Happy New Year :)

Happy New Year to one and all. Thanks for all the well wishes it sure feels good to get them.

The latest tests have been good so we are awaiting what the Doctor's want to do next getting old isn't for wimps!

Getting cold here in Kentucky might get some snow this week ... guess OL' Man Winter has found us here in the Blue Grass State. We have lots of wood and two good stoves so we should stay nice and warm no matter what the weather.

I hope the new year brings everyone what ever they want and need.

Done Did It

After what I think is careful thought I have decided to sell the farm. My health hasn't been good lately and unlikely to improve and I just don't have the strength nor endurance to keep this place like I should. So I have put the farm on the market. The real estate office I have selected is United Country Heavely Hollow Real Estate their phone number is 800-798-6545 or their web site is www.unitedcountry.com/caseycreekky
If for some reason the link doesn't work email me or send a comment and I will sort it out for you.

I will miss this place and the friends I have made here, this has been a very special part of my life and I thank the Lord that I have had this special journey.

A Sunday Morning

I awoke to a nice Sunday morning with little patches of ground fog in the pasture. Chores were calling me so I got my lazy self out of bed and fed the pets and made breakfast for myself. There were plenty of hot coals in the kitchen stove this morning so it was no big deal getting that stove going. The weather report said it would be a nice day getting close to sixty degrees so I let the parlor stove go out on its own. I have to remove ashes from both stoves today, I'll do that later on this afternoon or evening.

I went outside to open the chicken house door and noticed that I had some visitors, seems my neighbors cattle found their way into my hay field. I walked the fence line between our property as far as the woods and didn't see any breaks. My only concern was that the cattle would get out and on to the road as I don't have the east side of the hay field fenced. I drove over to my neighbor's house and let one of his sons know about the cattle. My neighbors have seven children, home school them and keep 'em close. The older sons are young men now and very polite, nice to talk to them.

I will have to make a run into town for supplies either today or tomorrow as I am getting low on pet food and feed for my calves. I have to fill the wood boxes to have firewood for tonight. According to the weather guessers we are in for a cold spell with the possibility of a little rain, one can only hope they are right about the rain.

Took a vacation

Hi
I haven't posted in a while as I have taken a vacation, sounds weird that someone who is retired takes a vacation, but what else would you call it? I went to Mexico for two weeks. Visited Lake Chapala and Guadalajara. I liked Mexico, didn't care for the crowds of people in Guadalajara, however the city does have a lot of interesting places to see and places to shop. Having only spent two days in Guadalajara I can't say I know much about it except for the plazas and fountains downtown. If you would like to know more about my trip here is an address to the blog about my vacation here.

Lighting the stove

A couple of cold fronts moved in over Kentucky this week breaking a prolonged spell of way above average temperatures. It sure felt good to feel cool air again. Now it feels more like Autumn, just as it should be around here.

With the lower temps it was time to fire up the old kitchen wood stove. I had started a fire in it a week ago just to make sure everything worked right and that there wasn't anything stuck in the flue like a bird's nest or leaves. I have plenty of dry wood to get the fire started and it started rather easily. After getting a base of hot coals going I found it easy to keep the fire going.

The now familiar sounds of a hot stove and the smell of wood burning fill the house. I find it hard not to hang around the stove and watch and listen to the hiss, pop and crumbling wood in the fire box. I have found I am not the only one who likes to be close to the stove the big yellow lab took over the hearth rug in front of the stove and stuck her nose right under the stove, another satisfied customer.

The big kettle is steaming away and the water tank is hissing a steady tune. It seems like we are a wood fired steam engine powered house now. In a way it is like the house has come alive, the house makes sounds and has movement, there is feeling that something is going on and there is were are staying warm and ready to cook.

The wood yard is still messy but time and energy will cure that and by spring most of the wood will have been burnt in the stoves and we will be stacking wood again for the next winter.

The carpenters were back and they got two windows in upstairs and a storm door hung. This house isn't square or plumb so they had a good time getting the manufactured stuff to fit right. I have more windows on order and another storm door to they have to hang for me. I can do a lot of stuff but doors and windows are a real pain in the pah-toot so I let them with the tools and experience handle the job.

