Sunday Hidey Hole

This morning I put roast in crockpot, cleaned pig pens, re bedded and made a new pen after feeding chores. The hogs ran around and rolled in mud while I worked so baths ensued before weighing and seperating 2 market hogs that weigh the same weight :/  I came inside to start 2nd crockpot of ranch potatoes and since I was drenched clean through time to shower then hide!

I had to rearrange and clean some in my basement creativity cave before I settled down to a movie and an ongoing knitting project. I wish I kept at it but only knit a few minutes at a time before my ADHD kicks in. No I'm not being sarcastic or am I diagnosed but dang do I pop around from thing to thing. Makes you and me wonder.

Friday frustrating ?

This weather is frustrating to say the least. Wednesday was off the charts hot and a major thunderstorm cropped up right before LN's semi-finals in soccer started. We waited for over an hour before they called game before ours that had 19 min left. They then postponed her game till tonight. The storm raged for quite awhile do good call.

Thursday again high heat and humidity with a bad storm in the evening. My garden appreciated it.

This morning I went to garden early to plant red sweet potatoes and work up some weeds. I got half the row mulched but ran out of paper for under straw. I'll finish it later.

Lettuce is looking great.

I was sweating and figured another humid day after working a few hours.

Tomatoes are growing well with flowers and fruit on some.

I checked my 3 blueberry bushes on the way to the house. 1st bush is turning . All are loaded down.

After showering I ran errands expecting the worst but heat has moderated. Overcast and hot but lower humidity with slight wind. So frustrating to figure out what to do. I hide inside doing skirt work or in the barn where it's cooler during the worst of the heat and close house up early to keep it cooler than outside. AC cost too much and makes me cough and sneeze. I hate it but will cave soon I'm sure.

All Gone

All gone, hair is lopped off.

I feel I look bald with it scrapped back in ponytail during heat. I decided to lip it short so I can't pull it back and tada!

Big shock since I have never cut it off in my lifetime. Still getting used to it but too late to change my mind now.

Babysitter

Mouse (the horse) does not like people.

He had to have been abused around his head before we got him 12-13 yrs ago . He hates being touched and especially near his ears. He tolerates me putting fly med on him and I can easily catch and halter him. He's fine once saddled and pleasure to ride and rope on. He just hates people and being touched.

But.... He babysits hogs. They pull his tail , lick him and generally pester the stuffings out of him. The 1st time he kicked one , didn't injury much except the pigs pride but still kicked. Now he stands there and today I caught him moving towards one that walked away from him. I let them roam while I clean pens and they beeline for him. Right now he's in small pasture near them but we'll pen him out of there soon as he's ate most of the grass and weeds down. I don't know if they can survive the separation .

Finished just in time ...

All the ewes are sheared just in time.

It's hot and predicted to be hotter all week. High 80's, low 90's with only 60's overnight...

Ugh....

This old lady is in better shape than all the young ewes. 

I clipped feet and was pleased no issues there except....

Me ... The last ewe jumped and I clipped my hand instead of her foot.

LN is finished with painting her walls and has moved on to the trim and doors . Her cat is covered and making a mess so I threw her outside until everything is dry.

Last night more pig walking and as always treats after they get back into their pens.

You can see the gray paint on her arm lol.

Now to figure out a "cooler" supper for after the hay load we're expecting.

Wild hair

LN decided to paint her room.

Going out is soft green and blue walls. 

In with gray/grey walls and white trim.

Our rooms are under the roof slope so ceilings are included with walls.

Thought the head bandana was dumb idea till she saw specks on her arms after few minutes into painting.

She's hoping to get "ripped arms from painting overhead!

It's just paint and can be changed. 

Friday Fusiness

Sounds complainy? 

Don't like my made up words? 

That's how new words get recognized by Websters.

We had steady 12+ hours of rainfall yesterday. Nice little mud pit for hogs to wallow and scratch their itches this morning.

I repeat ... I love this old barn. Almost enough to stay forever, almost.

Nice 70* slight wind day so I puttered between chores and customers.

I respray painted my sunflower iron thingy.

Reclaimed some sidewalk. Top part that is dirtier was covered in soil migrated from bed beside it.

Moved hostas from full sun (where dogwood sheltered them till we cut it down ) to eastern shadier side of house behind Nadina and Zebra striped grass.

Stuffed one under Japenese maple. Why not it might work.

Admired my annuals by spicket.

Smaller area I threw some Coleus in but I need to pull edging that was snagged by truck.

Old lilac bed is coming along but rabbits have ate off the parsley I threw in for butterflies. Sorry guys :/

Lilacs are just pretty. 

That's all folks! 

Have a good Memorial Day weekend and remember why it's celebrated.

Safety hazard or nah?

I have a nice concreted basement under the whole house.

This is a quarter of it.

There is another quarter just like it filled to brim. The 3rd is getting there too. The 4th is my sewing cave.

This is the "path" to the electric panel in case of emergency.

The spark of light is the back wall where the window is.

Safe or nah?

Hoarder? 

Yes he is!

Frustrated?

Yes I am!

Double

I doubled my estimate on sheep sheared. 

I sheared 4 this morning since the heavens aligned and stars crossed. What??? You know what I mean anyway :-) I'll finish the rest tomorrow or Friday. I feel better knowing that's it for the year unless I want to shear hooks and pins to see marking crayons better. We'll see but that's not till August. 

