Blackwater River Ranch

• Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - Frosty Mornings, Gardens and Cattle

It is just sooo amazing to me to read of all of you who are already not just harvesting your gardens but actually pulling them up!! YOW! Here we are struggling to get ours planted. One~ this old traditional garden plot didn't get rototilled by the tractor until late so the grass and dandelion roots and red clover is all throughout the garden. Two: The garden is 60 some feet by 90 some feet. A row takes up to an hour to put in as one has to dig out the sod and roots, then make the rows, and put the seeds in them. We have a pump to pump water onto the garden for watering not that we need to water much right now with the rain we have been having. Three: It has rained off and on through the days for days now then clears off at night and we get frost. Beautiful, sparkling frost! Things that are covered are doing fine except one pepper plant that a hole in the plastic that was covering that bed allowed some frost in. The top of the plant got frost bite. Everything else seems to be thriving. Our greenhouse is turning into a jungle. I love that. Then there is the fencing we need to spend a lot of time doing. The perimeter is pretty well done except along the river and that is presenting challenges for sure. What can we do for the fence as the river ice takes it out. Right now the high water is keeping the cows out of the hay-meadow. One part of the cross fencing is still in swamp water. Maybe if it quits raining we will see it dry up and can finish that part. The horses need to be turned into the pasture by our garden. That also ends in the swampy part.The big garden that we are still working on is a five minute walk from the house. Cows and calves keep coming down from the range and trying to get into the easy feed of the hay-meadow. Yesterday I (and two of my dogs) pushed 15 cows and their calves back up the road a mile and on to the bush road to the range they are suppose to be on. The brats came back by evening so my husband and I tried putting them back into their designated area. They are not here this morning PTL but being as I have such faith in cattle I am keeping a close eye out for them. One cow was in the hay-meadow and I am not sure if she is still there or not. So today I have to check for her. Lots of walking these days. I have these great ideas and plans of doing housework and sewing. NOT!! Yet I keep trying. Horses have to be dewormed today, garden worked on, laundry to do, ironing to do, baking and meals to take care of, crocheted sweaters to finish sewing in the ends and put buttons on. Afghan to work on that has to be finished by the end of July as it is for our oldest son's birthday present. Still trying to find my men's western shirt pattern. We have fencing to do too. I also have to move the boxes of books back into our landlady's cabin and some how get the river silt swept up out of it for her. Think I will quit writing the list. Will be interesting to see how much gets done. If the cattle co-operate most of it will BUUUTT if they are onery ~~well there goes the day!~~ So I sit and enjoy my morning tea and the quietness and the frost. Oh I wanted to tell you a funny story ~~ the other day I was out checking the chickens for eggs and the sandhill cranes were in the field as usual but closer than usual. There was a group of three at this point in time. They were happily grazing away and I was happily just watching them when suddenly one of them flapped its huge wings and did a sort of flying leap into the air. Then another one did the same thing and then the third one too. I thought to myself what on earth.. are they fighting? Weird~~they kept this up for a few minutes when I saw something in the midst of them and one crane made an extra leap and snapped at the air and gobbled up a butterfly!! Happy crane and poor butterfly. Off to have another cup of tea and some kind of breakfast before I get on a roll here. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9 God bless Roxanne

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