Yuck

 88 degrees at 9:30PM with 60 % humidity. 

I am happy that I am not sleeping in a tent. I am grateful that we have a cool and dry house.

Wow, I have no idea how anyone could rest in this heat and humidity. It just boggles my mind. I know hubby wouldn't survive long in this weather so again, I am grateful for our decision to install the mini split this spring.

That said at 7AM this morning it was beastly out also. I took out my waterproof camera in a camera bag and set it on the porch to slowly acclimate to the weather. 

The mules have a heavily shaded area that I save for just this kind of situation. I use this little section sparingly. 

The grass has come back nicely after the last rain we had a week ago. There is day time shade and when there is a breeze, they can stand under the box elders and languish in the cool air.

They have small 25 gallon tank so they can get drinks of fresh water and I can easily dump it and fill it again with a hose.

Gosh, us Northern Folk don't do so well with lots of heat!

But at least we can grin and think about those days that are coming where we have to wear Fudd Hats and snow suits!

We are setting records for overnight high temperatures and I think some records were broken today for our part of the state. But so far so good.

After all, I could just fill up a spare stock tank and go sit in it!

We did get over 100F by 4PM when I went out to refresh critter water. I did chores at that time because the breezes were supposed to quit when by sunset.

However, we are not enduring the heat as long as others in our country are having to do. Can you imagine being in places that have not seen a let up of intense heat for over a month?

Yikes.

Stay well.

July is done!

 

July was intense. 

Dry, smokey, moody, dusty.

We had company, we had drought, we had storms and we had intense heat.

We mowed the yard for the first time in July on the 24th. Since then we have had some rains and some parts of our state and the surrounding Midwest had intense storms.

I went on two kayaking trips and decided it was something I would love to do A lot more. I even went on line to learn more via reviews. I'd definitely love to get Charlie to go with me. He would need a lifejacket. After all, I taught him to ride the 4 wheeler with me, so perhaps we can manage a kayak together.

Most of my outdoor activity was in the early morning or late evenings. I managed to ride for a little bit almost each night [except when it was unbearably hot].

August is looming around the corner. What does it have in store for us?

Shorter days and the thought of entering fall? Hot and dry or cooler and wet? Who knows?

I can't stop time, so I will make the best of August and prepare for what follows.

Daisy Daisy Daisies...

It is that time of the year when the Ox Eye Daisies bloom. They really are pests in the pasture because the mules won't eat them. I do chop them down in one of the smaller paddocks, but their are gazillions of them across the fence line and some days I feel like it is a losing battle.

However they do make for nice wild flower photos.

I do love capturing them in the early morning light...

 Sometimes I am lucky enough to see them before the sun is high enough to light up the whole plant.

The dew drops on the white petals and their happy bright yellow centers make me stop to admire them.

Then there is the 'daisy' looking flower with the horrid name of Fleabane. Before I knew its name, I called it Wild Daisy. I know it isn't the right name, but --- do they really deserve such an ugly name?

 I saw these while hiking to the creek [well the creek is mostly dry]. 

And then. The sun beams through the mist as the light shines through the trees to light up the forest that surrounds the creek. It is easily at least 10 degrees cooler in this part of the valley. Well, that is until the midday sun shines down on it. 
Now the creek bottom is Hot during the day with little or no breeze.

After my fence inspections were complete, I walked back home.

Interesting to note that this huge mess of thistles I cut down last week were gone!

Apparently they wilted to just right to make them Mule-ishious!

Go figure. 

Enjoy your day... and pick a daisy!

Daze of Summer

We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area. I have to drive or walk to the ridge to see a sunrise view like this. I can also see a more limited view in the meadow north of our house.

We had a dense fog warning on Wednesday and I thought it might provide me with an interesting landscape.

It was pretty neat. As the sun rose, the fog got more intense. I wished I was on the bluff watching this, but I knew the drive to there would have been horrible with the low river valley fog of the Kickapoo. Driving in semi darkness in thick fog is no fun.

There was the sun...and then...it got very thick!

One of the cool things that occurs where I live is that I can go to the highest ridge point and watch the sun rise up. Then drive a quarter of a mile and watch it rise again. When it is done on the ridge, I can go home and watch for it to come over the trees. 

Thursday morning I noted that there were supposed to be some clouds in the sky early. I took the 'Ru and headed towards the end of the dead end. This spot is generally pretty nice for sunrises in July and through early October.

I am thrilled to say that this year the fields to the North and East are planted with soybeans. That means I can watch sunrises unobscured by 9 foot or taller field corn.

The gnats were absolutely vicious even with the gusty winds. I was able to jump into the car to avoid them and then jump back out to take a shot.

Finally I decided enough was enough and headed back home. I stopped just before I left the ridge and as always, was pleasantly surprised.

The swallows had awakened and were getting down to business!

I rarely go up to the ridge any more in the evenings which I used to do when I rode every night with my mule Badger. 
I miss those summer nights of me sitting on my big mule and watching the sun go down.

