Today has been very wet. I've squeegee'd the garage out twice, as well as the cement outside it to keep it from running back in, and also down into the tunnel. Anni barks and barks each time I rake, sweep, or squeegee, and tries to bite the head of whatever I'm holding. I try stop her from the biting, but have given up trying to stop the barking.
Fish and Wanda are getting huge, think they've doubled in weight and size since birth. I sometimes try double feed them with a bottle in each hand, but they suck so hard that the bottle indents and then leaks milk all over my feet, so I usually just use one bottle and let them take turns. Wanda was funny today, she actually boxed at Fish with both front feet as he was on the teat instead of her. I always start with ladies first, she is smaller than him, and then alternate each time one of them loses the teat, but trying to time it evenly between them. They drink about 1/2 gallon each day, whew, I'm going to have to be careful as we are going to run low on milk.
Our rhododendrons have started flowering, must be all the rain. Thank goodness I've planted all the fruit and nut trees, although it would have been nice to have put the new asparagus in as well. Our seasonal pond, which Herbie has named James, James Pond, (he had to explain it to me) may end up being around much longer than usual, which is nice for the ducks and geese, as well as the cows. They just stand in it, unfortunately they also pee and poop in it, but then so do the poultry. Beasties ! Totally uncultured. Obviously not a people pond, in spite of it's name !
Herbie fell asleep on the couch tonight, then went up to bed. He works such long hours during his week, I'm glad to see him get much needed R&R.
Our vegetable garden gets a pond in the middle with so much rain, so fortunately we haven't planted yet, everything would drown. Our apple trees have thousands of little apples on them, I've been picking some off where there are 5 or more in a cluster to try ensure fewer, but larger apples. Will explore natural insect deterents to spray on them to keep whatever has been burrowing into them away, but there is no way I can spray all the trees completely, they are over 20 feet tall ! As we didn't get a crop last year, I can't remember which were the best eating apples, seems we have 100 different varieties on the farm, but haven't seen any Granny Smith types. Even the mulberry tree close to the house here is covered in berries. Will have to watch it carefully so that I can pick some instead of the birds getting it all. Just thinking that I probably don't have enough canning jars for the bounty that is anticipated this year, My dad gave me a box of them when I was in TN, but I think we are going to need many, many more. Maybe we should run shelving down the length of the tunnel to hold the canned goods, seeing as our wood furnace should be hooked up for this coming Winter, which will make the house basement too hot to keep food. The tunnel is dry in the Winter, so maybe that would work well. The lower barn, being the sand room behind the milking parlour, the back area where we Winter-store the mower etc and the feed room, all freeze in the Winter, so keeping stuff there is not advisable.
Currently a big storm here, a tornado watch South East of us, but just lightning and thunder with heavy rain here.
Tomorrow I make butter, it's expected to rain all day as well so working outside is probably not on the agenda. Today Herbie bought me my birthday present, a small roto-tiller attachment for the Poulan string trimmer / small chainsaw. The roto-tiller we bought while in Allendale is far too heavy for me to control - I tried last year and it just about vibrated my arms off. Can't use the plow in the permanent part of the vegetable garden where the herbs, strawberries, blueberries, asparagus, lavender, rhubarb, elderberries, grapevines and garlic are planted. We fenced it off so that when we allow the cows into the vegetable garden after the season (or before, there is currently beautiful grass growing there that they would really like) they can't eat the above plants, so can't drive the tractor there.