Prepwork and Scheming

The spring cleaning and prep-work for the gardens continues.  More raking, and more musing as to where I'm going to put what.  I want to move things around a little this year as far as vegetables in the container gardens, but the late spring and weather conditions put me behind a little.  I suddenly realized that I still hadn't planted my peas, and May was upon us!  Peas like cool weather and I usually plant them as soon as the pots are cleared of snow in April.  In a panic, I planted them in the same containers the other day just to get them in the ground.  So much for shaking it up.

The little bed where I normally plant tomatoes is going to be dedicated to bush beans and radish.  Unfortunately this bed attracts the cats, even though I've built them an outdoor litter box.  Maybe it's because they're confined to a small yard, but I've found nothing yet that will deter them from using my gardens as toilets.  Last year I tried hundreds of plastic forks planted in the dirt around my plants, and the cats just dug them up and made room to do their business.  I've seen plastic mats with spikes on them that you can cut to size for your garden, but I would rather use something I have on hand.  For the half moon garden I'm trying laying down short wire decorative fence.

I figure it should leave openings enough to deter digging but allow plants to grow.  Time will tell.  As it is, I had to dig the top layer of soil off and replace it with fresh dirt.  It didn't go to waste, though.  I'm trying some hugelkultur gardening!

Hugelkultur (translation - hill culture) is a type of gardening that involves mounding materials to form a hill shape, and planting into that.  Generally you start with logs and/or branches, then layer materials like leaves, sod, and compost over that, and finish with soil.  The idea behind this type of gardening is that you're putting the power of compost to work over a greater period of time.  The logs and branches take a longer time to break down and tend to hold moisture, making watering sometimes unnecessary unless there's a drought.  The rest of the materials provide nutrients as they break down, as well as heat that's created during that decaying process.

Over the winter I had a bunch of pine branches come down on the mule shed, so instead of hauling them to the burn pile, I piled them up where they sat.  I added some leaves I had raked off the back yard, then tossed on some mulch hay that I had used as insulation against the house foundation, and tossed the nasty garden soil into the mix.  Once Reputa the Beauta (my trusty garden tractor) is out of her winter storage mode, I'll haul down some composted mule manure to add to the pile.  Then a layer of dirt, and finally...I don't know yet.  Again, what to plant where?  Should I try veggies?  Flowers?  I've seen hugelkultur gardens with a mix of things, so maybe that's a possibility.  We'll see!  I still have a long way to go prepping and protecting before I start planting.

To protect the new raised bed, I'm thinking of using some old fencing I made from grade stakes.  I'm hoping laying them down across the soil will deter the cats.  I'm thinking the tomatoes will go in this garden.

 

It's been heartening to see the daffodils popping up around the property, and everything is greening up nicely.

The black flies are out en force, unfortunately.  I've put the bug curtains on the mule shed and they don't come out of there until the dark of night, when the black flies disappear.  They are so thick right now that any outdoor chores are miserable.

One non-gardening chore that needed doing was having the septic pumped, so I dug up the tank cover before the septic company came.  The cats were immediately drawn to it, as it's cement and holds the heat of the sun and the heat generated from the tank itself.  They spent a good part of the evening writhing around on it.  Ew.

 

My goal for this weekend is to swap out my stock tank water garden for a more permanent water feature.  I've purchased some pond lining fabric to replace the plastic tank and a small solar fountain to provide aeration.  Depending on the size of the fabric, I may make the pond a little larger and deeper than the stock tank.  I'm excited to get started, and will document the upgrade in my next post. 

Peel Away the Layers

The weather gods have finally smiled upon us and this weekend was a perfect example of the quintessential New England spring.  Sunshine, warm but not hot, people emerging from their homes like bears from their dens to greet the new season.  Raking has been my first order of business, and there's no shortage of that.
Normally I like to "put my gardens to bed" in the fall, meaning I cut back all the dead stems and leaves so the gardens are clean and fresh come spring.  I learned that leaving gardens as they are and letting nature take its course is much more beneficial to birds and insects over the long winter.  I saw evidence of this by leaving my perennial sunflower bed alone - the amount of birds that took advantage of the seed heads over the winter was amazing.  According to what I've heard, the best practice if you're aiming to provide protection for insects and small critters like salamanders is to leave your gardens in their natural state until you have at least two or three days above fifty degrees, to ensure these little guys have woken up and begun moving around, so they can find shelter elsewhere when disturbed.
Thanks to the late snow and undulating temperatures, many of my plants were vigorously growing beneath the leaf litter.  I'll admit I'm not the most gentle of gardeners (I call myself The Savage Gardener because I honestly have no patience.) and I tend to injure tender greens when raking.  I try to get out before perennials get too big, but sometimes that just doesn't happen.  I did pull a few tendrils, and break a few shoots, but more plants than not made it through my assault.
One of the small front gardens revealed more green than I had expected; peonies, daffodils, tulips, foxglove, and horseradish were all working away under that brown blanket.

