown!

I've got a wall of cucumbers down the center of one bed -- in front of the cucumbers are beets and spinach.

The plants have started blooming like crazy! A mix of slicing cucumbers, mini whites, and lemon cucumbers. Should be fun to see how they come in! There are little baby cucumbers everywhere! I have cucumbers in 4 other places in the garden, as well. Good thing we eat a lot of cucs! Also in this bed are 4 kale plants and a small row of beets which are now nearly hidden by the cucumbers and the kale.

The zucchini bed is growing like MAD! The six plants in this 4'x8' bed are three feet tall, and spilling over every edge of the bed. So much so that you can only see the edges of the bed in one or two locations.

Three of the plants in the bed are yellow zucchini. The plants are doing well, and putting on a lot of fruit.

The remaining three plants are black zucchini's, and just like the yellows, the plants are putting on LOTS of fruit. I have zucchini plants in several other locations as well, so I imagine we'll be eating zucchini for a good long while. Some of the other plants are just starting to put out blooms, others are just putting on their second and third leaves, and others still have yet to come up. I did good succession planting, this year!

I should have picked several zucchini off of this plant today, but didn't get around to it. I'd better bring them in tomorrow, or we'll have some 5lb zucchini to deal with! *grin*

The trough gardens are doing great! Soon, the patty pan squash will start to hang down over the edge, and hopefully the nasturtiums I have planted in the troughs will start to trail down over the edge as well.

The mint, herbs, dill, radish, chard and these two Juliet tomato plants are growing well. The dill actually has several flowers that have gone to seed.

There are some squash plants in this bed that have grown so tall, I think they're shading out the tomatoes and peppers behind them. In the front corner is another grouping of cucumbers, and same with the corner of the bed on the left .... yup, more cucumbers. *grin* You can also see how tall the sunflowers are getting along the chicken yard fence! They are going to be beautiful!

This is one of the squash plants in the bed shown in the photo, above. Not only are the plants crazy tall, but they are LOADED with squash!

This bed has an 8-Ball zucchini, a butternut, and a patty pan squash plant. Cucumbers, some onions, and some kale are on the backside. On the left side of this photo you can see part of the Armenian cucumbers I have planted on the tree branch tee-pee trellis I built last year. They are really strong, healthy looking plants, so I hope they do well.

Every time I go out to the garden, I'm amazed at the progress. I actually ate the first ripe cherry tomato this morning, right off the vine. And it was DELISH!!

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Tomato

Since I picked our first 8-Ball zucchini from the garden yesterday, it was on the menu for dinner. I made Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Tomato! YUM!!

I used my Spiral Veggie Slicer to make zucchini noodles. It's so easy, fast, and fun! The Spiral Veggie Slicer comes with three different cutting plates. Small, medium, and flat. I used the small plate to make spaghetti sized noodles. I also use the small cutting plate to make raw sweet potato noodles, and raw beet salad. Yum!

It's very easy to use. Simply make a cut on each end of the veggie so the ends are flat. Place the veggie onto the slicer, press the handle into the veggie, and turn the handle! Out come the most amazing noodles! You can peel off the green if you don't like the green edges on your noodles.

I'm going to be making this dish all summer long, as long as we get zucchini from the garden! It was deeeee-lish!!

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 pounds Zucchini
1/4 Cup Pesto
1 Large Tomato, diced
Salt/Pepper to taste

Make zucchini "noodles". Sprinkle noodles w/ just a pinch of salt, toss, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. This will pull some of the water out of the noodles, wilting them a bit, making them look, act, and have the texture of real pasta noodles. Press out the excess water using paper towels.

In a large bowl, toss the noodles with pesto and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2.

SUPER good!!

It's GROWING!

The warm weather we're having is making the garden GROW! Everything has added 6, 8, maybe even 12 inches of height since last weekend. If you watched the video I did last weekend you might remember the little volunteer 8-Ball zucchini I showed ... well, I picked it this morning and it weighed 1.5 pounds! I know what we're having for dinner! And there are more on the way! Yay!

Here are some more photos to share, all taken this morning.

So far, the troughs are doing ok as planters. We'll see how the plants hold up when the weather warms up even more...

Beans have come up in the new garden. Yellow and Green bush beans. YUM!

This is the volunteer 8-Ball zucchini plant. It came up right on the very edge of one of the raised beds. I thought about moving it when it was small, but just left it alone. It is so very healthy!

The cucumbers in the center of this bed are doing a great job of climbing the trellis. And the kale is getting so BIG!

Some of the tomato plants ... they're growing like mad!

The plants around the outside edge are Armenian cucumbers -- supposed to make cucumbers that grow up to 36" long. Woweee!! The plants in the center are average slicing cucumbers. I wasn't sure the larger ones would come up, so I planted others. Then, most of them came up. We'll see how they do!

Butternut, another 8-Ball, and a Patty Pan on the far end... They really fill up this bed!

The sunflowers along the chicken yard are getting tall, too! And I saw a hummingbird on one of the feeders! They nest in the trees around the edge of the yard. Cute little buggers.

Hope you enjoy the day! Promises to be beautiful here today, though a bit too warm. 90. Phwew...

Garden Update: April 21, 2012 (Video)

I took some video clips of the garden yesterday, and thought I'd share!

If you can't view this video here on my blog, check it out here on YouTube.

Have a GREAT Earth Day!!

Happy Earth Day!

Hope you have a wonderful day today, and take at least a moment to appreciate Earth. Yesterday evening, Alan helped me "refresh" the garden bed where I had spring peas planted, so today I get to plant some new seeds, water them in, and watch them GROW! Also in celebration of Earth Day, I did some video clips of the garden, and will post the video shortly.

Promises to be a gorgeous day here today ... a Sunny 81* ... a perfect day for a sundress, sun tea, and relaxation.

The "NEW" Garden

Well, yesterday I hinted at a project Alan and I did yesterday afternoon .... and for those of you who thought perhaps we went and "got hitched", Hahahaaa!!! No, we didn't .... but thanks for the laughs! I never imagined that would even be a guess! Instead, we put in a new 8' x 24' gardening area!

We decided to use an area next to the garden where we had a flatbed trailer parked over the winter months. The trailer's shadow supressed the grass and weeds, giving us an area to work with.

We picked up a pallet of organic compost. Our soil is very dense, clay, and needs lots of organic matter added for gardening.

We mowed the area we wanted to work with, set paper in place (to further supress the grass and weeds), and added the compost. Alan suggested we line the entire area with some landscape timbers that Alan's dad brought out to the farm last year from his yard. Good idea!

Here you can see the last bit of paper showing. We put down about 4" to 5" of compost to start with, and as I build rows for planting, I'll add more compost (we have 21 bags of compost left) to the planting rows to increase the growing depth for the plants. Eventually, the paper will break down and the compost will keep the ground beneath nice and damp for plant roots.

This year, I won't plant anything in the bed that requires a very deep growing root structure. We'll do some green beans, some leafy greens, summer squash, and a few other odds and ends. I'm excited to get some rows created, and seeds in the ground! I know what I'm doing this weekend!

You'll never guess what we did this afternoon...

Here's a hint .....  *grin*

More to come, after we shower and have dinner!

Garden Update: April 9, 2012

We had a good rain yesterday afternoon, and the garden looks a lot greener than it did prior to the rain. It's cloudy today so I'm hoping the plants are really able to enjoy the rain water before the sun pops out and dries everything out. And who knows... maybe we'll get rain again by the weekend! Here's hoping!

I'm trying a few new things in the garden this year. We had a couple leaky (think collander) troughs in the barn that I was going to plant potatoes in. I didn't get around to planting spuds soon enough, and we don't eat many potatoes anyway, so I decided to plant them with a couple tomato plants, some chard, and nasturtiums. We'll see how they do.

