Spiked M Ranch

It’s been a while since I did an Around the Ranch post, but I’m back to fill you all in on what’s been going on here!

• If you’ve been reading my garden posts, you know that my flowers are finally blooming! I’m very excited! I’ve never been much into flowers, but they’re growing on me (get it?), and I’ll be adding more flower areas around our house next year. I planted some perennials this year, but in true Steph fashion, didn’t really water them. They’re still alive but definitely not thriving.

  

• I really like this sunflower picture, and I’m not really sure why. It’s off center because it was windy and it blew the flower out of the shot. The background is blurry, which makes it look like I have a fancy phone and/or fancy photography skills, neither of which is true. So really, it’s just a mistake picture. Maybe that’s why I like it.
• The pigs are getting big. They’ll be headed to the meat locker at the end of the month. I’m not sure how we’re going to load them, but the trailer that we got should definitely help. For some reason, these aren’t as friendly as our pigs have been. The last two years, the pigs would come up and say hi and wait for a back scratch. These are content to be at least an arm’s distance away and don’t love sudden movements. Loading them should be interesting.
• The sheep are enjoying their fresh pasture everyday. The bank by the driveway is really difficult to mow, so Ryan’s been putting them there, and they’ve done an awesome job taking care of all the weeds that grow up there.
• We’re processing our last batch of chickens tomorrow (thanks for watching the kids, Susie!).
• We get about a dozen eggs a day from our layers who are still enjoying the sun and grass.
  
• We’ve figured out that we’re really not gardeners. I like seeing everything grow and getting the produce, but we’re terrible about weeding. Terrible. But, despite the fact that our plants are weed-choked and dry, we’ve gotten quite a few vegetables! I’ve been making a stir fry out of green beans and side pork a lot lately. It’s been a quick lunch to throw together in between baby feeding and naps and playing with a toddler. There’s zucchini in this one, too! (Does anyone else love cast iron? It’s the only thing we cook with.)
  

  That’s what’s been going on Around the Ranch!