I do however, enjoy those mornings when I get out and enjoy the world as it wakes up.

There is nothing quite like a new sunrise to raise the spirits.

Summer Daze

 

It is that time of year that I go for early morning walks and bike rides or whatever tickles my fancy when I wake up just before dawn.

I do like summer just for that reason. My days start when the glow starts outside. I don't like to sit inside and just wait for late morning to occur. I usually have walked the fence and checked the stock tanks by 6ish and visited with the mules.

The peonies have started to blossom like crazy and I do love them for those days that they offer sweet smells and vibrant colors. I have only pink. My husband thinks peonies are icky flowers and would mow them all down if he could. 

What can I say?
Yarrow, Peonies, Irisis, and Verbena are my choices for right now.

In the summer I love to have every flower I can cut and stick in a jar or vase all around the house. That is just me. The more, the merrier.

That brings me to the veggie garden. To tell you the truth, I'd like a much smaller garden than I've had for years. For whatever the reason, I just am not into the huge garden this year.

I know a woman and her husband who have been doing the Farmer's Market in town for 20 years. I decided this year to let her do the gardening and I'd come on the weekends and pick my produce from her display.

I'm even going to trade some new jars for some produce next week.

I bought some Giardiniera from her Saturday and put it in my Italian cold salad. Wow!

I came away with some real goodies from the market. It included a wonderfully fresh picked package of spinach. Even the other half enjoyed a spinach in his salad.

I came home with a raspberry/rhubarb pie to boot from the Mennonite Bakery. 

I was done with my busy morning by 9am.

Everyone who has hayfields has their hay down to be baled. First crop looks a bit thin and we need rain. 

I had to haul water out to the 'Forest Garden' with the 4 wheeler. 

Hmmm. Looks like I had visitors!

A gift that arrived in the mail the other day was two bags of toys.

I could not resist messing around with them. They were kind of cute in that I could bend their arms and legs!

During the hottest part of the day, I read a book on the porch and watched birds. Not productive at all but pleasant.

If the weather people are correct, Sunday will be much nicer and chances for rain will be the topic for the week.

We do need the rain on for the hay fields. 

My lavender is getting ready to blossom. This is my first year of overwintering one lavender plant and growing a second one. 

The Sage I planted last year somehow survived the winter and came back in a huge mound and is ready to blossom too.

Today? 
More dry winds and heat.

Something about pre dawn

Before the sun comes up.
I awaken.

This morning I poured a cup of coffee and warmed it up. I grabbed my camera bag and walked past the sleeping dog and went looking for morning colors.

I decided to visit the bridge on a hunch that the colors might just be fantastic.
The spot did not disappoint me at all.

I headed back and stopped on Riley road to 'shoot' the first burst of daylight.

I used my zoom lens to pull the sun towards me.
All I could think of is ...wow, this day will be hot!
Look at that sun!

I drove half a mile and realized that the sun would rise again in this spot. Bonus!
Two sunrises in 10 minutes!

I scooted home and caught up Mica. She is elderly, calm, and an excellent all around mule.
She has some breathing issues but I hoped to avoid them by riding her on easy terrain.

Hills? I walk and lead her. Flat? We can ride.

We went out to watch the fog lift from the low areas and inspect the rolled hay bales on the neighbor's cropland.

She is the tallest mule we have.
This morning she seemed to have a real issue with leaving home and her pals.

The woods were actually quite cool and comfortable compared to the open sunlight on the ridge.

On second thought, this is where we should have ridden instead of the new morning's blazing hot sun.

Live and learn.



Middays are just too hot right now to do much other than read a book or sit on the porch in the rocking chair with a fan on.

I can't wait for tomorrow's dawn.

Sundance in Training...

I know this has been a long drawn out effort for training a mule. Sundance is 10 yrs old now. So many things have interfered with getting her under saddle that the last 5 years have flown by.

She was supposed to be a project for Rich. I didn't want to train another mule. I'd worked with Badger as my very first full blown project in 1998. Sunshine in 2002 and Siera in 2006.

Anyway. Cancer, stroke, and other health issues took away Rich's desire to work with Sundance. I thought she was too wild and crazy at first to work with. However since she is here, I decided that she should be useful. So last year I started working with her. She made great progress and then...winter happened. The round pen got filled with large square bales for the winter and the training there stopped. I had good intentions of all sorts of work with her...but didn't.

Now we start up again. And the intense human contact has made an impression on all of the mules.

The red headed sisters always come to the gate and stare at me when they see me outside. Sunshine is the older of the two and has years of riding under her girth.
Sundance evidently loves the challenge and work. She will spot me anywhere and find me.

Even in the forest she hears my footsteps and comes on the gallop. She reminds me in a way of her half brother Badger. Her sister Sunshine is very similar. I've been blessed with some very fine mules in my life. Sundance may be one of those special ones and I may not have known it.

