Well, with an unexpected day off from my company I tried to make the most of it. I had to take AJ to the vet for a test in the morning, and the drive is now a bit longer so dropped her off and came home. I let the chickens out and started weeding around the house. The former owners have a lot of beautiful landscaping but I do find it hard to keep up, especially when house landscaping work is one of the lowest priority. After I got warm, I went to sit with the chickens and be their hawk spotter (saw at least one). Two of the chicks actually came up to me, let me pick them up, and stroke them. They didn't stay long but I'll take that as a success. For the record, I am not expecting pet behavior, but having one or two who like my attention would be ok too. After I rounded up the chickens, I headed back inside to do some laundry & internetting...
Headed back out to pick up the kitty after her tests were done, and got ready to go for a run. By then, the sky was darkening but I figured I could probably make it... the first half of the run I was boiling hot and my pace was definitely off. Mostly a factor of the humidity, but I also didn't eat much today. Anyway, the skies continued to darken and at mile 3 the rain came. But it felt great and though it was pouring and I was fully soaked, I have to say I was really enjoying myself. I loved the smell of the rain, and feeling the weather changing from the humid muck to a pleasant cool... coming back up to the house it was raining so hard that water was gushing out of the downspout which by the driveway creates almost a waterfall, as it's not down to the ground, and I put my head under it. Cool, like a mountain stream, and I just let the heat and sweat wash away. Maybe I should time more of my summer runs to end with downpours...
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Tuesday, July 1. 2008
Photos, overdue...
I've been meaning to post photos for some time, and haven't... like of our fences, our veggies... so with no further ado, here are some select photos captured on or around the farm recently.
First, an awesome rainbow we got amid one of the many thunderstorms we've had recently. This is from our front door.
Next, this is our raised bed which probably needs weeding already from the time I took it (last weekend). It has our tomatoes, pumpkin, and Cubanelle peppers. We have three types of tomatos - Early Girl, Mountain Frost, and Mr Stripey heirloom. All are doing very well and we even see a few tomatoes budding. Yes, I am surprised by our ability to get anything at all to grow out of the ground.... We have other beds growing things too but sad to say they don't look quite as nice (but so long as they are growing, we'll take it). At least I haven't had to water at all with the nearly daily storms (and it really does pour when it rains these days).
What you're supposed to see here is the new fence that we dropped around the existing split rail. Woven wire, pounded posts, hi-tensile, and hot wire at top. We have a couple of spots we need to pred proof around gates and such, but otherwise we are almost ready to keep out most of the unwanted visitors...
Last one for tonight, Aaron has returned to working on the coop and run, and has dug the trench, started putting down the hardware cloth, and sunk the other post needed for the run door. I have a strange feeling we may have a run soon! That would be outstanding. I will need to get back to finishing the paint, floor, and roosts... So here's a picture of some of his progress (and one of our chickens - big now, but a post for another night). I'll have to take more w/whatever weekend progress we make.
I have posted many more recent photos to flickr, so take a look here:
Flickr photos
And on a different note, I went for a quick ride tonight. Got about 17 miles in before dusk. I noticed on the walk back up the drive that the raspberry bushes are bearing fruit now (all wild). So, maybe this weekend I'll do some collecting of any ripe berries. And of course it's pick-your-own season, so we're now in the prime time of fresh local produce. Hooray!
First, an awesome rainbow we got amid one of the many thunderstorms we've had recently. This is from our front door.
Next, this is our raised bed which probably needs weeding already from the time I took it (last weekend). It has our tomatoes, pumpkin, and Cubanelle peppers. We have three types of tomatos - Early Girl, Mountain Frost, and Mr Stripey heirloom. All are doing very well and we even see a few tomatoes budding. Yes, I am surprised by our ability to get anything at all to grow out of the ground.... We have other beds growing things too but sad to say they don't look quite as nice (but so long as they are growing, we'll take it). At least I haven't had to water at all with the nearly daily storms (and it really does pour when it rains these days).
What you're supposed to see here is the new fence that we dropped around the existing split rail. Woven wire, pounded posts, hi-tensile, and hot wire at top. We have a couple of spots we need to pred proof around gates and such, but otherwise we are almost ready to keep out most of the unwanted visitors...
Last one for tonight, Aaron has returned to working on the coop and run, and has dug the trench, started putting down the hardware cloth, and sunk the other post needed for the run door. I have a strange feeling we may have a run soon! That would be outstanding. I will need to get back to finishing the paint, floor, and roosts... So here's a picture of some of his progress (and one of our chickens - big now, but a post for another night). I'll have to take more w/whatever weekend progress we make.
I have posted many more recent photos to flickr, so take a look here:
Flickr photos
And on a different note, I went for a quick ride tonight. Got about 17 miles in before dusk. I noticed on the walk back up the drive that the raspberry bushes are bearing fruit now (all wild). So, maybe this weekend I'll do some collecting of any ripe berries. And of course it's pick-your-own season, so we're now in the prime time of fresh local produce. Hooray!
