Michigan

[Dascountry]

We have a lake lot on lost lake, in walking distance from our place. We hadn't fished it for a couple of years. We have so many lakes up here you could almost fish a different one every day. Went for a ride today and found another lake we are going to try out. We use to go to Big cut, its a gravel pit loaded with bass but the owners down state are having the police stop and kick everyone out now. No "no trespassing" signs out either...go figure.

Had my first Zucchini out of the garden for dinner tonight Yum

Niece her husband and boys stopped by today on their way to M Island. They live in Ypsilanti. Tomorrow BIL and his wife (they live in Rogers City) and friends who are up camping at their place (on yet another good fishing lake that we need to get to yet) are all coming over for ribs and fixings tomorrow. Then we're all going (you guessed it) fishing! I'm making a lemon merange (spl) pie also. Haven't had one in awhile. But with the chickens laying their eggs now I have the extra ones to make it

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July everyone

 

[Dascountry]

Suppose to get cooler here sometime tomorrow. Its a good thing to cause I have an awful lot of garden work to do. I need to get busy and get it mulched before the weeds start popping up again. Zucchini is coming in strong now and I have a couple summer squash that have finally fruited. I found a pumpkin today the size of a baseball The golden beets I planted haven't started to bulb as of yet, all the growth has gone into the leaves, so I am picking them and giving them to the pigs. Last year when I planted them only a few bulbed. My detroits are doing good though. I can't remember the name of the gold ones but they were heirlom. oh well.

 

[Jared77]

Lost Lake.....wow thats a blast from the past! I worked the Boy Scout camp there (I'm an Eagle Scout) for many summers. My whole family would stay up at the Big House and we'd all work the camp in various positions. Dad recently retired from teaching and my Mom was a stay at home mom so we'd pack up every summer and go up. Was a great way to grow up those were great summers. I think it was owned originally by Henry Ford gosh its been so long I'm struggling to remember. We always had good fishing on that lake. Never had a problem limiting out on Blue Gills, caught some pretty good Large Mouth Bass and was always thrilled to get Perch to bite. Earned my mile swim award out there too. When we were up there it there were a few houses on the lake I can only imagine what it looks like now.

Garden's a weedy mess and with it being 100 degrees here a number of times its tough to get out there and weed for any length of time to make a real dent in things. Its tough when I get home from work and its 85 degrees and on my days off everybody wants to stay in then hit the pool. My onions are drying up so Ill have to dig them up. Carrots are still plugging away. I've picked a number of picking cukes and I need a few more for a batch of pickles. They are doing great. My gherkins are blooming, but they are not trailing as much as I thought they would, they are much more bushy than vining. I don't care so long as they produce. I've got a TON of green tomatoes that are close to turning. My wife at the first cherry tomato of the year. We spent last weekend up in Irons at her Aunt/Uncle's cabin so of course we came home to a baseball bat sized zucchini weighing in at 3lbs on the dot but thats ok cause that means bread!!!!!

Sorry to hear about the beets. Thats gotta be tough. How many pigs do you raise Das? Any other livestock running around your place? Im still waiting on bannana peppers to really produce, as well as my jalapenoes. My hungarian hots are doing fine though. I planted the hungarian hots and the bannanas to make a hot mustard so I'll be freezing the hungarians till I get enough bannanas to make a batch. The Jalapenoes we candy and then can so I'm waiting patiently on them to produce.

Heats supposed to break Sunday and I can't wait. Of course I work Sunday but if it holds Ill get out Monday and get things cleaned up and mulched.

Stay safe

 

[Dascountry]

Holy smokes Jared sounds like your garden is doing great. What a difference it makes to be a zone lower. We have two hogs, 1male & 1female. Both are under a year yet. Hopeing to be able to raise some piglets again. We did it about 5 years ago and really enjoyed it. We also have two cows...both also under a year. One will go to the freezer next fall when he's about 18 months. The other is a female and we hope to have her bred. Plus all the chickens....I'm getting about 3 eggs a day so they more have started to lay.

