Homestead Update

So besides the quarter of grass-fed cow and the ginormous website project, the homestead has been relatively quiet. The garden is great, the animals are finally stable and healthy, and things are hitting their summer stride.
That is, when the cucumbers are not swallowing them.
I was excited to see the first okra on the stalk today.

HUGE okra coming off the stem. The cucumber vines are sending yellow flowers
to squat in the other squares and devour it all.

But wait! There's more!

We finally have some butternut squash developing. Hopefully our squash bug prevention program (find 'em and squish 'em) keeps them off long enough to actually get some. They've taken down a zucchini plant so far. Grrr.

Hang in there, lil' butterstuff! At least the cucumbers can't hurt you...yet.

Thing #3 was helping my pick MORE green beans today. Meanwhile, somehow, 3 cucumbers found their way into my harvest basket. I had to beat the vines back with a shovel. I thought I heard them growl at me. Thing #3 was scared off by the brew-ha-ha, and wandered off and found our pumpkin patch.

"Dad! Look what I found!" The pumkin vines are growing really well.
I don't think those yellow flowers are really honeydew - I think they're more cucumber spies.

Meanwhile, the guineas have been outside by the garden and orchard for the last few weeks. They're bigger now, and staying in the dog cage while being moved once daily to prevent another outbreak of cocci. This also is helping them develop a sense of "home." They'll be ready to start being released to free-rage, two at a time, in about two weeks. I hope to have a permanent hut built for them around that time.

The guineas are a little twitchy these days. I took one out, and heard the
classic "buck-WHEAT" call for the first time. They's a-growin up.....

And finally, to wash down all the beef I gave the chickens this morning, I tossed some watermelon rinds in there with them. The sheep were intrigued, but didn't eat too much. The chickens went nuts for it.

The watermelon rinds were a bigger hit with the chickens than the sheep.
Then again, everything is a hit with the chickens....

So that's it. My brain hurts from coding, our freezer is overflowing, and cucumbers are planning a full-scale assault on our house.

Oh yeah - donkey is fine, too.

I think I need to go secure the crawlspace.....