Ins & Outs

Ins and outs and ups and downs
Life's road meanders aimlessly?
Or so it seems, but somehow
Leads us where we need to be, ~ John McLeod

Oh, it has been one of those weekends.  Friday night, #2 daughter had 2 friends stay over... #2 son had my nephew over....kids laugh...and talk ALOT...and LATE!  The man went to work Saturday and the nephew had to leave to go visit his grandma.  #1 son came along and picked up #2 son and took him for the weekend.  Which just left us girls here.  We got some work done in the garden and then the man came home.  We decide to take the girls swimming in the river.  We were all hot, sweaty and covered with hay....and then we were freezing!  The river still has not warmed up.  Whereas #1 and #2 son were swimming in 72 degree pool we were swimming in 50 degree water.  Well actually it was 64 but felt like 50!!!!  We were not hot again for the rest of the day!!!  We shivered our way home and had steak on the grill.  Then we decided to take the girls fishing.

It is now after 7 pm so all the canoers are off the river.  We cast in all the lines and here comes two male adults and a female adult walking down to the rivers edge.  They are carrying a kayak and they stop right by us.  It becomes apparant that they are going to go swimming right near where we have our lines cast instead of anywhere else on the river.  My man asks "Excuse me, are you really going to go swimming right where our lines are"  and the man replies that they just want to get their feet wet, won't be splashing around and will kayak up the river away from our lines.   My man realizes he doesn't have his license and leaves to go get it.  The woman gets in the kayak and paddles out.  The men start chucking rocks bigger than softballs at her!  She thinks it is funny but the girls are asking me why they are doing it and won't it scare away the fish.  I say some people's idea of fun is a little warped and they fail to take other people into consideration.  My man returns.  This rock throwing continues for about 10 minutes and by now he is fuming and then he finally explodes.  He asks them "Are you ****ing serious, do you have a ****ing problem or can you not see that we are trying to fish here."  The woman comes in and one of the guys gets in the kayak and the other guy says "Yelling at me is not the way to get me to do what you want, you should ask"!!!!! My man says "I asked you before you even got in the water"  The guy says "I would never use that word in front of my child"  My man says "Normally I wouldn't but I've had it with the rock throwing"  And I had to get into it and say "You wouldn't swear in front of your child but you have no problem ruining a fishing trip for these girls,  Yup that makes you a good man"  So the rocks continue flying because the guy is a total dirtbag.  We sit for a good five minutes and then my man goes and gets his biggest pole.  He starts baiting it and says "You know what? I am going to cast right at your friend in the kayak"  The guy on shore throwing the rocks says "why because I am throwing rocks?"  My man says "Yeah, you are ruining my fishing, I will ruin his kayaking"  So the rock throwing stops.

All is peaceful on the riverfront.  Across the river we see a deer walking the shoreline. Ah nature! The girls start wondering if she has a fawn hidden in the bushes. #2 says Bambi use to be here favorite movie.   Then the deer runs up the embankment and proceeds to get hit by a van driving down the road that parallels the river.  No I am not kidding.  The girls get upset wondering if she is still alive and what will happen to her baby now if she has one.  As we are talking to them, in pulls our local fire department to re-fill the fire truck because they filled someone's pool. (Something they are not suppose to do anymore)  We gave up, hauled in our lines and left.  Mr. Rock thrower was nice enough to give us the one finger wave as we drove away...very classy guy don't ya know.

We dropped #2's friends off, had coffee with their mom then came home to an early bed.  I let everyone sleep in Sunday morning while I enjoyed the peace and quiet and spinning.  After a breakfast courtesy of #2 daughter we did barn chores and started working in the basement.  I needed to organize the shelves a little to see what canned goods we had left.  We heard thunder so we go upstairs to check the Weather channel.  The man decides he wants to watch Shutter Island.  The rains pour down and we have a stream running down the drive.  It stops, the movie ends and the man goes to light the burn pile while everything is wet.  I start taking down the laundry that was on the line to rewash since the line bowed down into the grass and dirt....and it starts to rain again. I have no clue how much rain we got yesterday but suffice it to say I will not be working in the garden today.  I will be back down in the basement sorting the canning jars for the up coming season.  Sometimes we don't always get our jars back from friends and family and they need to be replaced.   We have been having the oddest weather....cool then hot which makes storms which drowns everything and cools it down again.  I hope it doesn't have any ill effects on the garden.  Everything is looking real good right now. 

