Counting the signs

We snow blow rather than plow, so we don't have

those big mounds thrown up by plows.  Pretty good

depth anyway though.

I didn't used to get the whole "cabin fever" issue.   When I looked after a flock of sheep, the ram went in with the ewes around Thanksgiving.

After that point, it felt like spring was driving in fast.  Every day, dark and intense eyes looked at me, triggering a sense of responsibility for the bellies getting gradually bigger.   The lambs were coming!   I had to get ready!

Without the sheep here, spring can seem a long way away.   So, I have to count the signs.

George thinks that the dull gray/brown gold finches at the feeders are starting to show some yellow.    I am planting the onions seed (inside) this weekend.   George is going to do a bit of catnip seed.   

On the other hand, IF&W relocated a hungry bobcat, who was munching on house cats.

Spring.  Coming.   Must be. 

Wind and waves

We've had a lot of wind this week, but the last couple of days were calm.   There are beautiful patterns like in the first two photos below, but highly variable, all over the hay field.    The last photo was from before the last storm.   It is like a big snow wave hit the hay barn.

 

Goodbyes

My parents were married for almost seventy years.

My mother died on the day after Thanksgiving, soon after I visited her.  She'd had Alzheimers for some time, and I felt like I'd already said goodbye.  I sang her a song my dad used to sing to her, but I don't think she heard it.   When my dad sang to her, she used to blush and smile.

I was on a train, on the way to visit my dad for Christmas, when I got an email saying my dad had experienced a significant stroke.   When I got there, he could barely speak.  I told my dad I loved him, and he said he loved me.  I kept saying it, and he kept saying it, as long as he could.   I told him we all loved him.

I sat with my dad for three days, and was with him when he died, a little after 7 pm, on the day after Christmas.

I miss my dad's voice, his sparkling eyes, and his hugs. 

Obituary

George's and my bright and brave foster daughters (ages 6 and 7) went home to their mom last week, after a year with us.   It is good that their family is back together again, but it is very quiet around here.  The girls went home with heads full of my mom's lullabies, and my dad's sea chanties and cowboy songs. 

Looking for dry ground

Haying

Due to the heavy clay soils here, we didn't hay in the first weather window in June.   The fields were not dry enough.   We had a short window a few days ago, with a bit of rain in the forecast in the middle, and used that to get in some mulch hay and tinker with the equipment.   It never did rain during that window.

After a couple of days of rains this week, we waited out yesterday's sunshine, because the fields were too wet to cut hay.   We cut some today but...fields were borderline.   We didn't get stuck, but were not thrilled with the ground conditions.   Will just have to wait and see how this batch goes.

Such is haying.

Garden

Conditions have been better in the vegetable gardens.   We got a new bed going in the old pasture, and have planted and mulched a lot of the existing beds.   Serious weed hoeing is now underway.   We are using more insect netting this year, and are still getting used to the extra steps involved in weeding.   The trade off that is we avoid running around putting wood stove soot on all the squash plants to discourage cucumber beetles.   Also, with the netting, we may avoid a problem with pests in the broccoli, which we had last year for the first time.

George built a new little raised bed in front of the house, and it is planted to lettuce mix, rainbow chard, and donkey spinach.   It is clean (no weeds), so will supply the kitchen nicely.

It is that time of summer before the weeds get ahead of me, and it is a race to see who wins!

Winter to spring

Raccoon at the suet feeder

Woodpeckers regularly visited the suet feeder, until the visitor at left cleaned us out while ignoring tremendous protests from a house cat at the nearest window.

New children came to stay with us.  This farm is fairly flat, but we now know there are ways to slide, if one has a saucer and is determined.

A new small raised bed is going in.  George's small garlic bed is doing well. Equipment maintenance and mowing have begun.

We always seem to start putting seedlings and seed in the big kitchen garden beds later than we should, but are usually lucky to get plenty of what we need in the end.

Squash seedlings

Snowy Day (Hooray!)

Blurry chickadee photo

We put out bird feeders (5 so far including the suet).   They came.

We were supposed to get 1 - 3 " last night, and more than a foot today.  The forecast has been downgraded to 8" - 1 ft today.   Sigh.   Oh well.  This is almost perfect "try out the snow blower" weather, once the wind slows down.

In the last two days we got groceries, gasoline (for the snow blower and for the generator, in case), and another bird seed bucket.   It is Sunday, and we don't have to go anywhere.   First serious snow falls don't get much better.

Sparrows showed up at the feeders for the first time today, in the storm.