Time's a waste'n here got to get something done like chores and errands, talk with ya'll later.

Bush Hogging

I now have my own tractor with a front loader, however I don't have a bush hog (bush mower) for my tractor yet. I went over to a neighbor's and borrowed his bush hog. This was my first time on the road with the tractor and it was a beautiful morning crisp and sunny. As I rode along on my tractor I found out what it is like to maneuver over the road and get passed by cars and trucks, some folks pass a little to close if you ask me. If folks pass to close and tangle with a tractor it could be serious those big wheels can tear up a car.

After visiting with my neighbor and of course trading gossip and stories drinking coffee, eating another breakfast and analyzing what is wrong with the government we went to his shop. He tried hooking up an older style mower and it wouldn't clear the ground enough to take on the road, so he lent me his regular bush hog. After it was hooked up he noted that it needed a sway bar and proceeded to cut and weld one together, in less than a half hour he had a nice tailored sway bar for the tractor.

So I took the hog and tractor back to my place and ended up mowing the fields for the rest of the afternoon. Gosh those tractors and mowers are loud and after five hours on the tractor your butt is tired your legs weak and you don't hear so good, maybe I need a new muffler for the tractor or ear plugs. I continued to mow the following day, now I am learning a lot more about the lay of the land on the farm and it is lumpy and there are hazards.

I got to close to what I thought was a dry creek and found out it wasn't so dry and it was deep. The tractor and I were at an angle I didn't care for and it had stalled out. I get the tractor started again stopped the mower lifted the mower deck put it in low range and reverse. The tractor backed out of the creek as pretty as you please, thank goodness :) I figured I had better be a little more cautious for the rest of the day so I stayed away from the creek and pond this time around. I also hogged the garden area the weeds had gone wild there and now they are no more. I had a good day and the fields look much better I'll post pictures later.

The sound of rain

The sound of rain on the metal roof and the distant rumble of thunder, once a common sound here at the farm, but of late not so familiar. I always know when it is real thunder and not some farmer blowing up a tree stump, my big yellow Labrador retriever looks for a place to hide, she doesn't like the thunder. She is trying to get behind my old file cabinet right now and won't come out till I move or the thunder is all over.

Yesterday evening we had rain showers that got the ground wet, I didn't think it did much good. This morning it looked like it might rain again. I thought about it and got out to the wood pile and stacked some more wood before the rain started. I also got an old mattress out of the cellar. Gosh that thing was ugly, it is now sitting in the pick up truck bed, getting wet, waiting to be hauled the road for trash day tomorrow. I sure hope they take it.

I have made apple butter and apple sauce just barely enough for myself I may have to make some more for gifts and trading. Peeling and coring the apples is not that hard just tedious after a dozen apples you wonder if it is worth the effort, however once I get that homemade apple butter on my tongue with homemade whole wheat bread I know for sure it was worth all the effort. With my mid-morning break I had coffee, toasted homemade whole wheat bread with peach jam I made myself. I don't even have to blush it was good. I finished off the biscuits this morning as I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I guess it is time to make more biscuits just one more thing to do, I guess I will just add it to the list.

So for the rest of the day I will do inside jobs like staining the new doors and if that goes well staining the new wood in the kitchen floor. For a while though I think I will just sit here and listen to the rain on the metal roof. As long as there are no leaks of course. After this long drought that rain sound on the roof is sure welcome.

Update for September

It has been quiet here since the carpenters have departed. They won't be gone for good I still have three windows that need replacing and a barn roof that needs mending.

I have been playing with the fire wood, stacking the wood according to size and dryness. Most of the smaller pieces are drying rather well, the large pieces are a long ways to go yet. This year I got quite a few small irregular shaped pieces which would be time consuming to stack. So I made a crib out of larger blocks to pile the small pieces in so that they will dry and be easily accessible. I hope to get all the wood off the ground before the cold wet weather comes. I hope to put a stove in the cellar to try and heat the house with it. The carpenters suggested this and one of them does it and heats his house all winter that way. I am going over to the Tin Shop and discuss it with them they sell stoves and furnaces and may be able to advise me on what size stove I should have in the cellar.