I already know I have to put up more corn, beans, salsa, hot pepper mustard, tomatoes and tomato soup and I don't want to buy it to do it.  And hopefully the fence continues to keep the deer on the outside of the garden

In need of a new thermostat!

“If you don't like the weather, wait a minute” ~ supposedly Mark Twain

Mother Nature and I have to work on things as neither of us has been good at regulating our temperature's recently.  Last week we were in the 80's.  Saturday it was hot.  Early evening we decided to go fishing and a t-storm blew over.  We got wet and I got cold and I mean shivering, can't warm up cold.  Sunday we were putting up fences

(with help from Domino!) 

and a t-storm blew over.  We got wet and I got cold.  We came in to eat, then it was back to fencing and a t-storm blew over.  We got wet and I got cold.  We finally finished the fence.  I came in showered and was hot again.  We went for ice cream and I was cold again.  I came home and closed all the windows.  Woke up this morning to 46 degrees.  I am typing with a hoodie on!  I feel like my grandmother that wore sweaters all summer!

But I am not really complaining.  We got a lot done.  We were in a tornado watch but nothing came of it and no hail fell to beat down my plants.   I got some fleece washed and some spinning in.  And since I don't want to go in the garden while it is so wet I will probably get more spinning in today.  Things could be so much worse than needing a hoodie.

Still Plodding Away In the Garden

“A positive attitude may not solve every problem but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience.” ~ Grant Fairley

I am positive that it has been such a productive week that I was almost afraid to say anything for fear of that changing!!! 

Tuesday night the man retilled the empty area in the garden and around the tomatoes to keep the weeds down. 

Wednesday I raked the empty area and  planted the squash,  more tomatoes and Hidatsa Red beans.  I laid the black plastic by the row of zucchini and yellow squash and around the hills of cushaw and LI Cheese.  The heat of the day caught up to me and I retreated to the house. 

Thursday morning I weeded the parsley and dill, tied the blackberry canes up,

planted some more gladiolas and elf lilies.  By then it was time to take the dog  to the vet and he now has an appointment to be neutered on June 29th.  On the way home we stopped off at #1 son's lot and picked up a load of firewood.   After dinner it finally dawned on me the weatherman whom had preditions of rain/t-storms all week was a liar.  We got nothing so I watered half the garden.

Yesterday the kids and man left and I had tea and toast outside under the maple tree while a load of laundry was in the washer.  It seems the kids "forgot" they had any dirty laundry until  they realized they were going to their dad's for the weekend.  So before they left they for school they dropped 4-5 loads on me!  Realizing nothing was getting done with me sitting there, I hung up that load, started another and went to water the other half of the garden.  While the sprinkler was going I started laying woodchips on the permanent pathways. I remembered I had a gallon bag of thyme sitting in my fridge so I came in and put that in the dehydrater.  Just then the washer was done so I hung that load and put in another.  Back out to the garden to fill in missing spots on the peas.  Because the greenbeans did not look like they were amounting to much  I planted the old standby's...Blue Lake Pole right next to them.  I have to put the poles in and string up some fencing but I have to have green beans!  Before calling it a morning in the garden I hilled up the potatoes.  I came in, hung out another load of laundry, filled the washer again and made a bottle to take to Domino.  He has been moved out of the house (finally) and in with his breathren.  He was in the barn with Ayla (the bottle baby from two years ago) and made quite the noise when he saw me come in.  After devouring the bottle we went out to the field and sat in the shade of a tree to watch the other sheep.

 Watching them made me yearn to play in fiber so I grabbed Bozo's fleece and started picking thru that. 

