Country Livin' in the Summer

Dear Mom,

Summer is just flying by! So much to do and see. The county fair is always a highlight of my summer...to see the proud 4-Hers displaying their projects and the community coming together to appreciate and support them is heartwarming. The "Small Animal Barn" is my favorite place to visit at the fair. It houses the poultry, pygmy goats and rabbits.

These are Sarah's pygmy goats--Jolly, Yeager and Bud. They just wouldn't hold still! Here are two adorable Jersey Wooly rabbits.
This is a beautiful Belgian Bearded D'Uccle rooster--Meg's male counterpart. Looks like he needed a special warning sign against poking fingers...poor little guy.

The weather has been superb and my little garden is producing some wonderful veggies. I really thought my beans were finished once the rabbits discovered them. I covered them with bird netting to keep the rabbits out and quickly learned that bean plants do not actually need their leaves to blossom and produce fruit. There are so many beans now that I don't mind sharing them with the rabbits.

This is my first big harvest...green beans, green peppers, Early Girl tomato and zucchini.

I'm eager to try out this sweet corn, but I'm not quite sure how to know when it's ready to be harvested...The 16-foot tall Sunzilla sunflowers....didn't quite make it much past 5 feet!! Oh well, they are still pretty along the fence line. These sunflowers turned out to be HIGH MAINTENANCE! The rabbits, bugs and shade are their enemies.

The hummingbirds are plentiful this year. Summer just wouldn't be summer without them, don't you agree?! Benny is certainly enjoying his warm summer days...on my clean tablecloth! Love, Bonnie Jo

Monster Sunflowers

Dear Mom,

I was inspired by The Great Sunflower Project, a program to help with bee conservation. Participants are asked to watch and record the bees at sunflowers in their gardens. The sunflower chosen for this year's bee study is "Lemon Queen". As I was scanning the large variety of sunflower seeds, a came across "Sunzilla".

These giant sunflowers will reach up to 16 feet tall! I intend to plant them in a row on the outside of the fence (out of reach of the chickens) where they will make a living hedge.

They are off to a good start, and they are growing fast! I feel like I'm in first grade again, excitedly watching the seeds sprout and then magically bend toward the sunlight!

Love, Bonnie Jo