july

july has been pretty warm and sunny...

i tilled the garden at my in-laws and planted beets and a few things in there and took a tractor lesson (the field's not yet plowed however)... hoping to plant a cover crop in the field very soon...

my garden's doing well... both the herb garden and the vegetable garden and raspberries are now on drip irrigation which is making an INCREDIBLE difference to the plants. the lovage is HUGE! and everything is just doing really really well. i planted about 10 strawberry plants in the birdbath (no birds ever used it)...

AND very excitingly, the goji berry plant is flowering!!! most exciting. i'm cautiously optimistic that i might get berries off it.

the raspberries are now ripe (though small) and the blueberries will be another few weeks, i'd guess. salmonberries are ripe in the yard and the huckleberry bush behind the chickens is ripe, but the other huckleberries in the yard aren't quite there yet.

the chickens are all doing well... i think we're going through a mite infestation with them so i sprayed their perches down with neem oil (a miticide) and will treat further if required... they aren't laying so great the past few months - out of 20 hens we're getting an average of between 8 and 12 eggs a day, compared to the 16 or 17 we were getting in early spring.

the farm's great - everything's so productive there! the strawberries are totally in season and it's AWESOME to get to pick 4,000 strawberry plants! carrots, broccoli (sooooooo good) and cabbage, summer squash (pattipan & black ball, among others) and zucchini, lettuces and more... *loving it!*

i'm very behind on housework and all things indoors (including an article i haven't forgotten about). i've got a wonderful farmer's tan going on and am loving spending time outdoors. i'm searching for a supply of blasted rock with which to build the base for the final cob & then plaster on the cob oven. I'm really hoping to get that finished and build a living roof over it before monsoon season hits in october.

that's about it... oh, and check out this and sign the petition if you feel moved to:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_quarry/?vc