We're about to take the plunge. We've been reading up on them, asking everyone we encounter, generally learning like mad...
...and now, we're poised to order ours!
I started working on a hen house over spring break, building it (as always) of recycled and reclaimed materials. I think I spent 50 hours online just researching the design ideas for that! Ours is an A-frame design with exterior nesting boxes. The floor is elevated 20 inches off the ground. I am eager to finish construction, but I am still debating where to put it.
Chicken moat--see several previous entries on this. I've wanted to do a chicken moat since the 1980's. The latest hold up has been material costs, but I finally have a good supplier on chicken wire (cheap, used, industrial grade). I finally have a stock pile of utility poles. About all I'm waiting for now is confirmation we can get along w/o a tractor tiller--once the moat is built, it would be hard to get such an implement maneuvered around in the garden.
The chickens--my kids are crazy about chicks at every farm store. I know they grow up (both chicks and kids) but I think there's lots of opportunity there. I want to get the kids excited about some kind of animal husbandry, and chickens seem like a good starter.
We've shopped around locally, combed CraigsList, visited with some who own chickens...and it's always a different story. I think ultimately we'll just get'er done, buy some and start out. If it's a failure, we'll change up.
Last I knew, we were looking at an assortment of 'exotic' chickens to complement more traditional heavy layers.
Regardless, I want chicks on the ground by Easter!
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sick at my Stomach
You know what makes me sick? (That's Earl Pitt's famous opening line, and I'm stealing it today.)
I cannot drive down my country road any more without being repulsed. I truly, honestly get nauseous whenever I pass by the spot where it happened. No, it's not where I hit a deer, nor where there was a grizzly accident.
Nope. Now it's nothing but more field. That is what is so disgusting to me. Now, down the road 10 miles these jokers have cut down and plowed up about 500 trees (not much of an exaggeration, if any) along a dry creek bed. They have had heavy equipment in to sculpt the land with new terraces, etc. I know what they are doing. I know why they are doing it. By eliminating the trees and creek bed they are hoping to gain a few more acres of ground to till, and by sculpting it as they have, they are likely to have a much easier time working the ground and harvesting the crops.
I say, however, that the best laid plans of mice and men Gang aft a-gley! That's right, I said "gang aft a-gley" dammit. When we first cut up the prairie with fences, it wreaked havoc with the migration patterns of many animals. This was further complicated with our infernal criss-crossing of underground petrol-product piping and blacktop roads. Now, as we bull-doze every stand of trees, what is left in the wake? Nothing but a field. That leaves little shelter for deer and other wildlife. It makes this beautiful part of the country look too much like western Kansas. Windbreaks are valuable! Here's what was offered in a KSU study, NON-AGRICULTURAL BENEFITS OF WINDBREAKS IN KANSAS:
So, down the road, I am seeing farmers plowing up trees by the hundreds. These people are no longer stewards of the land but slaves of Monsanto. Yet, I digress.
What really turns my stomach is a former homestead now-turned into another field.
This place was easily 80-100 years old. It had an impressive stand of trees surrounding what was likely 4 acres of old homestead land. There were out buildings (a barn, a chicken house, a well house) and a very impressive two-level house with big columns out front. It looked like a small abandoned plantation house from the road.
I wish I knew the history of that old house and farm. I wish I'd known the people who'd lived there, who'd built the place. I wish I had some way to travel back in time and watch the property evolve. Hell, I wish I'd stopped and wandered the property one of the thousand times I have driven by and thought about it.
I grieve for this old place. To me, places hold memories, maybe even ghosts. To destroy them for factory farming is a heinous and criminal act. Where I grew up, every tree was rare and sacred. I'm not tree hugging fairy nymph, either; don't get me wrong. I'm just offering that by slaying 100+ year old trees we're disrespecting our elders. We're spitting in the eye of mother nature. We're pissing away some great shade, wood, possibly walnuts. To bull-doze it all with utter disregard for its worth is disgusting.
I am thoroughly disgusted....so on that, I shall return to my regularly scheduled programming.
__________________________
Details on the phrase, found here:
Meaning: The most carefully prepared plans may go wrong.
