Update on the farm

The Garden: We've been so busy this summer that we haven't done a very good job keeping up with the garden. Hopefully we'll be able to turn things around this fall. All is not lost, though. We are growing some luffa sponges, which have done surprisingly well. I'm excited about being able to dry them and encase them in glycerin to use as soap. We'll see how that actually pans out in the end! We're also growing winter squash, which, despite its name, does surprisingly well in the Texas heat. And, of course, okra always seems to be able to beat the heat in Texas. I wish it tasted better! Pu Lue's been growing bitter melon vines with quite a bit of success.



The Sheep:  The heat of the Texas summer is never particularly enjoyable for our animals, and this year was especially rough for the sheep.  Despite having sheared them twice this summer, and providing lots of access to shade and water, we lost two rams to heat stroke in early August.  This is the first summer we've lost any of our sheep, so we're trying to figure out what we need to do differently to prevent this in the future.  We've also got to figure out our plan for acquiring a new ram, since breeding season is just around the corner!

The Goats:  Curious as ever, and all five of them are trouble makers.  They're still my favorite, though.  We'd like to get Louise, our Nubian, bred this fall so that she'll start producing milk again in the spring.  With Kai drinking whole milk now, it will certainly be nice to have our own supply rather than having to run to the store every five minutes!

The Donkeys:  Leroy & Daphne are good as usual, and their son, "Batman," is about 5 months old.  Let me know if you (or anyone you know) is interested in adopting him ($50).

The Chickens:  The first chickens we ever purchased from Murray McMurray in 2007 are finally starting to show their age.  We're gradually adding new hens to the coop, so our egg production hasn't suffered too much.  The recent outbreaks of salmonella have certainly increased interested in farm raised local eggs, so I imagine we will continue to build up the size of our flock.