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

[jvls1942]

It has been a while since I checked in.
we had a nice rain here at 4 AM. we really needed that.
almost 7 AM and it is still cloudy.. more rain? I hope so.
I am staying away from the lawn mower for the time being.
have to do electrical trouble shooting. I don't look forward
to that. besides, it has been quite cold.
DD Barby brought us three tomato plants. I was not going
to plant anything this year. But I am getting a large container
ready. I will put all three plants into it. If they grow, they grow,
if not,, oh well..
the deer family is back. a coon sh*t on the deck. the turkeys
stroll through the yard every few days. the red squirrels leave us
alone. the grapes are setting fruit on several of the reclaimed vines,
the plums are coming along, only several are deformed. I suppose
the blossoms got hit with a little frost ?? I haven't checked
the apple tree. It had lots of blossoms.
I am thinking of canning some rhubarb for winter pies.
I know it can be frozen, but we are trying to empty at least one
of our freezers..
Annie is drying some mulberry leaves to make tea.
It is supposed to be good medicinally some how.
Great grandson is coming tomorrow , just for the day.
we get to baby sit while mom goes to her appointment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like you have a lot going on Jim. I seem to be constantly busy but can't recall what I've been doing. We did dig up some of the self seeded poplar trees and moved them where we hope they grow. They are droopy and sad, but I have hopes they will pick up their heads soon. The light rain here and there is definitely helping.

My lettuce has been growing well. Salads every night. All the radish bolted so I pulled that up. Everything else I planted is coming up.

Predators continue to take my free range birds. Lost another muscovy hen today. Might of been a hawk as the head and chest are eaten but the bird wasn't taken.

2 nights ago that fox came boldly strolling down the driveway while I was out with the dogs. I had to tell a few times before it turned and ran. I don't think I mentioned i got another pup about a month ago, and she was heading in it's direction. She sure has been keeping me busy.

 

[Callender Girl]

Now that my internet is fixed, I'm trying to catch up.

Jim, you have been busy, haven't you? I've never heard of making tea from dried mulberry leaves, but I might be willing to give it a try.

I'm also hoping to empty my big freezer, but in a much different way -- I need to bury the remains of some poultry that passed away. Digging the "graves" is going more slowly than I anticipated.

Hope you had fun with the new great=grandson.

If I can beat the birds to them, the cherry tree looks like it's going to have a good crop this year, same thing for the pear tree, and I spotted a few fruits on one of the many wild plum trees. Only one of my new apple trees had any blossoms.

Lisa, my radishes also bolted; my green beans are still growing great. The drought is not doing the tomatoes any favors, but the zucchini and winter squashes are holding their own.

Congratulations on the new pup. What breed or mix is she? That's pretty brazen of the fox!!

 

[jvls1942]

We always have fun with the kids. This time they
brought Leon"s half brother and sister. ages 9 and 8 .
I guess that fox just wanted to meet the nice lady
who is providing all of it's meals..
wouldn't you just know it ? Yesterday , I decided to
switch to short pants.. as soon as I put them on it clouded
up and today it is back to long jeans again.
I made a large container to hold three tomato plants.
two romas and one cherry. I will take a picture of it.
by the time I got the tomatoes planted and watered, I
needed a transfusion . what do mosquitoes eat when I
am not around ? I am guessing they just wait for me..
Barb, just send your frozen poultry over to Lisa.
she can feed it to her pet fox.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Our donkeys used to run off the predators. Now we have them on the game camera saying hello nightly. Eventually the free eats are gonna run out around here.

My bad luck continues. I found one of my adult turkey hens flipped upside dead yesterday afternoon. She was fine in the morning. Not sure what happened with her. Definitely not a predator that I could tell.

Barb the pup is another French bulldog Boston terrier mix. They are mellow easy dogs. More my speed these days.

 

[jvls1942]

three AM can't sleep.
all I did on Thursday was made an oak base for under
bro Dave's new microwave. 3/4" x 12 x 18 .
I got to use all of the power
tools. That felt great.
The kids went home at noon. The house is
ghostly silent.

 

[Callender Girl]

Seems like I'm not the only one who's not sleeping!

Congrats on using the power tools. I got to use my new DeWalt tack hammer this week. It was fun.

My sister was here for a few days and we got a lot accomplished. However, today I am meeting with a professional handyman to see if he can or will take care of some projects that were beyond our abilities and that have been bothering me for years.

It does seem mighty quiet mighty fast after company goes home, doesn't it?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sorry you are having problems sleeping again Jim. I go out every night between 11 and midnight with the dogs. All this week it's been so quiet out there. Not a single vehicle. Both cool and eerie at the same time. Not enjoying that smell of smoke from those Canadian wildfires.

My garden corn is going to meet the requirements of being knee high by the fourth of July. The corn in the field we will see. It's coming up, but without some regular rain not sure. We have some hay down so hopefully get that baled up this weekend.

Barb hopefully you can get some help with those projects.

 

[jvls1942]

we will be buying corn again this year.
there are two places near us that sell sweet corn.
Annie checked, and she can get a discount if we
buy a quantity for canning..
on Saturday, we went to a high school graduation
picnic for a great nephew,
Today DD Brenda is taking us out for breakfast.
A nephew just gave us some venison and salmon
that he harvested. told us to let him know when
we need more.. He lives within sight of a boat landing
on Lake MIchigan. Has a huge boat and two large boys.

 

[Callender Girl]

The handyman, who was supposed to come out Friday, ran over a piece of rebar at the landfill and ruined a tire, so he went to the tire shop instead. Now, he is planning to come Tuesday.

Went to a farmers market yesterday morning and got some HUGE "green onions" and a nice yellow squash. Hopefully, my garden will produce something good soon.

Rain started as I was doing evening chores last night. When I took out the dogs this morning, I checked a rain gauge, and it looks like a little more than an inch. It's a start.

Jim, enjoy that breakfast! And, Lisa, I hope weekend baling is going well!