Meat Birds

Before Malachi left for college, he got the outdoor pen ready for the meat chicks.  They are quite happy in their new set-up.

 

They are just over 3 weeks old, and it is plenty warm enough for them outside. These birds are more curious and active than some meat birds I've raised.  They are quite fun.  We have 26 of them.

Garden Beauty

The sweet potatoes have continued their incredible growth. At the end of the row, you can see one of my Mexican sunflowers, which has so many visits from hummingbirds and butterflies.  If you look closely at the sweet potatoes, you can find little hidden flowers:

I also have these pretty zinnias in my main vegetable garden:

I like to plant some flowers among the veggies.

 

Cantaloupe!!!

I have long loved cantaloupe. Every August I can remember involves me eating copious amounts of it. I am a bit of a cantaloupe snob. I require really good cantaloupe. You won't see me eating it at the buffet, or out of season, or - God forbid!- mixed with other fruit. The best cantaloupe has always been Posey County cantaloupe (which may be grown in Posey or Gibson County, Indiana), although the Barkley Lake area also produces really good cantaloupe, as does most of the area along the Ohio between Indiana and Kentucky. However, I have not had the most luck growing any, between the lack of space and the interference of the animals, who also enjoy perfect cantaloupe.  But this summer - o glorious! - I have a cantaloupe patch, and it is producing abundantly.

Most of the cantaloupes are between 3 and 4 lbs, and they have all been good, but today, I had a perfect one. It's nearly gone already, because I can't resist perfect cantaloupe, but there are two more waiting to be cut up on the counter, and the garden has lots of green ones growing, so whatever else may grow or not, this has been my greatest gardening accomplishment ever!

Now, to eat more cantaloupe....

 

August Craziness

August, as usual, has been pretty crazy.  I was in the middle of canning peaches when I got the call from the post office that my chicks were here, so we now have 26 meat birds living in the shop.

Lydia was in Canada on a trip with her friend and her friend's grandparents.  They were supposed to come home Sunday night.  Three canceled flights, delays, and multiple travel changes later, they managed to struggle home at 4:30 am on Wednesday morning, which was also the first day of school.  Needless to say, I let her sleep.

She did, however, share a photo of a marmot with me:

Over the weekend, Nathaniel and I had to go pick up our hog from the butcher, so we took the younger boys and made a day of it.  We went to Harrodsburg, where we enjoyed the fort and of course spent time on my favorite tree:

We didn't stay as long as we probably could have, partially because we needed to get to the butcher, and partially because Emry's legs are still broken, and he couldn't fully explore the tree.

Now it is Thursday, and Lydia and Emry are at school while Gyunay is homeschooling. Nathaniel is back in Missouri, but he should return to us tonight. Malachi's car broke down, so they plan to work on it later. Pilot has the day off, and Elijah is at work. I am trying to adjust to the new school year while keeping up with my garden and all the craziness around here.

 

The Ohio Vacation

After Canada and New York, we headed to northern Ohio, where my in-laws rented a house for all of us for the rest of the week.  We enjoyed a lot of adventures, including a short hike in Cuyahoga National Park:

The house itself was really amazing. It had a swimming lake with a dock and kayaks, a hot tub, skeeball, pingpong, a movie room, pac man, and more. 

There was plenty of room for everyone. In fact, it was easy to lose track of people inside the house because there were so many rooms to go!

We also visited the Akron Zoo and some nearby small towns. Nathaniel, Malachi, Pilot, and Kevin enjoyed a couple of golf rounds. We enjoyed group games and family dinners. It was a really nice vacation.

 

Our Lady of Victory Bascillica

After we left Niagara Falls State Park, we headed out in our 2 cars.  Elijah, Emry, and Gyunay were with me, and we made a slight detour to Our Lady of Victory Bascillica near Buffalo, NY. 

It is an amazing church that looks like the ones in Europe.   The boys were all impressed.

To make it even better, the Bascillica was built by Venerable Father Nelson Baker a hundred years ago.  The boys have a comic book about his life, so it was extra special. 

We lit some candles, said some prayers, and visited the nice museum in the basement. 

 It had been storming,  but it cleared up while we were there, so we were able to get some outside photos.

July Harvest Totals

 The garden really got going at the end of July.  

Beans, dragon - 6.6 Oz

Beans, green - 3.7oz

Cabbages - 2

Carrots - 20

Corn - 6

Cucumbers - 26

Eggs - 356

Peppers, ancho - 1

Peppers, pepperoncinis - 7

Potatoes, fingerling - 1.6 lbs

Potatoes, Kenebec- 7.3 lbs

Potatoes, red - 5.4 lbs

Rutabagas - 1

Tomatoes, Eva Purple Ball - 7

Tomatoes, reds - 41

Tomatoes, San Marzano - 83

Zucchini - 6

Plus cherry tomatoes and herbs - basil, dill, oregano, mint, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

I made and canned a batch of salsa for the first time in 2 years.  It's so nice to have ripe tomatoes!

And hopefully,  August should bring cantaloupe!!!