H. Two. Ohhhhh.

The dark gray clouds lumbered in from the west, dragging their bottoms over the soggy mountains.  The water dropping from these sluggish clouds was like that coming off a ledge-less waterfall.  The valley, its pool.  Water ran off roof tops, gathered in puddles, and became streams of murky watery ponds.  

Mules kicked up their heals, swooshed their tails, and ran to cover under the barn.  Birds tucked deep into the pine trees for cover, and hawks and buzzards took the toil of the event, water running off their feathers.  

Today, it rained again.  Most of the day.  The fields are full of blooming alfalfa, golden barley fields, and wheat.  The wet air smells of green plants, wet dirt, and a bit of mustieness.  Tractors with hay rakes are parked in fields.  Center pivots sit where they were shut off.  The farmers pace and fret.  By now in most years, everyone is finishing up.  Today, many have not even begun and if they have, their crop lies cut in the field, a heaping row of rotting, wet plant material.  Sad.  

The dogs and I snuck a three mile walk in this morning suffering only a few rain drops.  Rooster came out of the brush covered in hounds tongue seeds, looking like he had a good case of the measles.  Ruby stays on the road.  Balls of mud cut across our path, the evidence of an elk crossing.  Their tracks deep in the mud, tell that story.  Missing a walk yesterday, the hounds were primed to run across the soggy fields, cut through the tall curing grasses, and forget that hounds tounge sticks to dog fur.  That walk did us all a whole lot of good. 

The season has turned.  Days are shorter.  Mornings cool.  Fall is here.  The elk have not yet begun bugling but soon, soon we will be hearing that magical sound of the mountains.  The Canada geese are bunching up, getting fat on the standing barely.  The hummingbird population has dwindled; their peers flying south for a warmer future. 

The turning of seasons always makes me thankful I made it through another season unscathed.  Teetering between summer and fall and now fall looking toward winter, I imagine long winter walks and skis with the dogs over a landscape quieted by frost, allowed to rest a bit before the madness of growing in a very short season begins again.  

A Friend Like Mary Nanc

 Mom came out and spent two weeks with Mike and me just as hay season began.  Her visit was supposed to be after first cut hay season, but alas, Mother Nature delayed this year's work.  Thank goodness Mom is well-versed in farming!!  She got to see what hay farming looks like and we filled the times in between with chores, walks with the dogs, and relaxing over delicious gin and tonics and dinner.  

First time on a ATV, Mom did great and seemed to have fun!  This farm tool is one Mike and I realize we will have to replace if it fails us.  

The crop was a perfect harvest with nothing more than a scattered rain drop on the entire first cut crop.  Some has been hauled off and much more is stored under cover waiting for buyers.  The second crop is growing well.  

We had some beautiful sunsets to oogle over during Mom's visit.  This valley does get many beautiful sunsets!  

Mom has a friend, Mary Nanc.  She is a very good friend.  They go to the same church, enjoy lunches together, and share a lovely friend named Rae.  During Mom's stay, they texted back and forth, keeping up with each other's lives.  I thought a lot about how nice it is for Mom to have a friend like Mary Nanc.  I thought of the people I have in my life and wished I had a friend like Mary Nanc. 

Mom went home on Tuesday.  The counters haven't been wiped sparkling clean, the compost needs taken out, the lovely little vases of flowers have turned sad and have been washed and put away, the hanging flowers are thirsty, and the greenhouse is opened later in the morning and later at night.  The gin disappears a bit slower and the "wonder" of so many things vanished when she left.  

I have come to realize I do have a friend like Mary Nanc.  Thanks Mom!  Thanks for being such a great Mom and even better Friend!   And thanks for giving me two weeks of your life - even though it fell right in First Cut Hay Season.  

Immersed in Summer

Mike has been counting how many actual summer days we have had thus far.  He is up to five.  Today looks to be number 6!

He has also been busy working on the greenhouse project.  There is now a sunshade on top, a lovely custom door on each end (trimmed out in cedar), raised beds inside with lil plants coming up out of the soil - all moved in a wheel barrel.  It's been a ton of work, but deeply satisfying to see the repuposed greenhouse come to life and become functional!  Here is a winter to now picture presentation.  

Tomatoes, beets, cukes, basil, cilantro, parsley, zucchini, and delecatta squash are planted as well as the corn thinnings/transplants which are doing remarkably well.   I did not believe one could transplant corn!!  We pause while working and sit in the greenhouse in a couple of chairs added to the space.  Something good for the soul inside that space!!  

Haying is at least 10 days late.  Mike  hopes to begin cutting tonight or tomorrow.  The alfalfa is budding, but no blossoms yet.  Crazy-late!  It's good he has had this greenhouse for a distraction! 