I have had the termite pest control people over to give me their estimate of the termite and powder post beetle control program. The prices are all over the map and the work they will do and how they will do it varies from complex to simple. My job now is to compare the estimates and choose one to do the work and of course pay for it.

I got new neighbors next door stopped by and introduced myself they seem nice.

Made some apple butter and canned it only eight half pints but that ought to be enough for me this winter. I am planning on putting up seven pints of applesauce too, I love that applesauce.

The weather has stayed warm even though officially it is Autumn, the weather should moderate later this week and .... dare I say it? We might (!) just get some rain. Well let's hope so.

I put up an electric fence to keep the calves in close to the barn the little boys have been naughty and have been running off to play with the neighbors cows. The bigger one got in with the big herd and it will be a while before he is cut out of the herd and sent back to where he belongs. In a couple of months they will be sent to the butchers and a few months after that I will start all over with a few more calves.

Photos of construction

I don't think the pictures do justice to the project there was a lot of work that had to be done and when it is done it will look like it should look and that won't be impressive because it will look the same as before. However the rot will have been cut out and new wood put back in where needed.

I am saddened to find this condition in the house. I thought it was in better shape when I bought it. Now it is a much better house than when I bought it, sturdy, and functional.

What has been going on?

Well it has been a while since I last posted. Been busy here at the farm. I painted the upstairs bedrooms and floor, well just three of the bedrooms, still got one to go. I had some carpenters come in to replace some windows, hang some doors, reconstruct the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms and fix the door not opening right in the kitchen.

As with most things around here it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. The windows didn't show up the doors were a pain in the rumpus bumpus to get hung the stair project went well and I got a closet under the stairwell. Then everything went to H.E. double hockey sticks when the carpenters got to the kitchen. Turns out the reason the door wouldn't swing correctly was that the sub floor and sill for the kitchen had rotted. Also the structure over the cellar stairs was infected with termites. The door had to come out, the sub floor and sill and structure had to be torn out and all new treated wood put back in to replace the rot. The house had to be jacked up while they maneuvered the beams in place and cut the bad stuff out of the good stuff. They worked their rear ends off.

I also started getting all the old wood out of the cellar and bought a dehumidifier and got it working drying out the cellar. At one time there was a wood stove or wood fired water heater in the cellar and firewood was stored there, just the thing for termites and other bugs to get a start. Also the cellar is damp from water seeping through the walls, that causes other problems with mold and rot.

Looks like we have the situation under control, the cellar has never looked so dry. Still there is half of the cellar without a floor and that could be problematic, so I guess I will spend more money having a cement floor put in to cover the gravel and dirt (sigh).

In the mean time I put the goats up for sale as I wasn't doing anything with them and they were getting out and causing mayhem. I thought it was just a good business like decision and when it came time for them to be picked up by their new owners I even helped load them in the truck. Everything went well untill the truck started down my driveway and my does started calling to me Maaa, Maaa. I must tell you my heart was in my throat and tears were welling up in my eyes. I didn't realize how attached we had become. It was the longest walk that evening from the barn to the house. (sniff)

I also sold the ducks no sniffing there caught 'em and shipped 'em right quick.

The night visitor

I was reading in the Gathering Room, (living room) when I heard a noise, a sort of click coming from the kitchen. I looked at my pets and they were all with me and asleep, two dogs and two cats, a more contented lot as you'll ever see. I heard another crack sound and got up and went into the kitchen looked around and didn't see anything. I waited and waited nothing, no sound. I went back and started reading again and in a minute a heard the sound again. I figured I had a mouse in the house. So, barefoot, I sneaked into the kitchen as quietly as possible and waited as my tired old eyes tried to focus in the very late night hour. LO and BEHOLD a Critter came out of the trash can, it was shaped like a mouse only a thousand times bigger and a whole lot uglier!!

I had a POSSUM in my kitchen !!!!

