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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Around the teeny tiny farm and garden

It is so hard to catch up with everything once you get behind! I have a minute here. Should I visit my favorite blogs, reply to friends who left comments on my last post, or quickly do a new post? Decisions, decisions!



I'm tired tonight since Poppy and I were up at 4:30 this morning. Wednesday! Poppy's "early to work" day. 

Smokey has the best idea...just get somewhere cool, stretch out and relax. 

Okay, here it is Thursday morning. I was simply too worn out last night to stay on the computer. Now that Poppy is off to work, I need to get out and feed the chickens, the goats, the guineas and ducks. Then check on the little hillbilly bantam family with their new baby. Still haven't named this little fellow. 


This tiny chick the size of an English walnut is already following his mom up this five foot ladder to sleep in the box that is nailed to the back of the chicken house. I never would have believed it, but know it's true. I saw it with my own two eyes.

Ahhh, some of you may remember our last little bantam family, "Popeye, Olive, and their baby, Sweet Pea" and how they died suddenly one by one. It broke my heart.


I will always, always, believe it was the medicated starter feed that killed them. After testing the feed, the manufacturer claims that it was fine. It took six months to hear back from them and that was after calling them twice.

It was a year ago that I posted their sad little story. If interested, you can click on "popeye" under "labels". 

Have you ever seen such a squash vine!


Seriously, the stem is as big around as my wrist.


and bunches of little squash.


Kind of freakish looking. I've never seen a squash vine grow like this. Hope it's not getting ready to take over.


The squash vine has filled this entire corner of the teeny tiny garden. If I disappear from up in the garden one morning, well, tell someone about the squash vine.


Sometimes the volunteers turn out to be the nicest. These are the little wild Black-eyed Susans that bloom along the roadside. This plant volunteered and came up in just the right spot, so I left it.


Volunteers know where they want bloom.


The little patch of Spider Flowers are blooming.


and the tall Phlox.

Gosh, if you're not careful, thirty minutes at the computer can quickly turn into three hours.

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny




28 comments:

  1. Amazing that the baby chick can climb that ladder. I can't picture how he makes it up from one rung to another. Your flowers are so pretty and that squash vine! I've never seen one quite like it either. It looks like you will soon be running after visitors to make sure they've taken some squash home with them!

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    1. Hey Cynthia. I've only seen the baby chick on the second rung of the ladder. But for three nights when I close the chicken house door, I look in on the bantams and that baby has been up in the box with its mother. Tonight I plan to hide and watch...and carry my camera.

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  2. Hey Henny! Love your posts about your lovely life always! I was interested in purchasing your green floweredy apron with black trim and sent you an email, but it may not have got there. Please let me know, hope all well! Terry

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    1. Hey Terry. Got the email. I think about often. It's good to hear from you. :)

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  3. Your flowers are beautiful, the squash plant is amazing, and I really like those subtle stripes on Smokey!

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    1. Thank you Farm Buddy. Smokey's stripes do show up more in that picture. He is a mess!

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  4. Beautiful garden. I chuckled at the invasion of the squash vine though if you disppear from blogland I know to tell the sheriff about the vine that took over. he he. I hope you are staying cool in your part of the world.

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    1. Can you imagine being eaten by a squash vine. Sounds like one of those old horror movies from the 60's. It's plenty hot here.

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  5. Does the little chick flap his wings to help get from rung to rung, or does he just walk up the side rail? Those banties are amazing little creatures.
    I laughed about your half hour on the computer turning into the three! Surprising how easy that can happen, isn't it;-)?
    Your squash looks a bit mutated. I had a delphinium with a stem like that, sort of like a whole bunch of stems had got melded together. You've got lots of cute little squash on it though.

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    1. I don't know how the chick gets up to the top, but like I told Cynthia, I plan to hide and watch. It amazes me. I don't much think all those squash will grow normally. It is weird.

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  6. That squash vine is truly scary looking. You keep a close eye on it.

    It really is amazing that that little chick can make it up that ladder. I can see how you would have to actually see it to believe that he/she could do it.

    Smokey looks like a panther laying out on that limb. Yikes.

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    1. I surely will keep an eye on that vine! :) I think Smokey looks like a panther there too.

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  7. You have a full time job that's lots of fun.

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    1. Hey Red. It really is a fun job...most of the time anyway.

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  8. yes the computer can eat up time so very fast! Your volunteers certainly look nice! That squash vine is something! My garden is done. I am pulling it up. It was a early end to the garden this year. Didn't do what I hoped for.. but there is next year to try again! That is the wonderful thing about gardening. :O). The only baby chick we had hatch out here was killed and it nearly did me in as well. I was so very sad. Its tough to be a farm gal sometimes.

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    1. Oh, you sound so much like me! Losing even a baby chick can ruin an entire day for me. Wednesday morning I walked out on the front porch to find a baby rabbit that Smokey had just killed. It was still warm. I'm telling you, it broke my heart!

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  9. I hope your baby Bantam will live to grow up. I am sure impressed with that volunteer Black- eyed Susan. Do they grow that tall in the wild? Or is it the garden soil that causes it to be so huge? Hope you get caught up with all your chores and actually get to sit and relax for a while.

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    1. The wild Black-eyed Susans do grow that tall here. Late summer into fall they bloom all along country roads. I will have to remember to take pictures. These growing in the yard are actually growing in driveway gravel, and I can hardly get a flower to live in rich soil! :)

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  10. How nice when things reseed just where you want them! Pretty yellow flowers. Your spider flowers I call Cleome. I have some and love them except they prick! Nancy

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    1. That's true. The volunteers do much better than what I plant and fuss over. Cleome, I couldn't think of the real name. They do prick. I love how they reseed so easily too.

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  11. What a huge squash plant! Love the picture of Smokey he is a beautifully, handsome cat!

    Love you!!

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    1. Thank you Vicki. Smokey, the cat you named :), did turn out handsome, didn't he! First time in years we've had any squash. Love you too.

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  12. "Decisions, decisions", and that picture of Smokey - so funny!
    That squash vine is kind of scarey.

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    1. Major decisions alright!! I'm careful around that vine. :)

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  13. Lovely picture of smokey and so hard to believe that the little chick can climb the ladder. They are so hardy. The squash vine looks enormous, I think you can call that a huge success.

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    1. Thank you. I hope to get a picture of that chick going up the ladder. That's funny..."a huge success"! :)

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  14. I'm glad you had a "minute" to share your beautiful pictures :-).

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