Galloway Farm

This is a 100-year-old Shagbark Hickory tree.  There are about 4 or 5 of these along an old fence row.  They provide awesome amounts of shade.  Don’t know that you can eat the nuts; but they tell me they are good for adding to your charcoal for grilling, although I did find some Shagbark Hickory syrup.  For what it’s worth, the kids say the inside of the hickory nut husk smells like a pumpkin.

Some of the family came over Saturday for a hot day outside.  Lots of sunshine along with two good thunderstorms.  The perfect day for relaxing in the shade with popsicles and cool water.

These newborn bluebirds are so new that I can’t even make out what’s what or how many there are in this pic.  These are the second family of bluebirds to nest in this box this spring/summer.  I also found this awesome picture of an even newer baby blue.  Now I just have to protect them from local Shrikes when they come around near time for the bluebirds to fly out of the nest.

3 of our 4 boys working over a body bag hanging in the barn that had another thing coming.

I saw this big spider on my barn door.  No idea what type he is.

UPDATE:  Thanks to Ray Sadler, we’ve decided this spider is either a Furrow Spider or Garden Orb Weaver.

What a great night it was for an outside movie!  A little warm and muggy; but it is late June.  We counted over 80 people who showed up for several hours of grilling, music, hanging out and a fun kids movie.  Kids LOVE outdoor movies.  We’ll have to do that again soon and see if we can break 100 people next time.

Recently as I approached the farm, I saw vultures…about 30 of them all around the pond.  Vultures are never a good sign.  On further inspection, I started to see dead fish…lots of them.  This could be the result of the hot weather or a low oxygen level in the water or both.  I’m even wondering if lightning might’ve struck the pond because there are no dying fish; only dead fish. 

We cleaned up 130 dead fish to avoid the smell and to watch for new dead fish showing up.  If it continues, we’ll have to install an aerator to add more oxygen if we want to save the fish.

Movies @ The Barn 

Join us this Friday night, June 18^th for a movie under the stars on the side of the Galloway Barn.  Grab your family and invite anyone you’d like to come.  Movie still TBD; but we’ll be showing a kid friendly movie for sure.  See you there! 

What To Bring:

• Bring your own snacks & drinks.  Feel free to get there early and do a picnic supper!  Grills on site.
• Chairs or blankets to sit on.

 

Odds & Ends:

• My cell is 615-594-0561
• Email for directions at jack@daveramsey.com 
• Rain is always a possibility; but unless it’s raining at movie time, we’re on.
• It’s supposed to feel a little cooler Friday night.  (70’s)
• No RSVP needed.  (but it’s always fun to know if you want to email me or comment here)
• Doors open Friday at 5:30 pm.
• Movie @ dusk.  (around 7:45 pm or so)
• Park anywhere

Better duck when the barn swallows are on the move!  These birds nest on top of the lights inside the barn and are very active feeding all those babies right now.  At first glance, they look a lot like blue birds; but a closer look and you’ll notice their forked tails and white breast.  Check out barn swallows for some great info and pics of them.

Not a great picture I know; but you should’ve seen all these ants!  I lifted a trash can that has been in the same place for months near the pond and these guys came racing out.  There were hundreds of them, maybe more.  These ants bite so you definitely don’t want to mess with them.