Almost Summer

Whew! Have you been staying cool? We're trying our best here at Lazy Danes. The chickens hang out under the porch or the larger trees. The ducks swim a lot. The hoofed animals lay in the shade of the woods. The dogs and humans stay in the air conditioning. Chores are done early in the morning and late in the evening. The morning and evening is great on the farm,though. My magnolia tree has been blooming and the fragrance lingers in the air. I love that smell! It's just what the south should smell like, and the flowers are so pretty.

Under my fragrant tree

The crops continue to do well. We harvested our first carrots, eggplants and zucchini. I've been experimenting with new recipes, and found a good baked eggplant recipe. We're very impatiently waiting for our first tomatoes. The bushes are huge! Peas, carrots and lettuce are done until the fall crops get planted, and pumpkins go in this weekend. The berry farm is about to gear up, there will be bushes of blue and black berries very soon. Yum!

Carrots straight out of the garden have a great flavor!

Eggs and milk are still coming in strong. Even with only 1 goat in production we have plenty to drink. We haven't had the extra to make cheese and ice cream though, so definitely looking forward to that next year.

The does- 4 will be giving milk this time next year.

The chickens and ducks that are marked for the stew pot are growing well. Our pet ones are doing well, too. The cochin hens and polish crested are so much fun to watch. The pet duck- the girls call it Pascal, Chuck and I call it Sasha- is doing great! She/he follows me around while I do chores. Sasha is still in the shed, but needs a larger house very soon. I'd like to keep her up at the house, just trying to decide how.

Duck in the daisies

Duck in the house, wearing her diaper and being guarded by a Dane.

The kids and I have been doing some school prep and going to the Y. They both have horse camp coming up, and they're wanting to add some karate camp and sewing lessons in there somewhere, too. At least if they're busy, they're not fighting.