 

There is still some ice and snow within the leaf litter, so some of the beds are a work in progress.  They should be completely cleaned by this coming weekend.

The main section of my holding bed was also busy, with variegated Jacob's Ladder, tulips, daffodils, coral bells, and more poking up through the ground.  No sign of my trillium yet, but hopefully it'll emerge soon now that the sun can warm the dirt.

I had cleaned off my strawberry bed a little too soon, so I may have killed off my strawberry plants.  Time will tell!  This is also where the perennial sunflowers are thickest.  I used an antique metal weed whacker to hack down the long stems and found that I'm less than proficient with that particular tool.  By the time I was done I had whip marks across my face and hands from the woody stems springing back violently as I swung the whacker back and forth.  Next time I'll use my lawn mower and spare myself the beating.

Next I'll move on to the Pollinator Plus Strip, which is mostly just gravel from the plow truck to deal with, and a few leaves mashed up against the fence.  My goal this year is to mulch the entire bed, which should take quite a while.

The mules are eager for the pasture to be opened up, but they'll have to wait a few more weeks.  The green is coming, but slowly.

After the front yard is done, it's off the back yard.  Never a dull moment!

Spring...?

What a nasty little storm that was.
Luckily we didn't get the feet of snow the upper Midwest did, but it was a mess none the less.  Sleet, freezing rain, and rain mixed together to make for treacherous driving conditions and a miserable 48 hours.  The snow is so sticky, the poor mules are battling massive snow and mud balls building up in their feet.  As soon as one drops off, another starts building up.  Everything is sopping wet and cold and miserable. 
I was hoping since we only had a skim of sleet built up on the gravel road, that the town plows wouldn't come through.  Unfortunately they did, but they seem to have taken pity on those of us who have started our spring roadside clean up efforts, because they plowed right down the middle of the road.  I should only have minor dirt and debris to clean off the edges when this slop finally melts.

 

                                                             And yet, life goes on. 

 

These were a pleasant surprise to discover - I'd forgotten that I had planted tulips in the front garden!
Hopefully this winter mess will be gone in a day or so.  The meteorologists are saying warm and sunny for the weekend, which I welcome with open arms.

Yard Therapy

Ahhh, the sore back and arms that come from a day of spring raking.  It feels so good to get out of the house and start on yard work.  I've raked along the outsides of the fences on both sides of the house, cleaned up the main paddock a little, moved some downed limbs and branches, raked the head of the path to the cemetery, and cleaned up around the little stone planter at the corner.  I took it slow and steady, had a few breaks, and am feeling accomplished.  The best part about being out in the yard is all the neighbors who stop to chat when they're driving by, or honk and wave as they pass, or stop to catch up while they're out doing their own yard work.  Every corner of the neighborhood is beginning to stir after a long winter.  The only downside is that we're looking at snow, sleet, ice, and rain for the next two days.  Ugh!  Spring is such a little tease.  At least I'll sleep well tonight, and dream of all the bits of green I've seen poking from under the leaf litter.  Next up, cleaning out the gardens.  I can't wait!

Chilly Start

I'm glad I didn't uncover my gardens this past weekend - look at what greeted us this morning:

 

 That would be frost on the lawns...yuck!  And our weather continues to run like a roller coaster for the rest of the week.  I'm waffling back and forth on whether or not to uncover my perennial beds over the next few days.  We'll see temps in the 50s, so plants will be responding, but we're also expecting highs only in the mid 30s with a wintry mix on Sunday.  Decisions, decisions...

And She's Off

I've set up my little greenhouse and I couldn't be more happy!  I'm always giddy when I begin the growing season...if only I could harness this enthusiasm and mete it out throughout the year.  Oh well!

