Sights from around Crooked Acres.
I love the lacy wings.
The cantaloupes are coming! We haven’t seen any watermelon yet, but the plants are covered in flowers, so hopefully soon.
Wee cucamelon. I read about these on Buzzfeed in 2013, and decided to give them a try this year. They still haven’t gotten big enough to harvest; I hope they’re good.
Jalapenos are still coming along. The habaneros, on the other hand, have stalled at about four inches high and aren’t showing any inclination to grow. We bought a couple of habanero plants at Lowe’s last weekend, so we WILL have habaneros this summer one way or another.
Mini bell pepper. I only ever grow bell peppers to put in salsa and jalapeno jelly, so this year I got mini bells instead of the full-sized ones.
I think this is a Big Boy tomato. We’ve got all kinds of tomatoes slowly coming in, but none of them have ripened yet. I did eat the one ripe Sungold I found yesterday, and it was as good as I remembered.
Eggplant flower.
Lemon squash. I think these are my second favorite squash (my favorite being zucchini). There’s no lemony taste to them, their name is due to the fact that they look like lemons.
Compost heap, covered in tomato plants. There might be some ripe tomatoes in there, but I’m not going in and looking around. I’d rather not run into any snakes.
We have blackberry bushes growing wild around the edge of the back forty. Fred went out on Sunday and picked 4 cups’ worth, then made a blackberry cobbler. It was very good (but I’ll admit that blackberries aren’t my favorite. I much prefer blueberries.)
“George not like blackberries, either.”
Chickens, doing their thing.
Someone’s got the grumpies.
Speckled rooster. I have no idea what that hen behind him is doing, and I probably don’t want to know.
Male ducks chasing a hen.
Have I mentioned that I am no fan of these stupid male ducks?
They’re always trying to get some chicken lovin’, and the hens are not into that.
“Those ducks are just so STRANGE looking.”
Go protect your wimminfolk, you useless rooster!
The Rockstar, growing out the most recent headfeather trim. I am no stylist – but hey, she can see where she’s going, and that’s what’s important.
Meredith Grey, lookin’ sassy.
Rooster, crowing. I love the looks on the hens’ faces, all “THIS idiot.”
Fred has finally been able to pet Chachi, the stray who showed up some months back. Now that we can pet him, it’s time to take him off and have him tested and neutered.
Raccoon at the feeding station.
Ignore the mess (that building desperately needs to be painted). Chachi ain’t skeered of no raccoon.
Raccoon suddenly remembered s/he’s late.
Pretty boy.
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It’s WAHHHHHHHnesday.
“You not amuse me, lady.”
::poke::
The look on Blaster’s face makes me want to SQUOOSH him.
I love the way he’s holding his ears to the sides.
::chomp::
Mooch, annoyed.
Gilbert keeps an eye on the goings-on.
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Tommy, laying around with the tip of his tongue sticking out. As you do.
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Previously
2013: Can you believe these kittens are two months old?
2012: Stompers and the Floof.
2011: No entry.
2010: Kittens… and a bucket of squash!
2009: No entry.
2008: I’m off to take Kara and her babies to the vet to be spayed and neutered.
2007: Happiest! Cat! Ever!
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I just love Crooked Acres day! I don’t like to eat vegetables, have no green thumb, and wouldn’t be physically to tend a garden anyway. But I love looking at your garden pictures. And the chicken pictures. And even the duck pictures. Thank you for sharing all of this, Robyn.
And thank you for reading, Pam. 🙂
Ha. Won’t go after ripe tomatoes because maybe snakes? Live a little, girlfriend! 🙂 Bet those tomatoes will be that much sweeter for the risk.
Also, Chachi’s a beautiful boy. here’s to no health issues and a long life around Crooked Acres for him!
Yeah, I’m not sure spending the day in the ER because I was bitten by a Cottonmouth is my idea of living. 🙂
Living…on the edge!!!
Psshaw….Cottonmouths live in water. That compost heap is not in water. You’ll be fiiiinnnneeeee. (crosses her fingers because she really doesn’t want Robyn to get bit by anything!)
They will slither into everything including under shrubs and such. My girlfriend’s dog (Yorkie) was bit by one. The span between the puncture wounds was 3″. Even with immediate medical assistance, she passed. Heart wrenching! My friend ripped every shrub out of her back yard (she has 3 other dogs, cats and a toddler).
Western Diamondback rattlers out here. Scary but not aggressive. Unfortunately, when provoked they’ll bite to kill. Neighbors cat passed this spring, snake bite. Great cat, very sad. Cats are drawn to the slither. Shudder! When gardening I always, no exceptions, carry a snake stick. Long, heavy, old broken shovel. Any rattlers on my property get a serious thumping
I think there is an anti-venom vaccine for dogs. Vets around here highly recommend it. Nothing for cats as far as I know.
Yes, its Copperheads that live near compost heaps!
