Desperate Measures

 We got an inch of rain and the hot weather broke.  Only supposed to be a high of 80F or so this week.

Since the ground was wet, I decided to spread some wheat/oat seed on the bare spots in the driveway stand. I had over seeded a soybean plot with brassicas and I had stripes that I had apparently missed when seeding.

So I spread some of this mix in those spots.  Picked it up at the farm supply store.

Where I did get the brassica seed down, it came in very well.

Then I took the dogs for a walk to check cameras.

And the skies opened up on us.  Good for the seed I just put down.

But we got really wet.

Violet found a turtle.

My other two brassica plots were over-run with weeds.  Pigweed and galinsoga mostly.

There was good brassica in there but it was being overtaken with warm season annual weeds.

I decided that I had nothing to lose and I put the bushhog on its highest setting.

I mowed both of the fields on the theory that the soybeans and brassica could handle the mowing better than the weeds could.  I guess we will see. At least the seed heads are gone.

The pumpkin patch is pretty good except some serious outbreaks of powdery mildew.

I used to use a fungicide but I quit a few years ago.  Some types more resistant than others.

Even when the leaves are dying, the pumpkins are still usually pretty good.

I tried spraying again this week with a copper based treatment.

I thought this series of a bobcat was pretty neat (in broad daylight).

Seems to be a young/small one.

Lots of coyotes too.

Does and fawns.

Twins.

Little bucks.  Velvet should be coming off soon.  Usually first week of September.

And the turkeys.

Visiting geese.

Zucchini Accidental Bonanza

So I left town for two weeks at exactly the wrong time.  The zucchini plants were just starting to produce and we apparently got some rain.  When I returned, I had this.

I don't normally let them get this huge.  They get seedy and tough when this big.  Not sure what I'm going to do with all these overgrown zucchini.  I'll try taking them to work.

There was 1.5" in the rain gauge but that could have been 3" two weeks ago and that much evaporation.

The pond is still quite low with exposed rock piles that are normally under water.

The pumpkin patch doesn't look too bad.

I did some weeding by weed-whacker.

Powdery mildew is affecting some plants.  I had a small bottle of copper solution and treated about 1/4 of the patch.

It kills the leaves and makes the pumpkins mature early.

Some types have better resistance than others.

Fruits are showing in most rows.

The brassica plantings are a mixed bag.  This is the driveway plot where I over-seeded soybeans.  It came in in stripes.

Some areas plush.

Some areas bare.  I broadcast twice the recommended seeding rate and I was sure that I covered the whole field.  Oh well, there will be some food in this plot.

This is the plot behind the pond stand.  It is almost completely green.  But it is a mix of what I planted and weeds.

Looking down from the stand, the lighter color and straight lines are the brassica.  The darker color is soybeans and weeds.

A look out the other side of the stand.

This is the main field plot - it is completely green. A lot of it looks like pigweed.

There is some turnip and brassica in there.

But a lot of what I thought was big brassica leaves isn't.

It's this cocklebur stuff.  Oh well, it is what it is.

It is also butterfly season.  Monarchs.

And swallowtails.

Most clover looks pretty good.  Some various degrees of weed and grass invasion but lots of food available.

The old apple trees are producing.

Also two types of pears.

I did some touring on foot with the dogs but also by Ranger.

The deer enjoy the fruit.

We are still getting seasonal visits from the geese.

The does and fawns are looking healthy.

Here's an action shot.  A coyote on the hunt in the foreground and a fawn on the move in the background.

Lots of coyote activity.

Three yotes on this shot. 

Eating an apple.

Turkeys.

Hens and poults.

A number of small bucks in the neighborhood.

Our resident "cyclops".

Ribs showing on this one.

These are fun sequences - having fun, swatting flies, or running from coyotes?