Slight Detour: Eats! At Home and along the Roadsides

There's an older two-horse trailer at the end of the driveway next to Selle Road.

A sign reads "Farm Stand."

It took me a few trips by the driveway to learn that the farm stand is the horse trailer.

I figured that out on one trip when I saw some stuff written on the open door of the trailer.

Yesterday afternoon, while traveling the Gold Creek Road, I didn't have to wonder about the location of one beautifully constructed and well-planned farm stand.

There were banners attached to stumps greeting travelers from either direction.

"Farm fresh eggs," the banners advertised.

And, a sign on each stump told the same story.

One would have to be asleep to miss this place of rural commerce.

Seems like farm stands are popping up all over the county, which means travelers on the back roads won't go hungry, or they can do their shopping for goodies like homemade jewelry or soaps.

I remember the first time I had seen anything resembling these farm stands.

Twas in Maui, and, if you wanted a fresh banana while traveling a back road, all you had to do was stop at a makeshift stand, grab two or three and leave your money.

All on the honor system.

I thought that was pretty neat, and now we see the farm stands all over our rural neighborhoods.

I always have thought how neat it would be to grow stuff and sell it at the end of the driveway, but that notion continues to remain just a thought.

Now that we have our own wide selection depending on which road we travel, it's probably best to not add to the competition.

Along with the availability, I must say these homegrown businesses are getting fancier all the time.

Like gardening expenses, I hope they sell enough goods to pay for the infrastructure.

Then again some things in life are not all about the money. I can attest to that with my own gardening and with my horses.

Much more output than income, but in some situations it's the intangibles that more than make up for the cash expenditures.

Garden planting:

Yesterday marked the end of my 2025 planting projects, which began in early March.

Yay!

Tomatoes and cukes all left the greenhouse and found their new homes in the dirt of the fenced-in garden.

When I didn't use up all the space, I grabbed an envelope of carrot seed.

I have so many envelopes of carrot seed. It appears that every time I bought seed this year, which is often in well-spaced intervals during the spring, I thought I needed carrots.

So, I have about eight packets. Why not try planting them in the ground again since there are seeds aplenty, I thought.

We'll see if the pesky vermin stay out of the garden, although I do remember a couple of years ago seeing some nibble marks on some cukes.

It's a constant battle, no matter what. I quit planting carrots in the ground when one year every carrot I picked had the bottoms eaten away.

So, with this carrot planting, I'll take my chances because I have others growing in raised planters.

Anyway, it felt good to have all of this year's garden in the ground. Lots of watering and more than enough weed picking lie ahead along with the sweet flavor of fresh from the garden.

This morning my cukes look like they were rigorous enough to fend off cool overnight temperatures. Only one wimp among the bunch, and it doesn't even look that bad.

CB, back to eating hay for early breakfast.

Today the horses will begin grazing in a second pasture.

We're fortunate enough around here to have four different pastures loaded with grass, allowing us to rotate the Lily, Lefty and CB every few weeks.

Pasture No. 1 will sit idle after a two-week stretch of grazing. Bill has the electric fence tape all set up so I can lead the horses to the lane, shut a gate behind them and then herd them to the second pasture.

We started following this routine last year, and it really saves on the walking time. I do get enough walking during the summer months with hose dragging, weed eating and leading horses.

So, it's fine with me to cut down on the time by herding them all at once to the gate, and doing the same when they return to the barnyard.

Because of this pasture change and because the grass is so plentiful and rich, the horses are back to the routine of filling their bellies with hay before going to pasture.

This process cuts down on their tendency to gorge on rich grass.

The fragrance of this Iris variety is to die for.

Yesterday something spooked the horses in Pasture No. 1. I soon saw that three does had entered Pasture No. 2.

From the looks of at least one belly, it won't be long before the does are busy being mamas.

I read on Facebook yesterday about a fawn sighting just a couple of miles away, so it's about time for the little Bambi's to appear, nestled in somewhat hidden spots.