I want to get back to my evening posting – then I don’t have to think about it the minute I get up. Very hot today but will get worse so I worked outside today mowing, moving two hog panels, cutting a few more weeds. Rick went to the farm store for spray so I’m in business again.
South side of barn – hog panels were put up to protect the siding from the goats – in order to get to those weeds the panels had to come down.
I will take a few pictures tomorrow that will show the transformation much better. It’s been a journey.
Reader photos:
We’re still working on this dog kennel – Rick mowed and I mowed it again today. Tomorrow we spray the nightshade!! Why are the weeds soooo bad in August? Our school which just started is cancelled until Friday because of the heat but since there’s a football game Friday night my guess is that students will be returning on Friday.
Keeper is going to the vet tomorrow morning, poor guy. I’ll be so glad when this is over. I’ve had no explanation why this happened. His “gotcha day” was August 14. Say a little prayer that all goes well.
I saved the best news for last – I was mowing behind the woodshed today and guess who ran out into the grove? FLUFFYBUN!!!!! It’s been weeks since I’ve had a glimpse of her. Is there anyone who would take her? If I can find her a home I will use my live trap to catch her. Oh, how I wish somebody would give her a home! My farm is not working for her.
Your home is so beautiful! I love how it just settles into the setting. I am a farm girl at heart!!
How exciting to see Fluffybun!!! Don’t you wonder what she has been up to????? And oh my, with Keeper not being neutered though you have the name of the vet who supposedly did it. Wow. Glad you found out and can take care of it.
It is hot here, too. I hope you get some relief!!
Diane – are you still cleaning?
I got an offer on the house Wednesday evening—my asking price—so I can finally stop the incessant cleaning to keep it show ready. The first thing that came back out was the canvas of my granddaughter!! Then the quilt I live to have draped over my railing!! It’s good not to be living in the sterile, staged place!!
Fluffy cat looks like she is part Maine Coon. She is beautiful. We had a cat just like her. Surely someone will want her. You and Rick amaze me getting all that work done around the farm. Stay hydrated, the heat is awful.
Carol – nothing amazing about it – living in the country means work like this is mandatory
Hi Mary,
I can’t believe Fluffybun looks so good – I am surprised that with her long fur she wasn’t just full of those little green burrs like you had on your shoes. She is a beautiful cat. If she is friendly, have you thought about contacting any local shelters or humane societies that may be able to take her and find her a home? If they can’t take her, alot of shelters will do a “courtesy post” on their Facebook page that you are trying to re-home her. It might be worth a try. A cat that looks like her and is friendly does not stay long in the shelter I volunteer at.
Stay cool this week and enjoy a little down time. You deserve it after all that hard work of weeding.
Melody – she ran away too fast for me to see what her long hair looks like but I wouldn’t doubt it is full of this little greens sticky balls. She’ll need shaving.
Jodi’s Ole Glory quilt is fabulous. I’ll check into that pattern. I really like it. Fluffybun is so cute. I hope you can find a home for her. It is suppose to be very hot here in Southern MN where I am visiting my 99 yr old mother. So stay cool as you work.
Martha – your mom is 99? Wow! Is she is good health? Does she live on her own? Where in Southern MN?
Hi Mary,
I was watching Minnesota Bound Sunday morning. They did a segment about goats and sheep clearing out invasive weeds in an old hay field. They are going to take back to natural grassland. They said the goats clear out the higher more woody vegetation and the sheep go low. I found it interesting.
Your fluffy kitty looks like she has been well cared for while she’s been away..
Debbie from Forest City
Hi Mary, nice to see Eileen featured (the dog before the tortoise), would like to know the name and age of the tortoise! We just had lunch with my cousin and a stroll around a grocery market, $10 for 5 carton of strawberries! Reading now with cup of tea and Dutch caramel biscuits. TAKE care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Mary, is your porch on the right of the picture, with 5 windows, or is it the smaller room on the left that is partially hidden behind the tree?
Your house and yard look so very inviting. You have done a fantastic job of keeping it that way. You’ve worked so hard on fighting those weeds this week, now take time to relax on the porch with Rick and enjoy a beer or two.
Weatherman said on tonight’s news that cooler weather will be coming later this week.
Have a blessed week everyone. Jeanne in Co.
Jeanie – the room on the left is the piano room and the screened porch is on the far right. Hard to see right now because of all the trees – which keep the house much cooler, by the way. Will take better pictures today – too hot to work outside!
If I lived within 100 miles of you I would come get Miss Fluffybuns, she is beautiful and I would give her a great home with Bette and Olivia. She would have to use to Miles, Sammie and Nelson, but she would settle in within time. She is too pretty to be out on her own especially with winter coming faster than we want it to!
Our weather was pleasant for about 5 days then Sunday afternoon it turned nasty. A cold front was coming from Canada and somehow it trapped hot stagnate humid air and made the afternoon almost unbearable. I used three paper towels to wipe sweat away while I did my nightly barn cleaning. Yesterday morning it was cool and wonderfully pleasant again, as was all of Monday. We have storms coming and they are predicting Sunday’s weather for Thursday before it cools again Friday. Looks like I will close up the house and crank up the air conditioning one more day!
