Summer and fire have season arrived in Benton City after what felt like the longest, coldest winter. I can’t remember the last time that we had so much ice and snow for as long as we had did this year. All of the extra moisture made for a lot of weeds that grew tall and dried out quickly when the warm weather arrived. While at first it seemed like we have had a slow start to summer weather, we have had on average two days a week that have reached into the 90’s. I greatly appreciate the cooler days in between as it gives the animals outside a break from the highs temps and a chance to recuperate before the next hot days creep in.
Even though I have not been writing, that does not mean things have been quiet here. Since the last blog post, I had to say good bye to one of the old barn kitties, Snaffle. He was having an increasingly difficult time getting around and life just was not happy for him anymore. Several of my older chickens passed on as well. Also, over last summer, my Dad had brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. He is doing wonderful!
But, now things are starting to find some level of normal once again (really, what is normal anyway?). The garden is looking more like a garden and less like an abandoned field. The method of choice for the weed elimination has been a combination of RoundUp, manual labor and some fire… Not much has been planted yet, but currently there are tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries (the wild critters are enjoying those!), lavender and rhubarb. Dad has been doing quite a bit of container gardening on and around the back patio. He has been growing lemon grass, different types of peppers and various flowers – it looks great out there!
Some more chickens and ducks have been added to the flock (most were from friends and a couple from neighbors). A fun new addition to the flock of birds is a trio of Pomeranian geese! You will get to hear more about the geese in a future post, however they are more like having feathered dogs. They are constantly busy and looking for things to get into. One of the girls (Catarina) has been recovering for several weeks now from a leg injury caused by being spooked. I have been using a couple of different products on Catarina’s leg and foot to clean the wounds, reduce the chance of infection and help her heal as quickly as possible. My favorite product so far has been Dy’s Liquid Bandage Salve made by Advanced Biological Concepts. It has helped keep the skin moist and it promotes healing as well as the growth of new tissue while reducing the amount of scar tissue. Once she is fully healed, I will post pictures! This is one of those products that I keep in my animal’s first aid kit for sure! I have used this on the parrots, dogs, cats, and now the goose. Here is a link to the manufacturer’s website in case you want to add some to your pet first aid kit. https://www.abcplus.biz/
In my next post, you meet the small flock of Budgies that call Almost Plum Nearly Ranch their home. They might be little parrots, but they have a huge personality!
The Almost Plum Nearly Ranch Diaries 