On the Homestead: We sold our two bachelor bucks last week. They went pretty fast, but people hammer you for the first few hours after the ad comes out, asking the very same questions I already answered inside the ad.
We had intended on holding back “Freezer Meat” for the freezer, but Greg might go deer hunting this year and I want to make sure there’s enough room in the freezer. With my luck, he’ll change his mind at the last minute. At least I’ll have clean freezers.
A few of my neighbors are deer hunters. I hope they nab the gang of thugs that have been eating my garden.
I’ve resorted to barricading each individual raised bed. The lettuces and chards are prisoners in their own garden.
The deer leave the tomatoes and peppers alone, but greens are like cocaine to them. This is my third time replanting. The fencing seems to be working so I hope that will be the end of their rampage. It’s expensive and inconvenient to put up individual fenced beds, but I think a big fence all around the garden would be an eyesore.
My chickens have all but stopped laying. I get a few eggs a week, barely enough for all the baking I foresee next month. I’ve been coveting what few eggs I get.
Ironically, I should be drowning in eggs next summer. I’ve got a lot of future layers waiting in the wings (pun intended).
The Blog: Starting this week, I’m going to take one day a week and do a gift guide by interests. I’ll tag those posts “Gift Guides” so you can see them all in one group.
I’d like to think I’m pretty good at choosing gifts so I hope I can give you some ideas to kick start your Christmas shopping. The nice thing about gift guides is that they’re like fuel. If the item you see isn’t exactly what you want, it might be the catalyst to finding the right gift.
I’ve already started my shopping because, well, I have a border collie mentality. I never do tomorrow what I can get done yesterday. 🙂 That and I hate trying to figure out what to buy at the last minute.
Speaking of blogging, there has been a tremendous jump in visits for a couple of my posts. My post about Dog Alley at Canton Trade Days was (the last time I checked) at the top of Google’s search page under Dog Alley. I’ve never been at the top of any search. I actually thought it was a mistake!
If you have a blog, do you know which post brings you the most visitors?
Has the weather cooled down for you yet? Or warmed up if you’re down under? It’s still pretty hot but they say we might get some relief later in the week.
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You’re lucky they haven’t hit your tomatoes and peppers — those are a particular favorite with the deer here, especially the tomato plants. Drives me batty! Good luck to Greg with hunting. Our muzzle loader season stars this coming week. Hoping my DH gets his tag (he didn’t last year and my freezer sobbed).
Marianne: I think they leave the tomatoes alone because they’re still green. There aren’t many fruits on the vines anyway.
They love to graze on the American Beautyberry bushes–which is fine. They grow wild on our land. I used to whack them down but they’re good for the wildlife so I let them come up as long as they’re not in my way.
re: hunting
Greg’s been talking about hunting with his crowsbow, but he needs to get it restrung.
I like to look at gift guides for precisely the reason you said – even if those items are not the gifts I would purchase, they usually give me ideas for other ones.
The cooler weather is coming! I can feel it! I think…. I hope…. 🙂
Madeline: We’re abnormally warmer for this time of year, but I’m ready for sweaters and chili weather. 🙂
We’re getting some heat this week after the last one being very cool. The deer have cleaned out everything I have planted in my back yard except the trees and the grass. I plant my veggies alongside my house now.
Susan: I wonder if deer had a population explosion everywhere in this country. I never saw it this bad before.
sigh. you get me loving your goats and you start talking about their new home…you freezer. Oh, my.
Mac: Some goats are meant for hay and honey, and some are meant for freezers. That’s life.
Looking forward to your gift guides, though I don’t have many to buy for and I think I’m going with gift cards for a lot this year. It is cooling down here in Phoenix. Our air conditioner actually doesn’t run 24/7 and our last electric bill confirmed that. Relief to see it at a reasonable amount for a change 🙂 All in all, though, I am blessed in that we do have the air conditioning and the ability to be able to be comfortable during the hot times of summer.
betty
Betty: I hear you on the electricity bills. Ours have been sky high this summer.
I might do a gift card for my mother because she likes to eat out, but for everyone else, I already have gifts picked out.
Congrats on being 1st in a google search list – *salutes*
Jenny: I don’t look at my stats often but when I checked last, I found huge numbers for Dog Alley and Pioneer Quest.
I guess the trick is to write posts about unique or obscure facts.