I am so sorry for not being able to get a post up lately. We have been very busy and I took a week off work as well. I will update some today and post a bunch of pics today and tomorrow.
We have been very busy with the animals and the garden as well. The 1st week in June we had about 20 or so people to the farm for the weekend. These were people we have known online for years now and we decided to have a meet-up at the farm. We had folks from New Jersey, Colorado, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Maryland and more! Everyone sat up tents and we had a great time. I was not sure how I would handle that many people roaming around the farm when I am used to it being just me and Chris. All the grandkids were there as well. Our first guest showed up Thursday morning and the last one left Monday night. We roasted weenies and made S’mores over the fire. The big thing is, we roasted BibiQ! The pig was paid for by one of the people coming and another person paid for the slaughter. I have never roasted a while pig but I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good! We had roasted corn and squash and such with it as well. We had a good time and plan to make it an annual event. Goat Curry and roasted pig are on the menu already for next year.
Other big news it…IT IS HOT! So very, very hot. I am not even going to try to lie and say it is not affecting us, because it is. With me working during the day, it leaves little time to get things done around the house when it is bearable. Chris tries to get everything done in the morning. Thankfully we have plenty of shade and the spring. The hottest part of the day, we just cannot get anything done. Amanda has needed us to help with Perrin some of the evenings, so going over there a bit really helps with the heat. The house is fairly hot of an evening. I am trying different things to try to keep it as cool as possible. I don’t sleep to well when it is hot. We have on more than one occasion, slept outside. I sleep in the hammock and Chris sleeps on a cot beside me. It is not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back to sleep. Last night I woke up at midnight, got my pillows and a sheet and spent the night on top of the picnic table. I slept very well and woke up to SadieMae laying beside me asleep with my arm around her. We will probably make us a temporary bed outside, maybe screened in, until we can get the screened room built on the house. It is just a lot cooler out there and I sleep much better. Chris has issues with the whip-poor-will and cicadas and even the bullfrogs, but those are like sleeping pills to me. We are certainly NOT using the wood cook stove right now. The heat index has been 105 and more recently and staying cool has become a priority.
The garden is doing well, despite the heat. I dug around in the potatoes a week or so ago and found out we have some very nice, healthy potatoes in the ground. They were about the size of a lemon. I am thrilled! We are getting beans, tomatoes and all that wonderful stuff as well. I will start canning very soon. Some things have not faired well in the heat, but overall things look pretty good.
The animals are all great. The goats are growing and doing well. I still need two more. We lucked up and found some hay from a woman down the road, last years hay, but we got it for a dollar a bale. I really like great deals like that. Houdini is growing as well and I hope to have him up to a good size this Fall. We are up to 15 cats now. Drop Dead Fred had her babies and they are beautiful! Three are light colored Siamese like she is. One looks like Squirrel and one Flat Cat. They just opened their eyes a few days ago. She moved them into the pantry and then into the antique cabinet but we put them in a box under the bed. She seems to be happy with them there and is leaving them in the box. She is staying inside with them for several more weeks, which of course does NOT make Cutie happy! Road Kill is doing fine. I plan to take it to Cades Cove in a few weeks with some cat food and let it free. I cannot stand the thought of letting it hang out around the house and one of the cats or Tucker changing its name to “Supper”. I know Tucker would if given the chance. I have started loving and kissing a little less and even started hiding the food in its cage so it will have to actually search for it when it gets hungry. I just have to believe that it will be OK when I set it free. I have given it as good of a chance of survival as I can. There will be tears though, because I love the little thing! (now a BIG thing!)
We got a nice row of muscadines planted, with poles in the ground and wires up for them to climb on. They are doing real well. We also got some red raspberries planted and the elderberries are growing. I found some wild raspberries growing out by the barn so we can look forward to them. I also have been picking polk salad all over the place. I used to hate that stuff as a kid but love it now. I have also been drinking from the spring. We were going to wait until we got the water tested. Then we started filtering it with a Pur Hiker Water Filter. There has been more than once I just got the ladle from the cedar tree and scooped up some cold water to drink and another one to pour over my head without even thinking about what is in it. It comes out of the ground right where we get the water, so it can’t be too bad. Well…I mean yeah it can, but after several months we are not deathly ill from poison water!
Things are going pretty well, we have lots to do, but the heat limits us considerably. I think it is supposed to cool down a few degrees in the next week or so….let us all hope it does!
Perrin turned 5 this month and I cannot believe my youngest baby is already 5! I’d love to have about 20 more, but I guess it is not in the cards for me this time! We had his party at the Park and it was so hot I think we all melted. Out fingers and skulls made it home, our eyeballs are still floating in sweat at the Park. Lakota is coming over to spend a few weeks with us, starting today. She went to the Hematologist yesterday and to make a long story short, she has von Willebrand Disease and well, that is all I want to say about it all. We will have a blast while she is at the house, I plan to head down to the creek as much as possible and swim then take naps in the shade!
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