Middle of summer?!!

A wild weedy bouquet for my sweety 

I really can't believe it's the middle of July! I still feel like we are trying to get ready, and prepare. We have tackled so many of our farm projects, but I'm starting to see which ones are likely to get pushed back yet another year.  Like my riding ring fencing, replacing the food garden fence posts with round posts, and a few others.  Tough not to be a little disappointed, but I really don't see how we could have done more.  

I realize some some people reading this may encounter harsher conditions than we do, but for me, to walk into our chook palace at 10 am and it's already 30 degrees Celsius in there...it is really really hard to deal with.  The birds are obviously heat stressed.  Pale combs, anxious or dull expressions, reduced activity.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I value keeping our animals happy.  This heat is such an assault on us all.  So naturally when my neighbour fires up the lawn mower for the third time this week I am ready to snap. I don't enjoy this feeling, because I'm normally pretty even keeled!  

The good thing about this time of summer is that we just harvested our first cucumber today. Zucchinis yesterday, and tomatoes soon to come.  I can't keep up with the raspberry harvest--the fruit is literally falling off the canes.  I have to be smart about when to pick--last night I was driven away by mosquitoes after fifteen minutes even with long sleeves and mosquito netting over my wide-brimmed hat. Made me think of a nature show, where the commentator discusses a predator and risk versus reward.  The reward of catching that antelope, but the risk of being gored by a horn.  I love raspberries, but at this point with my bug tolerance, I guess I'm becoming more willing to share with the wildlife, like the robins who gobble them greedily and unapologetically right before my eyes.  I have been bitten all over by chiggers this week, and that has been the last straw.  The bites ulcerate like poison ivy, and last 1-2 weeks.  Thankful for Bendryl so I can sleep at least for a few hours at a time, but when the bites are bad even the slight brush of my shirt against them is agonizing.  

I guess I'm just trying to share what life outside in Minnesota is like. City folks don't really experience the same thing at all. The deer flies are so bad they have me flailing my arms over my head just crossing from house to barn, and the horses will randomly just 'have enough' and come galloping into the barn, twitching and wild-eyed.  Over all they have been very brave, and I tell them so. 

I read about so many people who run farms who also work full time.  My friends back home included.  I don't know how they do it.  They do it far more successfully than I.  All I can do to sooth my ego is tell myself that we are learning to deal with some pretty extreme conditions, and that is no small feat. Every farm is different, and therefore every skill set is different.

When it's that hot, you just fall down. Fern and Granny Rose.

Miss Pepper is still with us, but not showing much improvement.

More soon, but it's after 10 pm, time to watch the Tour de France and finally have dinner. 

Good night! The sun and roosters are up VERY early these days.