So like any self respecting woman I grabbed the broom, opened the door and tried to shoo the ugly thing outside. He/She wasn't having any of that broom business, the gray slimy critter slithered behind the stove and I was right behind it with my broom trying to shove it from behind the stove and out the door. I thought I had it on the run as it came out the other side of the stove, so I went over and tried to direct its travel to the door when it looked at me and SNARLED and showed its TEETH. I gave it a good swat with the broom, that was a mistake, it went back behind the stove with me and my broom hot on its ugly tail. I positioned myself so I could see behind the stove and .........NO CRITTER !

I thought to myself 'it must be under the stove', so I shoved my trusty broom under the stove and to my surprise there was no resistance. After giving this a moment's thought I concluded that somehow the ugly thing was up in the stove, so I slowly opened the bottom draw and peeked inside (gee I really ought to clean this drawer some day) no possum ? Where could he be?

I pulled the drawer all the way out of the stove very slowly, I didn't want a possum jumping on me (icky things they are). When the drawer was fully out of the stove I still couldn't see any thing so I got my flash light and shined it into the the bottom of the stove and there was the beast snarling and ready for a fight.

It then occurred to me I was doing all this alone. Where were my trusty dogs ? I looked behind me and there they were, laying on the floor the Shiatsu wagging his tail like he was enjoying the show and the Lab was so sound asleep I thought she was dead, I went over and pushed her with my foot, she came to, sort of, and looked at me like "what ? whats up?"Oh ya,these two are going to be a lot of help, right.

I went for a pistol I figured maneuvering a rifle would be awkward a shot gun would be loud and messy, so I had to decide which pistol the nice big 9mm Smith and Wesson or the .25 cal. Beretta, dainty purse, pistol. I decided on the cute little Beretta. I went back to the kitchen and bent down and pointed the pistol under the stove ..... the critter stared at me with his beady little eyes and snarled. Suddenly it dawned on me if I shot the thing while it is under the stove a bullet may damage the stove, we can't have that ! So I had to come up with plan 'B' or is it 'C' ?

I remembered I had bought a fish net with a long handle to catch the ducks (another story) and it was out in the barn. So out to the barn I go, in the middle of the night, with a little lamp to look for the fish net thingy. Of course it had to be right where I parked the tractor and I had to squeeze myself between the filthy greasy tractor and the junk along the wall so I could reach the brand new shiny fish net. I was thinking to myself "I sure hope I don't step on something again or get one of those spider things on me doing this or worse get grease on my skirt", without incident we returned to the house. "We" were the Shiatsu and I, he being delighted to run around and sniff things in the dark and be playful, I on the other hand full of purpose, ya right, I wanted that ugly critter out of my house, now!

Back in the kitchen I maneuvered the net under the stove the critter growled and made a move and I had him in the net, slowly I pulled him out from under the stove, he didn't look pleased and I was wondering "Okay smarty pants you got it in the net the net is on the floor now what? If you lift the net he gets free and he looks pissed" just then the grey slimy beast makes his move and gets tangled in the net. I quickly shove him out the door into the wash room and he escapes the net and heads BACK AT ME ! I shove the net back at him and he dodges it and comes back at me again. I shove the net at him again and he runs the other way ! Phew, that was interesting now where the H. E. double hockey sticks did he go ? I opened the door to the yard so we both would have a place to retreat, just in case. I went and got the purse pistol and with the broom in one hand and the dainty .25 cal in the other the search was on.

Where were the dogs you say ? They were at the top of the stairs leading down to the wash room wagging their tails watching their Mom do all the work, not one bark, zip, nadda. They thought I was doing a fine job why interfere ?

I found Mr. Meany, the possum, behind the feed bin I keep there for the chickens. He didn't look like he was going to give up his spot easy. I poked him with the broom he bit it and snarled he wasn't leaving. I figured if he got out of there he would attack one of my other animals like my cats or the chickens so his fate was sealed. I took steady aim at him and squeezed the trigger and squeezed harder, darn it I forgot to cock the pistol.........BANG! off went one round Sheesh it made a loud noise in that wash room, my ears were ringing. I looked at the the possum and he didn't look fazed by the bullet or the noise......so I shot him again BLAM, more ringing in my ears. Now what ? I can't leave him there what the heck do you do with a dead possum in your washroom in the middle of the night ?