Origin: "of mice and men"
From Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786.
It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse's nest. The resulting poem is an apology to the mouse:
...
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane [you aren't alone]
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.
...
The poem is of course the source for the title of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel - Of Mice and Men.
I cannot drive down my country road any more without being repulsed. I truly, honestly get nauseous whenever I pass by the spot where it happened. No, it's not where I hit a deer, nor where there was a grizzly accident.
Nope. Now it's nothing but more field. That is what is so disgusting to me. Now, down the road 10 miles these jokers have cut down and plowed up about 500 trees (not much of an exaggeration, if any) along a dry creek bed. They have had heavy equipment in to sculpt the land with new terraces, etc. I know what they are doing. I know why they are doing it. By eliminating the trees and creek bed they are hoping to gain a few more acres of ground to till, and by sculpting it as they have, they are likely to have a much easier time working the ground and harvesting the crops.
I say, however, that the best laid plans of mice and men Gang aft a-gley! That's right, I said "gang aft a-gley" dammit. When we first cut up the prairie with fences, it wreaked havoc with the migration patterns of many animals. This was further complicated with our infernal criss-crossing of underground petrol-product piping and blacktop roads. Now, as we bull-doze every stand of trees, what is left in the wake? Nothing but a field. That leaves little shelter for deer and other wildlife. It makes this beautiful part of the country look too much like western Kansas. Windbreaks are valuable! Here's what was offered in a KSU study, NON-AGRICULTURAL BENEFITS OF WINDBREAKS IN KANSAS:
"Windbreaks may provide recreational opportunities, scenic beauty, fuelwood, and wildlife habitat in addition to agricultural benefits. Quantitative studies demonstrate that windbreaks on the Great Plains provides important wildlife habitat for woodland edge species, substantial opportunities for recreation, a potentially important source of fuelwood, and enhanced scenic beauty."And this is to say nothing of erosion control.
So, down the road, I am seeing farmers plowing up trees by the hundreds. These people are no longer stewards of the land but slaves of Monsanto. Yet, I digress.
What really turns my stomach is a former homestead now-turned into another field.
This place was easily 80-100 years old. It had an impressive stand of trees surrounding what was likely 4 acres of old homestead land. There were out buildings (a barn, a chicken house, a well house) and a very impressive two-level house with big columns out front. It looked like a small abandoned plantation house from the road.
I wish I knew the history of that old house and farm. I wish I'd known the people who'd lived there, who'd built the place. I wish I had some way to travel back in time and watch the property evolve. Hell, I wish I'd stopped and wandered the property one of the thousand times I have driven by and thought about it.
I grieve for this old place. To me, places hold memories, maybe even ghosts. To destroy them for factory farming is a heinous and criminal act. Where I grew up, every tree was rare and sacred. I'm not tree hugging fairy nymph, either; don't get me wrong. I'm just offering that by slaying 100+ year old trees we're disrespecting our elders. We're spitting in the eye of mother nature. We're pissing away some great shade, wood, possibly walnuts. To bull-doze it all with utter disregard for its worth is disgusting.
I am thoroughly disgusted....so on that, I shall return to my regularly scheduled programming.
__________________________
Details on the phrase, found here:
Meaning: The most carefully prepared plans may go wrong.
Origin: "of mice and men"
From Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786.
It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse's nest. The resulting poem is an apology to the mouse:
...
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane [you aren't alone]
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.
...
The poem is of course the source for the title of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel - Of Mice and Men.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Camping
We've been getting back to nature a bit lately at the Jarvis farm. So far, our camping has been in the back yard, but we're working up to a lake some day. The first night, we camped too close to the house and highway. The yard light and air conditioner were interfering with my vibe. The next two nights, we camped out by our fire pit, which was much better. We have a chance to camp further yet from civilization, still on our land, about 300 yards on away from house and highway, back in the bush. I'm told this weekend ahead is National Backyard Camp Out Night, or something like that. I am looking forward to it!
The boys love it. I am always impressed with how some simple things, like story telling and baths, can make these kids revel in glee. I do mean glee, too. They get giddy when we camp out.
