Still Rainy

We continue to experience higher than normal rainfall amounts for this time of year.  Our creek, which is normally dry from late May until October, has rarely been dry, and no sooner does it dry up than we have a deluge and it is running once again.  This has not boded well for cutting and baling hay, which needs to be done.  But starting today, there is a 4 day forecast of dry weather, sunshine, and low humidity, so Sam is mowing hay. The temperatures are supposed to be lower than normal as well, so maybe it will be a bit less uncomfortable for baling and stacking this weekend.

The garden is doing all right, though many of the tomatoes are rotting before ripening.  I have been able to can 5 1/2 quarts of home made marinara sauce, but we will not get anything like the harvest we had last year, which I think was exceptional.   Last year I made sauce and dried tomatoes and tomato jam and even ketchup and Sam made salsa.  I don't think we will be that lucky this year.  

 My garlic crop was nice, however.  I got a couple dozen nice bulbs of various sizes, some of which will be designated for planting in October for next year's crop.

Our corn has been disappointing.  The ears are very small and while it tasted good, there was not very much.  

I think the cucumbers may have finally stopped coming on.  There were SO many.  Sam made lots of refrigerator pickles.  We still have lettuce and I am about to plant some more and some kale.  And the squash and pumpkins continue to expand their territory.  I planted sweet potatoes for the first time this year, and they seem to be doing well.  I hope I get at least a dozen.

Last time I posted, Grover and I were getting ready to go to Dayton for a 2 day agility trial.  We had a fabulous weekend!  We had 4 runs for the weekend and we Q'd on every one of them.  So our QQ total is now 10, which means we are halfway to our goal of 20 needed for a MACH!  However, we also need 750 speed points, and we are not that fast.  We have 336 points at this time, so are not even half way there.  Most likely we will get our 20 QQs and then just need to accumulate the rest of the points.  We will be attending one trial day in late September and then a 3 day trial in October. So we have a little time off.  It is just working out that way. 

 This is the batch of dog food I cooked yesterday.  It includes about 7 pounds of venison, 1 pound of liver, 2 cans of salmon, 10 eggs with the shells, broccoli, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, a little white rice, fresh ginger, turmeric, and kale.  This will last about 10 days.  Rowdy is getting 10 oz twice a day with some supplements added and Grover is getting some mixed in with his dry food.  I have a 40# bag of dog food to use up and then I may change Grover over to 100% homemade as well.  I will go through quite a bit more at that time, but Sam is going elk hunting this October and then he should be able to get a couple deer as well.  I have talked to the local butcher and I will be able to source some organ meat through them once they get busy again next week, and of course I will ask all the hunters in the neighborhood for livers and hearts again like last year.  Ghoulish, I know, but it is a lot better for my dogs I am convinced.  And if I can do it. I will.

I am in preparation mode now for two events, the first being our Labor Day Weekend party.  This will be the 20th one.  It started very small, with just family the first year we were here and became a yearly get-together with friends, family and acquaintances as years went by.  I think we will have at least 11 people staying over Saturday night, but family will start to arrive as early as Thursday and stay until Monday.  It is always great fun and then when everyone leaves on Monday, I realize summer is really over....

And then in mid-September, I will be a vendor once again at the Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  So I have been inventorying my yarn and dyeing more yarn.  I also updated my online Etsy shop with the yarns I have on hand for sale  Straightfork's Etsy Shop  
 since I no longer have a farm website.  I have dyed this:

 And this (though the color is much more blue than this photo shows):

And this most recently:

These are all my newest yarn batch, spun just this June.  

 
And check out my studio.  The deck now has railing on it.  It is really almost finished.  I had to get some more stain to finish up one spot on the back of the building, but in essence all it really needs now are gutters and downspouts.  I do plan to put weed barrier and stone under the deck, but I may not get to that until later this fall or possibly spring and of course I need to clean up the construction scraps underneath.  I am so pleased  with how this has come out!

 Sam has been busy cutting wood for winter.  This is all wood that comes from trees that have fallen, usually across a farm road or into a field.  I will cover the stacks with tarps in October in an attempt to keep the wood dry.  We use a lot.  We don't heat our house entirely with wood, but our woodburner is in use pretty continuously from mid-November until April.


With all the rain, the mushrooms and fungi of various types are thriving.  Here are some mushrooms that popped up under the pine trees next to the creek a few days ago.  The bigger ones were about 6" in diameter.