1 looks thin , rest are fit but may need to add some hay to their diet. Their pens are chewed to nubs. 

Cleanup , cleanup everyone body do their share etc, etc. Oh wait it's all me :/ 

Peeved Porcine

Not sure if you've heard a peeved porcine before?

S took the other 3 pigs to get tagged and weighed for fair. Firecracker aka Cracker stayed home alone. He is not a happy camper. Hopefully when S returns I still have pens to put them in. He's working on destroying the gates. Poor pig :/

Plugging away on garden in high 80's with 100% humidity. Crazy I know but spring only lasted a week. Forecast says cooler over next several days , 70's woohoo!!! 

Tomatoes perking up with 2 showers we've had.

Planted another row with cucumbers and herbs and peppers. I had to use good straw but it will rot quickly.

Lettuce is perking up and will make it if rabbits leave it alone. Rain makes a difference no amount of watering can do.

Viners are doing well for only 2 days in the ground lol. The forefront plant is pumpkins I dug up from cow lot. Not sure they'll survive but taking a chance.

And as always my companions stayed close as I watered straw down and gave plants a drink.

Their next on my chore list. Time to shear it off. I'll do 2 or 3 a day. No sense killing myself.

Off to fetch youngun!

Who else?

Show of hands who else started to bake blueberry/oatmeal muffins and make pasta salad at 9:30 pm last night? I wanted my girls to have some good food at the livestock show. I sent muffins, pasta, turkey and cheese sandwich fixings, strawberries and blueberries as well as junk food and drinks. There is a limited food  booth so we hedge our bets by bringing food.

Who else helped youngun get ready for her 1st livestock show of the season last night after practice ended ?

All packed up, trailer hooked up, backed up to barn then into house for baking/cooking chores by 9:30 pm.

Thanks coach for letting practice out an hour early so LN could get her beauty sleep.  She has travel tryouts Sunday and needs her rest. She's been fighting a cold with serious cough the last few days and I heard her get up and get a drink about 3:30 am , poor girl. That didn't stop her from getting up at 5:30 to load trailer and head off with her Dad. S helps out at the show and had to be there by 6:30 am so I'm on store duty today. I'll join them after closing up at noon. R will go help out LN mid morning get her pigs washed and sheep ready to roll for 2:00 pm county show. This morning is a jackpot show we don't enter. It says it's a "prospect" show but winners are always finished so it's a waste of my moolah. That gives LN time to prepare and visit with her friends anyway.

Who else just wants to crawl back in bed?

Me too...

Slow but Steady

Garden is going slowly. 

The ground is dry because of so many windy days with not much rain. My garden is in pasture field because an old trailer sat where my greenhouse is and thusly a well is there for just me :)  the well is not hooked up yet but I'm assured it will be within the next few days :/

I'm slowly getting there. The prep is the worst part I think. I've neglected the garden for most of 2 yrs so it's starting over time. The wind ripped a roof panel off my greenhouse which has mulberries and wild cherry trees growing around and actually a few in it. My fault totally but temper won out and I quit caring for reasons best left unsaid at this moment. Tada I'm back b*tches!

Sorry if that offends you but ... I think it sums up my life at the moment!

I stayed in garden for most of the day and tomorrow every injury on my body will be screaming at me. I got a row of beans, some tomatoes, and lettuce in the ground. I put down straw mulch (nicely rotted) around lettuce and tomatoes. Hopefully it holds weeds off a bit and helps keep soil moist as well.

The green beans are between my white row cover made of silage bag and old carpet beside tomatoes. Why not make walking areas as grass and weed free as possible. The rototiller barely starts and is old as the earth to boot so I don't rely on it.

Young lettuce plants beside greenhouse wall. I'm hoping the shade will keep them cool enough to get a harvest. The wall is facing north so is partial shady till afternoon. My other plants I haven't set in yet I put up against the wall before I quit for the day.

It was super windy today and 70* but I managed to lay weed block sheet out and buried the edges. I'll plant my watermelon, cantaloupe , squash, etc. on it.

My barn/garden/mowing grass/summer crappy slip on shoes. I prefer bare feet so kicked em off early on. No they are not crocs just cheap cheap cheap ones I've had for many years.

Pounding in the tpost and string the cattle panels was more fun than I needed today but it's done.

It's a start albeit a slow one. Now I have to stick with it. 

Mother's Day Fun

After a early morning soccer game in New Jersey I returned to Delaware to this mess.

20 round bales in a wad to be sorted out.

They were soft baled and been wet so moving them was a chore.

Smashed up, loose mess...

I chained around them and S carefully moved them. I got my steps in following him with all 20 bales. We moved them into rows of 2 with 3rd on top to air dry away from the house and barn. 

Hopefully the camper is safe. I don't think the bales are that hot.

All I can say is beggers can't be choosers so I'm grateful for what we have.

I received texts from Z, his gf R, and my R wishing me Happy Mothers Day. 

This was R's. She has too much time on her hands. 

LN wished me Happy Mom Day as soon as she woke up. Her travel coach gave all the Mothers a tulip at the game. I received an IOU for the girls gift. Seems it's in transit.

After hay mess LN and I walked lambs and pigs also .

All and all a good day!