Small wonders in the Diamond state...

After torrential rain the other day the ground is very soft and pliable.

Can't you tell by the way the green bean seeds are trying to say hello?

It's been 7 days since I planted them.

7 hot and dry, windy, cold and rainy days all at once.

A week of extremes of course even for Delaware.

At least they seem to be alive.

Grateful for small wonders!

Yesterday I had to hightail it to PA to pack and haul LN's college apartment home.

She had a 10:30 apt at which time her key fob turned on.

There were 4 doors to get through from truck to apt and back with each load.

Exactly 2 hours later it turned off ready or not.

When she left in early March she was told it'd be 2-3 weeks max.

Not months people but weeks...

3 of the 4 girls in her apartment walked out with books for online work and some (not all) clothing.

Oh yeah, they also only allowed 2 people to accomplish this fete in 2 hours.

Roommates scheduled separately.

I have never hauled a*s so fast as that day.

We made it with less than 10 min to spare.

We went back in after dumping totes and floatsam at the back of the truck on the ground.

We made a good tour of what was left double checking everything.

First girl out forgot so much but we had no way to haul more.

Last girl was after us so maybe she could but we aren't sure.

Afterwards we pushed, shoved and packed the truck.

Oh yeah it was misting rain on the way up and during and once on way home.

Funtimes!

4 girls shared a 4 bedroom apt with common kitchen/living room and 1 bathroom.

LN owned 75% of kitchen things.

Not her but another roommate that remained a few weeks after LN left food in the fridge.

You can only imagine how fun that was.

Luckily the college forbids upholstered furniture to prevent bugs (ewww) so none of that to deal with.

LN had other furniture like shelving units and storage items.

The 4 door was stuffed to the ceiling and truckbed was full up.

It's all home and being resorted, washed up and repacked for the fall (hopefully) semester.

She made me feel bad...

MamaPea commented it was nice to see me post.

This made me feel bad because I know I have been slacking MamaPea ;}`

No promises but I will try to post more regularly.

Life has been crawling along here in Delaware.
Constant complaining from every customer I have and other people I interact with.
We can't do this or that....
I have about had it listening to it.
If you don't like the rules, break them or come up with an alternative.
Stop complaining because it isn't going to solve anything.
Not one is losing their house or going hungry or lost their job that I have talked to.
People are mad because they can't shop or eat out or go to beach or vacation.
Is that what we are learning from all of this?
Maybe consider saving 6 months expenses so if this happens again your bills are covered.
Maybe lower your debt so the belt isn't pulled so tight.
Maybe learn to cook simple things that are healthier than processed take out or restaurant food.
Maybe learn to make your own coffee drinks you waste $4.00-$5.00 on each day.
Maybe learn that spending time with your family is more important than anything else.
Maybe if your kids annoy you so much and don't listen its your fault for not teaching them better.
Maybe it isn't the school or day cares responsibility to raise your children.
Maybe you will survive this and learn something to better the world.

The garden is happening despite Mother Nature.
The wind is so constant the ground is drying out without the heavy mulch and newspaper I use.

I use it because I am lazy and don't want to weed when it's 80+* out.
A side benefit is retaining moisture and lowering ground temperature though ;}~

I'll take any help I can get when it's too hot to care about weeding.
A double row of Blue Lake green beans are in the bare dirt in the middle row.
They will be mulched as usual after they show above ground.
The lower end is heavy in weed seeds so I am tarping it this year to try to get a handle on them.
Some rain over the next few days was expected but now it has been pushed back to Friday.
Hooked up the second well today on the other side of the greenhouse.
Hopefully we do get a nice soaking rain though .
There is nothing like it for germination and growth of plants.
Some sunshine is helpful too.

Keeping me sane???

I am not sure that is true after frost killed my plants twice!!!

The first frost all me.

I tried to rush my tomato plants and had to replant.

OK no problem I admit fault.

Second time though I covered the plants with pots and frost still killed my plants.

I thought maybe I didn't get out to remove the pots in time the next morning.

I worried I cooked them when sun heated up the black plastic pots.

But no the marigolds that were not covered were frozen also.

Third time is the charm right?

The short video of my garden will not load here , I've tried 3x.

See the wee lil jalapeño peppers forming?

Me and LN love poppers so this is anticipated.

People panicing over virus are buying up plants at my local greenhouses.

It took trips to three to locate 4 plants to replant my jalapeños.

The last greenhouse is not visible from the road so not heavily traveled and she only had 4 left.

