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

[jvls1942]

i ended up with two small squash. they were not the buttercups that i planted. i gave them to bro Dave.
i eat only buttercups. Annie went to the farmers' market and bought 3 buttercups. i am not going to waste a raised bed on them again. nor beans, peas and radishes.
i will try kale next year.
it looks like a deer was visiting my oat patch.
just less than a mile away there were 13 deer in a field.
my jalapeno peppers have no bite at all. i did some checking. it seems i watered them too much. they need to be stressed a little to create the heat.
another cold day before we get our 2 days of Indian summer. 35F this morning.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Last night when I took dogs out for e last time I shined my spotlight and saw that big buck we have been seeing on the game camera. It was like a Bambi moment. He was big and majestic, and quickly ran off. He was pretty close, about 100 feet away. Our mild winter last year has helped him grow well.

 

[Callender Girl]

Your Bambi moment sounds amazing!

A world-record atypical whitetail was almost legendary (Google the Albia Buck) back in my hometown. He was a magnificent creature -- until he was shot and killed by a 15-year-old with a muzzleloader.

My folks both hunted, and I ate my share of "harvested" wildlife in long-past years. But to kill something as unique and beautiful as the Albia Buck is both unnecessary and tragic to me.

The Siberian Squill bulbs arrived in the mail yesterday, and UPS brought two more heavy-duty replacement tarps for the chicken runs. There's two more things for today's already-long to-do list.

Recently, I found a bone -- at least seven inches long -- from some large animal in the goats' hay feeder. I figured a squirrel or stray cat found something dead and dragged the bone into the feeder to dine safely.

Yesterday, while shoveling "fertilizer" out of the goat house, I came across two bunny legs and part of a set of ribs. I am beginning to wonder if my goats are secret carnivores or just have very unsavory friends.

 

[jvls1942]

carnivorous goats ? don't turn your back on them.
today i am going to make kale soup. it is similar to potato soup. it has browned , chopped sausage , diced potatoes, onions . garlic and kale. heavy cream and milk for the soup. salt and black pepper.
it is called zoupe pescata or something like that.
i really should did the carrots and beets before the raised beds freeze solid.
i told dd barby that she could dig up my strawberry runners and sell them next spring. if they survive the winter. i set the tub directly on the ground. should try to find some straw to cover them with.
ever wonder why abbreviate is such a long word ?
i got the tiller to start. but it runs just long enough to empty the carburetor bowl empty. i think the fuel line is pinched. i will fix it next spring.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Barb my guess is it was baled up in the hay. I've had an occasional dead snake or mouse, plus sticks, and other various stuff that was in the field at the time we made the hay.

Looks like we finally got a hard frost last night. Now I can dig up my canna bulbs from their planters.

 

[jvls1942]

looks like the growing season is ended. i dug the beets and carrots. i think the rabbit s t has too much nitrogen. the beets were all tops and no bulbs. the carrots did ok, though.
the lettuce finally bolted. that was a sight to see.
i gave all the radishes to my sister. no word from her whether they were woody or not.

 

[Callender Girl]

Your beets sound like my onions -- lots of above-ground greenery and only tiny bulbs underneath. Although the Anaheim produced 19 peppers, the 3-foot-tall sweet pepper didn't have even one. I pulled it out of the ground and tossed it into the compost pile so it can be of some use.

Yesterday, a mouse managed to get into one of the coop runs -- which is enveloped in hardware cloth. It was not successful getting out. Apparently, it ate too much leftover feed and was only able to get its head through one of the openings. Squeaker and Pippa pulled it back into the run and had a high-protein breakfast, after a spirited game of corpse keep-away.

Was surprised to get a visit from the FD city water department. Seems there is a free program where farmers can get biosolids from the wastewater plant to apply to their fields. City guys were here to measure a (hopefully) safe distance from my well for the application to Sullivan's fields.

The idea of treated sewage knifed into the fields sounds a little nasty. But, hey, I apply goat manure to my veg garden in the fall, and I am assured it won't reek or burn my eyes (and my critters' lungs and eyes) like the chemicals Sullivan usually applies. They've been working up the road, and I have to admit, I haven't noticed anything bad in the air. We'll see.