Has it really been a month since I posted last? I continue to set new "blog absence" milestones. *sigh*
Our hot, hot summer continues with temps over 100 every.single.day. I've given up looking at the 10 day forecast. Each day forward I am only rewarded with the sight of yet another 100-degree day at the end of our 10-day forecast. Suffice it to say, I am looking forward to autumn very, very much!!
The garden is doing fairly good, in spite of the high temps. We set up a soaker hose amongst the corn and the cantaloupe plant. Yes, the cantaloupe plant that we had given up for dead has bounced back with a vengeance. There are at least 5 good size cantaloupes ripening and we're expecting our first juicy harvest by next week perhaps?
The two spearmint plants that were, for all intents, dead, have also put forth new leaves from their roots. The four roma tomato plants are bushing out and beginning to get buds, although I think the heat is really sapping their energy to produce fruit. We also have a row of pumpkins and a good row of pickling cucumbers, which have begun to produce small cucumbers. Not enough to can yet though.
The guinea eggs are incubating, and due to hatch sometime this week. Time to get the brooder back out! I put 13 eggs in the brooder initially, and through candling, removed two that didn't appear to be fertile. Out of the 11 that are left, I still have doubts about one egg, so that would leave 10 good eggs. This week should provide the answer, and I anxiously await!
The chickens and the guineas are surviving the heat, although they walk around panting most of the day. Some days we replenish their water twice, just to ensure it's cool enough for them. We've set up two fans in the coop trying to keep the air cool and circulating. That's Nater below, our one pearl guinea, telling us she's not happy with something - it seems they are always squawking their disapproval over something!
The original clutch of guinea eggs under our north tree break is still there - one of the guinea hens has added one new egg to it this week. But we haven't seen any of the hens sit on the nest in over a week, so I'm presuming they won't hatch out.
The pond has pretty much dried up. We have a puddle there this morning, but only because we got some pretty heavy showers last night. In the past month, we have been very fortunate to have two days where we've received pretty heavy downpours, which really help to green everything up, if only for a short while. I know the horses really love the pasture after these rains. We've been refilling their stock tanks with water every 2 days or so; in a "normal" summer, we probably refill them every 3-4 days.
This will certainly go down as a scorcher of a summer!
I am really looking forward to autumn (did I say that already?!) and getting our fall garden planted. It was so enjoyable to work with my spinach last fall, when the temps were mild. With the row cover, the spinach did great well into early December. This fall, I've already got my seed supply ready -- carrot, radishes, lettuce and spinach, and perhaps some green onion too. Only a few more weeks to go and I can start planting! Yippee!!
I'll bid adieu with an early morning photo that makes our greenhouse look alive with light. I'm also looking forward to utilizing this little greenhouse more over the winter and definitely next spring!
P.S. One more photo I almost forgot about .... CiCi and Baybee have finally worked out their differences. They are now sharing the air-conditioned guest bedroom! :-)
