Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[ShrekDawg]

I ended up picking in the garden. Lots of large beans I had to remove. They got away from me in the heat. Got enough smaller green beans for snacking, and a bunch of cucumbers. Strawberries keep being mush. I think they are too wet now and the fungus gnats are in the soil again. Not much I can do about that.

Oh wow!!!

 

[jvls1942]

75F here. earlier I went out and sorted through the stuff on the table in the mower shed. i tossed a good amount into the garbage. found shelf space for 3 electric motors. came up with a plan for some heavy duty shelves to hold the two lathes and one miter saw. maybe will have room for some of the tool boxes, too.
found a belt sander that I forgot I had.
now I have two of those.
Annie has picked enough blackberries for a 5 gallon batch of wine. elderberries are looking ripe now, too. more wine..
I like to freeze the elderberries on their stems. then I beat the stems on the inside of a 5 gallon bucket and the berries fall right off.

 

[Callender Girl]

So much progress, Jim! It should inspire me to sort through my garage. I am still awaiting enough motivation to resume work there.

I am so proud of my seven-week-old chicks! Since I moved them outdoors, I have been rounding them up and putting them in the coop at dusk, Last night, I fell asleep on the couch, and it was pitch dark when I woke up (geez, it was ALMOST 9 p.m., really late for me!).

I knew all the other chickens would be inside their coops. Of course the ducks and geese. who prefer to sleep in their runs, force me to herd them inside Every Night.

I saved the babies' coop/run for last and had my night vision headlamp on, ready to scoop chicks in the dark. Surprise! Instinct had kicked in!

Six of the seven were already in the coop, and Daphne was sitting on the top rung of their ladder, unable to push past the crowd sitting by the door. I gently moved a couple of girls inside and lifted Daphne in with the rest of the girls.

It was the end to a day of small surprises. My three-year-old Concord grape vine is finally producing. I brought in one bunch of grapes and another bunch will be ripe in a day or two.

And, I dug up the most potatoes I have ever harvested. Unfortunately, they were all pathetically small. Don't know whether to blame the weather, the fertilizer or some planting flaw on my part.

Technically, the last surprise was from the day before. One of the runners, who lays a slightly green-tinted egg, laid an egg that looked like someone had taken a medium-green magic marker and drawn squiggly lines on it.

And, finally, I had my annual Medicare wellness exam yesterday. It is the second time that I have had a primary care practitioner tell me that if all of their patients were as healthy as me, they would be out of a job. Guess all that proper eating and daily exercise crap pays off. Good thing she didn't ask about my sleeping habits, huh?

Hope everyone has a good day!

 

[jvls1942]

good morning all,
Barb, sounds like those critters are keeping you in good shape.
not much to report from here,
kind of the same ol' same ol'

I tried a couple of times to work in the shed. just too hot.
not so this morning though. 45F
I had to water the plants with the rain barrels yesterday. I have one barrel left and then I will have to use the garden hose.
I did manage to completely clear the table off in the shed. took it out and am pleased with all the room that made. I found some tools that I either forgot I had or didn't remember buying.
I have two pieces of peg board ready to cut to length and then install. that is a half hour job that I should be able to cram into 8 hours. lol
the squashes are going bananas
I can quit worrying about them not vining. lots of buds that look like they will blossom soon.
Annie is picking a 5 quart pailful of blackberries every day. she is just going along the edges rather than wading into the patch. I told her that when she couldn't reach any anymore, I would take the tractor and squash the picked vines down for her.
had a couple of tomatoes on BLT's yesterday. when I pass the cherry tomatoes, I pick one. there is nothing better than a warm fresh tomato.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Good morning

 

[Callender Girl]

Jim, did you get the peg board installed? I chuckled when I read your description of a "half hour job" that you could "cram into eight hours." Whenever my sister comes to visit, I offer up an estimate of how long it will take us to do a project, then she doubles my estimate and we still take longer!

I agree with snacking on cherry tomatoes, fresh off the vine. It's certainly one of the joys of summer.

Third time was a charm! Last night, all seven chicks managed to crowd into the coop on their own, no stragglers left on the coop ladder. And, they made it in by 8:30 so I didn't have to stay up "late," like 9 p.m., to close their door.

I was kind of relieved that it rained early yesterday morning so I didn't have to think about running the electric mower. But, if I don't do that pretty soon, I may have to attach flags to the dogs' backs so I can find them in the tall grass when they go out to do their business.

 

[jvls1942]

wow, 49F this early morning.
I sort of scanned back over old posts. Didn't comment on a couple of things.
with 100 pounds of blackberries, a person makes lots of wine. and with the left over berries he makes a lot of jelly.
Lisa, the coon must have been a boar or else there might have been lots of babies still to catch.
I empties the last barrel of water. today I will hook the hose up to the house spigot.
I finished the peg board. then snooped through two tool boxes Annie bought at a rummage sale.
there is a double ended crescent wrench. I never saw one of those before. a six inch caliper. now I have four of those. two wire cutters, a vice grip, two ball peen hammers, sheet metal shears, and lots more.
I am going to go out as soon as it gets light, while it is still cool.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hello everyone

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Jim no more raccoons thankfully. It did look like a male, although I didn't lift it's skirt to find out.

Now one of my cats is mad at me because I caught him Monday and took him in for shots. It the same cat that got his head stuck hanging out of the box trap, so now he's avoiding the shed and his breakfast. See how long this goes on.

I planted some green beans in a raised planter a few weeks ago. Apparently they are pole beans. What's wrong with me this year? We added some tomato cages for them to climb as it's too late to start anymore. I do see pole beans are much more productive. So I may plant them on purpose next year.

Not looking for to the hot weekend.

 

[Callender Girl]

I'm with you, Lisa, on not looking forward to the heat. I've already bought some pre- and probiotics to add to the poultry's water. I'll look for a watermelon for them when I take cats to the vet today.

Have you gotten forgiveness from the cat yet? The formerly stray spayed female and neutered male have an appointment this morning for their last round of shots.

My avian vet left the business to become an animal science professor, so I've been crossing my fingers that everyone stays healthy and safe. But, I saw bumblefoot on my Speckled Sussex yesterday.

I knew the "farm" vet a couple of towns away used to treat poultry, and he's been out for my sheep and goats several times. I called his office and was told he now doesn't see chickens. However, maybe because of the desperation in my voice, the receptionist checked with him and he agreed to see Bronwyn. That's likely because he's seen my birds in the past (before Dr. Meyer), he's long-time buddies with my long-time dog and cat vet, and because I already knew the diagnosis (he admitted he doesn't know a lot about poultry, but he's dealt with bumblefoot before). I needed him for the antibiotic, and he came through.

Good news, Jim. I mowed with the electric mower until both batteries ran out. I am able to see the dogs above the grass now in part of the yard at least.

If you find many more tools, maybe you can open your own tool shop? Or tool rental business?

Take care through the dreaded heat everyone!