Tadpoles and Tree Frogs

We had a birthday party for the oldest last weekend. He decided to have a few friends over and camp out then the next day we had family over for a cookout. It was really nice.

The kids had fun collecting bullfrog tadpoles and swimming.

Little Tree Frog

Kevin's dad (Hi Mike!) found this little guy, actually heard him first, sitting here on this leaf.

I did not realize that geese are mountian climbers. Whatever possesed them to climb to the top of this little hill?

As you can see, they are not very good climbers.

I'm back to work after being layed off for for most of five months. If only they had called me back after canning season. The garden is coming along great- corn, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, beets and beans are really growing good. Cucumbers, not so good, hopefully they'll come around.

Til next time,

Beth

Our Dock, Vegetable Garden and Flower Garden Fix-up

Amy (my sister) and her husband Tom came over Sunday and helped us get a few things done. It's so much more fun when some one's here to help. Tom is a major motivator so we got a lot more done that we planned.

Amy and I went and bought some mulch, I really like the dark mulch better. Everything looks so much brighter against the dark.

Here's my butterfly bushes trying to come back, also some moonflowers.

Here's my row of beans in the garden. We are going to put a row of fence down the middle.

I have three pumpkins. Here's one of them.

I snuck some morning glories into the corner. I'm so glad they came up-the seeds are from last year. My husband only wanted to grow edible items and only practical ones at that. I can't wait to make pickled beets but he's more worried about tomatoes, beans and corn

Cauliflower and broccoli.

The first row is lettuce, the second carrots. He plowed rows so that the whole thing has raised beds. There are low spots here and this way nothing will get drowned. We also mulched everything heavily with some old hay that was given to us.




Corn that needs to be thinned. It will kill me to pull them out. I should have planted thinner and put in another row. All the seeds sprouted it looks like.

Maybe tomorrow I will do it. I think I have to thin to eight to ten inches? Anybody ever leave it closed than that? Hmmmmmmm?

Here's the potato planter almost exactly one month ago.

They are really filling it up. We need to add dirt.

Wow, look at them grow!

And here is the dock waiting for paint.

The front part.

It's getting paint now, paint sprayers are the best!

Front done but not dry.

Everything for the dock we had here, it's all leftovers from other projects or we had free stuff so it didn't cost us anything.


This is some stain we had left over from our deck. We weren't crazy about the color but it was free! It was all gloppy and had some big chunks of dried stuff in it that would have clogged up the sprayer. I needed to figure out some kind of filter.

So I found some screen and an old coffee can. Made some clips with electric fence wires and it worked pretty good.

I had to change the screen after every batch.

See how much it darkens up when dry? Blended the different kinds of wood pretty good.

Top done too.

Installed, the kids are loving it and it is pretty fun to sit at the end and watch the fish.

Til next time,

Beth

Garden is In!

First came the planning, layout, design. Always good on paper but when we started to plant things it took on a life of it's own. We actually have lots of space left but I plan to take care of that soon.

Our very nice neighbor tilled our garden for us. This the first year for the garden in this spot so we are hoping, with a little tender loving care, it will grow.


We decided to get an early start on potatoes so we asked at the local tire shop if they had any old tractor tires that they wanted to get rid of and they did. This one was giant. Kevin shoveled about 100 (not really but his back thought so) scoops of dirt into it. He planted a bunch of potatoes and they are already coming up.


We will continue adding dirt as they grow. The black tire warms the dirt and holds the moisture really well. They are growing really fast.


I was walking around nearby and all of a sudden this guy slithers by very quickly, I hollered for Kevin to come quick! He very carefully found his head (cause we could have poisonous snakes here) scooped him up so I could take pictures and figure out what it was. It was definitely not your regular old garter snake.


The pattern was so beautiful but it's tail was rattling... creeped me out. At first the only snake I could find that looked like it was a Massasauga, a poisonous rattle snake but the head and eyes weren't right. I finally found the correct one, it is a Milk Snake. Made me very happy.
Later in the day they found a baby snake of the same variety next door so I guess there are a bunch of them around to scare the crap out of me when I'm gardening.

Kevin and the neighbor checking out the snake.

Our blackberries are doing pretty well, we will even have berries this year. They didn't suffer too bad for being transplanted.


No matter where I go this is always right behind or right next to me. Before we planted our garden the first thing we did was to put up a fence. To keep away deer, bunnies, groundhogs but mostly to keep away him. He and Buddie got into our plants and scruffed up a bunch of them. I'm glad they didn't like how they tasted or we would have none left. My girlfriend had just told me how her sheep had eaten two flats of her cabbage and then the next day our geese ate ours. You would think I would have been a little smarter.




He must have gotten under the tractor or something. He's got a grease Mohawk.


The Snow-in-Summer is one of my favorites. It will climb all over the rocks. That is if I can keep the wild morning glories off of it!



Kitchen update. Windows in, lights up and the bar is mostly done.


Tile is laid, it has been grouted but I don't have a picture. We used a darker tannish grout. This tile will go all around the oven too.


Here is the front of the bar. I have to do a lot of finish work but that is all on hold until we get some rainy days. The house really suffers when we garden all day for days on end.



I put up these tarps to keep the weather off of the lean-to for the chickens. I was looking around the other day, pulled back the tarp and found out where the missing eggs are.

She was sitting on about 50 eggs. Nice huh?

Til next time..

(We build a dock!)

Beth

Finally, My Computer is Fixed!

I had a bunch of bad, bad viruses. All fixed now. I will be posting soon. I have lots of new pictures of remodeling, farm and happenings. My turkey eggs have hatched and all is well.

Be posting soon!

Beth

Woodpeckers at our Suet Feeder

Look who's visiting my suet feeder!

We have three types of woodpeckers living near our house and two different types visit our feeder.

This one is a Red Headed Woodpecker. I this he is the prettiest.

Look at the color of his head!

Behind him you can see the "pain in the rear" sparrow. They have invaded my chicken house, eating lots of feed and have taken over the bluebird houses.

This is the second type of woodpecker that visits us. Not a very good picture but I think it is a Downey Woodpecker. Another one visits that looks just like this one but it has red on it's head. Maybe male/female... not sure.

Here is a not very big chart of woodpeckers. I was hoping the pictures would get bigger if you clicked on them but it's not working.

Legend: 1. Red-cockaded 2. Hairy 3. Downy 4. Pileated 5. Red-bellied 6. Red-headed 7. Sapsucker 8. Flicker 9. Ivorybill (extinct)

I wanted a good picture of a Pileated Woodpecker because it is the third type of woodpecker that we have at our farm but I could not get a picture of it myself even if I tried. It's nest (hole in the pole) too far away and way to high up for my camera.

These pictures are not that good but you get the idea. We have a nesting pair that lives in the high tension power pole near the front of our house. They live really, really high up in the pole and raise babies every year.

Here is Mr. Bluebird, waiting for a chance at the bluebird house near the feeder that the sparrow has taken over. Mr. Bluebird and the sparrows have had many fights over this house with the sparrows always winning.


Here is Mrs. Bluebird, waiting too.




Kevin has removed the sparrow nest at least two or three times. Finally she tries to move in.


They worked at it for awhile but we haven't seen them for a couple days. Not sure if they found another spot for their nest or what.


Kitchen remodel Update:

This weekend we installed the new window in the kitchen, a continuation of the kitchen remodel.

Hope it's over soon. I can't wait to get all the tools, wood, air compressor and construction supplies out of my living space so calmness and cleanliness can reappear.

Til next time,

Beth