I came up with plan 'C' or was it 'D' ? I don't know I lost track some where. I went back to the barn and got a shovel, returned to the house and shoved the shovel under the lifeless body of the possum and balanced it on the shovel hauled it outside in the dark, I gave it a mighty heave, ya right old lady might heave, ya sure. he landed on the wood pile I put the shovel against the wall and slammed the door. The dogs were proud of me I could tell by their wagging tails and pink tongues hanging out.

So what did you do with your evening ?

P.S. I went to the clinic today and consulted with the Nurse Practitioner about my foot that I stepped on the nail with and we agreed that the foot is getting better and to continue taking the current meds.

P.P.S. For those of you who will think I was a cold hearted you know what (rimes with itch)

for killing the innocent little animal, don't waste your time telling me about it. This is a farm decisions have to be made and some of them are life and death and I get to decide. You want to make decisions differently that's your business, these are mine.

Tractors, Masked Robbers and Nails

Well, things have been going on a pace here at the farm. I got to use the tractor a bit. I moved a large piece of culvert down to the creek, the culvert will make a bridge for the tractor to go over after a load of gravel has been dumped on it. This 'bridge' will let the tractor into the hay field easier and the hay wagons may find it smoother to get to and from the hayfield.

The raccoons got into the corn last week and were having a feast. I figured I better get some corn while I can before it is all ruined by the darn raccoons. I picked about a bushel and a half of sweet corn and cut the kernels off, then froze it so there will be some nice corn for this winter.
The suspect raccoons are getting into the corn patch at night and having meal for themselves. There is always someone horning in on a good thing.

About a week ago I was busy putting up the stock for the night and in the darkened barn I stepped on a nail. The nail went almost through my left foot. I washed it and soaked it, then thought I better get a tetanus shot so I went to the ER. I got the shot after waiting an hour or two, but the ER Doc didn't want to prescribe antibiotics at that time. A week later I have an infection in my foot and went to the local clinic and they prescribed an antibiotic that should knock the infection down. If it doesn't work I guess I am in trouble. I should know in a few days if it is working or not. I sure hope the medication works.

Nice and humid here we have had some lightening and threats of storms just not much rain, we keep hoping that the rain will come maybe later this week.

The Tractor Story

I have been searching for a farm tractor for some time now and I was getting a bit depressed about not finding a tractor I could afford then my neighbor found one for me. I went with him to look over the tractor, it is an old tractor a Ford 4000, with a front end loader. The tractor is at least twenty, twenty-five years old. So we aren't talking about some new shinny modern machine with lots of bells and whistles. A deal was struck with the owners and my friend said he would help me move the tractor.

The big day came and I withdrew the money from the bank to pay for the tractor-I always get in an odd state of mind spending money like this and today wasn't any different. I figure it is the cheap skate in me that goes into over-drive when I take money out of the bank instead of putting it in the bank.

I went to my friend's house and he had a trailer hitched up to his pick-up truck and he was ready to go. We got about half way there when he says "I think we lost a tire we need to find a shady place to change the tire", it was about 90 degrees and I wouldn't want to be changing tires out in the hot Sun either. Now Kentucky roads aren't known for having shoulders or turn-outs on them and this road had darn few. We ended up pulling into a Saw mill yard to check the tire. There are several sawmills around our county, logging is one of the businesses here in central Kentucky along with farm gates they make quite an impact on the income of the local economy, but I digress. Sure enough the tread had come off the tire and when it came off it bent the fender on the trailer and ripped the tail light off. Shorty, my friend, started looking for a lug wrench but couldn't find one in his truck I figured we would have to go back to his house and get one, when some of the men working the mill came over and looked the trailer over. They went through their trucks looking for a lug wrench, wouldn't you know they didn't have one either!

One of the men went to their work truck and got a socket and breaker bar from the tool box and just started taking off the lug nuts. Within, to me was minutes, the tire was change and the young men were shaking hands with Shorty and we were on our way to pick up the tractor. Shorty told me that he was a friend of the owner and one of the men was the son of the owner so that is why the interest in changing the tire. Like Shorty says " it pays to know folks around here", amen to that I say.

