We had quite a lot of rain, and then no rain in July. My beloved day lilies seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye. I picked the tomatoes and basil and parsley and summer squash and potatoes in good time, but got way behind on the yellow beans. Probably because of the odd weather my sweet peas grew and budded but never blossomed. Anyhow, as October progressed I got the bright idea that maybe if we let the animals into the garden area, aka the side lawn, that they might do some cleaning up for us. So yesterday we did just that. So far, they've just nibbled the lawn and some lilac leaves but we're going to try for a few hours each day, and hope they will enjoy the overgrown squash and sweet pea leaves. We'll see. If nothing else, it is a humorous pleasure to see them so close to the house.
Do you think they'll eat those huge squashes?
Daisy by the clothesline! What a mess the day lilies are!
Looking out the screen door at sheepies!
I just love the fact that everything is green. Well, and also fall colored as your leaves are changing. Your animals are always so cute.
ReplyDeleteI can't even put a picture of our "yard" up yet. It's a sea of drying mud right now. The rain did give us an idea of how the runoff will sort itself out. We slope down from front to back on our lot.
Yay! Thank you for sharing the animal pictures with us! I hope they help munch down some of the weeds/overgrown plants for you.
ReplyDeleteI love the pics and would love to see animals in my side yard! I hope they clean the garden up for you!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love sheep. Have never kept any but I love them anyway. Absolutely adore their faces.
ReplyDeleteSo enjoyed reading your post, Nan.
A donkey! (I'm smiling.) How fortunate you are.
And goats too.
I hope they clean up your yard for you. I see plenty of good eating there. :)
We had untoward weather here too.
When we went apple picking last Saturday we noticed an invasion of flying bugs, though they didn't seem to bother the apples.
Oh so cute Nan. The mosquitoes and bees were awful here, so I can imagine what it was like on the farm.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea! It looks so idyllic! I hope they eat the right things and leave the clothes alone!!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun having your critters up close to the house. I doubt they would eat the squash. Now, if you had goats that would be a possibility. I was the same way about my garden this year. My garden has suffered not only from the weather but my neglect. The weeds were the winners this year.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe I should borrow a sheep or two! My yard has been neglected this year, as well. I've been enjoying my bike rides far too much to spend time pulling weeds in the garden. ;)
ReplyDeleteGlorious colors in that first photo, Nan! We were at 77 yesterday. If not for all the leaves on the lawn and sidewalks, one would hardly believe it's autumn.
and think of the already spread fertilizer as well! :)
ReplyDeleteWe had an incredibly dry August, no rain to speak of, gardens did so-so, still canning apple stuff,
Rob has cleaned up 2 of the 3 veg gardens, but don't ask about the flower beds....
have a wonderful rest of the week,
Niki
The animals in your yard against the beautiful, colorful fall foliage look wonderful to me. The day lilies look like they should after a nice summer and the squash - wow. Thanks for sharing a little autumn in the country with this city dweller.
ReplyDeleteOh! I'm so glad to see your day-lily beds - mine look as bad (or worse). I wish I had a couple of goats to let loose here...
ReplyDeleteDaylilies didn't have the best show or last long for us this year, either, Nan. Hope the animals do the trick there. It looks like you are having some good fall color.
ReplyDeleteI was wishing for a few chickens to roam the lawn and eat some bugs but you have a much better plan with those hearty farm animals. I am struggling with weeds having let things go in August. Why did I do that? It will be better next year.
ReplyDeleteAs the city folks say, "Isn't that quaint to have the animals in the lawn?" It is quaint and gives you the feeling of old times, but I think your idea of having them clean up is brilliant. The rainy summer didn't do any plants around here any good, except for apples, which are huge this season.
ReplyDeleteI love these pictures. Your trees are showing beautiful fall color. The animals are plump and obviously well cared for. I really like the pictures of your home, flowers, animals, and surrounding wooded acreage. Keep the pictures coming.
ReplyDeleteKay, there's no green like the fall green. I don't know if it is the contrast with the autumn colors or what, but it is an amazing color. I'm glad you got rain, but mud is no fun. This is what it was like at the kids' house before landscaping.
ReplyDeleteSprite, yeah, me too. Yesterday we realized we have to fence off the lilacs. The goats find them a little too appetizing. Goats never eat what you want them to. That's one of their laws.
Staci, it is fun to see them just outside the door. I feel like I'm living in a children's story.
Yvette, I love the gentleness of sheep. And the donkey is a joy. The goats are more of a problem. :<)
Diane, do you mean honeybees? Bumblebees? Hornets? We have some wasps but they're slow and sleepy and don't do much.
Deirdre, no clothes but too many lilac leaves. We have to figure something out to keep them away.
Lisa, we do have goats, but they haven't shown a bit of interest in the squash. Naturally. Sounds like we had twin gardens this year. :<)
Les, the whole weekend was gorgeous. Warm, sunny, beautiful color, tourists in abundance helping the economy.
Niki, that 'fertilizer' may be a bit of a problem. We figured we won't be out there so much, but still when we are we must look down!
Alex, I guess you'd say it was all a pretty typical fall scene around here. I'm pleased you liked it.
Debbie, and I wish mine would deem the old day lilies worth eating. :<) Goats!
Penny, the color started out very muted and I didn't think it was going to much of a foliage year, but suddenly everything just got beautiful.
Layanee, that's the motto of all gardeners isn't it? We always are looking toward the next year. Amazing.
Barbara, it does seem like it is a good season for apples everywhere! And healthy for all of us.
Oh, thank you, Jill. I'm glad you like them. I realized that I didn't post a lot this summer because there really wasn't a lot going on with the flowers gone so quickly and all those weeds. :<)
Nan, they all look so content there!
ReplyDeleteSherri, they are a contented bunch!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely, the photograhps look like lovely illustrations from a children's book. The animals look so calm and content, one can almost hear them talking to one another. What would they say I wonder.
ReplyDeleteCarole
Carole, probably how yummy lawn tastes over field. :<) When the kids were little, some of my favorite books were those that featured pictures of real animals on a farm.
ReplyDelete