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

[jvls1942]

Lisa, you and hubby take a day off.
you earned it.
Yesterday I got both riding lawn mowers out.
had to charge batteries. but then they both
started right up, no problems.
I just got back from pulling a bunch of rhubarb.
Annie is going to make a pie..
the grass is getting really tall.
the apple tree is loaded with blossoms.
the weatherman promised no more frost.
now the bees have to do their job.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Jim I wish we would take a day off, but we are both born into farming and you don't take a day off unless the weather is very bad. That pie sounds delicious. Can't wait for you to enjoy it.

Seeing lots of blossoms here this year too.

I got everything planted in my garden finally. I see my corn is already coming up. We still need to work up the food plot and plant a bit more corn for us and the critters. I planted one of my raised boxes to get a start on corn and it's working out better than I thought. Hopefully I don't need a ladder to harvest it.

Still working on trying to get some of the lawn cut for the first time this year. It's been too wet.

Niece brought over 4 kittens yesterday. Was supposed to be 3. They aren't happy where I put them so will be moving them today to the other shed. They sure can hiss and spit.

 

[jvls1942]

Nobody will give us kittens because we won't make
house cats out of them..
the pie is hot, just out of the oven.. I will wait
until it cools. If it tastes as good as it smells, it is
a winner..
Lisa, you are not milking cows, take a day off ..

 

[Callender Girl]

Today started out eerily quiet; Sir Henry the Loud, my Iowa Blue rooster, died very suddenly last night. Sir Henry had the most incredible crow that I've ever heard.

It's hard to take a day off, isn't it? Even when I think every muscle in my body hurts from whatever chores I did the day before, I can't keep myself from heading outdoors to do more. The window of good weather is just too small to waste a day.

I saw something flitting around by the hay shed this afternoon. I finally got close enough to see that it was a ruby-throated hummingbird. I don't get many of those.

I have exhausted the batteries in my weed eater and lawn mower, so I am going to hang out indoors now.

Hope that pie is delicious. I harvested rhubarb today, mostly from the old patch, but a few from the new one. It's the first time I've done that, and I was surprised at how red the juice in the stalks is. I'm planning to make rhubarb crisp this afternoon.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sorry about your rooster Barb. I haven't seen any hummingbirds yet. I'm sure they around here somewhere.

Jim my cats are all outside. They are well taken care of. Fed, warm houses if they want, shots, wormed, spayed and neutered. They have kept our rodent population down. Hopefully the older ones eventually accept the kittens. Cats sure are fickle.

 

[jvls1942]

when the kids were little we had an occasional
cat in the house. the last one was a female. she pee'd
on my leg when I was lying down. Out she went and
cats in the house,,nevermore..
The pie is deeelicious.. I pick the rhubarb
and cut it up. Annie takes over from there..
I had a good day yesterday,
tweaked the miter saw and it is all set to go.
fiddled with the transmission on the Husqvarna
lawn mower and got it figured out.
Now I can go ahead and grease the bearings
on the mower deck. There is a shabby looking
belt that will soon need replacing. Not going
to buy any parts until I know it will mow.
I bought this mower sometime in the 1980's.
most of the plastic shrouds are broken and missing.
It will look like a stripped down hot rod ..

 

[Callender Girl]

My dad did not believe in house cats. But, when I was in college, I got my sister a kitten for her birthday, and somehow, we got permission for it to live in the house. Dad loved to bake pies, and he put a pumpkin one on the kitchen table to cool. The cat, to its credit, didn't eat the whole pie; it just licked the filmy layer off the top. The cat immediately became an outdoor cat.

Got too lazy to make rhubarb crisp -- not that it's that strenuous but I also didn't want to turn on the oven. I made a stove top rhubarb sauce instead. Not my best, but it's okay.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, so now you have to turn on the oven to
bake a pound cake to put the rhubarb on. lol
or eat lots of ice cream..
Yesterday I sharpened the lawn mower blades
for Annie. She helped me. I told her I couldn't
have done it without her,, and I wouldn't have
had to if it weren't for her.. lol
we ate some of the venison steaks that we marinated.
they were delicious. have lots of left overs. got the steaks
from my brother. they were packaged for his family,
him , his wife and three teenaged boys..
I graded the new parking area some more.
got it a lot smoother. still have some hand raking to do.

 

[Callender Girl]

Nope on the cake or ice cream, Jim. I've been eating the rhubarb sauce straight out of the bowl and all on its own.

I haven't eaten venison in a great many years. My dad used to hunt deer and, on an annual trip to Colorado, elk. Mom fixed it in the oven with Lipton's (was there even any other brand then?) onion soup mix, canned mushrooms and brown gravy.

Hope your baby cats are doing well, Lisa. I admire you for taking such good care of your outdoor kitties. So many people don't.

I took a break from yard/garden work yesterday and spent the day with chickens. My six chicks had their first-ever "field day" in the run to what will be their coop, as soon as I move the current residents to another coop, and the residents of that coop to yet another one. Also, Eleanor -- the hen who recovered from severe frostbite -- spent part of the day outdoors. Her old flock picks on her, so she has to be put into a run, too.

Turns out, the best way to take a break from work -- for me. at least -- is to sit in a run with a half dozen baby chicks who run all over me like I'm a jungle gym while they explore the outdoor world. Pure contentment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Barb the kittens are slowly calming down. They still get upset if I leave their sight. They are getting used to their area, and are having fun running around. When I was a kid we had barn cats and I always swore I would make sure any cats I had were taken care of. I'm not a fan of sickly animals. My older ones are fat and sassy, and living a good life. One day these scrawny kittens will be looking just as good.

Getting ready to cut hay this week.