June 20, 2008

 umpkins are coming up and looking nice.  I am anticipating the pumpkin & wild rice soup this Fall already. It is one of my favorite soups. It is a good comfort food on a icky day, especially with fresh bread and real butter. It is kinda cold right now and would be tasty for dinner. It was 3C/37F when I woke up this morning. We are below average for this time of year, but it is supposed to get warmer than average for July and August. We shall see, my corn will tell what the heat units are this summer. Last summer was so cold and wet, my 45 day corn was 9" tall at 90 days..  low heat units.

The rain and thunderstorms have held off for the last 2 days, and one night. It made it possible to get some more things done outside. Such as the front pasture fence. It is always hedgy working with barbwire in an open field during a lightening storm... most days I tossed in the towel to Mother Nature until she decided to chill out. Mostly from the monsoon rains.. not that I am afraid I will melt, but it HURTS!

Some person got hit by lightening in British Columbia a week or so ago, so I started to behave and go in the house when the booms start up. 

I have been able to get truckloads of shavings instead of paying for bales of it. I was pretty excited about that. I get the shavings from my other work.. and I plan on using alot of it here. If I had my druthers, I would have a semi-truck load of them dumped here each year over the last few years, but they are harder and harder to get. It is $9 a bale at the feed store... WHEN they have them in stock. 

The asparagus plants are still producing. I have another week or so of harvest before I need to desist. Next year I ought to have enough to can, pickle and freeze.  I have decided I really like the fresh stuff saute'd with a bit of olive oil or in a cast iron pan after some bacon has been cooked (I make real bacon bits for my Ceasar salads).

Baby chicks are still hatching out. I still have 4 hens sitting on eggs, one with the rest of the chicks. One moved a nest to a new spot (new eggs which I did not pick up fast enough in the morning) when another hen apparently overtook the nest she had been sitting on for weeks. It is getting ridiculous with the staggered hatching, but I am still getting enough eggs to sell to my customers, so that is good. The chicks are also a good thing... but I do like them all at once! It doesn't look like there are that many chicks in the picture, but the rest are under her. These are the extras which do not fit well under her, but she is still keeping them warm. When more hatch out, I will have to put another mama hen in the brooder. 

The Puffballs are starting to show up on the farm. I will be harvesting them and drying them in my food dehydrator for mushroom butters, dried sliced and mushroom powder for soup stock.