I purchased this inexpensive greenhouse at Ocean State Job Lots for $20 about three or four years ago.  I like that it's easy to set up and even when I have a multitude of plants in it, it's still light enough to move by myself.  Once we start getting really warm days I move it on to my porch, then bring it back inside during the night.  When nights begin staying above 40*F I'll leave it out there, and when the plants are strong enough I'll begin hardening them off by leaving the door up to acclimate them to the outside temperatures.  By the end of May or early June they should be ready for transplanting.  Remember the rule of thumb for planting in the northeast - wait until after the last full moon of May to plant, usually the danger of a hard frost is over by then.  Though, I've seen June come in with sweater weather, so you can never be 100% sure. 
For my first round of plants I've planted 8 beefsteak tomatoes, 4 Roma tomatoes, 8 sweet peppers, 36 Cleome, a small pot of basil, and two window boxes of the mesclun/arugula/mustard green mix.  I've moved the catnip into the greenhouse because it was in danger of being over eaten and the other pot is a sad attempt at propagating my hibiscus by seed.  Don't think that one will take, but you never know.  In a week or so I'll start a second round of mesclun and some spinach, as well as a few more tomatoes.  I haven't grown cherry tomatoes in years, so maybe I'll try some of those.  It feels so good to get started after this long, drawn out winter!

Get Ready, Here It Comes

Maybe.
Spring will be here soon.
MAYBE.
What fresh new hell have I awoken to this morning?

Ugh. 
Well, I can't really complain.  Spring snow on bare ground is what the old timer's call "poor man's fertilizer".   A few days ago I gathered up all the bags of waste hay and seed that I've been sweeping up in the barn all winter and scattered it around the bare spots in the pasture.  We had a decent rain that day to hold it down, and then this dusting of snow.  Maybe I'll get a little green out of that effort.
The Portland Flower Show was fun.  Small compared to the Freyburg show, but it was still nice to smell dirt and plants and flowers, and see all kinds of exhibitions.  We took in a lecture about habitat for pollinators that was really well presented by the creator of First Light Wildlife Habitats.  I'm happy to say that my Pollinator Plus Strip is on target for its purpose.  After dividing and transplanting plants last fall, I'm eager to see what it produces this year.  One goal for that particular garden is to dig out the grasses.  I had planned to leave them, as they produce seed that insects, rodents, and birds find useful (thus the addition of the word plus to the name), but since I'd like to sell this place I believe potential buyers would find it too unkempt.  I may even go so far as to add bark mulch around the plants, but we'll see how well my body holds up to the initial job at hand.
I've successfully resisted any premature seed starting this year.  Tomorrow I will set up my little greenhouse and prepare some trays for more salad greens, tomatoes, and peppers.  We're expecting a cool, damp spring, so I'll wait one more week before starting anything to ensure the plants don't get too leggy if they have to be kept indoors longer than normal.  Everything else I think I'll sow directly in the ground; squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, radish, peas, and beans.  I also have a multitude of annual flower seeds I can direct sow in various places around the property once the soil is warmed up enough. 
Even with this dusting of snow and the below freezing temperatures at night, there are signs of spring all around.  In the mornings I'm greeted by a cacophony of bird noises, trees are beginning to show buds, and perennials are pushing up through the ground everywhere.  As soon as we get a little warmer weather and it dries out, I can begin peeling the winter leaf mulch off my beds.  The fever is beginning to set in!

daffodils emerging from under the snow

oriental poppy in a perennial bed

 Bizzy enjoying a warm spring day in the yard

Spring Cleaning

While making a list of spring cleaning chores to do around the house and barn, I thought about my digital clutter.  I have two Facebook accounts, a Twitter account, and a Tumblr account that I never use.  I haven't logged into Facebook in over a year now, so why keep it?  I just deleted all four accounts and feel a little less digitally exposed.  I still have my Ipernity account for my photos and this blog, and that's plenty for now. And it's on to actual spring cleaning!  Time to de-clutter closets and give every room a good wiping down.  Time to rearrange the barn now that the firewood is gone.  Time to dig out seed trays and set up the little greenhouse.  It may still be cold, and we may still have over a foot of snow on the ground, but spring has sprung in my mind.  Huzzah!

Reprieve, Not Repeat

Well, we wound up with about two feet of snow out of that last nor'easter.  I can tell you, when I heard that a potential fourth storm was on its way, like most folks in the northeast I was not happy.  Luckily, this latest storm is keeping far enough south of us that we'll only see a dusting to a few inches of snow at most.  I'm selfishly happy as all the shoveling I did in that last storm blew out some discs in my neck and back, and apparently shuffled my ribs around.  I've had discomfort breathing for the past week due to that, but a good chiropractic adjustment yesterday and a follow up adjustment today is setting things right. 

