Late Corn...

Do you see what I see?

You might have to strain to see it, because the lighting isn't very good. But...there are rows of green running down through the field.

This is the field where the cows were grazing in the rye grass.  Jim also took a second cutting off of this field before burning it off and having corn planted.

On Monday.

It grew that fast!  Almost immediately after the field was planted, we had 1" of heavy rain.  Then the heat and humidity set in, and the corn came up quicker than I've ever seen it before!

I guess the summer weather we've had this week really is good for something (other than growing the weeds in my garden and the grass in our yard!)

Random Five Friday

Here is a smattering of what has been happening here this week...

1.  I hate bats.  I really, really hate bats.  Yesterday morning when I came in from the barn, Eric had left a note taped to the window, pointing out a bat that he had trapped between the screen and the glass.  First one of the summer, inside the house.  Did I mention that I hate bats?!

But...I was nice to it, although it took everything in me.

2.  We have two adorable kitties right now, that are spoiled rotten.  This one, Lulu, has a really persistent meow, and she's taken to climbing up either my mop or the rain spout, and hanging on the screen, begging to be left inside...

Did I mention that she's spoiled rotten?!

3.  We caught three ground hogs beside the soy bean field.  Yesterday, the end of the field was replanted...the critters ate almost half an acre!!

4.  Jim's been thinking ahead...we have at least three more hay cuttings to go, and we need more room for round bales, so he started stacking a few of them.  We've been seeing quite a lot of this...

5.  A garden update...I've been picking green beans, a few cucumbers, zucchini, digging some new potatoes, pulling red beets, and a second planting of radishes is doing well.  The weeds are growing... "like weeds!"... as we've had several inches of rain in the past week, and the heat and humidity are rising.

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Random Five Friday

Second Cutting Hay...and "the Culprit"...

Finally...a nice stretch of sunshine to get some dry hay baled!

Jim mowed the new seeding of alfalfa along with the second cutting of the older fields a few days ago, and began baling this afternoon.  Several of our neighbors, along with Eric, unloaded 3 1/2 loads of nice dry hay this evening after milking.

The guys in the hay mow had their routine down, and the wagons were emptied relatively quickly...

When he was finished baling, Jim joined them...he hopped on the wagon and threw the bales onto the elevator.  This was the last wagon...

Several new layers of hay on top of first cutting...

After the wagons were emptied, we took them down to the meadow and shoveled the loose hay into the racks for the cows bedtime snack.  They got a little impatient, and started eating right off the wagon...

 The empty wagons are lined up for baling again tomorrow...

And now...the moment you've been all been waiting for...(yeah, I know, I'm going a little overboard, but oh well...when we catch one of these we're happy!)

The culprit that's been eating the beans...

...is a groundhog!  Actually, we think it's a whole family of groundhogs, but this is the only one we've caught so far.  I hope he enjoyed his meal feast!

There's a Critter Eating the Beans...

This is what the soybean fields should look like about this time of year...

One of our bean fields, however, looks like this at the one end...

Something...or someone... has been eating having a feast...

The damage is bad enough that we will have to replant part of this field!

Any ideas from you, as to who or what has done this kind of damage?

Here's a hint...

Stay tuned to see if we catch the culprit!

Feeding the Rye Grass...

Do you remember this post about baling rye grass from a few weeks ago? We've now been feeding these bales since the middle of May.

Here, Jim is putting a new bale in place, upstairs in the barn.

The first thing he does is...make sure that the barn floor is swept clean of debris, and open the big barn doors.  Next, he spears the bale with the forks on the back of the tractor, and backs the bale into the barn...

He puts it just where he wants it on the barn floor.  The hay hole is just on the other side of the bale...

He cuts off the plastic wrapping...

...unwraps the netting...

...and there you go, beautiful rye grass!  It smells wonderful...and the cows love it!

We pull the bale apart in big armfuls, and toss it down the hay hole into the feed cart.  Each cow gets an armful, several times throughout the day. We've been feeding it in place of all but one "serving" of the dry hay or balage that they would normally be eating.  For those of you who might find it interesting...it tested at 16% protein and 50% moisture.  Jim's been very pleased...and so are the cows...

munch...munch...munch...

Sunday Morning Traffic Jam...

Traffic jams aren't reserved for the roads, apparently.

This was what I found when I fed the chickens this morning...

The bottom row is popular.  No matter that there are seven nesting boxes on the top!  As you can see, some chickens prefer the straw in the corner of the shed.  I left them alone, came back a little later, and found these...

Meanwhile, this group was diligently searching for any leftovers from the strawberry hulls that I tossed into the pen earlier.  I guess they'll lay their eggs later...

Egg count 22 by 8:00 am.  Thanks ladies!

A Walk In the Rain...

I just couldn't help it.

It started raining mid-afternoon today.  The mowing and trimming were finished just in time, and I was "stuck" inside, looking at the flowers out the kitchen window through a light drizzle.  Did you ever notice how the flowers have a brighter, more vibrant color during a light rain?  Everything looked so happy, getting a bath.  (Everything except for the kitties, that is.  They found their way inside...with a little help from ??... and curled up in a box on top of a warm, fuzzy blanket.)

Anyway...tonight after supper as I made my way through the rain to the compost pile with a bowl full of scraps, I took my camera along for the walk. Here are a few of my favorites...

Dr. Ruppel Clematis

Hydrangea...almost blooming!

Red Hot Poker

What kind of flower is this?

I know...that last one is a bit of a stretch.  Surely, not a flower, but they looked happy too!

Have you taken a walk lately in the rain?

Graduation Weekend...

It was a milestone weekend for several members of our family.  Two of my nephews graduated from high school...one of them locally, and one of them in Virginia.

The kids and I traveled with my sister and her kids to Virginia on Friday evening, and spent the weekend celebrating with my nephew Curtis and his family...

The cousins enjoyed spending time together, although free time was a bit limited.  Our stay was filled with activities...grad party...Baccalaureate...Church...and the Graduation ceremony on Sunday afternoon.  There's never enough time, but they enjoyed the time they had together.  In two years it will be Eric's turn...

On Saturday morning we had a little time to visit my Aunt Elaine's candy shop at the Dayton Farmer's Market.  This is my Dad's youngest sister...she makes delicious chocolate candy!

And too soon, it was time to head for home.  I tried to snap a few pictures of the Virginia countryside as we traveled north.  It's hard to take good pictures out of the car window, but here are a few.

We saw fields and fields of round bales.  On the way down on Friday evening, we saw a bale start to roll down a steep hill.  It rolled end over end and when it reached the bottom, it bounced of the high tensil fence and came to a stop. That must have been one strong fence!

One of many old barns we passed...

Lots of cattle grazing...

And lots of rolling hills...

It was a quick weekend away, and we enjoyed a little break from our regular routines.  Jim stayed home to milk, and had some help from the neighbor kids.  Two of them took turns helping him with the cows, and two others fed the goats, calves and chickens.  They had a new heifer calf to care for, which can sometimes be a little difficult, but they did a great job, and she's doing well!

Maybe we can train them to do all the work for us, and we'll all get away together next time!

Hmmmm...