Tuesday, July 15, 2014

His 'n' Hers boots...

His 'n' Hers boots, clean and oiled

Hen & Chicks blooming

Ewes and lambs

 A few cows & calves

 Prickly pear cactus blooms

Buffalo grass

By popular request, the dirty boots are now cleaned and oiled.  They don't look beautiful, but they are clean(ish).  The oil makes our boot leather turn very dark which is not the most attractive, but it does saturate the leather and conditions it.  These are our work boots so they aren't meant to be "pretty" but rather, functional.

Have you ever seen Hen & Chicks blooming?  I don't think I ever have.  I wonder what will happen next?  Do you suppose it will send out seed?  Or will it just die?  I wonder.  There are some "chicks" below it so I'm sure they will establish themselves in the soil there.  I hope so.  I think I may take a few chicks and start them in a pot.  I love succulents.

Hubs and I went for a Sunday drive to check on the sheep.  The lambs that were born in February are nearly as tall as their mothers.  We found three longtails (late lambs born after we docked). We will likely wean them all in a couple weeks and then sell them in August.  They are so healthy and FAT.  Beautiful sheeps.  I love my sheeps.

We drove by a small bunch of cows and calves that are in the cull bunch.  They look good too.  All the cows are now out in their summer pastures, happily grazing on green grass and clover.  It's a huge clover year here.  I should have some bee hives, but I don't.

I took some pictures for you of the buffalo grass that is a native of our prairie.  It is not the dominate grass here, but in various areas on our ranch it grows with vigor.  It's a low-growing, tight sod.  I honestly wish I had it growing in my yard around the house.  I'd never have to mow!  It is possible to plug buffalo grass into yards.  It's sold by xeric plant catalogs like High Country Gardens, but I think it would take a ton of money and a century before it would be totally established in a yard.  Some things just work better naturally out on the prairie.  

Did you see the prickly pear cactus blooms?  I can't help but love them -- the blooms, that is.  Nasty, hurtful plant, growing in hard, dry ground, undesirable, and yet -- BEAUTIFUL.

We've had very cool days lately.  Low 70s for high temps.  It's nice.  It feels more like fall than mid-summer, but we know it's not going to last.  It'll turn hot once again in just a few days.  My tomato plants and cukes WANT heat.  Everything underground in the garden is doing great -- potatoes, carrots, onions.  And the cool season stuff -- peas and lettuce and kale -- are happy.  The rest is just so-so.  Oh, but wait!  The pumpkins are really vining like crazy.  We'll see if they produce.

Haying is in full swing.  We are going to have more hay than we thought.  Much in the hay fields has come back.  I spent part of Sunday afternoon raking hay.  I like to do that.  Now that our CarpenterSon is here working on the ranch, I do less of it, but I still like to make hay and take my turn at it now and then.

I hope your summer is going well.  I'm enjoying it.  I sometimes have to pinch myself when I see the green grass and flowers and birds.  It's hard to believe I'm in the same place that had feet of snow and sub-zero temps just a few short months ago.  But it is.  Enjoy each day!

Addendum:
I read up on the hen & chicks (sempervivum) and found that blooming is the beginning of their death.  What a beautiful way to say good bye.  Check it out here: Flowers on Hens & Chicks

10 comments:

  1. So many beautiful pictures of your life, Jody. I don't believe I have seen succulents bloom. They are lovely! Hugs from Texas.

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  2. Great job on those boots! Your garden sounds delicious!

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  3. I had some hens and chicks and they never bloomed. I didn't know they did. I knew they would have babies from the bottom and the top would die off, but that is a beautiful bloom.
    I am so happy for you with lots of hay and your sheeps doing so well. That has to feel very nice after such a long hard winter.
    I love to read about the prairie. Seeing the pictures makes those passages I have read so many times come alive. It is really hot here today, I should get out my copy of A Lantern in Her Hand and read the day away. I do love Bess Streeter Aldrich. Have a lovely day.

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  4. Purty boots!

    Speaking of blooms, I was looking at my okra plants today and one of them has set the most beautiful bloom. This is my first year growing okra, and I had no idea they flowered. I need to go take a picture!

    xofrances

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  5. I didn't know that about hen and chicks either! Years ago, they grew in our back garden but they must have bloomed and died.

    I like the his and hers boots!

    I'm glad you are having such a nice summer!

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  6. nope, I've never seen hens and chicks bloom but have seen rosemary and jade plants bloom...beautiful all! love those boots as well, Jody.

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  7. Everything looks so beautiful Jody. Isn't it amazing that you were buried by snow and now everything is so pretty? That's why I love living where there are four seasons -- it just can't be beat. And you're a better person than I am -- I just can't love a prickly pear LOL!

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    1. Four seasons is the best, I think. The problem with our seasons is that generally, our winter season is so dreadfully long and the summers are short. Prickly pear---I mainly like the flower part, the rest is nasty!

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  8. My dad has a small patch of buffalo grass near the house. He always teases me to invent a way to harvest the seeds as he agrees with you that it is a precious grass. Love the tour of the place. Glad things are fat and happy. I think you when I look out my upper balcony to the prairie. It is nice to know all is well.

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  9. I LOVE your boots!!! They are not "wanna be" boots - they are the real deal! - Dori -

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