Saturday, July 11, 2015

Summer Has Arrived!

Yes, we have actually had some hot weather the past two days.  Both afternoons gave us a thermometer reading of 80.1 degrees in the shade.  Can you believe it?  Glory be!  And has the garden been loving it!  As my daughter said today, "Your garden is finally growing and looks like a real garden."  No kidding, it made visible growth in the last two days.  Amazing.


Today (in the heat . . . but I shan't complain after our endlessly cool weather) we got all the wood that took the nose dive out of the big wood shed re-stacked and started on the very last tier.  Notice in the picture where Papa Pea placed a couple of old 2 x 4s on the ground to tilt this last tier back?  No way we want it to fall out again!

We also worked on getting some more wood split up.  Sure am glad we have our mechanical splitter to use.  We both had sweat dripping off us during our splitting session, and I can't imagine what swinging a splitting axe would have felt like today.

I got the potatoes in the garden hilled up for the second time.  Out of the three rows, I had one two foot space that has been bare . . . until today when two potato vines poked through.  Guess those eyes just needed the shot of hot weather to start growing.

I've been picking about a quart of strawberries every day.  I don't know how long it will last, but we sure are enjoying them.  So far, we've been eating them fresh, in smoothies and in the Strawberry Shortcake I made.  I'd really be happy to get several quarts in the freezer for smoothies after the season ends, but I don't know if that will happen or not.

We also went out into our little hay field (yepper, more sweating) and picked up what we call "green chop" that hubby cut yesterday.  He cuts it with the cycle mower and lets it dry for 24 hours.  Then we run the lawn mower over it (with the blade set as high up as it will go), and the grass/hay is vacuumed up into the bagger.  That then gets dumped into burlap bags that we hang up high in the storage shed.  During the winter, we feed out the "green chop" to the poultry.  They gobble it up like it's candy.  Must taste pretty good when they haven't seen anything but snow on the ground for months.

'Twas a good day, and now I'm tired.  I was going to go into my quilt room to make a little progress on my current project, but I don't even have the energy for that tonight.  I'm going to grab a book or magazine and hit the couch for an hour or two.  If I don't fall asleep first.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow you guys work so hard. Enjoy your rest!

Sue said...

It has been a COOL summer, hasn't it? My wild sown Cleome are just starting to pop up out of the ground. By my records, last year they were starting to come into bloom at this time. What a difference. And yet , for me , some things were early. I had broccoli ready to cut when we got home from our trip!! Last year---July 20. Odd, to say the least.
Your wood pile is looking quite impressive!!
And I'm so envying your strawberries. Mine were a bust this year ---I'm ready to rip them out. 2 out of 3 years it seems to either be a mold problem or the chipmunks get them. I give up. The Amish sell em CHEAP (and organic!!!) around here--for the work I've put in to those plants--t's not worth it to me to grow them anymore.
I never thought I'd say that.

Mama Pea said...

Nancy - Shhh, don't tell anyone, but we are both a couple of lazy sloths and do nothing but lie around all day, drink beer and eat Fritos. I make all this up about what we do every day. ;o]

Mama Pea said...

Sue - Ya know, there are those times when we just have to admit (or should admit) that something is not working for us. Like me growing cauliflower. I can't tell you how much time in past years I've wasted fretting over and trying to grow the stuff. Then this year, after giving it up for so long, I can grow it. Just harvested our first head yesterday. I say take full advantage of those organic Amish-grown strawberries. It's no doubt cheaper in the long run!

Anonymous said...

you had a very busy day. Love to have that much wood,
but alittle here and alittle there we will make it. Today
my hubby and I worked corn finish with 58 pints in the freezer. After cleaning up and sandwiches for supper I fell to sleep on the couch, sure was tired.

Have a great Sunday!!

Rue

Dawn said...

Your wood store looks very impressive I wish ours looked like that, our day has been been spent outdoors cutting fields :-)

Mama Pea said...

Rue - Oh, what a bounty to have your own corn in the freezer. When we lived in Illinois we grew our own and processed it, but up here in northern Minnesota we can't grow sweet corn except in a very unusually warm year.

Mama Pea said...

Dawn - Isn't it just the pits that we can't do two (or more!) things at once?? We just came in from a break from more wood work (which is great getting it done) but I wish I could have spent the day in the garden doing what needs to be done there! Clones, anyone?

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I know what work that is to do. I wish we were cutting wood, but life keeps throwing us curve balls. Sounds like a nice long hard work day there.

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - It was cool with a lovely breeze all day yesterday (until sprinkles started in early evening) so we went for it on the wood. Got a whole, big, huge bunch done. It was, indeed, a nice, long, hard work day! The kind where you feel exhausted but really good at the end of it.

Susan said...

Don't you just love this weather? Cool, rainy in the morning and then it jacks up by 50 degrees and is a scorcher. Woohoo. It sure gets the garden all hopped up, though, so we won't complain. That is a whole lotta wood you have so carefully stacked in that woodshed. I'd be afraid to pull one out!

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Rain all day today so far but sun tomorrow. The garden is going to EXPLODE! 'Bout time though. :o}

Wood, wood, wood! That's been the name of the game the last several days. When I peel off my dirty clothes at the end of the day, all kinds of wood chips, little pieces of birch bark and other dirty debris hits the floor. I'm a real Pig Pen before my shower.

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