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

[jvls1942]

we drove past the farm where they sell sweet corn. the corn is tassling so it won't be long. I wonder what they will charge this year ?
Remember the old joke ,
what is a buccaneer ?
a lot to pay for corn..
no joke anymore, eh?
Annie put aloe on the bee stings.
that took care of it pretty fast.
I made another prize winning pot o chili. good for the weekend when everyone eats whenever and wherever .

 

[Callender Girl]

Yeah, the old corn joke isn't so funny anymore, huh?

Anjanet, that sounds like quite the cherry harvest. The only thing that looks that promising here are my aronia bushes. And, if you've never had those, the berries are only edible when prepared with something much less astringent than they are.

I finally got my first ripe tomato -- just a little cherry one --but it looks like more should be ready today. And, there are finally a few tiny yellow squashes nestled among the leaves of my massive squash plants.

Glad Annie didn't suffer too long from her stings. Lisa, sorry to hear about your hornets. Ouch! My sister and I were both allergic to bee stings for many years. I learned last year -- the hard way, because I don't have an epi pen -- that I outgrew my allergy; she has not.

Was surprised to hear from the guy I first contacted last July about cleaning and staining my deck. Tom had said it would be the end of this month or early August. He has been in the business for at least 20 years, is always busy and spends half the year in Arizona. Tom -- who was my next-door neighbor in town for years -- recently finished a big job at the local community college and is coming out today to power wash.

That means I will have to move everything -- tables, chairs, benches, a grill (I never use) and multiple potted plants off the deck. I will also have to take down the fencing that keeps the poultry from running underneath the deck. So, I'll probably have to keep everyone in their runs; the fencing prevents them from running onto the north side of the property where I would worry about their safety -- and all my unfenced flowers.

I discovered a bunch of unused wooden lattice in the barn. It matches the lattice previous owners installed under part of the deck. I am hoping to make panels, finish off the undone parts and not have to string up chicken wire again. Should make the soon-to-be-stained deck look much better.

Looks like several days of 90-degree-plus weather. Ugh! If this ridiculous heat wave creeps over your way, I hope you all keep yourselves and your critters safe!

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, some of that lattice can be flimsy and hard to work with.
If it is like 3/8" stapled together, it is the worst. what I used to do was take my 1/4" stapler and add a couple of staples to each intersection.
this is important if you have to saw it to length or height . Otherwise it tends to come apart all over the place.

 

[Callender Girl]

Jim, thanks for the advice! I went out to the barn and one of the sheets is really flimsy, but the other three are thicker. Not sure how thick, I just wandered out there after the guys finished power washing. I can see the lattice, but there's a bunch of stuff piled against it, so I'll know more after I actually drag a sheet up here and see how it cuts. I may have to dig out my stapler.

Kind of got worried about how much water they were using; we are in a drought situation! But the deck hadn't been properly cleaned in years. It took me weeks to choose a paint color for the house, but with Tom's guidance, I chose my stain color in about three minutes.

He and his helper be back Wednesday. I'm eager to get this done, even though it's needed done for years. Plus, I really want to get the lattice panels up so I don't have to use chicken wire ever again.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Jim, thanks for the advice! I went out to the barn and one of the sheets is really flimsy, but the other three are thicker. Not sure how thick, I just wandered out there after the guys finished power washing. I can see the lattice, but there's a bunch of stuff piled against it, so I'll know more after I actually drag a sheet up here and see how it cuts. I may have to dig out my stapler.

Kind of got worried about how much water they were using; we are in a drought situation! But the deck hadn't been properly cleaned in years. It took me weeks to choose a paint color for the house, but with Tom's guidance, I chose my stain color in about three minutes.

He and his helper be back Wednesday. I'm eager to get this done, even though it's needed done for years. Plus, I really want to get the lattice panels up so I don't have to use chicken wire ever again.

I bet that's gonna be so pretty when it's done.

 

[Callender Girl]

Well, it has potential. You, clearly, have never seen any of my building projects. Few people ever refer to them as pretty . But, they are usually functional, at least.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, when you build something, you just get an image in your mind. Then
you put it together until it looks right.
at seven last night a storm slid past us to the east. I was working on the lawn mower. It got quite windy and then it rained and thundered. the brunt of the storm hit wausau. My DD Barby had her onions and tomatoes
flattened. and it knocked a large branch off of the tree in the front yard.
It looks like it is going to be wet today. I am working outside on the lawn mower. if this rain keeps up I will never get it done.
Annie found a guy to hire to help us with some of the yard work. We have piles of branches and lots of fallen branches to pick up.
we have a grove of black walnut trees that I usually mow under. they drop branches as badly as willows do.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Nothing at all here Jim. Sounds like a mess. Glad you got some help with clean up.

Finally getting some cucumbers here. I need to water more. Debating if it's worth it.

Something was out trying to snag chickens again. The darn camera didn't catch nothing. I probably didn't set it right. Pretty disappointed as it looked like it was right in front on the one. Husband needs to do some hunting, but he's working too much. So I guess we keep feeding the predators for now.

I also need him to butcher a few geese. I'm tired of the bullies. I'd like to stop cutting grass for the three little ones and let them get their own but I can't because of the mob of teenagers.

 

[jvls1942]

lol , I have trouble sighting in my outside motion sensor light.
I would like to get a trail cam. I often
wonder what's going on out there at night.
Annie saw an eight point buck in velvet just down the road a little way.
I got the lawn mower all put back together. I am draining the oil now.
tomorrow I will put new oil in and see if the motor will start.

 

[Callender Girl]

The guys got the deck power-washed on Monday and are planning to be here within the hour to begin staining. Tom said they MIGHT not get it all done today. I sure hope they do since there is now a chance of rain on Friday. I don't want my new stain to get ruined, but I can't really hope it doesn't rain.

Good luck with that mower, Jim.

Hope the predators stay away from your birds, Lisa.