Lima Bean Dreams

Today, I picked the lima beans. It was a heavy crop, and not being able to distinguish visally the beans from the plants, it was slow going.
Gary left to fix a lawn mower- some damsel in distress- there are many.
So, there I was, middle of a beautiful early fall afternoon. Brilliant sunshine, cool breeze, crickets and locust singing; when I was suddenly transformed.....
Merle Streep, left alone in an isolated farmstead...Robert Redford driving an old pick-up truck into the driveway, looking to photograph the local scene. ( Did I mention that I now had a beer in my bean basket, sipping from time to time and enjoying every sip?)
Anyway, the daydream went on, quite pleasureably, for some time, while I stayed transfixed on the task at hand. Ended with a sweated brow and a half bushel of limas, waiting to be shelled.
It's amazing, how a movie, not so moving at the time, but given the right stimuli, could come in such a powerful way making my work much more enjoyable than it should have been.
Goodnight, Bob!

Finding my way back

Since my last entry, I have had to buy a new computer(very traumatic)! And now I discover that this website has also changed its look and it navigation. But here I am, back at it again. Things are good here. The garden is coming in full force- corn, tomatoes, lima beans, kale, blackeyed peas, and with enough rain to finally push it along. The canning cupboard is almost full, and soon the freezer will be too.
The chickens are looking very much like little red hens, but no eggs yet.
The guineas are growing into full fledged adult birds, but have still not left the barn, as far as I know. They may sneak out into the field now that soybeans are tall enough to hide them, but never when I can see them, probably because they know that where I go, the black menace is not far behind.
No luck find a Jersey cow(calf) yet. And no fenced fields yet, but soon.
So many projects.....
The soap business is coming along- doing craft shows and having friends sell at work. I'm exploring new scents and colors- looks promising.
I had an appointment at John Hopkins last week. The Dr there reviewed all my records, stating that Dr Cryer had done a good job. My sight should not get any worse thanks to the surgery I had, but will not get any better. Apparently there is research out there on replacing the stuctures that I have lost, but its not here yet.
So i can't watch TV, drive, sew, or even thread a needle. But I can grow vegetables, flowers, chickens, and guineas, and make soap!
Life is good!

Chickens

I sat and studied the chickens tonight. Although they are at least 8 weeks old, I still can't tell if they are hens or roosters. I've tried all the suggested ways( short of sticking my finger up their butts to feel for a "bump". Aggression- they all seem to be the same.
Body shape-they all, except for maybe one, look like miniature hens
Roosters have stockier legs-who can tell?
I guess I just have to wait til the crowing starts, then try to figure out who's doing it!

Ducks

Tonight we took all the big white ducks to the farm auction and sold them. I;ll kind of miss them- I had never been around ducks before. It was fun to observe their behavior and thier general appearance up close.
someday I'll get more ducks and tame them, as I understand lots of people keep them as pets. As it was these ducks were afraid of people, afraid of the pond, afraid even to be out of their pen, so they were just big quacking, eating machines. Someones going to have a big duck dinner soon....hope they enjoy it!

The guineas

This evening the guineas finally figured out how to get outside. They have been testing their flyung skills for a couple of weeks, and their precision is remarkable. Always together, where one manages to fly to, the others soon follow, often up into very small spaces at the top of their pen.
This is encouraging since now that they have figured out how to get out, the big black menaces (Roxy and Sebastian) will chalenging thier flying skill, as well as their reaction times!
I'm happy that they can now experience the out of doors, eating grass and bugs. I'll leave the top half of the barn door open for them in the hopes that they will be smart enough to retreat to the safety of their pen when the inevitable occurs....also to eat and drink...time will tell.

Welcome to the farm

1st post