Summer on the Homestead

 I think Duke is the most excited for summer since his master (me) is home and he can be outside all day.  He loves fetching his ball and bringing it back.  This guy could play the game all day long but alas us humans don't have the stamina he does.  

Another one happy for summer days is Ebony.  Here she is on the prowl for her next pray so little birds and squirrels need to be on the lookout for her.  She is very large cat like and will be in the bushes and garage rafters watching from above only to pounce down startling those below.

Summer in KS has only had a few truly hot days and we've had some rain.  The blackberry canes have really shut up and bloomed.  I can't wait to pick some to eat or make a fresh homemade blackberry cobbler served with ice cream or half and half just like my grandma used to.  It sure brings back memories of my childhood days thinking of such a treat.

Also liking the mild temperatures and rain are the strawberries.  This bed is a mix of June bearing and ever bearing.  I am hoping to expand this bed in the next few years.  For me the dream of being semi self sustaining is important and by gardening I can control what my plants/fruits/ veggies are exposed to.

To ease of my work load I decided to put a few things in these old salt lick tubs or whatever my granddad used them for before he passed away.  In this one are a variety between jalapeno and bell peppers with a borage plant for insect control.  There are small jalapeno peppers growing on a few of the plants and blooms on all of them.

This tub has tomato plants I started from seed.  They aren't looking so good so I'm hoping today's rain helps them grow and bloom.  I may have to buy some replacement plants if they don't bloom soon.  Seems when I try to grow my own from seed they're straggly and only put on a few tomatoes.

Here we have a hand dug and hoed bed for the okra.  I planted it yesterday after soaking the seeds the night before.  I'm grateful for this morning's rain so I didn't have to haul buckets to water down the soil since my two garden hoses connected still wouldn't reach over the fence to this exterior garden bed.  I am extending the size of it next year in a adjacent raised bed I am building so that I can plant green beans next year.

Last but not least is a north facing garden bed that was overrun with weeds of all sorts.  Countless summers I've hoed out the weeds and grown annuals here.  Last year I had catnip planted here but the cats ate it then rolled in it till nothing was left but the roots.  This year I have cat-mint and what I think was a cosmo from last years wildflower seed that was just randomly growing in the yard.  I decided to dig it up and put it here to see it bloom and not get mowed down.