I am also using some of the big blue tubs left over from some of the treats we give the cows in the winter. Alan drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, and I filled them with good soil, tomato plants, some herbs, chard, mints, and a few other things (radishes, onion chives, etc). They are unsightly, but hopefully functional.

The sunflowers and zinnias I planted along the chicken yard are coming in well. The bed is filling with our icky crab grass, so I've got to get out and trim it up a bit. You can see that the fence took a bit of a beating from Lucy and Darcy (cows) while we had the girls in the back yard this winter. Baaaaad cows! :)

This small bed was supposed to be all flowers. Two seeds came up. Well, more than that sprouted, but were quickly eaten off by pill beetles. So, I planted some acorn squash seeds in the center of the bed. They didn't come up either. So, when I had to stop at the nursery to pick up some replacement plants for the ones I lost in the hail storm, I decided to pick up a few more to plant in this bed. The day after I planted the peppers and two tomato plants, all of the acorn squash seeds popped up. This should be an interesting bed to watch grow.....  *grin* Oh, and the netting that's around the beds is to keep the free-ranging chickens and cats out of the beds. Works great!

I'm excited for this bed! Down the center, on both sides of the trellis are three different kinds of cucumbers. Then a row of beets and a row of spinach, on both sides. YUM!! I did lose some of the cucumber plants to hail, but there are plenty of others and they're doing just great.

This year's primary tomato bed has 6 plants that are coming along beautifully! Last year I planted 8 plants in a different bed this same size, and it was a bit crowded. It was difficult to only plant 6 (they're so small when they're first planted!), but I'm hoping that with a little extra elbow room, they'll do great!

This bed is beets and spinach, and as you can see by the "holes", I've lost quite a bit of seedlings to pill beetles ... rollie pollies. After this bed is harvested, it will be getting a second board added to the perimeter to increase the bed's height, and I will be adding lots of really good compost. I had the most trouble with this bed last year, and since it's not doing so great this year either, I think it's in need of a face lift. I only wish I'd have thought to add the extra height before I planted this spring! But no worries .... I'll be able to get something else planted in this bed soon enough, and it will be marvelous!

This is more spinach, and a row of radishes.

The unruly peas, refusing to climb the trellises.

Onions, 8-Ball zucchini, Patty Pan, and some kale.

Hopefully, things do well this year. A lot of work goes into a garden, and last year's drought really did a number on ours. We're hoping for better luck this year!

An April Storm

A rather large spring storm passed through today, and I stepped outside to take some photos. The clouds were dark, and active. Areas in and around Dallas experienced tornado damage, but we got by with just some heavy rains (not quite 2" of rain fell), a bit of hail, and lots of wind. The only casualties on the farm were in the garden. A banana pepper plant was snapped in two, two newly planted Juliet tomato plants were demolished, and the larger leaves on the zucchini plants are torn and filled with holes. Aside from the pepper and tomato plants, everything else will survive. My next trip to town will require a visit to the garden center to pick up some replacement plants. Here are some photos from this afternoon, as the storm rolled in.

What's Growin' on the Farm (Video)

Took some video clips this evening showing the progress of some of the garden veggies, the wildflowers in the pastures, and COWS!

If you're not able to view the video here on my blog, you will find it here on YouTube.

Enjoy!

2012 Garden Map

 

(Click on photo for larger view.)

 

I updated my garden map to show this year's planting plans. I've got about 75% of the garden planted already, and things are starting to pop up! We've got a good showing of peas and radishes, and the beets, spinach, and carrots are starting to make an appearance. I'll need to pickup some tomato and pepper plants at the nursery (didn't get my seeds started last month), and I may bring home some Ranunculus flowers, too. I do love them.

I need to decide on what else to plant in the cucumber bed. I have the cucumbers set so they grow up a trellis down the center of the bed, which leaves the outside edges of the bed available for something else. Maybe something will get my attention at the nursery...

Something that's missing from this year's garden are Patty Pan Squash. I haven't found any seed yet ... bummers! EDITED: Found some seeds!! YAY!!

Garden Update & the Weather

After the bit of rain we had over the past few days, I was happy to be able to get some work in the garden done today! I'm really happy about it too, because by the look of our 10 day forecast hopefully the seeds will get some much needed rain! There's still LOADS of work to do in the garden, but at least I've made a small dent.

Here's what got planted today:
Zinnias
Sunflowers
Onions (two types)
Spinach
Carrots
Radishes (two types)
A little bit of lettuce
A few broccoli (never grown here -- just a test)
A few cauliflower (never grown here -- just a test)
Peas
Garlic Chives

I didn't get tomato seeds started yet (I had hoped to get them started a month or more ago), so I will most likely just pick up a few plants at the store one of these days.

What's left?
Zuccihini
Cucumbers (several types)
Tomatoes
Beans
Squash
More Spinach!
More Radishes!
...what else? ... I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

On the Farm 2012 Calendar

First of all, thank you for all your support to those who purchased the On the Farm 2011 calendar last year. We had a great response to last year's calendar, and have decided to offer On the farm 2012.

A small portion of all purchases comes back to the farm, and all proceeds recieved go towards the care and feeding of the animals here on the farm. The calendars make fantastic gifts, and are ideal for personal use. The calendar is available in 3 sizes. All of the photos in the calendar were taken by me; I hope you choose to spend 2012 enjoying photos from our farm.

Order your own copy of On the farm 2012 today! Some of your favorite farm critters are featured in the pages of our calendar! Even Baaaaad Boxcar Betty makes an appearance!

HOT SALE! Today through November 20th, cards are 50% off, and calendars are 20% off when you use coupon code CARDSCAL2011 at order checkout. In addition to the 2012 calendar, you will also find all kind of lovely cards in my Zazzle shop as well!

 

Zazzle Coupon Details:
Enter code: CARDSCAL2011 at checkout in the "Zazzle Coupons/Gift Certificates" box 50% of the greeting card, invitation, photo card and postcard net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased. 20% of the calendar net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying calendars are purchased. The coupon code CARDSCAL2011 must be applied at checkout to apply these discount offers. Offer is valid until November 20, 2011 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Mother Nature and the Garden

I found images of a project I created in October using the Lifetime of Happiness cling set, and thought I would share them with you.

It's kind of timely that I came across these photos tonight, because we've got quite a windstorm happening and I'm hoping that some of the garden debris finds it's own way out of the garden and into the pasture with the donkeys and cows. Nothing like a little helping hand from Mother Nature when it comes to getting some of the farm chores done!

I really like how this project came together. The peachy colored paper I hand dyed using various distress inks and pearl colored Glimmer Mist. It really is quite pretty being slightly shimmery under the image, which as you can see also happens to be dressed up with even more glitter.

To add the top sprinkling of glitter, I gave the card a light spray of adhesive (spray adhesive comes in a can, like spray paint) after the card was all assembled. While the adhesive was still tacky, I lightly sprinkled crystal glitter here and there. A light hand is best for this technique ... it's easy to get carried away and add too much adhesive, and glitter! (Do you believe me?) *grin*

After the adhesive dries it's no longer tacky, so you don't have to worry about random things sticking to your project after the adhesive is dry.

I dressed up the inside of the card too, using a sentiment from the same set. I chose to add faint butterfly stampings, as well. And more glitter!

... I do believe we're sneaking up on a Friday! ...

Thanks for checkin' in on me today!

Fresh from the Garden

The photos I shared from the farm in Oregon reminded me of this little Farmer John garden tag I made before I left on my trip. I used scrap strips of paper from the Memorandum paper pad by Lily Bee Designs to create the tag, and added Farmer John to the tag using foam adhesive to give him a little "lift". I used twine that I use in the garden (to tie up tomatoes and cucumber vines), and I like the extra bit of rustic it adds to the project.

