Got a New Tent

Picked up a new tent, a well rated 2 room 13'x9' cabin tent, a Coleman Max.  We're going Camping... Jarrod and Crystal are going to use our Dome tent. Should be a blast with the boys along too!   Rose is busy packing up the kitchen gear, toys, games, etc.

Pic by Coleman

If it ever stops raining...

It's supposed to be Sunny at least partly the next two days, Finally! 

I've seen a few buds dropped from the Brandywines, I'm not nervous yet, it has been so cool and wet that it's likely we'll have some bud loss. The rest of the tomato crop seems to be doing ok.

Th Potatoes are growing like weeds I'm still hand picking Colorado Potato beetles and stink bugs when I see 'em.

Peppers are very slow this year they're waiting for the dog days to catch up.

Broccoli is cranking, though no broccoli yet.

The Summer squashes are all doing well, I should have Zucchini in a week and summer shortly thereafter.

We saw deer prints in the winter garden today, no damage, but we are noticing that all of the shrubs and plants in the yard have been nibbled "tipped".  Time for Deer netting I think.

Big Ears had a fawn

No pics yet, saw it this morning for about 10 seconds before it ran into the pines.  Only saw one, time will tell.

Yup Big Ears...

She's still guarding the brush pile and the cove today. She is a Big girl. Hopefully we'll have fawn pictures soon.

Sanborn Garden June 2011

2011 Garden update, things are coming along this year, the weather is holding well so far,  James and Jason planted all the Beans in the garden this year.  Mammoth Pumpkins too, this is our first year trying these should be interesting.  It looks like we are skipping the 8 weeks of rain between Mothers day and Fathers day.  We lost a few beans and a few Pumpkins didn't come up. I found a bunch more heirloom tomatoes, Including my favorites: Brandywine, Black Krim, and a Polish Paste, and a white cherry heirloom too.

Tomatoes Heirlooms are coming along.

Sugar Snap peas

Volunteers from last year, Sweet!

Gourds are up

Winter Squashes are coming along too.

Those are Mammoth Pumpkins on the right side of the Winter squash bed

Zucchini are up

Yup that's a Bell Pepper

The Pole beans, KY Wonders

More Pole Beans

My Kale, Dwarf Curled

The Potatoes are doing well

Picked my first Colorado Potato Beetle today, Ugh..

Comfrey

The Winter Garden

The Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts

Broccoli and Peppers

I can hear the Zucchini growing...

Raised Bed Squash, The Summers...

So far so good!   Thunderstorms are a crackling outside, it's time to get off the computer, See ya Later...

BIg Ears is back...

The doe we affectionately called "Big Ears" is back.

Rose thinks that she has already kidded, she is guarding the brush pile in the field, coming out of the woods or the brush pile almost every hour on the hour. Looking and looking, not sure what for, maybe dogs, she doesn't seem to mind Rose being out there, and our dogs don't seem to bother her either, we think maybe she knows or senses the Dogs are contained in the radio fence.

In Memoriam "Magic"

In Memoriam

We lost a good friend yesterday, after 12 years of being a friend, a confidant, a protector of the family. "Magic Michael Sanborn" passed away yesterday June 15th 2011.

Rose's best friend for the past 12 years, as a puppy he never left her side, as an adult he was never far away.  When she took a break he did as well, where she went he wanted to be...

He was phenomenal in performing "his jobs", ones we gave him and the multitude he came up with on his own and just started doing.

A true chaser of "stuff", endlessly looking for something, anything to chase or catch, bugs, water of any kind that was moving he was especially fond of sprinklers,  snowflakes, dust, cleaning day was his favorite day of the week, dragonflies were one of his perennial favorites along with chasing the jets, airplanes and helicopters up in the sky out of my yard.

Snowflakes were something special to Magic.  Rosie'd say Maj'  "It's Snowin' outside" and he'd be off like a shot, he'd literally fly off the porch step on his way to the first flake he saw,  he'd run the length of the front yard snapping them up. Yeah he was doing it for us, we knew it and he knew it and he did it anyway because he knew we loved to watch him.  It was a yearly ritual the first few flakes of Winter he'd just hear the word snow and off he'd go.

Magic was a Champion leaf flipper too, he'd flip the newly fallen  leaves in the fall looking for stuff, he knew it was there, if he just flipped enough of them over he'd surely find what he was looking for.

Woo woo woo, he'd bark, Dad always thought the Border Collie bark was funny, "what kinda dog goes Woo Woo".   A Magic Dog does...

He was "Magich" to the grandkids who marveled at is eccentricities, his jobs... He entertained and protected them always, at their bedside when they stayed overnight camping in the living room.

He faithfully guarded all the livestock here on our aging farmstead for the past 12 years protecting chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, donkeys and horses, he's chased off scores of dogs looking for trouble, killed Wood rats, and chippys and once fought off a Red Fox in the yard he thought was a bit to close.

He was always there, we see him in so many of the family photos, they'll be a reminder of just how truly lucky we were to have him.

We'll miss you Magic Dog, you were certainly one of the best!

You will be sorely missed Magic Dog!
Say Hi to Coop for me!