Icky Basement and Antique Canning Jars

 Old unused water tank on left is gone.

 Pail by labourious pailful.

 Gross, eh!  Now, for the good part.  I know, it's hard to imagine a good part in this basement, but look what's down there!

I love the old milk bottles in the corner!  I remember the milk man delivering these to my friend's house and leaving them in the 'door-in-the-wall'.

Jars, lots of jars, some stilled filled with jam and fruit.  Some are very old.

Too Much Hay?!

Around the Farm

Pulled a few small carrots tonight for soup.  They need thinning anyway.

Wild red raspberries along the back laneway in bottom photo.
Wild black raspberries in top 2 photos.

Tuck half hidden in a field of second-cut hay.  Didn't we just finish first-cut and it's that tall already?!

Above 2 photos - getting a start on the winter supply of wood.  Cutting dead trees down on the laneway.

All in all, nothing really exciting around the farm these days.  Just peaceful and quiet, as country life should be!

Monarch Butterflies and Milkweed

http://www.easttennesseewildflowers.com/

I heard something on the radio the other day that I knew nothing about.  Monarch butterflies depend completely and utterly on milkweed for their survival.  Without milkweed plants, monarch butterflies will become extinct.  The Milkweed Species are being eliminated by 'progress' - land being destroyed for the benefit of more buildings.
I decided to check it out for myself and see what more I could learn.  Wiki starts out with, "The Monarch Butterfly is a Milkweed Butterfly..."  "They are becoming common in Bermuda due to increased usage of milkweed as an ornamental plant in flower gardens."  "Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of cardiac glycosides that are contained in milkweed consumed by the larva."  "Being the sole source of Monarch Butterfly larva, the plant is often used in butterfly gardening."
My only connection to milkweed is that they're just another nuisance weed to farmers and there's nothing nice-looking about them, either.  And the milky sap inside is gross.  The photos on that I found on the net first looked nothing like what I was used to.  These plants were pretty enough that I figured they could not possibly be milkweed.

Swamp Milkweed

Purple Milkweed

Showy Milkweed

Indian Paintbrush, Butterfly Weed, Pleurisy Root

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/

www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/common_milkweed.html
The above 2 photos are more what I remember milkweed to look like, including the gooey white milk.
Glad there's more choice than just the common milkweed.

It turns out that now's a good time to think about planting milkweed.  http://www.butterflyencounters.com/ says to plant in fall because, "Many species of milkweed require cold moist stratification to trigger the seeds to germinate."  People with 'Butterfly Gardens' know this already and now that I know, I'll be looking for some sources for seeds.

Garden Time

Daughter #2 has got our garden going this year with only a little input from the rest of us.  She hasn't done too badly either, especially for someone who did a lot of complaining about how stupid gardens are.  I think that what people who have not gardened before do not realize is the sense of accomplishment you feel when you stand back and say, "That's mine.  I did that!"  The problem with gardening for a lot of people in our 'instant gratification' society is that there is none.  No instant gratification means 'not fast enough' and 'I want it now!'  Gardening forces you to slow down, learn to wait, learn to 'check in' everyday, sort of like what we used to do when expecting a letter in the post in the 'old days'  (translation? the 70's and before!) 

Something about gardening must have gotten through to her because she has declared "I want a bigger garden next year."  Usually, people who say that have not had a garden before and do not realize just how much work it is.  After they have their first garden, they say "Maybe I'll just have a smaller garden next year."  Daughter has experienced it for 1 year now and knows it's a lot of work so if she's gung-ho for a larger one next year, so be it.

Saddest part of this story?  We have our first harvest, green beans and she's not even here to enjoy.  Maybe we'll save her a few...maybe!  They're sooo good, though.  Maybe not!!

 cucumbers

 Peas

 Carrots hiding beside peas

 2 rows of beets

Lots of green beans.  These photos are about a week old.  Last night, we had our first beans.

 Just enough for a taste each, but there's lots more coming.

Our 'barncats'

First we eat...

Then we rest...

Good-night!

For a great post on barncats, check out http://www.homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/  Amy explains the benefit of barn cats really well.

Willow Trees

I've been told that there isn't much nice about Willow trees.  The bugs love them, their roots stretch out underground for dozens of feet and will destroy the foundations of buildings, septic systems, city sewage systems and they absorb tons of water.  I don't care!  They're still beautiful!  Not too far from us, we found a lot of willow trees that instantly reminded me of the deep south, Gone With the Wind - not sure why.

They're not near any buildings, septic or sewage systems.  They're right beside the river so they can have all the water they want.  I'm not sitting under them so I don't care about the bugs dropping on me.  Anyway, a few photos.

Pretty Kitty

This little cat wandered up to our house a few days ago and ran right into our house, no fear at all.  He gets along with our 2 dogs, does not cause any problems with our other 4 cats (3 of them are trouble-makers, but he isn't!).  He is such a pretty kitty and his eyes are an unbelievable shade of blue!  He's very thin and when you pet him, you can feel his spine through his skin.  Surprisingly, his fur does not seem to be infested with bugs, at least not to the touch.  He just had to have been someone's pet or else he would have more of a skittish, feral personality.

After-Haying Fun

They were not expecting me to come skulking around with a camera.  Caught them unaware! 

Can you see them? 

Wow, look at those pipes!   And ignore the farmer tans, please!