Temp today was in the 70's all day. Such a nice and welcome change from the 90's. Also got some rain early this morning around 4:30 . I know because I had to get up and close windows. Plus let the dogs in our room because they hate the storms with thunder and lightning.

 

[fair weather chicken]

well,well now i know where the rain went. our forecast is 80's thru next weekend but no rain. but the following week is the youth fair and we always get rain that week. i hope cause the pump is going double time. oh yeah zucchini and summer squash are going in the freezer as soon as they are cut up. watermelon are about 6 inches long, corn is tassleing, everthing is going great, best garden we've had in years.

 

[Jared77]

So far so good. I'm a little disappointed with the jalapenoes and the bannana peppers but all in all I'm happy. The beans are a little behind but the wacky start to summer and then the blazing heat hasn't helped much. I always wait ever so impatiently for them to start climbing. Once they get on the pole they seem to explode. Its like they suddenly realized "oh yeah thats what we were missing!!" lol Rabbits are not helping them much either. We have a zillion of them and with us leaving next summer (to buy no more renting!) I won't put up a fence. I just take my losses for what they are and know when its time Ill fence it in right. Everytime I see one I say "Just wait till after muzzleloader season then its your turn". They just look at me as if to say "whatever your in uniform (I'm a Paramedic) so you don't have your shotgun" as they take about 3 hops and go right back to their bunny business. They know Ill chase them out of the garden but if they are out grazing on clover they are almost tame they are that bad around here. I've never seen so many of them in a summer it just crazy. I just hope they stick around till the first of the year so we can go get them. They fit so nicely in the freezer

Its funny I get frustrated sometimes because things are not going how I feel they should or what I expect considering what I put in and the work to get them there. Then I read about how people north of me are still looking at tomato blossoms and I thank the Creator that I'm where I am and things are really doing good.

I just hope we get some more rain so these tomatoes can finish. My wife keeps asking me when she gets her tomato sandwiches....I keep saying "soon I promise!"

 

[Dascountry]

Hey fair weather chick how do you freeze your squash? I tried freezing some zuc last year and it turned out mushy. Yes this also is the best our garden has done in years also. Must be this crazy weather.

Where you buying a house at Jared? We haven,t seen to many rabbits or coons up here this year.....a whole lotta chipmunks though

 

[fair weather chicken]

we just cut package and freeze. its not like out of the garden but we use it in soups and cassaroles. and some times we fry it right out of the package, don't thaw. hope this helps. this year we are going to vac pack some as well and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Dascountry]

Thanks fairweather

 

[Jared77]

We're staying in the area, Livingston or Shiawasee county. We're on the northern edge of Livingston county and Shiawesse is the next northern county.

My FIL was telling me that he and my wife's uncle have trapped over 30 coons between the 2 of them! He said they've dealt with the coon in the trap and gone to check another, deal with the 2nd trap and they'll have another one back in the first trap! Its crazy!! They've been super active, we think they are desperate for water so they are getting more active and ealier.

My daughter picked the first ripe tomato of the season (thats after we've already picked a handful of cherries already). It was a whopping 3oz Early Girl but it was a little red bit of Heaven! Ive got another one that will needs another day, and a TON of them that need another week or 2. We're usually starting to pick this week but with the dry spell we had things are a little behind. I've also picked 6lbs of pickling cukes from 8 plants so far with plenty more on the vine.

I did learn something this year I need to plant my zucchini and yellow squash in pairs. I only did 1 plant of each this year and its showing. I'm getting a lot flowers that bloom and don't produce because there isn't a male flower to pollinate it at the right time. Last year we had 4 of each and it was WAAAY too much. I tried making zucchini fruit snacks but all I managed to do was make fruit flavored zucchini leather. All in all its been a very good year.

Far as freezing zucchini goes we froze some "boats" to have stuffed zucchini and they were mushy too. Planned on making zucchini relish too, but we got too busy during canning season and it was fed to the neighbors laying flock. I'm curious too about the vac sealer too. My wife bought me one for Fathers day and I'm anxious to try it.