Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Motivation...

Motivation is hard to come by when it's 114 degrees in the shade. All this week after work I have not gone back outside to do any work till 7:00 or 7:30 PM. The way it looks on the weather map, the whole South is being hit with this heat. Just think, in two more months I will be complaining about the rain again.

Even tho the garden did not produce one thing this year worth putting by, it still looked good.
As far as the square foot gardening experiment "The Three Sisters" I look forward in trying them out on a larger scale next year. This is the end result of the corn, squash and beans. It is clear that corn and mini horses do not go well with each other. Like I said before, I really was not set up for the horses so I had to put them in where they could get to the gardens and they did. The split rail fence that separates them has no doubt moved up to the ASAP category.


The one thing I did get done tonight that was badly needed was the rabbit pens. Last weekend I had this plan to build a nice big doe pen. Well that did not happen. Instead, my buddy Dave found this black wire cage on the side of the road and brought it home, fixed it up and gave it to me. Now it is the buck pen and that solves the problem of the overcrowding as of now. This set up might not be as pretty as I would like it but so far everything is reused materials so the cost is zero. Keep in mind this is not the final setup. I plan to redo this into a more efficient system in the future. I also still need to add a rabbit manure collection system and two birthing pens. I wounder where I can get those at?




Mad mini horse disease!!!!!!!

9 comments:

  1. I just discovered your blog, via Never Done Farm, and I'm so glad I followed the link.

    We're enjoying the mid-summer heatwave here in Central Texas too. We moved here from the Gulf Coast four years ago and there was a drought/heatwave going on then too. It's starting to feel like a tradition!

    Congratulations on all your new critters!

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  2. The heat and humidity is so bad here I spend alot of time carrying frozen water bottles to each rabbit cage for the day and then collecting them at night to refreeze. Its the only way I know to help them get through this heat.

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  3. Thank you both for the comments. Peggy, we do the same thing with the water bottles. We use the 1 liter size due to the size of the rabbits plus keep a fan on them day and night. WomanWhoRunsEithHorses, I have spent 38 summers here in North Central Texas and you would think I would be used to it but it seems it is getting harder and harder to deal with. Could it be that Im getting old?

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  4. Horses will find a way to get into trouble. Love the last photo! I'm thankful we aren't that hot, but even when it is cooler here, you have to contend with the miquitoes*sigh* Most of the Summer and into Fall, we all smell like Deep Woods OFF, it's the only thing that seems to deter them( for approx 2 hours*sigh*)

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  5. Dang! I was hoping to see how the three sisters turned out. I guess that's why they don't call it "three sisters and a mini horse".

    I think techniques like the three sisters might be good for us urban gardners to maximize our very tiny spaces.

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  6. Headybrew,
    Thanks for the comment and yes, I was wanting to see how they turned out as well. Next year I plan to make a larger area for them so they are able to expand and do their thing. Plus I am going to plant them at different times so the corn can get a good start before the bean can choke them out. I will be doing a lot more "Square Foot Gardening" this fall. At the end of the month I plan to put in a salad bed by way of broadcast seeding. It should be interesting.

    Kelle, Thanks for the comment.
    Eat more garlic or take garlic supplements. The mosquitoes will leave you alone (and so will everyone else).

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  7. jcjhkford... for a glimpse of how 'entertaining' horses can be, I invite you to read this post on my blog from about this time last year.
    http://womanrunswithhorses.blogspot.com/2009/07/horse-boy-and-hay-ring.html

    The story involves our now 10 year old half-mustang mare and my then 7 year old grandson who was visiting for Spring Break. Thank goodness I had a camera handy! LOL

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  8. Redneck,
    Thanks just when I thought we were blog buddies*wink* Really we already do eat lots of garlic and onions, it doesn't seem to phase them, here in MT they are thirst little vampires, LOL!!!!

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  9. WomanWhoRunsWithHorses, thank you for sharing your blog with me. Yes I did like the blog entry about the horse v hay ring. I am now a follower.

    Kelle, I hate those little blood suckers. They leave me alone when I eat enought garlic. I guess yours are more stubborn. I also heard if you drink black sulfur water they leave you alone but I can't get past the taste.

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