3rd Official Day of Summer

This post was really supposed to happen yesterday, but due to various camera/photo issues, I decided to quit and try again the next day. Hopefully my photography vibes are more in tune today.

We are to the last of our June roses; the pink climbing roses that wreath the kitchen porch trellis:

They are a bit past their prime in this photo. Most of them faded and a little bug eaten. When the blooms first open they are almost hot pink, fading to baby pink after a couple of days. And the bug eaten issue is just part of the general beetle plague that has descended upon our landscape. Not Japanese beetles, though they are just as voracious, these are little brown and black beetles that are about the same size as the Japanese, but not the right colors. And they won't be here for long. We had the same thing last year, and luckily it's only a couple of weeks and then they are gone. Until this time is over, Sevin dust is much more of a friend than we like it to be, and contact with beetle poop is an every time you go outside occurrence.


Pictures of the garden this time a year are always so pretty:

Everything is pretty well weeded. At least for the next day or so. Once the rain and cloudy skies let up, we're in trouble. It's easier to stay on top of weeding because right now harvesting and preserving time is at a minimum. That time will end soon. And then its a question of weed between the rows or do something now before these tomatoes turn to mush on the kitchen counter. You can guess what happens. Though we really, really want to work on reducing the weed seed load of our garden soil this year. Which means catching weeds before they go to seed. We've mulched in several areas, and are trying to work at running the hand plow between rows as often as possible, or hoeing and hand weeding where required. If it would dry out for 2 minutes, that would be helpful.


On the animal front, baby chicks and turkeys are growing well. Starting to become curious and aggressive. Ready to be in outside pens.  We kicked the hen turkeys off the next because we found out they had broken all their eggs, and thus weren't incubating anything! They moped for about a day, and then got over it.


Calves and pigs are growing well. Getting ready to build up our hay supply to keep the calves on hay for a couple of weeks while we block off the pasture and let the grass grow back up tall. Which they hate, but it keeps our grass from getting ate down to the quick.


Other than that, we're just ready for a little bit more moderate weather pattern. With sunshine and warmth, and the occasional rain shower, appropriately timed, of course. The constant stream of rain and storms, thumbs down.

Or at least that's what this brocolli plant said. Broken off at the base by Tuesday night's gusty storm, just as it was getting ready to form a flower head . . . of course.  


Time to go pick some berries, and get my daily dose of beetle poop.