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

[jvls1942]

I guess it is time that I post something.
first, the too late planted squash experiment. they are vining nicely and have tons of blossoms. the bees are busy all day long. not honey bees. they look like the kind that build those cone shaped nests. in fact there is a nest high on the corner of the garage. very close to the squash. about 30 feet.
I have been taking advantage of the super nice weather. still working in the shed. hanging things on the 4' walls beneath the shelves. the walls are just about full.
and I can still get the lawn mower in even with my lawn chair in front of the shelves.
Annie has picked 40 pounds of black berries. I will make two 5 gallon batches of wine with them.
we have plenty of jelly to get us through until next year.
my shoulder is almost back to normal after my tumble in the shower.
SIL's brain tumor operation went well. she is cancer free. the tumor wasn't cancerous.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

All great news Jim. Glad your SIL is doing okay.

I'm enjoying the cooler temperatures. I cleaned out half the garden. Moved some strawberry runners to another bed hoping some will take. The cucumbers are starting to dry up. I should harvest some more Swiss chard. I'm hoping to get my fish back in the house during this cooler weekend. I know more warmer weather is ahead, but I'm tired of maintaining the pond.

 

[jvls1942]

Lisa, I cannot imagine how many birds I would have if I had your building!

With company coming Friday, I have been tackling my great outdoors. Looking at it with a critical eye (usually, I peek with only one eye open), I realized parts could be mistaken for an abandoned property.

So, out I went yesterday with pruning shears and loppers. After a couple of hours, I came in with scratches, scrapes and an itchy rash on one wrist.

Jim, I worked briefly in the garage yesterday. I think I may show your photos to one of my handy and helpful weekend guests. Maybe I can get a new shelf, too?

Barb,

what I do is:
rip a 2x4 in half. giving 2 pieces about
1 3/4 inches wide.
screw these to the studs , level at the height of your finished shelf.

then I cut a piece of wood the same dimension as the stud, most modern studs are 3 1/2 inches. to make it simple just use a 2x4. then I cut it to the length of the distance between the studs.
flush the shelf piece to the piece screwed to the studs already. I put two screws to hold it flush. then level it and run a screw through the stud into the shelf board.
this will hold anything you can lift onto the shelf.

 

[Callender Girl]

Sounds like a well-built shelf, Jim. I will pass the instructions on to my guests and hope it entices them to action

And, hurray on the good news about your SIL and your shoulder.

Lisa, congrats on cleaning out some of the garden; hope your strawberry runners survive and thrive! I have several full-sized green tomatoes hanging around. I should do something with them. The last few of the cherry tomatoes are ripe. More rogue pumpkins ripen every day.

What kind and how many fish do you keep? What's their indoor set-up like? The dogs and I encountered an opossum this morning already, which made me wonder, do you have to do something to keep wildlife away from your pond?

Although I have known for weeks that my friends, a couple from Chicago (I met them through BYC), are returning this weekend, I still have So Much to do before they get here. I am trying to present a picture of an ambitious acreage owner who takes care of her critters, landscape and housekeeping. Trust me, except for the critters, this is mostly a fantasy!

I am so tired of pulling weeds, trimming overgrowth, cleaning things and moving stuff that should never have been left out. One of the planned weekend activities is relocating chicks into two coops and moving the coops' current residents into new spaces. Yes, those coops need to be scrubbed before Saturday. No, that hasn't happened yet. Not even started!

I'm so glad -- although my bank account is less so -- that I found an avian vet clinic -- a place where there are MULTIPLE doctors who see poultry and seem to enjoy doing so. Everyone I've encountered at the clinic is wonderful, and my birds are getting great care. Bronwyn was there last week with bumblefoot and is now able to once again roost comfortably, rather then sleeping in the nest box.

Yesterday, one of the runners and I made the hour-and-a-half drive because she had a foot issue. Initially, the vet said I should wrap Blair's foot. After she and a most patient and competent vet tech eventually wrangled a wrap onto the foot of a most reluctant duck -- with Blair quacking and thrashing about -- the doc decided I should leave the wrap on until today, and then just give Blair her meds twice a day. Amen.

Hope everyone enjoys the cool weather -- 90 degrees is forecasted here for next week. No thanks!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What kind and how many fish do you keep? What's their indoor set-up like? The dogs and I encountered an opossum this morning already, which made me wonder, do you have to do something to keep wildlife away from your pond?