Some photos from the last storm:

 

And meanwhile, in my window...

I now have five celery starts and have just started snacking on my lettuce mix.  I need to cut up that spaghetti squash and toss it on the manure pile while it's still relatively cold.  That one came out of my manure pile last year, from a store bought squash I'd thrown out there. 

I'm pleased to say that due to the warm February, I was able to stretch my winter heating products enough to make it through to spring.  This is the first time in the six winters I've been here that I haven't run out of wood, wood blocks, or oil before we ran out of cold weather.  I have about ten pieces of firewood left for an especially raw spring day, a couple packages of wood blocks, and half a tank of oil.  Normally I'd spend at least two or more weeks uncomfortably cold at this point.  Now that we've entered spring proper, my attention will turn to starting some plants for the garden.  It looks as though we're going to have another cool, damp spring, so I don't want to start them too early, like I did last year.  Most of my cucumbers and tomatoes ended up stunted and not producing any fruit, and I had to replant a lot of things.  This year I'll start my plants in mid April so they don't get quite so advanced before the soil warms up enough to transplant them.  My kingdom for a cold frame!  If I were planning to stay in this house, I would build a few of those in the yard.  I'll save that effort my next home. 

This weekend I'll get my green on by taking my mother to the Portland Flower Show in Maine.  I'm excited to attend a short lecture on creating habitats for pollinators.  I'm sad that I'll miss a lecture on medicinal plant gardens, but them's the breaks.  Hopefully I'll have some photos to share.

Pete and Repeat Were Sitting on a Fence...

I'm fairly certain the NWS has used this exact same map for the past three storms. 
Three nor'easters in 11 days...spring is never going to come. 
*cries, fires up snowblower, cries some more*

And So It Goes...

In like a lion, indeed.
In less than 24 hours winter storm Quinn took us from nearly spring to shit, still winter.

Over This Nonsense

Here we go again with another massive, potentially dangerous nor'easter.  This one is full of rain and possibly heavy, wet snow.  We somehow missed the splitting of the polar vortex and our cold air drifted over to Europe, which is getting all kinds of snow.  I wouldn't mind a regular snow storm, but these massive 5 alarm storms are just too much.  We're soooo close to spring!  A few more weeks and all of this will be a distant memory, and I'll be turning myself inside out with worry at every thunderstorm.  Huzzah!

Begone, Winter Banshee

The recent warm spell has spoiled me, and I'm positively aching for spring.  Unfortunately we have a little more February and a whole lotta March to get through, and it's looking rather stormy at the moment.  Tomorrow we're supposed to get 3-6" (possibly 8), and dirt driveways are already semi-thawed.  It's mud season at ground level, and we're going to get buried in snow.  To make matters worse, Thursday night through Saturday night at this point look like they could be a never ending snow, so who knows what we'll have on the ground by this time next week.  Ugh.  I just want warm weather and daffodils and...black flies and mud and ticks.

Yeah, so maybe this snow ain't so bad after all.

Porches and Cats and Warm Nights

Insanely warm today!  It's not often the girls and I can enjoy sitting on the porch in February.  It was 64* when I got home tonight, and all this crazy warm weather is doing is stoking my desire to get going on yard work.  But this is New England, and the weather changes in the blink of an eye, and March is notoriously temperamental.  Rein it in, lady...rein it in. 

A Case For Virgin Potting Soil

Oops, I've done it again.
Years ago I acquired some quince fruits from a neighbor, and I was determined to save some seeds and grow my own quince tree from these fruits.  (If you've never had quince, it's very pleasant, with a mild flavor somewhat like a watered down combination of apple and pear.)  I dried, froze, thawed, and planted my seeds.  I delighted in the emergence of a lone bit of green.  I babied that plant, tracked it's measurements, rejoiced at each new leaf.  By the time it was a year old it was nearly forty inches tall and began to blossom.  I was overjoyed.  My husband at the time dug a special spot in the yard where I could transplant it, sheltered from howling winter winds but with more than enough sunlight to help it grow.  The little tree thrived, and then it began to fruit.  Within a few weeks it was painfully obvious that the precious little quince tree I had raised from seed was, in fact, probably the tallest, most coddled green pepper plant ever grown.  What an embarrassment.  Well, lesson learned - don't reuse potting soil! 
And yet, I never learn.  Those butterfly weed seeds I carefully harvested, dried, and packaged for myself that I planted last month?  Well, the three little green bits that have been living a life of luxury under my grow light look an awful lot like catnip.  *sigh*  Used potting soil fail, once again. 
I've also lost a good many plants, which is par for the course in my life during February.  My 4 year old parsley plant finally gave up the ghost (read: somebody over-watered it), and my lavender that had so much new growth suddenly took a turn for the worse.  Also on my casualty list is the potted palm gifted to me by a friend, and my rosemary plant.  My King Tut papyrus and water lettuce plants in tubs have petered out, but on the upside I have a wicked healthy algae bloom going on.  [insert eye roll here]
Some day I'll get this plant thing down pat.  Until then, I forge ahead, undaunted. 

