The Crafty Cottage Got Another Upgrade

The Crafty Cottage got another upgrade in my absence.  As you know last month Tim put an air conditioner in the Crafty Cottage so now I can work down there during the hot summer days and be comfortable.  I had mentioned to Tim that I wish I had some more shelves so that I could get some items even more organized and maybe make some space in the loft. Tim built me some great free floating shelves on a section of the wall that was not very useful before the shelves were put in.  Now that the shelves are up I can have a space for everything and I may finally get Christmas stuff put away.  It may take a week to get everything reorganized but that is okay because I will at least be cool doing it. Thanks Tim the shelves look great and I can't wait to see them in person. 

The Cow's Last Hurrah

As you know the mystery of the jumping cow has been solved but the cow decided to have one more
visit to the orchard.  Yesterday, Tim and George discovered that the "jumping cow" decided to help itself to some Sweet Potato greens.  This cow had its way with the tops of the sweet potatoes but it should be its last time.  Tim and George repaired the fence wire that was loose enough for the cow to get through.  George also contacted the cow's owner to also let him know about his cow.  The farmer will offer to pay for damages but George doesn't want that he just wants the open communication with the farmer.  So, let's hope the repaired fence holds the cow and the crops will continue to grow even without its tops.  An update about returning to the farm for me, I will be here in sunny and very hot Florida for a few more days while Lisa enjoys some time with her Mom and kids.  Thank you Jenny, Nate and Rory for allowing me the extra time with you.  I will never complain about spending time with my family.

Just The Boys

This week end at the farm it is "boys only".  I am still in Florida but I only have a couple of days before I return back to the farm.  It has been over a month since I have been at the farm.  Lisa is also in Florida right now attending a very close friend's "celebration of life".  I have not heard from Tim since Friday so I can only assume that he and George have been busy working on some project on the farm.  I guess I will have to wait and see when I get back on Monday.  Mean time, to Tim and George, enjoy your "boy's week end".

We Have Squatters

When Tim returned to the farm he made a discovery, we have squatters.  He was out on the deck and I guess he heard something and went to check it out.  He lifted the lid of our grill and inside he discovered a bird's nest with four eggs in it.  That's right, we have an entire family of squatters in our grill.  We had the same problem last Spring and before we left on vacation last year he taped off the rotisserie holes.  This year he didn't think about it and now we have a full nest that he decided to leave alone.  So for now, we are allowing the squatters to stay but we will be keeping a watchful eye on them and hope what ever it is they hatch soon so we can begin to grill again. 

The Japanese Beetles Are Back

Just as we find out about one pest, the jumping cow, another has shown up at the farm.  The Japanese Beetle.  Last year the beetle played havoc on several of the crops and was somewhat controlled by an insecticide, Sevin Dust.  Well the Japanese beetle is back and so George is going to war against them.  He will be facing the first battle this morning armed with several containers of Seven Dust he is planning on dusting them away from the orchard.  The sevin dust does work I just have to careful because I discovered last year that I an allergic to the sevin dust so it will be long sleeves and gloves for me while harvesting down in the orchard.  I am okay with that so George, Dust Away!
Now that Rory is on the mend Tim has returned to the farm.  I will be going back after the week end.  Until then I will continue to rely on Tim and George for reports about the farm. 

The Jumping Cow Is A Myth

Today's blog is courtesy of Contributing editor, George Francisco.  George is owner and proprietor of Francisco Farms and I would like to welcome him to the blogging world.  This seems to be a week of solving some mysteries on Quail Way and George has solved the mystery of the jumping cow.  We all could not figure out how this one cow would get into the orchard because the fence was in tact.  The farmer said the cow could jump, I guess that Tennessee farmer got one up on us city slickers.  Anyway, welcome George with your blog:

Another mystery on Quail Way has been solved.  It addition to solving the "Pet Attacker Mystery", one mystery still remained.......The "Magical Jumping Cow."
As you all know, we have had one brown cow who,  every now and then, would magical appear in our Orchard.  Search as we did, we could never find anyway for that cow to enter the orchard except to jump or well........even fly.
But.......the mystery is no mystery any longer.  It seems our magical cow is really a Pusher and a Stepper.
The cow was back in the orchard yesterday when I started to mow.  So,,,with a little "encouragement", the cow slowly walked to his secret entrance point where he used his head to "push" up the top strand of wire and then "stepped" over the other two lower strands.

So the mystery is over....no magical cow....no jumping, leaping, strutting or even flying cow......just a smart cow who's days are numbered entering the Garden of Eden.  (As soon as the fence is fixed)

Another mystery solved......stay tune next week for another epsoide of.......
"The Quail Way Mysteries"

So there you have it.  The jumping cow was a myth.  Thanks George for you contribution to Just Another Day At The Farm.

The Coyote Did It

A couple of blogs ago I reported that there was a creature that was attaching our pets on Quail Way.  Well I am happy to report that the suspected bobcat, cougar or mountain lion are not to blame nor is a bear.  It was a coyote all along.  We were under the assumption that one coyote would not go after pets but we have one that has tasted the blood of our pets and they will not be safe until we rid the farm of this coyote.  How do we know? The coyote was caught with Scamp, our neighbor's small dog, that was the first to be attacked and was attacked again yesterday.  Cheryl was with the dogs except Scamp ran ahead and sure enough go she heard the commotion and scared the coyote away.  We are thinking that the coyote must be sick or rabid because they normally do not run around on their own and they usually do not go after other dogs.  So George, along with our friend and neighbor Larry, will be hunting this coyote.  We know we have coyotes on the farm since we hear them every night, we leave them be they leave us alone.  Good luck George and Larry.  Please find the coyote before Shadow gets back.