Ducks ALIVE in 2025!

[ducks4you]

FINALLY a rainstorm!!!!!

THis morning before the 1PM rain, I had time to:
1) push mow around where Eva's grave will be finished
2) secured gas grill from being blown away
3) put away red plastic Adirondack chair
4) put away shovels, rakes and hand tools
6) put away red muck bucket
5) brought back basement large trash can on wheels
6) after buying decent puppy food, put one metal trash can (used to be for dog food) with damaged lid to be trash can for sheshed, formally Carriage House
7) put out 3 bales hay, grain for ponies, so outside jobs for today, DONE
8) moved broken window AC to wheelbarrow to barn for temporary storage until I recycle it
9) harvested tomatoes and 3 okra
10)burned burdock and other weeds in the Inner Sanctum before the rain
11)clean last cooler to dry in the basement--all of the other coolers are PUT AWAY on the 2 plywood shelves by the Big freezer!!
Job.well.done!!
Feeling like I did 4 years ago.

 

[heirloomgal]

How wonderful that you're feeling so good @ducks4you!

 

[ducks4you]

I Wish I had had my phone out yesterday! Lynx was stealthily hunting...UNfortunately in the kitchen!!
She could have caught anybody napping--quite a sight.
This morning she pushed open one of the cupboard drawers and checked inside, which is a normal Kitten thing to do--never saw her do that before.
THAT means we have a mouse in our kitchen. I imagine that my great hunter kitties will catch it.

 

[ducks4you]

Yesterday I spent one hour pulling weeds in my 2024-5 garlic bed. My garlics have been drying out--dunno how many are viable still. I am at DD's house this morning for plumbing work.
Puppies slept OR just stayed quiet and dry from 9:30PM-5:30AM, so progress
We are expecting frost Wedesday & Thursday mornings.
Gotta bring in stuff that won't make it.
Even though technically, the regrowing onion w/cabbage w/lettuces will probably be ok, I have moved and staged it come into the house and onto the porch by tomorrow, maybe this afternoon, to give the lettuces a fighting chance.
Tomatoes did great in this pot, peppers...not so much. I might try covering them with a moving blanket Tuesday night to see about extending the harvest there.
All but 6 of last week's tomato harvest are now dehydrating. By tomorrow I need to pull ALL tomatoes from the fencing, south side of the big garden. I won't be canning them, since they are so small this year, it makes more sense to dehydrate. Middle DD took Her dehydrated tomatoes and make a lovely marinara sauce with bourbon. She has promised me the recipe soon.
Had an awesome pot roast yesterday, now taking the 1 quart of beef broth (from bones and meat), putting back any carrots, potatoes, onion pieces and garlic back into the crock pot to make another super rich beef broth.
Closed ALL windows yesterday morning--woke up to 41 degrees F This morning.
Cleaned the lovely storm window that hooks above our LR window to the porch and DD's hung that yesterday. It secures to a hook. Draft.free.
I used up the outside large window AC cover after 3 years. I ordered a new one, along with three of the those hair dryer inside window covers to use on the ancient and leaky dormer windows on the 2nd floor AND I ordered a faucet cover the faucet to the inside pump for the cistern next to the house.
Here are pictures of both the garlic bed and the full town wagon of weeds pulled, the tomato/pepper pot, and the lovely blue ceramic pot, which will be stored under the table in my sheshed after we harvest the lettuces from the porch.

 

[ducks4you]

Besides walking better and getting a real puppy arm workout 9x.day, I am experiencing other new things, like a washer that can do a hot load and not break AND a dishwasher, something I haven't had for close to a decade.
I Am using it and I didn't think I would.
I am on a spending spree, taking advantage of local vendors who let you purchase online and pickup.
The Best store locally to do this is Farm & Fleet. They have Always had an outside gated back of the store pickup for supplies, so you drive through, They check/load for you.
I ordered more puppy food--I had bought Diamond puppy food, but my Vet said it had Chinese grain in it. Since I still had adult Blue Buffalo (from Eva), I switched between that and the puppy food until I exhausted both, and now they are both eating Blue Buffalo puppy food. I just bought a new bag, but opted to buy a 2nd one, whjich will be shipped to the office in town later this week. That works.
The other stuff I ordered was for winterization, and I will pick them up on Wednesday:
1) new outside AC cover
2) outside spigot cover for cistern spigot
3) three dormer window, inside plastic insulation, where you use a hair dryer to seal
And, I ordered four 10 inch plastic pot saucers to put underneath the current outside pots that need to come in, like the ones with the basil and blue pot with the lettuces, first to the porch, then, in a few weeks unstairs to my office. Laptop will go upstairs this week, so I'll be sure to water them.
I also have to divide up the super potbound spider plant, again, to my office, but also some repotted for youngest DD for Her office.. I will try covering the tomato pot to extend the season. If not, I need to clean it out and I will put it on it's side facing the street and making a wind guard next to the faucet that use for pony water with my heat hose in the winter. I will put some heavy bricks/stones to keep the wind from picking it up.
When I get home today it's time to harvfest whatevcer is growing in my sweet potato pot, too.
I will be spending the next month wintering my beds as best I can, knowing that there wioll still be cleanup to do, BUT I couldn't do any of this before my surgeon HERO fixed my knees and legs!!

 

[digitS']

I couldn't do any of this before my surgeon HERO fixed my knees and legs!!

Yay (to the both of you)!

from Steve

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Both Blue Buffalo and Diamond Pet foods source their ingredients from all over the world. I'll stick to Diamond, and the Kirkland product they make.

 

[ducks4you]

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@Rhodie Ranch , BLue Buffalo smells better.
Vet suggested Canidae, but they don't make a puppy formula. I am going to look into switching over to that next year. SHE said it is high calorie, so less filler.

 

[ducks4you]

Freeze last night through 9AM.
In town for dentist appt yesterday. Stopped at the Lutheran Church for pie pumpkins. DD wants to make some pumpkin cheesecakes, so I'll go back again next week, when I'm in town for DH's physical therapy.
The pumpkin sale is a yearly youth fundraiser.
ALSO Stopped by the 2 acre farmstand in town. They were selling tomatoes, so I bought 20 pounds of "seconds." HAD to process today. I have divided them up:
1) canning
2) dehydrating
3) eating/saving seeds
I lost 2 immediately in the paper sack to rot, so I put them right outside of the garage to deal with in a few days.
BeSIDES canning, I need to move 40 bales/hay to the "old hay" spot in the loft and sweep the floor.
DH has agreed to take the bales I am putting outside and what I sweep with the tractor bucket this afternoon.
Right now the tomatoes for canning are cooling so that I can remove the skins.
I should mention--online instructions are for 10 seconds in a boiling bath of water. This is sketchy.
There were so many I opted to use two pots--quicker. Worked well, since one was up to boiling while I was dipping out tomatoes in the other one.
Sometimes the boiling takes 30 seconds, sometimes you just want the skins loosened and they don't have to split.
It's just to help take the skins off instead of using a knife.
The tomatoes for dehydrating look blotchy, like many of many have, due to inconsistent water, which EVERYBODY had this summer. No worries! I will have even More to experiment with and make sauces.
The ones for eating/saving seeds will be eaten today/tomorrow and will scoop out the seeds to start fermenting.
BONUS!!!
I am about to skin all of these suckers, so I'm on the laptop waiting for them to cool. My fingers have eNOUGH of a workout!