Cleaning up

We got some of the garden cleaned out today.  I had a little help from Jeff and Elijah.  We pulled up dead sunflowers and waning okra.  All of the of  garden soil we had used to plant in were emptied into a pile to be put on the garden next spring.  We have decided to move it to the other half that we did not plant on this year so instead of spreading the soil on this year's plot we will add compost and chicken litter to it over the winter.  It should be nice and fertile by the spring!

Good dirt

Can you say, "Roasted marshmallows!"?

With all of the dead vegetation we pulled up, we started a base for our bonfire we will have next weekend.  The ash will make another nice addition to the garden.  The ducks are also running on it.  They will keep the soil loosened up and they will add their own bit of fertilizer too.

They make great diggers!

All was not just getting rid of the dead stuff.  I harvested the last of the okra and a few bell peppers that were left along with a couple of tomatoes.  There are still a lot of green tomatoes on the vines and they are still blooming.  There is no sign of a frost in the next week at least so we will see how many more will ripen.  Then I'll see what can be done with all the green ones.



Fruits of Neglect

As you may have noticed (maybe not, I'm not sure anyone but myself sees this), there has been a lack of posting on here as of late.  There has also been a lack of gardening going on as well.  As a matter of fact, we were gone for three weeks and absolutely noting was accomplished in the garden.  The basil has gone completely to seed, the rosemary died for lack of water, the okra is hanging on and I have quite a few red jalapenos to pick.  The tomatoes seem to have new life, but I don't think I will get any ripe before it frosts, but maybe.  The garden is in dire need of cleaning out and the yard need to be mowed for what I hope will be one last time this year.  Then the leaves will begin to fall and need to be raked and hopefully we can burn the yard off this year.  Tomorrow begins the garden clean-up. 

Here are some before pics.

Clockwise from top left: Okra, tomatoes, basil, romas.  The okra nd tomatoes are still producing!

Clockwise from top left:Strawberries, ready to clean, ready to clean again, sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes are just awaiting the first hard frost!

Primal Challenge

Okay, there is a contest going on and I plan to take part.  I have not checked all details, but it involves quite a change in my eating habits.  Now the challenge is going get really difficult over the next few weeks.  As if it wouldn't be difficult enough, we will be out of the country for a few weeks. Don't worry, I have "house sitters" and a brother-in-law who will be around while we're gone.  Anyway, it would be hard enough to do this at home, but I'm doing it anyways!

Here is a link to the challenge and what it is all about:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-30-day-challenge/

If you see me, ask how it's going!  Encourage me to keep it up, or to get with it and quit making excuses.  For the next 30 days I will be posting on my blogs what I am eating and doing.  I will try to throw in some regular posts as well!

Nothing but HOT!

That's really all there has been to blog about in the last several weeks.  We had 42 days straight of 90 degrees or above and at our house, just under 1/2 inch of rain during that time.  Our yard is brown as can be, except over the lateral lines for the septic tank, there it is still lovely and green.  The garden is okay, a few things have died, but it's been too hot to get out and do anything but water.  Finally, on Tuesday we got a break in the weather.  We got 1.6 inches of rain and it hasn't been above 85 since then  Monday it was 105.  What a difference 20 degrees makes.  It was chilly enough this morning that Jessica wore a jacket to work.  The landscapers have not been able to do that for a while.

The final verdict on the Topsy Turvy is in.  Don't bother!

Guineas ar Great!

We let our 8-week old guineas out of their house earlier this week.  What a difference a week has made.  I have no more squash bugs, they were beginning to take over, and the grasshoppers are disappearing like mad.  Before my basil was starting to be eaten to the nub, you couldn't walk through the yard with out a barrage of them flying at you and away from you, and they were crawling all over the place   No so much any more!  The little keets have been eating so many bugs that today was the first day in several that they ate any of their feed.  I will have to watch my tomatoes as they ripen, but it will be worth it!

First time back in the house this week

Jammin'

Well, actually it is preserves.  Cherry jalapeno, to be exact.  It is really good.  I will have to make sure to not keep cream cheese and crackers around the house or I will eat all of this nectar of the gods.  Okay, maybe not quite nectar of the gods, but it is yummy!  Not that I tried it before it even had a chance to cool down, ummm.  Anyway, I think I have made all the jelly and preserves I am going to for this summer.  If I find a good deal on fruit I will just freeze it and wait until fall or winter to make those things.  It just heats up the house too much right now. 

Guineas, Squirrels, and did I mention it is HOT!?

Our Guineas are now 8 weeks old.  We decided to let them out of their little house to roam the yard.  They fly well enough to get over the fence, so we clipped their wings first.  Man, they are every bit as loud as I had heard they would be.  But I guess I would be too if someone were trying to cut off my arms.  Well, they seem to really love it outside.  At least there are plenty of grasshoppers for them to dine on.

Shade is at a premium right now!

For the last several years I have planted sunflowers.  Giant gray stripe are my favorites.  Usually in the fall the birds eat them bare.  I don't really plant them for us to eat the seeds, but more for aesthetics.  This year the birds however will not get to them.  The squirrels already have.  The flower and seed head were at least 9 inches across and they have taken all all of them to an undisclosed location and eaten them.  Oh well.  I would have like to have seen them dragging them off though.

Sorry little birdies

Oh yeah, it's hot.  Not just a little hot.  It's 102 at 6 p.m.  Yes, I know this is Oklahoma and that I should expect that.  I do, I just don't have to like it.  Looks like my pineapple does though!

It's sad to think that you look forward to 99 being a cool down

Lookin' good