Our free-range chickens have decided to nest in stacks of hay.  Mike has found at least 3 nesting sites with hens and eggs.  No wonder we aren't getting many eggs.  Soon there will be baby chickens parading around with their mothers - unless the cats get them!!  The joy of roosters crowing and chickens grousing around the place!!  I just love it!!  

The outside garden is growing well now that it has warmed.  This picture closes this blog report with beauty.  I do believe this is a publishable photo, if I might say so myself!!  Enjoy the fleeting warm breezes of summer time!!  

Still Raining!

 Yesterday I made the long and lovely drive to Gillette, WY to be part of a six team Instructor cadre teaching students from all over the state of Wyoming how to properly install child passenger seats.  It’s a fun group of instructors; they have truly become friends over the years.  I’m close to being part of this important work for 20 years.  

Wyoming is green, green, green!  The drive was amazing.  Grass up to the grazing horses bellies.  Yellow clover and vetch, thick along the roadsides, a solid bouquet of floral blossoms for miles and miles.  I could smell the nectar and pollen.  Today is cool and the morning started with a sprinkle of rain.  

The greenhouse is really coming along!   Mike and I got the roof stretched across before I left.  Definitely a two person job!  

I am dreaming about what I can plant given the time of the remaining growing season.  Such a beautiful thing and I just love the fact that this greenhouse was repurposed; saved from the landfill. See the wire in the picture with Mike working that wire?  It’s called “wiggle wire” and who ever invented this stuff should be sitting on a sand beach somewhere warm!  It’s magical!! 

Remember the no till drill planting experiment?  Mike has been dubious about the success of this effort.  The seeds that were left in the hopper were wet and he was certain things jammed up enough to keep seed flowing.  However, there is germination!!  With all the rain of late, these seedlings have an awesome chance of survival!!  

We have been trying to make ourselves to go fishing each week.  So far, no big pigs have been landed.  Mike had his line break last week and it may have been a monster that stole away his lure!  Such a lovely place to fish.  I have canned several more jars of local lake trout for winter dining.  100 minutes in the pressure cooker!  Fish is such a good food to eat - did you know it is good for brain health?  Some have dill and mustard and garlic.  We will cook the whole fish on the grill for summer, but I do look forward to Lake Trout melts this winter.  

Lastly, here is a fun video!  Mike watched this from inside the house (note the classic music in the background which is pretty good music for the fun game Rooster was playing!)

Hope things are going well for you this summer.  Stay safe.  Stay well.  

Hello There!!

Yes, yes!  It has been a long long time!  I see my last post was April 30.  Fed up with whining about the snow, I backed away from the blog site for a bit.  And then it warmed up, melted fast, and now it's full-on green spring/summer and BUSY TIMES!

 Want to see some BIG things?  We had a fun family reunion in Marshall, Illinois and spent a day checking out Casey, Illinois' big things.  I love this business plan!  The little dinky town has turned into a tourist attraction and I understand why!  Mom, Sandy and Mark, Stacie and Alex, Liz and Dan, Reigh Lynn, and I wandered around this small midwestern town for the day and were delightfully entranced with the very large offerings!  What fun and how wonderful to spend some time together!

I love this picture of Mom and me.  We just finished a vigorous walk (she walks on the treadmill every day going for 30 minutes at a very fast clip!) and enjoyed a Starbucks refreshment.  You are such an inspiration, Mom!! 

The garden is planted and somewhat weeded.  The dogs and I walked the field today hunting the elusive hounds tongue and killing it dead with posion spray.  Die, hounds tongue, DIE!  Every afternoon there is rain.  Raining now.  A wet, wet spring for the mountains.  Our crawl space has finally drained, although is still damp.  

This Sunday is Father's Day and I celebrate Dad!  You're a pretty tough cookie to send gifts to anymore, Dad!  No more sugar.  No more salt.  You certainly have everything you need.  What is a Daughter to do but send a card and hope you can feel the love inside!  Happy Father's Day.  You taught me much and I took those lessons and got to here.  And Here is a very good place.  

Meanwhile, the repurposed greenhouse is coming along.  Today, the last panel went on.  Next, the plastic covering.  It' going to be a giant great place for living things!  Thank you Mike! It's been a ton of work and planning and scheming for you and it is going to just be an awesome growing space when it's done! 

As if I wasn't busy enough, next week I am off to help teach a car seat installation class in Gillette, WY which is a formidable drive from Freedom.  Should be able to get a few books on tape read!  Then the 4th of July is right around the corner.  Where is this summer going?  It just got here!!  

Sainfoin in the ground.  We hope.  Using a new piece of equipment always has its learning curve.  The seed that fell is certainly getting a good soaking! 

Dancing on Sunshine

 It's here, it's here!  Spring is here!  Today's high temperature hit 67F!!  Here is the view from the upstairs office desk, looking south to the hay fields.  Soon, soon......soon it will be rid of the snow. 

