Hello sweet ladies!
Thank you again for making the party so much fun!
Yesterday I left you with going to find Momma Cow, who we thought had her baby. We looked all over. From what our friends Gail and Leroy said, she will hide her baby and later bring it out to show us. So, what will be doing? Waiting some more!
We did find a baby though. As I was walking I a saw a Momma Mourning Dove fly off her nest. Look at this little tiny baby. Isn't he. . . . . . cute? I think there might be another word for it, but my Momma always said to say something nice.
Here is another picture, you can see how poorly the nest is made. It is amazing that any babies live after the Kansas wind blows on it.
Some ladies wanted to know what we do when we garden, so I thought I would give a step by step on how we do our mulching. I talked about it the other day, but yesterday when we went to the newspaper company, Mr. Phil thought that the ends of the paper they use for printing the newspaper, would work fantastic on the garden. We got up really early this morning to get a head start laying the paper out. The heat has been real hot here in Kansas and very sticky in the day. Ick!
If you want to have a real nice mulch, you will need bails of straw and newspaper or if you have a newspaper company by you, they might sell you some of the end rolls of paper.
It is so easy! We just rolled it out. Usually we have to lay each newspaper down and it is a pain. This worked fantastic! ! ! It makes my life easier and I like that.
Then we rolled out another piece on the other side of the plants. Butt the paper as close as you can to the plant. Then you will have hardly any weeds.
Along each edge Mr. Phil put a little dirt on the edge of the paper to keep it from flying. Works great!
I started to lay the wheat straw on top of the paper.
See the little basil plant all snug? Hardly any weeds can get through. I love it! I never ever have to weed! YES!!!!!
This is what it looks like. Wonderful! I don't have to do anything else. Oh, one more thing I guess, pick the produce, which is not a problem for me! Then I will have to get busy and start canning. I love that part.
I think it is so neat that the little moon and stars watermelons plants already have stars and moons on them, even when they just start to grow.
Mr. Rooster thinks he is hiding from me, but I know exactly where he is. He doesn't blend in to the flowers very well, do you think?
I have 3 of our grandchildren here. I am going to finish sewing up Savannah's apron with her. It will be a memorable day for us.
Blessings from the farm and have a wonderful weekend!
Linda...I just love your farm updates! Sticky here today in Nebraska too. I guess summer is really here :)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend, my dear friend!
Blessings!
Gail
I mulch up the garden the same way. No sense sweating in the heat to weed if you can avoid it...LOL! Have a great weekend with the grandkids:-) I just made my grandaughter an adorable tutu and headband with a big peoney flower on it for her first birthday photos. I can't wait to see her in it!
ReplyDeleteOh, Linda, I just love this update. And the mulch! I use a similar method around some of my trees and such in the yard. Never thought about using it in the veggie garden... clever! Love the rooster pic. Can't wait to see how my little roo looks all grown up :)
ReplyDeleteHi Linda.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post :) :) :) I've heard quite a few people actually talk about the newspapers around the plants to keep out weeds...followed by dirt and straw. I like that..and it's seems safe for you and the plants..no chemicals ;) :) I'm going to share this on my Facebook page :)
I can't wait to see Momma Cow's new baby...and that other baby...the one with the feathers is cute :)
Oh in Oregon it's hard to say what the weather is like. it's been really shifty lately. It was cold this morning and overcast. It looked like it might rain again...and it looks cold outside/but it is really a bit humid. Now the sun is shining and it's really starting to warm up. However, again, this is Oregon..and it's one of the few places I know of where we can experience all four season in one hour :) :) True...there's even a Facebook page about it :) ...hee hee LOL...
Greetings, love and hugs, Heather :)
You were busy beavers this morning! We are struggling to find some veggies in our container gardens. The squash fell off the vine, and the big ole tomato plants have one tomato! Maybe we're in too big a hurry.
ReplyDeleteYou are always busy and always showing me something new!Thank you and I hope that momma cow comes up with that baby soon. I love the dove baby! Precious. Happy weekend to you! Anne
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking yesterday that I should ask you if momma cow had her calf yet! :) I love reading your blog everyday! Love you!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on laying newspaper down first. I used straw again this year because it worked really well last year. Well, I'm getting a few weeds growing through the straw and I think if I put down the paper first, that would have done the trick. I'll be trying that next year for sure.
Christa
I am so enjoying your updates about the cow that is freshening. I grew up on a registered Jersey farm in Iowa. Jerseys are very fragile, and many times need assistance in delivery. We rented a pasture from some folks a couple miles away that was mostly timber. Dad would put the bred heifers there until they were about to calve. My father had a PhD in animal husbandry, and did most of his veterinary work himself, but there really is not an exact way to tell when they will deliver. We had a made several excursions to the timber to find Karana. She was a first time heifer,and he really wanted to get her back to a maternity stall. We tried at various times and in various locations, but we could not find her. She eluded us every time. A couple of times we spotted her but couldn't get near her. She seemed to have become wild. So, in spite of our best efforts and intentions, she had her calf there at the timber. Normally this would not be a good thing, as a tiny little jersey calf would be easy prey for coyotes or dogs or foxes. But in this case her Mama was an amazing teacher. My brother borrowed a pair of moccasins from me and padded softly through the timber and tracked Karana and her calf. We followed, and with all of us dodging to and fro and waving our arms and cornering her, we caught Karana. But her little calf was not so easy. She eluded us for quite awhile but Scott finally caught her with a lunge and a grab to her back foot. She was one wary little critter. We named her Wildflower for obvious reasons. :0) I hope that you have an easier time catching your little critter, but either way, you'll have a story to tell.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'll ever get to live on a farm as I would like, but at least when I visit your blog I can learn about farming and that makes my heart happy! Enjoy the grandchildren today and have a good weekend!
Linda...always love your posts and to hear what is going on at the farm! It is 'hot' and sticky here in Iowa too. We've been having rain and storms for the last couple days, then turns off 'hot & sticky'..
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your grandchildren and have a blessed weekend...
xoxo Gert
I learned a similar tip from a master gardener. She wets sheets of newspaper (only the black/white sections) and layers them in the perennial beds. She uses about 10 layers of soaking wet papers and then piles mulch over the top. It's time consuming, but looks so nice when it's done!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda! How are you? Everything is going well with my pregnancy, only I had few contractions because I was working too hard and I was a little sad about a news I had. But now everything is ok and my baby boy is growing fast ^_^ I'm sorry because I'm in late to send something nice to you, but I hope to be able to make it after the final exams at the school where I work. I sent you the invitation so see the private blog I made for my baby, I hope you will join it, it's in italian, but there is the translator and I'll put there my baby's photos!
ReplyDeleteHugs and have a happy weekend, Valeria
Great idea! Anything for fewer weeds! My husband is a contractor and often has to take old carpet out of buildings. We have carpet mulch in our garden. Looks tackier, I must admit, but works great and is nice on bare feet. :-)
ReplyDelete