This tag will come in quite handy next spring, when hopefully I'll have something that actually IS fresh from the garden! *grin*

My Trip to Oregon...

I'm home again after a wonderful trip to Oregon to see my dearest friends.

I had a GREAT time, and it was hard to leave the clean, crisp air of Oregon behind. We spent Saturday at the coast, visiting favorite beaches, and just enjoying the day. The Florence bridge is such a historic place.

And the waterfront in Florence is always busy with local, and visiting, fishermen.

The weather was perfect - we were quite comfortable in just jeans and t-shirts. There were lots of amazing tide pools to explore! They were full of little fish and hermit crabs.

There's really nothing like visiting the Oregon coast. It ranks right up there as one of my favorite places to visit. In the late afternoon, a big fog bank rolled in and covered the beach with a thick, heavy mist so we headed into Yachats for dinner. I had fresh pan fried razor clams, and they were deeee-LISH!

Sunday we went to a local farm to pick up fresh produce and a few pumpkins and gourds for Halloween.

The local produce in Eugene is something to be seen... it's just phenomenal.

Pears, fresh from the trees on the farm. Delicious!

Potatoes so fresh, they still had that wonderful earthy smell to them. Mmmm!

Pumpkins, in all shapes and sizes, ready for carving!

And I couldn't believe the tomatoes. YUM!!

I wanted to take a dozen of these home and roast them right up!

How about some winter squash for long-term storage! Imagine how wonderful these will be mid-winter, when the air is cold... I'd like a dinner invitation, please!

More peppers, and lots of fresh greens...

This display of beans put my garden's bounty to shame!

They had spinach and carrots right next to each other, and they both smelled so good!

There are very large fields full of pumpkins for those who want to take a wagon ride out to the fields, but we opted to stay close to the farm stand where there were lots of pumpkins to choose from.

And where we could have THIS! It was a great ending to a wonderful day at the farm!

Every moment was spent with friends, and I had a wonderful time! I am so grateful for their friendship, and hospitality.

As for me today, I am still sick. Tonight, my temp is up nearly 3*. After literally two days of being in bed, medicated, you'd think I'd be feeling better. But I feel like I've been hit by a bus, and sound even worse! What a dreadful end to a beautiful vacation! *grin*

But we got a little rain this evening, so I can't complain.

farmgirl betty

How about a little more Farmgirl Betty inspiration!

When I showed Alan this card, he said "why is her hair blue?" That made me giggle!

So, a 2li23ttle off top2.i4c ... but hav3e2 2you 0ev0e00r. tr5ied 5t+o+ +ty5pe3 .with a chic6k+en standi2n2g22 next to..3666you6r6 keybo3a.rd? No? Well, l2e2t me 3t333ell y56ou, it gets0 i0nteresting.

Here is how that sentence should have read: So, a little off topic ... but have you ever tried to type with a chicken standing next to your keyboard? No? Well, let me tell you, it gets interesting.

She types nearly as fast as me, but she favors the number keypad.

Cricket has something she wants to type to you, all on her own:
655116666956112220000...033333233330012+++++56++2100/6616

Whatever that means... It must be good!

Anyway, back to Betty! I love her little chickies!

I decorated the inside of the card too! It's a great way to use up scraps.

Well, it's bedtime for this farmgirl. Sweet dreams!

Introducing Farmgirl Betty, Farmer John, & Lifetime of Happiness

I'm very excited to introduce today, my three new rubber stamp cling sets for Whipper Snapper! I had such a good time illustrating these sets, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. First up, Farmgirl Betty. A sweet little 'thang', happy to share her garden bounty. Farmgirl Betty wears only the finest all-natural fibers, and treats her feet to Birkenstocks.

To create this card, I used the Decorative Label punch from Stampin' Up to create three focal point frames for my card. I stamped several images from the set onto the frames, and added some fine dash lines around the edges as well as some sponged on distress ink. The images are colored with markers, and set on a card base made with Lily Bee Design papers (Memorandum line). Some old buttons and twine finish the card.

Inside the card I've added her chickens and a sentiment from the set. You grow, girl!

Farmgirl Betty

Next up is Farmer John. Farmer John is sweet on Farmgirl Betty, and can you blame him? He's got garden bounty of his own to share. *giggle*

I did some simple masking to create this scene. First I stamped the veggie sign and the two tomato vines. I covered the tomatoes with a paper mask cut out in their shape. Then I stamped the corn right over top of the masked tomatoes. I removed the mask from the tomatoes to reveal garden "rows". I added the pumpkins, chicken and Farmer John by stamping them on a separate piece of paper, cutting them out, and adhering them using foam adhesive.

One of his lady friends can be found on the inside of the card, as well as a sentiment from the set.

Farmer John

Finally, something a little different. Lifetime of Happiness features one of my favorite flowers transformed from one of my own photographs, two butterflies, as well as several beautiful sentiments. I thought I'd try something a little different with this card. I used various colors of distress ink to "dye" the paper that the images are embossed on. I love the results! A bit brighter than my usual style, but so reminiscent of years I spent living in Oregon -- hippies, hippies everywhere. I even hand dyed the ribbon!

First, I used VersaMark ink to stamp the images on watercolor paper. I heat embossed the images using ultra fine clear embossing powder, which keeps the pristine white of the paper showing through. I then used various colors of distress ink to dye the paper, creating a fun wash of color. Because the images have so much color, I chose to use just simple white and black cardstock to finish the card. The text block stamp I used on the orange/red layer is from my All Things With Love set.

Lifetime of Happiness

Of course, the best part of the release is introducing you to the five Whipper Snapper Featured Designers for this month's release! You will certainly want to take a look at the projects they share; you're sure to be impressed!

The Who's Who of October 2011 Featured Designers:
Shellie Daniel
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/ShellieD

Danielle Kennedy
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/dpkennedy
Blog: http://wilddragonflydesigns.blogspot.com

Tammy Hershberger
SCS Gallery:  http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/stampertammy
Blog: http://stamphappy-tammy.blogspot.com

Sue Berker
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/stampinsusie
Blog: http://berkerblog.blogspot.com

Lesa Rapp
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/lesarapp
Blog: http://paperpossibilities.blogspot.com

and Me! Anna Wight
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/sweetmissdaisy
Blog: http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com

You can see all of the projects current and past Featured Designers have uploaded to their SplitCoast galleries by viewing the Whipper Snapper Featured Designer Gallery. Have a look -- it's a great place to find all KINDS of great inspiration!

Have fun!

We got RAIN!

Alan has a rain gauge hung on a fence post out at the barnyard. It actually came in handy today! Even though I was gone all day, Alan left the rain water in the gauge so I could see just how much rain we got today while I was gone. Yahoooo!!! I just had to get a photo!

And would you look at that pretty sunset in the background, too!

Sorrowful Sunflowers

To those of you still enjoying and sharing photos of your gardens full of beautiful, cheery flowers...

*Phttththththtth!* I say to you.

Ours burnt up in the Texas summer sun.

The grasshoppers still find them romantic, at least.

I'll get my turn next spring when we've got flowers blooming and birds singing and you're still elbow deep in snow. *giggle*

Farmgirl Betty

I've got three new cling sets releasing for Whipper Snapper in October, and I'm so excited about them! Meet Farmgirl Betty... a natural-fiber birk-wearing sweetie! Farmgirl Betty and Farmer John harvest all kinds of friendly, organic goodness! Coming to Whipper Snapper in October.

Farmer John

I've got three new cling sets releasing for Whipper Snapper in October, and I'm so excited about them! I thought you deserved a sneak peek! Meet Farmer John... I'm smitten!

...and wait until you meet his gal, Farmgirl Betty! *grin*

August ... hot.

