Is it really the third week in June already???!!

I can't believe how fast time is flying by!  Ariel has been here for almost a month.... and will be gone in 5 weeks.  Summer is going too fast!

We haven't been able to float or swim in the Spring River this year.  There is an e. coli notice, and all the public swimming places are closed.  We've had so much heavy rain. I guess the runoff from the farms and such (or some dasterdly town's sewage treatment facility leaked).  Anyway, we've been hoping to go floating with our friend Gena Stout.  We're scheduled to go float on Saturday, June 27th.  I hope we can.  Here's a picture from last year's floating adventure.

That was a fun day!  April, Karna, me, Gena and Beth.  Ariel is in front.

Summer projects around the homestead are finally getting started.  With all the rain, we haven't been able to work on the workshop roof.  Or the slab for the carport we ordered.  Or the siding on the addition we finished last fall.

The carport slab is supposed to start today.  This will mean big trucks, gravel, a cement truck.  I think I'll keep the dogs inside today...  The don't need to be in the way out there.  That's just a recipe for trouble.

Chickens.  I lost another bantam hen last week.  I think a snake killed her.  She didn't have a mark on her, she was just lying dead in the nest area.  That makes me sad.  She was a nice hen.

We moved the Rhode Island Red hens into the smaller section of the chicken enclosure.  I suspect they are eating the other hen's eggs.  Or maybe the rooster Hexter is the culprit.  We've gotten 1 egg each day from them... and the Brahma Cochin hen's egg was broken, and she's still in the larger portion of the enclosure.

Either way... I need the rooster.  I want to hatch out chicks.  I would prefer that he NOT eat eggs though.

I'm going to have to decide how to divide and contain our 10 bantam chicks.  And  the 3 RIR cross chicks.  Those 3 chicks will be getting to big for their cage soon.  I'm thinking I will put them in where the bantam rooster, Ashe, is.  He's alone in that cage since the hen died.  He will go in the enclosure with the 2 RIR hens.  Once those chicks are large enough I can put them in the main enclosure. 

Exactly how I accommodate the bantam chicks is still up in the air.  They're alright for now.  They're 3 weeks younger than the RIR cross chicks, so I still have some time to work that out.

I finished knitting an alpaca shawl, I'm very pleased with the way it came out.

Getting back into blogging.

I haven't been inspired to write lately....  I felt like I was boring people.  Is anyone interested in what I'm cooking today?  Did they care about my flower and veggie garden?  My pets?  My knitting? 

I enjoy my lifestyle very much.  I'm blessed to be in a position to spend my days with my husband and son.  We enjoy each other's company.  We get along well.  We each work on our projects.  If we're working on something together, we communicate well.  No raised voices (except to yell NO!!!! at the dogs when the UPS truck comes). 

So anyway, here's what's been going on here.

My elbow and hand are slowly recuperating after surgery earlier this year for carpal tunnel and ulnar nerve compression.  My right arm and hand are still numb.  This makes me even more awkward than I was because of my Parkinson's.  This is frustrating!  I have cuts and scrapes on my hand & I have no idea I've hurt myself.  It takes me longer to do my crafts.  Hand sewing and beading are very slow... Fingerweaving is also very slow.  Kumihumo isn't really effected, as I can use my left hand to move the threads.  Spinning is a bit slower, but not too bad.  Knitting and crochet are slower, but I am completing projects.

The flower beds are all weeded, the veggie garden is planted.  We've been harvesting asparagus and mixed salad greens.  Tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, bell peppers, potatoes, rhubarb and Jerusalem artichokes are up and growing.  The fruit trees have fruits growing, as do the berry bushes.  That makes me happy.

Both dogs are healthy.    Our cat, Rusty, died in January.  This made me very sad.  I miss him.

We lost a hen and a rooster this past winter.  I also gave a trio away.  So, we're down to a Rhode Island Red trio, a Black Copper Maran hen and a Brahma Cochin hen, a trio and another pair of duckwing bantam, and a pair and a trio of guinea fowl.  A grand total of 5 large chickens, 5 bantam chickens and 5 guinea.  I do have eggs in the incubator.  They should hatch on the 21st. 


Our granddaughter, Ariel, will be spending the summer with us again this year.  I really enjoy our time together.  She's growing up so fast.  She's 12 this year.  Not a little girl anymore.  The past 10 years have really flown by. 

It's spring!

Spring has sprung here on the Farm!  We have daffodil and hellebore blooming.  Our peach trees are showing off (they looked better before the winds today). 

Peach trees on the north side of our house

Peach blossoms on the ground from the wind

We have thundershowers moving through our area today.  Winds, some thunder, a tiny bit of rain.  Some sun.  A typical 75 degree spring day.

Daffodils and wild violets I've transplanted from the woods

I wish I had taken a picture of the trees yesterday.  They were beautiful!  And the fragrance!

My lilacs should start blooming soon.  I love the smell of them!  One of my favorite smells from childhood.

Guinea fowl on the south side of the house

The guineas were out looking for fresh shoots and bugs.  They can be out and about until we get ready to plant the garden.  Then they have to go back in their run.  They just DESTROY the garden, dig up everything.  Even if they aren't going to eat it.  We had replant last year and the year before because of their digging.  So, they have to live in the run during egg laying/gardening season.




Our banty hen, Pebbles, and her 3 little chicks are doing fine.  Those chicks are so cute!

I didn't get all the leaves burnt yet.... too much wind.  But, I'll get it done slowly but surely.

I've been taking it kinda easy, since I know I have that kidney stone in my left kidney.  I had an outpatient procedure on Tuesday to put a stent in.  On the 10th the doc will try breaking up the stone so I can pass it.  I really hope this works, because I don't want to spend time in the hospital.  The stone is too big to pass, so if breaking it up doesn't work, they will have to remove it through my back.  Not something I would look forward to!

I've been working on one of my longterm knitting projects.  A peach/pink merino and silk spiral lace shawl.  I started it back in October 2011.  And now it's done!  Hurray!!

Here's how it looks.

How you wear a circular shawl

A closer look at the shawl