What did you do in the garden today?

[NanaKat]

Dolly keeps wanting to go out and check on them. I think she knows she's supposed to protect them. She tells me when it's time to go make last rounds each night. Now that they are outside, she calls me to the door and waits for me to put on my headlamp to walk out, makes a bee line to the henhouse and peeks in the door at them. Anytime they make extra noise, she's letting me know that we need to have a go-see. Maybe she'll turn out to be a decent LGD? Who'da thunk?

IMG_3690

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 1, 2017

Dolly

What a good girl your Dolly is! And so pretty too!

 

[CapricornFarm]

@chickmom3941 it is pretty bad. Like I said, unusual to be like this for so long. I'm drinking lytes and water, but you can only take it out there for short periods before you NEED air conditioning. Sure saps your strength.

Cap, you got rabbits or ground squirrels? Seems like I've read somewhere that a lot of animals avoid eating morning glory. Not sure which. Odd that it's chewed off like that. Cutworms?

Thunder and severe weather alerts here. Wind picked up, but no rain yet. My henhouse looks like a wrapped Christmas present with all the tarps swathed around it. The biddies will be having their first storm. Dolly keeps wanting to go out and check on them. I think she knows she's supposed to protect them. She tells me when it's time to go make last rounds each night. Now that they are outside, she calls me to the door and waits for me to put on my headlamp to walk out, makes a bee line to the henhouse and peeks in the door at them. Anytime they make extra noise, she's letting me know that we need to have a go-see. Maybe she'll turn out to be a decent LGD? Who'da thunk?

IMG_3692

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 1, 2017

Dolly

IMG_3690

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 1, 2017

Dolly

We do have rabbits and it could be any type of bug, the place is full of weird bugs. Had a great big moth pounding on the window a little while ago. You just never know around here. Looking for an electric fence charger to keep the bear away from the livestock. Don't know if DH will go for a guardian dog.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

@NanaKat Well, I still wouldn't trust Dolly inside the henhouse. She's too playful and has a healthy prey drive. But for a terrier mutt barely a year old, she's shown remarkable restraint. Yes, she's cute. Her cute got HE to decide she was the one we'd rescue. She's smart and toy motivated, so easy to train. And she gets along with cats (we have 7) and other dogs. Now if I could just get her to grow into a GSD or Mastiff, I'd be ecstatic.

 

[CapricornFarm]

@NanaKat Well, I still wouldn't trust Dolly inside the henhouse. She's too playful and has a healthy prey drive. But for a terrier mutt barely a year old, she's shown remarkable restraint. Yes, she's cute. Her cute got HE to decide she was the one we'd rescue. She's smart and toy motivated, so easy to train. And she gets along with cats (we have 7) and other dogs. Now if I could just get her to grow into a GSD or Mastiff, I'd be ecstatic.

I only have one cat and three kittens, and litter box duty is gross! 7 is a lot of cats!
Our shepherd is quite good with animals, she is mostly curious. Wants to sniff everything multiple times.

 

[CapricornFarm]

My garden is in for it! Thunderstorms forecast for the next three days! And I so wanted to get those other two coop walls up before husband got back. Well, I should have plenty of time to clean the house.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

@CAP aaawww so sweet! I'm a big dog person. Yup, rainy stretch here too. We had plenty of big boomers all night. Still expecting more the next couple of days, but not as much as they first predicted. At least it's cooler. But the new forecast this morning looks like 90+ degrees the rest of the week and guess what? Higher humidity!

 

[igorsMistress]

Not to sound like a cliche', but it really isn't the heat, it's the humidity that is slowly sucking the life out of me! 97 is hot, but if I have low humidity it isn't unbearable. 89 with 86% humidity is not tolerable.

I'm changing clothes from my undies out multiple times a day and squishing around in my shoes from sweat running down scalp to soles. Gross, but true. I was afraid I'd killed my phone in my shorts pocket because it was so wet when I pulled it out. I've gone through my vast supply of bandannas and work towels every other day from using them as sweat rags. I can't remember it ever being this hot and freakishly humid for this long. Can't get laundry to dry on the line, and even the electric dryer is taking ages to get the job done. People with window air conditioning units are having to put towels under them to keep all the water from running down the walls.

I know what you mean! Our a/c line that drains the moisture has managed to fill a five gallon bucket 2+ times a day lately. Glad the humidity is going down a bit here. Of course that means the temps are back up to almost 110.

 

[CapricornFarm]

@CAP aaawww so sweet! I'm a big dog person. Yup, rainy stretch here too. We had plenty of big boomers all night. Still expecting more the next couple of days, but not as much as they first predicted. At least it's cooler. But the new forecast this morning looks like 90+ degrees the rest of the week and guess what? Higher humidity!

It is supposed to be raining according to the radar, but it's still dry out there! What the heck? I just went to put the dogs out and discovered the discrepancy.
Feeling tired, still laying in bed. I think i had too much sugar yesterday.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Today it finally stopped raining. I took care of my chickens and brought in a good number of green beans. I staked up a few straggling tomatoes and I moved some squash vines around. Then I glanced over and noticed a small pile of cedar shavings had been displaced from my beehive quilt box. So I snuck over and looked closed and realized that a LOT of shavings had been displaced!
When I lifted up the roof... ANTS! Ants EVERYWHERE! Big black ones!!! They weren't in the hive itself but there they were regardless! I tossed the quiltbox off and shook it out, sending ants scattering over the ground. I made some attempts to squish them as they scattered and I shooed them out of my cedar shavings.
I left the quiltbox on the ground for a while to de-antify while I straightened some bent comb in the hive that I needed to fix anyhow. The bees were very polite. I was working without equipment and they let me cut and squish some of their comb around without even bumping me. In exchange I sprayed them down with some sugar water. By the time I was done the quiltbox was free of ants, so the roof could go back on, but I still have to wait for them to finish evacuating the cedar shavings before they can go back in. I hope I messed up the ant colony badly enough that they won't be back for some time.

 

[Sara Ranch]

I have the rain, the fog, and the chills here!

Going down (after animal clean up - yeah, I know I am slow today) to pick fresh veggies and herbs for dinner tonight.

Some recently potatoes were poking up through the dirt saying, "pick me, pick me!" Nope. Way too soon little guys.

Many of my chickens had a shower today. It's been pouring rain and those guys choose to play outside, in the rain, then complain to me about being wet. Too bad. You have shelter. You don't have to get wet. (My chickens free range.)

The older flock of turkeys is asking why I made them go outside. They just don't get it. Free range, organic turkeys need to be outside! They are sheltered and not a bit wet, but still don't like that they have to be outside.

My baby flock of turkey poults is asking why they can't go out and play in the rain! Little guys, you are a week old and the chattiest batch of babies I have ever had. Too little to go out!

And my duckies are LOVING the rain!! Stomping through puddles, laughing with delight...

*sigh* I guess it's my turn to go get wet. Again. Clean up stuffs (all animal spaces get cleaned daily unless unusual circumstances) and something gets weeded daily. So I must go take my outside shower, clean, weed, play with the animals, collect eggs, and collect veggies/herbs/fruit.

Ah, life is great!!!