It might take a while to get you all up to date! Let’s hope I can stay the course a bit longer this time. Though we will be drifting into bread baking a bit more often – this being a huge focus in my life. In the meantime we will mop up a few details.
The new calves are settling in beautifully with Tia doing a fine job of being Auntie. I like having a well trained aunty with new ones. She comes when she is called and the bobbies follow.
Look at the legs on this fellow. Sturdy ankles.
Pania is training her chick too.
At a week old she has got the baby to fly to the fence to shelter under her wing for the night. Height is a little safer. We lost one pea chick to a well fed cat. I was spitting mad. I am always in two minds about cats- they are useful at keeping vermin out of the feed and rats out of the barns but they are hell on my birds. I was deeply upset when I saw a cat with a dead pea chick in it’s mouth. So I put all the cats into the cool basement during daylight hours. ( they are thrilled to bits of course). Once I see that Pania has her baby safely tucked away for the night, I let them out. But on Monday I am back to work so they are on their own.
Here is the shot I promised you so you can see the tomato string in action. If you keep in mind that tomatoes are actually vines not bushes it is an easier concept to manage. As the bottom leaves die off and the fruit is harvested, lengthen the string – this lowers the stem to gradually curl to the ground – allowing you to train and harvest from the higher ups as they drop to eye level. These plants are not quite there yet. We had a very cold start to the summer.
The duck pond. Today I am working on a dry creek to an overflow draining pond. The fun part is planting around the overflow pond. The trees have grown so dense in my gardens that there are piles of plants happy to be brought out into the light. And there will be ample water! My run off water will be the irrigation for all the new marsh plantings.
Sustainable means less waste. And I hate to waste water.
Have a lovely day.
Love always
miss c –
Your celi, but changed. ( I feel older after this past year – not so much older in my body but older in my mind). I think you know what I mean.
The Kitchen's Garden 
33 responses to “Mopping Up the Details”
I have so missed your updates and especially pics! 💞
Living in Australia, I see how cats take a huge toll on local wildlife. Feral and domestic. Feral dogs too. So in my mind, cats always belong inside only. I guess farms/barns are the only real exception so it’s a double edged sword …
I know exactly what you mean, the last 18mths has brought about a whole new level of stress and fatigue and I feel it has aged us all far more than life usually does.
Take care 💞 Kate
Good morning. We do the same with our tomato and cucumber plants in the greenhouse. I knew you were clever. 😁
Lovely to have you back C.
So pleased at your return C. I think we all feel more aged over the past year……….not in a fine wine or superb cheese sort of way. I’m moving to another rural area next month with an elevation of 718m looking forward to a much cooler summer.
Is your new paler bobby a Charolais?
Wow. That will be a change. I imagine you will be finding all kinds of different flora!
It is so nice to have you back. I’d forgotten how I used to wake up and read your postings before I got out of bed – it was like a morning meditation. Really, these last 4+ years have been chaotic, but maybe things are returning to a better place. I hope so. Part of that better place is your writing and photographs back!
All is well with my world. Celi is back. Balance is returning – slowly but surely. It is wonderfully reassuring and so very comforting to read about life on your farm. I missed having my morning coffee with you. I missed your reassuring words. Thank you for being in this life of ours. XXXX Virginia
Just curious about the duck pond…do you add water to it to keep it fresh and clean? We have thought of adding a duck pond, but for now and the past years have used a very large kiddie pool that I must clean and refresh every few days. We put the used duck water on our fruit trees.
That glider isn’t exactly the same as the one I grew up with, but it’s very close. They are old-fashioned, but they carry a lot of old-fashioned comfort with them. A friend has both a porch swing and a glider, and she laughs at how often guests choose the glider. Your tomato system’s clever. I bought a new to me variety of cherry tomatoes at the farmers’ market last Saturday: a German variety whose name I can’t remember now. They’re larger than many cherry tomatoes: about the size of a ping-pong ball. I roasted them with basil, and they’re delicious!