Coffee's ready...

[vehve]

Our's love pineapple. And they're still alive. Haven't fed it that often to them though.

 

[quercus21]

Pineapples ok for a treat for the girls?

I never gave them any. One thing I do do, never feed them a lot of fruit even if I have a lot.

 

[karl E lutz]

My chickens love frogs and mice! apples and tomatoes . I've not given them pineapple.

 

[sourland]

Glad to share a coffee with you folks once again.

 

[quercus21]

Morning people,

I hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying this weather. We are going on to our third day of rainy/mist. I can honestly say the gutter work I did over the summer is paying off. I must admit (head hanging), I have had the woodstove cranking these last few days. I burn the scraps from the shop and any "summer" wood I had laying around. I like to bust peoples chops and tell them I heat with black walnut. Little do the know, it's the scraps from the shop....

Good to see a few of you back again. What have you all been up to?

Still eating from the garden. Tomatoes are done. We were hit with a frost and the tomatoes took the brunt of it. We covered the beans. When it stops raining, I should grab what I can and freeze them. The chard, greens and kale had no problem with the frost.

Enjoy your day
Kaj

 

[vehve]

Hi Kaj, nice to hear everything is good there.

We're having a couple of below freezing days here, we took our tomatoes in last friday. I've still got some carrots and parsnips out there, but I'm going to wait for the weather to warm up in the weekend before digging them up. Also, we should have a boatload of Jerusalem artichokes, which should probably be harvested too before the ground freezes. It will be interesting to see what kind of harvest we get, we have two 90 liter tubs filled with soil that we planted them in, the stalks grew over 2 meters tall.

Chickens seem to be doing well despite the colder weather, and my waterer defroster seems to be working. They have started eating a lot more though.

We just heat with electricity, so no fire to enjoy. The living room is a bit too small for a fireplace, although the house is built so that you could put one in. The floor is strengthened, and the roof has a lid in that spot which could be replaced with a chimney.

 

[quercus21]

We pulled out carrots about a month ago. Half I dried out of fear of losing them and the other half packed in the fridge and enjoying them. The dried carrots I'll use in soups and such. Next year I am going to try your ( @vehve ) potatoes towers. I am hoping to put in a few more beds. I tried something new this for us, garlic. See what happens.

Enjoy
Kaj

 

[vehve]

Kaj, I hope you do well with the towers. I was thinking of possibly putting a small perforated tube in the middle of it next year to help with watering it more evenly when needed. Also, I'm going to go with just soil, because the peat was not working in there at all, at least not as badly mixed as we had done it.

 

[sourland]

Kaj, dealing with the same drizzly-gloomy weather. Supposed to clear this afternoon. Frost has been light so far, and tomatoes next to the house are actually still in bloom - yep, I plant in my flower beds.

 

[rancher hicks]

Kaj, Don't feel bad about the stove. We've had the heat on for a while. At least off and on, but lately all the time. DW is cold, which I can't figure cuz she's usually hot and I'm cold. She has lost quite a bit of weight though. Nurse comes everyday now for a while longer.

Fighting mice and squirrels around her of late. Setting traps of two kinds for the mice everywhere. In the garage, the chicken runs and attic.

Squirrels have been getting into the coops and runs, so I've taken to traps and a havahart. Though I've no plans for having a heart.

Rainy and cold off and on and still to much to do before the snow flies. I've been fighting a cold and will be off to get some more tissues.

Picked up a copy of The Rural New Yorker at the flea market from Feb. 1950. I like to read the history. Surprised to find an article debating Chemical Fertilizers over Organics.

Enjoy the day folks. The sun is shining somewhere.

Rancher