Green!

That didn't take long...

Now to keep the cat from snacking on my baby greens.

Post Thaw

Temperatures soared into the high forties this weekend, which meant a lot of melting.  Unfortunately, everything was a block of ice beforehand, so it just turned wet and now it's freezing back up.  Can't seem to catch a break these days.  I'm a little surprised at the effect this thaw has had on me.  I like winter.  I love snow shoeing, I love cross country skiing, I love the way the sun lights up a snow covered field, so why am I so ready for winter to be over before it's really begun?  It seems that each winter has become more of a chore than a welcomed distraction, and I can't help but wonder if the season has changed, or am I just getting old and even more cranky?  At any rate, I am so ready for April.

Photos before the thaw.

The last storm was pretty gross; about 2" of snow and then a day of sleet and freezing rain.  The weight of the slop brought down a massive limb off one of the pines near the main paddock.  I came home to find the run in shed entrance completely blocked by one limb the size of a small tree, and three limbs laying on the run in shed roof.  Some of the pipe panels were bent and one had a weld let go.  Thank goodness for a very kind neighbor with a chainsaw, because it was much too heavy and large for me to simply move.  The mules were thankfully unscathed, but cold, wet, and on edge.

Yeah, I've had enough.

A Little Life

The winter blahs are beginning to set in, so time for some green therapy.  A few weeks ago I brought down my standing grow light and set it up for some of my struggling house plants.  It wasn't long before I was itching to start some seeds.  Typically I start strong, and my interest peters out very quickly.  I honestly have more of a black thumb than a green one, but it doesn't slow me down.  So here goes the first attempt of 2018!

This is a fairly simple seed starting venture.  I've washed out a plastic container that contained mixed salad greens.  It's a perfect little greenhouse!  I've filled it with generic potting soil and let it sit for a few days to come to room temperature (the soil was out in my barn and very cold). 

Today I scored big time at a local hardware store.  They had a basket of seeds that were packaged for 2017 that didn't sell, so they were ten cents per package.  I spent one healthy dollar and came home with two packs of arugula, two packs of salad mix, a pack of spinach, a pack of mustard greens, basil, summer squash, and two packs of pumpkin seeds.  Not a bad haul!  I mixed a package of arugula, salad mix, and the mustard greens and sprinkled them into the container, reserving some for a second round in a few weeks. 

I've used this method in the past, and it works really well.  Spritz some water on the soil, close the top, seeds sprout, and once they're growing well remove the cover and use that as a base.  The only hard part is keeping my seedling eating cat from decimating the greens before I get the chance to harvest them.

Sky Watching

I never really paid attention to the sky until I acquired my first digital camera.  I received it as a birthday gift and suddenly everything was so much more vivid, more intriguing, more gasp-worthy.  Colors, textures, patterns...I started to notice these amazing things in nature more often, because I saw them as potential photographs.  Clouds in particular.  I love noticing something I've never witnessed before, like the first time I really saw a mackerel sky.  I'd probably noticed them dozens of times, but I'd never really seen them.  Anyway, today was one of those times. 

It looked as if the sky had been torn open, then stitched back together.  Isn't it beautiful?  If I were a better photographer, or had the editing skills to really bring this out, you would be able to see what I saw standing under it this morning.  This is the kind of stuff that makes a tic mark in the "reasons I'm glad to be alive" column of life. 

Things That Make Me Happy

Yesterday I was headed out to feed the mules their supper and realized it was nearly a quarter to five and it was still light enough to see my hand in front of my face.  Yessssss! 

We lost a ton of snow to the rain, but it did lower the snowbanks enough so I could take the Christmas swag down off the fence.  The mule paddock is a massive block of ice, but I sanded it enough so the boys can move around. 