Ride #3 on Gus the Mule today!!  It was a lovely day to join friend, Coralia, for a ride down and back on Tin Cup Junction Road.  It was good for all of us!  

We noted that Tin Cup Creek is getting pretty high. 

When we returned, I spun the snowmobile down the field to see my hive (which I am worried about) and saw this critter poking its head out of the snow.  Do you know what it is?  Here is a hint.  It is white in the winter and brown in the summer! Clearly, as it is brown, this critter is now at a disadvantage out in the white snow field. 

Ermine.  Mice-eating fierce carnivore!

And now (drum roll, please), my favorite picture of the day.  Music garlic coming up in the garden!!  SOOOOOOO exciting!! 

Spring Has Arrived!!

Today!  Today you could smell the earth as it starts to show itself again.  Warming in the sun, the fragrence repleat with spring!  Daffodils push up, their tiny tips tender and yellow against the wet dirt.  Piles of snow dimish.  There are even dry spots around the place!  And the forecast gets better every day!

Here is what I saw in my bee hive When I cracked open the lid.  Just saying, after this dreadfully long, bitterly cold, and miserable winter, I am delighted!  That's alot of bees left to start working!  Success!!  Many beekeepers lost their hives this winter.  It's not a bad thing to have good luck!! 

Mike is off tomorrow to visit a friend in Missouri.  He will fish.  He will hunt turkeys.  He will visit.  He will reconnect.  He needs this break and deserves it after a long winter of snow relocation!

Rooster is recouperating well.  We did a nice (leashed) 3 mile walk today and I praised the Cortizone makers for my pain-free knee.  Why did I wait so long to get that done??

The local creek is filling.

Many of you saw my canning project on Facebook, but I'm so excited about all this delicious fish now sitting on my shelf waiting for the day when we pop off the lid and dig into deliciousness!!  Such a treat!  Let's have some when you come and visit this summer, Miss Mary!!

Enough for now.  Our hearts are filled with joy with the departure of Winter.  It's a good season here, but lasted far too long this year.  Adios, Old Man Winter!! 

I had to ski to visit my bees.  This is the field today.  Still lots of melting to go!! 

Caretaking

 My friend Stephanie was lamenting the olther day about how she hates the now-walking age her son Cody has grown into.  "He can kill himself at any moment," she mused, "I can't take my eyes off of him when he is awake."  I believe she made a remark about no common sense as well. 

As Rooster begins day one of healing up after yesterday's vet visit, I feel a sense of her angst.  He is not to lick, not to access his scrotum (now absent of testicles) or his eyes (the bottom lid cut and stiched together to keep that lower lid from scratching his eyes).  We started the day with 25 mg of Ace (Stephanie does not have this option) and it knocked him out.  By noon, he was starting to come out of the fog and we are opting for the giant cone this afternoon.  Especially this first day, I feel like it is important to keep a close eye on him, ensuring the healing process gets off to a good start.  He manages the cone fairly well, overall.  

We awoke to a winter storm warning and snow - which, now 3:30pm, it is still snowing.  It's a good day to watch a child.  I've made 4 loaves of bread, three batches of Brain Health Muffins, and been on two zoom meetings.  A good day to be inside. 

Rooster.  On the Mend. 

25 degrees and windy

My sincere apologies to continue on about this whole winter thing. 

Mike and I donned our xcountry skiis this afternoon and skiied the permimeter of the farm.  The sharp northwesterly wind cut through our cap earflaps and hurried us along.  The snow is sculpted from the wind and the recent new snow.  We sink a bit in the slogginess of two feet of snow-cone-like mush; freezing at night and thawing during most days.  

I have completely given up looking at the weather forecast, certain to be disappointed yet again.  I have been cheerleading over here on the sidelines for Spring to win against Winter since - seriously - mid-March.  Was it too much to ask?  Last year, Mike chidded me for planting four cabbage plants in the garden in mid-March.  They froze, got snowed on, thawed out and became beautiful heads of green cabbage.  Today, there is still a couple of feet carpeting the garden.  I thought about shoveling out the two raised beds, but the 20 mph wind and 25F temperature deterred me from the effort. 

So, I finished the book I've been reading.  It was wonderful!  The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig.   Some of you have read it, I know.  This long winter has prodded me into reading paper pages of books.  Reading.  Sitting in a chair, under a lamp, waiting out Winter's reign. 

Rooster has a visit to the doctor tomorrow.  He will be relieved of any further thoughts of manly duties.  As well, a tuck under each eye will hopefully help his curled up lids that scratch his eyes.  He will be miserable and I feel bad about this certainty.  Not every day is a good day, Rooster. 