When we got to the house where we were to pick up the tractor I was a bit concerned as this is not a typical farm house this was in small up scale sub-division, the driveway was in pristine condition like it hadn't been used. I said to Shorty " we better not drive over any bushes or anything as they look expensive to replace" he chuckled and agreed. We loaded the tractor on the trailer and there was no room to spare, a very snug fit. Shorty said we would take it easy going home as we had no more spare tires and the old truck of his might not be able to handle the tractor going down hills. So off we went at a robust thirty-five miles an hour. Just our luck we had traffic. We had gotten into the evening commute time from the folks that work out of town and they were headed home and we were in the way. Every so often we would get passed by three or four cars traveling at a high rate of speed. We didn't want to stop on the way up a hill as we might have trouble getting going again, then what do you do? unload the tractor and drive it up the hill? So up hill and down hill with the tractor behind us and behind that a string of cars and trucks getting longer and longer.

I guess Shorty was feeling bad about holding folks up and we pulled into a parking lot at a store after we crested a hill and stopped. I got us some cold sodas and we waited for the traffic to lighten up a bit. Shorty checked the tires and several tires were hot, so we waited a bit longer. finally we pulled out and head down the road, we got through town okay, however some of the drivers in town were more in a hurry than I liked and started passing us on the right. I was glad when we got out of town. The big test was the two big hills just out side of town thank goodness there were truck lanes going up them. You know your going slow when the semi-trucks pass you on a hill.

We got the tractor to my farm and started unloading it. Shorty asked me if I wanted to drive it off or should he. I should have let him drive it off. When I backed it up I was more concerned with were I was going backwards than frontwards and the loader damaged part of the trailer. Darn I hated doing that to Shorty's trailer. He had gone through all the trouble of finding the tractor for me and now because of me his trailer was damaged and he was out a tire.

So, the tractor is now sitting out by the barn. I sure hope this doesn't turn into another one of my sagas. While I was gone the goats got out and ate three fruit trees. Just another day on on the farm.

Good thing I live off the road

The other night I was wakened by the chickens in the big hen house squawking at three am. I got up got my headlight on and my rifle and in my night shirt and barefoot I dashed out to the Hen House ready to kill any varmint trying to do harm to my chickens. I opened the door to the coop and saw feathers on the floor I then pointed my light around the inside of the coop and counted chickens they were all there and no varmint! I must have been quite a sight with a battery powered headlight strapped to my forehead, rifle at the ready dressed in my pink night shirt and bare feet! Oh ya I would have struck terror in anything out there. I think the chickens were in a state of disbelief that this obviously insane person invading their house at that awful hour. I live off the main road and it was a dark night, thank goodness. I don't usually show off my night dress to the public, I wouldn't want to scare folks driving by and have an accident :)

The drought goes on, still hand watering the garden and trees, looks like a long, hot, dry, Summer this year. Some folks have taken to hauling water to their cows already as the streams are drying up and the ponds are getting low.

It is hard to see neighbors worrying about their stock and livelihood, sometimes life can be cruel.
I'll keep on watering and hoping for rain. I guess I will get back to painting the porches; there is always something to do around here at least it keeps me from running a muck on the roads and frightening the horses :)

When A Goat Gets Your Goat

We had a whither (altered male) goat that was getting to be a nuisance. He would butt every body and even take on the humans with a challenging stance and try to head butt them. He wouldn't let the female goats eat in peace he would run from one dish to the other chasing the other goats away. His most despicable behavior was to the goat kids he would butt them and harass them so they were constantly running away from him. We tried to isolate him, but he would always figure a way to get out. We tried tethering him which improved the situation somewhat but he still was not controlled enough to stop some of his aggressive behavior. So we changed his name from Justin to Stew and took him to the Butcher.

