GOOD BYE JUNE

This last day of June started out cloudy but we didn't get any rain overnight so we are still very dry.
I got chores done and then discovered the chicks in the make shift card board box brooder had some how got water out of the waterer and soaked about half the shavings in the box.
Hubbie went up to the barn and got another box to put the chicks in while I emptied the regular box and put dry shavings in it. I put the water up on a flat piece of board in hopes that no more water would escape from it. We couldn't figure out how it happened because there was so much of it.
After we got everything dried and cleaned up I had breakfast.
A customer came after her cake order and then hubbie and I went to Dollar General to pick up some eggs and a few other things we needed before meeting another cake customer with her order.
We came home and had lunch. I went up to the garden and gathered some fresh lettuce and carrots for my salad. I am happy to still be getting this delicious tender lettuce from the later varieties I planted.
After we ate lunch we walked down to d-in-love's to watch the girls swim.

Thunder cut their fun short today and we all went inside sure it was going to storm any minute. These two played on the front porch for a while.

Daughter drove us home just in case the rain started but we didn't get any and the we watched the storm pass to the south of our area once again. Maybe it will be our turn later.
Hubbie went up to work on stringing up tomatoes and I stayed inside to change the furniture covers and get out my patriotic decor for the month of July. 
I did one load of wash and got all the decorations out and the covers changed except the bed and I will get that done tomorrow.
I ate a light supper and then went out to get chores done. After chores I walked around the yard once again clipping down some unwanted weeds and vines.
I decided to pick the bush beans that were ready tonight just in case the rains might come tomorrow.
I picked almost 1/2 bushel of the bush beans to make dilly beans from.

And I also picked these purple beans from the vines I planted and excited to see what these beans taste like at lunch tomorrow. These are from some heirloom seed that I have idea where it even came from but from all I have read about these beans I can't wait to try them.

I came inside just as darkness fell and I am tired tonight from the activities of the day.
As this month passes it has been another once in a lifetime experience of dodging this world wide pandemic and staying home all we can, doing curbside pick-up for groceries and meeting cake customers one at a time with orders.
Our garden looks really good as we have had more time to spend working in it this year with 4 days each week not being taken up with cake baking and market selling.
As hubbie and I settle into this new life style we are liking it more and more. He said the other day he guessed this is what real retirement is supposed to be like.
We have some big projects to tackle and hope to get to at least one of them in July.
In June we bought and put together a new chicken tractor as we strive to get more chicks so we can have our own meat birds.
This has been a pretty laid back month and we have just enjoyed the kids and taken it easy getting used to a new routine of keeping RL each Monday and getting to see all of them each day.
We celebrated 4 birthdays this month as Tif, hubbie, RL and Aa all got a year older. We also celebrated father's day and #2 son and Tif's first anniversary this month.
The weather has been cooler than normal on a lot of days and either too wet of dry most of the month .

 The lack of decade pics this month is due to problems down loading photos onto my computer. Hopefully I can solve this issue and get them into a post all their own shortly.
All in all it has been a good month and we thank our Lord above for His graciousness each day and His protective arms that we are wrapped in every second of every day.
Thankful for all the blessings of this month and looking forward to what God has in store for us next month.
God Bless and Good Night

LITTLE GIRLS AND BABY CHICKS

The start to another week this morning was beautiful with the clouds and sun fighting a battle in the skies.

RL was here early when her mom went to work and was excited about the baby chicks chirping in the box.
I got chores done and had breakfast then a customer picked up 4 cakes.
RL helped me get the weekly laundry gathered and a load going .
Daughter brought IR and CA over to play with RL and both RL and IR had to hold baby chicks . CA just wanted to pinch them !!

I got 3 loads of laundry done between taking care of all the wants of these girls while daughter did some online work done.
D-in-love came in from work and then they all went home.
Hubbie and I watched the early news then went out to get chores done. After chores I walked around the yard trimming and cutting down some unwanted vines and weeds. As I worked I enjoyed all the pretty blooms that are popping out even in our very dry, hot weather right now.
I noticed this big dark orange day lily and have no idea how it got here but I'm glad it did.

 I love this pastel colored Glad that just started to bloom.

 All the different colors of Butterfly bushes are blooming right now making the butterflys and bees very happy.

 The wild mountain Rhododendron I planted in the bed above the house is blooming now.

 This ornamental holly bush is putting out these little green flowers this year that I have never noticed it doing before.

 And these Geraniums are doing so well on the back steps.

Hopefully we are going to get some rain soon because out garden and all the plants are suffering pretty badly in the heat right now.
It was in the upper 80's today and very humid outside.
I felt like I sweated a gallon or so this evening while I was working in the year.
Hubbie sprayed the garden with the organic fungicide he uses to try and keep the extreme weather conditions we have had so far this gardening year from causing diseases to affect the vegetables.
I pulled weeds for the chickens then we called it a night.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

DANCE RECITAL SUNDAY

Sunday morning and this is a beautiful start to the day.  The freshly mowed pastures looks so neat with the cattle and guineas roaming around already this morning.

