Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

Good luck at the fair Minnie! I'm disheartened to hear the urch's aren't entering birds. I hope their health is well. They are an elderly couple right? I should really get down there and see their operation sometime.

I was told by the Poultry Board that his Kids were taking over. He is such a giant in Minnesota chickens, I am hoping they are up and running next year, I want more birds!! (Judy does not need to know this either)..


There operation is understated, they hatch in a room off the kitchen, I am not sure if it is an old garage or not. I saw they had lots of little Menard's type buildings around the back of the farmstead.




Facebook

2016


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Frank R. Reese Jr.

22 hrs ·

Great breeder of Toulouse Geese 1972. Maxine McKeebe was the foundation of many of the good Toulouse we have today.


I saw this on Facebook .


So now I know who to blame for geese!!!

Yes tomatoes volunteer here, I don't have raspberries except the annoying wild ones that try to grow into the yard.

I have never had a volunteer tomato. Maybe my sand is too dry for them to take root. I was going to tell Jerry "Nope, they don't". But obviously I would have been wrong.





I have tomatoes to can, but they will have to wait. Mine are cracking from all the rain too. I have more eggplant than any one human should have. More cabbage than I will ever use. I am behind on everything but I hate to see the produce go to waste. I may not need a garden next year.

We got an inch and a 1/4 of rain as measured on my calibrated trustworthy Menards Rain gauge. Lightning and wind was pretty bad. I have no internet it appears my modem or line was hit. I am operating on the IPhone hotspot now.

Judy is at the Doc, I am a little worried she has been there for 2 hours. They have figure out what she has, something called C-diff. All I know is she is sick and we both need to practice ultra safe hand washing or I could get it too. She is kind of depressed, she had taken off work to work around here and can not do anything. Also it was our Son's birthday yesterday and our Daughters on Thursday. We don't dare go with her being sick. We would hate to spread this to anyone else.

Everyone take care.





PS Erli, if I had a bear problem I would consider not feeding the wild birds, until the bear died of an unnatural cause.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ralphie: It is hard for nurses to be sick. They make very poor patients. Please wish her well and now that they know what it is ...they can get it cleared up and on outta there.

It's a gorgeous day in the northland. The lakes are quiet. Schools starting and State Fair have things feeling fall-like up here. Blue skies every where. T-shirts and Shorts weather. Not too hot. Not too cold. Gorgeous Gorgeous.

Cherry tomatoes love volunteering. Every year I'd get a volunteer or two down in the garden.

 

[ejb3810]

Jerry, I am about the same N latitude as your cabin, and I have had self seeded Tomatoes many times. I grow Polana raspberries which are just now beginning to ripen. They produce a large berry for me and have excellent flavor and quantity attributes.

I had not filled the BOSS feeder in a couple months, but the little woman requested that I do so and I complied. First night they were torn down and emptied by a bear I assume. The chikadees will eat thistle seed if there is no BOSS and the bears do not bother with the thistle seed feeders. Either I will have to stay up and shoot the SOB or not fill again until he hibernates.

3/4 of an inch of rain at pre dawn yesterday and another 1&1/4 inches last night. We have more than adequate moisture here.

The hawks are coming back and making a nuisance of themselves and it is not good for their health.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

You crack me up sometimes.

I'm thinking Sometimes is the operative word here.

Bogtown, I am happy to feed the birds during our winters but in summer they don't need it and I keep a birdbath for them year round. I also grow sunflowers that they peck from. If the bears go into my garden or destroy my apple trees I'll be really mad. So far they haven't noticed it. Maybe. A week or so ago a neighbor called to let us know an injured bear was around his house, limping badly. We didn't get a good look at this one last night to see if it was injured. The barking scared it off. Our dog stays inside at night she isn't very big.
I am not allowed to make all the rules around our house, DH thinks he has rights.

Good luck Minnie.

You know when wild birds really need feed is early spring/summer. When all the seed heads have been picked through and the new seeds aren't ready yet. I think you and DH need to have a discussion. LOL. That poor bear with the limp. I bet he/she is ornery as heck too, with the sore appendage. Have you reported it at all? If it's lame...they may do something there with it.

OK couple of questions for my far north friends . Do tomatoes volunteer in your gardens ? Interested in knowing if seeds survive your winters . Second does anyone grow fall bearing raspberries . Interested to know if any ripen the fall crop .

I will say though that the growing season may...may be just a tidge short for those volunteers to get fully vine ripened tomatoes. Cherries maybe okay...but big beefeaters and such ...you need to count on a mild September, IMHO. Which I guess we've been getting the last few years.... From starting seed indoors...I estimated for a timely harvest...that I needed to start seeds in February. That's at least 2 months of frost still in the ground up here. I've had some weird years here just last year or the year before where the tomatoes weren't ripening and just staying green. There was some temperature issues...maybe?

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ivie: Congrats on the first biological Grand Baby! 11 pounder.... I had 11 lbs worth of baby...but it was with two of them put together.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

I'm surprised there are fairs this late, all the birds are molting. Is it the state fair you are talking about?

 

[duluthralphie]

I'm surprised there are fairs this late, all the birds are molting. Is it the state fair you are talking about?

Yes, our state fair is last week of August through labor day.

 

[lvie]

Had to deliver a couple dozen eggs in town and decided to skippity do over to Runnings and pick up a couple bags of feed (its a $1.00 off this week - SAVE)

Sewed the dogs bed pillow insides back together while the outside was being washed. She is happy. I am kind of sad that she leaves for training for a month on 9/7. She will be missed. I hope she is not traumatized too badly. Its not like she is a puppy.

Thanks for the congrats BT. He says he loves all the GC the same and it does not look that way when he is holding him. Besides, I don't know how that can possibly be true. Its HIS son's baby. The memories must come flooding back of raising the daddy. I D K. Its probably just a woman thing and then maybe only my thing.

I Love Layers - how is the dog doing?

Thanks for the chuckles Ralphie. I will NOT be repeating them to the DH.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

Pebbles layed her first egg today!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I'm surprised there are fairs this late, all the birds are molting. Is it the state fair you are talking about?

Often first year birds are shown...I believe. Before Winter dubbings on cockerels and before hens are mated and back feathers go missing. I would say it would be rare to show a bird older than a year....? IDK...is that right show people? Molting comes into play their second year. 18 months old or so. But I will say that Usually all the fairs are long since done when my birds are molting. Most of mind are still finishing up around Thanksgiving. Always makes me nervous to see them thin on feathers that time of year.