The Persimmon Tree Flowers

The persimmon tree was a fairly new purchase last year so i had never seen it flower. I had not dared to think past hoping it survived the winter. But survive it did. Even though my new mulberry did not make it, the persimmon did. I realized i needed to purchase a “trader’s mulberry tree” next year as it is more suited to the soil and this climate. However, the persimmon came out of winter just fine. To my surprise, not only did it produce leaves, but also flowers! They looked like something you’d see in the background of a disney or pixar movie about elves or trolls. i was fascinated and waited to see what the open flowers would look like. Unfortunately, they will not be making persimmons as the neighbor who had the 12 bee boxes that sent hundreds of bees to our yard to harass the dogs and chickens (and pollinate everything), well he had end stage cancer and expressed that he used the land for bee keeping and didnt actually live on it last time i spoke with him. He said it was his aim to sell it before he died so his wife wouldnt have to deal with the bees and the property. The land must have finally sold because i no longer see the little plastic sign up and the bees are gone. Not a bee in sight. Boy, you dont realize how much you took something for granted until it is gone. I wonder if i will ever become a bee keeper. I mean, it’d be a bad idea. Im allergic to them. But, with his bees gone, theres nothing left to harass the dogs, chickens, or pollinate anything, not even the honeysuckle. I could plant something like wisteria or carolina jasmine and hope that draws the bees that belong to the goat farmer that lives 7 minutes down the road. He has two bee boxes with cactus on top. Or i could eventually get my own bee boxes. It would probably be more work than id have time for and the chances of dire consequences with my allergies are high. Epi pens have a quick expiration date and a high cost. They’re not super available to those without health insurance. For now, ive just accepted there will be no mulberries, pomegranates, or persimmons this year. It was sad. The mulberry tree flowered as it always does. However, no bees, and in result, no berries. I’ll figure a solution next year. Maybe wisteria.

The Carpenter Ants Move Colony

Its been raining off and on for two weeks. I noticed that the carpenter ants were using my chain link fence as a sort of highway for massive amounts of ants. I thought this was strange, as usually they prefer wood structures. I wondered where they were going but i was mostly just thrilled that their current destination (wherever it was) didnt involve any of my wooden structures. Today i noted an ant carrying ant larvae along their highway system on the fence post. I realized they were moving their colony, likely flooded due to the rain. They’ve done this before. There was the time an entire carpenter ant colony moved their brood of larvae to the door jamb of the back passenger door of my car. There was the time they moved them into the house by dropping them from the ceiling vent basically directly into the toilet (that kind of solved itself…except when you wanted to use the bathroom. You basically had to hold an umbrella or wear a hoodie.). There was the time they brought them all in through the kitchen window and set up shop on the window sill. Whenever it rains they bring the babies into my house. I dont know where he is taking the larvae but wherever it is, its not in the direction of my house, and that is a welcome change.

The Baby Chickens Graduate

On this day the baby chickens officially turned 4 weeks old, at which point i could stop making my one room tiny house like the arctic to keep the heat lamp area at 95, 90, 85, or 80 degrees. I no longer had to walk around in sweatshirts and fleece pants, and i could cuddle the chicks outside of the heat lamp area without worry of freezing them. They officially only need it at 75 degrees and have most of their feathers at least halfway unfurled.

Planting One of the Two Pecan Trees

One day they only had two hours for me at work. This is not good news financially but it meant i had time to plant a tree. I dug the deepest hole ive dug yet. I had a lot of frustrations on my mind and i just kept digging. Then filled half of it with good soil, lowered the tree in, and then covered it and fenced it. I sure hope it lives and thrives. It took 4 hours with a rock breaking stick and a lot of sweat to dig that hole. now the problem remains that i havent planted the other pecan tree. The next time i only had two hours i was all healed up physically but was dealing with a fresh heartbreak that morning and ate a bunch of sushi and sat in the wind blowing bubbles instead. They were $1.50 at the checkout and i thought, hey its better than having a drink. Amused the birds and the dogs at least. True to aussie form, it took me about five minutes to train cashew to pop bubbles with her nose. Anyways, ill dig another hole at some point this year and put the other pecan tree in.

