June and it's cold

I thought it would be warmer by now, still dressing in sweats and hoodies. We had a nice weekend with fairly high temps, even had Jim bring down the window air conditioners. Guess I scared the warm away. We had rain and thunder storms last night so I had a full house in the form of dog and cats, they don't like that weather any better then I do. Last Thursday night we really had a downpour, more then 3 inches. This is a picture of the fields on both sides of the roads, the shame is that the corn is just coming up. You can barely see the rows of green, all the fields around have these "ponds" in them. Good for the ducks, bad for the farmers. Since it has been so cold they have been late getting the crops in and now this.

On Saturday I did the food for our friends open house, their son was baptised. The weather was wonderful, blue skies, warm and gentle breeze. I always stress over these things, worry that people won't like what I serve. We did well and friends and guests were happy, which of course made me happy. I did a cake, fruit and veggie trays, baked beans and smoked beef, chicken ,pork and potato salad. It really gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I pull one of these off. I think Walker enjoyed it also.

These are such super people and I was so glad Jim and I could do this for them. Jim is always a big part of what I do, he helps to calm me. He jumps in and does whatever I need done. This time he was super enough to slice all the meat for me and also take the meat off the chickens. I smoked them whole to keep them juicy. I am so blessed to have this man in my life.

We increased the area for the goats to include a stand of small trees. These trees are all volunteers and much too thick, the goats are thinning them out at a rapid pace as trees are one of their favorites. They are also eating more of the other weeds, which makes me happy, less to mow. This is their whole purpose in life, entertain me and eat weeds. No babies, no meat, no milk, just eat and enjoy. I have noticed one thing, I have to lead them out in the morning to get them started. I feel like the pied piper. Speaking of mowing, I have spent days and still have about a days worth to go. Now it is raining and cold, can't mow and will need to start all over,lol. Gives me that Gerbil on a wheel feeling.

The few warm days we have had brought more of our plants to life. Was very happy to see signs of life in the roses, I really thought that they had all died. This is also the time of year I play my guessing game, is it or isn't it?? Am I nurturing a weed or is it really a plant that I want to grow. My neighbor Connie in Wisconsin used to come over and help me, then there were some that stumped both of us. It is a joy for me to walk out and see something new each day. The peonies are covered with buds, the big bushes that Jim moved last year are covered with small white flowers. I am not sure what they are called, I'm thinking that when they were planted the people did not realize how large they were going to become. They were planted very close to the house, which is not a good thing for the house or the plant. They grow quite tall and then droop over and several times during the summer bloom. Now with more space they should really shine. My orders of plants should start arriving soon, then I will be really busy. I think I would be happy if I could spend all day outside messing in my plants. It crosses my mind from time to time that maybe I could grow herbs or something and make some money that way. Time will tell. The lilacs are in bloom and smell so good, this one is part of a hedge of really tall old plants, I want more! The darker colored one is nearer the house and needs trimming up desperatly. I like the two tones, it is dangerous for me to look through the websites, so many colors,lol. I am dangerous in plant places.

I have rambled long enough, thank you for stopping in and I look forward to your next visit.

Barbara