I had a little issue with the snow blower last week, too.  I took it out to do some cleanup only to discover that both tires had gone flat, and being tubeless, they were half off the rims.  After a bit of a struggle I was able to get one tire off and take it to a local garage to have it reseated.  A few days later the other tire thawed enough that I was finally able to take it off the axle, but I had searched YouTube and discovered I could fix it myself.  If you do a quick search, you'll see that all you need to do is use a rope or ratchet strap to help reseat the tire.  I wrapped a ratchet strap around the center of the tire and tightened it so the edge of the tire was behind the edge of the rim, then began to inflate it.  I wasn't quick enough to remove the strap and it kind of popped off, luckily and surprisingly not injuring me in the process.  If you watch how-to videos, it's actually pretty easy.  New skill learned!  And my snow blower is back in service just in time for the next storm.  Oh yeah - good idea to grease that axle when you put the tires back on. 

Speaking of tips and tricks, I was filling water jugs the other night and realized my faucet set up is pretty kewl.  Instead of struggling to fill water jugs in the bathtub (tall jugs+short faucet=half filled jugs and sore back from being bent at a weird angle) I fill them at the kitchen sink.  In the winter you can't generally use outside faucets up here (I don't have any of those, actually), and right now I'm avoiding using my livestock hydrant because of the extreme cold weather.  So for less than $10 I was able to set up my kitchen sink as a water station.  All it took was a faucet-to-hose connector that can be purchased at any hardware store, and a short hose.  I removed the aerator at the end of the faucet, put on the connector, and voilà!  I can hook up a hose or my little roll-out washing machine to my faucet.  And the aerator fits right back on the connector, so I'm always ready to roll.  I bought a four foot leader hose on Amazon for short money and now filling water jugs is a breeze.  Behold:

The connector also came in handy when my mixing valve in the shower blew.  I was able to run a garden hose from my sink through the house to the bathroom and take a shower of sorts.  Whatever works, amirite?

The More Things Change...

I found a photo from last year and had to laugh.  At that point I was lamenting the warm up, rain, freeze up pattern of weather we were in.  Hmmmm...a driveway of solid ice?  Yes, indeed.

1/12/17

1/12/18

Well now.
Next on the horizon?  A two day snowfall that may replenish our snow pack, perhaps over a foot of white stuff between Wednesday and Thursday.  Thankfully it's looking like there won't be freezing temperatures or high winds along with this system.  I haven't been out yet today, but I'm sure after the hours of rain last night there's even less snow this morning.  We should drop nearly 40 degrees between now and dinnertime, but as of 5am I had a reading of 50*F.  Things are going to freeze solid, so I'll be spending some time chiseling channels in the ice to divert surface water and laying down traction sand.  Beats cleaning house any day!

Thaw Is a Four Letter Word

We've finally managed to pull an honest-to-Christ January thaw out of the ether.  It was damned near fifty degrees today!  The downside?  We's a-gettin' rain, and I mean RAIN.  The local news channels have been trying their best to hammer home the fact that snow, when soaked with rain, increases its weight like eight trillion percent, and if your roof isn't shoveled, well...good luck.  Clear storm drains, chisel out mini channels to divert melt and rain, inflate your emergency rafts, and start hoarding your bread and milk.  Friday will be torrential rains, then Saturday will be the two in this one-two punch with a serious temperature drop and a slick coating of ice on everything. Funny enough, I found a couple different weather journals I'd started and never finished, and this is all very familiar.  Seems every other winter is pretty much like this, so in essence it's just a regular day in our neighborhood.   I grabbed a couple more bags of sand, so I'm good for now.

In the meantime I've been staving off the winter blues by getting in some green therapy.  I brought down my grow light and set it up over the water plants I am desperately trying to keep alive.  I think I will try them in an aquarium next year, but for now it's plastic buckets and half dead plants.  I also started some seeds I harvested from my butterfly weed plant (Asclepias tuberosa), and put my first celery stump in water.  Each year I take the hearts from celery and toss them into cups of water to root.  By spring I'll have six or eight plants ready for the garden.  The stalks never get very thick or as tall as it is when you buy it at the grocery store, but the flavor is fantastic.  I haven't had any bugs really bother it, either, which is nice.  These are some from last spring:

 

Is it cheating?  Yup.  Do I care?  Nope.  
It may not be home grown organic yadda yadda pretentious blah blah, but it's damned good celery and we have a friggin' short growing season - beggars can't be choosers.  

