Here They Come

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Dayphoto

The char on the Back Forty, and the Upper End are starting to turn green.

You are looking a the beginning of Russian Knapp Weed and the tiny sprouts of Canada Thistle. The Prickly Pear Cactus is toast.

While this stuff is little I can at least be glad it’s green.

I told Terry what we need is a herd of goats and a goat herder. At this stage in the game goats will eat all the knapp weed they can get and even the tender little shoot of thistle.

Alas we do not have a goat herd, nor a fence to keep them in and I don’t want to spend my time, and Fuzzy’s (Boomer would NOT know what to do) sitting out there with about 20 or so goats. Although, I enjoy goats.

So it is just going to be what it is for a time.

I’m sure you are all (every last one of you) getting sick of me bemoaning this disaster. I promise I will move on. There really isn’t anything to do but wait for the insurance to come through and get on with life.

So more or less this will be the last post on this mess.

(I hope)

Linda

Sunday Stills-Bird Stalking

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Dayphoto

Our assignment this week to get and see if we could capture some birds which are arriving back for spring.

One of my goals is to be able to take really good bird photos. This has been a horribly busy week this week so I wasn’t able to stalk many birds, but I did get this lovely pair of ring-necked doves in the apricot tree—

A very chirping flock of (I don’t know what kind of birds)

And of course the resident hens!

Of which I thoroughly enjoy.

Linda

Saturday—Trees

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Dayphoto

My last post for March will be my trees. I’m taking a photo of the same trees and posting them on the last day or close to the last day of the month so you can see the progression of leaves on the trees. If you would like to see February’s go here.

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The leaves are starting to appear. Today we had 80* weather. A bitter cold spring snow storm is supposed to blow into night, stay all day Sunday and leave us sometime late Monday night.

Then we will start to warm back up.

Terry is finishing rolling so the ground won’t pack IF we do get moisture.

Linda

Apricots for Wednesday

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Dayphoto

The apricot tree in the yard burst into bloom over night, Monday night. This tree is a different variety than the other tree…the old apricot tree.

This one is only 40 years old. I planted it when we moved here 40 years ago. It, too, is a heritage apricot, but it produces a lighted apricot colored fruit. The fruit is sweet and make wonderful jams.

Yes you can tell the difference between the two jams if you don’t mix the fruit while canning.

Now for having fruit trees in your yard, I have a couple of prune trees, four pear trees, several sour cherry trees and two standard delicious trees. You see I was raised on an orchard. My grandfather had 60 acres of all sorts of different fruit and my Dad had 180 acres of all types of different fruit.

I missed the trees when I moved to here, their lovely blooms, the deep shade under their branches and climbing into the trees and finding bird nests, and I missed the humming of the honey bees.

(We have lots of bees because we do NOT spray for bad bugs, but allow the good bugs to do their thing.)

So I planted fruit trees in my yard.

I would never ever in a million years do that again.

NEVER!

While it works well to live in the middle of an orchard, the house is usually in a ‘space’ of it’s own. Having the trees right with you in the house space is very different. The problem occurs when the fruit comes on —- the fruit drops and turns to mush if you don’t get out there immediately and pick it up. The birds get most of the fruit because you work and can’t get out there the second the fruit even thinks about turning ripe, the trees grow BIG and BIGGER and BIGGEST and of course the best fruit is UP THERE! (So you must and have to prune…you can’t NOT prune, which is a winter job.)

Since the best fruit is UP THERE the birds get it first and they only peck on one side or they only peck on one spot. After all it is a bird buffet and there is so much to choose from, so that fruit is gone, even after you pick it. If you don’t get it picked ON TIME, then the fruit drops onto the grass or the flower bed or the side walk, whereby YOU MUST GET OUT THERE AND GET IT CLEANED UP NOW!

If you have little kids its a great job for them, but little kids grow up and leave so the job becomes yours.

Still I have all of the same fruit trees I planted when we moved here, I put up with the mess. I enjoy the bees who are very happy to have delightful food the first thing in spring, and the birds who feast on the fruit. I can, I bake, I freeze and yes….
I pick up fruit by the wheel barrow loads before the mush turns into an ant feast.

Come spring, I fall in love with each and everyone of my fruit trees all over again.

And this is why!

The trees in spring always bring me this delightful surprise!

Linda

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Dayphoto

Terry has finished getting the corn fields ready for the fertilizer. Moving from former bean ground to corn ground doesn’t take as much tractor work. First he disked the already mellow soil (beans are good for the soil), then he leveled. Here is is leveling, which means he is filling in any hollows and removing any hills that the wind and water created over the last year. It needs to have a little fall so the water can start at one end and run to the other end.