It's still blazing hot here on the farm. 107 as I write this. Looks like another 107 day tomorrow. Followed by 105, and then day after day of more miserable heat. We *might* get below 100 on August 26th. Forecast for that day is 99. I'd better get out the scarves and mittens!

Last year in August I had beautiful zinnias and sunflowers blooming in the garden, and loads of cucumbers and zucchini to pick.

This August is quite different. No butterflies in the garden, and certainly no beautiful zinnias or sunflowers!

How dreadful.

 

August.

The month of August in the 2011 On the Farm calendar features butterflies! I love photographing butterflies, and they tend to be plentiful when the wildflowers are blooming and the flowers are blooming in the garden.

I should be enthusiastic about the changing of the calendar month, but August isn't exactly what I would consider to be my favorite month. I have no doubt that we'll see all 31 August days at well over 100 degrees. By mid-September we should see a bit of relief, but personally I'm rootin' for OCTOBER! Come on OCTOBER!

Stay tuned for the 2012 calendar details in the next couple months! It promises to be a good one!

August.

Horn Worms Make Great Duck Snacks! (Video)

This year the bugs are out of control in the garden. Today I went on a tobacco horn worm hunt (which I've done three times previously earlier this month)!

Real life gummy worm duck snacks! *grin*

If you have trouble viewing the video on the blog (or want to see it larger), you can check it out here on YouTube.

Quack, quack!!

Brief Garden Update...

And I say brief, because, well... there's just not a lot to report on. As you can see, the heat, lack of rain, and bugs have done a fine job of bringing our summer garden to an end. There is a tomato plant in the blue tub on the right of the photo. It has yet to produce any tomatoes. There's also a large tomato plant at the back of the garden that has yet to produce a single tomato, either. Just too hot for the flowers to set.

The tomatoes in front of the chicken house are doing their best... the front bed has given us 2 tomatoes. The back bed has given us LOADS of them, and has been by far the best producing bed this year. And don't let those bright green zinnia plants fool you -- they look like they're doing good from a distance, but when you look closer you can see that the grasshoppers have eaten off all of the bloom tops. No flowers. Just naked stems.

There are three okra plants, not quite knee high. (You can see them in the first photo, just to the left of the blue container.) I've clipped a quarter pound of okra off of them, total. Hopefully they keep on producing, because if we can't even grow okra in Texas, there's something seriously wrong... There's one pod there now that needs harvesting. The okra gets watered daily too, but is fairly wilted down in the afternoon from the heat.

The aphids won the battle on the cucumber beds... ...and the patty pan & eight ball zuc bed. I left a couple of the fruit in the bed to fully mature, so I can pull some seeds from them. I thought it might be interesting to see what they produce next year.

The pepper plants are loaded w/ little peppers, but they don't manage to get much larger than a golf ball before the heat shrivels them up. And this is with daily watering.

Here is what is left of my beautiful zucchini bed.

And when it's 106*, I feel pretty much like this.

The rattlesnake pole beans that I had such high expectations for never really made much of themselves. Of course, the grasshoppers chomped them down faster than they could grow... eventually I just stopped watering what was left of the bare stems. And how about those "sunny" sunflowers in the background along the fence... aren't they cheery?

The garden is loaded w/ garden spiders, so at least they've been successful this year. (See the little male garden spider on the backside of her web? Alan noticed him in the photo.) If the little fella is lucky, she won't kill him for being on her web..... ha!

Here is a grasshopper. I could take at least a thousand photos of grasshoppers, and not repeat a single critter. When I walk through the garden, they bounce off of my head, ricochet off of my shirt, zing past my ears. (JKinColorado, care to walk through the garden w/ me!? *hehehee*)

There are praying mantis everywhere, all various sizes and colors. This guy is nearly 3" long. I like his camo!

Time for another dip in the pool... Bottoms Up!!

Monday, monday...

Thought I'd share a sneak peek with you today of one of my upcoming new releases with Whipper Snapper. They're gearing up for the Fall/Winter release; you'll find details on their Facebook page where they've been sharing more sneak peeks of images in the release. How exciting!!

There are 166 full days remaining in the year (off topic, do you count down to Christmas?), and it looks like what's about left of July is going to be nothing but HOT. Unfortunately for us, August promises to be just as hot, or hotter. Maybe September will show us some mercy... 

It's been difficult to keep the garden alive in this drought. In fact, I'm failing. I've got tomatoes still hanging on, but it's so hot that even though they are flowering, they aren't producing any tomatoes and they're starting to look rather tired. The okra is trying to produce, but even it wilts down in the sun (even with daily waterings). Then there are the ants, the aphids, the cucumber beetles, and the grasshoppers ... all doing their part in causing problems. I tell ya, it's exhausting. I'm planning on putting in a "fall" garden, and if I stick to schedule I should be starting tomato plant seeds about now, and getting ready to plant other seeds around August 1. But I'm not sure it will be possible to keep anything alive then, either!

How's the weather where you live?

 

2011 On the Farm Calendar WINNER(s)!!

I have two, not one, but TWO winners to announce for a copy of the 2011 On the Farm calendar! Yup, I have a second spare calendar here to give away. So, I did two random.org numbers to select the winners...

Congrats to #10 Diana Gibbs, and #36 Nicky Taylor!

Get in touch with me ladies, and I'll get your calendar mailed out to you right away!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the drawing. There's still time for you to get your own copy of the 2011 calendar ... and like I said, stay tuned for details on the 2012 version. Yahooo!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

July on the Calendar

It's official ... happy July! This is the July image in the 2011 On the Farm calendar, and it reminds me of all the hard work that goes into a garden, and the labors of putting up harvest for enjoyment during the winter months.

I happened to find an extra 2011 On the Farm calendar on my desk's shelf, and would like to mail it to one lucky reader. It's the small calendar size (5x7ish). If you'd like to be entered into the drawing, leave me a note on this post. I'll select one name from all entries on Sunday, July 3rd.

I'm also starting to work on the 2012 calendar, so stay tuned for those details in the next few months!

CHEERS to the weekend!!

 

UPDATE: Comments on this give-away are now closed. Thank you!

SALSA!

We've had quite a lot of ripe tomatoes harvested this week, and we haven't been able to keep up with the harvest just by having fresh tomatoes. So, I decided to make some SALSA! I wanted to make a recipe that included fresh cilantro, but couldn't get my hands on any. And I haven't come across any cilantro seed either, so I haven't been able to grow my own in the garden.

So... when I was at the grocery store I picked up a little packet of dehydrated salsa ingredients (dried peppers, onions, herbs and seasoning) and used the recipe on the back of the packet along with the fresh tomatoes. The recipe couldn't get any easier ... chopped tomatoes, the ingredients of the packet, and 1/2 cup vinegar. (If you don't have fresh tomatoes on hand, store-bought canned/diced tomatoes can be used.) I chose to freeze one quart of the salsa to see if we like the result of it being frozen, and then canned the rest of it for longer shelf-life storage.

(Photo from Tattler's website)
I recently got some reusable canning jar lids by Tattler and thought this would be a great time to try them out. I've been using regular metal canning jar lids for our canned goods, but don't like that metal lids are really just a "one time wonder" when it comes to using them for preserving. (I do reuse the metal lids that are in good condition to cap jars that aren't being canned/sealed.)

Something else that's concerning is that I've noticed that metal canning lids are not always available in local stores. There always seems to be a few boxes of jars available, but extra lids aren't always in stock. Last time I bought a box of 12 metal regular sized canning lids (at a big-box store) I paid $1.63, and a box of wide mouth sized lids was $2.27. Investing in some reusable lids seems like a smart thing for me to do.

I like the fact that the Tattler lids are reusable again and again, that they're made with BPA-free materials, and that they're made in the US. I also like that they can be used in water-bath canners, pressure canners, and can even be used for vacuum-sealing!