Birds and cats

We are into that bleak, gray, damp, December period.   George always starts mentioning Miami fondly this time of year.  We decided to put out some bird feeders.

We put separate feeders out with mixed seed, black sunflower seed and niger seed (for the finches).  There is also some suet hanging under the porch roof.   We've seen the following types of birds eating this past week:  chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse, goldfinch, hairy woodpecker, cardinal, bluejay, and morning dove.    We are going through seed much faster than I planned.

    Later edit:  12/5/13:  downy woodpecker.

It occurred to us, after the crowds started arriving, that none of our neighbors seem to have bird feeders out, and there is a lot of open acreage around us.  Maybe our neighbors know something we do not.

Our two older cats have been glued to the windows.  Even when Percy can't actually get a comfortable perch to see the feeders, he sits on the floor and watches the fly by action for hours.

We are keeping an eye out the window (and on tracks in the snow) for the neighbor's barn cats.   We may have to adjust the feeders if we see increased mortality nearby.

Our neighbor has good reason to need the barn cats, and outside cats wander.   When we had sheep, we appreciated the free mousing services the cats provided around the sheep barn. 

Wandering cats are extremely hard on bird populations.    But, I view wandering (and working) barn cats differently than wandering pet cats.

During the past week, with a dusting of snow, we are seeing lots of bird and squirrel tracks, but without a mix of cat tracks.   We'll keep watching.  I am the official worrier in the family, and gray Decembers are good practice time.

Bit chilly last night, and still November

 The lowest temperature recorded outside last night here was 8.9 degrees F.

It is nice having someone in the family who likes fiddling with electronic things.   Some time ago, George installed a couple of temperature sensors.  The data is recorded on Weather Direct, and  I can download it.   We move the sensors around to where they are needed most.   Earlier this year, one was in the greenhouse.

At the moment, one sensor is outside the house, and another is down in the root cellar.  

The single root cellar sensor has been showing a temperature ranging from around 39 to 41 degrees.  The cold-loving veggies are at floor level, and the ones that need a warmer temperature are on the higher shelves.   When the root cellar gets too chilly, I crack open the door that goes from the root cellar into the regular cellar.  

No more frequent trips to the root cellar to check the old thermometer inside, and no more wondering how cold the root cellar got last night!

Christmas cactus, summer results, and catching up

First blog in a long time.    I think there was a lot of

George's Christmas Cactus

"holding breath" this summer, and the blog got away from me.

With the rainy start to the season, we couldn't even get into the hay field until July.   We kept trying to get in more hay, and finally had to give up.

I thought for sure we would not make the minimum production (hay and vegetables) we needed to make this year.   One more wagon load of hay would have done it.

But, unexpectedly, the last few storage onions in October put us over the top.   Hooray!!  It was very close.

The picture is the christmas cactus in George's home office.   It seems to be all ready for Santa.

In what is becoming a "day before Thanksgiving" tradition, George and I took advantage of unusually warm weather (accompanied by a downpour, but one can't have everything) to put the snow blower attachment and chains on the lawn tractor, change oil, haul the snow tires out of storage, and bring in miscellaneous pieces of small equipment.   More oiling yet to come, another day.

We are fortunate this year to have the following from the gardens in the root cellar:   carrots, potatoes, beets, and horseradish.   Green beans and broccoli are in the big freezer.   In the main cellar are acorn squash, butternut squash, sugar pumpkin, and lots of sweet onions.

We are looking forward to visiting with old friends on Thanksgiving, and we miss family who are far away.   Hope everyone has a good and memorable day.

Seriously Fresh

It doesn't taste quite the same if it was picked yesterday. 

Most of our vegetables are right out of the garden, picked that day, often within an hour or so.     

Later in the fall, any pumpkins and winter squash will probably break that rule, but then they keep in the cellar well into the winter!


When the umbrella is "open", we are "open".    Cukes are in the cooler.

Why only a few cucumbers (or heads of broccoli, or whatever)?   Because we want the product to be very fresh.   We only put out a little product at a time, and replenish it directly from the garden.    We like to cook straight from the garden, and thought others might too.

If it doesn't sell promptly, it is eaten, donated or composted.  Nothing is wasted.   On occasion we put out day old or odd vegetables at a mark down or free.

Where is the garden?  Up the driveway.    Rock Island Farm (RIF) is a 60+ acre farm, but you can't see it from the road!   The number of vegetable beds is growing.

When are you open?   We're still figuring that out!    Look for the umbrella.   Oh, and please leave payment in the blue coffee can.