The kids came home and I put it away to finish another day.  They left with their dad, the man and I left for shopping.

Since we didn't get any rain last night either I was back out in the garden by 6:30.  I priced straw at $7/bale and decided hay would be cheaper to mulch with.  It adds more weed seed to the garden but so does manure and I need too much to pay $7 a bale.  So far today I hoed, hilled, weeded around, papered and mulched the 30 foot rows of cabbage, brussel sprouts, green beans, yellow beans, squash and the few tomatoes I planted the other day.  All that still needs to be papered and mulched is the tomatoes I planted earlier.  There was a slight wind which made it so much fun...NOT!  I finally had the hose laying next to the row and would paper, wet it down, paper, wet it down until I finished the row and then I would mulch it.  My back is screaming and the sun is full on the garden so I am taking a break until later this evening. 

#1 daughter is up in a plane right now, flying down to Florida with her sister, her dad, and his wife.  As part of her sister's Make a Wish they are going to Disney.  I hope they have a great time together and that they get to know each other a little better.  I also hope that Sir T remembers to maintain their garden while she is away!

Now that I have cooled down a little I am going to wash the wool I picked out yesterday and then take a shower to remove the hayseed.  Then I am going to sit out under the maple and spin until the man gets home from work.  Shade, peace and quiet, fiber...what more can one want for?

Garden 2010

Now seeds are just dimes to the man in the store

And the dimes are the things that he needs,
And I've been to buy them in seasons before
But have thought of them merely as seeds;
But it flashed through my mind as I took them this time,
"You purchased a miracle here for a dime."
- Edgar A. Guest, A Package of Seeds

This post is really for no reason other than to document the garden as it stands now.  The North corner would be by the clematis.  There are still Green Striped Cushaws, Hales Best Canteloupe, Cherry Bomb Peppers and extra tomatoes to go in....somewhere between the tomatoes and zucchini!!!  Not noted on here...there are sunflowers planted at every fence post.  If you are walking in the garden gate, on the left by the lovage is gladiola's. Broom corn is planted between the posts behind the carrots and down the side three posts.  There is Hopi Red Dye Amaranth planted between posts down by the tomatoes and Elephant head Amaranth planted between posts by the potatoes. 

The blueberries are 2 Bluecrop and 1 Blue Ray purchased from the Wayne Conservation 2010 seedling sale.  The Gala apple was purchased there also.  Somewhere is the name of the other apple tree which I purchased from them last year.

I am unsure of how this garden will perform since it is newly tilled land.  I did not invest much money into seed because of that.  I used alot of saved seed.  The seed I did by was from Agway or Walmart, some was only 25 cents.  I have never tried these bush beans before, usually I stick with Blue Lake or Kentucky Wonder.  The chickens conspired against me and broke into the garden early on.  The carrots and peas were the only things planted then and the carrots took the brunt of their scratching.  I weeded them and didn't find many so I am deciding if I should put the peppers there or reseed.  Carrots are fairly cheap and I would use the peppers more so I am pretty sure which way I am leaning on that!  So far I have only mulched the carrots, kohlrabi, pea and one row of cabbage.  Lots more work to do.

After I decide what more I can squeeze in, it will just be weeding, harvesting, canning and eating. Something to look forward too.

Therapy

A good friend is cheaper than therapy. ~Author Unknown

You know how everybody has that one friend...the one that the most odd and curious things can happen too?  Well today...The man was getting into the shower so we could go to town when the phone rang.  My son answered the call.  It was my friend.  #2 son thought she was joking but finally handed the phone to the man.  The man thought it was a joke, unintelligent mumblings of boa's.   He agreed to go over to her house.

We get in the truck and drive the mile and a half over to her house.  Why...because she had set a mouse trap under her sink.  When she went to check it, she found this....

Suffering from Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) she was manic! 

We all found immense humor in it, especially her nephew but she was freaking.  The man quickly grabbed the mouse trap, walked over into the woods and opened the trap to free the poor thing. 