The world is a funny place.  In the past 24 hours, I have heard tales of beekeepers stealing sugar purchased for bees to make alcohol and sell it through the members in the bee club.  I have heard of threat letters - their words cut from newspaper clipping and pasted to a piece of paper with foot powder added to the envelope prior to sealing, the return address belonging to the Retaliated Person.  Things in the fire department were rarely easy, often rife with conflict.  But rank things like these never happened.  It's all about integrity.  And integrity is harder to find outside the Fire Service.  You have to walk away sometimes before you can really see what you had. 

Not every day is a good day. 

Still Waiting For Spring

Good grief, what a winter!  Today was fantastic; got up to 56F.  Tomorrow highs in the 40s with rain then Wednesday high of 33 with snow.  Boo.  

Here are some very random pictures.  Kind of a snapshot of goings-on. 

Rooster gets nuetered on Thursday.  I'm sorry ol buddy....

Bees are still alive inside this hive.  Hang on, spring should be here any day!! 

Tin Cup Creek.  Locals say we are not going to flood.  The ground is soaking up water and well, it's not getting too warm too fast! 

Used the snow blower to open up the flower garden! 

Finally, a successful batch of black garlic.  Amazing stuff!! 

Spring Arrives

 The last couple of weeks have been tough.  Winter grips tightly and it has been easy to complain.  Alot.  

Finally, a reprieve has brought blue skies, warmer temperatures and melting snow.  Now everyone is worried about flooding.  And rightfully so.  Mountains of snow will be melting.  Sump pumps, prepare to get to work!!  

Today, there are still no buds on trees.  There is still a couple of feet of wet soggy snow in the fields.  But today was warm.  And there is a pond of water out our door.  Mike worked on a drainage system today.  Now below freezing, the pond will turn to ice tonight.  And tomorrow, the melting process starts again. 

A big project this year will be putting the repurposed greenhouse together.  Here is the beautiful front door Mike has been working on in the hanger.  Really great door!!  When finished, it will be one of those doors that opens at the top and stays closed at the bottom.  Perfect for a greenhouse!!  

Here is the frame of the greenhouse.  Might be a few days before we get under those supports! 

Best to my favorite sister-in-law Stephanie who will be defending her PhD on Thursday.  What an incredible accomplishment!  Mike and I are so proud!!  You Go Girl!!

 

Dinah Goes For A Walk

Dinah is one of our mules.  She is black with a cute brown muzzle.  She has suffered no loss of weight this winter, standing around, eating good hay, and becoming bored.  

So, two nights ago, Dinah went for a walk.  The elk track coming to the field feeding area piqued her mule-bored brain and she commenced to walk to the southwest across the field.  She probably tried to turn around and quickly learned that the snow was really deep and her fat mule body and short legs with little hoof feet quickly punched through.  So, Dinah kept walking down the elk trail.

I noticed this event about the time she got to the fence a good quarter mile from the house.  With 40" of snow out there in the field, the top wire of the fence is all that is visible.  Fortunately, it is not a barbed wire fence.

Mike and I went into action quickly.  He grabbed a snowmobile (loaded and ready for the next day's snowmobile trip) and I grabbed my winter ranch coat, some gloves and a rabbit fur hat.  

After much to-do, we got Dinah out of her mired-in-too-deep snow state and she uprighted where she could stand and I could hold on to her (happily, Mike had brought a halter and lead rope).  Her black coat glistened with sweat and steam rolled off her; nostrils flared and breathing heavily.  It was 8:04pm. 

 There were some options.  Lead her back down the elk track.  Not an easy task and there was that fence crossing.  Blow out the lane and walk her back to the corrals was the decision made and Mike zipped back on the snowmobile to the shop to get the tractor out. 

I would have taken a picture but it was dark (no moon night) and 18 degrees.  I did not want to take my gloves off.  

So, there we stood.  Watching the tractor in the far distance.  The snow so deep, Mike had to take blow chunks away, pull forward and take more down.  It was an arduous and not-so-fast procedure.  

Dinah doesn't really like people.  I'd try to snuggle into her chest to profit from her heat and she would step away.  She shivered.  I shivered.  I talked to Dinah.  She did not engage in coversation. 

By 9:45 Mike was getting closer but I was getting really really cold.  When my legs started doing funny things, I called him and let him know.  I was begining to worry about hypothermia.

At last, he made it.  Dinah was none to excited about the spinning, loud snowblower getting close, but the path was complete.  Mike grabbed the mule and I shuffeled into the warm warm warm tractor cab.  He walked her home and I drove the tractor back down the path. 

Inside, two hot cups of water and then a soak in the hot tub!  

Happily, Dinah did not suffer any injuries and despite the fact that we saved her life and I kept her from doing anything stupid for two hours on a dark winter night, she still does not like us.  

Dinah went for a walk.