After years of looking at the back deck, which was sad and unpainted and showing it's age (and we would ignore it and just not spend any time out on it), we finally had a couple of bucks to sand and paint it. And we went with blue. Actually, my husband went with blue, and I just went along with him. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Ok, what color are we going to paint this deck? (Thinking light brown, or something along those lines)
Husband: I don't know.
Me: Really? Or you just don't want to pick a color?
Husband: Well, I'm going to be wrong, so I'm not going to say.
Me: How about this time you pick then? And we'll do it, unless it's completely crazy.
Husband: Ok (without even looking at the color swatches), then I pick blue.
So I look at him. Nothing in the yard is blue, except for the meatbird houses, and they're just blue because I had some on hand. There is green, there is red,
there is yellow,
and there is turquoise.
Blue? Nuh Uh. But a promise is a promise, so...
Me: Ok.
Husband: REALLY?
Little backstory for you: I never let him pick colors for anything. He's a wonderful man, with no color sense at all, so though I ask him, I never go with anything he chooses. No, it's not very nice. But if he picked, this house would be all sorts of odd colors, but mostly some form of blue, and none of it would go together. But not this time. This time he got to pick. He picked blue, and now it's blue.
In fact, I even tried to paint the stairs blue,
But it looked like a public pool. Or the circus. Or a public pool at the circus. In either case, it was NOT a good thing, so I painted them brown again.
But the top of the deck is blue, as you can see here, which is a picture of Hocus Pocus Milkdud, who is trying to eat my son's parakeet, unsuccessfully.
And the blue that is now introduced meant that I had to tie it in somehow, so I went and got a bunch of half-priced outdoor fabric and went on a wild pillowing spree, and now it looks a little more cohesive.
Mainly because I brought in some yellow, red, green and yup, turquoise.
Then we fixed up the outside table with some plywood and cheap floor tiles,
and it's now a place we like to sit. What a difference!!
And though I've been busy at work and busy painting the deck, many other things have needed my time as well. My babies are gone, off to a new home.
Oh my gosh, I miss them! But as my son says, we'll have more. They were sweet as pie, those two, and I'm thrilled to say I know they went to a good home, and they went together, which makes me happier than anything, as they were so attached to one another. Mama got over it pretty quickly and is still an excellent milker (Though she STILL doesn't stand still and is a pain).
There is a new batch of meatbirds, three weeks old and plumping up nicely.
There are 35 this time, from a different hatchery, and they are pushy and plump and I really like them because they're sparky. They are doing well and I generally find them ALL over the yard during the day. They are busy for little fat birds!
The broody coop did it's job beautifully, and hatched for us 15 ducklings, who are residing in the old goose house for now. They are stupid and annoying, but my kids love them, so that's really all that matters. People tend to pause when you say "I have 21 ducks", but the truth is, ducks are delicious, and our woods are full of predators, and by the end of the summer, I probably won't have 21 ducks anymore. Honestly, though, if we wind up with too many males, we may be having duck ourselves, because that's just asking for trouble. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, though, if I have to.
And the gardens? Well, the weather has been so odd, that some things are very happy, and others are not as happy. Generally the peppers and eggplant are not thrilled, nor are the melons, but other things are very happy indeed. Take a look:
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| Back garden (needs weeding) |
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| 7-foot high corn |
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| Cucumbers. Yes, I do see the blue meatbird houses. ;0) |
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| This was the temporary duckling relocation tent. It was not successful and since been abandoned. |
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| Cowpeas and beans |
So it's going well in there, I think. I've pulled out 9 pounds of string beans in the past week, and 21 pounds of squash, so I'm looking for people to take it off of my hands. :) The lettuce has bolted, so It's time for re-planting, and the peas are done, so those will be re-planted as well. The cauliflower is doing pretty much nothing, so I may give it up with that particular crop, and the broccoli is toodling along, but is nothing miraculous. I am rethinking my strategy on that crop.
Of course, it all a work in progress. Now it's time to go out and clean out some livestock housing, unless any of you are volunteering for the job? Have a great weekend, everyone!!
