Heat Lightening and Lightening Bugs

Tonight as I drove up the hill, heading back home from a long day at work, I was greeted by the most beautiful display of heat lightening illuminating the sky and lightening bugs (aka fireflies) dancing through the fields.  It was one of those moments that most individuals take for granted as they speed through life mulling over the less important details.  I, on the other hand, was completely mesmerized.  The lightening coruscated through the clouds like the grand finale of the Fireman's Festival Fireworks, though mute as the atmosphere absorbed their sound.  These things are a rarity to see.

I feel fortunate that we still see the fireflies up here.  I remember running around with a jar as a kid, trying to capture enough to act as a lantern; something right out of a fairytale.  But as I got older I noticed their numbers seemed to be dwindling.  No one really knows for sure why they seem to be disappearing but there are many theories: increased land development, light pollution, lack of suitable habitat, and reactions to agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides.  It's true that the landscape is changing, and quickly.  Every day it seems that more and more housing developments are going up, invading our shrinking farming communities.  It saddens me to be seeing so much farmland being sold and converted.  And it scares me to think that less than 2% of the population in this country are still farmers, desperately trying to provide for the more that 98% of the remaining population (statistic from Food Inc.)  Will we wake up and realize this before it's too late?  Will we be able to repair the damage that has already been done.  These are hard questions to ask, and I find that if I dwell on them too long I start to feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

So back to the Fireflies.  A friend of mine must have been floating on the same wavelength as me tonight when she posted a link to the Firefly site pictured above.  I was encouraged by the knowledge that there are others out there wondering the same as me.   How much would be lost by the disappearance of these illuminant little creatures.  They truly are magical.

Garden

Yellow Squash Seedling

We did our garden a bit differently this year.  Other that two tomato plants, one basil, and one cilantro, everything was planted from seed ~ the first weekend of June.  It was a late start but except for the stevia, everything appears to be coming up and doing well; especially the potatoes, onions, squash, and beans.  My focus this year were root cellar crops.  I wanted to plant as many foods that could be stored and used throughout the winter as possible.  Last year we had sweet potatoes in the basement as well as some canned pickles.  I'm hoping to expand that this year.  Baby steps, folks!  That's how it's done.  I have grand ideas for my gardens, I really do.  But can find myself quickly overwhelmed if I try to do it all at once.

I'm pretty proud of what we've planted this year.  We've a 4X8 plot of butternut squash as well as another of a variety of bush beans.  A third plot is split between red potatoes and yellow onions.  A fourth with jalapenos, broccoli, okra, eggplant (which I don't think is going to grow), and carrots.  A fifth with roma tomatoes, beets, and green onions.  And lastly a small strip planted with the basil, cilantro (one plant, the rest seeds), parsley, and stevia.  That's just the garden.  I also planted in a couple of large pots yellow squash and zucchini, and a half barrel of potatoes, and a small pumpkin patch next to my bleeding heart.  Just making the most of the space I have.  I still would like to put in some lettuce but I'm having a hard time keeping the  chickens out of the planter I want to grow them in.  I suppose I could fashion some kind of lid to start them off with.

In the mean time, the weeds have come in along with the sprouting seeds.  Mostly Lamb's Quarters (which I just recently found is edible) and some suspicious red-bottomed leafy plant.  I'm not sure what that one is just yet.  Perhaps it is edible as well.  All I can say is that they came from our compost as none of the 'compost-free' areas have it growing.  I don't mind the weeding that much though.

