Heat, Humidity, and Rain

Saturday was hot.  We hadn’t been this hot and humid for quite a while.  The llamas were hanging out in the barnyard.  Poor Maybeline was all stretched out to try and stay a bit cooler.

Maybeline

When I went out to pasture to take lovely pictures of the goats, all I got were pictures of hot, panting goats.

Athena

Perdita

Aphrodite

We came back up to the barnyard, and I got everyone some fresh water.  Poor Astra does not like the heat at all.

Astra

After I went back to the house, it wasn’t very long until I heard a noise.  It took me a minute to figure out that it was a long continuous rumbling of thunder.  I checked the radar.  We had a pop-up storm bubbling up just south of the farm.

I went out and saw it was getting dark.  I begged it to keep developing and give us some rain.  Before long, we had sprinkles.  It was enough to drive Bob into the house.

Bob Cat

The goats started moving towards the buildings.

Hilda, Rosie, Jethro, and Purl

The bucks were not so quick to move inside.

Benji

Soon we had a really nice downpour.  And that was just the beginning.  We had more rain overnight, and by today we had around two inches!  I am very grateful for every drop.

Catch Up

Now that I am back to teaching full time, my weekends are for catching up.  Last weekend, I had to do copper in the goats again.  I still prefer the peanut method.

copper hidden in the peanut shells

Some goats cooperate with that.

Cupid

But there’s a whole lot of them that make me use the pill pusher.  I’m not a fan of this new pusher, but at least it can’t come apart and end up in a goat stomach.

The goats were not very cooperative (shocking, I know), so I swear I was catching those stragglers all week.  I just finished with Benji and Frodo today.  But it’s done!  I’m caught up with copper for a little while.

The garden is another thing I have to catch up on.  I’m struggling to get it picked.  I have to pick the tomatoes when they are just starting to turn or the bugs get them.  The bugs are horrible this year.

I already spent Friday evening canning tomatoes.  This is a box ready to go to my mom.  I have one more batch, and then I’ll be done canning for me.

This is my plan for tomorrow.  That is more than enough to finish my canning.

Of course, I am still planning on doing a lot more canning for my family.

Now that I’m milking again, I have to play catch up with it on the weekends too.

Thankfully, Heidi and Simon drank a lot of milk, so I can just freeze it and throw it in the big freezer for next summer when I’m busy during the week.

Heidi coming to see if I brought a bottle.

The weekend is for making Mozzarella cheese and yogurt.  I’ve already done one double batch of mozzarella and plan on doing another tomorrow.  I also hope to get a gallon of yogurt incubating this evening.

grating mozzarella

This weekend, I had to do something with my yard.  I haven’t mowed in probably three weeks, and with the drought, it’s mostly just weedy, but I had to do something with it.

dormant grass; weeds everywhere

So Saturday was a catch up day for the yard too.

Sky (I can’t get him to pose for me)

It’s not the best, but I did get a lot taken care of, and now I need to get back to tomatoes!

Odds and Ends

These two.  Simon and Heidi still haven’t figured out what being weaned means, and they come running for a bottle every time they see me.

Heidi and Simon

The herd makes quite a long line when they head out to pasture. This isn’t even the whole line.

Once again, I have a family of red-headed woodpeckers in pasture.  I caught a juvenile on the fence post.  Sorry it is so cropped, but the fence was in my way and I couldn’t get any closer.

juvenile red-headed woodpecker

My back deck steps and patio are being taken over by wild grape vines.  I plan to use it in a project, but I need to do the project or just get rid of the vine.

Popcorn–just because he’s still cute and sweet.

Popcorn

My chickens are still giving me quite a few eggs.  I swear the old girls are more productive than the newer ones.  I certainly won’t get that same breed again.  I might try to get a handful of new hens in the spring.  Someday, these old ladies are going to start dying off.

Miss goose seems quite content in the barnyard.  I try to give her treats. Lately, she’s been getting lots of leftover tomatoes from my canning.

Miss Goose

Because I’m still canning like crazy.  With the HRT, I have the energy to can for my family too, so I am going to can as much as I can so everyone can get what they want.

Tiger cracks me up.  He always looks comfortable.

Tiger

I wish I just once felt as comfortable (arthritis) as he always looks.