The gardens are still producing for us and the beans we re-planted just started coming in so I have been canning a few jars as we pick. We have tomatoes but have been fighting a battle with the Tomato horn-worms and another brown caterpillar this month. These caterpillars will literally eat a whole tomato overnight and they love the ripe tomatoes the best. I went out today and picked all the tomatoes that looked like they were even slightly getting ripe in order to beat them to a few. We have more tomatoes coming but the first row I planted this spring in looking pretty ragged at this point. We will be arranging a day next week to clean the bed out and prepare it for winter. I also picked half a bushel of green/purple peppers that I will slice up for the freezer. We use them in chili during the cooler months.
We weeded the strawberry bed this month (it was really bad with weeds) and will be putting some weed fabric down to help with the future weeds. The ever bearing strawberries have been producing enough berries for a smoothie here and there. They are looking nice and I am looking forward to next years crop. The blueberries don't look so hot, I think we are going to move all of them in to a row down near the strawberries and amend to soil good before hand. Oh, how I would love to be able to pick blueberries off our own bushes but I am not sure that will ever happen. Our fig trees have small figs on them so I'm thinking we will be able to harvest a few this year. It is absolutely amazing how fast they have grown. The Muscadine Grapes are growing well and we hope to have a few next year. Overall it has been really dry here and we need rain. We are hoping to get some from what is left of hurricane Isaac over the weekend.
I already posted about our turkey hen being a meal. The boys trapped a coon a couple of days later but we don't think that is what got the hen. Last week I heard a raucous outside and stepped out onto our back porch to see a chicken in mortal combat with a red fox. Of course by the time I sounded the alarm and the troops were armed and ready, the fox was long gone. Probably laughing all the way back to his den. Upon further inspection (kids aren't always good at noticing things) we are down four chickens. Looks like the word is out that dinner is being served at Raisin' Acres Farm and there is a whole bunch on the menu.
Tom turkey is still with us and gets enclosed in a pen at night to keep him safe. We have four does and a doeling and are still milking but I have started to dry some of the girl's up in preparation for breeding. I want to milk our alpine through the winter if possible. If she continues to give 1/2 a gallon or more it will be worth it. The two bucks that we have are starting to get smelly in preparation for breeding season or "rut". yes, just like deer, the buck go into rut in the fall. I have the goats I want now and am going to test or re-test for disease and try to keep the herd closed to keep everyone in the herd healthy and happy. We still have some poults that should start laying any day now and we also have some dark cornish that need to go in the freezer before we have to feed them through the winter. The rabbits are doing great and are getting big. We are going to be breeding them soon for a bunch of fryers for the freezer. The rabbits don't do so well in the hot of summer so the fall, early winter, and spring are the best times to raise young ones. We are still trying to work out a system to feed them on lawn etc. to save on the cost of a bag of pellets at the co-op.
The kids started their first college courses on Monday. I am going to wait a week to start the rest of their classes since it has been a little adjustment for them this week. What do you expect I guess when you go from hanging around not having to use your brain too much for a few months and all of a sudden, whamo. It is definitely a changing time for all of us. Our one daughter is going for her drivers test on the 11th and the others aren't far behind. It will be nice (scary) for them to be able to drive to school.
The boys are in a race this Saturday called the "Mud run" which they are very excited about. It is a charity race for Habitat for Humanity. Big, big news that was very exciting is that Grandma was baptized this last Sunday at our church picnic. We have been praying for her for years and are so excited, thankful,and blessed that she has come to have a relationship with the Lord. We all went in with her and Pat was able to do the honors as we all helped her backup out of the water to loud cheers and clapping. Grandpa has also come to know the Lord but said he was already baptized as a kid and didn't feel the need to do it again.
I have tried my hand at a few batches of soap lately. Thank you Manessah! I have read up on soap making and purchased supplies but always been a little intimidated by the process. Well, Manessah helped me through my first batch and it wasn't too hard. So I think I can make some soap for my family that doesn't have all those "extra" ingredients in it. Next on the list is deodorant, I have tried to use natural deodorant in the past that I bought from our food co-op but it was too sticky feeling. I have found some recipes to try out on the poor family. I am hoping we can get everyone switched over to my way of thinking.....so keeping my fingers crossed that it works. If not for everyone, at least some of us.
I also recently put together an endocrine tonic that is steeping on top of my refrigerator. It is a tincture and I am hoping that it will help me with some hormonal issues I have been having lately. I have 3 more weeks to wait to try it and then it really needs to be taken for a month or more before you notice a difference. I am willing to try at this point. Different seasons of life have different issues, I just would like to roll with them more gracefully.
It is getting to be milking time so better go.
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