+ The weather has been so hot and we had our work cut out for us making sure the animals were continually watered. The pigs are extra vulnerable because they can’t sweat. They loved their wallows and were constantly covered in mud. Living their best life! In other pig news, we saw some behavior that may mean that Ethel actually isn’t pregnant like we originally thought. It’s wait and see at this point…I obviously have no idea what I’m doing.
+ I harvested zucchini, squash, green beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, jalapenos, and even a few raspberries. We are continually tickled by the fact that we can make meals that use ingredients we grew ourselves!
+ We dealt with a horrible Japanese beetle infestation that ate through the leaves of most of our fruit trees. A huge blow, but thankfully it looks like the trees themselves will survive. I’m already making preparations to proactively combat them next year.
+ I continued working on the food forest. (Broken record at this point…) More compost, more rocks, more wood chips…
+ We have a final decision on the ducks: two boys and two girls! They are really looking different these days with different colored beaks and coloring. I especially love the little flippy feather on the boys’ tails.
+ Fiona update: a farmer friend generously found us an open spot with his pig processor! Such a relief to have that fiasco sorted out. If all goes to plan, she should be off the property by mid-August.
Those Japanese Beetles are beasts! One year I paid one of our daughters a nickel a piece to pick them off our plants and put them in a bucket of soapy water. It seems if you hunt them in the morning while they’re still drowsy, they’re easy to catch. At my last visit to the garden center, I read that rue is a good natural deterrent to Japanse Beetles, but haven’t tried it yet for our raspberries.
I like your pigs’ names. (I Love Lucy fans here!)
God bless,
Melisa
Paying the kids to pick is a GREAT idea. Remembering that for next year!