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| new hay – ALL stacked by my guys this year! – hiding what's left of old hay |
Only if you compare it to having 13. Bridger left for his new home today, leaving me with an even dozen sheep – who are DEVOURING the new second cutting hay we got, making me worry that I won't have enough to get through the winter. I don't want to admit how much we paid for the 150 bales of first cutting and the 94 bales of second cutting from our favorite local grower (we bought all he had); it felt rather obscene. And yet I'm hoping that we might be able to get some third cutting from him, too. Not likely, though. I should ask him about getting some bales of alfalfa for lactating ewes next spring....
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| Left to right: Bijou, Bench, Sanson |
After Bridger left, I moved Bijou and Bench in with Sanson so the three boys can hang out in the Ram-ada Inn together until breeding season starts. I peeked at fleeces (should have taken photos); my homebred boys have much finer crimp. It will be interesting to see how their micron test results compare next spring.
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| my weather app this morning |
We've enjoyed some cloud cover recently, which raises the humidity but keeps temperatures more moderate. It would be wonderful to find a way to wring some rain out of the clouds, but I'll take what they give us. As you can see, by next week we'll be longing for some moderation!
Clouds always make for more interesting skies, too. I've been taking photos of skyscapes here and there and finally downloaded them from my phone to share. This first set was taken on the way home from picking blueberries July 26:
The rest of these were taken during recent walks on our hill:
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| free sustenance for the picking |
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| this was Friday morning's sky from our deck |
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| I love walking by this big, beautiful Madrone tree |
We didn't pick as many blueberries from Rick's client's field this year because they are charging us the same price per pound that I can buy them for, already bagged and frozen, at both Grocery Outlet and Costco. (I advocated for not picking any, but Rick wanted to "keep our options open.") Makes me so thankful for the gorgeous plums our tree is surprising us with this year; I picked another big bowlful this morning. My garden tubs/tanks are giving me a steady dribble of tomatoes (also, the first of the Japanese eggplant are ready to pick); neighbors are keeping us supplied with zucchini, cucumbers, and tonight, Delicata squash (yum!). Both our prune trees and all four apple trees are loaded with promise, so even without a garden proper we are being blessed with abundance.
That's it for now from . . .
14 comments:
You really are being blessed with abundance. I know you were worries about the garden, but you're making up for it with all the wonderful fruit - and Delicata! Yum!
A, I'm afraid the Delicata may not be fully mature, but we'll see.
Beautiful photographs. Especially the skies. Like picture postcards.
Well, I'd rather pick blueberries than blackberries, but I prefer buying them already picked. Luckily we can do that locally for a bit of the year. Is that hay for just your sheep or for the horses too?
It's hard to take bad photos of such breathtaking scenery, Leigh, but I do appreciate your kind words!
That's for horses (1st cutting) and sheep (2nd cutting, far end), Sara. I'm going to get a half-ton of alfalfa for next spring's lactating ewes, too.
Oh. My. Goodness!! I'm very impressed both with your cloud and sky photos! SO BEAUTIFUL!
I hope You will be able to get the hay you need for the animals.
Oooohh! I hope that delicata squash will be a good one! They are so delicious!
Enjoy those lovely berries!
Take care...
Hopefully we will have enough hay with the bit of alfalfa I've spoken for, Jeanne. As for the Delicata, we were given ELEVEN, not just one! Picked another 20# of blueberries tonight.
You have really been blessed with goodies! Have you tried one of the Delicatas?
Not yet, Jeanne; I haven't wanted to turn on the oven (I like them best sliced and roasted).
I decided a while back that I was not going to do 'budget control' on things I like to do, mostly. Hay for your herd is an example. I just put $9 worth of beet seeds into my garden. I hardly ever buy a can of beets at the store, and seldom eat them, but they are fun to grow and look nice in the garden. That seed money would have paid for a couple of year's worth of actual food produce I might actually eat. BUT, I compare the cost of a bottle of pills to my garden fun, and it makes me think it is cheaper to put money into the dirt instead of into the pharmacist's pocket. At least that's what I tell myself. Stay in the game! Cheers
Jeanne, I used two of the Delicata in a recipe last night that was really good!
Good way to look at things, Tim. I WILL stay in the game!
Wow, you really do have the most dramatic skies. Our sky never looks that awesome. Love the pictures of the sheep. They are a lucky bunch for sure.
Michelle, I would love to have that recipe for the delicata squash, that you made the other day! We're always a bit lazy and just slice them in half, scoop out the seeds, and either nuke them or bake in the oven, and serve with butter. I hope you're having a beautiful Sabbath!
Being up on a hill out in the country helps, I'm sure, Elaine!
Jeanne, I just emailed you the recipe. Enjoy!
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