I hope we can practice a good deal this summer and then perhaps head to the Rockies to visit my aunt before things get too intense in the fall. My perfect trip would be to Colorado Springs, camping up/back and staying w/her one night--all around Labor day, so we might see the hot air balloon festival again.
Now if I can just train them all to help with set up and tear down.
The boys love it. I am always impressed with how some simple things, like story telling and baths, can make these kids revel in glee. I do mean glee, too. They get giddy when we camp out.
I hope we can practice a good deal this summer and then perhaps head to the Rockies to visit my aunt before things get too intense in the fall. My perfect trip would be to Colorado Springs, camping up/back and staying w/her one night--all around Labor day, so we might see the hot air balloon festival again.
Now if I can just train them all to help with set up and tear down.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Return of the Pickup!
Even today, as I am just getting my hands again on the wheel of the pickup, I am bringing home loads of stuff. This may cause those at home some consternation.
Yes, that's right, after an absence of over a year, I'm regaining the keys to my dad's old truck. It's not that old, really, by my standards...something like a '99 Silverado. All I care is that it runs and it has a bed suitable for hauling--stuff!
Today I'm on a mission to raid a house advertised on Craig'sList as one abandoned, full, by "tenets." (Terrible when truth escapes us!) I hope to score some lumber. Then I'm off to get some chicken wire for about 1/4 the retail cost. All of this costs chicken feed, and all of this is useful on the farm, so I do not feel badly.
Now, if I start bringing home large sets from musicals, dysfunctional refrigerators, over-sized yard art...then that might be cause for alarm. For now, the only hollering will be me, once again behind the wheel!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Gonna Garden
Tomorrow, rain or shine. I'm going to build raised beds. I'm going to order some soil. I'm going to reserve my tiller. Maybe I'll even service my lawn tractor, for sometime soon (VERY SOON) I'm going to have to begin mowing. New to my blog and life? Mowing takes me 4 hrs a week in prime season, but it's worth it. Maybe we'll get enough goats going this year, maybe get the pasture leased out, and thereby reduce my mowing some.
I still have few plans in place for what we're to grow, how we're to preserve it, etc. With the cost of food so low, it's still hardly a profitable venture...but maybe I'll find a way. We eat a lot of potatoes, so I am eager to grow them as a staple. I'd like to see us eat a great deal more beans, and maybe we can raise them in bulk this year (?)
Chickens seem to offer the greatest savings to us, for we go through dozens of eggs weekly. I think if I were to really live by my values, I'd eat eggs over red meat (maybe even eat chicken, etc and still lay off the red meat). I can raise egg-laying chickens for next to nothing--for...chicken feed!
I still have few plans in place for what we're to grow, how we're to preserve it, etc. With the cost of food so low, it's still hardly a profitable venture...but maybe I'll find a way. We eat a lot of potatoes, so I am eager to grow them as a staple. I'd like to see us eat a great deal more beans, and maybe we can raise them in bulk this year (?)
Chickens seem to offer the greatest savings to us, for we go through dozens of eggs weekly. I think if I were to really live by my values, I'd eat eggs over red meat (maybe even eat chicken, etc and still lay off the red meat). I can raise egg-laying chickens for next to nothing--for...chicken feed!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sproing!
Sproing! Spring will just bounce in like that, and I will be caught unaware--unless I'm always keeping an eye on the calendar. I noticed other people are already ramping up, turning their gardens, buying seed potatoes and bulb plants, burning fields....
I have SO MUCH TO DO once the weather warms. Unfortunately for me, the weather change will be about the same time as my workload gets back breaking. I know, work comes first.
Yesterday I was talking w/my inlaw at the grill, looking over the garden. Here's a short list of what must be done, in some reasonable priority:
Of course, in my mind all this ought to be done by or during Spring Break, less than a month away. Likely other plans will over-ride mine.
THEN when the above list is done, there's the deck to build, and the mowing can then begin in earnest.
I have SO MUCH TO DO once the weather warms. Unfortunately for me, the weather change will be about the same time as my workload gets back breaking. I know, work comes first.
