Pages

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

How Doth My Garden Grow?

I didn't have to go through the trouble of preparing special mushroom logs, I can tell you.  I've got mushrooms growing in the onion bed.  Mushrooms growing in the garlic.  The ground is totally saturated.  The basil is pale.  Everything is well-watered, but there has been no sun, no heat.  Another day in Paradise.  Since we are all subject to the same vagrancies of Nature (and here I'm debating as to whether we are dealing with a Father Nature, as opposed to a Mother Nature), there is not much to be done but to slog through.  I am thankful that we DO have water, but I wish it was not all at once.  I was going to take pictures of the garden this morning but....it rained.  And it will rain tomorrow.  And it will rain Friday.  Sigh.

The hops vine is exuberant!
For the first time since I put this garden in, I have lost potatoes to rot.  I think it was a combination of Father Nature and Me.  I planted too early, thinking that spring had arrived and summer was next.  Wrong.  Spring came.  Then winter came back for an encore.  Then spring came.  Then winter couldn't leave it alone.  Winter seems to be a big ham. 

The weather is even getting to Sage the Siren.  She usually stands in the shelter of the doorway to the barn and screams her displeasure that I have appeared and dinner has not.  Now she is just soggy like everyone else and just looks at me balefully.  There does seem to be a break in the rain today, although we are forecast to have more rain and possibly thunder tonight.  My farmer neighbors cannot get into their fields.  But the cows are happy - and clean!

I integrated the pullets into the big-girl coop this past weekend and it has been successful.  Pretty much.  The Blue Laced Red Wyandottes (BLRW - I'm not typing that whole thing again!) seem to be the most confident of the lot.  I got four straight-run BLRW chicks and, as far as I can tell at this point, two were roos.  One went to live at Melanie's farm and one is in line to replace Kees, who is in line to live the Life of Riley in Massachusetts.  One of the Ameraucanas has adapted well.  The other is Super Wimp.  The Cuckoo Marans?  Let's just say they are aptly named.  My friend, Linda's six pullets are still living with the Littles, so that is causing some confusion on all fronts.  My pullets don't understand why they are not in there with them, while her pullets are wondering why they are not out there with mine.  The good news is that all of my pullets now go into the big coop at night with no herding involved.  Of the six mystery bantams (aka the Littles) I brought home from the feed store, three are Golden Seabrights (1 roo, 2 hens) and three are D'Uccles (2 roos, 1 hen).  The little Seabright roo has been crowing all week.  This rattles Kees no end, although he doesn't seem to equate the Littles with chickens, and keeps trying to find his rival when he's right in front of him.  With this constant rain, the poultry are all in varying states of damp.  I fear I will have to check them for mold pretty soon.

I know that they say every cloud has a silver lining, but at this rate, we are down to tin foil. 

13 comments:

Cat Eye Cottage said...

I feel your pain with the rain! We finally have some sunny days after a week of solid heavy daily rain. We sink to our ankles in mud in the animal yard, so thank goodness for muck boots!

Susan said...

WH - What would we do without our muck boots? The mud is so deep in places that I have to be careful not to have them sucked off my foot!

Carolyn said...

We are all so very, very particular when it comes to the weather and our gardens, aren't we? I'd KILL for some 60 degree weather right now. I have to keep putting the gosling in the kiddie pool just so he doesn't cook!

Mama Pea said...

Oh, my. All that rain has got to be disturbing. Upsetting. Depressing. And oh so wet! At least I can bundle my garden in insulation of one sort or another, but what can you do when drowning is the dilemma? Wishing you sunshine and warmth to dry everything out . . . SOON!

Michelle said...

Hope you can live on hops, since it seems to be happy! ;-)

Michelle said...

I will pray for some sunshine for you. My problem isn't rain it's wind. My poor tomato plants are getting beat to death. You may be right about father nature.

Susan said...

Carolyn - Yes, we are. And the perverse-ness of it all (perversity? perversiosity?) is that the rain will stop and then I'll be using the dregs of the rain barrel and complaining about that. So, is it a he?

Susan said...

Mama Pea - It's like being cloaked in DOOM! LOL! I keep waiting to fertilize when I can be sure it won't be washed away. Hoping for this weekend, when the rain is supposed to let up for a day or two.

Susan said...

Michelle - I suppose I can take up beer-making. Maybe that will make ME happy! :)

Susan said...

Michelle - Thanks - I think we can all use prayer right now. I figured that Mother Nature would be a nurturing sort. Father Nature? Not so much.

Amy Dingmann said...

Rain, rain - go away...I hear ya! Hope things dry up just a bit for you...

Candy C. said...

Yep, definitely a guy with all your rain, Mama Pea's cold that won't quit, Michelle's incessant wind and our unrelenting over-100-degrees-every-day-for-a-week-with-more-to-come heat.
The hops are (is?) beautiful and I'm glad the chickens are all playing nice! :)

Unknown said...

We've had a lot of up and down weather, low 70's yesterday and today. Supposed to be high 80's/90's in the next two days. Atleast it's sunny!