Some Like It Hot

Things got kind of warm on Wednesday, but there was a nice breeze until about 3pm.  Once that wind died down, it started feeling a bit like an oven.  On the plus side, the humidity didn't move in until the next day.

Even so, our intrepid crew of four (Anden, Jordan, Tammy and myself) managed to get straw mulch spread in the tomatoes, some of the cages pulled out of the grass and some of those cages put up with the tomatoes.  We all moved a little bit slower than we might have on other days, but progress was consistent.  Lots of water was consumed as well.

It looks like we'll be on the warmer side for a while now.  And, it looks like the pattern or rain avoiding us will also continue.  It's odd watching the radar and seeing rain systems fall apart or disappear as they approach us.  And, we've gotten so used to  fretting about too much rain that we're not sure if it is safe to want rain...

Some other notes of interest relating to the Farm Share CSA, our crops, poultry and whatever else comes to mind:

• We lost some of our biggest broilers to the heat on Wednesday.  Never had to deal with that before - and we're not sure that we could have done much more about it than we did.  
• An excellent idea from Jeff Cornforth for our CSA members.  If you are having trouble remembering what you are getting, take a picture of each item in its tray with the label.  You can get home and compare with the picture to remember what you have.
• We do still have 20-25 whole chickens available for sale in this batch.  Get them before they all find their homes.
• The garlic needs to be harvested.  Soon.
• Speaking of things that need to be done soon (we were?), how do you handle a priority list when they are all "priority 1" items?    Then, what do you do when the day is over and half of the priority 1 items are NOT completed?  It may be time for me to rework my post on lists.  But, that is a "priority 5" item, I think.
• Did you know - roosters start crowing sporadically at 4 AM?
• We realize it is a big time for vacations for many of you.  We also realize you are all busy.  However, we could use some volunteer weeding or watering time on the farm.  Contact us if you can help - we'll negotiate a time if you are interested.  
• Related to the above item.  We do have a couple of people who work 4 days a week on the farm and we have a crew of 'on demand' weeders that we also pay.  It's just a reminder of how much there is to do on the farm if we're also asking for a little volunteer help to catch up.