July 6-12, 2026

Weather | 7/6, sunny, 65°, 85° | 7/7, sunny, 65°, xx° | 7/8, xx°, xx° | 7/9, xx°, xx° | 7/10, xx°, xx° | 7/11, xx°, xx° | 7/12, xx°, xx° |

• Monday, 7/6: Berry Picking & Mowing
  • Mary picked 2.5 quarts of blackberries. We now have a total of 7.5 quarts of this year's blackberries in the freezer. The north field berry patches are developing into a big berry producing area.
  • Mary noticed today as the first day of dog day cicadas, or annual cicadas, that come out at the start of the dog days of summer.
  • Mary heard chimney swift babies peeping as she walked by the chimney on the second floor landing.
  • Mary's Merlin app on her cell phone picked up a great-tailed grackle call. She said it's rare for this bird to be here.
  • Blue vervain is blooming in the north field.
  • I mowed up a bucket of clover and poured it out over about half of the floor in the chick side of the coop. By late afternoon, the chicks polished off all but a couple leaves of that green clover. 
  • I mowed between the far garden and the compost bins, outside of the far garden, and between the far garden fences. My next chore is trimming grass under the electric fence wires so I can turn on the far garden electric fence. Mary has tomato and tomatillo plants that are turning into vines and need to be planted. Grass mulch went around the planted raspberries and under the Empire apple tree.
  • A small fawn, which could barely look out over the grass, jumped up just east of the far garden when I first starting mowing. It looked at me for a few minutes, then bounced off to the east.  
  • Every evening Cooper is outside with me when I wash up chicken waterers. We walk to the south orchard where I dump the waste water around apple trees. Cooper loves tagging along and usually finds a bunny to chase.