ROUGH DROUGHT FARMSTEAD.
We need rain, and it looks like we need a good amount of it. The garden has become a dry, dusty and predictable place where everything is in basically the same rough shape it was the day before only less happy. Nothing grows, save for a few odd birds––beans, tomatoes and eggplant particularly––who seem to be flourishing. Mostly, however, everything just looks hot, sweaty and thirsty. And when it gets this way, it's hard to find things in the garden to do. Mulching seems futile because one good gust of wind will throw the mulch all over the garden. With the bizarre wind storms we've been having, it's not worth the risk. There are no weeds germinating, and what weeds were there, we've picked three times over (from a weed perspective, notably, the garden looks awesome!). Also, Kentucky has been a furnace this week. So needless to say, with not a lot of work to be done in the garden and being dangerous to do too much work anyway, we've needed to get creative to fill our days. Sometimes literally.Hannah's been painting and working on a new tab for the blog, while I vacillate between reading, writing, fermenting (got one last blackberry wine and some sour pickles in the works) and watching in awe as my wife works. In the heat of the day, we pull Wendell inside and try to talk him out of chewing on our possessions. ALL our possessions. The rabbits and chickens need extra tending around these temperatures so it works out that we're down at the house more. They both seem to be managing well, however, despite the heat. And the farm?––the farm is panting.Our forecast has pockets of promise, though nearly four weeks in, we're not getting our hopes up. At this point, it would take something torrential––five or six inches probably––to get us back to where we need to be. But honestly, we'd be happy with an inch followed by some more realistic temperatures. How's the rain situation in your neck of the woods?- Jesse.
WEEKENDER.
If you are looking for a little entertainment this weekend, our friends The Breedings are playing at the brand new bar in downtown Lexington called Henry Clay's Public House tonight and tomorrow. Shows start at 9pm. We went for the opening yesterday and can tell you for a fact the bar has a great atmosphere, cold libations and, most importantly, solid air-conditioning!Hannah and I wont be able to make it, but please feel free to go in our stead and support our lovely and talented buddies. Have a great weekend, send us your rain!- Jesse.
WENDELL WEDNESDAY.
Who needs to buy that $19.99 toy from PetSmart when you can just rub some peanut butter in the bottom of an old coffee can and keep your dog occupied for an entire HOUR?
DUSTY DAYS.
Everything is dry. The gardens, the grass, the humor––our once verdant farm is slowly beginning to brown. It hasn't rained in two weeks, which wouldn't be so bad if there was any rain in the forecast but sadly, it's a bunch of over-zealous, smiling suns and near 100 degree temperatures for the next several days. Of course, weather changes and our food should be fine, but it's an eerie feeling...standing in a dusty garden wondering when the next rain will come. We're not quite in a drought yet, but we could be at the first two dry weeks of what? Three? Five? Ten? Who knows. Last year at Bugtussle we went almost forty days without rain, and it was hard, but it could have been worse. It could be worse this year. The radio is already starting to caution farmers about rotating their livestock to preserve grass, warning that things could get pretty dry this summer.It's funny to think back to when I lived in the city and would hardly notice a drought. When I was a teenager I used to love them––droughts meant I could skateboard on the grass. Now, however, as a farmer intimately linked with the whims of mother nature, I feel very differently about droughts and those smiling suns. I feel less in control, less excited about nice, dry weekends unless there were a few rain drops that week. I feel the need to be prepared.Hannah and I feel ready, though. We don't irrigate, but we've done a considerable amount of mulching to preserve the moisture, and we operate on a small enough scale that if worse came to worse, we could always haul buckets of water from the pond to reinvigorate our poor soil and plants. For now, we're just watching the forecast in awe, hoping for a day soon where rain will fall and we can take a few hours off, sip some tea, and relax.- Jesse.