Loss, Celebrations, Growing, Harvesting, New Digs, Vistors and More!

Sadly, last Friday we received word that our friend Sambo had lost his father, Sam.  We were blessed to attend the visitation Monday evening where the family had prepared a beautiful powerpoint with many lovely photos. We attended the funeral ceremony Tuesday afternoon and had the pleasure to hear their dear friend Rev. Sam speak about Sambo's father, his friend.  He told several stories of Sam and Sambo, of hunting trips, and fishing too.  The Rev. Sam was a wonderful, spirited speaker and you could tell he knew Sam well and loved him and his family.  We will continue to keep Sambo and his family in thoughts and prayers as they continue on without their loved one.

Tuesday was full of emotion!  After the funeral service, we made a B-line for Saluda High School to be present for the Senior Night.  Our oldest nephew, Gideon, is a graduating Senior this year.  He was awarded his completion certificate for Building Construction and a medallion as well as Life Scholarship!  We are so proud of him and we are looking forward to the new adventure he will start in the Fall as a college student at Piedmont Technical College as he pursues a career in welding. We attended his graduation ceremony Friday evening. We love you and are so very proud of you G! <3

Gideon Gregory Kirkland - Class of 2014

Amid all of the happenings off the farm, we still have to tend to all the critters and the gardens as well.

Everyone is well and everything is growing like crazy!  We have been fertilizing once a month and watering just about everyday with the high temperatures we have been having. We were blessed today with a nice rain shower of .63 of an inch!  That will make all the difference.  Everything will just pop now!

 We have just harvested the first fruits from the cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, and lettuce and we continue to harvest strawberries as they come in.

I LOVE my basket my bestest friend Becky gave me <3

"Sparky" Marigolds starting to bloom......companion plant to most vegetables. They sterilize root nematodes and repel Mexican Bean Beetles .

"Cheeroke" Wax Beans Flowering like crazy and starting to set beans!  We are going to be up to our elbows in beans!

Park Seed "Dwarf Pastel Zinna Mix"...also a companion plant for cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes. They repel cucumber beetles and tomato worms.  They attract beneficial insects and pollinators too.

"Waltham" Butternut squash...this thing is visibly growing day by day!

"Burgess Buttercup" squash

Beautiful "Black Beauty" eggplant blossom....I keep looking for a fairy to appear in this picture!

"California Wonder" Peppers....and the lower leaves of the BB Eggplant.  The flea beetles had their way with them, but the plants were very strong and have done very well. I don't use any insecticides!

We were busy this middle of this week working on making a house and pen for "Tater". She is now almost 2 months old and has outgrown the Rubbermaid container she was in.  She needed more room, but also needed something all one level, easy to clean and safe.  My wonderful Farmer Man went to work designing the "Tater House"!  She is used to being on towels, so it will take sometime to get her used to pine shavings....if we get her used to pine shavings!  If not, I'll just be washing "Tater towels" for the rest of her life :0) Here's the house and pen he and I built for her.  I plant to add a little "Tater" plaque to it.

"Tater" will be safe and secure in her new home. "Tater's New Digs" ;0)

And, yes, she has her own personal fan in addition to the ceiling fan. She is in her house under the feathers in the picture.

"Tater"!  She like to stay close or under her "Foster Momma" aka three feather dusters.  She also has mirror she will sit in front of....she's so funny!

She is used to being in a clear Rubbermaid container so she spends much of her time in the house, but I have found her on a few occasions out in the run as well as "evidence" that she has been out in the run. So far on the the hottest days, she has done very well.  When it gets warm you will find her sitting out in the run area right in front of "her" fan. This little chicken has it made <3


"Tater" will soon have company on the screened porch!  We have just removed the egg turners from incubator #2 and will have Golden Laced Wyandottes hatching out in just a few day. A week later we will have the guineas in incubator #1 hatching out too. Our Hatch-A-Thon will start soon!


Today has been a couch kind of day for me. I made the mistake of working in the wood shop without a mask. Wood dust + my allergies = Sinus infection and this time laryngitis too. Antibiotics on board, decongestant,hot honey lemonade and I'll be right as rain in a just a day or two.

My sweet farmer man has been outside all day.  He is working on cleaning up his wood shop and all around the barn.  Just a bit ago he came in and said look what I found.....

Yep, that is a small black rat snake he walked into the house with!  He found it while picking up the feed bags I had stacked up.  Scott mentioned he hadn't seen nearly as much mouse crap around the barn as he had been seeing!  Guess this guy was doing his job, but he had to be relocated because he would also eat day old baby chicks. We try not to kill any animals here on the farm.  They are just doing what they need to survive like all the rest.  We just relocate them to an area where they are free to do so....away from our livestock. Live and let Live!

We are looking forward the next few weeks of new babies and meeting new people as they come to pick up their chicks and keets.  We hope to have enough chicks that we can keep some and add some more hens to our flock....if not "Woobie" is broody again and we may just have to let her have her way and set a few eggs under her. She is an excellent Mom!  Between the egg sales and loading the incubators we have a hard time keeping enough eggs...that's a good problem to have!