Tuesday morning we took Stew to the Butcher. This is the first time I have taken any animal to the Butcher. Did I feel bad, sad, guilty? NO, I did not feel anything as he got put into the holding pen. Stew got slaughtered that day and was hung in the cooler for a few days. We picked him up on Saturday and brought the meat home and put it in the freezer. Sunday for lunch we had Goat Steak. So what does male goat steak taste like? Actually not a strong flavor at all, there was a slight flavor that reminded me of Lamb, but much milder, luckily I like the flavor of Lamb. The flavor wasn't strong, nothing like I expected. So later he will be tacos and burritos :) That little mean so and so is going to make some nice meals. Out of that little pygmy goat we got 25 lbs of meat.

After this experience I am thinking that having a goat butchered once a year would not be a big a deal or maybe raising a Lamb for slaughter instead, I like Lamb more than Goat, either one would do.

In Memory Of Times Past

I decided that this year I would explore the world of canning, preserving and freezing.
I have not had the experience of doing it myself, as a child I was around and under foot when my Mother, Aunts, and Grandmother were canning, but I was to young and distracted to be taught much about the process. I did get to pick the produce and fruits then lug them into the kitchen. I also got to scrub the jars and get the old labels off of them.

There always was a whirl of activity in the kitchen during the harvest. The fruits each had their time to be put up; the vegetables had their time also. The first usually were the peaches sometimes strawberries, the women made jam and canned peaches in syrup. The apron and kerchief clad women where busy, peeling, cutting, boiling the jars, cooking the fruit,ladling the fruit into jars, fixing the seals on the mason jars and then immersing the jars into the water bath canners. In good years there would be two canners going at the same time so there was a cloud of hot steam in the kitchen and sometimes a Lilt home perm couldn't take the heat and humidity and drooped.

There always was chatter, lots of gossip, and I knew when it was getting good, I would be sent on an errand for something sure to keep me busy because the item wasn't where I was sent, just so I would be out of listening range. Upon my return the someone would announce "watch out little pictures have big ears!" and the subject of the conversation would be abruptly changed.

So, this year in memory of the women in my family who canned, gardened and kept house and home I choose to learn to as they would say "put up" or can some fruit. I bought a box of peaches (my trees are to young for fruit) and following a recipe I found on line I "put up" eight jars of peach jam. It wasn't as much fun as when the "Ladies" were here, but their presence was strongly felt through an occasional tear for times long lost.

I still had peaches left so I made a peach pie, tomorrow I will get more sugar and spices and "put up the rest of the peaches. No sense wasting any good fruit :)I can those women now "you didn't get enough supplies? What were you thinking? Tsk, Tsk, better get organized if you plan to do much of this, dear me. :))

Hoop House

I had been thinking about building a Hoop House/Green House. I would like to start my own plants in the Spring and extend my growing season. So I did some research on the WWW and got a feel for what was required to build a Hoop House. Basically the house is built using PVC pipe held to the ground by rebar or pipe.

I happened to have some old pipe handy so I used that, I drove the pipe into the ground with a sledge hammer. The pipe was spaced three feet apart and I made a twelve foot square, I used the pipe on only two sides. I then inserted PVC pipe into the pipe forming an arch. I then added the boards around the perimeter of the house so I would have something to nail the covering to. I then attached board to the end hoops one for a door and the other for a window/ventilation hole. Then the covering was spread over the hoops and attached to the base boards. The covering was folded and trimmed and a hole was cut for the door. The door will be built later. Now I have the Hoop House up and covered, waiting for the door to be built and hung.

The floor space inside is 144 sq ft, 12'x12', this should give me two plant beds 12'x4' one on each side and enough room later in the spring to get my plants started. It took ten hours to build with occasional help of one other person and lots of breaks to think over the next step. One of the frustrating steps was making the covering neat and mostly wrinkle free. Forget the wrinkle free and go for the best you can do and move on or it will drive you nuts. I was surprised at how sturdy it feels once the fabric is in place. How sturdy it is, is another matter. We get some intense storms here and it will be tested well before the Summer is out, I am sure.

Up Date; Door Is Built And On

I thought the door would be a big hassle, but it turned out to be rather simple and as it doesn't have to be perfect the frustration level was zero. I hope it stays together-need to find a latch so I can get rid of the country door stop :)

Oh, I have no idea what the dog is looking at; clouds, bird(s) stretching her neck? Just another puzzle.

