Don't show you are happy when it rains.

After 4 weeks of the dry breath of late summer, the fall rains started on this past Sunday morning while I dozed in bed. Smiling, I slapped the snooze button as the rain pittled against the black plastic that had been stretched out the front door a day before. As the water trickled down the water spout into the Rubbermaid tub for my irrigation system and soaked into the new mulch on my beds, I could almost feel the relief of everything green in Kentucky and imagine the plants putting out their tongues like children with the first snowflake of winter.

Monday morning ended this moist euphoria as I stepped through the automatic sliding door designed by the Honda company. In preparing for my habitual fake nap which saves me from having to speak early in the morning carpool, I couldn't help but overhear the more than usual negative tone coming from the front seat. "This rain ruins everything." "I can't wait till it stops." "Oh great, the weather here is miserable. I can't wait till vacation when I can get a break from rain and kids." Squeezing my eyes tighter didn't quiet the voices, and my restless fake nap was only redeemed by the fact we had to run through the rain to get into the school building with the negative voices screaming and covering their hair.

It is Thursday night and it is still raining. The hulless oats have sprouted. The fall green manure that I planted the 12th is blasting. Everything else on the property seems to be giving it a second go. Life is good.

It has been a month since my last blog post. I will confess some failures. My radishes were too spicy and bitter to eat. I did not keep the ground moist enough and those that did not bolt were thrown aside by the rabbits. A opossum got into the hen house due to a board that warped in the rain. All of the chickens are safe and they think I am the man since I climbed into the coop shirtless at 6:00 am to take out the big bad 'pos. My beans in the former potato bed look terrible most likely due to inconsistent watering. Both of my rabbit does did not drop litters even though I bred them on the 22 of August. I am not sure of the reason for the malfunction. It could have been stress that caused miscarriages when I left them in the care of Dr. Chaos for three days. It might have been too soon for Big Momma since her last little and possibly too early for Sleigh who is about 6 months old and on her first litter. Breeding will cease until spring.

On the positive side though, I have added two new beds in the back yard. Together I will have 200 more square feet of prime planting with direct sunlight for the months of March, April and May. These will be perfect for potatoes and greens for the first stage and vines for the second half. The two front hills have also been prepped for next year. Both the front and the back are covered in black plastic as seen above. The reason for this is to kill grass and weeds underneath and provide a nitrogen boost to the soil as they decay. The beds in the back will have the plastic removed, and the soil will be spaded to break up the clay and allow deeper root penetration in the spring. In the front, the plastic will remain to prevent erosion. Cultivation will occur in 6 in circular cuts through the plastic in which seedlings will be placed and supported with mulch. An irrigation system for this hill is still in the works.

After removing the summer garden, I tilled both beds and added 50 lbs. of compost to each by double digging (digging a trench in two layers and placing the top of one in the bottom of the adjacent trench). On the top layer I placed a fall green manure mix containing winter rye, cow peas and hairy vetch which should act as nitrogen fixers, an anti-erosion tool and future compost to be mixed in during the spring.

With the help of Dipel, an organic bacterial/fungal dust, I was able to take down an infestation of cabbage worms. My brussel sprouts and cabbage are some of the most beautiful plants that I have seen. My fingers are crossed to get some cabbage before it gets too cold. Another couple gallons of sauerkraut would be uber-fantastic.

On Saturday, we harvested 8 rabbits totalling 16 lbs. of local organic tender rabbit meat as well as 8 more hides to be tanned. I never receive outspoken support for my raising of rabbits but it always seems that all meat is spoken for before the first swing of a cleaver. Tanning the hides will begin when the temperature is consistently 80 degrees or lower. The solution of aluminum sulfate will not be effective at higher temperatures, and the last thing I want is a bucket of rotting rabbit skins in my backyard.

Chickens are producing. Since the last blog post on the 18th of August, an average of 2.7 eggs a day has been achieved. This number would increase if double yolk eggs are counted as more than 1 and the size of the eggs, which is too large to fit in standard cartons, is adjusted for. The integrity of the eggs is amazing. I take pleasure in feeding the chickens grubs knowing that they will convert it into something that is not only edible but is delicious.

The most awe inspiring event on the homestead is the picture of what looks like a twig at the top of this post. Look at it again and turn your head to the left. That's right. The larger stem is the apple root stock and the twig coming off to the right was the grafted bud from a Pixie Crunch tree. Based on the qualities of the root stock, the tree will be semi-dwarf, resistant to scab and cold hardy. Based on the bud grafted to the stock, it will produce sweet crisp apples that contrast to the crab apples that would have been produced by the original stock. In February I will cut off all growth above the bud and force all growth to go out of the graft.

Until next time, enjoy the rain in your fake and real naps.