Bonfire

Remember all that pruning JL did a while back?  Well, last weekend, the time had come to dispose of the clippings.  How does a person go about doing that when you have a pile as big as your pickup and no where to put it?

Start a fire of course.  You may be saying: but I thought you were in a drought and isn't burning wood the LAST thing you should be doing?  Nope.  Turns out, since January, we've had 15 inches of rain.  Almost 3 of those inches coming in this month alone.  More specifically, during the week that JL selected to start his small fire.

The ground was super wet.  The day was overcast and very humid with a 60% chance of more rain.  Conditions were perfect.

I must admit when I first stepped outside and saw the little fire, I was alarmed.....

Heat.  This sucker was so hot I had to sit WAY back from it.

And LARGE.  I got use to it after a while and my concern faded.  That and JL had a live hose running, a big pile of manure within easy reach of his shovel, and the air was very wet.

Still, it was impressive!

Whole trees were being added at one point!

After a bit, the huge looming pile of brush was gone!  The fire died down to ashes and embers and then about an hour later it rained a half inch!  Perfect.

Heatwave

The end of June on the ranch was brutal.  A nice big high pressure system parked itself over our state for about 3 weeks.  Bringing with it temperatures in the high high 90's to low 100's.  The heat indexes were soaring to the 110 ranges.  It was awful.  Especially for one pregnant girl that I know.

But I wasn't the only one dying from the heat*.  So were our chickens.  Literally.

Yup.  I'm sad to report that 3 of our 4 baby chickens that we raised up from infancy died during a week span.  It was tragic!  Of all the chickens to die - I would have much rather have had the old girls kick the bucket!  They are not very reliable and only lay maybe an egg every 4 to 5 days.  But the babies were regular little gals.  Each giving us an egg a day.  Beautiful olive green and tan eggs.

But, as most of this stuff goes, this was a really good learning experience for us.  Apparently, chickens regulate their body temperature through their feet.  Our theory went something like this:


-  Why are the old chickens surviving while the young chickens are dying?


-  Why are the old chickens constantly kicking their water bucket over?  Don't they know they need to leave that thing alone so they don't thirst to death?


-  Why is the older chickens' water pan constantly dry but the babies don't seem to be drinking as often?

Come to find out, the older chickens were smart enough to kick their water over so they could STAND in the cool water/mud all day.  Meanwhile, the baby chickens were standing on the hot, dry ground soaking up a ton of heat.  They were still drinking, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't enough to cool their body down.

So how did we stop the death and destruction and save that last remaining baby chick?  We put a few pans of water in the coop.  That's it.  Something for the birds to STAND in all day. 


Information we could have used 5 weeks ago!

For now, the plan is to wait until fall and replace the young girls with 6 month to 9 month old chickens.  Some that are regular layers and can immediately start to produce again for us.  I'd love to raise up some more chicks, but it takes 6 months for the eggs to start, plus, I'm going to be a tad busy come fall time.


*The loss coupled with the extreme heat was too much for me to handle, and I found myself needing an escape.  But that's another story.

Tractor Feet

JL decided a few months back (like the day after he bought it) that the tractor needed new tires.  Why?  Well, he claims that the old ones are worn and "unsafe."  Translation:  they look like ATV tires and not cool, tough tractor tires.  Uh huh.

So, after a bit of begging convincing from him, I agreed to the new tires.  He ordered them up, and quickly removed the old, unsightly ones.

Big Wy watching his Daddy work

The kids rolling the old tires down the drive to the van

And then back up the drive because hey, it's fun to roll a tire!

After too many weeks, the new tires finally arrived!  I must admit, they are super cool looking.  And I'm sure glad to know that JL is much safer driving around on the tractor now.  Whew.

100% Homegrown!

Our fig tree has been producing like crazy lately!  We were a little worried about it earlier in the season because the figs were falling off early and dying before they were ripe.  We figured it was a residual effect from last year's terrible drought and figured this growing season would be a bust.

But then, things changed!  And fast!  It was like figs were suddenly everywhere on the tree and we couldn't keep up with the production!  JL was bringing in bowls full to the top with beautiful figs!  I didn't know what to do with all of them, so JL researched a fig jam recipe and I got to work.

The result was magical!  Something between a plum and a strawberry jam.  Much sweeter than both. (In fact I ended up putting in half the sugar and it was still super sweet!)  And it is a beautiful apricot reddish color.  The kids gobble it up.  Well, what's left of it after JL and I are through, that is! ;-)

You start with about 5 cups of figs

Remove the stem and the end and then cut them in half.  I loved it because there is no peeling required!

Throw in some water, pectin, and a little lemon with the halves and begin it all boiling.

When the figs are soft, smash them up, add the sugar and let it boil hard for 5 minutes.

That's it!  The result is beautiful looking and fabulous tasting jam!

If you think it looks good, you should be here when it is cooking!  The aroma is  wonderful!

This baby has my domestic juices flowing.  This same week, I also made a homemade pot pie.  It was delicious!  The kids gobbled it up, JL gobbled it up, and I couldn't get enough!  I love a successful meal!

There is something super satisfying about taking something you have grown on YOUR land and turning it into something wonderful for people to enjoy.