14 Acres +/-: August in Wisconsin

It's gonna be a hot one! The moisture is thick in the air this morning, causing a haze that makes it seem overcast. The sun is trying to burn it off, but then it will become a real scorcher. The mosquitoes are voracious, and anything I attempt in the garden turns into a feeding frenzy for them. I have lots of weeds to pull and veggies to pick but need a net suit to even try.

Tomato season is hitting full force. I have Rose (far right, my favorite slicer), Polish Bulls Horn (center), Whippersnapper (yellow cherry) which I grew upside down in a hanging bucket. red and green Zebra(left)and a salad tomato (center). The Brandywines and plum tomatoes are just starting to ripen. Today I picked eggplant for babganoush (I prefer to cook my eggplant on the grill) a roasted eggplant spread, enough wax beans for dinner and a cross-pollinated summer squash covered in warts.

I picked another huge batch of Basil yesterday, dried some and made another batch of pesto to freeze. It is really enjoying this weather and growing like mad.

This past weekend we loaded 100 bales of straw into the barn with lots of help from Boogie. He considers a stack of straw to be his own personal jungle gym. It's funny to watch him 'help' try to move bales that weigh more than he does!

Since the large sandbox did not seem to be forthcoming, I purchased a very large, shallow tote and a few bags of paving sand (as play sand was not available) and Boogie now has a make shift sandbox, albeit a small one. It's better than going another year without. He loves digging in the dirt! I also had a sand castle kit that I bought off season last winter. When we finally get the big sand box filled I can re-use the tote.

I brought up the dam of the youngest litter of bunnies to remove any mats and pluck fiber before I move her to a doe pen. I'm not allowing any breeding during hot summer weather. I spent an hour grooming out the few small mats and plucking an ounce or so of usable wool. Again, Boogie was his always helpful self, very excited about the bunny even before I opened the carrier!