A Giant Comes to Visit

August 5, 2025 Yesterday (Monday, August 4), Bruce and I moved three cartloads of Bama Dirt into the new long garden bed. This finished covering the wood in the new bed. Bruce was zipping around the yard on the mower, cutting the grass at high speed. Last time he mowed, he tried something different out […]

More Chipping Piles of Branches

August 4, 2025 Late Saturday morning (August 2), Bruce hitched the chipper to the mower and drove to the back pasture. He unhitched the chipper next to a big pile of branches and got it set up to chip. Bruce put the cart so it could catch the chips. In two different sessions, we spent […]

More Mulching and Butterflies on Blackberry Homestead

August 2, 2025 On July 29 (Tuesday), I was able to finish mulching around the pecan tree I had surrounded with cardboard. We moved dirt from the Bama Dirt pile to the new garden bed and Bruce added the bagged dirt on top of the Bama Dirt. It was a hot day. For supper, I […]

Butterflies, Birds, and Flowers

July 29, 2025 On July 28 (Monday), Bruce and I headed outside to see the results of the woodchipping Bruce did the day before. As we stepped out of the sliding door, I noticed a Variegated Fritillary on the red clover growing in a pepper bucket. Bruce had parked the cart full of woodchips next […]

Nox Waiting for Pills, Bats Flirting with the Moon

July 28, 2025 On Friday (July 25), I did my daily fight with the squash bugs. I picked off the eggs, sprayed soapy water on the nymphs, and squished any full-grown squash bug. It was cool enough in the evening to sit outside on the front porch and watch the sunset. Nox was sitting outside […]

Chipper Up and Chipping Plus Some Wind Damage Later

July 20, 2025 Bruce got up this morning and decided to get the chipper running. He had to remove the belts driving the drum and let the engine run for a while. Once the engine was hot, Bruce turned off the engine and replaced the belts. He was able to start the chipper up and […]

Mostly Indoor Day

July 19, 2025 With it raining all morning, I didn’t go outside. I spent some time working on my picture of lion cubs. I work from top to bottom, left to right to avoid smudging the picture. After it stopped raining, we walked to the mailbox. I admired the crepe myrtle blooming. Here is a […]

Butterflies and Dragonflies in the Back Pasture

July 19, 2025 On Thursday (July 17), we had another spectacular sunset. I was intrigued by the dark shadow above the cloud edged with sunlight. On Friday (July 18), Bruce got up early and put on coveralls. He went out to cut up branches into logs with the chainsaw. He wanted shorter logs to fit […]

Starting to Build a New Long Garden Bed

July 13, 2025 On July 7 (Monday), I was heading to the garden when I heard the ratatattat of a woodpecker. I spotted him on the power pole. I couldn’t get a good enough look at him to get a good identification. Bruce and I rode the motorcycle to the bank so it would be […]

The Bat Is Back with a Friend! Bruce Gets the Chipper Running!

July 13, 2025 On July 4 (Friday), we had a busy day around the homestead. Bruce cut many branches from pine number two and I spent a lot of time moving them. Pine number two was the largest and tallest pine that fell, plus it had two full-sized trunks. This was a good use of […]