The Hay Gets Rolled

The neighbors came here today and rolled the hay that was just cut. The number of rolls was disappointing only nine rolls for six acres. That is way off what should have come from that field. We are way behind in rain for the year and if this keeps up it will be a drought and that is not a good thing. Neighbor lady across the road has one well with a level now below where she can pump the water, around here that is very unusual.

I will just keep on hand watering the garden to keep things alive until it rains, the garden peas are late this year not one blossom so far this Spring, I love those sweet little peas; raw or cooked doesn't matter to me as long as there are lots of 'em.

First Cut of hay this year

This weekend the hay field got cut for the first time. It looks like it will be a good cut, won't know
for sure until it is rolled up and in the barn. There is no rain forecast for the next few days so
maybe the hay won't get rained on like last year.

The garden is coming along, not as fast as I would like, but the past few days have been colder
than usual and that is holding the plants back. For the garden we could use rain, for the hay it would be problematic. It will all work out it usually does.

I went to two auctions today and I didn't buy a tractor, the first tractor was to used up to be a
good buy and the second was to large and powerful for my purposes also to much money.

Just a cool Spring weekend.

Amish Auction

Another weekend and another auction. This auction is a consignment auction, folks bring their goods to sell and the auctioneer takes a percentage-in this case it benefits the Amish school. There were no motorized things like farm tractors or heavy equipment for sale. Usually there are some buggy horses for sale, not this year.

I purchased three guineas these birds are ugly, noisy and flighty. Why did I buy them? They are supposed to be good at eliminating ticks and other annoying bugs, my recollection is that they are annoying in their own right with their calls and squawks they get very excited when something or someone threatens or surprises them, they are not very intelligent birds although some folks like them as do coyotes.

The day started off cloudy and cool, I wish it had stayed that way, around 11 o'clock the Sun came out with a vengeance and I couldn't take the heat. I wanted to stay at the auction, but I was getting very tired and ill from to much Sun and heat so I took myself home and had a nap.

The Guineas are perched in the barn trying to figure out how this all happened to them, this moving from one place to another, I guess. I hope they hang around and do their job feasting on ticks.

The ducks have a little kiddie pool to play in and they seem to enjoy that, jumping into the water and splashing about ducking their heads under the water and flapping their wings.

The garden is doing as well as can be expected, we haven't had much rain and don't have any in the forecast for the next few days, so I will be watering by hand for a few days trying to keep things alive till the rains come. I bet when the rains do arrive it will be to much all at once sort of thing. What can you do, but keep trying.

That's the way it is down on the farm :)

Opps made an error

The last post had a typo that caused a stir, I typed that a farm went for 25K when it actually
was sold for 253K, an astounding amount of money considering that the property has two utility right of ways one for high power electric lines and another for natural gas. This effects the use of the property by the owner. However the land is close to town so there is interest in developing the land for residential use (rumor). I wouldn't want to live under those high voltage lines. Each to their own I guess. If I caused any distress because of my typing error I apologise.

So all you folks that were packing your bags and heading to Kentucky to buy a 25k farm maybe you should think about it cause there aren't any 74 acre farms going for 25k these days. In fact the price of land has been going up. It amazes the locals they remember when there were farms for less than a hundred thousand, working farms at that, those days are gone.

Local auction

I went to a local auction this Saturday morning my goal was to buy a farm tractor. The farm its self was up for sale at the auction and the 74 acres with barns and small house went for 253K. A lot of equipment was up for sale including gates, hay wagons, tools, haying equipment, small vehicles, trailers and my interest, three tractors. One of the tractors a Ford with a front end loader took my interest. I ended up in a biding war with my Vet! I reached my limit and then he was in a contest with someone else, he got the tractor. I got to go shopping somewhere else.

Auctions are a community event, lots of gossip, handshakes, loud talk, renewing of acquaintances and catching up on the local and family news.

Some auctions last all day and are an endurance contest I am going to one this coming weekend, the Amish School Auction, it will last all day. One has to be prepared for such an event and up to it physically and mentally. Oh yes, don't forget your wallet :) At least at the Amish Auction lunch will be available, as the notice says the Amish ladies will provide lunch and refreshments :)