Farmlette Updates

Hello!  Did you miss me?

This week on the Farmlette, no much is happening aside from the usual end-of-school-year madness.  I've been driving well over 150 miles each day, which leaves little to no time to garden.  Oh, I broke out the hoe in the front garden and I potted up some more petunias, but aside from that, nothing much.  I'm hoping to move some more compost tonight, and perhaps plant my Painted Mountain corn seedlings (which desperately want into the ground, now).  A good friend is coming by to fetch some spare compost as well, so it's shaping up to be a companionable evening in any case.  Yay for friends!

The chickens and rabbits are doing well outdoors.  The beans have started growing up their canes on the west side of the Bunny Barn, so before too long, the boys should have some afternoon shade.  If I ever manage to get out there and clean the joint, I plan to hang an old bamboo shade on that side as well, on the inside, to offer a bit more shade while still allowing good air flow.  It's the air flow that makes all the difference on a hot, hot day, really.  Poor rabbits, they hate summer.  If only they could take their fur coats off...

The Ladies are laying eggs like mad.  I'm usually getting 10 per day, sometimes 12 or 13.  I have one broody in the Little Coop, and the Young Pullets in the Pen are growing up quickly.  Since their noisy brothers "moved out" to the Freezer, the girls have really been coming into their own.  They certainly eat a little less than when there were 17 in there (now, there are eight)!

For all my inattention this week, the garden is coming along.  We seem to be getting rain at just the right intervals, which is wonderful, but I will be really happy when the handyman fixes the hose pipe this morning.  Hauling buckets of water around the joint is getting really, really old.  It is just so much easier this time of year when the hose is working, for both garden and animal chores.  Plus, I get to rig up my timers which is so fun.  I love having things on timers--they get watered in the middle of the night for short intervals, and I don't have to worry that any "zone" is going dry.  And when your life gets a tad too busy, its nice to have one less thing to worry about!