I'm Still Here

I am very disappointed in myself for not keeping up on my blog this year.  It has been a crazy year so far with not feeling the best for several months and with having my Etsy store and selling on eBay I have been busy.  These are just excuses I keep telling myself.
My grandson Brandon who inspired me to start this blog sent me an email early this morning:

So I was just wondering why you haven't posted anything on your blog in 3 weeks exact. I'm just saying your blog is like my nightly newspaper, and I haven't gotten a paper in 3 weeks so I decided to contact the company (you). 
So could you please start posting funny and interesting stuff again? Please.  

So here I am, June has been a nice warm and wet month.  I harvested my beets last weekend and canned 11 pints of pickled beets.  We've had creamed peas with new potatoes twice and buttered peas once.  I have one more picking of peas then they will be pulled up and green beans will be planted.  I put in 2 rows of green beans early this summer but the rabbits ate them.  Hopefully the rabbits have found something different to eat and I will get some this time.  Yesterday I put in the second planting of beets and hopefully I'll get a third planting in.
My tomatoes are going wild, my daughter Renee said they look like they are on drugs.  No ripe ones yet but it is still early.  Cucumbers are loaded with baby cucumbers so I should have cucumbers soon.  I have a couple green peppers and the egg plants are blooming.  We've had plenty of rain this year and I love that.

Chickens: 33 laying hens, 6 new pullets and about 30 adolescent chickens.  Several of the hens, several adolescents and the 6 pullets came from Renee and Brandon.  I sent for some leg bands for the birds and am going to band this years layers so I know for sure what ones to cull next year.  I will be culling several of the ones I have now and replacing them with some I hatched this year.  By winter I want to be down to 30 layers.  The older chickens will be canned for soup, noodles and casseroles while the ones hatched this year will be ground and the breasts frozen for meals.  Of course I will not waste the bones and will can plenty of chicken broth.
Turkeys:  I am planning on culling Ted and Thelma after I get some questions answered on them.  I am new to raising turkeys and need to know if they will be good to roast.  Thelma is 4 and Ted is 6.  If you have an answer for this please let me know.  I have 5 adolescent turkeys and will keep some of them for next years breeding stock.  I want to end up with one male and 2 or 3 females.  I keep trying to hatch Thelma's eggs but am not having any luck.  I have only one turkey from them.  I've lost 6 or 7 when they were just a couple of days old and most of the eggs have not been fertile.

I will be more diligent in posting and hopefully won't bore you.

Went on a ride yesterday and saw this old house.  A good strong wind and she will be no more.