I know Texas summers are brutal….I understand that completely, and am prepared for it. What I’m not prepared for is the record highs of 107, 104, 105. Yes folks, it’s too hot to even breath outside. We hurry from the car to the house in order to avoid being in it for more than a couple moments at a time. I’m hosing down the animals pens a couple times a day just so they can be comfortable, or even close to it. Practically injecting the girls with constant water as well.

I’ve heard alot of comments from people who do not live here (not directed at me, just in general) about the Texas summers and we should all be used to it or not live here. The thing is, this heat isn’t just normal Texas conditions. June is suppose to be one of the wettest months of the year, but the last rain we had that registered anything was 3/4″ on June 3rd, and no real rain in sight in the near future. Average temps this time of year are suppose to be mid 90’s. Even in the hottest months of July and August our averages are suppose to rarely be above 100. We are not Death Valley here, nor are we Western Texas. We are Hill Country with lakes and streams, green growth and rain in May and June. Not this year, nor was it last year. This year’s temps are even higher than last year’s and we thought it was hot then!

To top it all off, due to the lack of rain we are on mandatory watering schedules. Fortunately we can hand water any day of the week, but the real watering can only be 2 days a week…which is a big reason we are going to do drip irrigation. That’s another post for another day though. Right now it’s all about trying to keep the garden alive. My last plantings went into the ground this week – yes, I broke a couple rules and am hoping they make it in this heat – nothing else will be planted until fall except for maybe seeds. If I’m not out working in the garden by 7AM then I don’t get much done because it’s just way too hot after that.

Anyone know any good rain dances?

We’ll survive, and this was just a quick whine from me. I feel better! Thanks for listening!

Hope your summertime is full of coolness and lots of refreshing, ice cold drinks – again, another post for another day!

Peace!

So the other day, when J was leaving for work, a pair of Blue Jays were expressing their extreme displeasure at our calico, Emo. Emo was lying in the yard being dive-bombed by these two very upset birds. Everytime they’d come close to her she’d meow loudly but didn’t have anything that appeared to be their’s, like a baby Blue Jay. I thought maybe she’d come too close to a nest and was getting told off, so went back in to finish up in the kitchen. After a few minutes I went out to feed animals, check the veggie garden and do my early morning rounds. Xi got up and came along. While in the front yard, we noticed the birds were still very upset with Emo. All of a sudden I saw her pounce on something so went over to investigate. Sure enough, a baby Blue Jay was hanging on to the kitty’s collar for dear life and Emo was trying to roll around to get her off. The baby appeared fine, just scared. I had my gardening gloves on, so was able to get the bird off the cat and check it out. No broken bones, just a very scared little thing. She actually flew out of my hand (flight feathers were in place), so made me think she’d probably had a learning mishap when taking that first plunge out of the nest. We also found half an egg shell in the same vicinity. I took her to the other side of the yard, after putting Emo inside, and set her down in the big flower pot next to the driveway. She sat there eyeing Xi and me warily. I was able to get a few pictures before we went back in to get Xi’s breakfast. When we went out to check the bird was gone and Emo was sleeping on the other side of the yard. I should say she was trying to sleep as one of the Blue Jays was still yelling at her. I’m sure that baby was able to get away, I just don’t know how far. I do know that Emo didn’t get ahold of her again, so Xi and I would like to believe it just needed a bit of height to get back into the trees. No more mad Blue Jays after about another 30 minutes.

Blue Jay giving Emo an ear full:

Baby looking lost:

Today, while planting their new Periwinkles, the girls found this caterpillar on the parsley. These pictures were taken by my 3 year old photographer. They watched that caterpillar for a good 20 minutes or more before resuming their planting.

I also wanted to share that my Day Lilies are finally blooming. They were planted by the previous owner’s, so I have no idea the variety. Anyone care to take a gander?

Tomorrow we are going to see J’s folks and are really looking forward to it. It will be great to spend some time out of town and they have a wonderful garden. I will try to get pictures of it to share if they are cool with that. They are who I usually turn to when I have questions. They know their gardens! Plus, they are fun to be around. The girls are super excited!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their weekend. Happy Gardening!

Peace!

I just got off the phone with a wonderful lady who is really excited about buying our little goats, Roger and Carlton. They are going to get to live on a couple acres and stay together, which is what I was hoping for. They will get horses to play with, chickens to butt at and lots of love from the sound of it. She said she spoils her animals with treats and love, so we are very pleased! The girls will miss them, but they knew this day was coming. We will start milking Kubra as soon as they are gone, which will be on the 3rd. I think it is better than we could have hoped for in terms of a new home for the boys.

Garden is coming right along. The girls love Periwinkles and so when we saw them on sale at Home Depot yesterday, we had to get more. I don’t mind them because the girls can pick as many flowers as they want and the next day twice as many have bloomed once again. They are easy to keep alive and act as perennials here. I have a flowerbed that has been slow to be transformed and these have found a wonderful home next to the violets in there. I also picked up a couple more Provencial Lavendars, which do better here for me than any of the others I’ve tried. The veggies are growing and we are starting to see more fruit on our tomatoes and cucumbers are producing now as well. Peppers are coming on slowly but surely. Pumpkins seem to have the dreaded borers again though. I might try them in the fall and see how they do since our growing season lasts so long here.

I also have a plan to build 4 raised beds, 8′ x 4′ each. We are going to get those done by August so we can pretty much triple our veggie garden space for the Fall. Yay!

It’s turning into an aviary in the front garden. Birds are flocking to the feeders now. We have seen a couple Hummingbirds as well and many more butterflies are starting to flit around. I saw my first Eastern Kingbird as well. Nerdy I know, but very exciting to the girls and I.

So that’s a quick update of life on the farm. I’ll get some pictures and more news up later. Hope everyone is staying cool in this summertime heat!!! Happy early Solstice everyone!

Peace!