Harvest Time: Busy-Time
This week we spent getting our first crop of hay in the barn. It went far smoother than we could have even hoped for, and I am grateful for the blessing of it. Because our flatbed truck is busy hauling water to our cows, we had to find another way to transport the hay from the field to the barn. Luckily, my hubby’s boss had a trailer he was not using, we just had to go get it, and we had all the small bales in the barn in two days’ worth of work. It’s a hot, laborious job, but a bale loader makes it go smoother, and thankfully the weather didn’t get stinken HOT while we were working. (It’s supposed to reach 106* F later this week.)
Not sure if you can see in the picture, but that’s our resident bat colony. They were quite comical while we were piling the hay in the barn, scooting down where they could peer out of the eave and chitter at us. Many people don’t like bats, but I love having them around. These guys (the “little brown” bat) doesn’t bother our fruit trees, and they eat TONS of mosquitos and harmful moths and such. Good little guys to have around. They may find another roost this next week when the temps soar, but they’ll be back when the temps come back down.
Every day, I try to get as much done as we can first thing in the morning. As it has gotten hotter over the course of July, my days have began closer to 6am, and are often a flurry of activity because by 9am it’s already getting ridiculously hot. I used to check the cows first thing in the morning, but that has gotten pushed back to the afternoon. The heat is tolerable if you’re on the ATV and are moving. 🙂 The cows are drinking a LOT, though. Livestock’s water consumption almost doubles from 70* F to 95* F. About every 3 or 4 days we are bringing the truck off the mountain to refill the 1500 gallon tank. The nice thing is, whenever I’m up there, the boys and I get to say “Hi” to our girls and their calves. Makes it easy to see that everyone is doing well on the summer ground.
I’m sitting here right now listening to the cricket-song through my open screen door, and feeling satisfied; this morning I helped lead church worship in the park, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. There is not much I love better than singing outside. ❤️
Tomorrow begins another week. With the first crop of hay in the barn, my schedule has freed up a bit and I look forward to doing some lessons and maybe some vlogs this week. My squash are going nuts, so I’m thinking it’s time to try zucchini bread. I tend to have... bad luck... with traditional breads (Grandma could make AWESOME homemade bread, but I missed the knack for it)... however, I found a recipe I think I can manage. Pray for me! Haha. 🙃
Until next time....!
Bats really are not very noticeable )). Try making pancakes from zucchini. It's the same as in buttermilk, just grated zucchini instead. Very delicious!!!
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Thank you so much!
Hi, Heather! I apologize for the fact that rarely appear on Steemit. I just have a lot of important things to do. But I'll be back soon.
Yes, we have a lot of sea buckthorn, which is grown in village gardens. It looks like this:
It's acidic, slightly buttery orange berries. The size of barberry. By the way, have you there barberry? Bushes of sea buckthorn are very prickly. When it grows from the root, it can often begin to grow far beyond the garden and then on the street grows a whole alley where anyone can harvest : )))
I have to tell you, you look amazing in the photo. Earrings are very suitable for you ; )
No worries @yurche! I figured you would see my comment eventually. :)
We are considering planting some sea buckthorn but had no experience with it. The nursery didn’t mention they were prickly, so that’s good to know!
We don’t have barberries here. I have heard of them, so they must be elsewhere in the US.
Thanks for the compliment! :) It was a great day.
Yes, yet sea buckthorn is difficult to separate from the branches, because they interfere with the thorns, and when you press the ripe berries they burst like bubbles. There's a little bone inside. From sea buckthorn usually make oil. It is not suitable for jam, because the bones are poorly separated from the berries. Although, if you squeeze the juice or cook compotes, it is good.