Yesterday, my ripest little tomato looked like this:
Today he looked like this:
Tomorrow he'll be ready to eat! Yippee! I have loads of plants with cherry and full-sized fruit. I can't wait! This particular plant is a Matt's Wild Cherry. So many look like this:
Adam is busy working on a chicken coop. A good friend offered us four young hens if we could make a good, safe place for them. We weren't really planning on chickens just quite yet, but I'm quite excited! The chicken area is this:
That door opening leads to what will be their coop.
It's on the left end of the barn.
Adam bought a new roll of chicken wire to add new fence and reinforce existing fence.
He also put in two new solid posts.
He's building a new fence so that we don't have to walk through the chicken yard to get into their coop to collect eggs and clean up. He will build a small door for them in the side of the barn that will lead straight into their yard.
The back of the fence has openings too large -- they would go straight through it. So he's layering chicken fencing over it.
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| inadequate fence |
Just having Ned in the barn, on his rope, with his door open, should cut way down on any predators. We've discovered Ned is a mouser and a rat-catcher. We're quite pleased with that!
I mentioned I made a second batch of soap. It turned out so pretty! Look!
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| lavender, tea tree, sandalwood |
I sprinkled little soap shards I had leftover from the previous batch, all along the top. I love the look.
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| a long block of lavender soap, ready to be cut |
Close-up view:
And the rains. Hurricane season is beginning, and I'm concerned about the heavy rains we get sometimes. On May 11, our entire house lot was under water, like a lake. We have low areas.
They drain right into a hard black pipe.
It feeds directly into a ditch that has remained absolutely full since May 11. It isn't draining out.
That ditch in turn drains into a larger ditch on the side of the highway ... which is also still full all these weeks. This is the reason the side ditch won't empty.
This ditch is the problem, and it's the responsibility of the department of highways, DOT -- I called today and filed a report with them. Hopefully they'll attend to the drainage before we get another gullywasher.
I'm off to work! I hope your day is going great!
Yikes! I'd be worried about the ditch, too! Pretty tomatoes and pretty soaps!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking tomatoes and pretty soaps.
ReplyDeleteHope DOT will take care of your ditch so that the waters will drain from your property.
Have fun with the chickens.
Never a dull moment on the farm.
FlowerLady
Your soap looks good enough to eat. I love the happy sound of chickens clucking. You must be almost self-sufficient by now.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you will be eating tomatoes already, I've just planted seeds.
ReplyDeleteThe soap looks like fudge!! : )
I too thought the soap looked edible! Will the chickens be locked into the coop at night? I can see something digging under that fence. I'm such a worry wart! I think you're right about the dog acting as protection. Your tomatoes are way ahead of mine. I just have pretty blossoms. :)
ReplyDeleteThat soap is as pretty as cake, and yes, looks edible to me too! I'm so jealous of your tomatoes. Mine are a couple months from producing.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for you to get chickens. I think you'll love them. They are a little work -- keeping predators at bay and locking them up every night, but they are worth the effort. Can't beat a home-raised egg.
All the best with the DOT. Keep being that "squeaky wheel!"