Finished! (Complete with a little dirt devil). Next we will add fertilizer, then roll in the fertilizer, then mark it out (so the water can run from the top of the field to the bottom) and start water.

I don’t do tractor work, but I do irrigate. Irrigation should start the first week in April on this field and on the already planted alfalfa fields.

Terry ripped up an old alfalfa field (they have to be torn up every 3-5 years to keep the hay produced full of healthy rich hay, instead of mostly weeds), which will go into corn. We will put water on that field around the second or third week in April.

The upper end (which burned in the fire) will be worked up and planted to alfalfa. He will do it sometime in April. It had corn in it, but since we are losing the largest field he likes to have a certain amount of hay to sell every year. Usually Terry plants a mother crop with the hay, but this year he is going to ‘thick seed’ it. Meaning only the very, very expensive alfalfa seed will be planted, a planted very thickly to choke out the weeds.

Old corn ground has to be plowed. We have lots of clay in our soil so plowing is the best way to go. Old corn ground is the only ground we plow. Plowing takes all the old stalks and leaves, turns it under in the soil where it breaks down adding richness to clay-type of soil. More work with the tractor, but way better results.

This field will become a pinto bean field next year. We do rotational farming, which helps the soil and the plants the next year.

The nasty high winds have left our area for a spell. I worked in my yard all day yesterday and came in looking like a fresh dug potato. Its a wee bit cooler, but HEY no wind.

I take it!

Linda

The Old Apricot Tree Made It

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Dayphoto

I walked over to the old apricot tree the closer I got I realized that the Old Apricot Tree made it through the fire.

I was delighted!

This lovely old girl is starting to bloom. The fire went around it.

The sun was just coming up adding a wonderful luster to the morning.

This apricot tree bears pink flowers and medium sized, extremely sweet fruit.

I am so happy the fire spared this wonderful tree. So very happy.

Linda

Sunday Stills—Weather or Not

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Dayphoto

Farming is going strong here. The morning always starts out good, but by the end of the day the wind comes up.

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Go here for more Sunday Stills and more weather in other parts of the world.

Happy Spring Sunday!

Linda

What Do Cats Do When It Is Warm Outside

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Dayphoto

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Oh, by the way, the other guy’s Insurance Inspector came up yesterday afternoon, looks like we are going to get our gated pipe replaced and all of the fences.

Keep your fingers crossed, that is what he said anyway. Now we just wait and see if it really happens!

Linda

Chickens and Mice (do not proceed if you like mice)

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dayphoto

Mice in the chicken house are a pain. They are nasty, dirty and (if you don’t take care) EVERYWHERE!

But one nice thing about chickens…..

They are very good mousers.

I was raking around the wood pile and the chicken house when suddenly a mouse ran right by me, followed with a very determined Lucky Hen.

She grabbed the mouse and ran over to the trash pile (will get it cleaned up soon, I promise!) making sure the other hens don’t follow or Sam the Cat.

Whereby she proceeded to ‘take care of the nasty little vermin’.

Just like I do with the mice in the mouse traps I disposed of it.

Good Hen!

(Hens do not eat mice, or at least I have never seen one do it. But I do find mice that have been very flatten with lots of peck holes in them.)

Linda

Sunday Stills-Transitions (March 18th)—My Heartfelt Thank you!

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Dayphoto

Sunday Stills is a place where you can practice your photography skills by joining us in a weekly challenge every Sunday. For this weeks challenge you are to photograph your interpretation of a transition…

This is a good place to say Thank you to each and every person who wrote expressing sorrow and concern over the two huge fires we had last week. Each comment I read and each personal email you sent helped Terry and I know how many good people are out there.

Thank You!

Since staying mad or staying angry is a horrible place to be, we are moving on. The fences will be built, the hills will grow green again, maybe not with the former stuff, and yes, probably with the noxious weeds in our area, but they will be green.

The wonderful old tree cannot be replaced, but I do have lots and lots of photos of it. The kids are just as sad as Terry and I, but the memories of standing under it waiting for the bus and playing by it will hold us for now.

A spring storm is supposed to blow in soon, we are hoping for rain. That way the nasty charred remains will melt into the soil and the other things waiting to spring to life will be able too. Also, the rain will cleanse the air of all the smoke and ash that seems to be hanging around.

I spent Saturday cleaning house and Terry spent it working on the fields. He finished disking and rolling. Work is a great stress reliever. As odd as that sounds.

I’m putting in a photo of another really old, old tree….it is an Apricot Tree. I’ve been a little afraid to go over and see if it made it through the fire (I took this photo on Monday and the fire was on Tuesday). It is still standing, the fire did seem to go around it, so there is hope.

That is what springs eternal….Hope!

Once more we Thank each and everyone of you for your thoughts, prayers and concern.