A Late Start

(one of last year's sunflowers)

We are finally getting our garden in.  Yes, it seems late.  It is late!  But with all this rain, traveling, company, and then stifling 95 degree days, planting has been nearly impossible.  Better late than never, I suppose.  My dad was down for a visit this week and brought us his Mantis tiller.  So we've spent the last 5 or so hours weeding, raking, tilling, and marking off our new beds.  I transplanted a few sunflowers that God must have planted, because I sure didn't.  They looked dreadful 15 minutes after their shuffle, but I have faith that they will spring back to life in a few days.  I did the same thing last year and they did just fine.  There were only 7 transplants, so I'm going to plant a few more sunflowers to keep them company.  I love watching sunflowers grow.  So big and tall.  There are three other beds that were plowed and mixed with compost today.  I'm not sure yet what will go in them.  I do know that I want Butternut Squash, Green and Yellow beans, and potatoes for sure.

It must have been a good time to break.  Both my husband and dog are completely out.  I suppose it's time to start thinking about dinner then.

And there we go!

The 31 days of May comes to an end.  Hope you enjoyed.  Now back to normal blogging.  There's still lots going on round the farm, so stay tuned.  Oh, and Beaky says, "Hello!"  It sounds more like a "cluck cluck squak," but I'm sure that's what she means.

Humidity

We spent the weekend up north in the ANF (Allegheny National Forest)at my parents. It was good to spend time with family, something running your own farm (however big or small), doesn't allow you to do as frequently as you'd like unless you live close by. Unfortunately, at the moment, we do not. The weather, for the most part cooperated (as if we really had any say in it to begin with). The only rain we had was a fast moving thunderstorm that swept through last night around 10pm. Though it was quite warm this afternoon, there was still a pleasant enough breeze to allow us to enjoy eachother's company in the pavilion.

It wasn't until we drove through the little town of Zelienople, on our ay back home, did we happen to look up and see that the thermometer was reading 99 degrees Farenheit. Yes, 99 degrees. We were so comfortable in the AC of my little Beetle that we simply weren't pondering how stifling the temperature would be once we stepped from its icy confines. Fortunately for us, however, the temperature dropped to 91 by the time we reached the top of our hill. The temperature around bedtime is hovering in he mid 80s but the humidity has picked up. We try not to AC the whole house if we can prevent it, but we did put the small window unit in the bedroom window. I can tolerate the heat and humidity during the waking hours, but I find it awfully hard to sleep when I feel lime I'm suffocating.  So we put our small window unit in the bedroom window just for the night.  Quite frankly, in this kind of weather I'd be just as happy with a hammock on the back porch.  The problem is, I don't have a back porch.  Nor do I have any trees nearby to sling up my hammock.  I sure do miss it!  A partially wooded lot is a requirement for my own place.  I sure do miss shade.  I sure do miss my parachute hammock.  I think I'm going to pack it up and carry it around with me, looking for places to hang it, even in (especially in) odd places.  If you've never tried a parachute hammock, visit Ticket to the Moon's website and check them out.  They are super portable and ridiculously comfortable to boot!  If I had my way, I'd probably sleep in it every night.  Another house requirement: the capability to hang my hammock.  Yes, inside!

Foraging

Here's Grey Baby.  I love her color.  All the buns love some 'free-range' time.

Dog Nosed Kisses

I love my dog, I really do.  There's nothing better than having your own warm fuzzy four-legged friend to cuddle up to on a cold day, to snuggle close to you when you are sad, rejoice with canine excitement when you are happy, to wake you up in the morning (or in Kenai's case, the middle of the night to ask if he can come up on the bed), to ride in the car with you, chase the chickens, and alert you when someone pulls in the driveway.  I'm not sure how people get along without them.  Someone once commented to me that, "it would be a inconvenience to always have to take them out or find someone to watch them if you wanted to go somewhere."  Maybe since I've never been without a dog that I can remember, I don't even think of those things.  My husband and I went on a mini-vacation two springs ago and left Kenai with my parents.  He of course was well taken care of, but when we would go to bed at night in our big king-sized bed, we felt like something was missing.  Kenai is such a permanent fixture in our family that going somewhere without him is hard.  And yes, he sleeps right between us at night, all 75 pounds of him.  Not the whole night; usually right when we go to bed, then he'll get down until about 4am, then hop back up.  He's like clockwork.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.