Some chickens...

 Yes, I still have my rooster. Black Bart has been really good. No more attacks. I've been carrying a big stick with me to the coop but haven't had to use it. Now the chickens are are in lock-down til my seeds start growing. I planted the buckwheat last night and will get the kale, lettuce and collards planted later today or Saturday.

Here's the 2 momma hens with their little chick. That chick stays really close to her mommas.

My clean-up crew. They are right there when I'm mowing and tilling.

These are the 2 chicks that hatched last time. A rooster and a little hen. The roo will need to go soon. I do not want 2 roos.

Some of the last of the garden right here. Although the peppers are still going strong. But tomatoes are no more.

Had a really long day yesterday. My husband had an appointment at 12:30 at the wound care center. We were there 4 hours. They finally got him back in a room about an hour and a half later. Then the doctor came in, cut the wound on his foot twice as big as it was, and left the room. It was bleeding so bad, they couldn't get it to stop til about 4. It was pretty bad. They finally got it stopped and we left. I still had to go to the bank, feed store, grocery store, pay some bills. I was stressing out big time. So next time, I'm dropping him off at the door and doing my errands, then come back for him.

Today, my niece came from Tn. to learn to make soap. We made some hot process goat milk soap. I made plain with oatmeal and honey. She made lavender with oats. She made me some soap molds, so that was a good exchange. Now I have 4 good wooden molds. I need to make a bunch more.

Butterflies on flowers...

In the garden.

 I've been working out in the garden the past few days. It's been just beautiful here! No humidity at all. I love it and just want to be outside right now. I can feel a change in the air. It's cleaner and fresher and lots cooler. Leaves are falling too.

The garden needs so much work. I really do not like summer gardening at all. Well, I love the tomatoes. But that's about all. I like fall gardening so much better. Not near as many bugs and it's so much cooler.

So here are some more before and after shots of the garden.

I left these mexican sunflowers. Butterflies are all over them, as well as the zinnias.

I started mowing the corn stalks down, then decided to just push them over with the mower for now.

And I just got finished tilling where I want to plant. This is my clean-up crew. They are all over the plowed ground, looking for bugs and worms. I'll have to put the electric net fence up around this longer garden area. I plan to plant kale and collards, beans, squash, okra and lettuce.

I also would like to plant buckwheat in front of the bee hive. I hope there's still time to do this. My friends planted their whole garden in buckwheat and bees are all over it.

So still a lot of good planting weather here. What's going on in your gardens these days?

Before and after...

This is the way my husband's end of the table has looked since he's been home, almost 2 years now. It drives me crazy!! And this is just some of his stuff.

So this morning I just all of a sudden thought of this old stainless steel bread box out in the laundry room. It's perfect to fit most of his stuff into. Even the bread! I hope it stay like this now.

Doesn't this look so much better? And cleaner? I even washed the windows where Bubba slobbers all over them, trying to kill flies and barking at nothing outside. We could hardly see through the window. Plus the used-to-be white window seat is cleaned too. And I went out and picked fresh zinnias. I love them.

One of my favorite bloggers, Jon Katz, does a windowsill gallery post every now and then. So I thought I'd show mine. I love blue bottles with zinnias in them.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I am working out in the garden today. I've already taken up all the tomato cages and stakes and picked the sunflower heads for the chickens. I'll be mowing the whole garden down when it's dry enough. I also will cut down all the dried corn stalks for the goats. The sheep didn't like them. Then I need to figure out where to plant collards and kale. I am craving collards right now. But will have to go get them at a store for now. And the whole farm needs mowed. It rained most of the week here so it's tall now. Lookin' snakey out there.

I also finished the baby sweater. I'll post when I have the buttons on. Then I need to finish a cowel-shawl I've been working on.

These sheep.

My husband asked me the other day if the sheep tell me when they need to be moved. I said pretty much. If they've eaten all they can in one pasture, they stand at the gate and wait for me to come move them to another pasture. Pretty smart sheep right?

So yesterday, I put them out back with the goats. They did pretty good. First time they've been together since I got the little doe kids. The goats stayed together most of the time.

Then this morning, the sheep were ready to go back to the bigger pasture.

A good cuppa tea...

Since I quit drinking coffee back in March, I am drinking a lot of hot tea. My favorite is dandelion tea, picked right out of the yard and gardens. It's so good. Then next would have to be peppermint, also picked out of the garden. But, since the dandelions are no longer blooming, I've been picking loys of peppermint. And it's almost all gone now. This morning, I was out back and found some wild mints, 2 different kinds! Yay! So I am going to go pick all I can find and dry them. Plus I just might go and rob Mrs. T of all her mint too!

I was at Whole Foods the other day, looking for a good tea, when I found a green dandelion tea. And it tastes just like I went out and picked fresh dandelion flowers! It is so good. So I am drinking at least 3 cups of this each day.

I also like cranberry tea too. And ginger. And lemongrass. I drink a lot of tea. With honey. Which is not going to last long y'all. I just had to open the 2nd gallon of my honey awhile ago. I am worried. I may have to go rob the hive one more time before fall.

Anyway, this got me thinking. Are there any other hot tea drinkers out there? Can you share your favorite tea? And how do you make it? What's your best ever cup of tea? And your favorite cup? I picked this one up at Tybee. I like it, but it's small. It does make a good cuppa tea though.

I also like to drink tea while knitting. Makes me feel, I don't know, like a cool knitter. Hot tea and knitting. 2 really cool things!

Little baby sweater.

 I think I'm going to rip out the first arm. It's SO big! I could tell after a little knitting on the other arm that I had knit really loose. It's not that much more work and it'll look so much better when finished. I am loving this little sweater. I hope there'll be enough yarn left over to make a little baby bonnet to match it.

Now to find some cute little buttons. I think I'll see if Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots has some little wooden buttons with honey bees on them. That would look cute. Then I need to find a cute little baby to wear it!

When I am done with this sweater, I want to start on a big sweater for me, using my sheep's wool. I've been hearing we're in for a really cold winter!