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Cool and rainy weekend here- but veg are still going strong in the hoophouse

I’m really excited about the pretty little melon plants with all their flowers

and we’ve already got a couple of little cukes shaping up!

and a few tiny tomatoes

And after a fresh coat of oil courtesy of The Man, the potting bench is positively glowing

And out in the garden, peonies are about ready to pop

In sheep and wool news, I finally got the last of Felix sheared the other day (yay!), so he’s looking much more respectable now. Wasn’t able to get a good post-haircut pic yet, but I have just finished up about 440 yards of fingering weight Felix 2 ply that I think he’d be pleased with

And as I have quite a bit of yarn and other woolen goods accumulated, I’m thinking I will participate in the Alger Sunday market this summer, maybe just twice a month(?) and see how it goes. First day is July 11. if you’re in the area, stop by and say hi!

Things are coming along well in the hoophouse- though we’re having a bit of an issue with voles. Their digging has disrupted some cucumber plants, so I’ve spread some critter repellant, and am monitoring for further digging activity and smoosh down any tunnels. Fingers crossed that the cucumbers recover from their rodent damage.

Excited to see that the tiny calendula seedlings I planted about a month ago are now starting to show buds!

Hopefully they’ll be blooming soon, but in the meantime I’ve planted some hanging baskets to keep the bees and other pollinators excited about being in there 🙂

Once the calendulas are in full swing, the baskets will brighten the front door.

And speaking of bright-wanted to give a shoutout to The Man for his work on a custom water hydrant stabilizer. Now it is a full fledged watering station with hose hanger. Pretty darn spiffy in Kubota orange!

And in chicken news- the girls are pumping out eggs a lot faster than we can eat them, so we’ve started offering them for sale on a first-honk, first serve basis.

We’ve had a few honks already, so hopefully we’ll get takers for maybe 4 or 5 extra dozen a week.

Straightaway, I’m happy to report I’ve gotten a start on the Shepherd’s Vest- and here is the proof

It will have ribbing at the bottom hem, but I’ve decided to start above that and come back and work the ribbing downward as part of the finishing. My current plan is to use some of the yarn that is a little lighter weight for the ribbed edges at neck, armholes and waist.

The other big development this week was getting drip irrigation installed for the hoophouse plantings.

Was a little bit fiddly with all the little lines and fittings, but glad to have it in! Should save a lot of time and trouble with the watering can.

And here are a couple quick videos of sheeps and chigs that I grabbed while out giving everyone treats this evening-

It’s a good thing that Dottie is standing in the back so you can’t see her bad haircut! She was being such a bugger when I sheared her that she ended up a little lopsided/lumpy 🙂

Have a good week everyone-

Just a few snaps of the homestead as the sun sets on a lovely weekend-

Wool work will resume shortly, once our cloud cover returns 🙂