I don't usually have trouble getting jars to seal, but since this was my first time using the Tattler lids, I kind of expected to have at least one or two seals fail simply due to my inexperience in using them. But I was very pleasantly surprised that every jar sealed up tight as can be! Beautifully! I also used Tattler lids to seal up a couple quart jars of yellow zucchini relish, and they turned out great, too!

Overall I'm pleased with the lids and the results. I opened up one of the salsa jars to test the seal and the salsa, and was impressed with both! Time for me to order up a few more boxes of Tattler lids and seals!

Would you like to try Tattler lids, too? I've arranged for the nice folks at Tattler to send one lucky (randomly selected) winner a box of 12 regular, and a box of 12 wide mouth lids. What a deal!! Leave me a note on this blog post and you'll be entered into the give-away. I would like to know what your favorite preserved food is, and what you enjoy preserving for you and your family. I will randomly select one winner on Monday morning, June 27th.

Now, where did that bag of chips go...

 

UPDATE: Comments for the drawing are now CLOSED. Thank you for all of your comments!

2011 Harvest Summary to Date

I've been tracking the garden harvest on a spreadsheet, and thought I would share the summary of what we've brought in so far. Foods listed still with zero's either haven't started producing yet, or will be planted a bit later in the year, in the fall garden.

I've already made 1.5 pounds of zucchini candy, and a second batch is in the dehydrator as I write this. Yumm! I need to start making cucumber and zucchini relish, and zucchini bread, too! It's been sooo very hot, and soooo very dry that the garden is doing a bit of suffering. I don't think the zucchini and cucumber plants will produce as much as they would if the weather had been a little kinder to them. It's shaping up to be a miserable summer. But, starting Wednesday, the days start getting shorter! And that's a GOOD thing around these parts, as far as I'm concerned!

Hope you're having a fun weekend ... and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Io Moth Caterpillar

Yesterday evening, Alan and I were out in the garden (smashing cucumber beetles!). I turned to walk away from him and he told me to stop ... said that I had something on my, uhhhh, bummmm. With his gloved hand, he picked this fella off of my pants.

And I'm so glad he did! See all of the pokey tips? Those are stinging spines, filled with venom!

ACK! Imagine if I'd sat down not knowing what was on my backside!!!

This is a Automeris Io caterpillar. Read about them here and here. If you see one, do NOT touch it without gloves! It will cause you pain!

Remember my run-in with the puss moth caterpillar? Same type of thing.... ouchy-wa-wa!!

Alan ... my HERO!

Oh, and I got stung on the arm yesterday by a yellow jacket wasp. Ouch! That SMARTS!

A Stroll through the Garden (Video)

I usually do my garden updates w/ still photos, but thought I would capture this garden update on video. Enjoy!

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog, you can check it out here on You Tube.

Hog-Nosed SNAKE!

This evening just before sunset I was making my rounds through the garden. I heard a rustle in the leaves between two of the raised beds. Usually rustling in the leaves is caused by toads, but it was a bit early for toads to be out. I took a look around the edge of the raised bed and saw THIS!

"Ooooooooooooh, ALAN!!!!" Thankfully he was outside and could hear me calling his name and came to see what I needed. "Umm, help please!"

Just a couple of weeks ago (when I was reading about rat snakes after our last snake encounter) I read something about hog-nosed snakes and seeing the large black spots on this snake rang a familiar bell (though I remembered them as being called "pig-snouted" - HAA!) I never thought I'd SEE one! Especially so soon, and so CLOSE!

Alan stayed in the garden to keep the snake from slithering off, and had me get an empty feed bag and two long garden stakes. He set the empty bag down in front of the snake and using the long stakes encouraged the snake to move forward into the bag. He got the snake in the bag just like THAT! Lickety-split! In fact, I only got three photos taken before the snake was inside the bag, out of sight.

These snakes are not harmful, but they REALLY like to eat toads, and I rather LIKE the toads in the garden because they eat BUGS! And toads are not SCARY, like snakes! So we relocated this snake to an area near a large pond and a large field, away from homes. It just hung out in the grass when Alan dumped it out of the feed sack.

And then it flared it's spots at me when I took it's photo ... ack!

I don't really like snakes, at ALL...  Stay outta my garden, you SNAKE!

Breakfast!

Found this cute little, not much more than 1" long, Praying Mantis (my favorite garden bug) in the garden early this morning, having breakfast. Looks to be the last of a cucumber beetle.

Don't be shy, have another bite! In fact, have another BEETLE!

I found the mantis on a zucchini plant leaf. There are loads of mantis in the garden, which is a great thing to see. They eat lots and LOTS of bugs!

The grasshoppers are starting to do lots of damage to the bean bed, and I'm seeing some grasshopper damage on some of the rattlesnake pole beans. You'll probably laugh, but last night, between 11pm - midnight, I spent about an hour in the garden snipping grasshoppers (and other bad bugs) into bits with my garden snips. They don't move so fast at night, and are easy prey as they sit on top of leaves, on the trellis wires, etc. Mwhahahahahaaaa!! Makes me feel so EVIL! *grin*

The pumpkin plant is a good distance from the garden, at the end of the drain field. Growin' good!

The cucumber vines are LOADED with blooms, and I'm finally starting to see female flowers and itty bitty cucumbers. Now let's hope the pollinators do their job for me! There aren't enough hours in the day for me to hand pollinate the cucumber flowers.

The Juliet tomato plants have big clusters of tomatoes, like this one. This one got so heavy and kept resting on the ground, so I had to give it a little support tie to keep it up off of the soil. I wish it wasn't quite so HOT here ... we'd have even MORE tomatoes than we do! High temps like we've been having keep flowers from pollinating, and tomatoes don't set. Bummers. But the plants have lots of tomatoes that it needs to put energy into growing, so all is not lost.

Here is Shorty, checking in on the okra plants. I have to keep them wrapped, or Shorty (and the armadillo) dig them up. Shorty is such a good helper. Eventually, when the plants are bigger, I'll remove the netting and the tomato cages.

And he thinks he's so handsome. I agree. *grin*

Welcome to June... welcome to Summer?

Today's forecast is promising a high of 99*. Tomorrow's forecast is promising a high of 99*, too. Jeepers... Time to get the frozen water bottles in the chicken waterers. I'd best gather eggs early in the day, too! Don't want those chickens brewing up any deviled eggs when I'm not lookin'!

The purple pole beans are putting on blooms, but no beans just yet. I think they're so pretty as they grow up the wire trellis.

We've got a wild mama cat who has 5 kittens under our shed. They stay out of the heat, and lay in the shade. Oddly enough, the girl kittens are the friendliest of the bunch. Usually the boys are. When they're old enough they'll go to the vet for a little snippity snip! Alan thinks he might be able to catch the wild mama next week now that the kittens are old enough to eat kitty food and spend the night away from their mama while she's at the vet's office for snipping! This little gal is a cutie, isn't she! I think I'll tell Alan her name is Tangerine. Unless you want to ADOPT her, and then you can name her anything you'd like! *grin*

There's a sweet little torty-grey female, too. She has the cutest nose and broken stripes.

But don't let these sweet faces fool you ...

ROAR!!

ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!

The rattlesnake pole beans have almost all sprouted around the tee-pee trellis, and I can't wait to see them start vining up the poles! I took this photo two days ago, and already the plants look noticably different, now that they're starting to get more leaves. It's amazing how quickly things change.

Here was the garden on May 1...

And here is the garden as of June 1!  BIG difference! (Click image for a larger view...)

Remember our little house chick, Dolly? Well, seems that Dolly thinks SHE is a HE, and is practicing crowing. Yes, yes it's true. Just little squeaks, but that's CROW enough for me! Dolly lives outside now, in a fancy new brooder with two chick-sized friends. Happy as can BE, wild frizzled feathers, and all!

