Michigan

[swampducks]

Ack, don't worry about the typos, we can tell you're literate. BYC used to be like this forum. I suspect as there are no where near as many people here as there that there is no point in bringing this place into the 21st century.

I put in my first 3 blue berry bushes this year. Put them in the front yard between the house and the coop. I figure that's close enough to protect it from wild birds and chickens. I got 3 different varieties, plan on seeing which does the best then get more of those. I love blue berries and the old family patch down in Alger is apparently dying according to the county extension service, has some kind of disease. It's a pity, those bushes have to be over 50 years old.

 

[Dascountry]

I'm waiting for the huckleberries to come in. I always pick enough to freeze for pies. YUM Picked about a pint of strawberries from my patch today. Not doing near as well as in the past I wonder if I had some freeze out also Bob????? Seen the first snake in the garden today. Watched him/her for a bit and she/he strolled along the chicken fence tempting the chickens I guess.
At four months old they just watched and tilted their heads. Found a couple of squash bugs on the plants today Need to do something about that really soon.

I planted the garden in a grid style this year..Suppose to be able to get in more plants then planting in rows. Not sure if it worked or not because we inlarged the garden so of course I planted more plants. Looks nice though :tools

 

[Dascountry]

Sure did have a thunderstorm tonight! Great for the garden.....it looks like I have a pond out front though.

 

[swampducks]

we had a storm last night, too, lots of flashing, mostly a soft rain though, worst of it was to our south, like the one we had earlier in the day. Kind of weird getting rain left and right now when we wouldn't have any for weeks at a time.

I've had garter snakes all over the place this year. I've never seen so many! I'm thinking it's from all the frogs and tadpoles in my pond this year. Looks like they're starting to rebound, seemed to die off the last few years. I've got lots of painted turtles, too. Ziggy found one in the driveway a couple days ago, he didn't know what to make of it, but he needed to scold it severely!

 

[Dascountry]

Exactly what Skip and Dixie would do They have a chipmunk by the patio window that torments them now. I also have a couple who eat the droppings of chopped feed that the cows spill out of the feeder. Today one scared the dickens out of me when I opened the door to the roosters coop. It came running out We had another storm this morning....gotta love all this rain :happy_flower

 

[swampducks]

I'VE GOT TOMATO FLOWERS! I'VE GOT TOMATO FLOWERS! Only on 2 plants but that's something. Both are Tumbling Toms, one yellow, one red. Now that I think back, I do believe they were my earliest ones last time I them. Only a month now till my first tomato? ACK! So far away!

 

[swampducks]

High in Barton City today was 97.3.

Spent the day in Alpena grocery shopping and having lunch with my neighbor. With my truck having no a/c it was pretty toasty. Had the cooler with 2 ice bottles in it and the frozen food still thawed! Cooler weather coming in tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to do some gardening then.

 

[Dascountry]

Hey Swampducks....DH and I were in Alpena today too. Went to tractor supply, home depot and walmart. No Ac in van either but the ride sure was nice. It was to hot to do anything today. We have no AC in house either. My peppers and tomatoes have blossoms also. Picked a few more radishes today, this batch didn't fair to well. In the morning I'll have to pick lettuce and spinach. Sure hope its cooler. I did get four loads of laundry washed and hung on the line today.

 

[swampducks]

Did you notice the Mexican restaurant finally opened? Over there on 23 just south of the curve that Sav-a-Lot sits on? I picked up a take out menu, looks very tasty and reasonably priced. Was quite crowded at lunch time. Have to actually go in and eat there soon, just waiting a couple more weeks till they work out the kinks.

Had a small rain storm this afternoon, really dropped the temps down. Was 85 now it's 71! So refreshing even if it is a bit damp. Now I don't have to water the gardens today. Finally planted the small bag of shallots I picked up at WM more than a month ago. Better late then never I guess!

 

[Dascountry]

Swampducks we didn't go around that way. Next time we're around Alpena I'll try and remember to stop in there. I like Mexican food!

75 degrees outside right now. Went to feed the animals and noticed I needed to do a bit of weeding..... now of course the back is sore (had surgery 3 yrs ago) never has been great since then. But not complaining because I was on my side for two months and could hardly move until the surgery! Anyways the animals started to get restless so I figured I better get them fed. An hour or so later then when I started to go feed them

Bear tracks are getting awfully close to the house right now. And those darn coyottes are making my dogs wine and bark at night! Forgot to close the door to the coop last night...lucky nothing got in and got the girls.