It's been awhile since our last blog post. July was a busy month with trying to fit in fun, farm work, and some vacation time before we went back to school to teach the kiddos. Austin is an art teacher and I (Serena) am a school librarian. We towed our travel trailer to Hot Springs, NC followed by Grayson Highlands, VA. We have to say that the Grayson Highlands are one of our favorite places on Earth! Andric requested a kayak for his birthday (coming up on August 27th), so we bought it for him a month early and we are hoping we get to use it frequently on the weekends before it turns cold.
We are down to 7 guinea fowl. Limpy Loo disappeared for good. We watched a YouTube video and were able to sex them and discovered that Limpy was actually a female based on her call. It's a bummer that we have far fewer females than males in our flock. I guess next spring we will get to look for their eggs. Hopefully some will get fertilized and we will have more guinea fowl.
We lost our sweet Basset Hound, Basil on July 21st. We were on our way home from vacation when he was tragically hit by a car. We only had him for 3 years and are devastated. He was such a sweet boy and a comforting presence on the farm. He was always Austin's shadow in the garden and in the blacksmith shop.
The weather has been rainy, which we aren't complaining about one bit. It's a relief to see our flower plots well-watered. We are still offering You Pick and photo sessions by appointment only. We continue to be at the Jonesborough Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8-12. Today a camera crew is coming to film us for an exciting project which we will announce soon!
Over the weekend Austin mowed the spent sunflowers and tilled and we planted our newest succession of sunflowers in four plots which should be in bloom by early fall. We also planted pumpkins back in mid-July so we look forward to having pumpkins and sunflowers for You Pick and photography. Austin is continuously working on smithing commissions. He will have some of his blacksmith sculptural artwork on display in Nelson Fine Art and Frames on Friday, October 1st during First Friday in downtown Johnson City.