We leave for home.  She is going shopping for moth balls and foam insulation!

Nature's Pace

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. ~R.W. Emerson

I don't think Summer is showing any patience.  I had a 24 hour bug on Wednesday and slept the whole day.  Thankfully one of the symptoms was I didn't feel the heat.  Thursday morning I decided to go out into the garden and make up for my day of dozing.  I quickly learned that feeling better also took away my earlier disregard of the temps.  I wasn't out there two hours and I had kicked my own butt.  I did get four rows hoed, papered and mulched.  I came inside to do less strenous work and sit in front of the fan.  After the kids got home the predicted thunder, lightning and rain came.  We went to the barn to check on things and #2 daughter in her haste to see the lambs almost stepped on this little baby....

After the poor snake collected his wits he moseyed away, all six foot of him. 

The rain helped cool things down a little but it wasn't enough and barely put anything in the rain barrels.

Today I went out to the garden shortly after getting everyone off to school and work.  It was beautiful, so much better than yesterday, cloudy and 70!  I got more irises planted, the stakes in for the pea fence, two pea fences strung, sunflowers planted at every post, two more rows hoed, papered and mulched.  Then it came to this...

amaranth.  Let me rephrase that...a whole lotta amaranth.  The Hopi red dye amaranth is from Cyndi and I had elephant head amaranth.   I dug up a couple of each and moved them.   #2 son will till what is left back into the soil so I can plant something else there.

I am almost done planting,  I still have to transplant the zucchini, yellow squash, LI cheese squash, try to fit more tomatoes in and maybe some Charlevoix dark red kidney beans seeded in.  and...and...and...

This weekend will be busy so I hope I can find time.  We have to move #1 daughter on Saturday and go to the Amish market by her...wonder what I will come home with!  Then Sunday and Monday we have to help #1 son clear their lot so they can start building their house.  We get all the firewood, which will need to get stacked to season for later use.  The kids will be busy this weekend too!!!!

Now I am going to take the next 15 minutes before the kids come barging in for a quick cup of sanity saving coffee.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Another Weekend Roundup

There aren't enough days in the weekend. ~Rod Schmidt


I always think of Friday night as part of the weekend so I will start there...Before driving for Chinese, we took #2 son three places to put in job applications.  He wants a job to replace the Ipod touch he got for Christmas.  When his arm was in the sling he tucked the Ipod in there and then leaned over to flush the toilet...it didn't stay tucked in there and he is back to using his nano which doesn't have wifi...the poor boy.  After dinner we (hopefully) did all the grocery shopping for the next two weeks.  We came home, fell into bed and were rudely awakened by the dogs barking because a fox was outside calling.

The man had to work half a day on Saturday but arrived late as there were new lambs to attend to first.  After they were taken care of I proceeded to the garden to plant some more potatoes and finally get the cucumbers, basil and nasturtiums seeded.  When he got home we found out the township was having it's annual cleanup.  We quickly loaded up some garbage and transported it there.  Then it was mowing and weed whacking around the barn.  Friends came to visit after dinner, some plants were dug for them to take home and then we relaxed for a short time before going to bed.

Sunday dawned and I got up early but the rest of the household believes in sleeping in a little on Sunday.  I knit a little and then went to the garden, weeded some and seeded in sunflowers and broom corn.  After the barn chores got done, we left to go pick up turkeys since #1 doesn't want us to use the two we have as holiday meals.  When we returned one friend stopped by to pick up some manure and #1's friend Jen stopped by with her children to show them the animals.  After some lawn mowing around the house and dinner we went to the barn to find two more lambs running around.

So we are officially done lambing at this time.  We ended up with five boys and three girls that lived, only two of which are black/white and the others white.  The total would have been six boys and five girls if Aila's had lived.  Two lambs born the day earlier had sharp teeth and momma was not liking it.  She wouldn't let them nurse and was pushing them aside.. So the man made me file them down by saying his hands were too big to help them.  He was cringing the whole time but I think the mom was happy.  This is Domino

and this is the other black sheep a little ewe.  It's a horrible picture but she is all black except those markings on her face.

