The August Garden

I stepped out back this evening to commune with the bees and sulk over the state of the garden. It's been quite a few weeks since I put any real work into it and it sure enough shows. The expanse of lawn in between plots was newly mown but the plots themselves... Oh my.

The goat pen stands empty and overgrown. The girls are off at the farm being bred for (hopefully) Spring babies.

I posted a shot of the garden from this exact spot about 6 weeks ago and it was gorgeous. Glorious even. Now it just looks sad and neglected. I was able to unearth some squash from that mess but the squash bugs pretty much decimated my zucchini and yellow squash.

The basil bed is unruly and completely misbehaving.

As are the hens when I let them out for their evening romp.

When you walk thru all that mess you have to watch out for pumpkins. Everywhere bits of orange peek through the grass. I'm having a lot of success at growing them this year.

I've already picked 10 and then I found these last night. There are probably 10 to 12 more still on the vine and I'm hoping they hold off until the appropriate season for harvesting.

Out of 30 plus tomato plants about 5 are still hanging in there. We have had a very wet very cool Summer and I'm not sure if that was the cause but there was an awful lot of root rot going on.

Last night's harvest is still sitting in the basket in the kitchen. I've got plans to go rip whole basil plants out of the ground and make as much pesto as I can. We are eating tomatoes with every meal because we just aren't getting enough of any one kind to process them. I thought I would be more upset about that considering all the work I put in, but it worked out because my plate is very full right now and I think adding one more task (especially a large one like canning) would do me in.

The Chickens Get A Vacation Home

The grass is always greener…in the chicken tractor.
 



The gals permanent coop was looking pretty shabby after the harsh, wet winter we experienced here in Arkansas. Warren got to work a few weeks ago (he really just wanted to play with his new table saw) and constructed a mobile coop. Chicken tractors are terrific in the fact that the hens can have access to fresh grass on the daily and fertilize your yard or pasture at the same time.



 
But lets pause for a moment to talk about Crazy Chicken. We normally reserve the moniker Crazy Chicken for any hen that has gone broody. This years Crazy Chicken is the hen seen above on the perch with the ruffled feathers. Its not just her feathers either, her attitude is quite ruffled. This hen went broody nearly 4 months ago and has hardly eaten or drank since. She just sits. On a nest of eggs, or an empty nest when we have robbed her of her precious. I’m thinking the next Crazy Chicken should just be called Gollum.

The other evening, Cash and I went to gather eggs from the coop. We had to lift up Crazy Chicken’s rear end to retrieve seven eggs. I was about to close the coop door when Cash asked me to wait a moment. He grabbed a few handfuls of grass and stuck them in beside her. I asked what was up with that and he replied, “I think she appreciates it. She hardly eats or drinks and I’m taking something from her so I think I should give her something back.”

Whoa.

My Minecraft/Lego obsessed kid might turn out to be the most caring farmer/naturalist/environmentalist or whatever he decides to do with his amazing mind.

We have a white silkie who is pretty much a pet. She’s worthless as far as production goes. She’s also not the best flyer. Always having to be helped into the coop at night. Cash’s opinion of this is that she just doesn’t try hard enough.
 



They were striking a pose whilst enjoying the luxury accommodations of their Summer retreat.

If our flock continues to increase we will probably need another one chicken tractor. And I have big plans to situate them over the garden plots at the end of the season. Chickens are excellent tillers! Add to that you can pre-fertilize your beds for next year and it just seems like a win win situation.

Friday

Early morning chicken chores are just a day to day norm around here. Keeping chickens gives the kids their very own very important responsibilities. It also enables us to know where our breakfast comes from and to take responsibility for that as well.

 

These beauties are the product of happy healthy well cared for hens. We treat them well and in turn they feed us well. Eggs are a very large part of our diet around here.

 

It was a very happy day when these new books arrived. I've already made three things from Against all Grain. We have a portion of a pig coming in a month and I plan on putting Beyond Bacon to work then.

 

 

One of my very favorite things is butternut squash soup. I am particularly fond of the recipe in Practical Paleo. I had someone give me two big beautiful butternuts and I used one to make this batch. I love pairing this soup with a steak that has been grilled to perfection. The flavors compliment each other so well.

 

And in keeping with my love of orange veggies, I made some spectacular sweet potato hash. Aren't vegetables pretty?


I am sorry to admit that I didn't succeed with my Whole30. I'm not going to make excuses. I'm not going to beat myself up. I did not completely fall off the Primal wagon. But I haven't been super strict Whole30 either. When I feel like the time is right, I will give it another go.