A Day On Our Little Farm

Usually, on the weekends, Geeps brings me coffee in bed.  I look so forward to that.  Every night I set the coffee pot up and put it on a timer so that he has coffee on his way to work.  Then I get up shortly after, and the coffee is made and waiting for me.  This morning I woke up about 7:00, and Greg was already up and no where to be found.   I had to get up and get my own coffee!!!  I went out to feed the chickens, and found Farmer Geeps in the grove working away.

He was cutting through that pile that I had made with cut limbs and branches.  Keeping the larger pieces for firewood, and moving the rest to the back of the grove for a burn.

It was chilly and overcast this morning.  I headed over to feed the girls, and then water the garden.  I found a pretty feather.  Looks like it came from Sammy.

One of the things I wanted to do today was make some markers for my garden.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so clever.  I had everything I needed to make them, so I gathered my supplies and went out to the garden and got busy.

I wanted to use jute, but I couldn't find it in my mess sewing room, so I used string instead.   I had lots of old silverware that I had collected from thrifts over the years.  You simply write your veggie name on a cork, and stick the cork onto an old fork, and wrap with jute. 

I loved how they turned out.  Disregard that I spelled tomato wrong in this bouquet of markers.  I redid it for the garden. 

I placed them in the garden, and then stood back to admire my handy work.

I discovered my first sweet peas.

Last year I ate almost all of those while I was in the garden.  They are so good!
After getting all of the markers in, I began to reorganize the garden space, and move the fencing a little bit to allow myself a little more room to get around the boxes.  I use the term "fence" lightly here.  It is simply odds and ends of things I had laying around that I used to keep the chickens from eating my garden.

This made much more room for me, and I still have some containers that I need to plant, so I will put them on this end of the garden.  I moved my pot hangers to this side, and hung some old shutters on the gate to provide shade for the flowers I will put in, and also to act as shelves.  I can open the shutters for filtered light, or keep them closed for more shade as needed.

 I hope to get the flowers and soil tomorrow.  Do you see the shade it will provide for that area?  A couple of years ago, I had beautiful potted geraniums and shasta daisies, and they all fried in our summer heat.
I opened up the compost bin to put some leaves in, and was greeted by this reptile!  I thought it was a snake at first.

I fished him out with a rake.  Just look at that long tail!

 

Then I found his older, fatter brother when I moved some buckets.

I called Geeps, and he came with his lizard catcher.  But  by then, they had both scurried off  So he demonstrated his lizard catching skills for me with another little guy.

TaDa!!

By this time, the clouds had burned off and it was getting quite warm out.  After spending a few hours doing this, I had to go get some iced tea and have a rest in the shade.

Before I went in to take a shower, I was watering the garden, and was visited by these two hummingbirds.  I think that they must have been juveniles.  They zoomed in and out, up and down.  Darting into the spray of water for a bath, and then landing on a garden trellis to fluff up and shake off.  Then they did it all over again, like a sort of dance.

On my way back to the house, I had to stop and watch as the hens were taking a nice dust bath.

They will typically all do this together at the same time.  So funny to watch them scurry down into the dirt, flapping their wings getting dirt up underneath each and every feather.

Funny girls!

After I showered, I came back outside to sit under the umbrella and watch the birds while Greg watched The Masters.

So nice!  I love this time of year!  Warm enough to enjoy being outside, but not hot yet.   I sat out there with my iced coffee and took it all in.

So that is what we did today.  What did you do?

XO  Kris