I still haven't settled on a plan with the gardens for this summer.  I built a new raised bed and now I just don't know where to put anything.  Plus my brother gave me some nifty gadgets for cukes and tomatoes that I'm looking forward to using, but they don't fit my current containers or beds so everything needs to be shifted around.  This may be a good thing, because rotation is great for the soil.  
In this picture, you can see the celery in the brick bed on the left.

Historically I've grown cukes in the stock tank to the right, flanked by beefsteak tomatoes in containers, herbs in the small stock tank at the base of the arch, Roma tomatoes in the brick bed nearest the house, which is flanked by tin washtubs in which I grow my sugar snap peas.  I have other containers scattered around the yard for peppers, radish, more herbs, and whatever.  I also like to plop veggies into my perennial beds just because.
Well, I do have nearly four and a half months before I can even plant outside, so plenty of time to decide what will go where.  *rubs hands together gleefully*

Almost forgot...

Post storm:

Not really an epic amount of snow, but everything looks fresh and clean. 

Current Mood: Cranky

We survived!  It wasn't much different from any other blizzard up here in my neck of the woods, but the wind may have been a little more intense than normal.  We ended up with about 12-14" of snow; hard to accurately measure with the blowing and drifting, but I went out to shovel three times and that's my best guesstimation.  Amazingly, the power only flickered once.  Let's hear it for light, fluffy snow, huh?  So, what's next?  Well...

How does that grab ya?
These are the temperatures and wind chills we'll be dealing with until around noon on Sunday, when we should finally get above zero.  The good news?  A thaw is a-comin'!  We just need to get through the next 48 hours.  *hunkers down and waits*

Bombogenesis 2: Preparation

I thought I would share a few of my typical preparations for getting through winter storms, and winter in general.  Living alone and in a rural area, it can be a challenge, but I've found the following to be helpful.

1. Water - I purchased relatively inexpensive 6 gallon water jugs that I fill before a storm hits.  This water is for the animals, flushing the toilet, and miscellaneous use.  For drinking water, I have multiple pitchers that I fill with filtered water and keep refrigerated.  Don't forget to leave faucets dripping during bitter cold spells to keep pipes from freezing.

2. Fresh batteries - I have multiple flashlights scattered throughout the house.  Some are just key chain sized, but they still do the trick in the pitch black.  I like to carry one in my pocket during the evening so I'm not caught off guard should the lights go out.  Since daylight is scarce this time of year, I have a headlamp I wear when I do morning and evening barn chores, and that makes it easy to function without having to balance a flashlight.  I usually buy batteries in bulk so I have them at the ready.  Remember not to store batteries loose in a drawer; there have been multiple house fires that started from batteries bumping up against each other and sparking a fire.  I also have motion activated battery operated spotlights in key locations, like the room between the main house and the barn, and outside where I need to shovel or snow blow. 

3. Fire Wood - Since I don't have a generator for back up power, I rely on my wood stove for heat.  I make sure to fill the wood box before a storm, and I'm lucky enough to be able to keep my firewood stacked in my barn, so I'm not having to dig it out when I run low.  I have had to do that in the past, in which case covering the wood pile with a couple tarps makes cleaning off snow and keeping wood dry much easier.  In the past few years I've come to rely on those compressed wood fuel blocks for bitter cold nights or days when I'll be away from the house.  I use the three pack blocks available at Tractor Supply (and sometimes Lowe's) as I've found they burn slower than the smaller blocks that come in six packs.  My wood stove is relatively small, but I can manage five or six big blocks in the stove, turn it down, and it will keep the house warm for about six hours.  In comparison, I can load the stove with firewood and within three hours it's needing to be stoked again.

4. Hay - Anyone with equines knows the key to keeping them warm is providing lots of fiber in the form of good quality hay.  Grain is ok, but being low fiber it doesn't digest the same as hay, and it's that digestive process that helps maintain body temperature.  I rarely increase grain rations (the mules don't get much, to begin with), but I load the boys up on hay during cold snaps.  I'm lucky enough to have a large hay loft above my barn, so I only buy hay once a year, and I always figure in at least 15-20 wasted bales to my total purchased between bad bales and overfeeding during winter.  I like to have at least a dozen bales down in the main barn so I don't have to worry about moving any during or shortly after the storm.  I worry about colic in the winter more than any other time. Because I'm increasing their hay, and because they can react to different extreme weather changes, I feed a warm soupy mash all winter long.  It's a way of getting water into them if they're not drinking, though they do have a heated water bucket.  I can crumble Probios soft chews into their mash at feed time to give them a little boost, too. 

