Hot Fun In The Summer Sun (or Hot Work)

      I am really moving slow this morning.  I just started a second cup of tea.  I worked many hours in the sun yesterday.  Then I walked 2 hours at the Relay for Life from 11pm to 1am last night, and didn't climb into bed until 1:45am.  I plan to head back outside in a bit.  It is actually much nicer out today.  We had a heat advisory Mon-Thur. because it got up into the mid 90s every day.....made working in the yard quite hot and tiring. The new grass seed is planted, and will benefit from the heat and rain.

     The man to cut hay is coming today.  I’ll be praying we get no rain until after we bail it on Monday or Tuesday.  It is really going to be a lot of work getting it all up into the hay mow.  He is going to bring 2 hay wagons, an elevator to get it up to our hay loft, and 2 helpers when he comes to bale.  He wants us to have 4 more helpers.  Probably we should get 5....4 country
                                                                boys = 5 city folk.  Hope all the activity in the barn doesn’t scare our barn cat(s) off.  We will be cutting all 3 pastures, but not the paddock.  As you can see here, the paddock is very weedy....it is also too small and has too many buildings to maneuver around.

      We had another series of storms roll through here from 7 to 10pm last Friday night.  There were more high winds and monsoon rains.  This has made it very tough for our pastures to dry out.  With rain in the forecast 2 days this past week, we have waited on the cutting of hay.  We did get a couple of isolated thunder storms, but not too much rain.

     The crippled baby chick has steadily improved all week.  First it became able to stand and walk on its own.  When it walked it stepped forward with it's left leg and then brought its right leg up to the left.  It couldn't step forward with the right one.  I continued to work with it on that.  I would hold it’s left leg in place and tap on the back of its right leg until it would step forward with it.
(I am a chick
physical therapist).  It is now walking very well and almost normally (left foot forward, then right foot forward, etc.) but its' one foot is kind of twisted or turned with the toes pointed medially.  I am not sure how to help it correct that.  Maybe it will grow out of it. 

      The chick has grown a lot and is catching up to the others in size even though it is still smaller.  It also tends to be on its own more, not
                                                     staying as close to the other three. 


Yesterday (at 2 weeks of age) I moved the “babies” out to the coop into a bigger cage, and I put them in a small fenced in area outside each day. 

     The older chickens are also growing a lot, and are enjoyable to watch.  They (especially the 3 roosters) are very interested in the new arrivals.  I am keeping them separated as long as possible. 

      We have been thinking of things we can do with our three grain bins. Right now we have a bunch of old cinder block and fencing stored in one of them.  Different people we have spoken with have seen or heard of other ideas.  Cut a large "door" so live stock can go in, or to put farm equipment in, or to convert into a play house or shed.  We may store sacks of grain and feed in one of them.  If we could, we would sell the metal and have it hauled away. 

     This past week I have been doing a lot of landscaping on the North side of the house.  I have been moving some bushes, hosta, and day lilies in addition to planting some bushes and flowers I bought.  I have put down some weed block tarp and added cedar wood chips on top.  I am happy with the results I am getting.

     Today I will move myself around to the west side.  I planted flowers in one area early this spring but really need to weed it and add wood chips.  I have a bush and 2 trees to transplant in another area and will then be done with the west side.  The east side needs weeding and wood chips too.  Lots more fun work to do in the hot sun this summer.