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

[jvls1942]

I had a hectic week. I had the charger on Ollie but I forgot to put him in gear. he rolled ahead while i was in the house and pulled the plug end off of the extension cord. that caused a short and flipped the breaker. couldn't re set the breaker. Called bro Dave and he came. he changed the receptacle and got the breaker to work again.
I went to Stevens Point and had the first phase of mu ablation treatment . it was very painful.
no carrot cake or new cookies yet. however she mentioned the cake last night.
the rabbit manure did arrive. a whole pick up load.
he dumped in onto a pile in the oats. today, while it is warm I will take Ollie and knock the oats down. then will see if I can spread the manure with the bucket and back blade.
have to put the tiller to bed in the lean to. have s few things to move so I can get Ollie in there. Annie wants the garage back for her car.
no snow here yet.
Barb, I have big walnut branch to cut off. Annie's brother has a pole saw. said he would do it. I have a list of things he said he would do reaching back to a year ago, .

 

[Callender Girl]

Ah, Jim, I have friends who tell me they will help with projects -- and, sometimes, years later, they do.

A pole saw for the walnut branch, huh? I wish I had thought to use the one I have hanging in the garage instead of the pull saw. Perhaps I've taken a few too many branches to the head to make good decisions???

Are you recovered from the ablation? I've read that it can take days to get over.

I'm shocked that it's 58 degrees on this early mid-November morning. My recollections of November in Iowa don't include a lot of balmy days. Yesterday -- when it was 70 degrees! -- I managed to scoop chicken coops and the goose shelter, wash mucky waterfowl dishes, tidy up a bit in the garage and finally locate the long-ago-purchased hardware for the mudroom door.

Today, I plan to attack the duck shelter messes and wander the north yard with a bucket and a dog-poop scooper. I may try to run the mower over some fallen leaves and add them to the section of the garden where I was too lazy to haul and spread buckets of goat manure. I can consider it an experiment to see if shredded leaves as mulch or goat poop as fertilizer is better for growing veggies.

 

[jvls1942]

bro in law called today. he is coming next week.
not holding my breath.
my ablation was just the preliminary shot. have to go in for a follow up appt. to see if they will pursue the treatments.
today i sold the 2 wheel garden trailer. more room in the lean to for Ollie.
yesterday I took Ollie and knocked the oats down. it was well over 3 feet tall. all headed out. the deer were visiting often. i left a patch standing for them
i used the bucket and back blade to spread the load of rabbit manure. it worked pretty well.
still no carrot cake.
i have two of those tree trimming pull saws. might be forced to use one if bil doesn't show.

 

[Callender Girl]

Aside from the lack of a carrot cake, it sounds like much has been accomplished where you live, Jim.

I got my to-do list chores done -- mucking out the duck shelter, removing dog poop from the yard and adding shredded leaves to the garden -- likely because I listed those in yesterday's post and didn't want to own up to failure if I didn't do them

At this time yesterday, it was 58 degrees. Today, it's 32. Enough said.

 

[jvls1942]

yup 29F this morning
not going to warm up much either.
Barb, the word mucking sounds so sloppy.
I might make a valiant effort and get Ollie moved today.

 

[Callender Girl]

And, the word "mucking" is So Appropriate for cleaning duck shelters. If it's not my least-favorite chore, it's darn close to the top!

 

[Callender Girl]

Okay, I'm ready to hear if Ollie got moving, if carrot cake got baked and just how cute Trixie is! Things are gray and dull here -- at least until my sister arrives today. She surprised me Monday by announcing her intended visit. Have I got some chores lined up for her!

Since losing my duck, Drew, I am constantly checking to see that everyone is safe and accounted for. I am still most unhappy that my pet-sitting friend has not checked back to see if Drew ever returned. I suspect she KNOWS the answer.

Blair (so named because she's the LOUDEST duck I've ever heard) has been living alone (aka, recuperating) in a converted dog cabin next to the main duck shelter. She seems to be s-l-o-w-l-y integrating back into the flock, whereas she used to run away from everyone after being seriously injured by hormonal drakes.

Monday night, Blair decided she would sleep in the shelter with the flock. I was overjoyed -- one less messy structure to keep clean!

Last night, Blair decided she preferred her privacy and insisted on returning to her own suite. Sometimes, I wish the critters would just let me pretend I'm in charge of their lives, instead of vice versa.

 

[jvls1942]

Ollie is still in the garage. NO carrot cake.
Don't know about Trixie. Cat caught a rabbit.
Had Gyros for supper.
Wine is slowly perking along.
That's my whole life in one short post.
Oh yes, one more thing. Ran out of coffee. Made a cup of Instant Maxwell House. There should be a law against that stuff.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Barb Trixie is doing well. Growing fast. She's all legs, and trouble making. Overall she's a good pup. Thinking about leaving her out of the crate at night. Might after husband comes back from hunting next week. We will see. I also like the peace knowing she's not making trouble all night.

She still looks smaller when lying down. She's like a gangly giraffe. I should get some outside pictures. She's finally getting her big teeth in. She will be 5 months on December 1.