July 2005

Homesteading Notes

This months is almost half finished and I have been fighting the battle with the grasshoppers. When most of the corn, beans and all of the zinnias were finished off, Randy pretty well gave up on the garden. The one volunteer tomato plant from last year was chewed in half. The nice 4 tomatoes proceeded to die. We have had one cucumber. But on the 3 little rows of tomatoes there are lots of blooms and even a few fruit. Yippee. So much work for next to nothing. Sigh.

In the kitchen window sits the little fig tree. It has been showing signs of life but when Randy asked what I was going to do with it, I near convinced him that it would stay in the window when I finally told him that I hoped the center of the garden would do well. Once the chickens have a few days of eating grasshoppers all around the area.

I have been working for two weeks now to enclose the tomatoes and the cucumbers with chicken wire to keep the chickens out of those spots. The plants just might make it if the grasshoppers can be curtailed. They are eating more and taking over even the sunflowers and the wild flowers. When I found that the post hole digger was useless on the briar roots, I found enough thin poles and sticks to hammer into the ground. Just tonight I finished. Tomorrow morning I will release the hens into the garden area to grow fat on the hoppers. Eat all you can dear girls. I am now thinking about expanding the area to make more gardens they can roams through.

I had thought that we might get guineas but I was out this afternoon at the chicken yard at just the right moment to see a bobcat behind their area. He was looking at my hens. Guess there will be no guineas and chickens roaming for now. Scared me. I will clean a pathway around the chicken yard so Randy can take Max for a walk and leave his scent to scare away the big cat.

Three weeks after Randy bought a new brush cutter, Hamilton Supply actually gave us a new unit. They were telling the truth, hard to believe after so long a wait. But I don't have to file the complaint with the Better Business Bureau. What a relief. I still don't believe half of what they said but we will never again do business with them. Goodbye.

So, now I try and do a bit of brush cutting every day. Randy has started work on the house and so far I have only cleared out around the first section. I will expand from there. So many beautiful spots to clean up so we can use them. Years back I spent all winter clearing spaces I had cleared before to keep them nice. But then we went several years of not having a brush cutter and the briar and oaks gained on us. Goats. We need some goats.