The little homestead is buzzing with activity today. I spent the morning gathering things for tonight’s salad while the hubs prepared the butchering station for the Cornish crosses. We bought a new deep freezer to put them all in this time so I won’t have to fill up the limited space I have left in the refrigerators upstairs and in the garage.

The actual bees were quite busy this morning, too.

They are especially loving the giant sunflowers.

It’s not just the bees, either. I spotted more than a few lady bugs, too.

I didn’t see any bees or ladybugs in the pumpkins, but they’re definitely doing their jobs of pollinating and keeping the other pests away.

The praying mantises and chickens are helping to keep the bug population in check apparently, too, because everything we’ve planted near the coop is almost entirely intact and free from nibbling for the most part.

Well, except what the chickens, ducks and pheasant can reach. 😆

We haven’t used any pesticides or chemicals of any kind because of my faulty immune system so we’re pretty happy that our garden is so healthy using more organic solutions.

The nasturtiums I planted at the ends of all the beds seem to be working as a companion plant now that they’re finally growing, but I’m not sure if they’re taking the brunt of the bug-eating because even they look relatively unscathed.

I am most happy with the asparagus and how it’s coming along and I am SO happy that the chicken that kept escaping the pen didn’t mow them down when she had the chance!

Now that the temperatures are more tolerable it seems like they are thriving again and there’s tons of new growth at the bottom of each one. Next year they should really take off and hopefully we’ll be able to add it to our dinner plates along with everything else!