Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

Feed it to the goats. They love it!

 

[mrscoyote]

I love your chicken picture. Mine pester the heck out of us too. They come right to the front door and knock.

 

[Denim Deb]

I'm sure if I had them at home, they'd be doing that. As it is, at times they all follow me around. They're hoping for some treats! I've been told I look like the Pied Piper.

 

[hqueen13]

Lovely, Deb! Take care of that ankle!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Checked the batteries for my tools today, and they seemed to be good, so I started working on getting the boards at the bottom of the stalls. The first board, I didn't cut quite long enough. I hadn't quite figured out how to do this, but made it work anyway. And, it took me longer than I expected. Got the 2nd board measured, and started to cut it-my battery died. So, I took it off and put it on the charger. Then I got the other battery on. And, found that that battery was almost dead as well! I was able to make it last long enough to cut the board. And, I got that in place. Got everything put away, and went home.

I had some lentil soup I made the other day. Had some of that for lunch, and put most of the rest away in the freezer. Made scalloped potatoes w/ham last week, put the leftovers of that in the freezer. Still had some ham on the ham bone, so I took most of that off, put it in small portions, and put that in the freezer. The bone went in a pot of water, and will be the base for some split pea soup. I'm trying to get a bunch of meals made up and frozen for when I don't feel like cooking.

Went out and cleaned up some more honeysuckle. I am slowly but surely getting that area all cleaned up! I'm hoping to have it done by the weekend. Then, hubby and I will have to work together to clean the one area, but it will make the yard look so much better. Some of the stuff I had planned on cleaning up won't happen now-I wanted to move my volunteer raspberries, but never got a spot cleared for them, so they'll have to stay for now.

And, I found a tick on me today. First one of the year. Hopefully getting the yard all cleaned up will help keep them away! I just wish I could have the chickens here to keep them under control :/

 

[Denim Deb]

I've been wearing leather gloves while working on the fence since I KNEW there was poison ivy in that section. Well, I STILL got it! I have it on my hands, my wrists, and my chin! Looks like I'll be taking a walk in the woods to get some birch leaves to make a "tea" to treat it.

 

[SSDreamin]

Oh Deb! I hope you get a handle on that quick - the itching from that gunk drives me batty!

 

[hqueen13]

What's your remedy, Deb? Does River Birch work? I have a River Birch behind the house, and I love that tree, its gorgeous! Found out I can make syrup from the sap, which is fun to know, and if it can be healing, too, that's even better! Definitely one I'll make sure is planted somewhere on the property when we move...

 

[Denim Deb]

I found this in a book on natural remedies.

Take a handful of birch leaves-it doesn't matter the variety. Boil a cup of water, add the leaves and let steep for 5-10 minutes. Then strain and apply w/a cotton ball or a piece of gauze. You can use this for several days, but you can't freeze it and you must use fresh leaves.

This has worked for me when nothing else has. And, while it doesn't always get rid of the itch completely, it does make it bearable. The itching actually isn't that bad-which is good since I had no time to go look for leaves!

I managed to get some laundry caught up. I had planned on hanging clothes out on the line, but they changed the forecast. And, I didn't find out until I already had them washed. So, I had to throw them in the dryer.

I also got some seeds started in the green house. I'm bringing them in at night. But, I got cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut, acorn, pumpkin, watermelon and cantaloupe all started. I'm hoping they come up well doing it this way. If not, I'll have plenty of time to plant more in the garden.

I also got seeds today. W/the exception of lima beans, and roma beans, I have all the seeds I need! I also need more onion sets-if I can find them. If not, I just won't have as many onions as I wanted.

 

[Denim Deb]

Looks like I'm going to be finishing the stalls just in time. The puddle in front of the stalls is almost completely dry, so I should be able to drive in w/no problem. They're calling for some Tstorms tonight w/maybe 1/2" or more of rain. Normally, when we get that much rain, there'll be water in the stalls. W/the stalls done, the water should stay out!

Monday, I have 3 fence posts I have to replace. 2 of them I broke, the other rotted. Tuesday, I plan on rototilling the next section of the field, then Wednesday, I can plant it! After that's done, I'll have NOTHING else that I can do until hubby gets out and helps me w/the lean to he keeps saying he's going to put at the back of the tack shed. I'll be glad when that's done. It will give me a place to store my mower as well as some tools. Then, I get the new windows in, get the solar panels on and the electric done, and I can do the rest on my own! It will be so nice when I'm able to go there and relax instead of working constantly.