What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

My ducklings are enjoying the storm in their temporary pen... I think I'm going to start the integration process with my adult ducks this weekend. I'll put them in a "see but don't touch" section of the duck yard during the day and then put them back in the temporary pen at night.

 

[NanaK]

Hugelkultur trench. I dug three of them. I found half a dozen potatoes I missed when I dug the taters that were there.
View attachment 3250812
I put some rotten old apple logs in the bottom of the trench. Then some odd sticks, lots of grass clippings, and pulled squash vines.
View attachment 3250815
Filled two of the trenches back in and rake it smooth. Funny, dirt is just as heavy going into a trench as it is coming out. If not heavier, as we had a soaker of a rain.
View attachment 3250817
The posts mark the trenches. In between I'll dig some holes and bury kitchen scraps and compost.

Love this! I may do some of this in my veggie garden space that won't be planted again till spring.

Today, I worked on moving compost for my fall veggie planting area. Whew, glad it's done. Shovels and rakes sure make a girl sleep good at night!

 

[Sally PB]

Shovels and rakes sure make a girl sleep good at night!

Oh yeah!

 

[Acre4Me]

More peppers harvested. 3rd time picking them. They are mostly sweet Italian types, with a few mildly hot varieties.

 

[WthrLady]

I think HPAI has taken a larger toll than we think. We didn't see ONE bald eagle this summer and we usually have about 4 -6.
We usually have 20-30 turkey vultures this time of year, and we're only seeing about 5.
We haven't seen ONE red tailed hawk or falcon this year at all.
And I've not heard ONE turkey gobble all summer.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Finally got enough okra to do a meal for 2! It was delish...and my poor DH....bless his heart!!!
This is nothing any gardener would ever wanna hear after his 2nd meal of okra and my 1st (cuz didn't have enough the first time for us both!) He said...and I quote:

"It was as good as any
you'd get at the store."​

My reply to that?!

"You say what I think you said?!
Didn't you mean as good as any homegrown okra you ever ate!?
Don't you know the blood, sweat, teats, prayers that went into this harvest!?
Not to mention me giving you the first fruits of my hard work?!

 

[ChicksnMore]

More peppers harvested. 3rd time picking them. They are mostly sweet Italian types, with a few mildly hot varieties.

View attachment 3251059

Beautiful peppers!

I think HPAI has taken a larger toll than we think. We didn't see ONE bald eagle this summer and we usually have about 4 -6.
We usually have 20-30 turkey vultures this time of year, and we're only seeing about 5.
We haven't seen ONE red tailed hawk or falcon this year at all.
And I've not heard ONE turkey gobble all summer.

We've had an awful lot of dead and sick sparrows here. Makes me twitchy. So far they're saying only three wild birds have been found in all of AZ with it, and no domestic birds at all. Everytime I see another dead bird I can't help but wonder how well they can test the wild birds. Our hawks, doves etc seem ok so far though.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I think HPAI has taken a larger toll than we think. We didn't see ONE bald eagle this summer and we usually have about 4 -6.
We usually have 20-30 turkey vultures this time of year, and we're only seeing about 5.
We haven't seen ONE red tailed hawk or falcon this year at all.
And I've not heard ONE turkey gobble all summer.

They all live here now, like all of them, lol. I have a family of 5 hawks this year. The parents and 3 babies they've been raising for months have killed more of my flock than I've ever lost in all my years of keeping chickens. We also have kites, huge flocks of wild turkeys, a golden eagle (I think it's called), and soooo many turkey vultures, so so many. They like to sleep in one of my trees sometimes and it's so creepy when they do it. Lol

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Finally got enough okra to do a meal for 2! It was delish...and my poor DH....bless his heart!!!
This is nothing any gardener would ever wanna hear after his 2nd meal of okra and my 1st (cuz didn't have enough the first time for us both!) He said...and I quote:

"It was as good as any
you'd get at the store."​

My reply to that?!

"You say what I think you said?!
Didn't you mean as good as any homegrown okra you ever ate!?
Don't you know the blood, sweat, teats, prayers that went into this harvest!?
Not to mention me giving you the first fruits of my hard work?!

My husband legitimately tried to compare my made from scratch pumpkin pie to canned pumpkin pie and he did it in front of the camera so I'll forever hold it against him now. Lol!
It's been so many years since he's had it from the can that I don't actually think he remembers.

 

[TJAnonymous]

They all live here now, like all of them, lol. I have a family of 5 hawks this year. The parents and 3 babies they've been raising for months have killed more of my flock than I've ever lost in all my years of keeping chickens. We also have kites, huge flocks of wild turkeys, a golden eagle (I think it's called), and soooo many turkey vultures, so so many. They like to sleep in one of my trees sometimes and it's so creepy when they do it. Lol

This year is definitely bad for predators here. I'm also dealing with a pair of nesting hawks, along with foxes and now coons too. I know I've lost a couple of chicks. Not sure if or how many adults. I have around 70 chickens so I don't always know if someone is missing unless it would be one of my favorites. I haven't seen any feathers around though that might indicate an attack.