Saturday, July 25, 2009

Squash explosion and ducklings!

Summer is in full gear now. We have tons of summer squash and zucchini coming on, along with lots of cucumbers. The tomatoes are ripening and we have been enjoying them in homemade salsa and straight off the plant. My mom will be shocked since growing up I hated zucchini and tomatoes, but since I have been growing them myself I love them. I am amazed at how sweet they are! I have been sauteing the squash and zucchini with onions, garlic, beets, cabbage and basil, all fresh from the garden. Then I top this with homemade pesto with lots of parmesan. I also like to cut the zucchini into thin strips and lightly saute in olive oil or even water and then top with tomato sauce instead of using pasta. Yum!



One of our ducks is setting on eggs, and another showed up yesterday with 9 ducklings! The ducks usually have one batch of ducklings in the spring, and another midsummer. The ducklings are yellow and brown and completely fuzzy. They stay right with their mom and she puffs up and covers them at night to keep them warm. We have seen many batches of ducklings over the years but we always get excited to see them!

Brian has been hard at work finishing the clearing work and weeding. With the predicted hot temperatures for this coming week we figure we will do our outdoor work early in the day or late, and then work inside during the hottest part of the day. I will need to make sure the plants and seedlings have lots of water and I might put a shade cloth on our lettuce and tender greens. The animals will need to have their water checked frequently, especially the milking goats, as they drink gallons of water while making milk.



Our strawbale home is very well insulated and has lots of thermal mass, so as long as we keep the windows closed and don't bake too much, them temperature stays around 70 degrees, with no air conditioning or fans. I will be working on earthen plaster inside and Brian will be plastering the ceiling or laying tile on the floor. We have been devoting lots of time to the land and outdoor work, so it will be nice to get some things done inside the house.

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