It was a busy and damp spring and now we’ve hit summer , the heat has piled on.

We’ve take all the first cutting hay and it’s stacked up in the now full hay barn. We will still need to make some more before fall but we are 2/3 there for winter beef herd feed. Feels good. The herd is now on the hillside, 8 calves born and 4 more due. A little later than usual but they do what they want when the cycle hits.

They will finishup grazing the hillside pasture this week then a move across the road and an almost 1/2 mile hike to the back meadow for them. The grasses out there are 3-4 feet tall! Having so much grass is a good thing. They will eat what they want and the rest will be trampled to create more organic matter. It also keeps the soil covered and cool. Seed heads that aren’t eaten will reseed for more grass. Plus there are lots of shady areas for them to chill out in. Since we hayed the rest of the pastures, those will now have about 6 weeks or more to regrow and recover for even more grazing. It’s how we keep it all going and growing. I drove by many farms today with some cattle outdoors and none had grass over a few inches tall. Stuff like that doesnt’ help the animal or the land. Short grass means short roots, and hot dry conditions will mean grass won’t grow. It will also. mean when those violent heavy rains brew up the land will not be able to absorb the moisture. Our tall grasses will soak it in, even the fields that were just mowed will soak it in because we manage them to have deep roots and ability to absorb water. We want it to slow down and soak in.

The pig groups are busy grazing and diggin in the back meadow and silvo pasture area. They stay nice and cool under tree canopies then graze, dig as they please.

The market gardens are looking good, lots of things growing plus the weeds. I plant beans, brocolli and carrots about every 2 weeks. Sunflowers, lettuce and radishes every week. Seeding won’t stop till I run out of lettuce seed!

The new greenhouse tunnel frame is up and it’s ready for plastic when we get a free few hours and no wind. I already planted in there. I had lots of tomatoes and peppers that were overdue to go in so got that done before the heat hit. Some nice straw along with drip take so things are tucked in the compost base quite nicely.

This heat has been draining and not much gets done when it’s this hot. I try to get out early mornings until I can’t do anymore then go back out in the evenings.

This afternoon I’m inside and getting ready to make a new bug spray to have at the farmstand. I really like and use our bug spray often. It really works. I’ve been playing with a new recipe that is with witch hazel instread of soybean oil as the base. Soybean oil is great as it has natural properties to repel bugs but the organic stuff is soooooooo pricey. Olive oil is pricey and does not make good bug spray, some with sunflower or safflower, so we are giving witch hazel a try. it will mean that it may need to be applied a little more often but won’t stain clothes like the soybean does. Look for it at the farmstand this coming week. I will also have new soaps there too as soon as i get them labelled.

Baking, yes I will be baking bread and goodies again this year but until I’m caught up it’s been on the back burner. HOPEFULLY I will be baking by next weekend.

I was really slowed down in late winter and into spring with me knee problem that is now all better. Physical Therapy is a great thing. Hopefully it’s in good shape now, if it acts up again it’ll be an MRI to see if there is a tear, then that’ll mean surgery. yuck.

I’ve had repeated hand problems ever since we did our chicken processing. That pain was one of the reasons we stopped butchering and selling poultry, my hands literally couldn’t take it anymore. So I finally had the orthopedic look at my left hand, specifically my thumb. It’s called a trugger thumb and it’s a simple surgery to fix. So instead of waiting till fall I had it done this spring at the hospital in Hamilton (I highly recommend this place). It was to be about 2 weeks of me taking it easy and not overdoing it. I didn’t…….. A week after I ended up with an infection starting so antibiotics and a week later, all was better, stitches out and I’m back to work. But darn those 2 weeks had everything behind here, so I’m still playing catch up. But the best thing is my thumb and joint feel GREAT!!! No more pain. It’s amazing how my whole hand could have a problem that was just linked to that thumb joint.

That’s all for today, I’ve got some bug spray to make, soap to wrap and sunflower seeds to get in. Then in the morning we have the last group of piggies getting up graded to their pig net fencing as they are graduated from their learning fence set up.

Got an exciting thing happening on Monday so stay tuned to our socials or here for more on that after it happens.