Again, I became too slack in keeping up with my blog. Somehow, gardening always seems to bring me back to it, in order to record what has been planted and what is blooming.
School is underway and bits of time are coming back to me between loads of laundry and lessons on learning how to drive.
So, with no particular order, I am sharing shots of the back yard and gardens.
Below is the baby Swiss Chard. Looks like the Ruby Red variety, although I have the rainbow of colors out there.
I tilled, moved manure and seeding both gardens between Sept 11-13th. Here we are, the 17th and we are blessed with nice rains for the past 3 days.
(I believe this is Red Russian Kale, although, much of the Meschun sweet lettuce has bloomed too. They look similar. )
(Broccoli and beans have also made their big break-throughs.)
The rains have caused a great germination in both gardens.
My goal was VARIETY!! We were sick of broccoli last year. And we let one garden sit fallow. This year, we have a garden of short crops and the other with longer crops.
Here are my Old English babies, now close to three months later. My dark black one was carried off by a hawk. I did not see it personally but I know the hawk came back to sit on the garden fences and stalk the last two remaining babies for the next couple weeks.
(Here is Olivia. She is a Red Pyle OEGB. We've nicknamed her and her sister the Road Runners.)
Now, they are allowed to finally roam the yard, as they wish.
(This is Duval, as in Duval St. in Key West. She is a Silver Duckwing OEGB)
Here are the remaining hens. We lost Peaches last month to something that slowly was killing her. Maybe she had a taste for some toxin in the yard. Twice we had brought her back from the brink of death, but she never quite recovered from the last episode. She was a Zombie chicken.
My Americanas (bottom two) are laying daily since May. Wow, I couldn't ask for a better pair of layers from last winter's pick. My Senior girls are still hanging in there. We did not suffer any molting, which is a miracle. Egg production has been great all Fall long.
And Mallory, my lavender EE, was culled for being infertile for nearly three years. Jack insisted she was my pet but she was always ornery and a loner. She was not *my* pet. She was a regret of paying for a designer bird, who turned out to produce nothing, from a bizarre & paranoid woman, who ran a breeding business of unique birds & small livestock. But I digress....... I feel more at peace without her here.
And last but not least, this is our pool. About two weeks ago, I swam in it for the last time and made cuts along the bottom so it would slowly drain out. The frogs have gotten in there and done their thing. The water was nearly gone and bottom drained out. The tadpoles have been ever-thankful for the last of the summer rains keeping them alive.
Our goal is to do some much need back yard makeover work in the winter months and then put in a new & better pool.
Below, Tiki has found the scent of something under the shed.
Tiki has sniffed out a critter. He is alerting me, but I will deal with it another day.
Potted Thyme. I did take a big cutting of the overflow of this plant and put it in the dehydrator for drying and putting up through the winter. I like to call it my Chia Pet. I thought it would slow down production as the days went shorter. Instead, it has new growth.
That is all for now. Maybe I will blog again this weekend. Certainly, there will be more photos as rows of vegetables and herbs begin to cover the drip lines.
Blessings,
Robin