I got chores done and then checked on the incubator hatching chicks , there were 8 chicks walking around and they had scooted all the unhatched eggs to one side.
I ate breakfast and then hubbie and I started getting lunch ready. We cooked creamed corn, baked potatoes, tamale pie with fried squash from the garden and sweet tea.
#1 son's family. #2 son and Tif and Aa's family made it to lunch with us. Daughter's family is celebrating a late father's day with son-in-love's dad since he is feeling better with his knee pain this weekend.
Everyone had a nice visit and the kids had fun playing.
After everyone left hubbie and I got ready to go to see our first dance recital as EL has been doing her dance classes on zoom online classes.
They had a stage set up outside at the Flat Rock Playhouse parking lot and social distancing seating set up.

The girls did a good job for the first time they had ever danced together. It was very hard to tell them apart with all their hair styles the same.

The theme to the recital was the Wizard of OZ and the older dancer who portrayed the Oz players were very accomplished dancers. EL's group was the "yellow brick road".

 After the dance was over BB and RL had flowers for EL to let her know how great she did.

 

 It was extremely hot in the 88 degree sunshine sitting in an asphalt parking lot but it was worth it to see the smile she couldn't contain on this girl's face.  Great job EL !!!!
We came home and rested awhile to recoup our heat sapped energy. 
I put a way laundry and then watched the news before getting out and doing the chores.
I moved 8 little chicks to a make shift brooder box in the living room this evening.

I am always amazed that after dipping their little beaks in the waterer and sitting them in the plate of feed how they know exactly how to start eating and drinking on their own immediately.
There is 2 recently hatched still wet chicks in the incubator along with more eggs. So far none of the guinea eggs have hatched.

I was much more careful this time about keeping the humidity up in the incubator when I opened it to remove the chicks so hopefully more hatching will occur.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the health and opportunity to be able to attend the kids activities.
God Bless and Good Night

SAHARAN DUST STORM ARRIVES

Up to get this Saturday started.
I got chores done and then had a nice leisurely breakfast for I think the first time this week !!
After breakfast hubbie went up to the new chicken tractor with me to move it so the grass under the runners he made under it wouldn't die.
After that I pulled weeds in the garden and worked on getting some weeds cut out of the green house lot where some tomatoes are planted in the old bath tub in there.
The chickens are always happy for the weeds I offer them.
I planted some cucumber seeds in the bath tub where the radishes were planted and put up a new climbing trellis in hopes these cucumbers will provide some later cukes for eating.
I went up to cut my basil and discovered all the basil plants had powdery mildew. I pulled all them up and put them in a plastic bag to be thrown away. I do not want this disease to spread to other things in the garden beds. This is the second time I have lost an entire basil crop to this mildew and these plants were in a totally different location than the first time that was a couple years ago.
Hopefully I got them out before the disease spreads but it was sad to loose the entire crop.
All I have left is some small leaf basil in a pot below the house but that seems to be doing fine and is very fragrant.
I went in the basement and checked to see what was dry enough to put into jars and found the peppermint and spearmint was ready to into jars as well as the massive amount of lemon balm I had hanging up to dry .

I worked in this while hubbie went to the bottom pastures to bush hog as the weeds are starting to take over in spots down there and we don't want them to form seed heads.
I finished jarring the dried herbs just in time to head out to the Curb Market to attend an outside board meeting.
We made some pretty big and difficult decisions today. One of those was the closure on Tuesdays for the rest of the year in order to make up the revenue we are loosing from the parking for the apple festival that has been called off this year due to the covid virus.
We met for 2 hours and then I drove home.
The hazy skies and dust make for a strange view to day as the Saharan dust storm reaches our mountains. It is very strange for the dust to make it this far north.

Hubbie was still in the bottom bush hogging so I put away some laundry and then had an early supper.
Hubbie came in just as the news came on TV and we watched then got chores done.
The second run of incubator chicks and guineas are beginning to hatch and so far there are 5 chicks but no guinea eggs have hatched yet. I am not opening it until tomorrow night to remove the hatched chicks so as not to lower the moisture level too much on the unhatched eggs.
I also set another red silkie hen up to set on 4 silkie eggs and 3 layer hen eggs in one of the small condo brooder boxes I have empty. This hen is one of my best mamas so hopefully she will have a good hatch.
I have so many different chicken locations now that I count as I go to make sure I don't miss any.
Hubbie and I finished the day watching the sunset through the dust over the mountains and admiring the freshly cut pasture below.

#1 son's family went to a new lake today, Lake Fontana, in NC today and the kids looked like they had a great time jumping from John's new house boat. G-son took his friend Nicolas with them so that made for more fun.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night