I am trying to get out of keeping fish, but it takes a long while for everyone to get old. I currently have a 29 gallon with 4, 10 year old fancy goldfish. My 55 gallon has 5, 10 year old angel fish, 4 blackskirt tetra, and 4 yoyo loaches. One of those loaches is 20 years old.

I also have a 125 gallon that houses my 13 regular single tailed goldfish. Those go out in my smaller raised concrete pond which is roughly around 250 gallons. Those fish range in age of 10-20 years. The oldest one is looking very rough. I keep expecting him to pass, but he keeps on going. He was one of my original fish.

My pond is up against the back of the barn. I have cinder blocks for the fish to hide in as well as some driftwood, and I float duck decoys. One day the pond looked ransacked. I'm assuming that raccoon tried to catch something, but wasn't successful. So far I haven't had any losses from predators.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I am so tired of pulling weeds, trimming overgrowth, cleaning things and moving stuff that should never have been left out. One of the planned weekend activities is relocating chicks into two coops and moving the coops' current residents into new spaces. Yes, those coops need to be scrubbed before Saturday. No, that hasn't happened yet. Not even started!

I can't wait for a frost. Than winter. There's a lot less to do in winter. I'm ready for a vacation from outside work.

 

[jvls1942]

Lisa, you sure shot the adage that the perfect pet is a goldfish , because they always die before you get attached to them.
I want summer to last until about Oct 15. that is when my squash is supposed to be matured.
today I had a stress test. I can't walk on the treadmill so I had to lie on my back for well over an hour inside a donut while they injected me with stimulants.
I could not move arms or legs. my recently injured shoulder was very painful at the end of the test.
will hear the results probably next week.
I came up with an idea to store long handled tools in the shed. i don't know if it will work, will take pictures if it does.
I managed to get the other wood lathe hung on the wall. after it falling off three times. lol
fortunately I was there to catch it.
we had a thunder storm at daybreak today. it lasted for only a few minutes.
saw an ad for LGD dogs. they were pure bread. I bet they get soggy in the rain.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That test sounds horrible Jim. I cannot imagine it. Hopefully your results are good so you don't need to go through anything else like that.

It's funny, once I decided I wasn't going to get anymore fish they kept on living. Same with my goats. I'm running a retirement farm.

I think most years our frost isn't until late October into November. It's supposed to be around September 15, but I haven't seen it that early for a long while.

 

[Callender Girl]

I'm a bit jealous of your aquariums, Lisa. A lifetime ago, before I met my Jim, my now-ex husband and I had "the fish room," where we had a 55-gallon tank, two 29-gallon tanks, and an array of small tanks. In order to subsidize our hobby, we began breeding convict cichlids and traded the offspring to the local Earl May store for ... more fish, of course!

My longest-lived fish was a Green Oscar who, sadly, killed all his tank mates. But, he was a clever boy who liked to swim along side me when I was near the tank (perhaps he was thinking I would make a great meal?) and would come to the surface and "pop" the water when we wanted to be fed.

Cichlids were my favorites, although we had all kinds, including angels, tetras and loaches that you have, but none lived as long as yours! Amazing!!

However, I am quite familiar with the retirement farm concept. I am finally down to one sheep and two goats; there will be no more. And, I'm sure the world's worst rooster, Billy Boy, will live a long, long life.

I dearly loved my original basement cats, and cried every time one died. But, I was looking forward to cleaning fewer litter boxes, buying less cat food, making fewer trips to the vet. Then, those three dumped cats showed up -- none of them is older than 2, so I HAVE to find new homes for them.

Jim, the test sounds wretched, and it certainly did you no favors with the jammed shoulder. Hope the results are good enough to make the pain and suffering worthwhile.

I agree about those soggy "pure bread" dogs. It always amuses me when people advertise high-priced animals but either don't take time to proof read what they wrote (yeah, we've ALL done that!) or don't know how to correctly spell the words.

Full steam ahead with your new storage idea! My guests will arrive later today, and I will see how soon I can start putting them to work

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

agree about those soggy "pure bread" dogs. It always amuses me when people advertise high-priced animals but either don't take time to proof read what they wrote (yeah, we've ALL done that!) or don't know how to correctly spell the words.

Here I thought Jim had the typo, and I didn't get the joke. I do now.