Tom Malone, blackberries, goats and pigs

After several days absence the cat was back last night. Such is the life of a tomcat. Since Mama named him, Tom, and was constantly fussing at the dogs to leave Tom alone, I just finished out the name to be more formal. Thus, he became Tom Malone. When he showed up last night, Mama was prepared. She had bought some canned cat food before he disappeared, so it was at the ready when he resituated himself on our property. We are well past the time when he could do any damage to the chicks – which are now almost as big as the mature chickens. Mama’s hope is that he will be a good mouser for us. I have little worry that he will become a nuisance at the house. There are three dogs in the back yard anxious to make his acquaintance. He has consciously avoided them. Victoria did tell me there was an encounter with the dogs. She had to call them off as Tom made a hasty exit. That is when he disappeared for a time. Mama is happy to see him back. Lord only knows why. I do know that he will be a draw for the local coyotes. Domestic cat is at the top of their list of delicacies. Hiding within Sam and Sasha’s circle of protection should work out well for him even though Sam and Sash have not specifically taken on his watch care.

 Mama harvested quite a few blackberries last night. She is more excited about them than anything else we have growing at the moment. Maybe that is because they are ready to be harvested. We are still nursing along our peaches, plums, apricots, figs, blueberries, and grapes, but they are a month away from ripening. We took the night off from our research, so I could work in the garden. It has been sorely neglected of late and was showing obvious signs of that neglect. I tilled between the rows of vegetable plants and ran soaker hoses to water those same rows. Two rows each of okra and butternut squash, and one row of potatoes. All the plants perked up quickly after a thorough soaking. The plants in the raised bed are doing very well but Mama has been more diligent about watering them. The long, hot afternoons are hard on the plants as they struggle to build the root system to survive. They will get there with a little help but the extreme hot – for this time of year – is continuing to challenge them. The peppers, tomatoes and onions are doing well in spite of the heat. The pumpkins, cantaloupe, zucchini and cucumbers are thriving despite the heat.

Mama and I will go to Bowie this evening to retrieve our two nanny goats that are now bred. (Another night off for us.) Rick called yesterday to let Mama know they could come home. We have not had any success selling the goats yet, but I am confident that that time is coming. We still have the two little bucklings to sell and Mama is willing to part with Kia and Yukie if we find an interested buyer. Also, the Nubian Dwarf goats are showing signs of being near the point of kidding. I did not know what to expect from them as far as how many kids we can expect from each one, but I believe twins are common. Zack and Alissa have expressed interest in getting one of them for their place, but I have not verified the interest with Zack. As far as a farm pet goes, they would make great pets. They eat significantly less than the Myotonic goats. They seem to relish the heat, and they prefer to be outside versus inside any shelter – except overnight. They sleep in the pig building through the night.

Although I have not spent any time on it lately, I still plan on putting the Nubians in the paddock by the shop. The cattle seem to like that area, but I need to get the pig building ready for the piglets Mama has already spoken for. One of the families at our church is raising pigs for the first time. He told me Sunday that two of his six sows are very close to having their litters of piglets. I think Mama has spoken for two. It will not take much effort to get the pig enclosure back in service for pigs but I still have a good deal of work to do on the paddock so I can move the goats.

At some point, all the effort we are putting into this business will pay off and I will have both the time and the money to finish the projects I have on the farm. I am looking forward to that day.