Honeysuckle

I planted this last year hoping eventually i could taste a little bubble of nectar on the stem pulled through the flower like we did when we were kids on the way past the honeysuckle bush headed to and from school. it is finally producing flowers. I have learned to wait until they get a little darker yellow and more wilted than the flower in the photo. Then you take the green capped bottom of the flower off and pull the stem through until a little bubble of syrupy liquid emerged and then you just lick it. It tastes like a sweet nectar. Its very small. Its a nice treat but is not going to fill you up like food. Its just a nod to a childhood memory. So far the two layered fence system is working to keep the critters away and it has not frosted. It is growing well. If it keeps on like this it should become a large bush by the time winter comes back around.

Baby Chickens Update

I ended up with one chocolate orpington rooster, one americauna hen, and four chocolate orpington hens. They continued to grow until they were eventually tall enough to discover the brooder box window through which i could observe them. They began sticking their heads out this little opening to survey the bathroom.

This is about when they discovered the window in the side of the brooder box.

Vegan Parmesan Truffle Fries

Every once in a while i have to go to san antonio for something, at which point i make a point to purchase sushi or vegan parmesan truffle fries depending on what part of town i end up in. Both are non existent in my area. On this fine day i made the trip to get to the restaurant where they make vegan parmesan truffle fries. Look at that crispy golden deliciousness! It smells and tastes delectable and intoxicating. theres nothing like it. Also, i love all things truffle. Truffle shavings, truffle oil….sign me up. If you do not love truffles, this is not for you. It is simply truffles in french fry form with so much crispiness and a little bit of parsley just to balance it out. Oh man i want those right now lol. I’ll be back over there in a month.

Dead Field Mice

Every once in a while i find dead field mice in the chicken water outside. They get in, realize they cant get out, and drown. Some night critter took it. They always do. I lay the dead mouse on the ground near the front gate and by sunrise its gone. i try not to encourage predators to come up near the house or animal pens so i put it up by the gate each time but man we have a lot of field mice (not everybody has mouse tight feed sheds) and they maybe need to learn to swim. (I literally keep my extra feed bags in the trunk of the car because it keeps the rodents out, keeps them from spreading disease to my chickens, and keeps this homestead from contributing to more field mice. Larger operations store more than two bags of feed at a time and cant afford this approach. They get barn cats but the coyotes always eat them. So my town has a plague of mice and a plague of grasshoppers. Its quite the place to live, but if you’re used to the area, you can make a go of it.)

Dropping off Chicks and Picking up Plants

When i went to town to drop off the five chicks with my coworker i had to wait at walmart for a bit and i thought id check out the plant section rather than just sit in the car. Turns out walmart is in the business of killing plants rather than selling them. I told three separate employees that their plants were bone dry, wilted, and pretty much dead and the response i got was “we know.” One employee told me walmart doesnt care about plants. No kidding. Every time i go there they need water but this time, they literally had whole rows of veggies and flowers that might as well be in the trash bin. I mean all the leaves were basically beyond help and the stems were just sticks laying against the bone dry dirt. The leaves weren’t even leaf shaped anymore. they were beyond help. I found two little five dollar hibiscus plants that looked like they still had a chance, bought a water bottle, them, and watered them with the water bottle in the parking lot. I cant believe it but walmart killed whole rose bushes and hibiscus plants. I mean those two hibiscus and the fruit trees were the only things halfway alive. Shame on them. What a waste.

I stopped one more time on the way home to pick up those 15 okra plants for the new setup in the greenhouse. Then i stopped at the dollar general and bought dirt and climbing sticks for them.

Murals

My best friend is an artist, known for Mural painting. The fire station booked her for a mural recently and the mural above was commissioned by the mexican restaurant in our town. She did a sign for the local barber shop and i think she has at least one other mural planned in the neighboring town. She painted a mural on three sides of her garage near the road and ever since then people have been booking her for jobs. She has scaffolding and everything. She’s a great mural painter but the unique thing about her is that she involves the community in every mural. She paints the outline and then lets community members color in the inside of shapes with the designated color of paint before she adds the detail. In that way, we can all say we were part of our community murals. Everybody helped. There’s reasons she’s my best friend. She has an effect on people. She makes them want to be here. She gives people reasons to see joy.