yes sjoerd, that's taken from the front porch this morning. the ripples are caused, kind of by the ducks moving in the water, but also a hose we have spraying water from our little forest way up on the hill into the pond. it's on the far right. they love that fresh water during this hot weather.
Hi Bunkie... looks like lots of activity at your place. I'm totally curious about how to freeze eggs. Can you elaborate on this for me/us?
Ah, so that is morning sun--that means that the duckies and their pond will have shade in the afternoon then, right? That was thoughtful of you. The ducks will appreciate that in the heat of the summer.
right sjoerd! the big willow trees keep them cool in the back of the original pen and their outside pen. i had gotten a few sticks from a friend and planted them there about ten plus years ago. they're huge now! a huge limb broke off one of them over the cabin this spring. good thing tho, they had too much shade then. sure thing cl...freezing duck eggs...i crack a bunch open, then lightly stir them (you don't want any air bubbles in them). then add a pinch of salt or honey (this keeps the whites from hardening, getting rubbery) and put the mix in ice cube trays. when frozen, bag them. about one and a half cubes equals one egg for cooking and baking.
the toms are finally coming on like gangbusters... more toms...hey, who put that rotten one in the pics???!... we tried a few new varieties this year with great success, like these chocolate striped tomatoes... and the rosso sicilian tomatoes... peaches, the yellow jackets even left a half of one, an apple and the start of our perennial wheat harvest... the peppers are coming on strong now... jars of fresh picked tomatoes and cherries just out of the canner... and with the late summer and the extreme temps we've been experiencing, baking bread in our solar oven is heaven... after a buzy day and a swim in the swimming hole, a dirty sammy tucks up to pete for a little nap...
These are some pretty impressive pics, Bunkie. I like the variety. It looks like you have more toms than you can handle. hahaha. Yes, things really ARE going like gangbusters there--that's plain to see. Congrats. I can almost imagine that I can smell that bread.
The cherries look awesome. do you pit them first or can them whole? Everything else looks great, too!
carolyn, it was hectic this year so i didn't pit them first. i figure, maybe, it'll be easy to do later when needed, we'll see! it's all an experiment around here! LOL! thanks sjoerd and soj! we're knee deep in everything now and we're still breaking records in the 90's!
finally today we might get a smattering of rain and hit maybe 70F. a few catch up pics... the sunflowers are finally starting to blossom...autumn queen sunflowers... mamouth russian sunflower... sunflower mix... pole beans are coming on strong now... this was in the pepper patch?! a San Michael cabbage... picking buckets and buckets and buckets of toms... sammy always has a handle on unloading the buckets... another huge chocolate striped tom...
Hi Bunkie, those jars look very appealing,..as for the bread cooking in the solar oven,..what an energy saver,..you are up to all kinds of natural ways to do things,..its lovely to see. Sammy has turned into a lovely dog,..has he settled down?,..oh i am pleased to see your sunflowers,..biggies,..and to see you have temperatures in the 70F,..it seems not so long ago that it was all snow,..enjoy it all,..your crops are thriving.
I really enjoy seeing your plants and harvests, Bunkie. Did you ever get and decent rainfall? How are your duckies doing in their new location? Are they still producing eggs like crazy? The beans, toms and cabbage look superb. Well done, you!