Don’t work to hard Mary – ha, ha – that’s from one farm girl to another!
Linda – I do the majority of my chores in the morning but always give fresh cold water two more times in the hot afternoon.
Good Morning Mary,
Another thought to find Fluffybuns a home – take a picture of her to the veterinarian when you take Keeper in. Alot of times they will have a board that you can post animals that need a home. Also just mentioning that you need to re-home her, they may know of someone that would be interested in her. Worth a try.
I would take Fluffybun too if I lived closer. I have been wanting a barn cat.
Someone will read this blog and want Fluffybun. Is she tame?
8-22-23. Got up at 7 a.m. the temp was 77 and the windows were fogged over with humidity! Not a god start! I have an appointment this am for a massage! Yippee.
Not sure what else is planned! We will see.
Yesterday I made a couple pounds of taco meat so that’s the menu while it is too hot to cook!
Stay cool!
Mary, I know all the work that you do, mostly yourself and it is ongoing and nonstop. We have 3 1/2 acres of land that we were able to purchase with an abandoned and condemned house in 1985. Like you, there has been, much work to get it back to a livable space. I guess we were near 40 at that time and certainly had a lot more energy than now. I was speaking with a few gals around my age that on homes with some acreage like mine, and we were discussing all the invasive Plants that can easily take over the property. There is Grapevine and honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, and the horrible English ivy that came with the house. You have to constantly mow these weeds because they pop up everywhere if they are around any pushes trees or shrubs , they start wrapping them selves and growing up whatever is there. We also have black locust on the property, and they have the most invasive root system,. If you cut down a tree little locust start popping up everywhere. I thought I could easily dig them up, but it was not understanding, what was going on when I saw them last year everywhere. But my son cut down one of the locust, and it has been trying desperately to fill the yard with babies of the six fibrous roots that go everywhere under the ground. I seem to be the only one that’s concerned . And then I have a little sprouts to get mowed but it’s quite a nerving. And then there is wisteria which was also here when we moved. That vine also very invasive and grows about a foot a day. And it takes a lot of time to manage these few acres of land. We also have a bar and that came with the house. We don’t have any animals though, and it became my husbands workshop and a deposit for money antiques that were in disrepair that were to be repaired, but work and time, and now house has made it impossible to occur. Anyway, I ramble on, this fluffy bun is adorable. Your house is taken on quite a transformation, and the outside is remarkable with all that you’ve done with walks and plantings . I am curious why you took the second story down. I’m in Maryland, and the weather is typically very hot and humid. All summer, with very little rain. So to try to keep our plants we water some. . So good luck with the weeds, stay cool, and Autumn will be here soon. Pat in Md
Weeds are out of control at my place too. We have a lot of gravel driveway and the weeds are coming up everywhere, it’s so frustrating having to constantly spray.
Loved todays quilt show and seeing some of the readers pets too! Stay cool, the humidity was thick yesterday. Our horses were sweating just standing still.
I love the 20 plus year old UFO. It is timeless.
I completely understand about getting work done on a farm. I recently was speaking with someone who grew up in town and I explained that on a farm, there is work that must be done. So, one does it whether or not one feels up to doing it. If left undone, it just gets to be more work. Being regular means not letting it get totally overwhelming. I don’t know if the person I was talking to really understood what that meant. Farm means hot and dirty much of the summer. But it means the beauty of what you have done, the sense of accomplishment, and being in control of your living situation.
Vicki – you get it!!! Thanks for your explanation to the readers!
Does Fluffybun get along with other kitties?
I hear you on the weeds. I’m in northern IL and it seems like they thrive no matter how hot/dry, and stuff I want to grow doesn’t make it. Of course, the squirrels and chipmunks don’t help. They have to bite off everything. Our timber is so full of weeds I keep saying we need to get goats!
Having a tortoise for a pet is amazing. At least you don’t have to brush him everyday.
Mary,
So glad Rick is well enough to be outside and mowing. Fluffybun will find a new home more suited to her. It was good for you to see that she was okay.
Love the Jodi Barrows quilt. I’ve just started doing quilts for Honor Flights and this pattern would be perfect. Wow! Fifty stars on your flags. Yes, I counted. Now I’ll be on the search for small star material. What was the size of the stars rectangle? Working on removing stash material, another reason to try this pattern. Thanks for sharing.
The turtle’s name is Taylor (named after one of the Hanson brothers popular when my daughter got her). Taylor is about 27 years old. She’s an indoor girl as most of the time it is too hot for her to be outside – especially this summer! My daughter moved out, but Taylor – who had no choice in the matter – remained with me. She definitely has a personality that can be amusing and can make her presence known. 🙂
Water, sunblock, resting periods to endure the heat. I don’t envy you the humidity.
Thanks for the blog, Mary. 🙂
Jan E.