Dolly, looking down into the brooder at his friends, who are cheeping wildly, apparently lost without him.

So, speaking of summer ... did you see this image predicting how summer weather is going to progress? UNCLE!!!

I think that calls for daily dips in the pool. Bottom's Up!
Whipper Snapper Designs: Poolside Chicken - #CT954

Home Grown Goodness

Tonight for dinner we had our first garden fresh zucchini of the season! And it was deeee-lish!!

Last night, though, Alan and I enjoyed our first official side-dish from the garden ... green beans!! We were very excited to have enough to cook for dinner (even if there was really only enough for 1 serving, and we had to share it). Last summer our bean harvest was terrible! In fact, I think all summer I picked as many beans as we picked yesterday. Looks like this year we'll have a bit better harvest.

Lucy still hasn't had her baby ... but any day now, any day!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Memorial Day. Don't forget to take time to give thanks and honor the memory of those who fought, and even those who continue to serve, for our freedom.

Bring on the Pickles!

Here is a simple card I made using my recently released stamp set called Garden Fresh. The cucumber plants in the garden are really taking off, and I'm getting excited about the possibility of making home grown pickles, relish, and cucumber/tomato salad!

I also planted some lemon cucumber seeds yesterday evening, something I've never grown before. They should be an exciting addition to our summer!

In critter news, I've got to get some photos taken of Olive Oyle's chicks. She's got three of the cutest little Turken (naked neck) chicks (baby Manetta's!), a couple itty bitty mille fleur's, and a little easter egger chick.

Our pretty little red Dexter cow, Lucy, should be having her baby soon! Possibly during the weekend! Here's hoping it's red!

Here's hoping you have a WONDERFUL holiday weekend, full of family, sunshine, and good times! We've got a to-do list as long as my arm, but we will be sure to take some time out for relaxation and celebrating Memorial Day.

Rustic Tee-Pee Pole Bean Trellis

Photo from Gurneys.com

I ordered some heirloom rattlesnake pole bean seeds (they're supposed to be quite heat resistant), and wanted to get them planted. I decided to build a "rustic" tee-pee-style trellis and plant the pole beans on their own garden structure.

We had a very large hackberry tree blow over during a winter storm, and some of the branches looked like they might work nicely for bean poles. I took the saw out to the fallen tree and chose some limbs for my project.

Then the task of digging began. About halfway through the hole digging process, I was wishing for a small stick of dynamite. When our ground is dry, it's "bullet proof" as Dad would say. Dynamite would have finished the job in no time at all! But with no dynamite on hand, I continued to dig. And dig. And dig. Adding a bit of water helped ease things along.

The hole I dug is about 4 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. Once I had all the grass removed and the soil worked, it was time to enlist Alan's help. He had the good idea of setting a standard t-post in the center of the bed and using it to help support the branches. I found an old rusty one (better than bright green, don't you think!), and Alan set it in place. Once we had the branches in place, we used wire to hold the structure to the t-post, and to join anywhere two pieces of branch touch. It really is quite stable!

The tee-pee isn't quite 9 feet tall, and has (I'm hoping) enough strength to support the pole beans as they grow. I planted bean seeds at the base of each branch, and at the center near the t-post, then wrapped the lower portion of the structure with deer netting to keep the critters out.

The pink arrow shows the location of the tee-pee, in this photo taken on Sunday. The next garden photo will include it. I'm excited to see our TOWER of BEANS!

And speaking of exciting, look what I've got in the garden this morning! Yahoo!!! The small zinnias are starting to bloom!! This little thing isn't much larger than a .50cent piece, but it sure is a welcomed sight to see! The giant zinnias are still growing... they've got a bit more growing to do before they start blooming.

PS: If you're wondering why we mow the yard "weird", leaving patches of tall grass... we like to let some of the grass go to seed, and we like the wildflowers to grow too, so we mow "paths" for us to walk. Walking through tall grass isn't fun (spiders, spiders, SPIDERS!) The wacky paths work for us. *grin* I will be mowing around the trellis area -- don't need that grass going to seed in my newly cleared soil!

Garden Update

I thought I would document how the garden is progressing. It's amazing how quickly things change! Here is the over-all garden view, today May 22.

The Zucchini bed is lookin' good, and putting on lots of flowers. There have only been a few female flowers so far, and lots and lots of male flowers.

Yesterday I built a trellis for the double-yield cucumbers. They're putting on lots of flowers too, and there are even itty bitty cucumbers! I put watering tubes on the cucumber beds, just like in the tomato beds, and they are working great! I fill the tall upright tube with water, and it flows down into the smaller tube and distributes the water in the bed. They're not the most attractive things, but they seem to be working out great! I'm able to keep the water off of the leaves and direct it just at the soil. They make watering the garden quick, and easy.

I ran out of 1x2s, so we had to get creative for the second cucumber bed's trellis. Alan helped me make this hoop trellis structure using fencing. The plants have twine guides for growing up to the wire, and will eventually grow over the top of the wire. I'll snip some of the wires to make larger 4x4" sections as it gets closer to picking time and I see where access to cucumbers is needed. This was Alan's idea, and I quite like it!! The wire can be reused for trellising next year, and I can use it as a support structure this winter for a bed cover for lettuce and other greens.

The beans are growing nicely, and are actually flowering! Maybe I'll get beans this year after all!

The 8-ball zucchini and Patty Pan Squash are finally filling in and putting on a few flowers (though all male). These plants really take a beating from the wind.

The row of zinnias, sunflowers, and gourds along the chicken yard is growing like MAD! Some of the shorter zinnias are starting to show a bit of color on blossom heads. The sunflowers look strong and healthy, and as they grow taller they will provide excellent shade for the chicken yard.

At the front of the chicken house are the two tomato beds. We're going to have to add another section to the grid trellis, because as you can see, some of them are well above the 3' high grid. Good thing we used full length 2x2s for the corner posts! You'll see there is a single zucchini plant in the far right corner of the second bed. That plant is MASSIVE, and I think is going to be my star producer. It has two zucchini on it right now that are sure to find themselves picked sometime this week, for a nice side dish. Mmmm, can't WAIT! I'm going to have to keep some of the leaves trimmed so it doesn't put too much shade on the tomatoes next to it.

The heirloom tomatoes are growing quickly now, and we will need to get their grid trellis in place soon. There is a volunteer gourd plant in the corner of the bed that is doing excellent. I'm sure it will love the trellis, too! Looks like I need to do a little grass removal around the beds.

The basil is doing wonderful! They're planted in a very large (about 2.5' across) aluminum tub, that has drain holes in the bottom. I didn't intend to leave the tall wire trellis around them for the entire season, but at least it gives me a little structure to hold the netting up, so the roosters stay out of it. I just know those little buggers would have that basil dug up and kicked out of the bed before I knew it if I removed the netting and trellis. Looks like I need to do some picking!

Not in the garden, but at the end of the drain field, I planted some pumpkin seeds that have come up and look to be doing pretty good. Last year the pumpkin plants were at the back of the garden, and they really just took over everything. So this year, they'll be able to grow grow grow to their heart's content!

And lastly, the strawberry bed. It's a pitiful looking thing (and I'm not sure WHY), but I'm HOPING that next spring it will really fill in and give us lots and LOTS of berries. Or at least a few.

Want to compare these photos to previous garden update photos? Here are some links:
May 1, 2011
May 11, 2011
Redneck Tomato Bed
April 21, 2011
April 12, 2011
April 2, 2011
March 28, 2011
2011 Garden Planning

This and That...

