When we awoke on Wednesday morning last week, after stumbling in at 2 am from a 12 hour car ride, we quickly hurried out back to visit everything we had left behind, and see how they all had grown. And GROW, they did!!!
We found the beans totally outgrowing the trellis,
corn plants as tall as me, squash plants overtaking the paths,
and cherry tomatoes dripping from their vines.
We found GIANT chickens in the tractor where we had left our little baby chicks.
Luckily, the goats did not drink whatever it was that our garden and chickens seemed to have drunk,
they stayed close to the size they were when we last saw them, although their voices have gained an intensity we did not experience before leaving them-- when they see us or hear us (from the house, from the backyard, or even the front yard sometimes) they "MAAAAAAAA" loudly and persistently (don't say "I told you so," Donna!!!)... they have come to enjoy the company of people.
Luckily they are quiet at night...that's when it really matters, right? ;)
I have spent the last week getting caught up on weeding and harvesting yummy stuff daily.
We are eating blueberries, raspberries, kale, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, nasturtiums, basil, parsley, & Kylin even found a nice green bean.
I am crossing my fingers that we will get some big tomatoes, but the plants aren't looking promising. After the deer ate the first ones, I think the 2nd set were planted too late.
Everything was taken such good care of by Camille, Leah, and our wonderful friends who house-sat... We are so thankful for all of their help.
Rich let the chickens out of their coop today, to free range around the pen and the yard. They are L O V I N G life... I am hoping they will come back in at night, though. Those suckers are damn hard to catch. The goats seem to be enjoying the entertainment, with the birds clucking and pecking all around, and Rich also put a nice big log in the middle of the pen so that the goats can play "Queen of the Mountain," or something like that.
I've gotten a lot of really great emails and comments, some of you asking for me to post about specific topics. I am keeping a list and will try to get to them all -- thanks so much for your interest!!
Pears look like they are going to be ready soon
Checking out the garden for the first time in a month
Green Peppers
Flowers on the potato plants
We didn't actually eat these this year, but the two artichoke plants that were planted in the alpaca manure actually grew several chokes each! Can't wait to taste them next year...
The potato harvest happened August 22nd. I spent a hot afternoon digging for the red and gold treasures. We got quite a bounty, 34 yukon golds and 16 reds, and are looking forward to planting even more next year. We ate all of these by the end of September!
The emptied potato patch
The chickens have true free-reign now, and love to explore all around our property and beyond. They think the goats' pen is especially yummy, as the goats are fairly picky and leave lots of good veggie scraps for the chickens.