The onions were spared and are growing well so far.

Yellow onions  and Candy Red onions which is new variety to me.

The dill was covered but survived also.

I was and am confused.

Around my house I have a few tomato plants and a pepper and some herbs.

{Ease of snacking and throwing in supper pot and not wanting to compost leftovers from 6 packs}

My garden and greenhouse are down in the field where we have a second well to use.

It is about 200-250 ft away from the house.

All plants around the house survived.

Shearing is still ongoing.

Tomorrow a high of 85* is expected.

Hopefully I can shear the remaining mature ewes.

I am sure they will appreciate it and I'll be glad to complete the task.

I am on my own as LN started her summer job this week.

I can easily do it myself as these ewes have been sheared enough times to know the routine.

I use a stand , my back thanks me.

Irises are popping.

I have variegated also but the picture isn't the greatest.

Vibrant red gerber daisy is a favorite.

I love Lantana as well .

The multicolors on one plant/bloom always seem so cheerful.

I wish I could ask my Mom-n-law who passed away on April 19th at 94 yrs old about this .

There are enough balls/skeins to crochet many more blocks .

The tablecloth would have been huge if she used all of them.

I'm just not sure this was hers??

Although she crocheted I never saw her do more than baby afghans.

I wonder.....

As I go through her belongings there are so many questions left unanswered.

Slow goings...

this spring.

The constant rainy days then hella windy days is slowing me down.

The garden is slow because of this.

The peas in the first row with garden nozzle were planted April 1st.

No joke, no germination until last 2 days.

The ground is saturated then bone dry after the above mentioned pattern of weather.

The second row has onions that have come out to play about 4 days ago.

The mulched row has brassicas and lettuces, etc.

They have definitely benefitted from the heavy wet straw mulch I laid down just before the 

heavy thunderstorm, high winds (think 70+ mph) and tornado ridden weather Monday.

Hopefully we will "normal" out of this weather pattern shortly.

I am not betting on it though.

This one still has college classes online each day and resulting assignments.

It gives "homework" a literal meaning this semester.

LN is holding her favorite fluffball barncat.

Alice is a yr and half old and a barncat or farmcat thru and thru.

She doesn't like the house much to LN's dismay.

She prefers to roam and hunt anything that moves.

She is sweet when held at least so Miss A can hold her safely.

A few other barncats are not so nice.

Saturday me and Miss A hard boiled a few eggs and made an attempt at a bunny cake.

It looks a little demented but tasted good.

Her parents were working so I watched her.

Her Mama R2 is a nurse in Labor and Delivery and works 3-4 12 hour days each week.

If her Daddy Z is working then I am watching her snaggle toothed lil self.

We take walks in the woods that connect to a local vocational high school behind her parents/grandparents/aunts farm.

They all live on the same family farm in different areas and houses.

I bring her home with me to our farm if I am needed at home.

Right now with LN needing quiet in our house I usually try to stay at her house.

We play outside as much as possible.

It is good to disconnect from the idiot box and have to imagine and make up playtime.

Beginnings....

are a rite of passage in springtime.

Most years I miss the window for pea planting.

Not this year!

The stars aligned, the rain subsided a bit and the tilling began. 

The peas are in the first row, onions the second, the third is a hodgepodge.

Broccoli,  cauliflower, 3 kinds of lettuce, spinach and cabbage filled that row.

Onward and upward I go.      

Our yearling ewes supervised.

Her head is not inside the garden although it appears to be.

Now I wait for germination sometime this week.

Fingers crossed. 

Still alive, fedup ...

with the hysteria and panic .

The idiotic behavior of people.

The absolute sky is falling mentality is beyond belief.

My life isn't changing.

My habits have not changed.

I have not panic shopped.

I wash my hands enough already.

My girl had her college send her home and telecommute her classes for a few weeks.

No idea how labs and research will be accomplished.

The media needs to be shot point blank and often.

People need to use their brains and stop believing the crap coming off the media.

Common sense is a dying trait. 

Picture below to brighten this pissy post.

If you disagree I do NOT want to hear about it.

I am done listening.

Longest lambing season ever.....

It seems like the longest lambing season this year.

No one tried to deliver on their harness marked date except one.

Friday my problem-ish ewe was due.

She has been trying to prolapse for a week or 10 days.

It seems to go back in quickly when she gets up and moves.

Finally wed it did not so I inserted a prolapse spoon to hold her together.

She rubbed it off overnight grrr.