Remember my setup for making homemade yogurt? Well, how about making gift cards to go along with the homemade yogurt theme! I made this 3.5" square gift card using images from my recently released Whipper Snapper cling set called Garden Fresh. And speaking of yogurt, I'm all out! Time to pull out the ol' canning kettle and heat pad! Mmmm, good!

A peek at the garden reveals that things are slowing coming along. But I have to tell you, I'm battling insects like you wouldn't believe. Cucumber beetles are in numbers like never before, squash bugs have been spotted (and removed) from zucchini plants, and a couple pepper plants have been victim to caterpillars. I'm vigilant at night and do my best bug patrol in the dark, wearing a headlamp and gloves. Squishing cucumber beetles and cutting various plant eating/sucking caterpillars in half isn't my calling, but I do it. ...or maybe it is?

The pole beans (center row) are hinting about climbing the trellis. The bush beans (outer rows) look healthy! I still can't get over how crinkly the first plants look! Something got to them early on, and they still look so strange! We did have the big hail storms and crazy wind that gave them a good beating. The newer plants look "normal" at least!

The flowerbed along the chicken yard is filling in nicely. I noticed a couple volunteer tomato plants, and some volunteer been plants have come up along with lots of seeds I planted for sunflowers, zinnia, and gourds. Should be pretty when it's in bloom! The little tin flower in the photo used to be a rain gauge... but the rain gauge vessel broke. So now it's just a cute tin flower in the garden.

In other news, this coming Friday is my Mom's birthday and I'll be flying up north to spend a long weekend with her and Dad. I'm looking forward to it, for sure! Alan will be staying home on the farm, taking care of all the critters and the garden. It's a lot of work for one person, and he'll have earned BIG HUGS when I get back!

Happy May Day!

The chickens enjoyed spending their day in the grass, hunting for bugs and seeds. Weezie, there in the front, heard me whistle and looked up to see what was going on.

It's unlikely any of the others even noticed me. Crazy chickens!

Stanley and his mother were put out to pasture with the rest of the herd. He thinks it's pretty cool having so many mothers looking after him! He still is knee high to a Texas-sized grasshopper, so it's good they pay so close attention to him.

Here we are in the month of May, and how about an update on the garden! This is how I keep track of things, you know ... I hope you don't mind me sharing!

Here's the "big picture" of the garden -- photo taken today. Yup, the tarp is still up on the side of the chicken yard. The to-do list is long... it's not a top priority, yet! I am actually glad it's still up -- I was able to keep last week's rain from blowing in under their covered yard, and had we actually received any rain today (like the 70-80% chance of rain we were supposed to have had), it would have come in handy again! Maybe we'll get rain tomorrow like they're predicting. We'll see. Oh, and if you look closely, you can see Alan in this photo just beyond the corner of the chicken yard (on the right side). He's trimming some tree limbs that were rubbing on the roof over the chicken yard. The ladies say "Yay, Farmer, cluck cluck!" They got to pick the leaves off of the cut branches, and thought that was great fun!

The plants in the garden got a little whipped and beat up in last week's storms. Lots of hail damage (plants got snapped off, lots of holes and tears in leaves), and the wind roughed up the leaves a good deal. The double-yield cucumbers took a beating, just like everything else. But they should be alright, assuming they can tolerate the rest of spring and summer. You can see the goat pellets I added to this bed today. In fact, all of the plants got a light side-dressing of goat poo today! Fun!

When I had such a poor showing of purple pole beans, I decided to fill in the center row with some green pole beans. The seeds came up quickly and filled in the row nicely, and hopefully they all start trellising! The plants that are only a week or so old are the same size as the purple pole bean plants that are well over 1 month old! The two outer rows of bush beans are doing much better than they were a week ago... I thought I was going to have to consider scrapping the bean crop, but looks like they might do OK. Fingers crossed.

This is the black and yellow zucchini bed. There are a few more plants in this bed than I had intended to put here, thanks to what I thought were failed seeds. But turns out I was just being impatient. I think the seeds were just fine. *grin*

These plants looked terrible after last week's storms, but they have really perked up and taken off! Yesterday I noticed that I had a high number of cucumber beetles on the plants, so everything got a good spraying of neem oil last night. The battle with the insects continues.

This is the best looking strawberry plant in the entire strawberry bed. It's about 3" long, and just over 1" wide, to give you a size estimate. Pretty small. I've snipped off the little flowers that this plant had, to force the plant to put more energy into establishing a better root system while they're so young. Even the strawberry plants took a beating in the storm -- some of these leaves are missing their ends.

The mint is growing nicely. It got a side-dressing of goat poo today, too!

The heirloom tomato plants are growing! Finally! Hopefully they built good strong roots for themselves! The random row of onions I planted down the middle are up as well! I know the tomato plants will eventually shade those onions, but I plan to dig them up and move them eventually anyway. For now, they're just fine!

The plants that surprise me the most in this garden update are "the other" tomato plants (two Celebrity, two Juliet, and two Solar Fire) that Alan and I built our "redneck wood trellis and watering system" around. They are well past the 16" bottom trellis row, and well on their way to the 32" row! The two Juliet plants lost their primary stem in the hail storm and are continuing to put on growth, but are requiring a bit more support to keep their secondary stems aiming upright. They're going to make me earn every tomato they grow!

It's nice to see progress happening. A lot of work goes into the garden, and we sure hope to be rewarded with lots of produce!

Want to compare these photos to previous garden update photos? Here are some links:
Redneck Tomato Bed
April 21, 2011
April 12, 2011
April 2, 2011
March 28, 2011
2011 Garden Planning

More Hummers!

I took more photos of hummingbirds this evening, and thought I'd share! As always, click on the images for a larger, clearer view.

We don't have any flowers blooming in the garden, so I'm stuck with photographing them at rest, or at the feeders. Looks like I might be in the market for another feeder! They seem to enjoy the two I have, and three to choose from might be even more fun! I already have a garden hook to hang it from ... just need something to hang on it! Maybe for Mother's Day.... *grin*  The "flowers" on this feeder is really bleached out from the HOT sun!

The second feeder is a year or two newer, quite a bit smaller, and not quite as faded. This little green hummer really liked to zoom in for a snack!

I love how they zip in and out, peek around the feeder, and chirp to each other. I also think it's amazing how sometimes they can fly so quietly, and other times they make all kinds of racket!

The air was nice and fresh today and the breeze was refreshing, after the past two days of storms. Everything looks so sharp and clear after rain knocks down the dust in the air.

At the other feeder, things are a bit more relaxed. This little one really enjoys resting on the wire trellis I have around the herbs.

And this is one I haven't photographed before! It seems to be extra tiny, and it's feathers don't seem to be as full. Maybe it's a juvenile?

I'm telling you, the wire trellis is quite popular! *grin*

Hope you enjoyed the photos ... I sure enjoy taking them!

Visiting Hummingbirds

We've got several hummers visiting the feeders I have hanging out in the garden. They zip back and forth from the trees to the feeders, grab a snack, and occasionally come to rest on the wire fence trellis I have around the herbs. I snapped some photos when they were resting on the wire trellis.

Every now and then one hummer will zip in and chase the other off, making for some pretty close encounters with the little buggers!

Nothing like a hummingbird fly-by to make you squint your eyes together!

Look how TINY it's little toes are! And can you tell it was windy? The wind was mussing it's feathers.

When the light catches it just right, the throat feathers look purple. (You can click on the images to view a larger version of each photo.) Very pretty!

I'll be sure to keep the feeders filled, so the birds have an excuse to stay around. I think they might be nesting in the trees behind the chicken house. Fun!

Our Redneck Tomato Bed

Alan and I spent a good amount of time today working on what I'm calling our redneck tomato bed -- a grid trellis and watering system. Last year, watering the garden was very time consuming, because every plant had to be watered by hand. It was too easy to get water on the leaves of the plants which spreads disease, so this year I wanted to change how we water the garden.

