A Little of This, A Little of That

My, what a week this has been!  We finally got a break in the heat mid-week only to have the mercury head higher into triple digts again this weekend, and the humidity was back with a vengeance this morning.  

The garden is going nuts and we're swimming in tomatoes now.  J. finally got to sink his teeth into those Cherokee Purples even though they were struck with fungus and he was only able to eat 1/2 of each tomato.  After tasting them, he said we definitely need to try to grow them again next year because they are slightly sweet and oh-so-yummy.  Note to self.

I've gotta make that squash this week!

We picked up the most amazing sweet corn from a local farmer who had setup an "honor stand" stand at the end of his driveway.  If you're not familiar with the concept, an honor stand is one where you take what you want and then leave the money.  You know,...it's the honor system!

The mainstay here in the Midwest is a variety of corn called "Peaches and Cream" or "Andy's Candy".  As you can see, it's white and yellow variegated and has a nice, slightly sweet taste with kernels that are firm.  Delicious stuff but they tend to get stuck in your teeth.  The corn that we bought is called "Gotta Have It" and I can tell you that Andy ain't gonna push his candy on me anymore!  "Gotta Have It" is so tender that it gives away in your mouth, but it has all the taste of Andy's Candy.  Mmmmmmmm.....

Let's see.  I tried to reintegrate poor Henrietta, the hen that was being picked on by the rest of the flock back in March.  The wound on her neck has been healed now for some time but now the feathesr on her neck stick out rather than laying down flat.  As a result, we've taken to referring to her as our punk rock chicken.  Since she was pecked, she's been living in a separate chicken condo made  out of a doghouse on stilts (you can see a picture here).  I thought I could sneak her in right before everyone settled down for the night, and that seemed to go well.  But, when I got home from work the next day, she was hiding in the nesting boxes and it was obvious that she was being victimized again. 

So....what to do with poor 'Etta?  She doesn't lay eggs so I suppose most folks might turn her into dinner.  I can't bring myself to even think about that, because she really had endeared herself to us by following us around and "talking" to us.  *sigh*  We could give her away, but she would have to be a pet because I wouldn't give her away so that someone else could eat her (see above).  I guess she will stay where she is for now until we figure something out.

Speaking of chickens, the girls have slowed down in egg production significantly due to molting and the high heat.  Right now, I'm getting just 3 or 4 eggs a day out of the 9 chooks.  I used to get twice that.  And they are eating like a bunch of feathered pigs!

Finally, I am back to work on the "Chubby Chicks" quilt that I started back in April. 

 Some of you may have guessed that since I wrote yesterday about haunting the local quilt shops.  And I signed up for a 4-session intermediate quilting class at JoAnn's in August.  It's going to cover binding and machine quilting and I got signed up for 1/2 price, so I guess you can't swing a cat at that.  My first quilt still isn't quilted because I haven't found the right person to do it.  I'm thinking I can learn in this class and then  maybe do it myself?

Well, I'm off to bed where I'm sure I'll dream of lime green chickies and baby rabbits peeking out of my strawberry bed.  Oh yeah...I forgot that, didn't I?  There were 8 rabbit kits that hopped in all directions when J. watered the strawberry plants this morning.  At least they're cuter than squash bugs.

Sweet dreams,