Yesterday I was talking w/my inlaw at the grill, looking over the garden. Here's a short list of what must be done, in some reasonable priority:
- tune up the mower and tractor
- build raised beds for garden
- plant garden (early bulb crops)
- burn fields (preferably all of them)
- arrange for top soil, compost, gravel, etc.
- contract said inlaw w/equipment to move the arranged {and woodchips }
- finish pirate ship playground
- finish garden
- finish carport
Of course, in my mind all this ought to be done by or during Spring Break, less than a month away. Likely other plans will over-ride mine.
THEN when the above list is done, there's the deck to build, and the mowing can then begin in earnest.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Bob the Builder
image source
Okay, my name's not Bob, but my son's super hero is surely Bob the Builder. I'm starting to feel more and more like ol' Bob myself. I've always had a penchant for fixing things, regardless of my skill level. When I was 7, I started making club houses on my daddy's farm, usually converting a long-forgotten and neglected room in an outbuilding. (I think my dad commissioned me for two reasons, now that I think about it: a)kept me out of his hair and b)he would get a terribly filthy room cleaned up for free!)
I built fence, corrals, sheds, engines, dog houses, bird houses, book shelves, desks, bunk beds--to say nothing of things I've fixed. This is not to say I'm very good at any of it, but hey, I try. I find it inspirational, like a good bargain.
Cue yesterday: I responded to a Craig's List offering of "building material left overs" and WOW did we score! We have (so far) scavenged a pickup load of lumber and finish trim, exterior doors, etc. There are still VERY LARGE windows and some great limestone I'm looking at there, too. Also, yesterday I secured permission for a big score of very sturdy pallets. (Frequent readers know what these are for--everything!) I have also found a pile of extremely thick and large utility poles, which I really want but cannot fathom how to lift/transport.
My son, the Bob the Builder fan, went along with his papa and I on this scavenging operation, and he was so very happy. He was amazed at all the great free stuff. He spent the entire time we were there asking me what this was, what that was, could we take x or y or z, loading scrap wood into the pickup. He got filthy and he got splinters, but he was so very happy. Who needs Disney world when you have some free building materials!?
And I have building projects afoot:
1) get basement impervious to snakes, mice, etc
2) build pirate ship playground
3) enclose carport project
4) build tractor/hay shelter
5) build a dojo
This last entry is one I've been eager to do for some time. I still think using free materials, recycled materials, and natural materials works best for both my aesthetic and budget. This dojo idea would seem to benefit from the spirit of such beliefs, too. Something about charity and recycling, from the frame to the finish work, really makes me think a structure will have a good spirit. Like the Habitat homes I used to work on.
So, I'd best put on my overalls, tool belt and hard hat. Can we fix it?
YES WE CAN.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Week End
Ten years ago, I did not value weekends. I did not honor them...I just didn't have them, period. In fact, I spurned weekends, thinking they were for the weak, for those who lacked dedication. In my mind, I was on a mission, and I just had to work hard 24/7. Anything less was not my best. Somehow my identity was so entwined with my work that I was lost.
Okay, maybe that was only six years ago.
Today, this being a FRIDAY, I cannot fathom that person I was. I have been aching for this day since Monday, and that's not probably any more healthy than being a workaholic. I am not going to any fall festivals, football games, parties...I am not even looking forward to anything on television. I will not be sleeping in (never do) and I don't even know what being bored is all about. The hammock is for Homer Simpson. Give me a hammer!
I have been aching and itching to build something. This weekend, at last, I may get some of the raw materials to do just that. I'll have to borrow a pickup, and I'll have to borrow some time from work (as I am perpetually behind now that I have this more healthy perspective on work), but I fully intend to get cracking.
It is also payday Friday, which for me is a rarity, as we only get paid monthly in the first place, and that seldom lands on a Friday. I'm going to expend all my fun money in the budget (that's a joke in itself) all-too-quickly, I know, but I have SO YEARNED for this opportunity.
Not even rain will stop me.
No force in heaven nor on earth could keep me from my mission--except my family. If they beck and call, I will forfeit all of the above. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Maybe I can tool the tribe up with hammers, saws, gloves, etc. Maybe I can take them with me to Mecca: the hardware store!
