Ok, back to business! I rearranged animals the other day. Mia, Meadow and The Murphy are in The Daisy Paddock with the big gate closed so they have very little shade in the morning. I made them a beer tent. They seem more than happy with it. Their shade gets bigger as the sun moves through its arc. 
It is on the list to build big sculptures made from telegraph poles and old timber into the fields as shade structures. Lots to do. 
Mama is still in the Rat House Paddock. She is doing OK and her udder is looking healthier and very slowly shrinking. So far so good in that department.
TonTon and the Big Bobby are up to something.
Here is why I am fastidious about cleanliness in the milking parlour. To cool down, the cows like to stand in mud. Cooling their heels. In fact to save me the trouble of making mud for them, they will often make the mud themselves which is .. um.. kind. Queenie, I know you are hot and not feeling sociable…
..but I think you can do better than that. Don’t let me catch you sneering at Camera again. It is not Camera’s fault that you are hot.
Sorry miss c. But it is just that I am dirty and so hot. Miss c? Yes Queenie, honey. Daisy is splashing mud on me, tell her to stop it. I don’t like it. Her mud is smelly.
Queenie you should be grateful you do not live with the Shush sisters. They love mud. 
In fact sometimes they have trouble sharing. 
Sheila you can’t just lie in that mud to keep it all for yourself. Oh no, that’s OK miss c. I can!
And now for the obligatory rooster shot.
Did you just call me Obligatory. I am the Son of the Son of Neanderthol man. Did you know that there is a chicken sitting on eggs in this car? Who left the window down?
Good morning. We have another day with high temperatures ahead of us. The 100’s are getting monotonous. Wearing my animals down. They are drinking huge amounts of water. How did the pioneers do this without hoses and taps? Their animals would have had a much higher value than ours due to isolation. If they lost their milk cow the whole pack of cards would collapse. They must have been hauling buckets of water from the creek down the back until their backs broke.
Daisy is still giving a good amount of milk. Altogether she milked 63 pounds yesterday in that heat. (8 pounds is a gallon, it is too early for maths for me) Her treats bucket is loaded with zuchinni and corn cobs and cabbage. She munches as I milk.
I am cooling the house the old fashioned way. In the night I open all the doors and windows then in the morning, when I go out to milk, I shut the doors and windows, locking all that cool air in. It is a bit like catching the dark in a jar but it works for a while.
Good morning. Have a lovely day.
celi
There was no blog on July 5, 2011. So no retrospective today. There is a lot of courage is starting a blog and I think mine was coming in short sprints at that point. Though as some of you have very kindly pointed out that first post can be the skeleton for the opening paragraphs so I shall start work on that today. c
The Kitchen's Garden 
59 responses to “Walkabout on the hot, hot sleepy farmy”
the weather is really getting to me too. you must be getting cooler than we are in the evenings. our night time temps have been in the mid to upper 70’s. it never cools down. i hope your animals all continue to handle it. teddy stays in the house most of the time now. surely soon we will get a break from all of this but not any time soon!
I love that there are hens laying inside the car. What perfectly excellent use of a vehicle. Have Hens Will Travel; Hens On The Highway….Hi-ho, hi-ho…
I wonder the same as you, Celi…how did the pioneers accomplish sustainability! I do remember visiting my great-grandparents in Missouri watching them maintain their gardens and a few animals, and they were always moving…but I think that probably describes you, too. I love the Shush sisters…they are getting so big! Now that you’ve given me a good sense of your day, I can get back to my computer work now. Our “daily rounds” are so different, Celi, and yet I feel a part of the farmy. I’ll send you a cooling coastal breeze this morning…Debra
I’m back! Seems the internet horrors are behind me – I have missed your posts C!
Have a happy day and hope you can keep at least somewhat cool today.
🙂 Mandy
I like the concept of ‘putting the dark in a jar’ – definitely been trying to do the same in the heatwave here. Stay cool!
How much water can you collect and save for these hideously hot dry spells without it going stagnant? It does really make you appreciate the hardships of farm life in times gone by. It still isn’t an easy way of life. 🙂
PS. (Because I can’t seem to string two thoughts together and always forget at least one). Be very grateful that you’re not wearing boots, petticoats, um stays and a hat too. That’d be hard work. 😉
Oh yeah, i have had to leave off the corset and stockings.. you are right.. way too hot!! (laughter!. ) c.
I was thinking about your first post and was impressed you have/had a plan, an idea about what you wanted to do, it’s more than I’ve ever had with my blog – hence the random waffling. Besides we all have to start somewhere, and your’s set the marker for what you came to explore over the year. Keep truckin’
And I’m loving the idea of the structures and art for shade, using telegraph poles will certainly give you some new visual eyelines instead of that big flat prarie!
I remember seeing women in Africa carrying huge pots of water on their heads for miles, each day. It is a marvel what we endure. Humans seem to consider hardship to be “everyone less fortunate than me.” It’s an amusing trait, and explains our survival.
that is a stunning concept. i say that to myself all the time. “Stop you moaning. there is always someone worse off that you!” .. it does explain our survival and our ability to find joy! c
I LOVE the ‘beer tent’! I was always making tents on our porch when I was a younster…..
Have a lovely day – it’s very HOT here in Canada too!
I am saddened that we seem to have lost this art (science, actually) of cooling houses. My mother taught me by example and her mother taught her. We could save a lot of power if people did this rather than just reaching for the air-conditioning.
Wow, reading your blogs reminds me that summer is coming and I need to put in water pipes to the new garden. We had big storm and I think another earthquake last night.
Those little pigs are getting huge and look very happy.
Your gorgeous animals are handling your heat so well my friend!
Sending all of you the Aussie freezing temps!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
“Like catching the dark in a jar.” I’ve never heard that, but like it. You are wise to close in the cool for as long as it will last.
Hah, rearranging animals sounds far more fun than rearranging furniture. The beer tents are a great idea. It’s amazing the difference a bit of shade makes. Much we do to our house is with an eye to free heating/cooling, and despite the opinion of many that we have too many trees and the garden is overgrown, it’s an old fashioned garden well planted before we inherited it, works well to cool in summer and the right parts in winter lose their leaves. Also requires little water which is good as there are only tanks, one outside tap not connected to the pump, so it’s watering cans & buckets if anything, and it’s just a house block.
sounds like you have as much water as me, I only have one tap for the entire farm.. and i love the concept of the old garden and trees cooling the house. I have planted for exactly that reason but sadly there was nothing when i came here so it will take some time!
It was extremely hot in my office, and I was getting sleepy. So, I understand the hot, sleepy day on the farm.