Saturday Musings

Burn, Baby, Burn

The weather continues to be more than decent for this time of the year. The temperature is now at 72 degrees. The humidity is at 78% so that does make it seem warmer, but still, very, very nice for August! At night it feels down right chilly at times.

There was a minimal breeze this morning, and it seemed like a good time to burn what was left of Blue and Lanny's hay pile. Of course the minute I set it afire a good stiff breeze did come up! Truthfully I'm not sure how much of it will burn, because some of is pretty wet underneath. Not long after I set it ablaze it started sprinkling pretty heavily. It didn't last though.

While I was up there in that paddock, I picked up limbs from where I'd fed the boys some tree trimmings and added those to the burning stack. I also chopped thistles--a few of those were almost blooming--yikes, and gathered up kindling. You can never start too early accumulating kindling!

My 'Thistle Kill" & A Start On Kindling for Winter (My new handy dandy thistle killing tool, also pictured)

It was a pleasant morning, as I worked about, with a nice breeze and a gentle drizzle. I'm happy to mark that chore off my list. If it doesn't burn all the way down, at least it is stacked and ready for another go around later in the season. The stack is still smoldering, and I expect it to for most of the day. Thankfully the wind is blowing in a direction that moves the smoke away from the neighbors and my houses. I'll periodically go up and rake it around to encourage it to burn.

Sometime this week, I plan on getting another big bale out there and moving Blue and Lanny back over. Basically the pasture is bare, except for little patches of grass and weeds here and there. This time of the year this particular paddock won't spring back when I rotate them off it. I'm hoping the paddock they are in now, will have some regrowth in time for fall breeding season, as that is where I'll put the ewes and ram.

I can't believe it's August! My push mower has given up for the summer, so mowing the yard has been a challenge. I hope I can find a good/reasonable repair man to fix it, but in the meantime the grass groweth. I finally brought the big guns in and used my rider mower. What a joke. It would have taken far less time with the push mower, by the time I maneuvered around all the flower beds, fences and other obstacles in my yard. First off, I mowed over an old carpet square I had laying on the concrete (I was crossing the concrete to get to some particularly high weeds, and obviously had eyes only for the weeds). I didn't think I would ever get that carpet square off the mower blades! Then I kept high centering every root, running over the edges of landscaping timbers, catching on the edge of garden fencing. I was exhausted by the time I was done. I kept humming the tune to the song "Give Me Forty Acres, And I'll Turn This Rig Around"! It's done though, and I doubt some of it will grow back this season. :-) My mower deck is cock-eyed and some places it mows high and others it scrapes the ground.

My tomatoes are really starting to produce. So far, just green ones, but they are growing ever larger. I've had one mess of green fried tomatoes that were wonderful. Once they start ripening I should have scads of tomatoes. Ripening later is probably good though, because everyone else that I know, their tomatoes are starting to peak, so I should be able to keep us all supplied later in the season. I think my peppers are going to do something too. They sure are short squatty plants but full of blossoms and tiny peppers. My corn is also putting on little ears. It's been several years since I even planted corn. This time, I planted four little sections, and each section is in a circle. Supposedly this helps them in high winds.

Late Breakfast!

After putting in a good morning's work, I came back inside for 'brunch' (I usually wait to eat until I get back inside from my early round of chores/projects on Saturday). I had scrambled eggs w/cheese rolled up in a flour tortilla, blueberries and a few cherry tomatoes. The eggs and tomatoes were 'home grown' here. Very good stuff! My plans for the afternoon are spreading more hay mulch on the garden, and working on putting together a wet-felted wool/silk scarf.

A Tiny Secret World Under the Old Maple.

Hope you all have a great weekend!