Anticipation is killing me. I still have work to do for the next 3 hours, 46 minutes and 14 seconds.
Okay, maybe that was only six years ago.
Today, this being a FRIDAY, I cannot fathom that person I was. I have been aching for this day since Monday, and that's not probably any more healthy than being a workaholic. I am not going to any fall festivals, football games, parties...I am not even looking forward to anything on television. I will not be sleeping in (never do) and I don't even know what being bored is all about. The hammock is for Homer Simpson. Give me a hammer!
I have been aching and itching to build something. This weekend, at last, I may get some of the raw materials to do just that. I'll have to borrow a pickup, and I'll have to borrow some time from work (as I am perpetually behind now that I have this more healthy perspective on work), but I fully intend to get cracking.
It is also payday Friday, which for me is a rarity, as we only get paid monthly in the first place, and that seldom lands on a Friday. I'm going to expend all my fun money in the budget (that's a joke in itself) all-too-quickly, I know, but I have SO YEARNED for this opportunity.
Not even rain will stop me.
No force in heaven nor on earth could keep me from my mission--except my family. If they beck and call, I will forfeit all of the above. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Maybe I can tool the tribe up with hammers, saws, gloves, etc. Maybe I can take them with me to Mecca: the hardware store!
Anticipation is killing me. I still have work to do for the next 3 hours, 46 minutes and 14 seconds.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tree Slayer
Yesterday I spent an hour with a bucket truck and a chain saw, trimming trees around my barn. I was slow-moving since I have such a love for trees. I felt awful trimming any branch, let alone bigger limbs. They were raking against the roof, in the line of power lines (newly installed now) and otherwise looming over things, promising to crush my out building with the first heavy snow...
...still, I cut a limb as thick as my thigh, from a wild hedge tree that had grown up between the buildings, wrapped itself around one, virtually. It has hugged that shed for what must be fifty years now, and in 50 seconds, I severed it, forever. The limb was graceful, a living work of art--the hacked limb is an ugly, mechanically gnawed stub.
I have continued my evil ways in the garden. I'm working on a Giant Pumpkin (see other entries) and one rule of thumb is to remove all but one potential giant per vine. Ultimately one is to remove all competing vines, leaving one feeder for the one giant pumpkin. Well, since I was already guilty, I went at my pumpkins, too.
I guess, if there were a greener side to this, I am going to attempt to salvage the suckers and small branches for a green wood weaving project (my boys' fort is made of woven branches). And, the pumpkin should be a whopper. One of the discards was five pounds itself!
...still, I cut a limb as thick as my thigh, from a wild hedge tree that had grown up between the buildings, wrapped itself around one, virtually. It has hugged that shed for what must be fifty years now, and in 50 seconds, I severed it, forever. The limb was graceful, a living work of art--the hacked limb is an ugly, mechanically gnawed stub.
I have continued my evil ways in the garden. I'm working on a Giant Pumpkin (see other entries) and one rule of thumb is to remove all but one potential giant per vine. Ultimately one is to remove all competing vines, leaving one feeder for the one giant pumpkin. Well, since I was already guilty, I went at my pumpkins, too.
I guess, if there were a greener side to this, I am going to attempt to salvage the suckers and small branches for a green wood weaving project (my boys' fort is made of woven branches). And, the pumpkin should be a whopper. One of the discards was five pounds itself!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Another Semester...and a Lament
Thursday will be the end of summer courses. Like my students, I'm very relieved. It's been a whirlwind trip, requiring me to grade 40-50 essays weekly--eeeeshh! My head aches to just reflect over that.
Like always, however, I'm ill-at-ease about the changing seasons, the days that churn by so very fast, the End of Summer...I guess it's better that I lament than if I were simply one who was callous or oblivious. I certainly feel these days passing.
I rededicate myself every term to exit gracefully, to regroup confidently, and to forge ahead. I mark every seasonal change with a song in my heart (even if it's sometimes a whimper) and I move ahead. It's not easy moving on.
