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

[jvls1942]

Kim that smoke was so bad around noon when I did my walking. Smelled like burning plastic. I was hoping with the cooler temperatures I could turn off the central air, but now I doubt it.

yup, today is the worst I have seen it.
when I walked out the door it hit me like
somebody was bbqing very close by.
today is the first time my eyes watered because
of it..

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

yup, today is the worst I have seen it.
when I walked out the door it hit me like
somebody was bbqing very close by.
today is the first time my eyes watered because
of it..

Worse it's been here too.

Sorry about my stupid autocorrect. I called you Jim when I typed it, and apparently it wants to call you Kim.

 

[jvls1942]

Worse it's been here too.

Sorry about my stupid autocorrect. I called you Jim when I typed it, and apparently it wants to call you Kim.

I have been called worse..
the tomatoes have decided to really take off.
can almost see growth each day.
elderberries are almost in full bloom.
my oldest sister makes elderberry fizz.
she sent the recipe to me. It is like preparing regular wine.
only you drink it while it is still fermenting. which
gives it the fizz.
I might make a batch. it takes two weeks..
I have to check the grapes. Annie said there are several
bunches on a few of the vines.

 

[jvls1942]

the smoke is unbelievable today. can't see the neighbor's house.
It is less than a quarter mile away.
Annie finished the lawn mowing. I drilled a bunch of
holes into a metal barrel to make a burn barrel.
Yesterday we bought a cheapie string trimmer from Walmart.
It took several hours to charge the battery. I hope that it will charge
faster from now on..
Annie picked an "oak nut" off of our oak tree.
It has never had acorns before. Something else for
the squirrels to steal from us..
My best grape vine from last year, died. but a couple of
the more skragely ones look pretty good. I have to get busy
training them .

 

[jvls1942]

I am worried a little. After pruning the apple tree
severely last year, it is loaded with apples this year.
my worry is this dry hot summer. I am afraid the apples
might just drop off before they mature ? any thoughts ?
the new cheapie weed whacker works good. it doesn't
run very long on a charge, though. but I can always use
a rest break.. I forgot to time how long it takes to charge up.
next time.. if I don't forget again..
I really didn't plan on spending this summer inside the house.
I told Annie that we should sleep during the day and work at night.
lol, the lawn mower does have headlights ..
My tomatoes are growing visibly each day. I am using
the warm water from the rain barrel to water them. I water
them every other day. I want the roots to migrate down deeper.
it is always moist at the bottom.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Our apple trees are loaded too Jim. Deer will just eat them all. I think the apples will still mature but might not get too big. Hopefully we start getting more rain.

It sure is miserable outside with these temperatures. It's a lot better around 8 pm. That's when I go out and walk around a bit. Family is having a gathering tomorrow. I am not going. I cannot tolerate the heat, nor eat most of what they will be serving.

I see I have one cherry tomato ripening. It should be ready for eating when i go out to water in a bit, so I will have myself a tiny delicious snack.

 

[jvls1942]

I was just outside. 82F. I watered the tomaotes. have one blossom
on one of the romas.
enough water in the rain barrel for one , maybe two
more soakings.
We passed on a graduation party last weekend. None
of us wanted to drive a hundred miles to stand out in the heat.
I don't enjoy riding very much , anyhow..

 

[Callender Girl]

Jim, I'll be interested in hearing how the elderberry fizz turns out. I've never heard of it. My dad was a dedicated wine maker; his best stuff was cherry wine.

Lisa, did you get to eat that cherry tomato?

Sounds like my tomatoes are ahead of the curve. A couple of cherry tomatoes on one of the plants are ripening about every other day, and I got my first yellow pear tomato yesterday. I'm seeing some nice full-sized green tomatoes, too.

I live about 10 miles from Gowrie, a little town that always celebrates the Fourth in a big way and for several days. It's even been featured in the New York Times. Yesterday, it took me a minute to recognize what I was hearing outdoors. The local FFA holds an annual Independence Day tractor ride that passes right in front of my house.

I stood outdoors to watch as JD's, Farmalls, Fords and Allis-Chalmers went by. I have a special soft spot for the A-C's. My dad's last tractor was an Allis. It hasn't run for years and is permanently parked in my back yard.

The odd thing is that on the same road and with overlapping times, there is also a 40-mile bicycle ride. I am glad I had not planned on driving into town yesterday. It would have been slow going.

I've been taking advantage of end-of-season sale and clearance prices on plants -- and actually getting perennials in the ground.

I weeded around the blackberry patch yesterday -- those bushes are loaded with blossoms. I bought a six-pack of grape tomato plants this spring and put one in a pot on the deck. I popped the leftovers into the mulch surrounding the blackberries. Those outlying plants are loaded with tiny, green tomatoes.

After two tolerable days, it's going to start heating up again. Not ready for that!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Lisa, did you get to eat that cherry tomato?

I did. It was delicious. Than I found 2 almost ripe strawberries that the birds didn't get to first and they were also delicious. I don't recall which varieties I planted this spring. I must of choosing good ones.

 

[Callender Girl]

A friend and I were sitting on my deck, enjoying iced tea. I have decorated my dad's old Allis with a bunch of bird houses, so there are always wild birds near the deck. But Sunday, the birds went crazy -- all kinds of swooping and calling. One of the young robins almost flew into my face.

I turned around in time to see a bull snake was making its way along the platform on the tractor that supports several bird houses. I grabbed some gloves and interrupted the snake, who was aimed for the sparrows' double decker house. Since I had it firmly gripped behind its head, the snake began trying to wrap its body around any tractor part it could reach.

Despite its writhing -- and I admire its effort -- I untangled the snake and relocated it to the faraway compost pile. This one was between 2 and 3 feet long, not the biggest out here by a long shot. Maybe the birds will be grateful enough to stop pooping purple mulberries all over my deck!

It finally rained last night, and although I don't think we got a lot of rain, at least the heat broke.

I'm getting more ripe cherry tomatoes, and harvested one good-sized onion yesterday. The squash plant I put in the goats' infirmary pen is growing madly in all the natural fertilizer.

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!