RAIN!!!

Yes, we had rain.  It was all of 4/10s of an inch, but we had some of the wet stuff!!  I went outside afterwards and I swear I could hear the ground sucking up every drop.  The rain lifted our spirits and now we believe we will have some more in the future.

Unfortunately it didn't rain enough to help the hay grow so Peg is trying to order hay from the local feed store.  They can give her the cost of delivery but since they have no hay or know the cost of it when they finally locate some, that's all she knows.  We are giving the heifers (3 chunks twice per day) and the cows (1 small bale once per day) hay.  Most of the neighbors are already putting out big bales.  Our pastures, though not in good shape in terms of grass, look better than most other pastures.  Though the grass is dead, it is standing 4-6 inches high.  

Peg will be babysitting grandkids in September while their parents take a 10 day hiking trip through Scotland.  Sounds like a great trip and I'm looking forward to the stories and the pictures.

We continue to pray and dance for rain.  We also continue to look forward to the end of this summer heat and the beginning of fall like weather!

Summertime Blues

Over 50 days of temperatures over 100; topped off with NO rain!!!  The pastures are cracked, dry and crispy.  Unless we get rain soon, there is no way we will get a second hay cutting.  Worse than that, there's been no rain anywhere else so there'll be no hay from any of the other pastures in the region!  Our water restrictions allow for outside watering of livestock only.  

The good news is we had a couple mornings in the high 60s and low 70s so the swallows took the que and left for their winter vacation destinations to the south.  We can now do the porch cleanup we need to do!

All the animals, cows and dogs, are ready for a change, any change.  No wild animals to report as they too are hiding in their holes and shady areas.  There is one exception.  The armadillos are torturing me at one of the AC drip spots where there is just enough water that they can dig and make a mess.  I have offered bounties, etc. to try to get someone, anyone, to come shoot the rascals.  No takers!!!  So I continue to suffer!

The areas corn and wheat crops have been harvested.  The maze is next.  The farmers are waiting for some moisture so they can get into the fields to plow and ready them for next year.  Ah....  the circle of life!