Unrelated: I hate being poor. Yesterday I had the chance to get a FREE HOUSE, an entire HOUSE. It was not quite ready to live in, and it had to be moved 30 miles to my place, but still...a mid-20's farmhouse with lots of great wood and charm. I loved walking through the adjoining rooms, looking out the old-time windows (some glass rippled with age), imagining what life had been like in that home. I so enjoyed my visit to the place, that reason has taken a back seat. I know, I have no way to pay for moving the house, no way to pay for a foundation to set it on once here, no way to pay for all the remodeling, plumbing, electrical, etc. that must be done to the place--but all that aside, I really, really want that house. It would be so perfect attached or adjacent to our current farm house, giving our huge family more elbow room (MUCH NEEDED) and adding to the ambiance of the whole place. Alas, it is not to be so, I guess, unless I win the lottery.
Like always, however, I'm ill-at-ease about the changing seasons, the days that churn by so very fast, the End of Summer...I guess it's better that I lament than if I were simply one who was callous or oblivious. I certainly feel these days passing.
I rededicate myself every term to exit gracefully, to regroup confidently, and to forge ahead. I mark every seasonal change with a song in my heart (even if it's sometimes a whimper) and I move ahead. It's not easy moving on.
Unrelated: I hate being poor. Yesterday I had the chance to get a FREE HOUSE, an entire HOUSE. It was not quite ready to live in, and it had to be moved 30 miles to my place, but still...a mid-20's farmhouse with lots of great wood and charm. I loved walking through the adjoining rooms, looking out the old-time windows (some glass rippled with age), imagining what life had been like in that home. I so enjoyed my visit to the place, that reason has taken a back seat. I know, I have no way to pay for moving the house, no way to pay for a foundation to set it on once here, no way to pay for all the remodeling, plumbing, electrical, etc. that must be done to the place--but all that aside, I really, really want that house. It would be so perfect attached or adjacent to our current farm house, giving our huge family more elbow room (MUCH NEEDED) and adding to the ambiance of the whole place. Alas, it is not to be so, I guess, unless I win the lottery.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Ahoy--playground ideas ahead...
Building Things is something that brings me pleasure, from lego castles to model cars to raised garden beds and (this last week) carports. I find Building Things a close second to Fixing Things.
As previously mentioned on this blog, I am plotting to build a pirate ship playground, and as I am not restricted by ordinances, I am able to pick/choose standards of safety, etc. For instance, I am going to have a rope swing, for kids on my equipment are not going to strangle themselves w/the rope. (We have had a tire swing for some time now and report no fatalities.) I am honestly trying to plan for safety (no heads caught between ropes/bars, no falls of any great distance w/n the structure, reasonable slope to the slide, etc).
I am hoping to use unconventional materials, too. Why be limited to packaged deals, to new lumber, etc? Salvaged wood is better for me. Anytime I can Build Things of Salvaged Things--well, that's a double whammy for me. I know this: I'm going to build something out of old wooden pallets I'll upcycle into a building or part of this playground. I'm building cannons from rusty old sewer pipe. We'll make a ship's wheel from the remains of a garden cultivator. (I need a welder to make some of my dreams come true.) I want to get hold of old wooden barrel staves to make cool stairway railing, but that's hard to come by in KS. I'm looking into culvert pipe liners as a basis for a pipe slide. Half the fun is re-engineering materials into this themed playground.
It's also fun to combine form and function. Part of the rope ladder will be for climbing, but some will be just for looks. Some of the sails will be for shade as well as effect. The cross members on the mast (obviously I know little of ships, to date, or I'd give some technical name like spars or "yippin' yappies") will be the support for conventional swings. The pipe slide will run the interior of the ship, for the boys said "a stupid yellow slide did not look pirate-shippy."
Some over-the-top ideas we're entertaining include a real water cannon, a brig, and stage two... tie-in to a nearby tree house.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Kansas Sunflowers
We have native sunflowers growing here on our property, but I do not know the official name of them or exactly what variety they are. This summer, we're participating in the Great Sunflower Project to help track bees. It should bee fun.