Chachi!? all of a sudden you smuggle in a new and stunningly gorgeous cat??
I did mention him way back in April! 🙂
I slept since then!!
Fred cooks/bakes?! I thought he spent all his free time wooing wayward cats and writing horror novels.
Fred bakes once in a blue moon, and only if he really has to. I was busy and wouldn’t stop what I was doing to make the cobbler, so he did. 🙂
He bakes when the desire for the baked good outweighs the work effort! 😉
Blasphemy – blackberries are absolutely wonderful! My impression could be tinged with nostalgia, because these days I don’t get to eat them very often. And congratulations to Chachi for crossing the way of the cat whisperer and stumbling into the good life!
Well, I have to admit that I wouldn’t kick that blackberry cobbler out of my kitchen. It was good!
Chachi is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!!! *smooches*
thaks for the photos Robyn. I love that the eggplant flower is such a pretty purple like the vegatable is. Chachi is a gorgeous kitty. The little white dot on his chin is so cute.
Pretty pictures!
I love Mooch, but would name him Smudge–it looks like he stuck his nose into something!! So sweet!!
I love the picture with the caption “You don’t amuse me lady” because it very much amuses ME! *smooch*
It’s best to avoid buying seedlings from Lowes and other big box stores until they get rid of plants treated with neonicotinoids, a type of pesticide linked to honeybee deaths. Since honeybee populations are in a steep decline in the U.S., we need to help them out. Just for starters, without honeybees, we’d have little food and no fruit!
I know you didn’t know, which is why I’m letting you know.
Interesting…
I’d like a discussion on ‘caution around pollinators’… they are aware bees FLY, right?
And Bayer… please.. really?
Thanks for letting me know, NonnyMus. Luckily, those plants are still sitting by the driveway (I hadn’t gotten around to putting them in the garden yet), so they’re going to go back to Lowe’s, along with a letter to Lowe’s telling them why!
You rock, Robyn! (As usual.)
Chachi is super-cute! Does this mean you have 14 now? 😉 Also, is there a Joanie?
I guess it means we have 14 as far as caring for them. He’s more interested in food than people, and will allow petting but doesn’t come looking for it, so he’ll make a good outside cat. I need to put a collar and note on him, to make sure he doesn’t HAVE a home already!
There’s no Joanie – YET, at least. Fred was calling Stefan “Stefonzie”, so I went with a Happy Days theme when Chachi showed up. 🙂
ok – I admit, I love going back and reading posts. Yesterday in 2011 it said “no ducks, no pond” which made me laugh. And I laughed even harder today when I saw the picture of the ducks chasing the chickens. Oh how times have changed…. 🙂
“you not amuse me” bwahahahaha
UGH, how I hate those ducks! (But I do love the pond, I have to admit it!)
Just remember that the snakes want less to do with you than you do with them.
Shake and rattle the bushes before you go on and any self respecting snake will take off. Besides, what’s the use of compost if you’re just going to fertilize some tomatoes that you’re not going to eat?
We used to have to do this in Florida, be loud enough to scare the snakes but quiet enough to recapture the cats.
One of these days you really should try the fried squash blossoms, and it’s not like you really need that many zucchini.
I love that purple eggplant blossom against the black vine. Really pretty.
Chachi’s soul patch is cute but those white whiskers are stunning.
Yeah, I can’t say that I’m impressed by that rooster standing there with the ducks hitting on his women.
Loud enough to scare the snakes but quiet enough to recapture the cats? How on earth do you pull that off?
Not very well, I admit.
Luckily, we could follow the cats tails as they went through the bushes. They looked like little furry telescope sights!
We actually have gotten very few zucchini this year, sadly. One year I will try the fried squash blossoms, just to say that I did! 🙂
Another week or so, Fred will let the chickens out of the back forty for a little while, and they’ll strip those tomato plants bare. And they aren’t scared of snakes, so it’s win-win as far as I’m concerned.
Oh, Chachi! So glad he finally came around! I love me some black and white kitties! 🙂
ROFL! “WAHHHHHHHnesday!” Oh, da poor little BAAYYYYYYYBEEEEE!!
I know, it’s a rough life!
Chachi is magnificent! Test him, but can he keep his manhood?
No, we neuter all cats who insist on hanging around here – it’s the only way to stop them from spraying, and tomcat spray is the nastiest smell there is. Plus, of course, the birth control aspect.
Oh, Chachi is a handsome little chap. He’s also lucky he strayed near kind people like you and Fred, who will go out of your way to help a cat alone in the world.
I’d like to think that there is some kind of Twilight Miaowing (like the Twilight Barking from 101 Dalmatians) in which cats say things like ‘Hey I’m on my own and could use some help’ and get answers like ‘Go to Robyn and Fred’s place, they are total softies and will give you anything you need if you let them pet you. Play your cards right and they might let you into Gen Pop.’