These lambs are much different than the lambs from two years ago.  Two years ago they were pure Finn.  This year the ewe's are all Finn but the ram is "supposedly" a Finn/Romney.  As I had stated in a previous post  he doesn't have many Romney traits.  He is slightly smaller than my girls and doesn't have the wool face plus he has horns.  These lambs all have much stockier legs where I am use to seeing the Finn's delicate legs.  Also their tails are longer than the Finn's not by much but still longer.  You can see their tale lenghth in this picture of the first ones born.  The one on the right has a darker muzzle. 

So although it was a quick weekend, much work got done.  Today I have to  run some errands and get caught up on housework.  I have found when the to-do list gets anything checked off it gets several more things tacked on.  The man works 10 hour days and 5 hours on Saturday.  I know I shouldn't complain but so much more could get done if he only worked 40 hour weeks. 

Beauty of the Season

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir

Just as one man's trash is another man's treasure, what one person considers beauty can differ from anothers.  And beauty can change.  For instance in December, freshly fallen snow that clings to all the branches is beautiful...in March you are sick of it and think of moving to a warmer climate.

Right now I find beauty in...
watching the lambs,

the piglets discovering their new home,

the morning music

the sound and smell of the river as it winds it way below the farm and

the scent of the locust flowers every time there is a slight breeze.

And then there is the promise of a hot cup of chamomile or mint tea by this winters fire

the promise of pea's as they slowly start to uncurl from the seed,

the promise of apples for pie, cobbler, crisp, butter and cider

the promise of blackberries for pie, cobbler, cordial and jam

the promise of tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, BBQ sauce, soup, salsa and fresh sandwiches

and the promise of beauty from the peony and the irises

They are a tonic.  But lest you think I am just walking around on a seasonal high from the sites, smells and sounds here is a picture of the baby afghan I had said I finished.  A simple granny square done in her preferred colors of pink, white and brown.

And today I started making little vests.  My mother made my kids a lot of these and they are tucked away for furture grandchildren.  I figured I would add to the stash and use up some stash at the same time.

But now the grass should be dry and I have to mow the lawn...and yes there is also beauty in the smell and look of a fresh mown lawn.

Living is Good

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. ~Hans Christian Anderson

And I was happily living and enjoying  all three this weekend.  It started off a little rocky....Friday afternoon, we found the red turkey that had been sitting on eggs dead and eggs gone.  Earlier in the day the gray turkey abandoned her nest.  But then #1 and Sir T arrived Friday evening.  We went to bed early so we could get a lot done on Saturday. 

The day was beautiful.  The man left to work 1/2 a day and the rest of us went galavanting.  We took bagels and cream cheese over to a friends and invited ourselves for coffee.  After that we raided their garden and took off with some rhubarb.  We went to look at a farm that was for sale and ended up dropping in on other friends.  We finally returned home just in time for the man to get home from work.  Trying to make up for our lackadaisy ways we quickly ate lunch and went right to work.  The green cabbage got planted, the old garden gate was in a state of disepair and was fixed before it was rehung, the red cabbage got planted, the brussel sprouts got planted, a stone pathway into the garden was laid and load after load after load of wood chips slowly covered the old greenhouse garden which has now become the permanent (raspberry, asparagus, blackberry, elderberry and rhubarb) section of the garden.  The nephews put wood chips around the outside of the garden with the use of a riding lawnmower with dump trailer.  They were in heaven but what boy isn't behind a motorized tool?

We went to the barn to check the sheep and Toupee had three lambs.  They were up and walking around with all the other sheep.  She had a white ewe, a white ram and a tiny black/white ram.  Although cleaned, she kept backing away from the black and white ram.  We got them into a jug and clip/dip/stripped.  We held her while they all drank and they were laying down napping when we left.  When we did the evening feeding all was well.