Thursday I put it back in and tied it around her chest to anchor it better.

Friday her due date at 3:30 in the afternoon she started.

I cut the spoon strings and pulled the spoon out.

Shortly thereafter...

I was sitting crying as she passed two sacks of brown liquid.

She hollered and licked them up.

I swore she was aborting.

Then....

Big, huge ewe lamb was stuck so I assisted.

20 minutes later another small bubble appeared with no lamb so in I went.

This one was even bigger and so stuck I swore he was dead as I could not get his head through.

I went racing after S but he was no help so I got mad at not being able to pull it.

Anger helped and after 10 min of tugged and pushing her tissues around I succeeded.

You may notice the "bra" she is wearing.

I made it to stop the lambs from trying to nurse off her extra teats.

The "real" milk filled ones are big like a dairy cow and lower on her bag.

It is easier and more natural for lambs to go higher to smaller fake ones. 

The last few years this has meant I struggled to get her lambs nursing so I invented.

It works! 

I took it off this morning and the lambs are old enough to know where to go now.

So much nicer and better for me also.

Should she be culled?

Yes however she gives such nice lambs and they always placed top 3 in their classes.

Because she is a beast at milk production I helped myself to some colostrum as well.

I easily filled over 3 cup bags and froze them for emergencies.

This also loosened her teats for easier nursing for her lambs.

I stripped the wax plugs and had an easy flow going.

A couple days before this set of lambs another ewe delivered in the middle of the night.

Thank goodness for the baby monitor set up in the barn.

2 huge ram lambs but no issues involved.

This has been the year of the ram here.

So far 9 lambs born alive, 1 premie/aborted lamb however  and

a ewe that delivered triplets was weak and laid on one lamb killing it within 12 hr of birth.

It was a beautiful ewe lamb as well.

So 8 live lambs on the ground.

6 are flipping rams!

Guess they will be going to Easter market.

We show our sheep so ewes are preferred as we don't need the hassle of 

penning and raising rambunctious boys.

I will keep 1-3 rams as they are different breeds but rest will go to Easter camp.

One more ewe to go.

She was marked to deliver last week so hurry up and wait.

Taxes, lambing, rain and mud days

Not much time to post these days.

Not much good about 2020 so far either.

I think everyone that complained about 2019 jinxed 2020 for the rest of us.

It's tax season so I am back to working my second job at the CPA's every chance I get.

Lambing is dragging out this year.

3 ewes to go and soon I believe as within next week.

I am hopeful for better results than the first go round in Jan.

The rain will not stop.

So much flooding, uprooted trees and tons of mud EVERYWHERE!

I usually do not complain about the weather but come on.

A few days of sun no matter the temperature would be uplifting.

I took Miss A and her dog Bo to a local park that has a trail through the wetlands and woods.

She loved all the bridges as she called the boardwalks over the wet ground.

We made it through our half hour short walk before it rained again.

I did the trail by myself once before and it took me an hour to make it round trip.

I need to get back to exercise.

I did pick up sticks and burn them in one of my sheep lots yesterday.

It took me several hours of steady work.

Bending and toting...

Im embarrassed to admit how long it has been since I cleaned that lot up :/

I have several more lots/pastures to go.

Point is today my legs are feeling it in the thighs of it all.

Good sign I am not doing enough physical things on a regular basis.

Spring will change that I now but I need to bring winter into the routine.

Cool stuff ...

like this glass ball LN brought me back from Corning, NY.

She took a quick trip to the museum with J.

She thought it would look good with some of our plants.

She is right.

Hard to see well but I love this Coke Cola glass mug her boyfriend J gave me.

I am a fan of Coke memorabilia.

He's a keeper so far.

I finished my beachy pair of socks.

The colors reminds me of the ocean which is always a good thing.

I used a mini cable pattern and I like the texture.

Miss A always asks for her own socks so I obliged.

I must say knitting toddler socks is much easier and a ton quicker.

She 'lubs' them but declined a picture wearing them.

I am anxiously waiting on lambings to begin mid month or so.

2020 is starting out ok.

Merry Christmas

LN gave me the sweetest lamp.

R, S2, Z, R2 and Miss A all spoiled me also.

A new Kindle Fire and a rolling cooler for sheep shows along with some new duds

were gifted to me.

Enchiladas and stuffed jalapeño poppers were consumed last night before

our giftmageddon commenced.

Miss A was happy to open all the gifts for everyone.

No pictures were taken because we were enjoying the moment.