They sent us a packet of Helianthus annuus seeds, (aka Lemon Queens). I was going to put them across a trellis from beans, but I was advised that sunflowers can push other plants aside. Now, I'm thinking of putting them back near our bee tree--though it would be interesting to put them on the faaaaaar end of the land to see if our bees would travel there for the sunflowers. (Of course, we have a bee/butterfly garden going and we're planting some other flowers, too, so I do not know that bees will be especially attracted to these sunflowers, anyway.) Who cares, it is just fun to have sunflowers!
I want to plant some GIANT ones, to complement my GIANT pumpkins.
You'd think all I ever thought about was gardening...well, maybe so these days, but as summer progresses, I'll shift to something else, like something cool, indoors.
They sent us a packet of Helianthus annuus seeds, (aka Lemon Queens). I was going to put them across a trellis from beans, but I was advised that sunflowers can push other plants aside. Now, I'm thinking of putting them back near our bee tree--though it would be interesting to put them on the faaaaaar end of the land to see if our bees would travel there for the sunflowers. (Of course, we have a bee/butterfly garden going and we're planting some other flowers, too, so I do not know that bees will be especially attracted to these sunflowers, anyway.) Who cares, it is just fun to have sunflowers!
I want to plant some GIANT ones, to complement my GIANT pumpkins.
You'd think all I ever thought about was gardening...well, maybe so these days, but as summer progresses, I'll shift to something else, like something cool, indoors.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
My International Harvester!
Craig Morgan's song is ringing in my ears as I write this--or else it's from tractoring w/o ear protection. Here's a link to the song/video, especially of interest for most of it was filmed in Wichita (in front of the Orpheum)a year or two ago.
Yes, I have an ol' Farmall SuperC, and at last it's functional again. I am so happy to have it back on its feet--er--tires. I will be using it to mow the jungle here (some weeds literally 10 ft tall!) I swore I'd never let it get this bad, and I truly was ahead of the weeds before my equipment troubles. (I think I'll go shoot a "before" picture or two, for even I would not believe how bad it's gotten!) All will be well for next year, anyway, for I'm also gearing up for livestock which should keep the weeds under control.
Outside of that, the garden is greening. The corn is going in tonight, late as it may be--it will still be okay. 'Never did get my peas planted, but then, we're not really big pea eaters.
I am most looking forward to the melons, reminiscent of my childhood and our 200 acre cantaloupe patch, 40 acres of watermelon, 40 acres of cabbage, 5 acres of peppers, 1/2 acre of strawberries, etc. We had a building to process melons, sorting them, cleaning and boxing them for shipment. My job was to sort the good from fair melons on a conveyor belt. It was hard work, but I'm pretty good at picking a good melon today!
Here's a pic of me by the load of cabbage I was about to load from our dock to one of our transport trailers...yes, I did manual labor as a kid! Builds character!
And in closing, an exciting video of some crackerjack tractoring that could only be done with the Superb Super C!
Yes, I have an ol' Farmall SuperC, and at last it's functional again. I am so happy to have it back on its feet--er--tires. I will be using it to mow the jungle here (some weeds literally 10 ft tall!) I swore I'd never let it get this bad, and I truly was ahead of the weeds before my equipment troubles. (I think I'll go shoot a "before" picture or two, for even I would not believe how bad it's gotten!) All will be well for next year, anyway, for I'm also gearing up for livestock which should keep the weeds under control.
Outside of that, the garden is greening. The corn is going in tonight, late as it may be--it will still be okay. 'Never did get my peas planted, but then, we're not really big pea eaters.
I am most looking forward to the melons, reminiscent of my childhood and our 200 acre cantaloupe patch, 40 acres of watermelon, 40 acres of cabbage, 5 acres of peppers, 1/2 acre of strawberries, etc. We had a building to process melons, sorting them, cleaning and boxing them for shipment. My job was to sort the good from fair melons on a conveyor belt. It was hard work, but I'm pretty good at picking a good melon today!
Here's a pic of me by the load of cabbage I was about to load from our dock to one of our transport trailers...yes, I did manual labor as a kid! Builds character!
And in closing, an exciting video of some crackerjack tractoring that could only be done with the Superb Super C!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