The guys went fishing and when they got home about 11 PM we went to check on the lambs again.  Luckily for us we did.  The black and white lamb was stuck between the wall and a wooden box we usually keep two five gallon buckets of water in.  We took the buckets out and put Toupee's hay in there.  The little ram was cold and Toupee would not let him nurse this time, backing away and kicking when we put him on her.  The man scooped him up and has become his mom.  #1 wanted to name him and after several ideas settled on the name of Domino.  The other two have not been named and since I am unsure of their future it may stay that way.  The man has decided we are keeping Domino and making a wether out of him. These show his markings on each side.

But back to that night...the man's baby woke us up at 2, 4, 6 and because we slept in from all the awakenings he woke us again at 7:20.   After a lazy morning, Sir T and #1 took us out to breakfast and a stop at Agway where they bought me a beautiful clematis.  Then it was back home for bottlefeedings and a nap!  We woke up, checked on the animals, planted the clematis, watered all the transplants and seed rows.  We brought Domino out to walk around and amazingly it was time for dinner. I had wanted to get my potatoes planted but we just were not up to the task.  After dinner and coffee we sat down to watch Survivor. I wanted Rupert to win it but since he got voted off I was rooting for Sandra and she won!  And I finished a granny square baby blanket in pink, white and brown for the man's granddaughter due in July.

Last night Domino only woke us up once so it was a good night.  Today started with wishing the man a Happy Birthday.  He left for work and the kids for school.  Then the Post Office called, my chicks were in.  Usually I get my meat birds from Farmer Dave but it was cheaper to order them this year.  Luckily, eventhough it was last minute, they were able to ship what I wanted in the time frame I wanted.

Now #1 and I are headed out to the garden.  I am going to risk it and plant my tomatoes.  It is suppose to rain tomorrow so that will offer them a good start.  Then it is inside to start dinner and bake a cake.

So I will head out leaving you with this picture of a spoiled useless dog who is afraid of the dark...

May the sun shine, all day long,

everything go right, and nothing wrong.

May those you love bring love back to you,

and may all the wishes you wish come true!

~Irish Blessing

The Ice Men

Weather lore states there are three ice saints (Saints Mamertus, Pancras, Servatius and Boniface) who each cast a frosty spell from May 11 to May 14, and farmers knew that it was not safe to plant crops until the saints had done their work.  In Germany they were known as the “Eismänner” or “ice men”. Weather records seem to support their reputation and I can attest to them as they are hitting us now.

I stoked up the woodstove Sunday night and again last night.  This morning it was only 28 degrees.  All the tomatoes made it thru the night before but I haven't been out to check them this morning.  I have them all covered in the greenhouse but I didn't have any heat on so hopefully they are okay.  I was always told not to plant most sensitive plants until after Memorial Day.  Most times I listened!

It has been extremely busy around here.  The new garden was tilled, new fence posts and fencing acquired and installed.  An apple transplant made it back into the ground along with a newly purchased Gala apple tree and three blueberry bushes. I still have two hazlenut and two serviceberry to plant. But almost all the flower plants I dug up and heeled in elsewhere have now been put where I want them.  Grass was mowed and everything else got weed whacked. A truckload of woodchips was delivered to use as weed control in the permanent part of the garden. It is just sitting there waiting on me to move it!

I froze another 10 pounds of rhubarb and a pound of asparagus.  I was given some apples and I am up to 16 trays of dehydrated apple slices for the kids.  But no spinning has been done and only one baby sock was knit.  The wind has kept me from washing the fleeces that we did shear, had I tried they would have been blown out to the Atlantic by now.  But my hands could sure use the lanolin. 

The self seeded Osaka is ready to eat but the lettuce mix I planted will take a little longer. Hopefully today I can get some pea's, carrots and beet seed planted.  Later in the week I hope to transplant the brussel sprouts along with the green and red cabbage.  Then if I can get the potatoes planted this weekend I will be very happy.  Wish me luck!

This little bird told me...
"A wet May makes a big load of hay. A cold May is kindly and fills the barn finely."  Let's hope that's true.