I showed Alan this video of how Donald, "The Bayou Gardener" in Louisiana, uses a PVC tube at each plant to direct water to each of his tomato plants. He fills the tube with water, and the water drains out slowly through a small hole he has drilled at the base of the tube. I really like this idea! And for what it's worth, I really like Donald's other videos, too!

Since our plants are in a raised bed, and not nearly as far apart as the plants in Donald's garden, Alan suggested that we create a larger fill tube at one end of the raised bed and connect it to a smaller "drain tube" that runs the length of the bed, with a small hole drilled at each plant to direct water at each plant in the bed. I liked his suggestion, so we did it!

The tomato plants also needed some sort of trellis, and I thought we could utilize the corner posts on the bed to create a sort of "grid" over the plants to help support them as they grow. We put this in place today too, and I'm crossing my fingers that it works!

First we removed the deer netting from around the bed, and Alan replaced the 4' 2x2 corner posts with full length 8' 2x2 posts so that we could add a bit more height to the grid trellis as needed.

We used 1x2 boards we had around the farm to create the grid trellis, supported by the 2x2 corner posts. Each plant had it's own section of grid when we were done. And we can add more height to the trellis as the plants get taller. The boards are all connected with screws, so at the end of the season, the grid can easily be taken down.

Once we had most of the grid trellis in place, we stood the large 5' tall x 3" wide fill tube at one end of the raised bed. We set it on a short brick to elevate it a bit from the other end of the garden bed.

We attached a narrower piece of 1.5" pipe to the fill tube, that had a small hole drilled at the location of each plant, to direct water along either side of the drain tube. If you look closely, you can see water squirting out of the pipe towards my tomato plants!

It takes about 25 seconds to fill the tubes, and it takes about 2 1/2 minutes for the unit to completely drain. We guesstimate that we're directing about 8 gallons of water to the bed when we fill the tubes and let them drain completely. In the heat of summer, I might have to fill the tube twice a day, but for now I'll keep an eye on the soil and plants to determine how often they'll need a refill.

I love that it's quick and easy to fill the tube with water, and I LOVE that it directs the water at the plants and keeps the water off of the leaves and hopefully soon-to-be-growing tomatoes! I'll also be able to add fertilizer or duck pond water to the fill tube as needed to give the plants an extra bit of growing power. We didn't glue any of the tube sections together, so it will be easy to take the sections apart for any required cleaning and winter storage.

Once we had it all in place, we wrapped the entire bed again with deer netting to keep the critters out. I admit it's not the "prettiest setup", but here's hoping it WORKS! And like Alan said ... as the plants get bigger and bigger, the supports will become less and less visible. And I think that's a GOOD THING! *grin*

Yeee Haw!

Garden Update #3 for April

This is Bing, one of the reasons I had to surround all of the garden beds with deer netting or short fence. He loves talking to the ladies in the chicken yard, so I've got to keep him out of the flower bed that runs nearly the full length of their yard. He likes snapping off my seedlings! Baaaad rooster! Thank goodness he can't jump my short 3' fence -- those frizzled feathers of his are worthless when it comes to flying.

Shorty is another reason for the netting and fences. He is particularly fond of dusting in the lose soil of the garden beds and planters. Baaaad rooster! But with netting and fences up, he's content to search for bugs and grubs in the grass.

The raspberry canes I planted are showing signs of life! Hopefully they fill in nicely -- I LOVE raspberries!

The row of purple pole beans didn't come in very well, so last night I planted more pole bean seeds under the bean trellis. I was out of purple pole bean seeds (dang it!), so I planted green pole bean seeds. Grow, babies, grow!

The first planting of tomato plants are noticeably larger than they were just a few days ago. And the Juliet plants are putting on flowers! So soon!? We'll be setting up our tomato support structure soon ... more on that later.

The peas are noticeably larger too! And so THICK! Apparently I put plenty of seeds in the soil! *grin* Sure, it's a bit too late in the year for getting a good pea crop, but I've got a bed that gets shade most of the day until late afternoon. So, I thought why not plant some peas there... maybe they'll love it, maybe not!

The heirloom tomato starts I planted last weekend are starting to show growth. They might be small now, but let's hope they get mighty! They got goat fertilizer added to their bed ... you can see some of the pellets in the bottom right corner of the photo. Who knew those two silly goats could be so useful!

I had to put up a windbreak on the backside of the sweet pepper bed. We had such strong wind the other day, the plants were nearly laid over! They are MUCH happier now that they have a bit of shelter from the ridiculous wind we get here.

The strawberry plants are growing, too! Well, half of them anyway. I ordered some plants from Gurney's earlier this year, and the order kept being delayed. I wasn't sure they were going to ship at all, so when I saw strawberries on sale at the local farm supply store, I picked up a box. The roots looked a little on the small size, but they weren't dry or showing signs of mold or mildew. I planted them in the lower half of the prepared strawberry bed. Days later, I got the shipping notice for my Gurney's order.... more strawberries were on their way! (Good thing, too!) When the Gurney's order arrived, the roots were MUCH larger, and healthier looking. I planted them right away in the upper half of the prepared bed, and as soon as the next day they were already showing growth! About two weeks time is the difference between both plantings, and STILL the plants I bought from the local farm supply store have YET to show ANY above ground growth. Any bits of green you see in the lower half of the bed are either leaves that have blown in from the hackberry trees, or growth from the little tiny straggler roots from the Gurney's order that I planted in between the rows of roots from the farm supply! Lesson learned!

Introducing Garden of Friendship, Garden Fresh, and Recipe Card Companions

It's time for another Whipper Snapper Designs cling set release! We've got three new sets releasing today, as well as a recipe card stamp that will come in handy for so many projects! I've got a lot of info to share, so let's get to it!


Garden of Friendship is filled with all kinds of garden themed images and even a few sentiments. And you can't have a garden set without garden HELPERS, like two fat hens, bees, and butterflies!

And I am particularly fond of the smiling sunflower trio! They get me excited for our own blooming sunflowers! On both of these cards, I used the text block from All Things with Love to add interest to the background. I like the whimsical font of the text background image combined with the images in the Garden of Friendship set.

Garden Fresh is a set that won't be leaving my desk any time soon. I have been having a blast coloring up various jars of homemade goodness! I can't WAIT to make labels and tags for all my summertime canning, and homemade gifts!

I love the variety in this set, making it a must have for all summertime projects!

Recipe Card Companions is a set designed to be used with my Recipe Card stamp, but I also see the images being used on tags and labels, too!

The recipe card was designed to be simple, and easy to use. It tucks nicely into standard sized recipe boxes. I have another project to share with you that features the recipe card and companion images, but will need to wait until another day. *grin*

(Click on images for a larger view.)

You are going to want to check out the blogs and galleries of the Featured Designers we've lined up for this release, as they share projects throughout the month. They are amazing stampers sure to impress and inspire!

The Who's Who of March/April Featured Designers:
Shellie Daniel
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/ShellieD

Beth Matson
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/ematson
Blog: http://nevertoooldtocolor.blogspot.com

Dawn Burnworth
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/flowergal36
Blog: http://mystampingthyme.blogspot.com

Peggy Marsh
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/PMarsh5
Blog: http://thewiredangel.blogspot.com

Shelly Mercado
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/3_Little_Love_Bugs
Blog: http://www.shellypop.com

Jennifer Woodward
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/Thimbles
Blog: http://thimblesbobbinspaperandink.blogspot.com

and Me! Anna Wight
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/sweetmissdaisy
Blog: http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com

You can see all of the projects current and past Featured Designers have uploaded to their SplitCoast galleries by viewing the Whipper Snapper Featured Designer Gallery. Have a look -- it's a great place to find all KINDS of great inspiration!

Have fun!