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Still not quite up to 100% after those two dastardly bees tried to take me out last Saturday, but did do some actual "work" today. My swollen head (okay, just the one-half of my face) is almost back to normal as is the back of my neck and shoulders.
So what did I do today? I did some painting of windows, framing for a skylight and a grid for a window and then helped Papa Pea measure, cut and put up molding in the pantry.
If all goes well, I'll start painting the undercoat on the pantry ceiling and walls tomorrow.
Yesterday hubby mowed down the healthy stand of buckwheat we had growing in the pumpkin patch as a cover crop.
The buckwheat came through and grew well after germinating very, very slowly during our cold, cold spring. It had flowered out and and I wanted it cut down before it went to seed. Otherwise, I'd be weeding buckwheat plants from the pumpkin patch . . . forever.
Hoping to be back up to full-speed tomorrow. I am one crabby, cranky gal when I can't do what I wanna do! (Papa Pea agrees.)
Hey, Everybody! Today is Chicken Mama's birthday!
That's right, forty years ago today she made her appearance after lollygagging around and arriving three full weeks late. Unfortunately, that set some sort of precedence and she hasn't been on time for anything since then!
If you want to read the story of her birth, you can find it here.
Chicken Mama has had a rough and tough past year but has handled it with style, grace and an intact sense of humor. I predict this coming year is going to start bringing her new and wonderful experiences that are much deserved. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sunshine! We love you!
Baby Pea, aka Chicken Mama, here . . . pinch hitting for Mama Pea. And, really, it's all Papa Pea's fault. He was out mowing by the beehives yesterday - something that ticks them off but good - and instead of exacting their revenge on him (okay, so he did sustain one fairly benign sting), they went after the very-allergic Mama Pea.
At precisely 4:03 yesterday afternoon (Mom seems to recall the exact moment) while working in the field garden, she got nailed by two honeybees. One on the back of her neck (so she can't comfortably lay) and one just under her left eye. She's starting to look pretty ready for Halloween - no swollen face mask required!
Anyway, she was squawking about needing to get a blog post up, but I assured her I'd take care of it. "Just make it funny!" she warned. "I don't want any sympathy!" So, Dad and I have put her in lock-down until the nasty venom leaves her system. I know she'll be eager to be up and at her computer just as soon as possible, but, remember: NO SYMPATHY if you comment! ;)
I had to add this update to the post I made earlier this morning about the storm last night.
Chicken Mama had it much worse than we did losing several big trees in and around her yard area. She'll do a blog post with pictures of her storm adventures later today.
She has a half hour of travel on gravel, heavily forested roads before her last half hour of travel on highway to get into town. Being the prepared woodswoman she is she knew enough to throw her chainsaw in the car before leaving home. And she did need it to clear the road in spots before being able to pass through.
This is what the best dressed woodswoman wears to do her chainsawing work on the way into the office. That's our girl!
We had a storm last night that 'bout knocked our socks off. Except we had just gotten into bed and our socks were already off.
Lightning, thunder, high winds and hard rain which totaled out at three-quarters of an inch according to our rain gauge this morning. I'm not surprised the storm happened as our temperatures yesterday afternoon and early evening were very strange.
In our immediate area the temperature was rapidly falling with it going down to 47 degrees at the official reporting spot in our nearby town. Thirty miles north of us they had 89 degrees at the same time. When our daughter arrived at her home (an hour from us) around 9 p.m., she called to report that her temp was in the mid-80s.
Grid power went off sometime in the night. We weren't on solar power because we've had several days of gray, overcast weather during which our batteries lost more power than they gained.
But this morning calm has returned and the sun is shining. It also feels like stepping into a sauna when you walk outside. I have hopes that will pass as the day goes on.
Above are two big healthy raspberry canes that got blown down last night. How they escaped the trellising holding them upright is a mystery.
We're going to have a bumper crop of our domestic blueberries this year.
This is a raised bed that I had cherry tomatoes in last year. This spring we tilled the whole bed and planted a cover crop of buckwheat . . . which didn't germinate. But lots of weeds did. This week when I went out to weed the bed, I found interspersed with the weeds approximately 5,074 little volunteer cherry tomato plants. I rid the bed of weeds, judiciously transplanted eleven of the little tomato plants and figured since they had survived all they did, they deserved a chance to do their thing.
Although we aren't gardening this year (ahem) and vowed to each other not to start anything new in the garden (ahem) someone who shall remain nameless (he is sometimes referred to on this blog as Papa Pea) sheepishly presented me with some Jerusalem Artichoke tubers this spring that he had "forgotten" he'd ordered and which needed to be planted. They seem to be thriving in this raised bed which we hope will contain them and keep them from spreading all over the acreage.
Last but not least, I found the first strawberry with color on it during my morning stroll through the strawberry patch. If we get some sunshine, it looks as though the strawberry harvest will begin right on schedule this year. July 4th is the date we usually get our first bowlful.
The buckwheat came through and grew well after germinating very, very slowly during our cold, cold spring. It had flowered out and and I wanted it cut down before it went to seed. Otherwise, I'd be weeding buckwheat plants from the pumpkin patch . . . forever.