Here she is at the gate with her sister. Demanding to be noticed.

I made her wait though until I was ready.

In the round pen I just decided to start treating her like any mule I'd take riding.
No ground work first.
Brushing and picking the feet.

Blanket and saddle. This is the second time she has had a saddle on. She twitched her body when I brought it out but then stood still as I put it on her.
Bridle.
She really is not sure about having a snaffle bit in her mouth and kept inching backwards.
I did not have her tied, she was at Liberty and could have chosen to bolt away. However I stood quietly and spoke to her, explaining how I felt she needed to trust me on this.

She took the bit and let me adjust the straps. The bit and bridle really bugged the crap out of her. So I added a few jugs with rocks to her saddle and asked her to trot around me.
She shook her head and bunny hopped in protest. She went faster, slower, faster, then stopped and became a mule statue.

I put the crinkly dog food bag on her next and she listened to it as she walked around and then stood quietly again.

I attached reins and we worked on feeling the bit on one side and another and giving to the bit. It only took a few minutes for her to figure this out. I stopped as soon as she responded.
I then put a foot in her stirrup and laid across her, first on one side, then another.

A huge thunderstorm started moving in so I decided to end our session. I unsaddles her and did it as if she were a seasoned mule. She just stood quietly.

I'm looking forward to another session hopefully today.
One thing I have going for me, is that I am not like a paid trainer. I don't have a time limit on her work. I don't have to produce results in 30 days. I can take my time and do it how I like.

I will be moving the herd back to the forest so they have lots of shade as the weather is turning very hot and humid.

I'm pleased with Sundance's progress. They say you need to train them very young. I'm thinking that Sundance is more like her sister and half brother Badger. They needed time for their mature brains to kick in and accept things.
This work would not have gone well when Sundance was two or even five years old.

I guess things happen for a reason.

Almost Done

It is that time of year again when the garden bursts forth with all the vegetables I'd planted.

The sweet corn is done. I picked the last of it and started to chop down the stalks to toss to the cattle or the mules. The mules make sort work of it and the cattle seem to be a bit pickier about it.

Since my freezer is now stuffed with beef from the 'old' bull, I thought I'd dehydrate beans, carrots, and corn. I have a device that hooks up to my vacuum sealer that allows me to seal the goodies in pint jars.

The jar on the upper right has a mix of carrots and corn in it. In the winter I pop a pint of mixed veggies open and drop it into broth in the crock pot. By the end of the day, the vegetables have re-hydrated and taste wonderful.

The old bull. I think we made a mistake there. His meat is very lean which is good, but then it is more difficult to cook with flavor. I should have just shipped him to market and bought some farm raised beef.
Well, we will see how the roasts do in the crock pot. I had a TBone steak that was slightly okay. I need to see if there is anything I can do to make it more tender.
It is like eating lean venison.

Well hey, I'll deal with it!

The small garden really got ignored this year. Usually I pride myself with being able to demolish weeds with my handy hoe. I guess all the drives for appointments and picking up all the other farm jobs for me, put the garden on the back burner.

So. Rich has been home for about a week. He caught a nasty head cold and ... well, his mood is better. However last night was the first time I got him outside of the house.

His new routine of late has been to sit in front of the laptop and browse endlessly through programs. If he finds something, he sits and watches and doesn't seem to hear or see anything else going on around him.

He went to turn on the laptop to watch Netflix. I had unplugged everything and pulled the old laptop off the desk to work on it.

He looked confused and asked me to take care of it. I said "No, not until we are done with chores and supper."

I handed him his chore boots and he sat a long time on the porch bench before he put them on.
I waited.
He followed me to the shed reluctantly and I grabbed the little garden cart to carry hay to the last bull that we were shipping soon. I pointed over to the hay stack and told him the donkeys needed feeding.
He looked lost.
He stared at me.
I pointed again and he grimaced.
I walked away with the cart.

He did feed the donkeys and when I got back he was standing there quietly staring down at Little Richard's tie out rope that I'd asked him to help me fix. It seemed as though it was too much for him to think about and he murmured that he was heading to the porch.

I checked the donkeys. They were fed, but not watered.
So the infusion treatments had worked for the depression I am happy to say, but the other issues are there and well, frankly, ... I guess I am prepared for that. The old Rich would have noticed the near empty tubs of water.
This new Rich didn't. Or it didn't matter to him.

So last night while Netflix played in the other room, I made and canned beet pickles.

The man I used to know is still fading away bit by bit. It is odd to see him so disconnected with anything outside the house.
He says he has more energy and motivation.

In his head he does. But the doctors had told me, they could perhaps help the severe depression [they did] but not the damage from the strokes.

So the garden work is done except for collecting seeds.
The rest of the cattle will be shipped next week.

The donkeys will leave by the end of September.
It could be an interesting Winter.

Summer is almost done.

Ariel is coming to stay and spend some time on the farm this coming Monday. It will be nice and we are both looking forward to it.