Summer Ups and Downs

I'm happy to report that our new roof is functioning perfectly, and we've had the weather to test it! Since the first of June we've had at least 34" of rain here on our farm. We are quite soggy. Adam can hardly mow. The dogs' paws are soggy. The chickens' feet are soggy. The garden weeds are out of hand.

Needless to say, the rain (plus the 3 weeks of horrible heat with no rain) has been detrimental to gardening, and not much is coming from the veggie garden these days. But aren't we glad we got a new roof before this rainy summer?!

The hatching of new chicks has been up and down too. Here's chick #1, the prettiest baby chick I've ever seen:

 She's about 2.5 weeks old now. I'm fairly sure it's a pullet (i.e., female) by her wing feathering and wing length, and her fluffy tail feathers.

 Such pretty colors! And I love her Cleopatra eyes.

Three eggs in the clutch were not viable. The last one of these was broken open with a perfectly formed chick inside, dead :(  That's hard to see, after waiting all this time.

Then yesterday morning, this little one was born!

 I could tell from its shell color that it's from one of the silkie mamas, which is great. He/she will have some pretty coloring too.

One of my two silkie mamas was pecking at the baby pretty hard, so I removed her from the broody box and put up a barrier to keep her out. The silkie mama still sitting on a few eggs has been at it for a long time. I hope she's okay.

The only plants looking quite happy these days are my gourd plants and my loofah vines. No loofahs are dangling from them yet, but I do have some gourds coming along. Here's the one I picked this morning:

It was a volunteer, probably from some little decorative Thanksgiving gourd I dropped in the yard.

I'm skipping the farmer's market tomorrow because somebody's here for a fast, flying visit!

He's much loved by doggies. It will be nice to have a break tomorrow, stay home, and make pancakes like I used to on Saturdays.