5. Large bowls - Wait, whut?  People who live in cold climates will often move perishable foods to unheated rooms or outside in coolers if the power goes out for long periods.  I discovered that filling large bowls with snow and placing them inside the refrigerator actually works just as well.  You have to stay on top of them, because the snow will melt and needs to be refilled multiple times, but it sure beats having to go outside to retrieve your milk or eggs, and food is less likely to freeze solid.

6. Oil - I do have a furnace, and I try to fill my oil barrel in August when the price is relatively low.  This past cold snap has really used up a lot of oil just keeping the house around 64*, and that's with the wood stove going at the same time.  If you rely on an oil furnace or propane heater, be sure you have enough fuel to get through a storm.  I try not to run low or out of oil, but sometimes it happens.  I like to put a reminder on my phone to check the oil level at least every two to three weeks so I'm not caught off guard.  I also generally keep the thermostat set to 59* to use as little fuel as possible and stretch a barrel of oil out as long as I can.  Of course, when it gets colder than the twenties, I have to turn it up.

7.  Snow blower - I like to run my snow blower at least a month before snow falls to ensure it will start up, run, and function as needed.  Check the oil and the tire pressure, and have it serviced at the end of the season if possible so you're ready to go for next winter.  It doesn't hurt to be prepared long before you need to be.

8. Shovels - I have to shake my head every time there's a storm and hardware stores run out of shovels.  What the heck do people do with them, throw them out every summer thinking they'll never need them again?  I've had the same shovel for ages!  I actually have three different shovels for different types of snow.  A deep metal manure shovel is great for hard packed snow, but not wet snow so much.  A lightweight plastic snow shovel is great for most types of snow and doesn't tire my arms out as quickly as the heavy duty shovels.  I also have a snow scoop/pusher for large areas, like the mule paddock.  It can be a chore to move a lot of snow with that one, so I like to get out a couple times during big storms.

9. Sand - Since I will use it around the mules and my wellhead, I like to use mainly traction sand with no salt in it.  Play sand will work, too, but washed sand is useless.  I have buckets filled with sand at the back door, the barn door, and the mule shed door so I don't have to lug heavy buckets around.  I try to get those in place before Thanksgiving so I'm ready for icy conditions.  I rarely use ice melt but I do have some on hand.  I think I've been working on the same 4 pound bag for nearly six years. 

10. Gas -  I try to top off the gas tank in my vehicle before a storm.  There's no reason other than I've been caught having to fill up during a blizzard, and standing at a gas pump in the weather just sucks.  I also try to keep two 5 gallon jugs of gas on hand for the snow blower or my vehicle if I do run short. 

11. Propane - I will never not have a gas stove.  I can still boil water and cook when the power goes out.  The propane tank gets filled in August and I don't have to think about it until spring.  For that reason, and to start the wood stove, keep some matches on hand, too.  I prefer those long lighters because it keeps me well away from the flame.  I'm not very good with fire.

12. Snacks - Hey, it's going to be a long storm.  Might as well enjoy it, right?

Bombogenesis Is My Least Favorite Thing

Hello, 2018!  Let's celebrate by having the East Coast hammered by a blizzard with hurricane force winds, ok?  OK!
Ugh.

I've been making myself sick following about a dozen different professional and amateur meteorologists gleefully tracking this storm from its infancy.  By yesterday, I was a complete ball of anxiety.

Snow isn't bothersome, but the raging winds and sub zero temperatures are.  I don't worry so much about myself, but having outdoor animals who can't be enclosed through this mess makes me want to vomit with worry.  I've done my best; last night I screwed a couple pieces of scrap plywood to the front of the run in shed to help block the winds.  I was surprised this morning to find them still there, as I fully expected the mules to have them mostly eaten.  Mules are the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, but I'm telling you, they're actually 1/3 horse, 1/3 donkey, and 1/3 beaver.

Last night I raked up all the waste hay and mixed it in with the shavings inside the shed to make a nice, thick bed.  There are four piles of new hay along the walls for eating, and I've moved the water bucket from the doorway to the back of the shed.  I admit, all this only serves to make ME feel good, because those mules will stand up in the back corner of the paddock in the weather until the snow stops.  Makes me crazy.

The snow started coming down around 7:00 this morning, and now at 9:30 it's coming down at a good clip.

(pre-snow)

Water jugs are filled, wood box is filled, electronics are charged, and shovels are sharpened.  I'm not happy about any of this, but what can you do?

Well...I can bitch about it.  😁